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Friday Five: Handing out Notre Dame football midseason superlatives

The timing of Notre Dame’s open date allows for the typical off-week midseason assessments to arrive at, well, actual midseason.

No. 14 Notre Dame (5-1) has six games down and six games to go in the regular season, though there has been enough drama and plot twists for an entire year.

My colleague Tyler Horka has named midseason offensive and defensive MVPs this week. I dove into a few more superlatives at the midway mark.

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Most improved player: junior cornerback Cam Hart

Looking the part was never an issue for Cam Hart. He's 6-2½ and 205 pounds with ball skills from his days as a wide receiver. That’s a big reason Notre Dame gave him the first chance to replace Nick McCloud in the starting lineup. His physical traits were intriguing, but he was still an unknown after playing just 88 defensive snaps in his first two years.

Six games in, he has answered the call and filled one of Notre Dame’s most pressing holes entering the season. He has settled in at the field corner spot after beginning the year on the boundary. Wherever he plays, he’s Notre Dame No. 1 corner.

Hart has 22 tackles (fifth on the team), two interceptions and four passes broken up (tied for the team lead). He has played 365 snaps, which ranks fourth among Notre Dame defensive players. In coverage, Hart has allowed 14 completions on 37 targets – a 37.8 opponent completion percentage. That ranks eighth among 188 Football Bowl Subdivision cornerbacks with at least 150 coverage snaps. He is also one of Notre Dame’s better tacklers.

Hart’s two interceptions came against Wisconsin where he jumped in-breaking routes. He was called for pass interference the first time he tried to undercut a route against the Badgers. He wasn’t deterred, adjusted and jumped a dig route that same drive for his first career interception. He has also stood out in coverage near the goal line because he fights through pick plays and hangs with receivers on fades.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish football cornerback Cam Hart
Junior cornerback Cam Hart has broken up four passes this season. (Robert Franklin/AP)

Hart’s aggressiveness has hurt him a few times when he has bit on double-moves, though the opposing quarterback hasn’t always taken advantage of it. Wisconsin quarterback Graham Mertz never saw a receiver beat Hart on a double-move and threw elsewhere. Virginia Tech quarterback Braxton Burmeister overshot wide receiver Tré Turner after Turner shook Hart with a similar move.

Biggest surprise: freshman tackle Joe Alt

Notre Dame is starting a freshman at left tackle, just like expected to back in fall camp.

The specific player is not who they imagined, though.

Blake Fisher, a five-star recruit and the highest-ranked player in the Irish’s 2021 class, emerged as the favorite at left tackle by the end of spring practice and earned the opening-night start at Florida State. He left in the first half due to a meniscus injury that might keep him out for the rest of the year.

Notre Dame started sophomores Tosh Baker and Michael Carmody twice apiece over the next four games. Neither could nail down the job due to injuries and inconsistent play. The Irish finally turned to freshman Joe Alt, a three-star recruit and former tight end, as the starter at Virginia Tech on Oct. 9.

The 6-8, 305-pound Alt had played a bit role the prior few weeks as a rotational left tackle and blocking tight end. He built enough trust in those prior auditions to earn a start. If his play against the Hokies is any preview, he might not give up the job. After allowing up a sack on the first drive, he did not surrender a pressure the rest of the game. He played the second half versus Cincinnati and held his own until Notre Dame’s last possession.

Alt taking second-team reps at right tackle during fall camp felt like a good sign for 2022 and beyond. It turned out to be an indication that a player viewed as a likely redshirt candidate is far enough along in his development to be a Year 1 contributor.

Pro Football Focus has credited Alt with three pressures allowed in 69 snaps. He has a 70.2 run-blocking grade and 59.9 pass-blocking mark.

Most important: junior safety Kyle Hamilton

First-half team MVP. First-team All-American production. First-round draft prospect and a potential top-five pick. First among Irish defenders in snaps played (431) and interceptions (three).

Kyle Hamilton is Notre Dame’s most talented player, its most impactful and its most valuable. He was the No. 1 player in BlueandGold.com’s preseason ranking of Notre Dame’s top 25 most important players. He was not a unanimous choice then. With the Irish’s quarterback uncertainty now, though, there’s no other logical choice through six games.

Head coach Brian Kelly called the 6-4, 219-pound Hamilton an “eraser” earlier this year. That’s the most fitting and succinct description.

Hamilton has erased coverage breakdowns with his range, as his second interception in the opener vs. Florida State showed. He has wiped out running plays in the backfield using pure instinct and taken away receivers when matched up one-on-one with them. He even plays on punt teams and has downed a kick inside the 5-yard line.

It has not been a flawless year. Hamilton had a rough game in the home opener versus Toledo and allowed the first touchdown pass of his career in the 24-13 loss to Cincinnati Oct. 2. But the list of missteps is small.

Hamilton has 33 tackles (second on the team), 2.0 tackles for loss and four passes broken up this year (tied for first on the team). He has allowed just 13 catches on 27 targets (48.1 completion rate) for 147 yards.

Best position group: defensive line

Here’s one example of an offseason assumption that has aged well.

Notre Dame’s defensive line looked like its deepest and best unit during the spring game. Halfway through the season, it has been the Irish’s most consistent position group and the key to a disruptive defense.

At full health, Notre Dame plays nine or 10 linemen per game. The starters are impact players. The backups have flashed in their roles and impressed when an injury has required them to play more snaps.

Junior vyper Isaiah Foskey has taken the pass-rush leap expected of him. He has 19 quarterback pressures and a team-high 6.0 sacks. Graduate student Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa has 23 pressures in his first year as a defensive end. Graduate student nose tackle Kurt Hinish is a frequent backfield resident and space eater once again.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish football senior defensive tackle Jayson Ademilola
Senior defensive tackle Jayson Ademilola has a team-high 24 pressures this season. (Michael Conroy/AP)

Senior defensive tackle Jayson Ademilola might be the line’s most productive and disruptive player. His 28 tackles through six games are third behind only Hamilton and junior linebacker JD Bertrand (team-high 58). He leads all Irish defenders and is second among FBS interior linemen with 24 pressures.

The depth stands out too, though. It’s best illustrated by junior nose tackle Howard Cross III, who is not a starter despite possessing first-step quickness that Kelly said matches any defensive linemen in his tenure. Junior Jacob Lacey has been squeezed at times, but shined in his 25-snap role versus Wisconsin. Senior Justin Ademilola is the No. 2 vyper, but is tied for seventh on the team in splash plays even though he does not start.

(I track splash plays myself. They’re an expanded version of havoc plays: sacks, tackles for loss, forced fumbles, fumble recoveries, interceptions, passes broken up, third/fourth-down stops and goal-line tackles).

Best freshman: quarterback Tyler Buchner

Notre Dame doesn’t have a freshman star this season, but it has found several Year 1 role players from its 2021 class. Seven freshmen have played in meaningful moments during a game so far. Notre Dame had five freshmen on the field for one play against Virginia Tech.

Quarterback Tyler Buchner has made the biggest impact of them. Notre Dame’s quarterback situation is a puzzle with no clear map for fitting the pieces together, but when healthy, Buchner has been involved no matter the weekly vacillations. His first action came in Week 2 versus Toledo as a special-package quarterback. Notre Dame gave him an extended leash against Virginia Tech, though, and opened the playbook for him.

Buchner is a run-game boost. Notre Dame’s running backs average 1.9 more yards per carry with him in the game. He is the Irish’s second-leading rusher, with 167 yards on 26 carries (6.4 yards per rush). He has completed just 9 of 20 passes and thrown three interceptions, but is averaging 21.2 yards per completion and has two touchdowns.

Notre Dame’s quarterback of the future is part of its present. The second half might give him the chance to take over as the present if he displays more consistency as a passer.

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