Notre Dame Spring Practice No. 6 Video: Takeaways And Observations
Brian Kelly stressed this spring will be used to improve offensive line versatility and experiment liberally on the front five. Thursday’s practice clips showed his wish in action.
In the three available minutes, Notre Dame had several offensive line combinations on the field and a few players at positions we hadn’t yet seen them play. Here is a look at those and other personnel-related observations from the video Notre Dame released.
(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 and get an idea of plans for individual players).
• There’s a lot to unpack from the first clip. Start on offense: freshman Rocco Spindler is at left guard next to center Zeke Correll and on the line with right tackle Josh Lugg, two likely starters in 2021. Tosh Baker is at left tackle (the video mistakingly says Blake Fisher), and Andrew Kristofic at right guard.
Wide receiver Avery Davis, running back Kyren Williams and tight end Michael Mayer are on the field too. This looks like a first-team rep for Spindler, the first such one in available videos. Drew Pyne is the quarterback.
On defense: rover Isaiah Pryor and rover Jack Kiser are out there together. Linebacker Bo Bauer and Marist Liufau are too. One wonders if this is some special third-down package. Elsewhere, cornerback Ramon Henderson, cornerback Clarence Lewis, safety Houston Griffith, defensive end Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa, defensive tackle Jayson Ademilola and defensive tackle Kurt Hinish are on the field.
• The second clip has Michael Carmody at right tackle, with Correll, Spindler and Kristofic on the line too. An interesting defensive line is across from them: tackle Howard Cross III, end Justin Ademilola, end Jordan Botelho. Pryor and Bauer are on defense too.
• At 1:47, there’s a clip with a lot of youngsters. On the field: nose tackle Aidan Keanaaina, tackle Gabriel Rubio, end Devin Aupiu, end Alex Ehrensberger, cornerback TaRiq Bracy, safety K.J. Wallace, safety Litchfield Ajavon, linebacker Osita Ekwonu.
On offense, Dillan Gibbons is at center, John Dirksen at right guard, Quinn Carroll left guard and Baker at left tackle. That’s a new combination, and a new position (at least in the available video) for Gibbons. Lorenzo Styles Jr. is at receiver, and Tyler Buchner at quarterback. The play is a handoff to Chris Tyree.
• The 2:07 mark is another offensive line combination: left tackle Blake Fisher, Spindler, Gibbons, Kristofic, Lugg.
• The next play, at 2:15, looks like an RPO. It's a throw from Jack Coan to Davis and a forced fumble.
• At 2:48, the offensive line is tackle Baker, left guard Carroll, center Gibbons, right guard Dirksen and right tackle Carmody. On defense, you can see Keanaaina, Rubio, Ekwonu, Bertrand, linebacker Shayne Simon, Wallace, Ajavon, Bracy and corner Philip Riley.
• Williams fields a punt at 3:01. He did not return punts or kicks last year. Styles, Lawrence Keys III and Matt Salerno follow him.
• 11-on-11 resumes at 5:49. Fisher and Spindler are the left side of the offensive line, next to Correll. Kristofic (right guard) and Baker (right tackle) are the others. Riley is covering receiver Joe Wilkins Jr. on the boundary side. Pyne completes to receiver Braden Lenzy on the field side, with Lewis in coverage. Bauer, Bertrand and safety D.J. Brown are in the play.
• The next play has Cam Hart at boundary corner. He eventually picks up Mayer on an out route. Pyne connects with Mayer.
• An interesting defense at 6:31: Botelho and tackle Rylie Mills on part of the line. Simon and Ekwonu are also in, and Ekwonu rushes Coan. Keys catches a pass from Coan, with Pryor, Ajavon, Bracy and safety Justin Walters in the shot.
• In the final play, the offensive line is right tackle Carmody against Justin Ademilola, right guard Dirksen, an unclear center vs. Mills, left guard Carroll and left tackle Baker. Botelho drops in coverage. Coan finds tight end Cane Berrong for a touchdown over the arm of an unclear underneath defender and between Kiser and Ajavon. Receiver Xavier Watts greets him.
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