What we know about the Notre Dame offense prior to fall camp
Notre Dame’s offense will take the practice field this week looking very different from the 2022 version. It’s up to new offensive coordinator Gerad Parker to make sure everything clicks in time for an Aug. 26 date with Navy at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland.
Here is what you should know about the Irish offense before fall camp begins.
Notre Dame’s receiver room is wide open
With Sam Hartman only in South Bend for one season, Notre Dame isn’t going to concern itself with burning redshirts or keeping veterans happy. The best four or five receivers will play.
The Irish have nine receivers on scholarship entering this season. Every one of them has a shot to see the field. Jayden Thomas seems like the only safe bet to start, solidifying his status with a strong Blue-Gold game, but the rest of the depth chart might be up in the air.
Is Tobias Merriweather ready to play full starters’ reps after a season in which he flashed his potential but wasn’t quite there yet? That would be fantastic for the Irish, but if he isn’t, they have to be prepared with other options, too. Ditto Chris Tyree learning a new position and Deion Colzie trying to stay healthy and show he can be a complete player.
If freshmen Jaden Greathouse, Rico Flores Jr. and Braylon James build on strong springs and understand the playbook, they almost certainly will not redshirt. Even summer enrollee KK Smith (most know him as Kaleb, but he’s listed on Notre Dame’s roster as KK), if he shows something right away, can’t be ruled out. Former walk-on Matt Salerno could absolutely be a factor, too, if he and Hartman have some chemistry.
The battle to earn targets from Hartman will be fascinating to watch throughout fall camp, and it’s entirely possible the group will look very different in November than it does in August.
The interior offensive line could make or break Notre Dame’s season
For all of Hartman’s strengths, the one thing he probably won’t do is escape interior pressure. He will step up in the pocket to avoid an edge rusher, but if someone comes right up the middle and forces him off of his spot, he’s probably going down.
This is the case for two reasons. First, Hartman isn’t a statue — he’s fully capable of picking up a first down on a zone read when Notre Dame needs one and the defense is keying in on Audric Estimé — but he’s not an elite athlete. And second, Hartman keeps his eyes downfield, looking for open receivers.
That’s great when he’s well-protected (you might hear talk about quarterbacks “seeing ghosts,” or bailing clean pockets when they shouldn’t; Hartman won’t do that). When he’s not, it means he probably won’t see a free rusher up the middle until it’s too late.
Likewise, Estimé is really good at bouncing a play outside when his planned route is closed off, but that can’t be the plan every time. With Jarrett Patterson and Josh Lugg gone, someone needs to step up at guard this fall, or the uncertainty at the position could blow up the entire operation.
Sam Hartman raises the floor and the ceiling
If you’re sensing a theme here — everything revolves around Hartman — that’s kind of the point. He proved himself in five years at Wake Forest to be one of the better quarterbacks in college football, and the Irish hope he’ll be the piece that puts them over the top against a frankly brutal schedule.
It has been a while since Notre Dame had the quarterback play to credibly compete with the top teams in college football. The Ohio State and USC games from this past season are great examples. In the former, Notre Dame’s defense admirably kept a still-developing Buckeyes offense at bay for the first half, but when Ohio State started scoring, Tyler Buchner and the Irish offense couldn’t do the same.
In the latter, Drew Pyne and company just couldn’t keep up with Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams. Ideally for Notre Dame, Hartman’s experience winning shootouts at Wake Forest will translate to South Bend. And with Estimé, Joe Alt and Blake Fisher being as good they are, the combination of Notre Dame’s air and ground attacks could be as difficult to defend as anyone’s. That’s the ceiling element.
Regarding the floor: Hartman, Notre Dame believes, will be too good at the most important position in sports to lose low-scoring games to the likes of Marshall and Stanford. This season, the Irish have several games, particularly on the road, in which they will likely be favored but will lose if they don’t play well. North Carolina State, Duke and Louisville are not slouches.
With good, consistent quarterback play, the rest of the team is allowed to play its B game for one week and still escape with a win. That was not the case in 2022.
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