Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com JUNE/JULY 2021 35 taste, in the trash it goes and it's onto the next idea. Rees is open to what- ever he discovers to be the best mix. "When we take a look at our team and decide this is what we're best at, this is what gives us the best oppor- tunity to win, that's what we're go- ing to do," Rees said. "This year, it's a new team. A completely new team." Aside from throwing the ball to sophomore tight end Michael Mayer and handing off to junior running back Kyren Williams, Rees is not sure what Notre Dame is best at yet. He's also not short on ideas to try out. Fourteen spring practices and the Blue-Gold Game have given him a good start. What's clear right now, though, is it will look different than a year ago. Notre Dame is replacing its all-time winningest quarterback and four of- fensive line starters — three of whom were selected in the first three rounds of the 2021 NFL Draft. The Irish have to build a pass- ing attack with a receiver room that owns fewer than 90 career catches. Strengths last year may not be strengths this year. The same goes for weaknesses. "[It] has been fun and exciting to start to develop and install, to see what we've been able to master and see what we're still working at," Rees said. "That's going to be fluid throughout the spring, throughout May and June, and as we lead into camp and get a better feel for who we are, that's where we start to tailor it down with what we want to do." Here's a look at some things he has learned this spring: 1. FRESHMEN HAVE A CHANCE TO START UP FRONT Notre Dame's offensive line re- build, like its offensive identity con- struction as a whole, will go well into fall camp. It may even stretch into the season. That's a testament to the magnitude of the retooling and the injury-related absence of lone hold- over Jarrett Patterson. The senior started 21 games at center last year, but he's destined to move. His landing spot could be tackle or guard. Notre Dame shifted positions and groupings liberally this spring looking for the best combina- tion of pieces where Patterson could slot in as the one that completes the puzzle. Few ideas have been ignored. Even Breakout Players SENIOR WIDE RECEIVER LAWRENCE KEYS III Head coach Brian Kelly mentioned Keys as one of three senior receivers who need to emerge as reliable options this fall if Notre Dame's passing offense is going to be consistently explosive in 2021. Keys' spring game performance sug- gested he's making some progress. He caught five passes for 115 yards, including a 41-yard reception. He was targeted a game-high 14 times. Notre Dame is giving him every chance to prove his usefulness. "Lawrence Keys has had as good a spring as anyone on offense," offensive coordi- nator Tommy Rees said. "He has shown the ability to stretch the field and make explosive plays. That's one of the things we challenged him with — 'We're going to put you in opportunities to go make plays down the field, it's time to go make them.'" Keys' best path to a starting spot may be wrestling away starting field receiver duties from classmate Braden Lenzy. At 5-10 and 173 pounds, he's not a boundary receiver. Fifth-year senior Avery Davis has the primary slot receiver job locked up. If Keys isn't a starter, he's likely still in the rotation working behind Lenzy and Davis. He began 2020 in a similar role and played 20 snaps in the opener. He sustained a concussion the next week and missed two games. He logged 18 total snaps in the six games leading up to the College Football Playoff. He was on the field for 16 plays in the finale. Keys caught 13 passes for 134 yards in 2019. FRESHMAN TACKLE BLAKE FISHER Five-star recruits who enroll early and play positions with depth chart openings often arrive on campus with optimal hoopla and outsized expectations surrounding them. Fisher, though, seemed like an exception. Not because his ranking as the nation's No. 25 overall player is inaccurate. But because Notre Dame fans understand the reality with freshmen offensive linemen: They almost always redshirt. Only two of them have started a game in Kelly's 11 seasons, Steve Elmer in 2013 (four starts) and Robert Hainsey in 2017 (one). But midway through spring, the three-minute practice videos Notre Dame provides consistently showed him working as the first-team left tackle. That's not to say he is locked in as a starter now, but he is getting a real chance to earn a job this season. Simply earning a spot in the competition is noteworthy. Whether it leads to him starting against Florida State on Sept. 5 or not, it's a good sign for his future and the offensive line's future. Following up an impressive spring with a strong fall camp just might make him part of the line's present. SOPHOMORE QUARTERBACK DREW PYNE It was fair to wonder at the onset of spring if graduate transfer Jack Coan could wrap up the starting job by the Blue-Gold Game. The main competition for the 18-game Wisconsin starter was Pyne, who threw three passes last year and was the No. 2 out of need to end last season. Kelly swatted those fait accompli ideas away in his first press conference of the spring. Pyne would get a chance, Kelly said, and he deserved one. The battle will head into summer undecided because of Pyne's progress. Pyne had an up-and-down spring game, going 11-of-23 passing for 146 yards with an interception, but he made some good throws in rhythm. Can he overtake Coan? It still feels like Coan's job to lose, but Pyne has made the question no longer a ridiculous proposition. Ultimately, Notre Dame just needed him to reach a point this year where he could step in as the backup in case of injury and keep the offense at functional levels. It seems he is already there. Senior wide receiver Lawrence Keys III was targeted 14 times and had 115 receiving yards in the Blue-Gold Game. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS