Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1017623
40 PRESEASON 2018 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED QUARTERBACK Top Topic Through Aug. 20: With a premium placed on Wimbush improving his passing and going through his progressions intently before bailing out to run, there is cu- riosity about whether that will help the offense overall or subtract from Wimbush's asset. "We're less concerned about car- ries with him and more interested in highlighting his strengths and being productive with him," head coach Brian Kelly summarized. If skeptics want to see it before they believe it regarding Wimbush's pass- ing consistency, it's understandable. "Last year he struggled with the short throws, right?" Kelly stated. "Decelerating, not finishing. He's much more efficient in those throws. Now the next stage in development for him is some of the athletic throws — the hot throws, the screen throws … mechanically you have to be able to just let it go and trust it and not think about it. "He's a cerebral kid that thinks about those things a little bit too much at times. … He's got to move the offense better. You have to be ef- ficient and you can't be worrying about throwing the football, or you can't run the offense." Of Note: Sophomore Avery Davis, the No. 3 option at the end of spring, took all his reps we saw as a running back and wide receiver while fresh- man Phil Jurkovec became the third option. Summary: Much attention will be on whether Wimbush can bounce back from the four-game funk he fin- ished with in 2017. The good news is whereas Wimbush and Book were novices last year, their successes experienced in 2017 can now be ex- panded. "We're way ahead of where we were last year," Kelly said. "We're spending most of the time at the end of practice working on situational football, and that's where we've got to be learning at quarterback. "… We couldn't do that last year [with less experience and learning under a new coordinator]." Based on our observations from the four open practices during August, here is what the depth chart on offense appears to be, with heights and weights updated by Notre Dame. A few duplicate numbers could change. For example, fifth-year senior running back Keenan Sweeney and freshman rover Shayne Simon both wear No. 33, but also might be on the kickoff return team. If that remains, one would need to change his number. Quarterback No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 7 Brandon Wimbush 6-2 222 Sr./2 12 Ian Book 6-0 203 Jr./3 15 Phil Jurkovec 6-4½ 220 Fr./4 Walk-ons: Senior Nolan Henry (17), sophomore J.D. Carney (14) and freshman Cole Capen (31) Running Back No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 6 Tony Jones Jr. 5-11 220 Jr./3 8 Jafar Armstrong 6-1 218 So./4 3 Avery Davis 5-11 204 So./4 20 C'Borius Flemister 5-11 196 Fr./4 34 Jahmir Smith 5-11 205 Fr./4 2 Dexter Williams 5-11 215 Sr./1 Walk-ons: Fifth-year senior Keenan Sweeney (33), junior Mick Assaf (32) and sophomore Cam- eron Ekanayake (16) Wide Receiver (W) No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 81 Miles Boykin 6-4 228 Sr./2 4 Kevin Austin 6-2 210 Fr./4 80 Micah Jones 6-4½ 212 Fr./4 Wide Receiver (X) No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 83 Chase Claypool 6-4½ 227 Jr./2 87 Michael Young 5-10 185 So./3 25 Braden Lenzy 5-11½ 170 Fr./4 17 Isaiah Robertson 6-1½ 207 So./3 Wide Receiver (Z) No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 10 Chris Finke 5-9½ 180 Sr./2 88 Javon McKinley 6-2 219 Jr./3 18 Joe Wilkins Jr. 6-1½ 185 Fr./4 13 Lawrence Keys 5-10½ 170 Fr./4 Walk-ons: Junior Arion Shinaver (27), sophomore Matt Salerno (29), and freshmen Leo Albano (26) and Greg Mailey (43) Tight End No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 86 Alizé Mack 6-5 247 Sr./2 84 Cole Kmet 6-5½ 258 So./3 89 Brock Wright 6-4½ 260 So./3 82 Nic Weishar 6-5 246 5th-Sr./1 85 George Takacs 6-6 250 Fr./4 24 Tommy Tremble 6-3 228 Fr./4 Walk-ons: Sophomores Jack Henige (49) and Xavier Lezynski (48) Left Tackle No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 74 Liam Eichenberg 6-6 308 Jr./3 55 Jarrett Patterson 6-4½ 290 Fr./4 60 Cole Mabry 6-5 270 Fr./4 Left Guard No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 71 Alex Bars 6-6 315 5th-Sr./1 76 Dillan Gibbons 6-4 313 So./4 58 Darnell Ewell 6-3 330 So./4 Center No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 53 Sam Mustipher 6-2½ 306 5th-Sr./1 57 Trevor Ruhland 6-3½ 295 Sr./2 70 Luke Jones 6-5 303 Fr./4 Right Guard No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 78 Tommy Kraemer 6-5½ 316 Jr./3 75 Joshua Lugg 6-7 314 So./4 Right Tackle No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 72 Robert Hainsey 6-5 295 So./3 69 Aaron Banks 6-6 319 So./4 56 John Dirksen 6-5 307 Fr./4 Walk-ons: Senior Logan Plantz (62), sophomore Colin Grunhard (61), and freshmen Cody Benja- min (63) and Max Siegel (64) BGI 2018 OFFENSE DEPTH CHART This year's Irish offensive line may not boast the overall star power that the 2017 unit featured — most notably a pair of top-10 picks in the NFL Draft — but it still figures to rank among the nation's finest. PHOTO BY ANGELA DRISKELL