EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the first in a series looking at Notre Dame football's June roster editions. Returning players report back to ND on June 2 with the freshmen reporting a week later on June 9. Summer school formally starts on June 10.

Dripping wet from a two-hour workout on Saturday morning of running routes, working on releases and getting in and out of his breaks as quickly as possible, Logan Saldate was met as he walked in the door at home by a strong suggestion from his mom, Amy, to get in some work on the Peloton bike.

“This happens all the time,” said the soon-to-be Notre Dame freshman wide receiver. “And she’s pretty much right all the time.”

Who needs Loren Landow?

Saldate will be under the first-year director of football performance’s tutelage soon enough, with the Gilroy, Calif., product moving to South Bend, Ind., on June 4 and reporting for summer workouts five days later with the other seven Irish football freshmen, of the 23 total, who did not enroll early.

In the meantime, he’s been self/mother-motivated since Salinas Palma High’s season ended with a 42-19 rout of Tulare Mission Oak in the CIF Division 4A state title game on Dec. 9.

Palma, incidentally, attempted just 12 passes in the game and completed seven for 95 yards.

Saldate accounted for six of those seven on the receiving end for 93 yards and a TD. That gave him 59 receptions for 1,188 yards and 16 touchdowns for the season.

He signed his National Letter of Intent with Notre Dame roughly two weeks later, listed at the time at 5-foot-10, 170 pounds. He has since grown an inch and muscled up to 187 pounds. And he ran a career-best 10.79-second 100-meter dash at his new weight on April 26 at the PCAL Gabilan Division Finals.

Then he promptly gave up track and field, that after finishing second in the long jump in the state meet last spring.

“Track is cool and all,” he said, “but when it comes down to it, I’m really trying to be good at football. You know what I’m saying? I already know I have the speed, so I’m just focusing in on football.”

That included on Saturday night a weight-lifting session after his field workout and mom-inspired cardio on the Peloton bike.

“My outlook and goals for this summer when I get to Notre Dame is that I know it’s not going to be easy coming in as a freshman with classes and all the workouts,” Saldate said. “It’s definitely going to be stressful. But I think it’s going to be great for me.

“But skill-wise, I think I’m definitely up there in the top four receivers, to be honest. I know my route-running is top tier. My speed is there. Some people might say that I’m undersized, but I mean everyone sees [5-10 Sun Bowl MVP] Jordan Faison doing it. So, if he can do it, I can do it. You know?”

Including the nine receivers who participated in spring practice and fellow June enrollee, Clemson grad transfer Beaux Collins, beginning next month there will be 11 competing for playing time for the Aug, 31 season opener at Texas A&M — and beyond. Saldate is one of seven who did not catch a pass in a Notre Dame uniform last season.

But he’s been ahead of the curve before. In Jeff Carnazzo’s 24 seasons as Palma’s head coach, Saldate is the only freshman at any position to play on varsity.

“He has the speed to blow the top off of defenses,” Carnazzo told Inside ND Sports last summer when Saldate flipped his Oregon State commitment to Notre Dame. “So, he can play anywhere at the next level. And I'm not just saying that because he's my kid and I am a little biased.

“His blocking shows he's a team player. He's blocking downfield, and we're a team that runs the ball quite a bit also. I mean, the kid could have even more stats than he does. But we have a strong run game, a zone-scheme team. And he's constantly down there blocking, making big blocks downfield, springing our running backs. Very unselfish.”

Saldate made the trip to South Bend last month for the April 20 Blue-Gold Game to get a firsthand look at his new team. The Irish have changed wide receiver coaches (replaced deposed Chansi Stuckey with Mike Brown) and offensive coordinators (Mike Denbrock replaced new Troy head coach Gerad Parker) since Saldate made his ND commitment.

“I’ve been up there a few times now, so I know everybody. It’s almost like a reunion,” Saldate said. “It was good to see coach Brown working with the receivers for the first time in person. Just hanging out with the guys, talking to them and asking them how they like the staff, how they like the new offense with the new coordinator, all that type of stuff.”

As for the new offense, Saldate has a strong opinion already.

“Man, I’m loving it so far,’ he said. “I’ve been studying the playbook. My high school, we pass the ball but not too much, but we had a similar offense. Obviously it was 10 times smaller.

“But that helped me understand [Denbrock’s offense] a lot, and we’re really passing around the rock a lot this year. And I definitely think it’s going to be a crazy difference. Fans are going to be happy. Everybody’s going to be happy.”

Including the other freshman wide receivers, Micah Gilbert and Cam Williams, who Saldate talks to the most and who were both early enrollees.

“They loved spring football,” Saldate said, “like it’s real organized. The coaches make it easy to learn. They’re always right there, guiding you through each part of it. And it’s just competition every day.

“There’s never an easy day. If there’s an easy day, something’s wrong.”

Just like home.

FRESHMEN

Taebron Bennie-Powell, S, 6-1, 182

Karson Hobbs, CB, 6-1, 180

Brauntae Johnson, S, 6-3, 175

Bodie Kahoun, LB, 6-2, 210

Guerby Lambert, OT, 6-7, 300

Leonard Moore, CB, 6-2, 170

Teddy Rezac, LB, 6-3, 193

Logan Saldate, WR, 5-11, 187

GRAD TRANSFERS

Beaux Collins, WR, 6-3, 210 (Clemson)

Rod Heard II, S, 5-11, 190 (Northwestern)

IMPORTS

James Brendell, P, 6-6, 225 (Australia)

RE-ENROLLED

Gabe Rubio, NG, 6-5, 306

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