The Ten

If you love college football, it's kind of hard not to love the Heisman Trophy. Not everything about it is perfect about it (ahem, Ty Detmer over the Rocket), but it's still special after all of these years.

One thing I have always liked about it is that they try to award it to the "most outstanding" player in college football and not the MVP. I wouldn't say the voters always get that part right, but at least the intention is there.

I think that's also why I really enjoy the "Counting Down the Irish" feature from Inside the Irish every year. They get several Notre Dame writers, ISD's Matt Freeman included, to vote on their top 25 Fighting Irish players and it's about best rather than most important or irreplaceable. Douglas Farmer (taking over for Keith Arnold this year) recently came out with the final piece of the list and the top 10 went like this:

1. Quenton Nelson
2. Mike McGlinchey
3. Nyles Morgan
4. Josh Adams
5. Equanimeous St. Brown
6. Brandon Wimbush
7. Drue Tranquill
8. Alize Mack
9. Daelin Hayes
10. Shaun Crawford

It's fair to argue the order, but I don't think anyone would be outraged to see that these are the 10 best players on the team heading into the season. It's a solid list.

However, most outstanding/best/whatever you want to label it is not most irreplaceable. Josh Adams is a really good back and could end up having a monster season, but his value to the team is not as great as some others because of the depth they have at his position. If Dexter Williams and Tony Jones Jr. were the one-two punch at running back, I don't think there would be a significant drop-off in production. Because of that, I view others being more irreplaceable to the team this year even if I wouldn't rank them as being better than Adams.

Spinning off the idea from the Inside the Irish list, I'm ranking the 10 most irreplaceable players to the Irish this fall. I decided based on several factors, but the drop off between them and the next player on the depth chart was certainly heavily weighted in my thinking. These are 10 players that I feel are the closest to irreplaceable on the roster this season. Others may be better, but they bring the most value to the team.

10. Nick Coleman

This would have seemed downright preposterous to rank him here 10 months ago, but a breakout spring after a switch to safety has Coleman slotted as a critical piece of the defense. There is uncertainty at safety, period, and even uncertainty with how Coleman will perform this season, but this is as much about what he has shown in practice as it is with the depth at the position.

They need Coleman to be the player he has shown he could be because the others who play his position on the roster have not shown the same range he has. The drop off there, from what we've seen, is pretty significant. Because of that, what I'm projecting Coleman will be this season makes him even more valuable. He didn't even make the top 25 for Inside the Irish, but he's top 10 on this list.

9. Alize Mack

Yet another guy who hasn't shown much on the field outside of practice, but he's the only tight end who has made a splash play as a receiver in practice over the last few years. His 13 catches as a freshman was actually more than the combined receptions for Durham Smythe and Nic Weishar last season. I think anyone who thinks Notre Dame is not counting on Mack this season to be productive in the passing game is crazy. They need him to have a big year.

That's why his pre-season injury is so concerning. Hopefully he is back next week like Brian Kelly mentioned after practice on Saturday, but if it's something that is going to nag him all year, then that could be a major issue going forward.

There is always the chance that Smythe, Weishar, or the two highly touted freshmen could step up if Mack isn't available, but none of them are as talented of a receiver as Mack (Kmet might be on his way). His talent should open up the offense in a way that those other guys can't. That's why he's such a valuable player for the Irish this season.

8. Quenton Nelson

Notre Dame has recruited well enough now that they can fit someone in to Nelson's left guard spot and be okay. It wouldn't be as devastating as losing some others given that a 5th year player like Hunter Bivin could slide in to replace him.

But the fact that Nelson is probably the best guard in college football is what has him here. I believe the team could survive without him, but the drop off would be big enough, especially in the run game, that it would change the way Chip Long would call a game. That's why I have Nelson here.

7. Nyles Morgan

You can count me as one of the people who expects Morgan to have a monster year in Mike Elko's defense. He has the potential to make the leap to be one of the elite linebackers in college football. Not having him would definitely be a blow.

I also think Te'Von Coney is a really good football player, though. Good enough that if he had to play Mike beside Greer Martini at Buck for a long period of time that the defense would still be able to function in almost the exact same way. I value Morgan's ability greatly, but the depth behind him is what keeps him from being near the top.

6. Equanimeous St. Brown

He's not just the only player with a ton of production at the position. He has also clearly shown he is the best and most consistent receiver on the team. With all of the other uncertainty at the position, it makes him an extremely valuable piece of the offensive puzzle.

It's possible that if EQ couldn't go and they used Miles Boykin or Chase Claypool at the W that one or both could make an impact there. EQ is just better than them right now, though. And better than every other receiver Notre Dame has. He is the number one receiver and without him it would change into a by committee approach at the position.

5. Daelin Hayes

There are a lot of expectations that are accompanying Hayes into this season and beyond. There are many, probably unfairly, who are pinning the hopes of the pass rush this season on a breakthrough performance from him.

Hayes isn't just here because he is expected to deliver against the pass, though. It has just as much to do with him showing he can set the edge versus the run. It's the combination of both that makes him so valuable to the defense. The duo of Andrew Trumbetti versus the run and Julian Okwara versus the pass would be a stop-gap if Hayes wasn't there, but without a Captain Planet scenario combining the two, it would be a less than ideal situation. Even then, neither are as good as what Hayes has shown versus the run or the pass.

By the end of the season he may prove to be one of the top five best players on the team, but even if that doesn't happen, he still is top five in terms of overall value.

4. Jerry Tillery

No Daniel Cage, no obvious number two behind him at one technique, and a true freshman being the likely next man up makes this a clear choice. Tillery doesn't even have to live up to freshman expectations. They just need him to play and play a lot then be solid throughout the year. That is the kind of thing they can't replace right now at defensive tackle.

3. Julian Love

I already stated that I don't know about the idea of flipping him back and forth between corner and safety, but even that they are thinking about it shows how truly valuable Love is to this defense. They feel they need him at both spots and unfortunately they can't clone him.

That versatility, and that they need to utilize it, is what has him where he is ranked.

2. Sam Mustipher

Everyone knows about the transfers at center and that Trevor Ruhland has been moved to the second spot behind Mustipher. That's the largest part of the equation. It's also an important factor that he has taken a step forward as a player to the point where he should be much better than the player he was in 2016.

Throw in the importance of the position when it comes to identifying fronts and adjusting protections with a new quarterback and Mustipher is in my opinion the second most important player on the team this season.


The starting quarterback could technically always be considered the most valuable or irreplaceable on a roster, but over the last couple of years at Notre Dame, that wasn't the case. When Malik Zaire went down in 2015, they had DeShone Kizer even if he wasn't projected to be as good as he turned out to be. Even if he didn't turn out that way, there was always Wimbush, the one who was arguably the most talented quarterback on the roster.

Then last year there was a similar scenario with Kizer, then Zaire, and Wimbush waiting in the wings in case of emergency. Technically all three could have been back at Notre Dame this year, but it's just Wimbush left remaining. Behind him on the depth chart is a redshirt freshman and a true freshman.

Unsurprisingly, Wimbush has separated himself from those two and there are big things expected of him this season. Down the road Avery Davis and Ian Book could end up being the starter at Notre Dame, but it would be less than ideal if either two were starting games this fall. Brian Kelly and Chip Long need to see a lot of results from Wimbush, but the most important thing is for him to be available all year.

It would be a bad situation if they had to replace him for any significant amount of time. In addition to playing the most important position on the field, he's the most irreplaceable player on the 2017 team.