Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2019 Notre Dame Football Preview
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SPECIALISTS BY THE NUMBERS 7 Special teams tackles (four on punts and three on kickoffs) last season by current senior wide receiver Chase Clay- pool, which tied him with Alohi Gilman and graduated safety Nicco Fertitta for the team lead. A bona fide NFL pros- pect, Claypool's stock in next spring's draft could be aided by his special teams work. 9.8 Average on 20 punt returns last year by fifth-year senior wide receiver Chris Finke, which placed him 23rd nation- ally. It was the highest figure by a Notre Dame punt return man with at least 15 attempts since 2007, when Tom Zbikowski averaged 10.2. Finke is back for his fifth season in 2019. 263 Snap attempts by senior John Shan- non his first two seasons on either punts, extra points or field goals. He and the team were 138 out of 138 in 2017, but had an errant snap in the first quarter against Virginia Tech in 2018, which made it 124 of 125. He follows in the tradition of four-year starters Jor- dan Cowart (2009-12) and Scott Daly (2013-16), with Shannon's eligibility ex- piring after the 2020 campaign. Long snapper John Shannon has ex- celled at his craft the past two seasons and has two more years of eligibility. PHOTO BY ANGELA DRISKELL Starter ★★ Notre Dame returns a good situation from a snap- ping standpoint with third-year starter John Shannon, its top punt returner (Chris Finke) is back, as is walk- on holder Nolan Henry, and there is plenty of young talent competing for the kick return spot. There is also optimism about the coverage units getting better thanks to the physical maturity of the 2018 class. The grade is dragged significantly down by the ques- tion marks at punter and placekicker. Freshman punter Jay Bramblett has long-range promise with his athletic skills, but he is inexperienced and doesn't yet have the power that predecessor Tyler Newsome showed. Junior Jonathan Doerer has a strong leg, and if he becomes a steady player the kicking situation should be fine. Still, up to this point he has not yet displayed enough consistency. Experience ★★½ Outside of punter — where a true freshman is ex- pected to start — Notre Dame has plenty of veteran talent here. It has a third-year starter coming back at snapper, a fifth-year player returning punts and plenty of skill figures returning on the coverage and return teams. Doerer is a question mark from a consistency stand- point, but he's kicked off 88 times the last two seasons and received a taste as the primary placekicker when he replaced Yoon against Navy. Doerer nailed his lone field goal attempt and made 5 of 6 extra point tries. We're not sure if he's ready to handle the leading role, but he is not a newcomer. Depth ★½ If Doerer doesn't grab hold of the placekicking job it will likely fall to freshman walk-on Harrison Leonard, who arrives this summer. The backup to freshman Jay Bramblett at punter is sophomore walk-on Jake Rittman, who has never attempted a punt in a game. Behind John Shannon at long snapper is Michael Vin- son, another walk-on who has never played a snap of college football. Notre Dame has plenty of return game options. There is quality depth at linebacker, wide receiver, running back and in the secondary from an athleti- cism standpoint, which is essential to the coverage and return units. Overall Grade ★★ Notre Dame should make positive strides in the return game and with its coverage units. Those are important areas to winning football games because of their impact on field position, which plays a key role in scoring. Feeling bullish about those areas improves the cu- mulative grade a bit. If this category was just about kicking and punting it would be a major concern. Doerer needs to inspire much more confidence with consistency, Bramblett is just a freshman, and Shan- non has had multiple shoulder woes. If he were to get injured, the snapping situation could also become murky. PRESEASON ANALYSIS ★★★★★ National Title; ★★★★ Top 10; ★★★ Top 25; ★★ Too Unproven; ★ Major Concern 112 ✦ BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2019 FOOTBALL PREVIEW QUOTABLE: JUNIOR KICKER JONATHAN DOERER, WHO STANDS 6-3, ON ADJUSTING HIS TECHNIQUE THIS SPRING TO BECOME MORE PROFICIENT TOWARD THE END OF SPRING: "Not a lot of kickers are my size, so it's a little more difficult to be consistent with your steps and movement. By shortening [the steps] up, we've been able to find some more consistency, and that's something I'm really excited about. "It keeps me from getting in my own way. I know when I hit the ball well, I'm going to have enough leg. As long as I stay within those steps and I stay under control, I'm going to have enough leg to make the kick. I don't need to swing too hard."