Blue and Gold Illustrated

August 2021

Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football

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22 AUGUST 2021 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED That group has two freshmen, a transfer from a Conference USA school and just 31 returning starts. Its ability to jell quickly and its ceiling will de- termine the outlook for Notre Dame's offense as much as anything else. The Irish brought in Madden, a 31-game starter at Marshall, to help ease those experience concerns. He's a sixth-year senior and was a second- team Associated Press All-American in 2020. Fall camp will reveal how Madden handles the competition level leap, but he still brings a lot of what was missing and should raise the line's floor. He and Patterson, Notre Dame's center the last two years, have a com- bined 52 starts. They're both ranked in Pro Football Focus' top 50 return- ing college players for 2021. "Anytime you can add a presence to help the youth, to have a presence up there and help solidify some of the communication up front, that's an added benefit," Rees said of Mad- den. "We wanted to make sure we had more presence in the room with guys who have done it." At the same time, though, Notre Dame is likely to start at least one freshman. Early enrollee Blake Fisher, a former five-star recruit, is the favorite at left tackle. Spindler is still in the mix at guard despite Madden's addition. "Blake, he has rare ability and size," Rees said. "Being out there at tackle, he's able to do some things, especially in the passing game, that just come natural. The next step is understanding the intricacies of the run game, making sure you under- stand calls and angles and things like that. All of that comes with repeti- tion. For Rocco, it's the same." "These guys are extremely confi- dent in their abilities," Kelly added. "They're not guys who play up and down. Their performance curve is up and down like everybody else's, but their confidence stays pretty flat. "They don't get down on them- selves. That's a unique young player. It takes time to get to that level where you don't have these peaks and valleys that are tagged to your performance." 4. HOW DOES MICHAEL MAYER BUILD ON HIS FRESHMAN YEAR? Notre Dame's unknowns at wide receiver feel slightly less burdensome given what it has at tight end. Mayer was the Irish's best matchup problem as a freshman in 2020. He tied for the team lead with 42 catches and had 450 receiving yards. Rees wants to load him up even more. That means getting creative with us- age. Trying new things. Perhaps that's lining him up as a receiver more. Or sending him on more downfield routes. For as impressive as Mayer was, most of his damage came on un- derneath routes and after the catch. How Rees features him and involves him will be a weekly storyline. "Whether it's split out by himself or asking him to run new routes, you continue to add more to his plate," Rees said. "We have to do a good job making sure we don't put him in a position where they can double him. "We have to be creative with the ways we're going to line him up, use him and put him in position to be successful because he's the type of talent you get once in a while." 5. WHAT ARE KYREN WILLIAMS' NEXT STEPS? Running back Kyren Williams was a workhorse as a sophomore, averag- ing 17.8 carries per game and rushing for 1,125 yards with 13 touchdowns. His 35 receptions ranked third on the team. He was also frequently used in pass protection, with mixed results. His most notable pass-blocking per- formance was an impressive showing in the November win over Clemson. It seems hard to envision where more opportunities would occur — especially when Rees has vowed to increase touches for sophomore running back Chris Tyree. But Rees wants to make it happen. Williams wants more work. The execution of it remains the intriguing mystery. "We asked him to do a ton last year," Rees said. "We're going to add even more to that plate. A lot of that development is going to be tailored to, 'We're going to keep giving you more until we feel like it's enough.' "He's a football junkie, loves it so much and the expanded role stuff, he wants. He asks." ✦ Offensive coordinator Tommy Rees said he would look for creative ways to utilize sophomore tight end Michael Mayer, who reeled in 42 passes for 450 yards as a rookie in 2020. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS

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