In what could be the final college football season that features walk-ons, in at least the traditional sense, it’s a little tough to track how many and which ones have actually played for No. 12 Notre Dame this season.
There’s quite a discrepancy between ND’s own accounting system and those offered by Pro Football Focus’ film reviews. But there’s no mistaking Max Hurleman, as the Colgate walk-on grad transfer continues to expand his roles on special teams and now in the Irish defensive backfield as a deep reserve.
“I think a lot of it’s self-created,” the former FCS four-year running back said of the confidence to move up a level for his final season of college eligibility. “But it’s also just knowing I’ve put the work in myself. And yeah, to make a decision like this, maybe you need to be a little delusional and have a little irrational confidence.
“As you can imagine, there were people who gave their two cents into my decision. But yeah, I’ve been an athlete my whole life. I played a lot of different sports — football, basketball, lacrosse, you name it. I’ve always just found a way to compete and be a contributor no matter what team I’m on.”
Should the hip injury that chased scholarship kicker Mitch Jeter early from the Stanford game last Saturday and put him in the “questionable” category this week for available Saturday against Georgia Tech persist, three more walk-ons moved into focus for the Irish.
Notre Dame (5-1) and the Yellow Jackets (5-2) meet at the Atlanta Falcons’ home — Mercedes-Benz Stadium — in the 38th clash between the two schools. Start time is 3:30 p.m. EDT on ESPN.
The WSBT Gameday SportsBeat pregame radio show precedes the ND-Georgia Tech game from noon to 2:30 EDT (wsbtradio.com/96.1 FM). Inside ND Sports has you covered after the game with two postgame shows on our YouTube channel.
Former Notre Dame offensive lineman Bob Morton and Inside ND Sports' Eric Hansen team up live five minutes after the final whistle for Into The eNDzone, and they'll take your questions. Dropping late Saturday night is Postgame Takeaways with Hansen and Tyler James.
Meanwhile, the domed roof at Mercedes-Benz Stadium will be retracted and open for the game.
Which gives ND head coach Marcus Freeman and special teams coordinator Marty Biagi a little more to think about when pondering how to replace Jeter if it comes to that.
Eric Goins, the 30-year-old walk-on Citadel transfer and Army vet, handled kickoffs post-Jeter injury against Stanford and likely would reprise that role against Georgia Tech. Five of his seven kickoffs against the Cardinal were touchbacks. Another pinned Stanford at its 3-yard line to start a drive.
Junior walk-on Zac Yoakam was 5-for-5 on PATs vs. Stanford and is 9-for-9 in his ND career. He has yet to attempt a field goal in a game. Same for sophomore Marcello Diomede, who converted his first career PAT attempt for the 49th Irish point in the 49-7 romp.
Freeman has essentially offered word salads this week when pressed about the availability of Jeter and the field goal range of his alternatives. For the record, the renowned Chris Sailer Kicking academy featured almost identical scouting reports for Yoakam, Diomede and Jeter during their time there — professing a range of 55 yards-plus on field goals.
Jeter is 20-of-20 on PATs since transferring in from South Carolina this offseason and 5-of-7 on field goals, with both misses the results of blocks in the Northern Illinois loss on Sept. 7.
There are plenty of other players on both teams to keep an eye on. It’s our practice at Inside ND Sports to narrow that to four, two per team. Here they are:
Notre Dame defensive end Bryce Young
The 6-foot-7, 258-pound freshman has been one of the top special teams performers in the nation all season, per the PFF film reviews, and his impact at the field end spot is starting to get some of that carry-over.
He hasn’t overtaken Duke grad transfer RJ Oben — yet — as a starter, but the son of former Irish All-America defensive tackle Bryant Young has started to play more snaps than Oben and in higher-level situations.
And with Georgia Tech’s run game producing a combined 616 rushing yards the past two games, in wins over Duke and North Carolina, the Irish need a more consistent force at the field end spot than what Oben has been providing.
The Irish also need all hands on deck, too, when it comes to pressure the quarterback, with Saturday's fill-in starter Zach Pyron showing some of the same abilities to extend plays, run for positive yardage and escape the rush as injured No. 1 option Haynes King. The Yellow Jackets lead the nation in fewest sacks given up this season — one.
"He's a freak athlete — 6-6, 6-7,” Irish defensive tackle Rylie Mills said of Young. “Flies off the ball. It's pretty rare just to have his tools. I think the biggest trait is he works hard and he's really coachable.
“[If[ I say something to him or when [D-line] coach Wash [Al Washington] or anyone else says something to him, it's easy for guys to get defensive or be like, 'Oh, I'm not doing that.' He'll just own it and be like, 'Yeah, that's what I’ve got to do to get better.' He says and does the right things, and you definitely see when he gets out there.
“He's still learning and he's a young guy, but when he goes out there, he plays with 100% effort. So, I think it's really impressive to see that."
Georgia Tech linebacker Kyle Efford
The 6-foot-2, 230-pound redshirt sophomore epitomizes Georgia Tech’s rise under new defensive coordinator Tyler Santucci to a no-frills but fundamentally sound and much-improved unit.
The Yellow Jackets have just one interception and only nine sacks as a team through seven games, but Efford has one of them along with a team-leading 52 tackles and the ability to make plays all over the field.
Georgia Tech’s strong suit on defense has been stopping the run. The Yellow Jackets rank 24th nationally in that category, 28th in third-down defense and 36th in total defense. At the end of the 2023 season, Tech ranked 128th, 105th, and 120th, respectively, in those same statistical categories.
Notre Dame center Pat Coogan
A week removed from his first career reception in organized football, the Notre Dame senior continues to nudge the Irish offensive line along in his overall development.
Among Irish offensive starters, only running back Jeremiyah Love has a higher season grade from Pro Football Focus than Coogan, who stepped in for injured starter Ashton Craig in game 3 against Purdue back on Sept. 14.
Demoted to start the season after logging starts in 13 games at offensive guard last season, Coogan never wavered as a reserve in his work ethic and leadership roles. And his fortitude has been contagious.
“He's just got this kind of light about him — you know what I mean?” Irish offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock said earlier this week. “And he's very demanding of his own abilities and he's demanding of the people around him.
“And I think people are attracted to guys who work every day to be a high achiever. And if they want that for themselves, they get drawn to people like that. And he's one of those guys.”
Georgia Tech running back Jamal Haynes
The 5-foot-9, 180-pound redshirt junior will provide a strong litmus test to determine whether Notre Dame’s run defense is actually making the post-bye week improvements that Irish head coach Marcus Freeman stressed were necessary.
Haynes moved from wide receiver to running back in fall camp of 2023, then went on to become Tech’s first 1,000-yard rusher since 2017. He appears on his way to repeating that feat in 2024, with a team-leading 536 yards on 96 carries (5.6 per carry) with seven TDs. He’s also Tech’s third-leading receiver (15 receptions, 85 yards, 1 TD).
With Zach Pyron starting in place of Haynes King at QB, look for Tech to lean on its running game a little more than usual, at least early in the game.
• Talk with Notre Dame fans on The Insider Lounge.
• Subscribe to the Inside ND Sports podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, SoundCloud, Podbean or Pocket Casts.
• Subscribe to the Inside ND Sports channel on YouTube.
• Follow us on Twitter: @insideNDsports, @EHansenND and @TJamesND.
• Like us on Facebook: Inside ND Sports
• Follow us on Instagram: @insideNDsports
