Friday Five: Which Of Notre Dame’s 13 June Enrollees Could Play This Fall?
Notre Dame’s 13 June enrollees arrive on campus this weekend.
Interestingly, less than half of Notre Dame’s 2021 class is enrolling in the summer. Fourteen of its 27 members enrolled in January, and several of them made some noise this spring. A couple – offensive linemen Blake Fisher and Rocco Spindler – are in the mix to start.
Summer enrollees, though, aren’t necessarily destined for a year behind the scenes. Last year’s two freshman starters, tight end Michael Mayer and cornerback Clarence Lewis, arrived in June. Lewis was the lone member of the three-man 2020 defensive back class who did not enroll early.
Of course, having just one spring practice last year minimized the 2020 early enrollees’ advantage. But it’s still notable when the most impactful freshmen didn’t arrive until summer. And last year was not the only instance in recent Notre Dame history.
I devoted most of this week’s column to a few musings on the 13 players who begin their college careers next week. Here are four superlatives.
1. Most Intriguing Offensive Player
Wide receiver Deion Colzie will be the biggest receiver in the room when he arrives. Notre Dame listed the four-star recruit at 6-3 and 200 pounds when he signed. Word is he’s 6-4 and about 220 now. He ran a 10.82 100-meter dash this spring, setting an Athens Academy (Ga.) school record. He’s a ready-made boundary receiver who could be that position’s future.
If senior Kevin Austin Jr. is healthy and meets expectations as a go-to target this year, that future could be as soon as 2022 if Austin departs. Continued health problems or a lower impact than expected from Austin, though, could put Colzie on the field this season. He and senior Joe Wilkins Jr. are the only other boundary receivers.
Without Austin, Notre Dame would lack a contested-catch weapon at receiver. Colzie fits that bill. After Jay Brunelle’s transfer, Notre Dame has only nine scholarship receivers and one player (Xavier Watts) from the 2019 and 2020 receiver classes. Purely based on those numbers, there’s a less-crowded path for Colzie, fellow June enrollee Jayden Thomas and early entrant Lorenzo Styles Jr. to make an impact in their first two seasons.
2. Most Intriguing Defensive Player
The linebacker depth chart will be difficult for a freshman crack this year, but if Notre Dame is looking for its most comparable athlete to departed rover and 2020 Butkus Award winner Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Prince Kollie might be it.
Kollie (6-2, 210 pounds) is a projected rover who has burst, embraces the physicality of a box linebacker and possesses requisite athleticism to handle some basic man coverage assignments. At worst in pass defense, he can patrol the flat and erase yards after the catch on quick-hitter throws. He has the starter kit of an effective blitzer too. There’s obvious and copious upside.
The immediate outlook, though, is meager. Junior Jack Kiser is the favorite to start at rover this year. Senior Paul Moala and fifth-year senior Isaiah Pryor are experienced backups. At Will linebacker, junior Marist Liufau and senior Shayne Simon made good progress this spring after both had up-and-down 2020 seasons splitting that job in 2020.
3. Watch Out For Him This Year
Notre Dame returned its top three running backs, but senior C’Bo Flemister’s May charge of leaving the scene of an accident and possible consequences from it cracks open the door for freshmen running backs Audric Estime and Logan Diggs to get a chance at the No. 3 role.
I’ll focus on Estime, who seemed to improve every season and averaged an impressive 10.5 yards per rush in 2020. He will show up on campus with a college-ready frame (6-2, 215 pounds) and possesses some home-run ability. He’s tough to tackle once he gets going downhill. He’s a one-cut-and-go runner more than an elusive, make-you-miss back, but he has the power to break tackles. There’s potential to be an every-down back.
If he cracks the rotation or usurps Flemister, he would fit in well as a short-yardage back and a change-of-pace bigger runner. That role feels like his career floor.
4. Don’t Be Surprised By …
Most recruiting classes have one player who generates minimal attention because of his ranking but ends up grabbing a weekly role as a freshman. Last year, it was Lewis (six starts). In 2018, it was TaRiq Bracy (106 snaps in six games, 18 tackles). In 2017, it was Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa (327 snaps).
There are two ingredients: the player has to be ready, and his position needs to have an opening.
I’ll nominate cornerback Chance Tucker as this year’s candidate. I think he’s one of the more underrated players in the class. He doesn’t have elite speed, which may be the reason he remained a three-star. But the 6-1, 170-pound former wide receiver has length, fluidity and ball skills. He plays a lot of press coverage and seems to embrace the physicality of it. That’s a good base for a boundary corner.
Boundary corner is a competition between junior Cam Hart and sophomore Ramon Henderson, who have 94 career defensive snaps between them. They drew positive reviews from coaches this spring, but neither won the job. Both need to continue that progress this summer to claim it.
Tucker’s chances would be hindered if Notre Dame lands Tulsa grad transfer Akayleb Evans, a 23-game starter with a boundary corner frame (6-2, 188 pounds). If not, cornerback is once again a spot to watch for a Lewis-like surprise this fall.
5. Jarrett Patterson
Point-blank, Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly said Jarrett Patterson’s best position is center. No surprise. The senior started 21 games there from 2019-20. It might be his pro position. But Notre Dame is planning to use him at tackle or guard in 2021.
The arrival of Marshall graduate transfer guard Cain Madden will affect the plan, Kelly said. Madden, a 31-game starter and 2020 Associated Press second-team All-American, has played all but eight of his career snaps at right guard. If he starts, it will be there.
I would, though, be surprised if the domino effect impacts Zeke Correll’s status as the starting center. Leaving Patterson at center may be best for him. But would bumping Correll — who has worked exclusively at center since his arrival — from the lineup be best for Notre Dame? I don’t see how that answer is yes.
Correll is one of three returning offensive linemen who have started a game and has progressed well since his first start last November. It’s hard to imagine four others from a crop of largely inexperienced players becoming a more trustworthy and effective option than him.
In that regard, leaving Correll at center is best for Notre Dame. Moving Patterson may be too. And even if center is Patterson’s best spot, playing him elsewhere shouldn’t actively harm him. It may even help his NFL outlook to have good tape at multiple positions, even if he’s likely an interior player at the next level.
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