Notre Dame Football: Training Camp Primer

Notre Dame begins its seventh training camp on Aug. 6 under coach Brian Kelly with high expectations.

Kelly will meet with the media on Friday, Aug. 5, to preview the start of practice. The team will then travel that afternoon to the Culver Military Academy, about 40 miles south of campus, and hold practices there from Aug. 6 through Wednesday Aug. 10.

The opening practice (Aug. 6) is open to the media, and will also include interviews with the main players on the team. The rest of the practices at Culver Military Academy will be closed, with no interviews afterwards.

The team is expected to return to campus on Thursday, Aug. 11. Kelly will meet with the media again. Select players will be made available for interviews the following day.

According to Notre Dame, the remaining preseason schedule will be finalized this week.

What should fans expect from training camp? Here's a primer for Notre Dame’s preseason practices leading to the Sept. 4 season-opener at Texas.

The obvious position to watch in August will be quarterback, with junior DeShone Kizer and senior Malik Zaire battling for the starting job.

"The preseason is where they have to decide who the starting quarterback is," Kelly said in an exclusive interview with Blue & Gold Illustrated last month. "I just wanted to be fair to both of them, and now they will decide who will be the starting quarterback. I won’t."

Several other offensive positions will be up for grabs, including top running back (Josh Adams or Tarean Folston) slot receiver (C.J. Sanders or Corey Holmes), right guard (Hunter Bivin or Colin McGovern) as well as the blocking tight end role, a battle between Tyler Luatua and Jacob Matuska.

Defensively, watch for the battle between weakside defensive ends Jay Hayes and Andrew Trumbetti, free safety — a position that could be won by freshman Devin Studstill over senior Max Redfield, and will linebacker: Greer Martini, Te’Von Coney or Asmar Bilal

"We have to see what Te’von can do in camp," Kelly said. "He was out this spring with an injury, and that set him back. He gets a shot, Asmar gets a shot, and Greer Martini [also sidelined in spring because of shoulder surgery] will have a shot as well."

The Irish could use some help from freshman defensive end Daelin Hayes, a 6-foot-3, 257-pound former five-star prospect who has the raw talent to play as a freshman. His skillset could be useful in improving a pass rush that tallied just 25 sacks last season, ranking 75th in FBS at 1.92 per game.

Studstill, a 6-foot, 190-pounder, was an early enrollee this spring at free safety and could push Redfield during the preseason.

Freshman receiver Kevin Stepherson is also in the mix to see playing time this fall after having a successful spring semester as an early enrollee.

Here’s a look at where the Fighting Irish are ranked by the five major preseason publications:

Athlon Sports: No. 8

ESPN The Magazine: No. 9

Lindy’s Sports: No. 11

Phil Steele: No. 9

Sporting News: No. 10

Managing those expectations this season will be the key. After coming up just short in their bid for the College Football Playoff last season, Notre Dame will again make a run at ending its national championship drought.

Sept. 4: at Texas
Sept. 10: Nevada
Sept. 17: Michigan State
Sept. 24: Duke
Oct. 1: Syracuse (at Metlife Stadium)
Oct. 8: at North Carolina State
Oct. 15: Stanford
Oct. 22: BYE
Oct. 29: Miami
Nov. 5: Navy (in Jacksonville)
Nov. 12: Army (in San Antonio)
Nov. 19: Virginia Tech
Nov. 26: at USC

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