How Close Is Notre Dame Football To Naming Kick And Punt Return Starters?
Notre Dame’s depth chart has come together during fall camp.
The Irish named a starting quarterback. The same five offensive linemen have worked together as presumed starters for nearly the entirety of camp. The same goes for the top four defensive linemen and so on.
What about kick and punt returners, though? Special teams coordinator Brian Polian said those starters won’t be named until closer to the season opener at Florida State Sept. 5.
“We’re pretty close, but we're not there yet,” Polian told reporters on Tuesday. “We still got some time. We won’t shift gears to Florida State until towards the very end of this week. We're going to take some opportunities here in the next couple of days to continue to work those units and evaluate our people. We've put a lot of people back there.”
During last Thursday's full practice open to the media, Polian put junior running back Kyren Williams, senior wide receivers Kevin Austin Jr. and Matt Salerno and freshman wide receiver Lorenzo Styles Jr. on punt returning duty. Williams appeared to be the player getting the most reps in that area.
Of the 12 punts Notre Dame did not fair catch, Salerno returned 10 of them. He only averaged 4.5 yards per return, though, and he was responsible for majority of the 27 fair catches the Irish were credited with. That was the sixth-highest total in the country.
Polian harped on those numbers in the spring. He said the punting game has changed in college football. It's not just Notre Dame calling for more fair catches; it's just about every team across the country.
"What we have to do is figure out, 'When are we going to get those one or two chances in a game — a legit chance?'" Polian said. "And we got to be able to take advantage of that. We did not do a good enough job of that last year."
Does that mean having someone other than the walk-on Salerno in place to potentially take one to the house? Possibly. Polian said Salerno will get his chances to field punts this season, but Polian did not rule out putting some of those other more highly-touted skill position players back there.
"He won't be the only guy you see," Polian said of Salerno.
As it relates to kick returning, that's an area Polian isn't afraid to admit could be better. Notre Dame recorded 23 kick returns in 12 games last year. Unlike with the low punt return total, Polian said the Irish can increase that number in 2021.
Sophomore running back Chris Tyree, senior running back C’Bo Flemister, Salerno and junior safety Chris Velotta have taken majority of the kick return reps in camp. Of that quartet, Tyree is the favorite to be the primary returner.
And Polian said it's not particularly close.
“Chris might have the fastest 10-yard split [on the team],” Polian said. “So you're talking about a guy who can catch the ball, see a tight window and accelerate through it. In the end, long-striders can't get going on kickoff return. You need somebody that can step into the ball and hit the gas.”
Tyree returned 22 kicks last season for an average of 20.7 yards per return. For the sake of a hypothetical, Notre Dame would have been better off field positionally hoping the opposing kicker booted one through the end zone for a touchback.
Fifty-four players averaged more yards per return than Tyree last year. Polian knows Tyree is better than that, but he also knows it wasn't all Tyree's fault. There are 10 other players on the kick return team. They have to set Tyree up to use the physical tools Polian praised on Tuesday.
“I think Chris has elite change of direction,” Polian said. “He's got elite feet. He will see it better this year. He makes people miss, and he runs through arm tackles. He’s the best option back there. We're looking at other guys too. We'll always rep other guys. But I'm excited about Chris, and he's got a chance to make impactful plays this year.”
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