Notre Dame's Career Starts Returning For 2020
When Notre Dame begins spring practice in about two-and-a-half weeks (March 5), it will return practically twice as many career starts on offense (159) than on defense (80).
What is interesting is the disparity on offense between the line and skill positions. The Fighting Irish have 114 out of those 159 (71.7 percent) along the line because of all five starters at the beginning of 2019 returning.
From the research we’ve done back to 1964, that number this year along the offensive line is the highest ever at the program. Meanwhile, the running back and wide receiver positions have 11 combined career starts.
The number of “starts” can sometimes be misleading at the skill positions. For example, in the Camping World Bowl versus Iowa State, Notre Dame opened with a three-tight end alignment while sophomore wideout Braden Lenzy did not start.
Yet in the course of the game, Lenzy ended up with more snaps (33) than two of the tight ends, Tommy Tremble (31) and Brock Wright (9).
At running back and receiver especially, it’s more about snap counts than starts.
Returning with the most career starts at any position is someone who actually has not yet suited up for a game at Notre Dame.
Northwestern graduate transfer/wide receiver Ben Skowronek has had 30 — all 13 in 2017, all 14 in 2018 and the first three in 2019 before an injury that sidelined him and resulted in a medical redshirt.
Here are the career starts breakdown on offense, with the parentheses indicating the number of starts in 2019.
OFFENSE
LT Liam Eichenberg — 26 (13)
RG Tommy Kraemer — 26 (7)
RT Robert Hainsey — 25 (8)
QB Ian Book — 23 (13)
LG Aaron Banks — 19 (13)
C Jarrett Patterson — 13 (13)
TE Tommy Tremble — 7 (7)
OL Josh Lugg — 5 (5)
RB Jafar Armstrong — 4 (2)
TE Brock Wright — 4 (3)
WR Lawrence Keys — 3 (3)
WR Braden Lenzy — 2 (2)
WR Javon McKinley — 2(2)*
*No confirmation on whether he will return for a fifth season.
Defensively, no one on the 2020 roster has more than 13 career starts. The unit graduated six players who had a minimum of 21 career starts, with returning rover Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and nose tackle Kurt Hinish the only two who came out with the first string all 13 contests last year.
Yet maybe the defender with the best chance to earn post-season honors is sophomore safety Kyle Hamilton, who actually had only start last season. Still his 421 snaps were not far off from the 477 by 11-game starting defensive tackle Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa.
Tackle and safety are vastly different positions with vastly different roles, but it also shows how the number of starts sometimes don’t always tell the whole story.
DEFENSE
NT Kurt Hinish — 13 (13)
Rover Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah — 13 (13)
DE Daelin Hayes — 13 (0)
DT Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa — 12 (12)
MLB Drew White — 12 (12)
CB Shaun Crawford — 10 (3)
CB TaRiq Bracy — 2 (2)
LB Jordan Genmark Heath — 2 (1)
DE Ade Ogundeji — 1 (1)
S Kyle Hamilton — 1 (1)
S Houston Griffith — 1 (0)
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