Happy Thursday - These are your Thursday Tidbits - Preseason Edition

Happy Thursday - These are your Thursday Tidbits - Preseason edition

“Leave no doubt…”

This simple message from Coach Marcus Freeman emerged after both his flirtation with the NFL and the CFP snub last year, signaling that the Irish are all in this season. The combination of coaching, team chemistry, players’ buy-in, scheduling, and financial resources is all aligned for a championship or bust run for Notre Dame, as Freeman has taken the long offseason and turned it into one of the most urgent ones in school history.

Coaching staff

Freeman at just 40 years old, begins his fifth season at the helm. That already puts him among the 20 longest-tenured head coaches at the Power 4 level. Couple that with the return of both Mike Denbrock as Offensive Coordinator and Chris Ash as D-coordinator, the number of power schools returning all three this season is even smaller. Additionally, there is the return of Loren Landow (strength and conditioning) and Marty Biagi (special teams) further adding to continuity at the most critical coaching positions.  Add in the return of the majority of the offensive staff and a rebuilt defensive staff consisting of Ash protégés, and this group is considered among the best coaching staffs in the country.

Player Buy-in

Notre Dame didn’t lose a player of real consequence in the portal last cycle, making it #1 in returning production (#5 last year) among all teams. Additionally, the Irish signed its highest-ranked high school recruiting class since the Holtz era, while adding eight transfers, including a pair of coveted defensive tackles to go with a couple of receivers from Ohio State.

Defensively, Notre Dame will return its top nine players from last season by snap count. It will also add transfers Francis Brewu (Pitt - interior lineman) and DJ McKinney (Colorado - cornerback) adding an additional 1,100 snaps from last year. Of this experienced group, it is anticipated that up to six could be drafted after the season. 

Leonard Moore is regarded as the best cornerback in the country - he is basically the J Love equivalent on defense. Pair him with Tae Johnson, Adon Shuler, Christian Gray (moving to nickel) and McKinney, and the Irish will have the best secondary in the country. Additionally, this will be the best defensive line of Freeman’s tenure. Likely first round pick Boubacar Traore, paired with Bryce Young and a slew of interior linemen will make both the talent and depth of this unit the envy of the entire B1G and SEC.  Led by Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa (starting season injured) and Drayk Bowen, the Irish have five linebackers that also could be considered the best unit in the country.

In short, the defense this year will be insanely good.

Offensely, according to ESPN’s Todd McShay, CJ Carr was the best QB at this past summer’s Manning Passing Camp, which also included a certain QB from Texas. Calling Carr a Heisman Trophy favorite might feel like a reach, but he has all the tools to command Notre Dame’s offense in a way no quarterback has done since Brady Quinn.

The biggest question mark for the offense revolves around the loss of Love and Price, both NFL first rounders — could the running game be a trap door for the Irish? Aneyas Williams and Nolan James look to fill at least a part of the hole left. The receivers are expected to be better this season, with Jordan Faison again leading the pack, however there are a lot of question marks behind him. Notre Dame didn’t spend in the portal to get Quincy Porter (injured) and Mylan Graham from Ohio State because it felt great about its returning talent, with a big unknown being the level of input that can be expected by Jaden Greathouse. Additionally, very uncharacteristically, tight end may be the weakest unit on this side of the ball, adding further questions about both short yardage and the red zone passing game which befuddled the Irish last season. While reshuffled, the offensive live, led by tackle moved to guard Antoine Knapp, promises to be one of the best units in the country with a two-deep as good as any team in the country.

Special Teams—Last year’s extra point wild ride should be resolved with the addition of Spencer Porath from Purdue. He is 41 of 41 on PATs and 22 of 28 in field goals throughout his career, making him, perhaps the most important transfer acquisition. The new tradition of an Aussie punter continues with Jasper Scaife from West Perth joining the squad. At 6’-6”, 215lbs he may be mistaken for a linebacker.

Schedule

The recent annual tradition of ND opening against a power team on the road continues against Wisconsin at Lambeau Field. Unlike the last few years, the opponent will not be a playoff contender. In full, the schedule this year has a lot of empty calories. The Irish won’t face a team coming off a season with less than eight losses until mid-October when they travel to Utah to face BYU, giving them the chance to ease into the season. Then again, Northern Illinois and Marshall….

While ND is favored in every game this season, and ESPN gives them the highest likelihood to finish undefeated, there are three games of note that may cause some heartburn - BYU, SMU, and Miami. The latter two are at home in November.

Resources

For those who don’t like the “new” era of college football where players get paid, ND is not the team for you. According to multiple media reports, the cost of Notre Dame’s roster is estimated to be between $40 and $48 million, making it one of the top ten payrolls in college football (according to John Bryce of USA Today, there are a half a dozen teams with payrolls exceeding $50MM). Long gone are the days of tuition and books.

The season

Like never before, all of ND’s chips are on the table. While it may take a little time for the offense to find a rhythm, it promises to be explosive. The defense may challenge ND’s 2012 squad that allowed just 10.3 points per game during the regular season. Depending on where you look, ND is preseason ranked between #1 and #5 across the board.

All signs point to this being the season that the 38-year Natty drought ends! The tidbits staff projects an 11-1 regular season with a trip to Las Vegas in late January. 

Those are your Thursday Tidbits - Preseason Edition

Stay thirsty, my friends.

Go Otters and Go Irish!

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