Notre Dame Two-Deep Continues To Stabilize
Notre Dame’s 11th practice of training camp was held in Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday morning, with the two-and-half-hour session scheduled to end around 12:50 p.m.
The first 10 periods of the typically 24-period session were open to the media, during which time special teams work was worked on the most that we saw in the three practices that have been open at least partially.
Linebackers coach Clark Lea was not at practice today after wife Allison gave birth to their third child yesterday, an eight-pound, 14-ounces son.
Junior tight end Alize Mack was dressed in full football gear and was jogging regularly and working on the stationary bike after pulling his hamstring a weak earlier. He did not partake in any of the 7-on-7 drills.
Special Teams Work
The kicking game work commenced with junior Justin Yoon drilling an extra point and then working his way back down the field, with senior reserve quarterback Montgomery VanGorder as the holder and sophomore John Shannon the long-snapper.
Yoon, who was sidelined this spring to rest his kicking leg, seemed to show no ill effect of the time while converting three consecutive field goals from the 32- 35- and 38-yard lines, but he missed on the final two from 42 yards while kicking from the left hash. The first sliced wide right, while the second was hooked from the outset and went far wide left. There was plenty of distance on both.
There was no live, take-down contact on kickoffs, an area we saw worked on for the first time this month.
Junior CJ Sanders, whose four career touchdowns already on returns (three on kickoffs), are two short of tying the Notre Dame record, was the obvious starter, but freshman wideout Michael Young, whose explosiveness off the line has been conspicuous in camp, was next in line as the top return man.
Working as the up man with Sanders on the first unit was sophomore running back Tony Jones Jr., with freshman Cole Kmet, graduate student Durham Smythe flanked as the two tights and senior Nic Weishar in the middle of the front wall.
The front row of the blocking lineup featured sophomore receiver Chase Claypool, junior rover Asmar Bilal, junior running back Dexter Williams and senior receiver Austin Webster, a captain who was put on scholarship earlier this week. Flanked between that front group and the three tight ends were sophomore drop end Julian Okwara and sophomore safety Jalen Elliott.
The first coverage unit on kickoffs featured mainly linebackers, although running back Williams and Jones. Jr. also were on that team, as projected by coordinator Brian Polian last spring.
The two outside gunners were junior cornerback Shaun Crawford and junior safety Devin Studstill. The unit also included two senior captains in Greer Martini and Drue Tranquill among the linebackers, plus Bilal and freshman Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah.
Rounding out the corps were Elliott and graduate transfer receiver Freddy Canteen, who was auditioned at cornerback at Michigan because of his speed.
Yoon handled the first kickoff, with freshman Jonathan Doerer next. That area does not yet seem settled.
Status Quo On Two Deep
During tempo drills at the start of practice, the offensive line remained what it was last week at Culver, left to right: Mike McGlinchey, Quenton Nelson, Sam Mustipher, Alex Bars and Tommy Kraemer.
Second group left to right: Liam Eichenberg, Hunter Bivin, Trevor Ruhland, Aaron Banks and Robert Hainsey.
Third group left to right: Josh Lugg, Logan Plantz, Colin Grunhard, Dillan Gibbons, Jimmy Byrne.
The first trio of receivers to take the field with mainstay Equanimeous St. Brown were graduate transfers Cameron Smith and Canteen, with Smythe at tight end.
Group No. 2: Claypool, and juniors Miles Boykin and Chris Finke, and Weishar at tight end.
Third group: Sanders, sophomore Javon McKinley and freshman Jafar Armstrong, with Kmet at tight end.
The top three quarterbacks are junior Brandon Wimbush, sophomore Ian Book and freshman Avery Davis, while the running backs featured starter Josh Adams, Jones Jr. and Williams, with sophomore Deon McIntosh also mixed in.
Defensively during tempo, the lineup was also familiar:
Strong-side End: Jay Hayes, Khalid Kareem
Tackle: Jonathan Bonner, Micah Dew-Treadway
Nose Tackle: Jerry Tillery, Kurt Hinish
Drop End: Daelin Hayes, Andrew Trumbetti (who also shares time on the strong side)
Mike LB: Nyles Morgan, Jamir Jones
Buck LB: Greer Martini, Te’von Coney
Rover: Drue Tranquill, Asmar Bilal
Boundary Corner: Nick Watkins, Donte Vaughn
Field Corner: Julian Love, Shaun Crawford
Stud Safety: Nick Coleman, Devin Studstill
Whip Safety: Jalen Elliott, Isaiah Robertson
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