Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1271864
www.BLUEANDGOLD.com AUGUST 2020 21 injury history that has sidelined him three different seasons (and partially last year), plus a knee injury to Mc- Cloud last year that resulted in a medi- cal redshirt, relying so much on the 5-10, 180-pound Bracy alone to be the swing player at the boundary and field positions might be overextending. There are six cornerbacks on the roster with four years of eligibility remaining. At least one has to dis- tinguish himself to join the rotation. Anyone among sophomores Isaiah Rutherford, KJ Wallace and Cam Hart would be the early best bets. 4. NO. 1 RECEIVER Notice we didn't demarcate this into boundary (W), field (X) or slot (Z) positions. This could be any of the three spots. While the boundary has produced three consecutive NFL prospects in three years with sixth-round selec- tion Equanimeous St. Brown (2017), third-round pick Miles Boykin (2018) and second-round choice Chase Claypool (2019) — plus current ju- nior Kevin Austin could be the star in waiting there after a 2019 exile — the candidates to be the alpha figure overall are numerous. No current wideout while playing at Notre Dame has more than the 13 career receptions of junior Lawrence Keys III. Northwestern graduate transfer Ben Skowronek — who lined up at X in the lone spring practice — did snare 110 with the Wildcats. No one has the home- run capabilities of Braden Lenzy, but five-star recruit Jordan Johnson could also provide impact. A rotation of six in a game is probable, but is there a safety net for quarterback Ian Book to throw to as he had with the 6-4 Claypool last year or the 6-4 Boykin in 2018, especially on jump balls? Both Boykin and Claypool also had vertical jumps beyond 40 inches to augment their height advan- tages and underrated speed. 3. STUD SAFETY Junior Houston Griffith and Ohio State graduate transfer Isaiah Pryor are vying for snaps at the spot vacated by Alohi Gilman. Both en- rolled in college with plenty of ac- colades but have been trying to find their niche. The top-ranked prospect (No. 43 na- tionally) in Notre Dame's 2018 haul, Griffith tried his hand at nickel as a freshman and auditioned at boundary corner last year before the staff opted to let him settle in at his most natural safety spot, where his strengths as a tackler can particularly be utilized. Pryor — who was ranked as the nation's No. 45 overall prospect by ESPN in 2017 — started seven games as a 2018 Buckeyes sophomore, but saw his role diminish last season. It wouldn't be a surprise if defensive coordinator Clark Lea regularly em- ployed a three-safety alignment that he used quite a bit last year (especially versus USC) with Gilman, Jalen Elliott and then-freshman Kyle Hamilton. 2. RUNNING BACK Every option here is qualified with a "yeah, but" caveat. Senior Jafar Armstrong is the most experienced … yeah, but he's been slowed by injuries and averaged 2.7 yards per carry last year. Junior C'Bo Flemister tallied five touchdowns in 2018 … yeah, but he also averaged only 3.4 yards per attempt. Junior Jahmir Smith is physical … yeah, but in the last four games he totaled seven carries for zero yards. Sophomore Kyren Williams has all- purpose-like skills … yeah, but the staff felt he needed much more work last season, so it redshirted him. Stanford graduate transfer Trevor Speights provides maturity … yeah, but he didn't play last year and saw limited time in meaningful game situations. Freshman Chris Tyree is a top-100 prospect with game-breaking speed … yeah, but at 179 pounds and after missing several games last year, is he durable enough to be a mainstay as a college rookie? While it is likely this will be a running back by committee, ideally somebody can take on a lead-dog role and be possibly relied on for 10 to 15 carries per game. 1. BUCK LINEBACKER The Buck stops here. Or in this case, it's who starts here. Each of the last two seasons Lea filled this void with the former starter at rover, first with Drue Tranquill (2018) and then Asmar Bilal (2019). Shifting 2020 rover Jer- emiah Owusu-Koramoah this year is not on Lea's ra- dar because the senior is the prototype of the hybrid po- sition. Whether junior rover backup Paul Moala would get an audition could be open for debate. At the start and end of spring drills — all in the same day — senior Jor- dan Genmark Heath took the reps with the first unit. That was in part because juniors Jack Lamb (hip) and Shayne Simon (patella) were recovering from No- vember surgeries. Sophomores Marist Liu- fau and Jack Kiser also could cross-train at Buck and rover. While we're at it, if junior Bo Bauer is good enough to start at Mike, then maybe the 2019 starter and co- leading tackler Drew White could move over to Buck. So many options, so few reps. ✦ Senior Jordan Genmark Heath took the reps at Buck linebacker with the first unit during the program's lone practice in the spring, but will have to fend off several challengers this fall. PHOTO BY COREY BODDEN