Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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44 PRESEASON 2020 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED Finding playmakers for Katrenick, Brice or who- ever plays quarterback may be the larger issue. Only five Football Bowl Subdivision teams aver- aged fewer yards per play last season than Duke, and its passing game managed just 179.3 yards per contest. That said, Duke senior tight end Noah Gray — who had 51 catches for 392 yards and three touch- downs in 2019 — returns and should remain a valuable target. With thin numbers in the Irish defensive back- field and the graduation of standout cornerback Troy Pride Jr., pass coverage was an offseason concern, though junior cornerback TaRiq Bracy re- turns after leading Notre Dame with seven passes broken up last season, and sixth-year senior Shaun Crawford also adds plenty of talent and leadership in the secondary. Advantage: Notre Dame NOTRE DAME RUNNING GAME VS. DUKE RUN DEFENSE With a running backs roster filled more with promising players than proven performers, mea- suring the worth of this unit is difficult before an opening game. Notre Dame finished No. 45 in the country last season in rushing at 179.2 yards per game. How- ever, no running back beyond graduated senior Tony Jones Jr. ever showed consistent production in 2019. Then-junior Jafar Armstrong opened 2019 as the starter, but injuries limited him to only 46 carries and 122 yards on the year. Armstrong returns — and is presumed to be the opening-day starter again — but take his numbers out of the 2020 run- ning game equation and there's not a running back on the Irish roster who has more than 49 carries or 191 yards in his career. With 180 rushing yards last season, junior Jahmir Smith statistically leads the group of returning run- ning backs in 2019 ground production. For Duke, the loss of third-team All-ACC line- backer Koby Quanash (105 tackles) after last season leaves a big void in its run stoppage unit, though a strong secondary led by physical seniors Marquis Waters at safety and Mark Gilbert at cor- nerback should help fill that production hole. Advantage: Notre Dame NOTRE DAME PASSING GAME VS. DUKE PASS DEFENSE If there is one clear area of strength on Duke's primary units, pass rush was believed to be it this preseason. The Blue Devils finished No. 24 in the country last season in passing yards allowed per game (199.0) and ranked No. 40 in team pass ef- ficiency defense. Duke's defense will be anchored by edge play- ers Victor Dimukeje, a senior, and Chris Rumph, a redshirt junior. The latter led the Football Bowl Subdivision last season with a 30.8 pass rush win rate, according to Pro Football Focus. Combine this talented duo with an experienced second- ary and Duke should again be stingy against the pass. In a true case of strength versus strength, Notre Dame's offensive line ranked No. 2 in the country last season in pass protection, per Pro Football Focus, and this unit returns all five starters that gave up only 80 sack yards in 2019 and permitted merely one third-down sack of quarterback Ian Book over the last nine games. This marks the first time since 2005 that Notre Dame has returned all five starters along the of- fensive line. Book needs to find some reliable targets after losing standout pass catchers Chase Claypool, Chris Finke and Cole Kmet from last season. Advantage: Notre Dame SPECIAL TEAMS A year ago at this time, Notre Dame special teams loomed as one of the primary concerns on the team with the departures of four-year starters Justin Yoon at placekicker and Tyler Newsome at punter. The concerns were calmed when those two posi- tions underwent nearly seamless transitions after steady work from then-junior placekicker Jonathan Doerer and true freshman punter Jay Bramblett, leaving the greater need this season finding reli- able punt and kickoff return men. Duke was outstanding last season in its return games, ranking No. 32 nationally in punt returns with a touchdown and No. 14 in kickoff returns. Dangerous Duke return man Damond Philyaw- Johnson is back this season after bringing back two kickoff returns for touchdowns, including a 98-yarder. Advantage: Even COACHING Two coaches moving in different directions, Brian Kelly enters the 2020 campaign looking to achieve at least 10 victories a fourth straight season (even with a shrunken schedule because of COVID-19), while Cutcliffe looks to rebound after finishing 5-7 last season and missing a bowl game for the second time in four years. GAME PREVIEW: DUKE Offense Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. WR 88 Javon McKinley 6-2 215 5th-Sr. 80 Micah Jones 6-4½ 210 Jr. or 15 Jordan Johnson 6-2 180 Fr. WR 0 Braden Lenzy 5-11½ 184 Jr. 11 Ben Skowronek 6-3 224 5th-Sr. WR 13 Lawrence Keys III 5-10 173 Jr. 3 Avery Davis 5-11 205 Sr. LT 74 Liam Eichenberg 6-6 305 5th-Sr. 73 Andrew Kristofic 6-5 292 So. LG 69 Aaron Banks 6-6 335 Sr. 75 Josh Lugg 6-7 318 Sr. C 55 Jarrett Patterson 6-4½ 300 Jr. 52 Zeke Correll 6-3 290 So. RG 78 Tommy Kraemer 6-6 317 5th-Sr. 56 John Dirksen 6-5 306 Jr. RT 72 Robert Hainsey 6-5 295 Sr. 77 Quinn Carroll 6-7 306 So. TE 24 Tommy Tremble 6-3 233 Jr. or 89 Brock Wright 6-4½ 250 Sr. QB 12 Ian Book 6-0 206 5th-Sr. 7 Brendon Clark 6-2 212 So. RB 8 Jafar Armstrong 6-1 220 Sr. or 20 C'Bo Flemister 5-11 195 Jr. or 34 Jahmir Smith 5-11 207 Jr. or 23 Kyren Williams 5-9 204 So. or 25 Chris Tyree 5-9½ 179 Fr. Defense Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. SDE 91 Ade Ogundeji 6-4 252 5th-Sr. 19 Justin Ademilola 6-2 248 Jr. NT 41 Kurt Hinish 6-2 296 Sr. 54 Jacob Lacey 6-2 293 So. DT 95 M. Tagovailoa-Amosa 6-2½ 286 Sr. 57 Jayson Ademilola 6-3 279 Jr. Vyper 9 Daelin Hayes 6-4 270 5th-Sr. 29 Ovie Oghoufo 6-3 232 Jr. or 7 Isaiah Foskey 6-5 255 So. Mike 40 Drew White 6-0 227 Sr. 52 Bo Bauer 6-3 225 Jr. Buck 2 J. Genmark Heath 6-1 225 Sr. or 31 Jack Lamb 6-4 228 Jr. or 33 Shayne Simon 6-3 228 Jr. Rover 6 J. Owusu-Koramoah 6-1½ 215 Sr. 13 Paul Moala 5-11½ 220 Jr. CB 4 Nick McCloud 6-1 190 5th-Sr. 16 KJ Wallace 5-10 185 So. CB 28 TaRiq Bracy 5-10 180 Jr. 20 Shaun Crawford 5-9 180 6th-Sr. SS 3 Houston Griffith 6-0 204 Jr. 10 Isaiah Pryor 6-1½ 199 Gr FS 14 Kyle Hamilton 6-4 216 So. 12 DJ Brown 6-0 194 Jr. NOTRE DAME DEPTH CHART Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. K 39 Jonathan Doerer 6-3 205 Sr. 98 Harrison Leonard 5-10½ 196 So. P 19 Jay Bramblett 6-1½ 193 So. 98 Harrison Leonard 5-10½ 196 So. KO 39 Jonathan Doerer 6-3 205 Sr. 98 Harrison Leonard 5-10½ 196 So. Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. LS 44 Alex Peitsch 6-1 205 Fr. or 65 Michael Vinson 6-2 226 Jr. H 19 Jay Bramblett 6-1½ 193 So. PR 13 Lawrence Keys III 5-10 173 Jr. KR 0 Braden Lenzy 5-11½ 184 Jr. 13 Lawrence Keys III 5-10 173 Jr. Special Teams