Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1287944
www.BLUEANDGOLD.com SEPT. 19, 2020 7 UNDER THE DOME Austin put off the NFL for another year. The glow- ing practice reviews he drew from Chase Claypool and Irish defensive backs last year created hope for a monster year and pro attention. Notre Dame is likely to add a second receiver to the 2021 class. TIGHT END Name Eligibility Left Signing Class Brock Wright 1 2017 Tommy Tremble 3 2018 George Takacs 3 2018 Michael Mayer 4 2020 Kevin Bauman 4 2020 Mitchell Evans 4 2021 Cane Berrong 4 2021 The core group here can be together for multiple years and gets even more potent if Mayer, a top-40 overall recruit, delivers on the early praise Kelly has given him. Berrong and Evans may wait to play a little later than anticipated given the potential for six or seven players at the position next fall. OFFENSIVE LINE Name Eligibility Left Signing Class Liam Eichenberg 1 2016 Tommy Kraemer 1 2016 Robert Hainsey 1 2017 Aaron Banks 2 2017 Josh Lugg 2 2017 Dillan Gibbons 2 2017 Colin Grunhard 2 2017 John Dirksen 3 2018 Jarrett Patterson 3 2018 Andrew Kristofic 4 2019 Quinn Carroll 4 2019 Zeke Correll 4 2019 Hunter Spears 4 2019 Tosh Baker 4 2020 Michael Carmody 4 2020 Rocco Spindler 4 2021 Blake Fisher 4 2021 Pat Coogan 4 2021 Joe Alt 4 2021 This is the group that seems least affected by the blanket eligibility waiver. Eichenberg and Kraemer have every reason to make this their last season and head to the NFL. Hainsey can make the same case. Notre Dame should still expect to need three or four new starters on the line in 2021. Lugg has the most to gain among offensive line- men. He can take over as a starter next year — the plan all along — with two years of eligibility left instead of one. DEFENSIVE TACKLE Name Eligibility Left Signing Class Kurt Hinish 1 2017 Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa 2 2017 Jayson Ademilola 2 2018 Ja'Mion Franklin 3 2018 Jacob Lacey 3 2019 Howard Cross III 4 2019 Aidan Keanaaina 4 2020 Rylie Mills 4 2020 Gabriel Rubio 4 2021 Here's one that could get interesting. Starters Hinish and Tagovailoa-Amosa are reliable players, but not viewed as obvious draft picks. It's not crazy to think they simply enjoy playing for Notre Dame and want to do it for as long as possible. But one wonders if the Irish would want that, or if the team would prefer to pass the torch. Back- ups Lacey and Ademilola are seen as equals and perhaps offer some more upside. Top-100 recruit Rubio and current freshman Keanaaina could also compete for rotation roles. DEFENSIVE END Name Eligibility Left Signing Class Daelin Hayes 1 2016 Ade Ogundeji 1 2016 Kofi Wardlow 2 2017 Justin Ademilola 3 2018 Ovie Oghoufo 3 2018 Nana Osafo-Mensah 4 2019 Isaiah Foskey 4 2019 Alex Ehrensberger 4 2020 Jordan Botelho 4 2020 Jason Onye 4 2021 Will Schweitzer 4 2021 David Abiara 4 2021 Hayes and Ogundeji may have been the two Irish players hurt most by a canceled season. Each is a fifth-year senior in 2020 set to take a full-time starting role and will attempt to prove himself as a clear NFL prospect. Both are easy to envision in NFL camps next year if they have breakout sea- sons. That seems like the more appealing move than coming back for a sixth year. If both leave, there would be opportunity for the 2020 and 2021 classes in the competition to re- place them. It's worth noting Onye and Schweitzer are more developmental players than ready-made contributors. LINEBACKER Name Eligibility Left Signing Class Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah 2 2017 Drew White 2 2017 Shayne Simon 2 2018 Bo Bauer 2 2018 Paul Moala 2 2018 Jack Lamb 3 2018 Osita Ekwonu 4 2019 Marist Liufau 4 2019 JD Bertrand 4 2019 Jack Kiser 4 2019 Prince Kollie 4 2021 Everyone has multiple years of eligibility, though Owusu-Koramoah is projected as an early round draft pick and has a clear path to go pro after this season. Moala could now replace Owusu-Koramoah as the starting rover next sea- son for two years instead of one. Any potential long-term consequences from likely signing one total linebacker in 2020-21 will be eased by the eligibility waiver. CORNERBACK Name Eligibility Left Signing Class Nick McCloud 1 2016 TaRiq Bracy 2 2018 Cam Hart 4 2019 Isaiah Rutherford 4 2019 Caleb Offord 4 2020 Ramon Henderson 4 2020 Clarence Lewis 4 2020 Philip Riley 4 2021 Ryan Barnes 4 2021 Chance Tucker 4 2021 If McCloud doesn't come back for what would be his sixth season of college football, this would be the youngest position on the roster. Lewis pushing Bracy for a starting job, as the opening-week depth chart says, would create some clarity for next sea- son about who rises from the underclassmen glut. SAFETY Name Eligibility Left Signing Class Shaun Crawford 1 2015 Isaiah Pryor 2 2017 Houston Griffith 2 2018 DJ Brown 3 2018 Kyle Hamilton 3 2019 KJ Wallace 4 2019 Litchfield Ajavon 4 2019 Justin Walters 4 2021 Crawford recently moved from corner and could come back as a seventh-year senior. The 2021 freshman defensive backs were in seventh grade when he began his Notre Dame career. Save for Crawford, this group was going to be together for two years regardless of the eligibility change. SPECIALISTS Name Eligibility Left Signing Class Jonathan Doerer 1 2017 Jay Bramblett 3 2019 Alex Pietsch 4 2020 Notre Dame goes from needing a kicker after this year to potentially returning a multi-year starter in Doerer. DOWN THE ROAD The fun roster management starts in 2022, because recruiting for that class won't cease despite the possible numbers crunch. An increase in grad- uate transfers feels likely, because nearly all players will be graduating with eligibility left. Underclass draft declarations could rise, too. Those defections will not solve the space problem on their own, though. The NCAA ultimately has to do more. Will it temporarily remove the 85-scholarship cap? Could it continue to not count fifth-year players toward the 85? Whichever route it chooses, it will underscore the years-long impact of an extra year of eligibility. ✦ ✦