Notebook: Marty Biagi implies favorite in punt return competition

Asked about possible punt returners, the first name Notre Dame special teams coordinator Marty Biagi mentioned and the one he discussed the most was senior receiver Chris Tyree.

Tyree has been the No. 1 Notre Dame kick returner for three seasons, but he has never returned a punt in his career. Still, Biagi said Tyree has his attention and has done “a really good job” so far in fall camp.

“[Tyree is] really showing he can protect the ball,” Biagi said. “He wants to be the guy, which is exciting.”

Throughout fall, Biagi has seen Tyree catch punts not just to catch punts, catch punts while putting himself in realistic in-game situations. Hypothetically (Biagi did not give examples), Tyree might work on catching punts differently when he has space to run versus when he needs to make a fair catch.

Freshman receiver Jaden Greathouse, fellow freshman receiver Jordan Faison, sophomore cornerback Jaden Mickey and graduate receiver Matt Salerno are the other four candidates. But as of right now, smart money would be on Tyree catching the first punt of the season.

“There’s an intent that you see,” Biagi said. “He caught a ton of balls this summer, just to prove the point, ‘I want the opportunity to do this.’

As far as what Tyree brings to the table, Biagi noted his speed, which he can use to catch the ball and get upfield before the punt coverage gets to him. That could give Notre Dame precious extra yards in key situations throughout the season.

Biagi names four freshmen as core special teamers for Notre Dame

Biagi identified several players, many of them freshmen, who the Irish see as core special teamers for the 2023 season.

Freshman linebackers Drayk Bowen and Jaiden Ausberry are two of the players Biagi expects to help on special teams in Year 1. If Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman decides to give freshman receivers Rico Flores Jr. and Greathouse the green light to burn their redshirts — and everything anyone has seen says he will — they should contribute there, too.

Flores stood out in a special teams drill during Thursday’s practice with a textbook block against freshman cornerback Christian Gray. He was working as a gunner with the punt team Tuesday evening, too.

That list, as Byagi made sure to point out, is incomprehensive.

“We feel like we’re in a good spot,” Biagi said. “There are some young guys, and I’m not going to remember them all, which is a great problem to have.”

Biagi also singled out graduate defensive back Thomas Harper and senior cornerback Clarence Lewis as veterans who can make an impact on special teams. Byagi did not mention them, but graduate linebackers Marist Liufau, Jack Kiser and JD Bertrand, graduate safety DJ Brown and senior safety Ramon Henderson practiced with the first-team punt coverage Tuesday evening.

Asked how he identified freshman receivers like Flores and Greathouse as core special teamers, Byagi said that they, and these are his words, know ball.

“It helped that they were here this spring, because they know offense, they know ball,” Byagi said. “As an incoming freshman, it’s really so many situations. It’s not so much, ‘Hey, can you just line up as a gunner?’ You have to learn all the offensive playbook or even defensive playbook, but there’s so many special teams situations that you only get limited time to cover.”

Byagi said there are some freshmen who will help out on special teams, but only for four games so they can preserve their redshirts. He called players like that “Core Four Starters.” Notre Dame will have a much better idea who they are after the Irish scrimmage next week.

Shrader having successful camp, but Irish working to ‘fine-tune’ technique

Notre Dame graduate kicker Spencer Shrader is having what Biagi described as a great camp. He will be the starting Irish placekicker and, as of right now, kickoff specialist. Shrader kicked off 63 times this past season for South Florida in 2022, producing 50 touchbacks.

Biagi didn’t rule out further competition between Shrader and returning kickoff specialist sophomore Zac Yoakam, who kicked off 78 times with 49 touchbacks. But he said if the season began today, Shrader would be the guy.

As far as kicking field goals, Notre Dame is still trying to fine-tune Shrader’s game before the season, but the Irish like where he’s at.

“We’re working on a couple of different things on his technique, because we really just want a clean ball path,” Biagi said. “People always ask, ‘Well, what’s the kicker’s range?’ Well, to me, [it] doesn’t matter what range is if it’s not consistent from that range. So [it’s about] knowing that we can consistently hit that really good ball, and then knowing where our landmark is.”

Shrader is a career 68.3 percent kicker, but his single-season high is 84.6 percent.

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