2020 Notre Dame Football Preview

Digital Edition

Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2020 Notre Dame Football Preview

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BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2020 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ✦ 115 SPECIALISTS NOTABLE DATA Pro Football Focus gave Notre Dame's special teams unit the third-highest grade in the na- tion. The Irish allowed no punt returns of 20 or more yards, no kick returns of 40 or more yards and no return touchdowns. They blocked three kicks, which tied for 14th nationally. Their average kickoff length and touchback percent- age were above average but not in the top 50. Football Outsiders' Fremeau Efficiency In- dex (FEI) rated Notre Dame as the No. 24 spe- cial teams unit in the country, the same as its 2018 placement. That came with a transition at kicker and punter. Among Notre Dame's 2020 opponents, only Duke (15th) finished higher. DID YOU KNOW? Backup linebacker Bo Bauer led Notre Dame with 11 special teams tackles in 2019, per Pro Football Focus (but 13 tackles according to Notre Dame). The next five behind him were all starters: Safety Alohi Gilman, linebackers Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and Asmar Bilal, wide receiver Chase Claypool and cor- nerback Troy Pride Jr. Special teams coordinator Brian Polian frequently plays starters on special teams. Four of those top six spe- cial teams tacklers are gone. Replacing coverage team production is easier than finding new kickers, punt- ers and returners, but spe- cial teams units get atten- tion when they fail more so than when they suc- ceed. A smooth transition in coverage team person- nel, then, should go largely unnoticed. SCHOLARSHIP PLAYERS (3) Listed after the class year is the years of eligi- bility remaining. Kicker 39 Jonathan Doerer (6-3, 205), Sr./1 Punter 19 Jay Bramblett (6-1½, 193), So./3 Long Snapper — Alex Peitsch (6-1, 205), Fr./4 2019 VS. 2020: STOCK UP OR DOWN? Nothing about the 2020 preseason outlook suggests a disruption to the relative consistency of the kicking game units the past two seasons. The stock is strong and can continue to rise. While other major college teams might lack kickers they trust to attempt field goals beyond 40 yards and are fortunate to get 38-40 yards of net field position on a punt, Notre Dame had neither issue in 2019. Jay Bramblett admirably replaced Tyler Newsome, one of the country's best punters from 2015-18. His punting average (39.4 yards) was lower than any of Newsome's individual seasons, but he did not have a punt blocked and only 30 percent of his at- tempts were returned (for an average of 3.9 yards). Jonathan Doerer slid in for record-setting kicker Justin Yoon — a four-year starter — and was 7 of 9 from 40-plus yards and 2 of 2 on attempts beyond 50 yards. On kickoffs, he put 45.9 percent of his attempts into the end zone and his returned kicks averaged only 17.7 yards. X-FACTOR Notre Dame is set at kicker and punter, while freshman Alex Peitsch is slated to replace graduated three-year starter John Shannon at long snapper. Who will be the prime return men is still to be determined. Graduated wide receiver Chris Finke handled punt return duties the past four years and was quietly productive, finishing 19th nationally in punt return average (9.0 yards) last year and 23rd in 2018 (9.8). In the lone spring practice, junior wide receivers Lawrence Keys III and Kevin Austin, sophomore running back Kyren Wil- liams and two cornerbacks, sophomore KJ Wallace and freshman Caleb Offord, fielded punts. Keys was the top kick return man last year with 10 for 194 yards (19.4 per attempt), but classmate Braden Lenzy was used for the role in the Camping World Bowl, and his three returns averaged a strong 23.7 yards. Both of them are expected to see their load increase on offense — but their speed, especially Lenzy's, makes it hard to deny them chances at returns. FRESHMAN OUTLOOK Peitsch is coming in on scholarship to replace three-year starter Shannon, who last year won the inaugural Patrick Mannelly Long Snapper of the Year Award. Not every program gives long snappers scholarships out of high school, so Notre Dame sitting Peitsch for multiple years seems difficult to imagine. But the Irish have two other walk-on long snappers, Axel Raarup and Michael Vinson. Junior wide receiver Lawrence Keys III led the team with 10 kick returns (for 194 yards) last season, and he was among those who fielded punts during Notre Dame's lone spring practice in March. PHOTO BY ANDRIS VISOCKIS

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