Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1368856
36 JUNE/JULY 2021 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED those that seemed unlikely, such as starting a freshman. Or two. Notre Dame has given five total starts to rookie linemen in head coach Brian Kelly's 11 seasons. This year? Two are making an opening-day lineup case: tackle Blake Fisher and guard Rocco Spindler. Each had freshman moments and a few standout plays in the spring game. They have drawn strong re- views from teammates. "Rocco Spindler and Blake Fisher are damn good," fifth-year se- nior nose tackle Kurt Hinish said. "They're the best two freshman of- fensive linemen I've ever seen or went against." Added fifth-year senior offensive tackle Josh Lugg: "They're playing at a very high level right now in spring." Whatever impact their strong starts have is good for Notre Dame long- term. If it lands one or both of them starting jobs in 2021, though, there will be growing pains. It comes with the territory. Growing pains that sometimes take more than a year to work through. With a freshman starter or two, can Notre Dame's line be reliable enough to support a group of running backs as skilled as any Kelly has had and give the quarterback enough time? The Irish exited the spring under- standing the risks. The only spot that seems certain is Zeke Correll starting at center. Pat- terson will start somewhere. Lugg will start somewhere, and his spring work indicates that spot may be right tackle. But Kelly has said he could move inside if it helps the line get its best five players on the field. Notre Dame provided three min- utes of video from each of its 14 spring practices prior to the Blue- Gold Game. In the final ones, the most common first-team unit was Fisher at left tackle, Spindler at left guard, Correll at center, junior An- drew Kristofic at right guard and Lugg at right tackle. 2. SENIORS EMERGE AS KEY RECEIVERS There's time left for an underclass- man to make an impression, but the way Kelly sees the receiver room, it'll be a senior-led unit. Kevin Austin Jr. will get every chance to be the go-to boundary re- ceiver when he returns in fall camp. He missed the spring while recover- ing from foot surgery. In his absence, Notre Dame has challenged three of his senior class- mates to establish themselves: Joe Wilkins Jr., Braden Lenzy and Law- rence Keys III. In 2020, those three combined for 19 catches. Only Wilkins (seven catches) was in the rotation from start to finish. "Those three guys are where this is at," Kelly said. "They have got to ascend to a championship level. They have been good, don't get me wrong. I need them to move to that great level. They're capable of it, and we're seeing some signs. This is all wrapped up in these three guys tak- ing that next step." The spring finale seemed to illus- trate some progress. That trio com- bined for 12 catches and 238 yards in the Blue-Gold Game, and each had a reception of at least 30 yards. A good step. But not a flawless one, per Kelly, who highlighted a Wilkins drop and Keys' misread of an option route as mistakes. A receiver group of Wilkins, Lenzy, Keys, Austin and fifth-year senior Avery Davis is a different look Quarterback No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 17 Jack Coan 6-3 220 5th-Sr./1 or 10 Drew Pyne 5-11½ 194 So./4 12 Tyler Buchner 6-1 207 Fr./4 11 Ron Powlus III 6-3 215 Fr./4 7 Brendon Clark 6-2 212 Jr./4 Running Back No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 23 Kyren Williams 5-9 195 Jr./4 25 Chris Tyree 5-9½ 188 So./4 20 C'Bo Flemister 5-11 201 Sr./3 — Audric Estime 6-1 215 Fr./4 — Logan Diggs 6-0 200 Fr./4 Boundary Receiver (W) No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 4 Kevin Austin Jr. 6-2 215 Sr./3 18 Joe Wilkins Jr. 6-1½ 190 Sr./3 81 Jay Brunelle 6-1 199 So./4 — Deion Colzie 6-3 200 Fr./4 Field Receiver (X) No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 0 Braden Lenzy 5-11 181 Sr./3 or 13 Lawrence Keys III 5-10 173 Sr./3 or 18 Joe Wilkins Jr. 6-1½ 190 Sr./3 — Jayden Thomas 6-1 185 Fr./4 Slot (Z) No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 3 Avery Davis 5-11 202 5th-Sr./1 13 Lawrence Keys III 5-10 173 Sr./3 82 Xavier Watts 6-0 199 So./4 or 21 Lorenzo Styles Jr. 6-1 186 Fr./4 Tight End No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 87 Michael Mayer 6-4½ 249 So./4 85 George Takacs 6-6 245 Sr./3 84 Kevin Bauman 6-4½ 240 So./4 or 80 Cane Berrong 6-3½ 235 Fr./4 or 88 Mitchell Evans 6-5 248 Fr./4 Left Tackle No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 79 Tosh Baker 6-8 300 So./4 or 54 Blake Fisher 6-6 330 Fr./4 — Joe Alt 6-7 280 Fr./4 Left Guard No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 50 Rocco Spindler 6-5 315 Fr./4 77 Quinn Carroll 6-6 306 Jr./4 or 76 Dillan Gibbons 6-4 309 5th-Sr./2 70 Hunter Spears 6-4 304 Jr./4 Center No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 52 Zeke Correll 6-3 295 Jr./4 76 Dillan Gibbons 6-4 309 5th-Sr./2 — Pat Coogan 6-4 290 Fr./4 Right Guard No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 73 Andrew Kristofic 6-5 292 Jr./4 56 John Dirksen 6-5 306 Sr./3 Right Tackle No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 75 Josh Lugg 6-7 310 5th-Sr./2 68 Michael Carmody 6-5 300 So./4 72 Caleb Johnson 6-6 275 Fr./4 BGI 2021 Notre Dame Post-Spring Scholarship Depth Chart With no media access to practice and a Blue-Gold Game format that split teams evenly, this is based on some educated guesses going off spring video supplied by Notre Dame and information from Brian Kelly in press conferences. Because 2020 was a "free" year for eligibility, per the NCAA, we will include it as such in the class years. Additionally, senior Jarrett Patterson will start on the offensive line, but it's not clear where. He missed the spring due to injury. For the time being, he's not included at a specific spot. "When we take a look at our team and decide this is what we're best at, this is what gives us the best opportunity to win, that's what we're going to do." OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR TOMMY REES