Fiesta Bowl presents Notre Dame freshmen a chance to spring into 2022
How many starting offensive lines participating in the postseason can say they're bookended by true freshmen at both tackle spots? Probably not many. Notre Dame's can.
Graduate senior quarterback Jack Coan's college career comes to a close against Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl on Saturday (1 p.m. ET, ESPN). Tasked with protecting the veteran signal caller against the nation's No. 1 defense in total sacks, freshmen tackles Joe Alt and Blake Fisher will be putting a bow on their first season at this level.
Their paths to starting in this game were vastly different and in a way completely interconnected. Many more freshmen on Notre Dame's roster are positioned to play a meaningful role Saturday because of similar circumstances at their respective positions.
Fisher started the season opener at Florida State but sustained a knee injury in that game. He hasn't played a single snap since but is in line to start Saturday because senior right tackle Josh Lugg suffered a knee injury of his own during bowl prep. Had Fisher never gotten injured, the revelation of Alt as a better than average starter at left tackle likely would have never occurred.
It worked out. Now Notre Dame has two rising superstars getting reps on a big stage.
"He will be good to go, and he's dominating," senior center Jarrett Patterson said. "The biggest thing I told Blake is, he's got to communicate out there. It's been a while since he's played. But he's been doing a great job in practice, his preparation, and he will be ready."
Alt's time was coming. But like many other players on the offensive side of the ball, it came much sooner because of an evolving situation on the depth chart. Take wide receiver Lorenzo Styles, for instance. He's slated to make his fourth consecutive start at slot receiver because senior captain Avery Davis was lost for the season with a torn ACL on Nov. 6.
Alt, Fisher and Styles are Notre Dame's only freshmen starters, but the Irish have six other freshmen listed as No. 2 options at their positions on the two-deep — and that doesn't even include quarterback Tyler Buchner who is almost guaranteed to see the field in Glendale, Ariz., for at least a few snaps. Buchner is listed as essentially a "2B" QB behind sophomore Drew Pyne.
The consensus seems to be Buchner could easily be QB1 by the end of next offseason.
"When he throws in the game, he has confidence and he can make throws," senior wide receiver Kevin Austin Jr. said. "He makes throws in practice that I'm shocked about. So I know that he can do it in the game."
Freshman running back Logan Diggs became a weekly commodity after sophomore Chris Tyree worked through a turf toe injury. Junior Kyren Williams opted out of the bowl game, so now Tyree and Diggs are essentially co-starters.
That's five freshmen — Alt, Fisher, Styles, Buchner and Diggs — who will have their fingerprints all over Saturday's game. And they'll have their fingerprints all over winter workouts, spring practices and everything else that leads into the 2022 season.
Wide receivers Deion Colzie and Jayden Thomas as well as linebacker Prince Kollie could contribute against Oklahoma State too. If nothing else, they're three of the other two-deep freshmen who are key building blocks for Marcus Freeman's first full season as head coach.
Freeman doesn't have to go out of his way to get his youthful players looks Saturday either. It happened naturally over the course of a 12-game regular season, and it'll happen naturally once more in Glendale.
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