About six weeks into the name, image and likeness era, Notre Dame players have mostly struck smaller sponsorship and endorsement deals. There has been no news of income that approaches seven figures.
Junior safety Kyle Hamilton has been active, though. His NIL ventures to date include being a Rhoback clothing brand ambassador, starting a podcast and holding a youth football camp. Senior defensive linemen Jayson and Justin Ademilola have a reported five-figure deal with a sports nutrition company. The offensive line has a few sponsors. Some players have signed with agents.
All told, not much that has generated widespread national attention in this new era of college sports, at least not compared to Alabama quarterback Bryce Young's near-$1 million in deals or Ohio State quarterback Quinn Ewers skipping his senior year of high school to enroll early for NIL reasons.
But that’s subject to change. Perhaps the opportunities just haven't come yet. And this is still an unprecedented time that can bring unforeseen trends and ripple effects. Whatever is in store, head coach Brian Kelly wants to help his players navigate it and take advantage.
“I'm excited for our guys,” Kelly said after Saturday’s practice. “There's a lot of work that we still have to do with just handling each circumstance that comes our way. Everybody wishes that there was a clear doctrine on how we handle each and every situation, but I think there's really good communication.
“I think the goal here is to collaborate and help our players in educating them the best we can. But there's always going to be those situations where, why are we doing it or why can't we do this. As we told our team, ‘Let's work together and figure it out.’ We're just trying to be collaborative and communicate the best we can.”
In a way, NIL reminds Kelly of another once-nascent concept that’s now ubiquitous: Twitter. He wants to approach it the same way too.
“I think it's similar to six or eight years ago when Twitter really burst on the scene,” Kelly said. “Some programs said, ‘Hey, shut off your phones, don't use Twitter. “My response was, ‘Let's use this in a positive way.’
“And I think this is the same thing with name, image and likeness. Let's look at this as a positive and how we can be helpful and use this in a positive way. That's our mindset.”
Ramon Henderson Impressing
Kelly pushed back on the idea that the starting offensive line is nearly settled. He did the same with the cornerbacks.
Even though junior Cam Hart, sophomore Clarence Lewis and senior TaRiq Bracy exited spring having taken most of the first-team reps at boundary, field and slot corner, Kelly said they’re not locked into those respective jobs as fall camp begins.
Partially because they need to earn it. Hart hasn’t started before. Bracy lost his starting job late last season. Lewis, despite taking Bracy’s place last year and giving the secondary a boost, has six career starts.
But also because there’s a potential intrepid disruptor knocking on the door: sophomore Ramon Henderson.
“I don't think you can rule out Henderson,” Kelly said. “He's really emerging. He's long, he's athletic, he's playing with a lot more confidence. I think you've got to add him into the mix there.”
The 6-1, 190-pound Henderson worked behind Hart at the boundary corner position this spring, earning some occasional first-team snaps. He played in five games as a freshman, with most of that action coming on special teams. Now, it appears he’s putting more heat on Hart for a starting role.
Kelly and defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman want to have six corners they can trust — two at each position. Hart, Lewis, Bracy and Henderson seem to be furthest along in cementing their status.
That would leave six others to battle for spots in the two-deep: junior KJ Wallace (a safety who worked at nickel), sophomore Caleb Offord, and freshmen Philip Riley, JoJo Johnson, Ryan Barnes and Chance Tucker.
“Somebody has got to play nickel, so you have to think about three corners,” Kelly said. “For those positions, you're really talking about the need to be at six. That's kind of where Marcus wants the defense to be.”
Zeke Correll’s Position Switch
Notre Dame keeping center Jarrett Patterson at his best position means Zeke Correll will need to play a new position if he’s a starter this year.
Kelly said Patterson, the Irish’s 21-game starting center, is staying there and not moving elsewhere as initially anticipated. Correll, meanwhile, has played exclusively center since he enrolled in January 2019 and started twice there after Patterson’s November foot injury ended his 2020 season.
That kind of specialization is rare on an offensive line that likes to cross-train players. It’s why a popular idea entering the offseason was to move Patterson – a former tackle and Notre Dame’s most experienced returner – to tackle or guard and slot Correll at center.
Now, though, Correll is working at left guard and hopes to be Aaron Banks’ replacement at that spot. At 6-3 and 295 pounds, he bears little resemblance to Banks (6-6, 330). He’s on the lighter side for a guard. But that’s not to say the difference is inherently problematic.
“He brings other intangibles,” Kelly said. “He's smart, he's tough, he's athletic. The physical things that he brings relative to the guard position certainly outweigh the fact that he's not 325 pounds. There's the plus/minus there.”
Correll is one of three returning Notre Dame linemen with starting experience, joining Patterson and Josh Lugg (eight career starts). Marshall grad transfer Cain Madden, who played right guard Saturday, made 31 career starts at that same position for the Thundering Herd.
Senior John Dirksen, junior Andrew Kristofic, junior Quinn Carroll and freshman Rocco Spindler are also candidates at the guard spots. Spindler, an early enrollee and a former top-100 recruit, earned first-team work this spring.
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