Hey Horka! How Notre Dame OC Gerad Parker can pass his first season test

This edition of the Hey Horka! BlueandGold.com message board mailbag column commences with what to watch for from Notre Dame offensive coordinator Gerad Parker in his first season on the job. It continues by answering many more questions from BlueandGold.com subscribers about Fighting Irish football.

What does Gerad Parker have to show you to earn your praise? Is there a statistical threshold of some sort or is it more of a ‘you know it when you see it’ kind of thing? — MVJ1120

It’s mostly a “you know it when I see it” type of deal, but there are certain statistics that matter more than others. I think red zone efficiency matters a whole lot, for example. And just getting into the red zone matters, too. Give yourself more opportunities to score. Look at my recent “50 days until Notre Dame football” article. Notre Dame was very average at getting into the red zone. Yards per play is also a big one. Every team that made the College Football Playoff in 2022 was in the top 17 nationally in yards per play. Ohio State was No. 1. Georgia was No. 4. Those two teams played a powerhouse thriller in the semifinals. Notre Dame was 45th.

As far as just passing the eye test, that can be answered situationally. What does Notre Dame do on third and fourth downs? Not just did the Irish make the line to gain or not, but how did they try to do so? How does the offense respond to a three and out? Does it let them snowball? How does the offense start a game? React to the opponent sustaining a long drive or making a big play? Is there nuance to the playcalling? RPOs? Misdirection? Trickery when necessary?

He’s under a microscope this season, whether it’s fair or not.

What is the best way to use the graduate student linebacker trio of Marist Liufau, JD Bertrand and Jack Kiser? — jrp3

There needs to be more of a rotation. It seems with each passing day more and more people are on message board with the idea that Kiser played the best of the three. He also played the fewest snaps. That might have been due to injury, but he was still very effective in a more limited role. I’d start thinking about putting Jaylen Sneed on the field more to spell Liufau. Put Nolan Ziegler or Drayk Bowen on the field to give Bertrand more breathers. Jaiden Ausberry and Preston Zinter might be ready for some run too. I think some of the problems can be solved by rotating the guys more frequently. So many people want Sneed and Ziegler — and, before he transferred, Prince Kollie — to totally take the reins from the older guys. Nah. Just let them rotate in more.

Have you heard of any intentional enhancements/changes to the Notre Dame game day experience that may provide a louder, more raucous home field advantage? — DeeWhy

I have not. But it’s funny you ask. This past week I was back home in Texas for a variety of reasons. Two siblings’ birthdays, the birth of my nephew and the Fourth of July. After a pool party for the holiday, my buddies and I all went inside and started watching some of the coolest college football stadium atmospheres. Georgia, Michigan, Texas A&M, Oregon, etc. Places from all over the country. Notre Dame never popped up on the screen, and there was a BlueandGold.com reporter in the room. Whether it’s a complete overhaul on what appears on the screen or the fans simply taking it upon themselves to be louder and better, or somewhere in the middle, there is no reason Notre Dame should not have one of the coolest stadium environments in the country. Right now, it just does not. And that is sad.

Where do you stand on the 2024 quarterback situation? — jrp3

I’d make it a three-way battle between Steve Angeli, Kenny Minchey and CJ Carr. At some point, you HAVE to recruit and develop one of your own. A third year in a four-year span of a one-year stopgap at a place like Notre Dame is not acceptable. Clemson is riding with a five-star redshirt freshman. Ohio State has a five-star redshirt sophomore. Teams that have been in the thick of the CFP race the last half decade always find a way to have their own guy. Notre Dame needs to do the same.

What’s the plan with Jaylen Sneed this season? — Hond92

I think Sneed gets a couple hundred snaps this season. He might not start a single game as long as there is not an injury to Marist Liufau or Jack Kiser, but he’s going to play 15-20 snaps a game.

Maybe the Prince Kollie transfer was a wakeup call to the coaching staff to give the young linebackers some run, or maybe it was a reason for them to double down and say, “You don’t like sitting behind a graduate student? Fine. Get gone.” We’ll see which it was. The Kollie situation could end up being an inflection point in hindsight.

We saw some deep throws to Jayden Thomas in the spring game, but I don’t see him as a consistent deep threat. Sam Hartman loves to throw the ball downfield. Who will emerge as his go-to guy? — Slevmania

Contrary to your opinion, I actually think the A.T. Perry comparison on this Notre Dame roster is Jayden Thomas. From watching all that Wake Forest film in the winter (if you remember, I watched every single one of Hartman’s throws and wrote an article on every game) Perry did not have blazing speed. But he was quick and strong enough to get open downfield. Thomas is that guy for Notre Dame.

Other downfield candidates are Deion Colzie and Tobias Merriweather. Shocker to see those guys as the spring starters considering the quarterback likes to throw the ball deep, right? I also have eyes on freshman Braylon James. Marcus Freeman really plays the “don’t forget about this guy” card with him a lot.

Will Steve Angeli get any meaningful snaps in the four games prior to Ohio State? — Del2210

Yes, against Tennessee State. And maybe even Navy. Not much to take away from playing against Tennessee State, but I think getting into the season opener and operating the offense for an entire quarter would be huge.

Outside of Sam Hartman, which newcomer will have the most impactful season? — EGIrish

Is it low hanging fruit to say Jaden Greathouse? Well I don’t care if it is. Because I’m going to say Jaden Greathouse.

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