Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1017623
www.BLUEANDGOLD.com PRESEASON 2018 39 BY LOU SOMOGYI I n 2017, first-year Notre Dame of- fensive coordinator and newly designated play caller Chip Long knew early on what the Fighting Irish identity had to be. With virtually zero experience at quarterback, a running backs corps led by veteran Josh Adams and a seasoned offensive line laden with NFL star power, the mandate was to establish physicality and a dominant run attack to dictate tempo. "I can't put my head on my pil- low at night if we're not going to be physical," Long summarized prior to last season. "If we're not going to be physical, then I won't sleep much at night and probably won't be around here very long." Notre Dame improved from 4-8 to 10-3 and No. 11 nationally last year, and Long did not need to rely on Sominex for his rest. N o t re D a m e ' s 2 6 9 . 5 ru s h i n g yards per game were far and away the most at the school in 21 years (and seventh nationally), the Joe Moore Award was presented to the Fighting Irish for producing the na- tion's top offensive line, and Ad- ams' 1,430 rushing yards were the fourth most in a season at Notre Dame (when bowl games also are included retroactively). What now in 2018? The left side of the offensive line graduated stalwarts Quenton Nelson and Mike McGlinchey, the sixth and ninth players selected in last spring's NFL Draft, Adams opted to turn pro early, and among the nine position groups on offense and defense, run- ning back has the least combination of experience and production, which resulted in the need to shift there a quarterback (Avery Davis) and wide receiver (Jafar Armstrong), both of whom redshirted last season. Nevertheless, if a coaching staff wants to establish a specific type of program or identity — i.e., Wiscon- sin the past 25 years with physical offensive lines and ultra-productive backs — it's all about continuing the groundwork (no pun intended) established last year, no matter the personnel changes or where the sup- posed team strength is. "We're going to be a physical of- fense," Long maintained this Au- gust. "We're going to run the ball, and we're going to run play action. Now, game to game it can differ what defenses play, but it's always going to start with the run. "We might even be better this year at certain types of runs than we were last year." That's not to say Notre Dame will match, or even come close to, last year's 269.5 rushing average. It would do well to get to 200 again — almost a necessity if you look at the history of recent champions or top-10 outfits — but numbers by themselves can be arbitrary or even misleading. It will be more about efficiency while augmenting an aerial attack that is expected to improve after ranking 86th in passing efficiency last year. "Our goal is we want to run to win," Long said during the team's media day Aug. 15. "In the fourth quarter, the best team that can run the ball is going to win. That's our identity, that's who we want to be. "We're going to set the bar high in our run game. Our offensive line is doing a good job, they're playing re- ally physical right now. We just have to find the pieces. Other backs have to step up and find out what they are good at and put them in position to build off it." With senior quarterback Brandon Wimbush having gone through a full season as a starter and junior backup Ian Book displaying his moxie af- ter replacing Wimbush in the Citrus Bowl and dramatically helping rally Notre Dame to victory, the expecta- tions of putting more on their plate is natural. But at what cost? If the passing game improves from subpar to merely average in 2018 while the running game falls from outstanding to average as well … that's a relatively "average" unit overall. In the four open practices to the media this August, an area of the of- fense that appeared especially em- phasized were screens and/or run- pass options (RPO), where the Irish floundered last year. "Being able to work the perimeter will help us a lot more to alleviate some [of the stacked lines]," Long said. Another crucial factor in the run- ning attack might be Wimbush, whose 803 rushing yards last year were the second most ever by an Irish quarterback, behind only Tony Rice's 934 (including the Orange Bowl win over No. 1 Colorado) in 1989. "Our goal is to have close to 200 yards rushing every game, win the turnover battle and have 250-plus passing a game," Long said of what could constitute an ideal objective in 2018. "Those are our goals — but every game is different. "Week to week it will be different. Who has the most carries? Who is the most dynamic back? We're a deeper backfield than we were last year one to four. We're young there, but I'm really encouraged with the speed and explosiveness." Collectively, Long believes the of- fense is "way deeper than last year," although that, just like experience, doesn't automatically translate to be- coming better or more efficient. "We carry a lot of offense, and now we have to install to personnel," he said. Nevertheless, Long is adamant that one constant must remain. "We're going to be a physical of- fense," Long summarized. "That's never going to change." Here's a synopsis of each position group on offense from the Aug. 3-20 training camp, with the fall semester classes beginning Aug. 21. Physical attraction Offensive coordinator Chip Long wants to maintain last year's identity while also improving the passing attack Running back Tony Jones Jr., who ran for 232 yards as a sophomore in 2017, will help lead the Irish rushing attack this fall. PHOTO BY COREY BODDEN