Notre Dame Spring Practice No. 5 Video: Takeaways And Observations
Notre Dame held its fifth practice of spring, and for the second straight time, the customary three-minute video it released contained entirely 11-on-11 work.
Here are some personnel-related observations from it.
(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).
• From the available clips and angles, the first-team offensive line grouping in most of the video was left tackle Tosh Baker, left guard Dillan Gibbons, center Zeke Correll, right guard John Dirksen and right tackle Josh Lugg. That group has worked together plenty this spring.
• There were a lot of different defensive fronts in the available three minutes. The first clip in the video had vyper Isaiah Foskey, defensive tackle Jayson Ademilola, nose tackle Kurt Hinish and strong-side end Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa together. They’re together again at 2:31.
• It’s hard to fully tell, but 3:15 appears to be a three-man front with Foskey, Ademilola and Tagovailoa-Amosa. Will linebacker Marist Liufau is behind them, as is safety K.J. Wallace.
• Also at Will linebacker, Shayne Simon was in for a few first-team defense snaps. He’s in the play at 1:22 and 3:42.
• At 3:42, Ramon Henderson is in as a first-team corner with Foskey, Ademilola, Hinish, Tagovailoa-Amosa, safety Houston Griffith, safety D.J. Brown, linebacker Bo Bauer and rover Isaiah Pryor are also visible. Henderson later appears at 6:05 covering receiver Braden Lenzy, with that same defensive line in the game.
• The 4:16 mark also has Wallace in. Ademilola, Foskey, an unclear lineman and defensive end Jordan Botelho are in the game up front. Bauer, Griffith and corner Clarence Lewis are in the shot. One wonders if that was a nickel or third-down package.
• 4:34 has Tagovailoa-Amosa, defensive tackle Rylie Mills and linebacker J.D. Bertrand rushing. Henderson, Brown and Liufau are in the back seven. Also, early enrollee freshman Blake Fisher is at left tackle next to Gibbons, Correll, an unclear right guard and Lugg.
• At 4:57, it’s an unclear defensive front, but Pryor is a blitzer and Hinish and Tagovailoa-Amosa are on the line. Bauer, Lewis, Griffith, Brown are in too. This is a play against the first-team offensive line, with Baker back at left tackle. Jack Coan is at quarterback, and Lenzy and Xavier Watts are on the field at receiver.
• Another defensive front combination is at 5:26: Tagovailoa-Amosa, Hinish, Mills and Foskey. Fisher is in at left tackle again. He later appears at 5:55, when Foskey beats him.
• The next clip (5:31) has Tosh Baker back at left tackle, with Gibbons and Correll next to him. Hinish and Tagovailoa-Amosa are on the defensive line, with rover Jack Kiser in coverage. The play is a Coan throw and contested catch by slot receiver Avery Davis against Brown. Also in the play and worth noting: tight end Kevin Bauman.
• The 6:17 mark has Michael Carmody at center, Andrew Kristofic and right guard and Quinn Carroll at right tackle. Each has played multiple positions this spring. Defensive tackle Howard Cross III, Mills and Liufau are the clearly visible front-seven defenders. The play is a Drew Pyne screen pass to receiver Jordan Johnson, who gets a Matt Salerno block. Safety Litchfield Ajavon and cornerback Philip Riley pursue.
• The next play, at 7:55, has Baker, Rocco Spindler, Carmody, Kristofic and Carroll on the offensive line, from left to right. Mills, Kiser, Riley, defensive end Will Schweitzer, linebacker Osita Ekwonu, corner Caleb Offord are in view.
• The play at 8:39 has Liufau and Bertrand rushing, with Mills and Cross as linemen. Ajavon, Kiser and Riley pursue receiver Lorenzo Styles Jr., who catches a Pyne pass.
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