Brian Kelly Breaks Down Key Depth Chart Decisions, Players Who Won Jobs

Notre Dame’s first depth chart of 2021 is out.

After three weeks of training camp access, including two fully open practices, there were few surprises on it. Seeing a player take first-team reps in several August practices is usually a sign he’s going to start or be a weekly presence. Sure enough, the players who were first-teamers throughout camp but had not been formally named starters showed up atop their position on the two-deep.

Kevin Austin Jr. and Braden Lenzy are the starting outside receivers, unsurprisingly. Cam Hart is the boundary cornerback. Houston Griffith is the strong safety. The offensive line is set as expected: left tackle Blake Fisher, left guard Zeke Correll, center Jarrett Patterson, right guard Cain Madden, right tackle Josh Lugg.

JD Bertrand is the starter at Will linebacker, replacing Marist Liufau, who suffered a season-ending lower leg injury in Wednesday’s practice.

The one unsettled spot is rover, where Jack Kiser, Paul Moala and Isaiah Pryor were listed with an “or” between their names. Kiser was the most frequent first-team rover in camp, though.

Head coach Brian Kelly dove into a few of those depth chart decisions Monday, shortly after the two-deep was released.

Kelly named Patterson the starting center on the first day of camp, ending the possibility of a positional switch for Notre Dame’s lone returning full-time starter. Patterson will remain at the position where he started 21 games the last two seasons. Why? The best move for Notre Dame was no move for him.

“You start with the end in mind first, and that’s, ‘Why did you plant Patterson there?’” Kelly said. “Because he can influence both guards. The center can influence two guards we weren’t familiar with until we got a chance to see them. That’s Cain Madden, obviously. And we didn’t know what was going to happen at left guard.”

Notre Dame knows now, though. Zeke Correll is the starting left guard, a position he didn’t play in college until this month. He spent his first two seasons at center and started twice after Patterson suffered a season-ending foot injury last November.

The Irish’s tackle combination is a contrast in age. Fisher will be the first Notre Dame freshman lineman since 2006 to start an opener. Lugg, a fifth-year senior with eight career starts, is the right tackle.

Kelly named Lugg a starter in early August. Fisher’s designation as the No. 1 left tackle was inevitable and a possibility that first arose in spring practice, when he began playing with the first-team offense.

“Lugg on the right side has great experience and blends in there, “Kelly said. “And then Blake Fisher, who’s a separate entity and unusual character himself who can go in there and press play at such a young age.”

Notre Dame mixed and matched the offensive line combinations of its first day of camp, but settled into the current front five soon after. No backup stood out to the point of forcing a switch, and no starter performed poorly enough to warrant a demotion. The continuity has birthed a desired byproduct: cohesion and comfort.

“I think we’re getting much more comfortable up front with the personnel on the offensive line,” Kelly said. “We lost some really good players, but we’re getting to the point of feeling comfortable with how that group is working together.”

Notre Dame’s tri-starters (or lack of a starter, perhaps) seem less about having a few uninspiring options and much more about wanting to involve all three. The rover position will be different this year than the last two because it doesn’t have one player who can perform all its duties with aplomb.

Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah could play as a traditional in-the-box linebacker, nickel back and edge rusher. He was a second-round pick because of that versatility and the athleticism that begot it. Notre Dame, though, still wants to use the rover as an every-down player. To do so, it will have to mix-and-match skill sets and substitute. Kelly feels Notre Dame has the depth of talent to do it without a drop-off when any of the three primary rovers is in the game.

“Jack has done really well,” Kelly said. “Pryor has had a really good camp, as has Paul Moala. I would say all three have impressed us. Expect to see all three of them play.”

Kiser has earned most of the first-team work since the spring — an indication he may play the majority of the snaps between that trio. He played the most 2020 defensive snaps among them as well.

“Jack has done a really good job in terms of learning the position,” Kelly said. “There’s a lot of learning at that position. We ask him to do a lot more than just contain the football. He has to play coverage, be involved in the run fits. He has to play some man-to-man. That position requires a lot.”

Designating Liufau as a starter was a formality until his injury. He was a consistently disruptive presence in practice and appeared on track for a breakout year.

But naming Bertrand his replacement was hardly a shock either. Recent practice viewings established him as the No. 2 Will linebacker. If the list of August risers started with Liufau, Bertrand wasn’t far behind.

The junior from Georgia was the No. 3 middle linebacker in 2020. He appeared to be in that same role this spring. Even a month ago, picturing a 2021 role for him beyond special teams was difficult. In college football, though, life comes at you fast. Bertrand’s sudden reliability might soften the blow from losing Liufau.

“Outstanding production,” Kelly said. “Tough, smart, assignment-correct, athletic. He has all the tools to play at a high level at that position. We lose a very versatile player in Marist, there’s not doubt, but Bertrand is an outstanding player as well. It’s next man up in that situation.”

Griffith is atop the depth chart, but defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman indicated earlier this month the No. 2 strong safety will remain involved. That’s officially D.J. Brown, last year’s primary nickel back.

Both competed for this job in 2020 before Notre Dame moved sixth-year senior cornerback Shaun Crawford into it as a one-year stopgap solution. Their up-and-down play in 2020 revealed why Crawford was the choice.

The Irish feel differently about Griffith and Brown a year later. Kelly has communicated trust in them to handle an important position that will get a lot of attention from offenses.

“It’s pretty apparent that where Kyle Hamilton is going to be, most people are not going to be,” Kelly said. “That position is crucial relative to getting the ball on the ground. It’s a tackling position. Those guys have to tackle. They’ve both had really good camps. You’re going to see both playing. They’re going to be on notice because most teams know where Hamilton is and attack both of those guys. I think they’re up to the task.”

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