Taking stock of the missing pieces as Notre Dame 's spring kicks off
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Wide receiver Jordan Faison was strictly an observer Thursday morning during the first of 15 spring football practices to be staged between now and the Blue-Gold Game wrap-up on April 20.
Not because the freshman two-sport star injured himself diving into the passion that drew him to Notre Dame in the first place, men’s lacrosse, but because he is fully immersed in it. With Irish third-year head football coach Marcus Freeman’s blessing.
The MVP of last December’s Sun Bowl has scored nine goals in his first four games for the defending national champs (3-1), currently ranked No. 4 heading into a road game Saturday at unranked Ohio State.
“The demands on Jordan, for instance, for this weekend's game is going to be something where it's going to be detrimental to him to practice [football],” Freeman said in a post-practice press conference. “We'll hold him out. He is full-in lacrosse right now. And our challenge is to continuously get him better.
“It's not that lacrosse has to give him to us. He's all in on lacrosse. He’s going to be playing lacrosse this entire spring. So, we have to make sure we structure our practice and the things we asked Jordan to do around the demands that he has to do in lacrosse.”
The game plan for baseball/football double-dipper, Drayk Bowen, is a bit different, and the sophomore-to-be linebacker and freshman backup infielder/outfielder fully participated in Thursday’s football workout at the Irish Athletic Center.
Late in practice, though, the 6-foot-2, 244-pounder was shaken up and limped off the field after blitzing on an 11-on-11 drill. The Irish are not in full pads yet and contact is very limited.
Bowen has played in two games for the Irish baseball team (9-2) to date as they head into the ACC opening series this weekend at Virginia Tech (8-3). He appeared as a pinch runner in both of those games and scored a run in each of them.
“He's required to do less physically than Jordan,” Freeman said of Bowen. “So, you'll see Drayk, obviously having more football workouts and practice. It’s just what your body is required to do in lacrosse versus football.”
Five players were held completely out of Thursday’s football practice, and were instead doing side work that included riding stationary bikes. Freeman said those five, all recovering from various surgeries, will be held out of all 15 spring sessions.
Tight ends, senior-to-be Mitchell Evans and grad Kevin Bauman, and junior defensive end Aiden Gobaira are all recovering from knee (ACL) surgeries. Sophomore interior defensive lineman Armel Mukam and freshman vyper end Loghan Thomas are recovering from shoulder (labrum) surgeries.
Two other players were limited Thursday, nickel Jordan Clark — a grad transfer for Arizona State — with quad soreness, and tight end Eli Raridon for undisclosed reasons.
Also absent was key interior line backup Gabe Rubio, who is not on the roster this spring. It was previously told to Inside ND Sports through a source Rubio was out for personal reasons. Freeman did not elaborate when asked Thursday.
“I expect him back in the summer,” Freeman offered.
Of the two-sport participants, both are competing for starting positions — Faison at slot receiver and Bowen at middle linebacker. Faison came to Notre Dame on a lacrosse scholarship, but had to have the scholarship committed to football, per NCAA rules, once he saw his first game action.
He ended up playing in the final seven games of the season for the Irish (10-3), catching 19 passes for 322 yards and four TDs. He also was the backup punt return option and is expected to compete to be the top option there in 2024.
Bowen played in 12 games last season and had 14 tackles as a backup linebacker and special teams regular.
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