The exercise conducted by Douglas Farmer for NBCSports.com every preseason provides a good litmus test for the perceived talent hierarchy on the Notre Dame football roster.
Each year, Farmer asks several media members to rank Notre Dame’s top 25 most impactful players heading into the upcoming season for his "Counting Down the Irish" series. Farmer shared his poll results throughout the past week culminating with the full 25 on Friday afternoon.
I provided my ballot on behalf of Inside ND Sports even though Eric Hansen previously shared his own top 23 for the 2023 season in early July. Farmer gave us until this past Sunday to submit our ballots, so we were able to have some insight from the first few preseason camp practices before completing the list.
Let’s take a look at my top 25 before comparing it to the aggregate list.
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Top 25 impactful players for 2023
1. QB Sam Hartman
2. LT Joe Alt
3. CB Benjamin Morrison
4. RB Audric Estimé
5. LB JD Bertrand
6. RT Blake Fisher
7. WR Jayden Thomas
8. S Xavier Watts
9. TE Mitchell Evans
10. NT Howard Cross III
11. WR Tobias Merriweather
12. CB Cam Hart
13. C Zeke Correll
14. DT Rylie Mills
15. DE Jordan Botelho
16. WR Chris Tyree
17. DE Javontae Jean-Baptiste
18. LG Billy Schrauth
19. LB Jack Kiser
20. CB Jaden Mickey
21. DB Thomas Harper
22. RB Jadarian Price
23. WR Jaden Greathouse
24. TE Holden Staes
25. LB Jaylen Sneed
Players I’m higher on
• Safety Xavier Watts: My ranking of Watts at No. 8 was higher than any of the other eight voters. No one else had the 6-foot, 204-pound senior ranked higher than No. 11. I’m expecting a big season out of Watts, who seems like the only sure thing at the safety position heading into the season. How the other safeties fit around him will be interesting, but he should be able to carry the momentum from the end of last season to become a key piece of the Irish defense.
• Tight end Mitchell Evans: My ranking of Evans at No. 9 was the highest, and no one else had him higher than 15th. Who knew the No. 1 Notre Dame tight end could be expected to have such little impact? Though Evans lacks the production history as a pass catcher (five career catches for 60 yards and one touchdown), he’s experienced and in line for a breakout season. The best argument for lowering Evans would be an emergence of someone like sophomore Holden Staes. But I think there’s room for both of them to have an impact with quarterback Sam Hartman running the offense.
• Defensive end Javontae Jean-Baptiste: My ranking of Jean-Baptiste at No. 17 was tied for the highest with one other voter. But four other voters didn’t even include them on their lists. The preseason buzz for Jean-Baptiste was tempered a bit when he didn’t play in the Blue-Gold Game, so he hasn’t been able to show off what he can do quite yet. Jean-Baptiste wasn’t even among the defensive linemen asked to speak to reporters following a practice last week. But everyone who speaks about Jean-Baptiste around Notre Dame’s program has high praise for him, so I’m expecting him to make a leap in production from the reserve role player he was at Ohio State.
Players I’m lower on
• Linebacker Marist Liufau: Turns out I was the only voter to not include Liufau, a starting linebacker last season, on my top 25. He finished tied for 17th in the combined poll. Part of my thought process included what Liufau did last season: totaling 51 tackles despite leading Notre Dame’s defense in snaps. Liufau also added 4.5 tackles for loss, one interception, one fumble recovery and a half of a sack. That’s just not enough production for 646 snaps. I expect Liufau’s snap count to decrease and his impact to follow suit, especially considering the possibility of Jack Kiser taking some of his reps away at will linebacker.
• Linebacker Jack Kiser: Even though I expect Kiser to play more inside this season, which could increase his impact from last season, my ranking of him at No. 19 was five spots lower than any other voter. He finished No. 9 on the composite ballot with a high ranking of No. 6. I’m anticipating more balanced linebacker play with a deeper rotation this season outside of mike linebacker JD Bertrand, which would lessen the impact Kiser can make. I might come to regret putting Kiser so low.
• Right guard TBD: I actually wasn’t alone in this thinking, but I wanted to mention it here. The only starting offensive line position not included in my top 25 was the right guard spot. That’s because I don’t have supreme confidence in who will win the competition between graduate senior Andrew Kristofic and junior Rocco Spindler. And there’s no guarantee the starting right guard against Navy in the season opener will make it through the entire season in that role. Turns out my uncertainty was shared because no voter included a right guard candidate on their list.
Who would be in your top 25? Share it with us on The Insider Lounge.
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