Five Final Thoughts On The Top 25 Most Important Notre Dame Fighting Irish Football Players List

The BlueandGold.com top 25 most important players countdown ended Sunday with junior safety Kyle Hamilton in the No. 1 spot. It started with kicker Jonathan Doerer at No. 25 and, all told, included 13 offensive players, 11 defenders and one specialist.

Here are five thoughts after reflecting on the rankings — my own and the final ones.

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1. Kevin Austin Jr. Was The Hardest To Rank

If you could guarantee an impact season from five players, senior receiver Kevin Austin Jr. should be on everyone’s list. He plays an important position in modern football. His team needs a go-to wide receiver to emerge. Notre Dame coaches and players still discuss him as a potential game-changer.

And yet, I understand why no one ranked him there. I slotted him at No. 7, the highest of our five voters. He was No. 9 in the final poll.

No one embodies the “if he hits, how much of a difference does he make?” part of our voting criteria more than the 6-2, 215-pound Austin. He will have every chance to be the No. 1 receiver. He’s tremendously physically gifted. He’s also a total enigma, with just two appearances since 2019, six career catches and a pair of foot fractures suffered in the last year.

He’s important, no doubt. If he doesn’t emerge, I have a hard time seeing Notre Dame’s receiving corps being appreciably different than 2020. But it’s a hard sell to go all-in and put him in the top five right now with his history. We have to see him produce first.

The final top five and everyone’s individual top five contain bankable assets who have proven themselves at Notre Dame or elsewhere (in quarterback Jack Coan’s case). Take any of them away, and Notre Dame has a massive production and talent hole. If Austin doesn’t emerge, Notre Dame technically loses nothing because he has hardly provided an impact so far.

The upside and opportunity made him a top-10 choice. The lack of certainty capped it, though.

2. What To Do At No. 1

Hamilton, Notre Dame’s most talented player and a projected top-10 NFL draft pick, was either first or second on everyone’s ballot.

Coan, the favorite to start at quarterback, was No. 3. He was as high as No. 1 but as low as seventh. Sophomore tight end Michael Mayer was the No. 2 player despite appearing higher than third just once (No. 2 on Steve Downey’s ballot).

I had Hamilton first and Coan second after going back and forth between the two for a while. I have zero issues with anyone ranking Coan first. He plays the game’s most important position. He’s an 18-game starter who went 10-4 at Wisconsin in 2019. Not every quarterback competition has a contestant with that kind of experience and success at the Power Five level.

But there’s not the same sense of certainty with him as there was with Ian Book last year. I think Coan will succeed if he starts, but he has to win the job. And graduate transfer quarterbacks aren’t a sure thing. Neither of those questions existed with Book a year ago, when he was the unanimous No. 1. That was enough for me to give Hamilton the top spot over Coan.

Hamilton is omnipresent and an impact player in his own right. Wherever he lined up last year, he made his presence known. Wherever first-year defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman uses him this year, he will do the same. He’s an All-American who would leave a big void if he’s absent.

Notre Dame’s defense also loses a star in linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. To me, most talented and most important mesh here when considering the quarterback situation.

3. How To View The Defensive Line

If you list reasons Notre Dame’s defense will remain strong, you can’t get past No. 2 without mentioning the defensive line. It will be at least nine players deep. It’s experienced and has upside.

Yes, Notre Dame could survive one absence because of its depth. At the same time, though, depth is a big reason why it’s such a strong unit. I included six defensive linemen in my top 25. Four made it, with defensive end Isaiah Foskey at No. 6, defensive end Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa 10th, nose tackle Kurt Hinish 13th and defensive tackle Jayson Ademilola 21st.

I didn’t take the approach of lowering them all because there’s a capable replacement. Some others did, namely Mike Singer. It’s logically sound, even if I went the opposite way.

Notre Dame could withstand an injury on the defensive line, but as long as the four starters are healthy, they’re going to play a lot of snaps. They’re not in those roles by mistake either. That’s a lot of time to impact the game — which we’ve seen them do.

4. Chris Tyree Might Be Too Low

Sophomore running back Chris Tyree’s workload potential is blocked by Kyren Williams, who’s not going anywhere. That will cap the ceiling for his 2021 season and his placement on our list (No. 20).

But that ranking might prove to be a bit conservative.

Even if he’s the No. 2 running back, there aren’t more than two proven explosive play generators on the roster. It’s hard to see how he’s not among Notre Dame’s five best playmakers this year. We know offensive coordinator Tommy Rees wants to involve him more.

Tyree is undeniably explosive. He averaged 6.8 yards per carry and was fourth in breakaway rate among running backs with at least 70 rushes.

Notre Dame wants to be explosive.

See the fit?

If the Irish do take a step there, Tyree figures to be involved and more critical to their success than some of those above him.

5. The Offensive Line Is Always Critical

All five 2020 offensive line starters made the top 25 because they were part of a unit that was expected to carry Notre Dame’s offense and be one of the nation’s best.

Five 2021 linemen made it despite just 31 total returning starts on the line, which is all but guaranteed to take a step back.

The takeaway is no matter the context, this is an important position. Notre Dame has two high-level running backs it wants to use. Elsewhere, Coan is best as a pocket passer and doesn’t have Book’s improvisation skills. He needs adequate protection, at minimum, for his strengths to shine.

Senior Jarrett Patterson, with 21 returning starts, was the highest ranked (No. 5). Beyond him, you can go any direction. The final poll had grad transfer guard Cain Madden seventh, freshman tackle Blake Fisher ninth, junior center Zeke Correll 15th and fifth-year senior tackle Josh Lugg 17th.

I went Patterson (sixth), Fisher (ninth), Madden (13th), Lugg (17th) and Correll (23rd). I have a feeling we might all look back and realize we under-ranked Lugg.