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SOUTH BEND —Veteran offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock, entering year two of his third tour of duty at Notre Dame football, sees plenty of room for improvement.
“If you look at the way we played a year ago, details are missing all over the tape,” he said Friday after spring practice No. 5. “If we just fix that, the leap that we could make offensively is pretty good.”
Regardless of who wins the three-pronged quarterback competition to succeed Riley Leonard, Denbrock is expecting more from a revamped group of wide receivers. In particular, he wants to see the ball stay off the ground after the Irish dropped 26 passes in 16 games last season.
Seven of those drops were credited to Beaux Collins, the Clemson transfer now headed for a pro career, but six of them belonged to Jordan Faison, the two-sport star who is a rising junior.
In all, 12 different Notre Dame players dropped at least one pass in 2024. After ranking fourth nationally in receiving efficiency in 2023 (88.4 Pro Football Focus grade), Notre Dame dropped back to 53rd in FBS in that category (71.4) under first-year receivers coach Mike Brown.
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“We dropped the football way too much last year,” Denbrock said. “We have to make the plays. I don’t know if you’d call them ordinary plays, but the ones that are 100 out of 100, we need to be 100 out of 100. That comes with consistency in depth and route running.”
Virginia grad transfer Malachi Fields won’t enroll until June, but the ex-quarterback had just two drops last season (3.5% drop rate) after totaling six drops (9.4% drop rate) the year before.
Wisconsin grad transfer Will Pauling is limited this spring after underdoing foot surgery in January, but he’s determined to reverse a trendline that saw his drop rate jump from 8.8% in 2023 to 19.2% a year ago. Pauling had 17 combined drops in those seasons against 116 receptions.
LSU went from tied for 60th in FBS receiving efficiency (72.0) with 26 drops in 2022 to 12th in FBS with an 84.6 grade and 22 drops in 2023, Denbrock’s second running the offense.
“We were not very confident in anything we did in the passing game a year ago,” Denbrock said. “More than anything it’s just confidence and consistency in what you’re doing. That, I think, you’ll see take a huge leap into year two.”
And it’s not just the wideouts that need to sharpen their concentration among the skill positions.
“It comes down to focus and concentration as much as anything,” Denbrock said. “Finishing catches. You hear me yelling at them … ‘Catch the ball with your eyes. Finish the catch with your eyes.’ That’s a detail. You have to do that consistently.”
Mike Berardino covers Notre Dame football for the South Bend Tribune and NDInsider.com. Follow him on social media @MikeBerardino.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Dropped passes need to be curtailed, Notre Dame OC Mike Denbrock says
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“If you look at the way we played a year ago, details are missing all over the tape,” he said Friday after spring practice No. 5. “If we just fix that, the leap that we could make offensively is pretty good.”
Regardless of who wins the three-pronged quarterback competition to succeed Riley Leonard, Denbrock is expecting more from a revamped group of wide receivers. In particular, he wants to see the ball stay off the ground after the Irish dropped 26 passes in 16 games last season.
Seven of those drops were credited to Beaux Collins, the Clemson transfer now headed for a pro career, but six of them belonged to Jordan Faison, the two-sport star who is a rising junior.
In all, 12 different Notre Dame players dropped at least one pass in 2024. After ranking fourth nationally in receiving efficiency in 2023 (88.4 Pro Football Focus grade), Notre Dame dropped back to 53rd in FBS in that category (71.4) under first-year receivers coach Mike Brown.
Kevin Bauman: Notre Dame tight end reflects on Sugar Bowl moment, facing brother in 2025 opener
“We dropped the football way too much last year,” Denbrock said. “We have to make the plays. I don’t know if you’d call them ordinary plays, but the ones that are 100 out of 100, we need to be 100 out of 100. That comes with consistency in depth and route running.”
Virginia grad transfer Malachi Fields won’t enroll until June, but the ex-quarterback had just two drops last season (3.5% drop rate) after totaling six drops (9.4% drop rate) the year before.
Wisconsin grad transfer Will Pauling is limited this spring after underdoing foot surgery in January, but he’s determined to reverse a trendline that saw his drop rate jump from 8.8% in 2023 to 19.2% a year ago. Pauling had 17 combined drops in those seasons against 116 receptions.
LSU went from tied for 60th in FBS receiving efficiency (72.0) with 26 drops in 2022 to 12th in FBS with an 84.6 grade and 22 drops in 2023, Denbrock’s second running the offense.
“We were not very confident in anything we did in the passing game a year ago,” Denbrock said. “More than anything it’s just confidence and consistency in what you’re doing. That, I think, you’ll see take a huge leap into year two.”
And it’s not just the wideouts that need to sharpen their concentration among the skill positions.
“It comes down to focus and concentration as much as anything,” Denbrock said. “Finishing catches. You hear me yelling at them … ‘Catch the ball with your eyes. Finish the catch with your eyes.’ That’s a detail. You have to do that consistently.”
Mike Berardino covers Notre Dame football for the South Bend Tribune and NDInsider.com. Follow him on social media @MikeBerardino.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Dropped passes need to be curtailed, Notre Dame OC Mike Denbrock says
Continue reading...
