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With Notre Dame football’s annual Blue-Gold game happening tomorrow, there are plenty of questions that we’d all like to see somewhat being answered following the conclusion of spring practices.
The Irish won’t traditionally score the game, they’ve already announced how that will be, but that doesn’t change the fact that there are players and position battles that will have our attention. There are some obvious races that will have plenty of eyes, but there are more than just those that will be important for the coming season.
Find out below the five things that I’d like to see from Notre Dame on Saturday during its Blue-Gold Game.
The three-way battle between Steve Angeli, CJ Carr, and Kenny Minchey continues, without any of the having taken over the reigns so far this spring. Whoever gets the first snaps most likely has a leg-up, but that could change over the next months leading up to fall camp. My money is still on Angeli getting the start against Miami in the season opener, but plenty of things could happen before that game.
The last two years, the Irish have had an All-American leading the back-end of their defense, but Watts will now be moving on to the next level. There are plenty of intriguing names like Kennedy Urlacher, Luke Talich, Tae Johnson and Ben Minich, so it will be telling as to who takes over the vacated spot.
Unfortunately, transfer Malachi Fields hasn’t been able to practice with the team, but he is on campus. We all expect a breakout from Jaden Greathouse, but he has to become more consistent with his play. Another transfer, Will Pauling, brings a speed element to the group, but doesn’t have the stats that give you tons of hope.
Jordan Faison has been practicing with the team more while in lacrosse season, so he could be making more significant strides. True freshman Elijah Burress and Jerome Bettis Jr. have been making some noise, and the hope if that former top recruit Cam Williams takes a big leap forward in year two. This group has tons of talent, but is fairly unproven. If they can collectively make the quarterbacks job easier, this will turn out to be solid unit.
Joshua Burnham is solid but not spectacular, while Bryce Young brings plenty of excitement and talent. Jason Onye returning helps bolster the line, but it’s hard to expect much out of him. The health of Boubacar Traore and Jordan Botelho will be telling, but as we all saw last year, depth is important. With so many teams going with pass-heavy offenses, the Irish need multiple pass rushers so that the secondary can continue to play man-to-man. At least two players need to emerge from this group to give more confidence heading into the fall.
Again, injuries played a big role in what this unit looked like as the season wound down, with multiple players being dinged up by the end. The health of Ashton Craig and Anthonie Knapp will be in question, Guerby Lambert has been ruled out with an injury already. Where does Charles Jagusah line up, as the coaching staff has been experimenting with him at guard this spring. Aamil Wagner has right tackle locked up, and Billy Schrauth should have one of the guard spots as his. Every other spot is up in the air due to the injuries and lack of experience, but this group should still be very good in the fall.
This article originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire: Five things to watch during Notre Dame’s Blue-Gold Game
Continue reading...
The Irish won’t traditionally score the game, they’ve already announced how that will be, but that doesn’t change the fact that there are players and position battles that will have our attention. There are some obvious races that will have plenty of eyes, but there are more than just those that will be important for the coming season.
Find out below the five things that I’d like to see from Notre Dame on Saturday during its Blue-Gold Game.
A separation at quarterback
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The three-way battle between Steve Angeli, CJ Carr, and Kenny Minchey continues, without any of the having taken over the reigns so far this spring. Whoever gets the first snaps most likely has a leg-up, but that could change over the next months leading up to fall camp. My money is still on Angeli getting the start against Miami in the season opener, but plenty of things could happen before that game.
Who takes over for Xavier Watts?
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The last two years, the Irish have had an All-American leading the back-end of their defense, but Watts will now be moving on to the next level. There are plenty of intriguing names like Kennedy Urlacher, Luke Talich, Tae Johnson and Ben Minich, so it will be telling as to who takes over the vacated spot.
Wide receiver development
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Unfortunately, transfer Malachi Fields hasn’t been able to practice with the team, but he is on campus. We all expect a breakout from Jaden Greathouse, but he has to become more consistent with his play. Another transfer, Will Pauling, brings a speed element to the group, but doesn’t have the stats that give you tons of hope.
Jordan Faison has been practicing with the team more while in lacrosse season, so he could be making more significant strides. True freshman Elijah Burress and Jerome Bettis Jr. have been making some noise, and the hope if that former top recruit Cam Williams takes a big leap forward in year two. This group has tons of talent, but is fairly unproven. If they can collectively make the quarterbacks job easier, this will turn out to be solid unit.
Which defensive end emerges?
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Joshua Burnham is solid but not spectacular, while Bryce Young brings plenty of excitement and talent. Jason Onye returning helps bolster the line, but it’s hard to expect much out of him. The health of Boubacar Traore and Jordan Botelho will be telling, but as we all saw last year, depth is important. With so many teams going with pass-heavy offenses, the Irish need multiple pass rushers so that the secondary can continue to play man-to-man. At least two players need to emerge from this group to give more confidence heading into the fall.
Who will be the starters on the offensive line?
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Again, injuries played a big role in what this unit looked like as the season wound down, with multiple players being dinged up by the end. The health of Ashton Craig and Anthonie Knapp will be in question, Guerby Lambert has been ruled out with an injury already. Where does Charles Jagusah line up, as the coaching staff has been experimenting with him at guard this spring. Aamil Wagner has right tackle locked up, and Billy Schrauth should have one of the guard spots as his. Every other spot is up in the air due to the injuries and lack of experience, but this group should still be very good in the fall.
This article originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire: Five things to watch during Notre Dame’s Blue-Gold Game
Continue reading...
