Notre Dame Spring Practice No. 4 Video: Takeaways And Observations
Brian Kelly began his Saturday Zoom media session by expressing his pleasure with the half-hour of 11-on-11 work and tackling Notre Dame did during practice earlier that day.
The three-minute practice video Notre Dame provided featured exclusively those reps.
Here are some observations from watching them. (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).
• The start of the video is a Pyne pass to receiver Joe Wilkins Jr. with cornerback TaRiq Bracy in coverage. Andrew Kristofic and Dillan Gibbons are visible on the offensive line. On defense, end Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa, tackle Jayson Ademilola, linebacker Bo Bauer, linebacker Shayne Simon, rover Jack Kiser are in the play.
• That’s followed by a Coan handoff to running back Kyren Williams, who is met by Ademilola and Simon. Kristofic, Josh Lugg and Zeke Correll are three of his blockers. It appears Kristofic got first-team reps. Safety D.J. Brown and corner Clarence Lewis were in the clip as well.
• The third clip is a Pyne pass to receiver Lawrence Keys III, who slips around a block and is eventually stopped by safety Houston Griffith. Kelly complimented Keys’ explosiveness and weight room commitment in his Saturday press availability. It looked like a first-team defense rep.
• Gibbons, Correll and Kristofic are working together again at the 1:58 mark, which is a handoff to Chris Tyree. Tight end Michael Mayer is blocking too. Tagovailoa-Amosa, Ademilola, Bauer, Bracy, Griffith, Brown and Foskey are on defense.
• At 2:15, there’s a rep in a four-man front. Nose tackle Kurt Hinish and Ademilola are the interior linemen, with Tagovailoa-Amosa at end. Correll, Gibbons and left tackle Tosh Baker are the clearly visible blockers. Pyne completes to Mayer with Simon in coverage. Wilkins is a downfield blocker on Bracy.
• The 2:46 mark is a Tyree handoff on a sweep. Rover Isaiah Pryor, linebacker J.D. Bertrand, linebacker Marist Liufau and Bracy are defending.
• Quarterback Tyler Buchner and the second-team offense are in at 3:02. Michael Carmody is at center, where he has worked in earlier practices. It’s another four-man front rep, with tackles Gabriel Rubio and Aidan Keaaaina on the interior and Alex Ehrensberger at one end spot. Liufau and Bertrand are at linebacker. Buchner scrambles after tight end Kevin Bauman comes across the middle and is met by safeties Justin Walters and K.J. Wallace.
• At 3:34, Coan chucks a screen to Avery Davis over Tagovailoa-Amosa’s arm. Keys is one of his blockers. Davis shakes Brown and is eventually met by Kiser, Bauer and others.
• Buchner is in again at 3:47. Quinn Carroll is working at tackle again and blocking defensive end NaNa Osafo-Mensah. Carmody is at center. Liufau, Bertrand and Pryor are at linebacker. Another linebacker, Osita Ekwonu, is in too. Buchner scrambles and gets into the secondary, with safeties Litchfield Ajavon and Wallace in pursuit.
• The 4:12 mark is a four-man front of Tagovailoa-Amosa, Hinish, Ademilola and Foskey. They’re against a two-tight end set with Mayer and George Takacs. Davis, who didn’t play in two-tight end sets much in 2020, is also in the play.
• At 5:51, defensive end Jordan Botelho goes against Baker. He’s opposite Justin Ademilola with Howard Cross III and Rylie Mills on the interior. Baker is on the line with Carmody and guard John Dirksen. Bertrand, Liufau, Pryor, Wallace and Walters and cornerback Philip Riley are on defense in this play, which looks like the second-team unit.
• 6:20 is an interesting four-man front: Foskey, Hinish, Cross and Justin Ademilola. Bertrand and Bauer, two players who mostly played inside last year, are at linebacker. Bracy is in the secondary.
• At 7:08, Botelho, Mills and Cross are on the defensive line. Liufau, Bertrand and Pryor are at linebacker.
• At 7:24, Keanaaina strips walk-on running back Leo Albano, who is running behind tight end Mitchell Evans and Carroll. Rubio recovered the ball. Ehrensberger is engaged with Carroll. Carmody and Blake Fisher are on the offensive line as well. Defensive end Devin Aupiu, Ekwonu, Bertrand and walk-on Marcus Throne are in the play.
• The last play is a Buchner completion to receiver Jordan Johnson.
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