Practice Observations: 4/7
It was a physical day inside the Loftus Sports Complex on Saturday as Notre Dame finished the morning with a scrimmage.
Several former players were on the sidelines, including Sergio Brown, who had a brief conversation with 2019 DT Rodas Johnson.
There were a few players held out of practice but there were also a few players back on the field taking contact.
Out
WR Michael Young
TE George Takacs
OL Trevor Ruhland
LB Drew White
DB John Mahoney
Receiver Chase Claypool and tight end Brock Wright had the red jersey off and were full contact on Saturday.
Notre Dame started practice with field goal work and sophomore kicker Jon Doerer was a bit all over the place. Doerer showed big-time leg strength but also struggled with accuracy. The ball has a weird hook as it starts to come down that needs to get ironed out. Justin Yoon was not at practice as he was competing in a kicking camp outside the state.
The offense then broke into its regular tempo drill to open practice.
First Group
QB: Brandon Wimbush
RB: Tony Jones Jr.
WR: Miles Boykin
WR: Chase Claypool
WR: Chris Finke
TE: Alizè Mack/Cole Kmet
OL: Liam Eichenberg
OL: Tommy Kraemer
OL: Sam Mustipher
OL: Alex Bars
OL: Robert Hainsey
Second Group
QB: Ian Book
RB: Jahmir Smith
WR: Freddy Canteen
WR: Javon McKinley
WR: Micah Jones
WR: Avery Davis
OL: Aaron Banks
OL: Logan Plantz
OL: Colin Grunhard
OL: Dillan Gibbons
OL: Josh Lugg
After multiple periods of positional drills, Notre Dame got into some half-line and 1-on-1 tackling drills.
Highlights of the 1-on-1 tackling drill:
- S Nicco Fertitta laid a huge hit to start the drill.
- Chris Finke was doing Chris Finke things and being extremely slippery.
- WR Micah Jones juked Fertitta pretty bad.
- WR Chase Claypool juked Alohi Gilman
- S Devin Studstill laid the wood on Chris Finke.
- Fertitta had another big hit on a walk-on.
Overall, the defense was much better in the drill than we had seen a few weeks ago. It’s a very one-sided drill, but the effort was much, much better.
The receivers and defensive backs then met for some 1-on-1 work.
Brandon Wimbush
- Incomplete. Julian Love covering Miles Boykin
- Complete. Chris Finke beat Alohi Gilman
- Incomplete. Jalen Elliott with a pass breakup against Alizè Mack
- Complete. Freddy Canteen beat Donte Vaughn
- Incomplete. Miles Boykin dropped a bomb in tight coverage against Julian Love.
- Complete. Chris Finke toasted Devin Studstill for a big play
- Incomplete. Houston Griffith covering Brock Wright
Ian Book
- Complete. Javon McKinley beat Nick Watkins
- Complete. Micah Jones beat Nick Coleman
- Complete. Cole Kmet beat Jordan Genmark Heath
- Incomplete. Troy Pride Jr. covering Chase Claypool
- Complete. Big play to Freddy Canteen with Shaun Crawford in coverage
Red Zone
Brandon Wimbush
- Complete. Alize Mack touchdown with Nicco Fertitta covering
- Complete. Chase Claypool with a beautiful move on Donte Vaughn. TD.
- Incomplete. Julian Love covering Miles Boykin
- Incomplete. Nick Coleman with a pass breakup against Chris Finke
- Complete. Cole Kmet against Jalen Elliott
Notre Dame then broke into positional work for a couple of periods, however, during the middle, helicopter/noise/music started playing over the speakers, and the ball was placed for a goal line situation.
Both sides of the ball got fired up for a “sudden change” situation in the middle of practice. Brandon Wimbush led the first-team offense out against the first team defense for a 3rd and 3 situation.
Wimbush’s first pass fell incomplete as he was trying to hit Chris Finke. Then Daelin Hayes flew off the edge and sacked Wimbush as he was finishing his playaction fake.
Brian Kelly gathered the team and let the offense know he wasn’t pleased with the effort.
After the two plays, the team broke back into positional work. The next few periods were dedicated to special teams work. The Irish were working on getting downfield and tackling the returner.
The offense then broke into some half-field work where three receivers worked against the defense.
Brandon Wimbush
- Complete to Boykin on an out
- Complete to Mack
- Incomplete to McKinley on a crossing route
- Complete to Cole Kmet on an out route.
- Complete to Chase Claypool on a curl
- Complete to Jahmir Smith
Ian Book
- Complete to Finke
- Complete to Jahmir Smith on a check down
- Complete to Tony Jones Jr.
- Complete to Micah Jones
- Complete to Freddy Canteen
Avery Davis
- Complete to Brock Wright
- Complete to a walk-on
- Complete to Mick Assaf
- Complete to Mack
- Complete to Claypool
More positional work quickly followed the half-field work. The front seven of the defense got some work in the “Clemson Drill,” which focused on the read option.
7-on-7
Brandon Wimbush
- Complete to Tony Jones Jr.
- Incomplete. Drop by Dexter Williams
- Complete to Tony Jones Jr.
- Complete to Alizè Mack for a TD on a post corner from about 40 yards out.
- Complete to Chase Claypool
- Complete to Cole Kmet for a touchdown
Ian Book
- Incomplete. Pass breakup by Devin Studstill
- Complete to Jahmir Smith on a check down
- Complete to Brock Wright
- Complete to Javon McKinley
Red Zone 7-on-7
Brandon Wimbush
- Incomplete. Love with a PBU against Miles Boykin
- Complete to Chris Finke
- Incomplete. Tony Jones Jr. drop
- Incomplete. Fade to Miles Boykin. Shaun Crawford called for pass interference
- Complete. Fade to Claypool. Touchdown
Ian Book
- Incomplete. Nick Watkins covering Miles Boykin
Avery Davis
- Complete to Brock Wright
- Complete to Brock Wright
- Incomplete. PBU by Donte Vaughn against Freddy Canteen
- Incomplete. Javon McKinley drop
Notre Dame broke out into offensive and defensive work. The offense was going over some plays, while the defense did a four-station turnover circuit.
The Irish concluded practice with an extensive 11-on-11 scrimmage. Tommy Kramer and Josh Lugg split time at left guard with the first team and split time at right tackle with the second unit. Micah Dew-Treadway got first-team work at nose guard.
Brandon Wimbush
- Complete to Chris Finke
- Complete to Chris Finke on a bubble.
- Complete to Alizè Mack, but the play was called back as Liam Eichenberg was called for holding.
- Complete to Cole Kmet.
- Troy Pride Jr. picked off Wimbush and took it for 6. The ball was a little high but Claypool should have caught it. Bounced off his hands and Pride returned it to the house.
Ian Book
- Incomplete
- Run for a short gain
- Complete to Avery Davis, who juked Nick Watkins and turned it into a big gain down the sideline.
- Complete for a short gain to Jahmir Smith
- Jahmir Smith short run. Houston Griffith filled the hole but whiffed.
- Incomplete. Ball thrown away
- Book keep
- Run for a short gain
- Dexter Williams with a nice run
- Book sacked
Brandon Wimbush
- Tony Jones Jr. short run
- Tony Jones Jr. run for a decent gain
- Incomplete
- Incomplete to Mack to the far side of the field. Big arm shown.
- Incomplete. Pass interference called on Julian Love
- Complete. 45-yard touchdown to Miles Boykin.
Ian Book
- Complete to McKinley on a crossing roue
- Fertitta with a big hit on Jahmir Smith in the backfield but Smith got loose for a positive gain.
- Complete to Claypool on a screen. Studstill with a big hit to limit the gain.
- QB Keeper
Avery Davis
- 15 yard Avery Davis run off an read option
- Jahmir Smith drop
- Complete to Jahmir Smith. DJ Morgan with an excellent tackle
- Thrown Away
Ian Book
- Dexter Williams short gain
- Complete to Brock Wright. Nick Watkins leveled Wright
- Complete to Dexter Williams on a wheel route
- Sack
- Jahmir Smith short gain
- Complete to Claypool on a slant
- Complete to Brock Wright. Houston Griffith big hit and forces a fumble.
Brandon Wimbush
- QB run. Holding call
- False start
- Short run
- Ball underthrown. Love dropped the easiest interception he will see all year.
Thoughts
- Notre Dame’s defense had a great day. No big runs given up and were solid at playing the ball in the air. The defense should be ahead of the offense at this point in the spring/year, and it showed today.
- DE Khalid Kareem had a nice day, and there won’t be a drop off after losing Jay Hayes. Just needs to get more experience against the run.
- DE Ade Ogundeji crashed the edge and let Ian Book get loose. Will need to fix that.
- Notre Dame’s linebackers are a great group. They can fly to the ball and play smart. DJ Morgan looks better and better there each time we see him. Asmar Bilal and Isaiah Robertson got most of the reps at Rover on Saturday. Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah needs to continue to work on getting stronger and bigger. He’s not in the same league as Bilal or Robertson when it comes to size and strength on the field.
- Quarterbacks had an up and down day, but they suffered from drops from the receivers at times. Getting Michael Young back in action should help with consistency. Chase Claypool needs to lock in mentally. The drop that led to Troy Pride’s pick six shouldn’t happen.
- Mike Elston was giving plenty of time to Rodas Johnson during practice. Johnson has a long way to go physically to look like a college football player. He has a frame, but his size is enough to give some concern.
- Tight end Ethan Rae looked the part and was seen speaking with multiple coaches during practice along with his family.
- Devin Studstill and Jalen Elliott impressed me today. It wasn't perfect but Studstill was flying all over the field and both mades plays on the football, which is something you didn't see in the past.
- LOVED the sudden change situation Kelly put the team in. The noise gave me flashbacks to Miami and it's great to keep his team focused.
More From Practice
Mike Frank's Practice Report ($)
ISD Video: Practice Highlights 4/7 ($)
ISD Video: Brian Kelly