Notre Dame Spring Practice No. 8 Video: Takeaways And Observations
Notre Dame sent out another three-minute sampling of its practice Tuesday, the eighth one the Irish have held this spring.
Here are some personnel-related takeaways from the 11-on-11 portion of the clips.
(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).
• Cam Hart is at boundary corner with the first-team defense in the first video clip (:38). Defensive end Isaiah Foskey, defensive tackle Kurt Hinish, linebacker Bo Bauer, linebacker Marist Liufau, rover Jack Kiser, safety D.J. Brown, safety Houston Griffith and safety K.J Wallace are also out there. This is further evidence of Wallace’s potential fit as a nickel back.
• At :55, interior lineman Dillan Gibbons is at right guard. In prior practice videos, he has been at left guard or center. Blake Fisher (LT), Rocco Spindler (LG), Zeke Correll (C) and Josh Lugg (RT) make up the rest of the line.
• The following clip has another interesting mix of defenders: Bauer, Griffith, Brown, rover Isaiah Pryor, linebacker Shayne Simon, cornerback TaRiq Bracy, defensive end Justin Ademilola, defensive end Jordan Botelho, defensive tackle Howard Cross III, defensive tackle Rylie Mills and cornerback Ramon Henderson.
• Foskey told reporters Saturday Osita Ekwonu had moved from linebacker to defensive end, which supported some pass-rush clips of him in prior videos. He’s playing off the line of scrimmage at 1:23, though. Simon, Wallace, safety Litchfield Ajavon, linebacker J.D. Bertrand and defensive tackle Gabriel Rubio are on the field. Fisher, guard Andrew Kristofic, guard John Dirksen, lineman Quinn Carroll (unclear starting point) and quarterback Tyler Buchner are on offense.
• Tosh Baker is at left tackle at 1:39. He has been practicing at both tackle spots and splitting first-team left tackle reps with Fisher lately. Spindler, Correll and Lugg are also on the line, with quarterback Jack Coan handing off to Chris Tyree in the backfield. Tight end Kevin Bauman is also on the field, as is starting slot receiver Avery Davis.
• Ekwonu is at defensive end at 2:10, next to Rubio and Cross. The offensive line, from left to right: Fisher, Carroll, Kristofic, Dirksen and an unclear right tackle. Also on the field are Simon, Ajavon and cornerback Ryan Barnes.
• 11-on-11 resumes at 4:05 with a notable front-line combination: big end Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa, Botehlo standing up at the three-technique position, Cross and Bauer with his hand on the ground. The play is a Coan throw to tight end George Takacs with Brown covering. Fisher, Spindler, Gibbons and Lugg are four of the linemen.
• The next clip has defensive end Alex Ehrensberger, defensive end Justin Ademilola playing inside, Hinish and an unclear fourth rusher. Michael Carmody (RT), Dirksen (RG) and Baker (LT) are on the line blocking for Buchner. Also on defense: safety Justin Walters. The same three defensive linemen are out there again at 5:13 and cornerback Philip Riley breaks up a pass for receiver Jay Brunelle on the boundary with Simon in the vicinity.
• Hart is on the first-team defense again for consecutive clips starting at 6:01.
----
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, Blue & Gold Illustrated.
• Watch our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
• Sign up for Blue & Gold's news alerts and daily newsletter.
• Subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts.
• Follow us on Twitter: @BGINews, @BGI_LouSomogyi, @Rivals_Singer, @PatrickEngel_,and @AndrewMentock.
• Like us on Facebook.