Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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8 PRESEASON 2021 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME Cornerback TaRiq Bracy By Tyler Horka There are so many wide receivers who are completely valid answers to the question, so for the sake of not drawing one of their names out of the hat I'll focus on the other side of the ball and go with senior cornerback TaRiq Bracy. Notre Dame showed a lot of defensive packages with five players in the secondary through the first week of camp. Bracy was usually the first defensive back off the sideline and onto the field when a de- fensive lineman or linebacker subbed out for the nickel package. If Bracy is indeed defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman's go-to guy at nickel corner, then his value to the defense increases immensely. Freeman and head coach Brian Kelly have both said during fall camp they are not just looking for two corners. They're looking for three. Nickel looks are going to be a big part of Freeman's scheme, so Bracy is positioned to potentially make a major impact. If Bracy does not have a breakout season, then that means Notre Dame will have to rely on a player with little to no experience at nickel. The other options likely include sophomore Ramon Henderson and a quartet of fresh- men — Philip Riley, Ryan Barnes, JoJo Johnson and Chance Tucker. Henderson and Riley have taken second-team reps at boundary and field corner. Freeman likely won't risk playing them at nickel for depth purposes on the outside. It's Bracy's job to lose. If he does everything to hold onto it, then Notre Dame's defense will be that much better. Wide Receiver Kevin Austin Jr. By Todd D. Burlage There's a long list of Irish players from the 2018 recruiting class who need to have what Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly is calling "transforma- tional seasons" if the good times are going to keep rolling in 2021. And it's wide receiver Kevin Austin Jr. who tops the importance list of those Irish seniors needing to transform their careers. In each of the past three preseasons, including this one, Austin was billed as a breakout candidate in the Irish passing game. But a suspension in 2019 and multiple foot injuries last season kept this four-star player from Pompano Beach, Fla., from reaching those expectations. This third time needs to become Austin's charm for Notre Dame to reach its full offensive potential. Long and strong at 6-2 and 215 pounds, Austin is a coverage nightmare for opposing cornerbacks, especially one-on-one. And while he is not necessarily considered a blazing speed guy, his long strides make him deceptively fast and a valuable downfield target. Graduate transfer Jack Coan is expected to become the new starting quarterback for Notre Dame this season. And with a big arm that some are advertising as the strongest at the position in more than a decade, Coan needs a speedy and lanky target on the boundary, traits that none of the other experienced Notre Dame wideouts provide beyond Austin. If Coan and the Irish offense plan to move forward this season and make us all forget about Ian Book, that mission starts with the transformation of Austin. Point ✦ Counterpoint: WHICH NOTRE DAME SENIOR MOST NEEDS A BREAKOUT SEASON IN 2021? As an avid sports fan, a gifted public address announcer and now the voice of Fighting Irish football inside of Notre Dame Stadium, Chris Ackels admits that he needs to pinch himself to be certain all of this isn't a dream. In addition to adding his new gig, the 30-year- old Ackels already holds a similar role at Guaran- teed Rate Field in Chicago for MLB's White Sox. Ackels, a Chicago resident, will make his Notre Dame debut Sept. 11, for the Irish football home opener against Toledo. His tall task is to adequately replace legendary public address an- nouncer Mike Collins, who retired following the 2020 season after 39 years on the job. A Dallas native who attended St. Louis Uni- versity as an undergraduate and earned a Mas- ter's from DePaul, he has previously served as an announcer at NCAA events for Northwestern, DePaul, Southern Methodist and St. Louis along with the Chicago Bulls and Blackhawks in the professional ranks. In addition, Ackels has worked multiple NCAA conference championships and tournaments, including for the Big East, Big Ten and Atlantic 10 to name a few. BGI: How did the opportunity at Notre Dame come about? Ackels: "I did not know that this position was open until a friend of mine at the White Sox rec- ommended me to Notre Dame. I got a call out to the blue from a South Bend number and that began kind of a three- or four-month process in which Notre Dame undoubtedly had dozens of great candidates. "It was a really great process, really well organized with a lot of great people. Somehow, someway the roulette wheel landed on me." BGI: Mike Collins became a PA legend at the stadium, are you up to the challenge? Ackels: "You talk about big shoes to fill. I'm a fool if I think I can just step right into those shoes and just be that guy on day one. I've got to figure out a way to honor that legacy and also step into my own shoes and find a way to continue that legacy." BGI: What is your greatest challenge while working a game? Ackels: "I know I am the person you see and hear, but there are 20 people doing an unbeliev- able job behind the scenes, a lot of which I would have no idea how to do. Call it a challenge or call it just teamwork, but to do this job well it takes a lot of good people doing a good job and none of those things are easy, all of those require some specialized skill. "Is it a challenge? Yes, but what makes it a lot of fun is when you're on a good team." BGI: Would you expand on the necessary behind-the-scenes help? Ackels: "If you go to a game and you walk out of that stadium hearing, 'Man, Chris did a really good job, he's a good PA guy,' what that means is that about 15 or 20 people all did a really good job with different re- sponsibilities. "That's going to include my two spotters who I'm going to have up there helping me. That's go- ing to include all of the audio technicians and all of the video techs because a lot of things we do now are coordinated with video." BGI: How excited are you about this oppor- tunity? Ackels: " This is Notre Dame football, and there's centuries worth of legacy, and of families who have come here through generations, and all of the memories that are going to be created be- tween fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, grandparents and their grandchildren. "When the team is doing well and you're part of that with 80,000 people, that's what I'm most excited for." — Todd D. Burlage Five Questions With… NEW NOTRE DAME STADIUM PUBLIC ADDRESS ANNOUNCER CHRIS ACKELS ACKELS BRACY AUSTIN