Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1395005
www.BLUEANDGOLD.com AUGUST 2021 21 starter in 2019. He completed 69.6 percent of his passes with 17 touch- downs against just five interceptions. He piloted a run-heavy offense that mainly featured short, quick passes. Coan threw downfield on just 9.4 percent of his pass attempts in 2019, which ranked 109th out of 113 Foot- ball Bowl Subdivision quarterbacks with at least 30 deep attempts. His average depth of target (7.5 yards) was 77th out of 80 quarterbacks who dropped back at least 350 times. Can he facilitate an offense that's more explosive, more vertical and keeps pace with some of the high-scor- ing attacks on Notre Dame's schedule? The numbers might not scream yes, but Rees cautions against making as- sumptions based on his past. "To just look at Jack Coan's stat line from Wisconsin and say he's a certain guy because of the system he was in would be a very lazy perspec- tive," Rees said. "He's very talented. He throws it as well as anyone I've been around at Notre Dame. "Other guys, maybe their arms are slightly stronger, but his ability to be on time and get the ball where it needs to be at different levels is pretty dang good. He has some tal- ent. He's not a guy who's coming in to be a game manager." Notre Dame's Blue-Gold Game pro- vided some evidence. Coan had four completions of at least 20 yards and six of at least 15. It also revealed Notre Dame has a confident, decisive pocket passer in a way it didn't last year with Book. (Book's mobility and improvisa- tion skill aren't strong suits for Coan). "His ability to stretch the field, to be accurate and on time, the throws he's able to make are impressive," Rees said. "The part that expanded through- out the spring is he's really good inside the pocket with movements, subtle things and keeping his eyes downfield to make tight-window throws." 2. CAN KEVIN AUSTIN JR. DELIVER ON BIG EXPECTATIONS? Notre Dame wanted Austin, a 6-2, 215-pound senior wide receiver, to be exactly that in 2020 until a pair of foot fractures wrecked those plans. He has the same opportunity in 2021. It may not be the most comforting sign that a player with six career catches and two appearances the past two seasons means so much, but if he becomes what the Irish coaches envi- sion, that concern will be mitigated. "He has all the tools of the great re- ceivers that we've had, from Michael Floyd to Miles Boykin," Kelly said. "Certainly, he has Chase Claypool traits. This is about an opportunity that hasn't presented itself to him." "When he's on, he's as good as the guys we've had who have gone on to play in the NFL," Rees added. "That's the reality of the situation. Last year, we're getting ready to play Pitt, and he was unbelievable [in practice]. There was a lot of stuff we had designed for him." Publicly, Austin's potential is more myth than concrete. He has offered a few snippets of it in his three years, but nothing sustained. His second foot fracture cost him all of spring practice, which pushed back the timeline for him to confirm he can play at that level. Notre Dame fans will have to wait until the season opener Sept. 5 to know. "He hasn't done it over a long pe- riod of time, but we're not unrealistic in our expectations," Kelly said. "We know it will take some time, but we know the talent he has." Austin has eased back into action in summer workouts. Rees and Kelly will be careful ramping him up dur- ing training camp, too. "Our job right now is to get him comfortable and able to pick up speed with the mental side of things because he has missed so much time," Rees said. "We have to be thoughtful with how we use him." 3. HOW QUICKLY CAN THE OFFENSIVE LINE JELL? Heading into camp, here's the best guess at the starting five: left tackle Blake Fisher, left guard Jarrett Patter- son, center Zeke Correll, right guard Cain Madden and right tackle Josh Lugg. Perhaps Rocco Spindler rotates with Madden. BGI Pre-Training Camp Depth Chart This is our best guess at how Notre Dame will open fall camp at each position, based on spring practice information and Brian Kelly press conferences. Because 2020 was a "free" year for eligibility, per the NCAA, we will include it as such in the class years. Quarterback No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 17 Jack Coan 6-3¼ 220 Gr./1 or 10 Drew Pyne 5-11½ 194 So./4 12 Tyler Buchner 6-1 207 Fr./4 7 Brendon Clark 6-15/8 212 Jr./4 11 Ron Powlus III 6-25/8 215 Fr./4 Running Back No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 23 Kyren Williams 5-9 195 Jr./3 25 Chris Tyree 5-9½ 188 So./4 20 C'Bo Flemister 5-11¼ 201 Sr./3 24 Audric Estime 5-11½ 228 Fr./4 22 Logan Diggs 5-11¾ 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 16 Deion Colzie 6-4½ 202 Fr./4 Field Receiver (X) No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 0 Braden Lenzy 5-11 3/8 181 Sr./3 or 13 Lawrence Keys III 5-103/8 173 Sr./3 18 Joe Wilkins Jr. 6-1½ 190 Sr./3 83 Jayden Thomas 6-1½ 214 Fr./4 Slot (Z) No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 3 Avery Davis 5-11 202 Gr./2 13 Lawrence Keys III 5-103/8 173 Sr./3 82 Xavier Watts 5-11¾ 199 So./4 or 21 Lorenzo Styles Jr. 6-11/8 186 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 1/8 248 Fr./4 Left Tackle No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 54 Blake Fisher 6-6 330 Fr./4 79 Tosh Baker 6-8 300 So./4 76 Joe Alt 6-7 5/8 298 Fr./4 Left Guard No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 55 Jarrett Patterson 6-4½ 305 Sr./3 77 Quinn Carroll 6-6 5/8 306 Jr./4 70 Hunter Spears 6-35/8 304 Jr./4 Center No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 52 Zeke Correll 6-3 295 Jr./4 78 Pat Coogan 6-5 1/8 310 Fr./4 Right Guard No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 62 Cain Madden 6-2½ 306 Gr./1 50 Rocco Spindler 6-4 5/8 315 Fr./4 or 73 Andrew Kristofic 6-5¼ 292 Jr./4 or 56 John Dirksen 6-51/8 306 Sr./3 Right Tackle No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 75 Josh Lugg 6-6 7/8 310 5th-Sr./2 68 Michael Carmody 6-5½ 300 So./4 72 Caleb Johnson 6-55/8 275 Fr./4