Notebook: Fundamentals marking progress for Notre Dame's offense
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Twice during his nine-minute press conference, Notre Dame offensive coordinator Gerad Parker mentioned he wasn’t dodging a question while answering a question.
The first time was when Parker discussed the ongoing quarterback competition between Sam Hartman and Tyler Buchner and the development happening at that position. The second time was when he was asked about the tempo he wants to use within Notre Dame’s offense.
“It'll be a very open answer that we will want to play fast when it is best for Notre Dame,” Parker said Saturday following the eleventh spring practice. “We'll want to slow it down when it's best for Notre Dame. We'll want to do it all the middle. So, I'm not dodging it, but it really is.
“You'll see us play fast at times. That's probably fair to admit. But it won't be to be reckless. It will be with purpose. So we’ll use tempo to our advantage at times. We used it today and throughout spring to give ourselves the ability to be able to operate as fast as we could. But then also slow it down, huddle up and break that thing with a purpose, too.”
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The public revelations about Notre Dame’s offense this spring have been rather minimal. As Parker works to revamp his own version of the offense Tommy Rees ran for Notre Dame the past three seasons, head coach Marcus Freeman insisted he’s more worried about process than outcomes this spring.
But Freeman did share after Saturday’s closed scrimmage of roughly 90 plays, the offense was victorious. Not bad for a unit whose celebrated victories this spring have been more fundamental than groundbreaking.
“It was awesome to be able to start day one, I think I said this before spring, to be able to know that we can line up, snap the football and operate with all the things pre-snap before even worrying about trying to execute,” Parker said. “There's a lot that goes into just being able to have the ability to get the ball snapped. And so that was a great start.
“The evolution has been what are we going to cut, what are we going to rename, how are we going to play with different tempos and certain things that allow us to operate maybe differently and then add what our wrinkles are.
“So, been proud to add some things that we think are going to improve us and make Notre Dame better. And then still staying on who we are, which is to be a tough, physical football team up front. So we've we hopefully we've done those things.”
When asked for details about progress, Parker pointed once again to fundamentals. Early in the spring, the offense was sloppy with snap exchanges from center to quarterback and too many turnovers occurred in the red zone. With three practices left this week before Saturday’s Blue-Gold Game, Parker has seen improvement in ball protection.
Saturday’s scrimmage was the first time the play clock was emphasized this spring, too.
“I really think that operating today with a true shot clock and having to manage personnel changes and operate from the sideline, we certainly took a step in our operation and trading where we had no pre-snaps and those things,” Parker said. “That stuff took a step forward. If we're operating at a high level and not have to burn timeouts and we're honoring the ball, we can fix the rest.”
How Sam Hartman’s handling Notre Dame’s offense
Notre Dame naming Hartman as its starting quarterback for the 2023 season still feels inevitable, but it doesn’t seem like it will happen anytime soon.
Hartman, the ACC’s all-time leader in touchdown passes from his five seasons at Wake Forest, didn’t light up the defense when reporters attended two full practices this spring. But Parker still likes what he’s seen from Hartman.
“His ability and maturity to not panic. That's the deal,” Parker said. “When you've been through a lot of fires like he has, and when you're in this game as a coach/player, you understand that you have to be able to take the breath, manage things, not ride the wave of emotion and Sam's been able to do that.
“He's been able to manage some failures on things that just are going to happen, because that's just the growth of learning new. And he's managed those and not let himself get too high or too low from them. It's put himself in a position just to keep on getting better, and you can see that from a veteran guy.”
Will freshman wide receivers break through?
Parker’s confidence in the wide receiver unit comes from a trio at the top who have shown this spring that they’re ready for bigger roles: Junior Jayden Thomas, sophomore Tobias Merriweather and senior converted running back Chris Tyree.
Junior Deion Colzie, Parker said, has made strides but has to improve on his consistency. Then the trio of early enrolled freshmen have handled themselves well, too.
He’s just not ready to crown any of them as instant contributors this season quite yet.
“No need to put pressure on those guys. They'll put enough on themselves. And this place does that because of expectations,” Parker said. “They're right where they need to be. All of them show great promise. They're eager and they're figuring it out. And that takes a little bit of a bumpy road that Coach Free talks about.
“But the guys are here, they're eager and they all three show great promise moving forward.”
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