Keys to the Season: Notre Dame Fighting Irish
By Stiofán Mac Fhilib
With the College Football season on the horizon and the hopefully a full schedule awaiting us in 2021, we start to look at the teams most likely to feature at the sharp end of things. We hope to give you a brief look at a handful of hot topics that could dictate the success of their year.
Reloading or rebuilding? That is the ultimate key to Notre Dame’s 2021 season. For those around the school, which has gone 43-8 in the last four years, reaching the playoffs twice on the back of a pair of unbeaten regular seasons in 2018 and 2020, Brian Kelly and his staff have built the program up to the point where he can now expect to reload each summer.
Many other observers, looking at a team that lost nine players to the 20212 NFL draft and five more to undrafted free agency, and that will have a new signal caller in Tallahassee on the Sunday night of Week 1, expect a rebuilding season and a step back.
The Irish have won their last 24 home games and Kelly has an excellent record in recent years against less talented opposition. However, a six week stretch in September/October with a neutral field game against Wisconsin, home games against Cincinnati, USC and North Carolina, as well as trip to Virginia Tech, is where the direction of the campaign will ultimately be decided.
New Starter Under Center - Upgrade, Or Step Backwards?
New Orleans Saints QB Ian Book set the record in South Bend for the most wins as a Notre Dame QB; no mean feat given some his illustrious predecessors, including a few Heisman Trophy winners. He may not go on to emulate previous ND Super Bowl-winning QB’s like Theismann or Montana, but he was a very good college quarterback whose ability to make plays with his legs will be greatly missed this Fall.
And that’s the crux of ND’s situation under center. Just how much will Jack Coan’s ability to hang in the pocket and make plays down the field, especially over the middle – Book’s greatest weakness – overcome his inability to extend plays with his feet? Notre Dame fans can expect a few more sacks from the less mobile former Wisconsin starter, but with one of the leading TE’s in the country in sophomore Michael Mayer at his disposal, he should be significantly better in the intermediate passing games.
He will also have two RB’s in Kyren Williams and Chris Tyree, who are both effective carrying the football and catching it out of the backfield. The expectation is that the Irish will feature 21 personnel more often than they did in 2020 to take advantage of their skillsets.
Experienced Wide Receivers Need To Finally Produce
With the Running Back and Tight End positions solid, the next biggest question mark on offense for some is the Offensive Line. But despite seeing three 2020 starters picked in the first three rounds of the 2021 NFL Draf,t and another sign as an Undrafted Free Agent, the OL has been the biggest position of strength for the team in the last decade. Coach Jeff Quinn has experienced and talented replacements ready, including a pair of pre-season All-Americans in Jarrett Patterson and graduate transfer from Marshall, Cain Madden.
The bigger question mark is around the WRs. Javon McKinley and Ben Skowronik, the 2020 starters, have both moved on, but neither were originally envisaged to play those roles. Kevin Austin and Braden Lenzy are the best two receivers on paper and are more than capable of improving the WR performance on the field over last season. The biggest problem, between injuries and suspensions, has been getting them onto the field in the first place, and then keeping them there.
Behind them, Joe Wilkins Jr and Avery Davis have experience, and redshirt sophomore Xavier Watts is a big play threat, while the incoming freshman class has talent but tends not to be utilised much under Kelly.
Kyle Hamilton, And Who?
On defense the D-Line is the strength of the team with excellent quality and depth. Isaiah Foskey is expected to shine at defensive end, and redshirt sophomore Jordan Botelho is someone to look out for, either for violent sacks or personal fouls. Or both…
The Linebacker position, which is coached by new Defensive Coordinator Marcus Freeman, is solid but the biggest questions remain in the secondary. 6’4”, 219lbs pre-season All-World Safety Kyle Hamilton is the big name on the back end of the defense, but how well the unit performs overall will depend on how the supporting cast around him hold up.
Houston Griffith, a highly ranked recruit, has rotated between S and CB to the detriment of his ability to nail down one spot. He was set to transfer out back in January until the new DC persuaded him to take a fresh start. If he can live up to his potential then that would be a big step towards another highly ranked defense in 2021.
Cornerback is arguably the weakest position and this is where the new Freeman will earn his money. Interestingly the CB coach Mike Mickens, like Freeman, also came to ND from Cincinnati a couple of years ago, so he knows the new DC and his scheme very well.
Senior Tariq Bracy is the most experienced CB but his confidence fell off a cliff in 2020 and he was replaced by freshman Clarence Lewis. Cam Hart will compete for the other spot but Freeman has made it clear he wants to play three CB’s in his nickel package. And with a plethora of freshman DBs, the expectation is that some will find their way into the two-deep and on to the field at stages.
Stiofán Mac Fhilib
College Football Analyst
A very long-distance subway alumnus of Notre Dame, County Antrim-based Stiofán has been a fan of The Fighting Irish since 2000. Follow him on Twitter @SMacFhilib.