QB Tyler Buchner And 4 Other Notre Dame Football Freshmen To Watch In Camp
The frequency with which freshmen enroll early and partake in spring practices has somewhat diminished the excitement of observing first-year players partake in fall camp.
But only somewhat.
Spring practices were the first taste of college football for many of Notre Dame’s freshmen, yes. But there’s something different about training camp. When the Irish take the field Saturday they’ll be less than a month from opening the season on Sept. 5 against Florida State.
There isn’t as much of a time crunch in the spring. There is subsequently less pressure to perform up to the highest standard. Now the season is right around the corner. Every rep freshmen make between now and Labor Day weekend is designed to directly prepare them for what will happen in Tallahassee and every Saturday thereafter.
These are five freshmen to monitor over the next month who could make an impact as early as the season opener. If they don’t, they’re still expected to be huge pieces of what Notre Dame is trying to accomplish in the short-term future.
1. Quarterback Tyler Buchner
If Notre Dame has to use Buchner this season, then chances are the Irish’s year is lost. Graduate senior Jack Coan transferred in to start. Period. If he is supplanted by sophomore Drew Pyne and for whatever reason Buchner overtakes Pyne, then the Irish would be in a world of trouble.
That said, Buchner could have a very bright future in South Bend. He's almost everything a coach wants in a modern quarterback. He has enough size at 6-1 and 207 pounds. He has a strong arm. He has vision, accuracy and a quick release. He’s not afraid to use his legs and he’s elusive when he elects to do so.
Buchner isn’t going to get first team reps in camp. He might not even get many with the second team. But it’ll be interesting to see how much of a gap there is between him and Pyne. Even with junior Brendon Clark on the roster, Buchner and Pyne are the quarterbacks who will likely compete for the starting job this time next year.
This month is an opportunity for Buchner to show the Notre Dame coaching staff he’s capable of playing early in his career. He’s going to make rookie mistakes in camp. They happen. If he shows he does not make a habit of them, though, Buchner might inch closer to the starting conversation as early as this coming spring.
2. Offensive Tackle Blake Fisher
Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly has been reluctant to start freshmen offensive linemen. It’s only happened in five games of the 131 Kelly has coached for the Irish.
Maybe it hasn’t been reluctance as much as simply having a wealth of riches in a position group Notre Dame has been as great at producing next level talent from as any other program in the country, but a trend is a trend.
That trend is set to be shattered this season.
Barring unexpected circumstances that arise from fall camp, five-star freshman Blake Fisher is in line to start at left tackle. Like Buchner, Fisher isn’t going to be perfect at his respective position. There is less room for error for Fisher, though, considering his job is to prevent Coan from being pressured from the blindside.
Kelly said in the spring Fisher is an exception to his theory that true freshmen just aren’t physically mature enough to endure the rigors of starting on the offensive line. Fisher is 6-6 and 330 pounds, but those are just numbers.
How does Fisher react to defensive ends ruthlessly attacking him to get to the quarterback? Can he pick up on stunts and different looks from the defense? Will he let one mishap compound into multiple? Those are queries Kelly can learn a lot about between now and September.
3. Offensive Guard Rocco Spindler
Notre Dame nabbing graduate transfer Cain Madden from Marshall was further proof of Kelly’s reticence to rely on freshmen on the offensive line. If Madden never arrived, it was a real possibility fellow freshman Rocco Spindler would have started with Fisher.
Spindler’s starting slot was snagged by Madden, but doesn’t mean his importance to the Irish was swiped from him as well. Like Coan, Madden is nothing more than a one-year rental. Spindler is the future of Notre Dame’s offensive line at one of the guard spots.
One thing to watch in camp hinges on this hypothetical: if Madden did not come to Notre Dame, how ready would Spindler have been to start right away? The answer will provide a gauge of what to expect from him as he transitions into his starting role in 2022.
4. Wide Receiver Lorenzo Styles Jr.
Styles’ status entering the season is as intriguing as any player on this list. Notre Dame has been waiting for its veteran wideouts who are still on the roster to have breakout seasons for years now. Outside of Avery Davis having a 322-yard season last year, it hasn’t happened.
Could Styles, a fresh face in a room that has been collectively frustrated for some time now, be the spark Notre Dame’s wide receivers need to right the ship? Styles was the No. 6 overall wide receiver in the class of 2021 according to Rivals. He’s talented and could be a game-breaker. Why wait to insert himself into the regular rotation? He’s set up to do it as soon as September.
Practices are incredibly useful for skill position players. Styles has an incredible amount of chances to show Notre Dame wide receivers coach Del Alexander that he can play right away. From one-on-ones to seven-on-seven and full-on scrimmages, Styles can prove he belongs during camp.
5. Defensive Tackle Gabe Rubio
With senior Jayson Ademilola and sophomore Rylie Mills ahead of him on the depth chart, Rubio is not expected to get many snaps as a true freshman. But once Ademilola departs, Rubio immediately steps into the same role Mills is preparing to have this year — which is a much bigger one than many might first think.
Few positions rotate as much throughout any given game as defensive linemen do. Mills will relieve Ademilola quite a bit this season because of that. Then Rubio, if he slides onto the second team in 2022, will relieve Mills for a significant amount of snaps next season.
Like with Spindler, Rubio is positioned to have an impactful first impression on the coaching staff. What Rubio does over the next month could pay dividends for playing time purposes a year from now.
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