BRIDGMAN, Mich. — Head coach Brian Kelly’s offseason project of determining 2019-20 starting center Jarrett Patterson’s new position is akin to juggling three tennis balls — each one of different weight and feel.
The juggler needs time to learn how to handle them all.
“There are things in play here,” Kelly said Monday before the Kelly Cares Foundation Golf Invitational. “What’s good for the five, what’s good for Notre Dame and what’s good for Jarrett Patterson? I have to look at all those.”
The process of finding balance among them may take most of the offseason. Spring practice taught him plenty about the first two components while Patterson was sidelined due to November foot surgery. It gave him 15 up-close looks at Notre Dame’s young, inexperienced linemen, identified best position fits and established early favorites to replace four starters from last year’s Joe Moore Award finalist unit.
June brought another piece: the addition of former Marshall offensive guard Cain Madden as a graduate transfer. Madden, a 2020 Associated Press second-team All-American, was a 31-game starter at right guard for the Thundering Hurd. He will be a guard at Notre Dame.
Kelly confirmed Madden’s arrival impacts the plan for Patterson, but went no further into specifics. Whether that means Patterson moves from one guard spot to the other, kicks out from guard to tackle or wasn’t at guard to begin with will likely remain unanswered until training camp opens in August.
What’s clear, though is Notre Dame felt it needed more help at guard. The four primary guards this spring — senior John Dirksen, junior Quinn Carroll, junior Andrew Kristofic and freshman Rocco Spindler — have no high-leverage in-game experience.
Spindler and Kristofic were the first-team guards in the latter half of spring. Spindler, a top-100 recruit who enrolled in January, established himself as a possible starter well before anyone thought he would. Notre Dame, though, still had pause moving forward with so little experience at guard, especially when it may start freshman Blake Fisher at one of the tackle spots.
The Irish explored the transfer portal and saw a fit when Madden put his name in there May 19. He committed June 4 at the end of an official visit to Notre Dame.
“The grad transfer scenarios for us become evaluating your roster and finding out where you can immediately support it,” Kelly said. “When we’re recruiting, it’s about player development over the long haul. You never say, ‘This guy is coming in and he’s going to start for us.’ With a grad transfer, for us, it’s, ‘We need to support particular areas immediately.’
“We felt like we needed depth at that position.”
Adding him was best for Notre Dame. A subsequent slight change of plans for Patterson might be, too.
But will that be best for Patterson? Kelly admitted the senior’s best position is center — where Patterson started 21 games the last two seasons. Pro Football Focus ranked him as the No. 4 returning interior offensive lineman in college football.
Patterson, though, is capable of playing inside or outside and began his career as a tackle. Notre Dame can afford to move him without hurting the team after it liked junior Zeke Correll’s play in relief of Patterson last season and this spring. Correll has worked exclusively at center since arriving in 2019. Kelly indicated in April the plan is to start him there in 2021.
Patterson, then, won’t be playing his best position. But if his play at another spot resembles his performance the last two years at center, a move can still benefit him and his pro potential even if it pulls him from his comfort zone.
“I have to look at what’s best for his future,” Kelly said. “We’ll get the right five guys.”
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