Blue and Gold Illustrated

January 2022*

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

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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com JANUARY 2022 29 Rockne's all-time wins record on his own. His players helped him get there. No, it didn't materialize in Notre Dame's third trip to the College Foot- ball Playoff in the last four seasons. And it obviously wasn't enough to get Kelly to stick around a little longer (but that said more about Kelly than it did the players and the year they had). But the 2021 regular season was one of the best Notre Dame has ever had. Notre Dame has won 11 or more games in a single season nine times. The Fight- ing Irish have been suiting up and tak- ing the field for 115 years. This wasn't the most dominant Irish team ever. The season won't end at the top of the col- lege football mountain. But it could end in just the fifth-ever 12-win season in program history. Here are the players who helped get Notre Dame there the most: MOST VALUABLE 1. Kyren Williams — The junior run- ning back eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark in rushing for the second straight season during a year in which it looked like he'd struggle to reach half his total of 1,002. He began the year with six-straight games with less than 100 rushing yards. The kicker? He scored rushing touch- downs in four of those and added re- ceiving touchdowns in three of them. Williams was a scoring machine this year. He reached the end zone at least once in the final eight games and scored 10 times in the final six to finish with 17 touchdowns (14 rushing and three receiving). Games aren't won and lost with yards. If they were, Notre Dame would have had a 5-7 record. Games are won and lost by getting into the end zone, and nobody on the Notre Dame roster was better at that than Williams. 2. Jack Coan — Williams' resurgence coincided with that of Coan, so it was hard to land on one of them as MVP. Coan certainly has a case, too. He ulti- mately did exactly what he was brought to Notre Dame to do. Throw some touchdown passes but not a number that would make him one of the most prolific passers in the coun- try? Check. 20. Throw far fewer inter- ceptions and not be a burden to the of- fense by turning the ball over too many times? Check. Five. Coan finished the regular season with 2,641 passing yards. Despite some tur- bulence in the first half of the season, he started all 12 games at the most impor- tant position on the field. His playing style was a stark contrast from that of the signal-caller who held his position at Notre Dame the previous three sea- sons, but the results were almost identi- cal: a lot of winning. 3. Michael Mayer — Let's first get this out of the way; no defensive players on the MVP list is not a knock on Notre Dame's defense. Rather, it just shows how well-rounded and put together that side of the ball was. The Irish didn't need a superstar on defense to have a successful season. When was the last time a defensive player won NFL MVP, for instance? Lawrence Taylor in 1986. Mayer, meanwhile, is a superstar in every sense of the word. He led the team in receptions (64) and receiving yards (768) while scoring five touchdowns. Those numbers might have been a bit lower than many expected going into the year, but the offensive woes Notre Dame suffered through early on were a major factor in that. Mayer was Notre Dame's most reli- able receiving threat all year. Take him out of the picture, and the Irish passing attack would have been in a world of hurt. That's the essence of value. MOST IMPROVED PLAYER 1. Isaiah Foskey — The physical tools were never in doubt. Foskey is a 6-5, 260-pound smokestack and one of the team's most impressive athletes. Tech- nical refinement and consistency as a pass rusher, though, were requirements for him to take the leap from flashy re- serve to impact starter. Vacillations in those areas were one reason why he posted just four pressures in the second half of 2020 after 14 in the first half. Mission accomplished. Foskey posted 10.0 sacks, which tied for 16th nation- ally, and had 28 quarterback pressures. His five forced fumbles are tied for sec- ond in the nation. He ends his junior year as a clear NFL Draft prospect. 2. Kevin Austin Jr. — Finally healthy after an injury-plagued 2020 and two years removed from a 2019 suspension, Austin flashed big-play ability in fall camp and right away in the regular sea- son. He caught four deep balls in the Irish's first four games, including two touchdowns. At the same time, those plays were, well, flashes. He went without a catch Freshman Joe Alt came out of nowhere to seize control of the starting left tackle spot and played a huge part in stabilizing a shaky offensive line. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER

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