Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com OCT. 2, 2021 7 UNDER THE DOME most dynamic players in those spots are nonexistent. All told, the running backs have three of the eight catches on third- or fourth- and-short. The highlight — a 39-yard Williams touchdown on fourth-and- three versus Purdue — came on a play where Notre Dame didn't hide that it was passing. The Irish lined up with an empty backfield and Williams in the slot. He ran a dig route at the marker, caught Coan's pass that sneaked through two defenders and ran untouched to the end zone. One drive later, Coan connected with Tyree for a three-yard catch on third- and-two. Tyree ran a quick out route from the backfield and was the primary read. Austin, with four targets, is Coan's most-utilized weapon when asked to throw in short-yardage spots. He has three catches, all of them for first downs. Sophomore tight end Michael Mayer was not targeted on third- or fourth- and-short in Notre Dame's games against Toledo and Purdue, but he caught a 41-yard touchdown on fourth- and-one against Florida State. Mayer, Austin, Tyree and Williams account for nine of Coan's 10 short-yardage targets. Despite its run-game struggles, Notre Dame has stubbornly stayed commit- ted to it. Williams and Tyree com- bined for at least 23 carries in each of the first three games of the year. Tyree also scored a one-yard touchdown on second-and-goal versus Florida State. The Irish may not be a strong rushing team now or all year, but they're hope- ful in-season growth from the offensive line makes them at minimum a passable one. Kelly and Notre Dame are bullish on the offensive line's future, especially underclassman tackles Blake Fisher (freshman), Michael Carmody (sopho- more), Tosh Baker (sophomore) and Joe Alt (freshman). Whether they can provide the needed help in the present, though, remains to be seen. Half of them aren't even avail- able due to injury. Fisher, the opening-day left tackle, is likely out through October with a me- niscus injury. Carmody sprained his an- kle against Toledo, giving way to Baker. Alt, a freshman, made his college debut versus Purdue as a blocking tight end. There have been intermittent flashes from them and from the more experi- enced interior line. For the sake of its overall offensive health, Notre Dame hopes those become more frequent. If so, more short-yardage runs will likely follow. "We feel pretty good that we can get some movement," Kelly said, "and feel good that our running game can be ef- fective for us — which is run the ball when they know you're going to run it, run the ball on goal-line situations and run it when you have to end the game. "I think we're still progressing toward where we want to be and having more balance." ✦ Iconic Scan To Shop Collection Art. Tradition. Fighting Irish. "I'm not about to say, 'Hey, every time we get in short-yardage, we have to pitch it around.'" HEAD COACH BRIAN