The offensive line derby continues.
The three-minute video Notre Dame released Tuesday from its 11th spring practice had yet another first-team offensive line combination. The Irish’s search for their most trustworthy linemen and each player's best position is nothing if not exhaustive. Here's a look at the offensive line in action and some other personnel-related takeaways.
(Required disclaimer: These videos are only a small portion of practice and are not indicative of final decisions on the depth chart. They do, though, offer a glimpse of who worked where for all or part of the day’s practice, and that helps identify contenders for open starting jobs or get an idea of plans for individual players).
• The immediately visible linemen in the first two clips (starting at 1:10) might tell you the offensive line is going forward with the possible alignments Brian Kelly described Saturday. Blake Fisher is at left tackle, Rocco Spindler at left guard, Zeke Correll at center … and then a twist with Andrew Kristofic and right guard and Tosh Baker at right tackle. Jack Coan is at quarterback, Chris Tyree at running back and Michael Mayer at tight end.
This latest offensive line combination is a reminder of the desire for versatility and the length of the process of finding the best five linemen. Kelly might be closer to figuring out who’s in that five than he was three weeks ago, but it’s far from locked in, especially with Jarrett Patterson still out.
The usual first-team defense suspects were in the first two clips, but some others of note: linebacker Marist Liufau, safety DJ Brown, linebacker Bo Bauer, defensive end Jordan Botelho, rover Isaiah Pryor (visible in first clip only) and corner Cam Hart (visible in second only).
• At 1:56, corner TaRiq Bracy runs in motion across the defense. He’s in with corner Ramon Henderson, defensive end Isaiah Foskey, tackle Howard Cross III, rover Jack Kiser, Brown and Bauer.
• At 2:28, Drew Pyne is the quarterback behind the first-team line (same as the above one) and hands off to Tyree. This is the start of a few clips of him. In the following one (2:50), he completes to Mayer. Some names on the defense in that second clip: Cross, Brown, Liufau, Kiser, Bauer, defensive end Justin Ademilola and Caleb Offord at safety.
• The 4:10 mark has quarterback Tyler Buchner in with the second-team offensive line against what looks like the second-team defense. The line is left tackle Michael Carmody, left guard Quinn Carroll, center Dillan Gibbons, right guard John Dirksen and an unclear right tackle (it’s not Baker or Fisher, though). Receiver Xavier Watts is in.
On defense: Botelho, nose tackle Aidan Keanaaina, tackle Rylie Mills, linebacker Shayne Simon, linebacker JD Bertrand, safety/corner KJ Wallace and Henderson.
• Seven-on-seven starts at 4:52 with a Clarence Lewis interception of Coan. Later in seven-on-seven, Pyne connects with receiver Lawrence Keys III by sliding the ball through a tight window.
• 11-on-11 is back at 8:37, with the same right side of the offensive line and Coan at quarterback for the rest of the video with first-team skill players. Liufau, Botelho are Hart are frequently involved on defense, and Botelho is on the field at the same time Foskey in one clip. Those two have been together a few times this year even though they play the same position. Wallace is in one clip.
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