Hey Horka! Who are two Notre Dame freshmen who can unexpectedly break out?

With less than two weeks until the start of Notre Dame fall camp, this edition of the Hey Horka! BlueandGold.com message board mailbag column takes a look at two freshmen who can surprise in their first season. Plus, many more questions answered about Notre Dame football.

Who are an offensive and defensive freshman who can unexpectedly break out like Benjamin Morrison did last year? — NotreDame1188

I feel like Jaden Greathouse is expected at this point so I’ll give you an offensive name in addition to him … I think Braylon James is not getting enough external love in that freshman wide receiver contingent. It was Rico Flores Jr. this and Jaden Greathouse that in the spring, and rightfully so, but I believe Freeman when he says James might have the highest upside of any of the freshman wideouts. On defense, give me Preston Zinter. I really loved what I saw in the Blue-Gold Game, and his has the physical makeup of a dude who just does not look like a freshman. At all.

Who scores the first touchdown of the season for Notre Dame? — Cole23

The safe answer is Audric Estimé but much like the Blue-Gold Game, I think Notre Dame comes out swinging with a new and improved passing offense led by quarterback Sam Hartman. It’s going to be Jayden Thomas.

What concerned you about Marcus Freeman running fall camp last year? What issues did you see that are hopefully addressed this year? — arrowfan624

I was worried he was going to feel like he needed to be in multiple places at once which is, um, impossible. And it felt that way watching him roam around the fields. Brian Kelly hardly ever strayed away from the offense. He was in the quarterbacks’ and receivers ears’ constantly. That’s a new world for Freeman, but it seemed like he did more of it in the spring than he did last fall.

It helps having quarterbacks coach Gino Guidugli around to be an extra voice for the most important player(s) on the roster, but I do really think there is something to the head coach being there too. Nick Saban is a defensive guy, but he’s had great working relationships with all of his quarterbacks over the years. In addition to that, the article I wrote on Freeman’s “intentionality,” as Notre Dame athletics director Jack Swarbrick called it, is a big improvement as well.

What are two or three things Freeman should be doing differently? — JohnsonBadMiles

I think the newness and “coolness” factor that simply came with the fact of him being the coach at Notre Dame has worn off in recruiting, so there are some changes he could make on that front. What are they? I don’t know. He’s making the big bucks. But something clearly has to change if he wants to reel in more big fish. Is it a byproduct of things out of his control, like NIL and facilities? Perhaps.

I think he could be a little angrier at times too. I realize that’s not who he is, but I saw something in a recruiting camp in June that peaked my interest. He seemed genuinely upset when a player wasn’t doing something as simple as bending all the way down to touch a cone during an agility drill. You never really see him light a fire under players in practices. Maybe that changes this fall. If he was willing to do it to a high school kid he doesn’t know from Adam, he should be able to do it to the guys he’s been working with for going on three years now in addition to the guys he handpicked as recruits.

Will a star emerge in the Notre Dame wide receiver room, or will there just be an overall general improvement? — Iferr21

General improvement. I stand by my prediction that Jayden Thomas will lead the group in most of the major categories, but he’s not going to light college football on fire. I predict a Kevin Austin Jr.-ish season from 2021. Upward of 50 catches, 900 yards and 7-10 touchdowns. I think the difference is we will see a couple more 500-plus yard receivers. A Notre Dame receiver did not have 400-plus yards last year. Wake Forest had five with 500-plus. So the safe bet is Thomas. The dark horse is Tobias Merriweather. Watch him go from one catch for 41 yards to 30-40 for 500 yards this season. It’s possible.

Who will be the top three receivers for Notre Dame this year? Who will lead in sacks? — Happynd

Jayden Thomas, Deion Colzie, Jaden Greathouse.
Jordan Botelho.

What position group will be surprisingly good this year? What position group will not meet expectations? — Slevmania

Surprise, in a good way: the safeties. I think either Ramon Henderson or Ben Minich, even as a freshman, will break out at the free safety spot. I like the addition of Antonio Carter at strong safety. I think Xavier Watts can be good there too. If not for the injury, I was curious to see if Adon Shuler could get some freshman snaps.

Surprise, in a bad way: the offensive line. This is two-fold; the expectations are always incredibly high at Notre Dame, so it’s difficult to meet them in any year. And if the offensive guard situation is not figured out, it can collapse the entire interior of the offensive line. Zeke Correll is not good enough to make up for subpar play around him. He’s at his best when he doesn’t have to worry about the guards next to him missing assignments. If the guards go down, Correll goes down with them. At that point, there is only so much Joe Alt and Blake Fisher can do as bookend tackles.

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