Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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14 JUNE/JULY 2022 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME Pat Kavanagh — Men's Lacrosse The junior from Rockville Centre, N.Y., starred during Notre Dame's 18-11 win at Syr- acuse May 1. He tied his school record of 10 points in a game with four-goal, six-assist effort against the Orange. Kavanagh finished the season with a team-high 64 points (25 goals and 39 as- sists) in 12 games, nearly double the number any other member of the team had. He also tallied 64 points in 2021 and has 144 career points through three seasons. Jane Kronenberger — Softball The freshman infielder from Cincinnati arrived at Notre Dame as the No. 55 player in the country in her class, and did not disappoint during her rookie season. At the end of April, the rookie was recognized as part of the 2022 Schutt Sports/National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division I Freshman of the Year Top 25. Kronenberger finished the season third on the team in batting with a .389 average, and had 3 home runs and 31 RBI. Grace Weigand — Women's Lacrosse The midfielder from Denver earned a spot on the ACC All- Freshman Team after a provid- ing the Irish with a strong de- fensive presence while seeing action in 18 contests. Weigand, who was rated as the No. 7 recruit in America by Inside Lacrosse coming out of high school, started six games during the regular season and finished the season with 12 ground balls, 10 draw con- trols, 9 caused turnovers and 2 assists. Jack Zyska — Baseball The senior outfielder from Berkeley Heights, N.J., has put together a breakout sea- son in 2022. Through his first three seasons in South Bend, he managed just a .209 batting average with 4 home runs and 26 RBI over 71 games. This year, he saw action in 33 of Notre Dame's first 46 contests and ranked first in slugging percentage (.660), tied for second in home runs (9), third in bat- ting average (.311) and fifth in RBI (30). TOP TOP OF THE CLASS OF THE CLASS Irish student-athletes excelling on the field and in the classroom ✦ GIMME FIVE Notre Dame defensive end Isaiah Foskey had the opportunity to declare for the NFL Draft after last season, but he chose to return to South Bend for his senior year. If he can stay healthy, it seems that de- cision will pay dividends because Foskey is already getting draft buzz. Following the conclusion of the 2022 NFL Draft, Pro Football Fo- cus turned its attention toward next season and named its top five edge prospects for the 2023 NFL Draft. Alabama's Will Anderson was No. 1 on the list, followed by Clemson's Myles Murphy, Geor- gia's Nolan Smith, Army's Andre Carter II and Foskey, in that order. In addition to being the No. 5 draft-eligible edge in the country, Foskey is the No. 29 overall player per PFF, meaning he is consid- ered a fringe first-round selection. Last year during his junior season, the 6-foot-5, 257-pound de- fenseman totaled 52 tackles, 11 sacks, 6 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries and 1 pass broken up over 13 games. He led the nation in sack yardage, driving opposing quarterbacks back a total of 128 yards. "He has the kind of juice and length to continually collapse pockets," PFF's Michael Renner noted. "He took massive steps forward as a junior in that regard last season en route to an 80.7 overall grade, but there are more athletic tools to work with than even that produc- tion suggests." Individually, Foskey will be chasing the Notre Dame single-season sack record of 13.5 this fall, which is held by former Irish great Justin Tuck. If he can get there, he might be ranked higher than the No. 5 pass rusher in the country come April 2023. — Ashton Pollard CHARTING THE IRISH NOTRE DAME RANKED NO. 6 IN ESPN'S FUTURE DEFENSE POWER RANKINGS The state of the Notre Dame defense is strong according to both those inside the program and at least one expert viewing the situation from the outside. Each offseason, ESPN analyst Adam Rittenberg compiles a list ranking the top 25 defenses for the next three seasons (2022, 2023 and 2024). Factors included in the metric are current rosters, incoming recruits and transfers, and potential NFL departures. Coaching changes also play a role. Rittenberg has the Irish defense slotted at No. 6 in the country, up five spots from a No. 11 pro- jection last year. He believes that despite the losses of first-round NFL Draft pick and safety Kyle Hamilton and plus defensive linemen Kurt Hinish and Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa, the Irish are more than healthy on the player personnel side. "Since Notre Dame hired defensive coordinator Mike Elko before the 2017 season, the unit has ranked ninth nationally in points allowed [19.4] and in the top 20 for most major categories," Rit- tenberg noted. "The past three play callers — Elko, Clark Lea and Marcus Freeman — have become head coaches, with Freeman fast-track- ing into the Notre Dame job after only one season as DC." Four future Notre D a m e o p p o n e n t s a l s o a p p e a r o n ESPN's list: No. 1 Clemson (plays the Irish in 2022 and 2023), No. 3 Texas A&M (2024), No. 11 Ohio State (2022 and 2023) and NC State (2023). TOP-FIVE EDGE DEFENDERS ON THE 2023 PFF NFL DRAFT BIG BOARD Rk. Player, School 1. Will Anderson Jr., Alabama 2. Myles Murphy, Clemson 3. Nolan Smith, Georgia 4. Andre Carter II, Army 5. Isaiah Foskey, Notre Dame Foskey notched a team-high 11 sacks and 6 forced fumbles in 2021. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER Rk. School 1. Clemson*^ 2. Georgia 3. Texas A&M+ 4. Alabama 5. Wisconsin 6. Notre Dame 7. Iowa 8. Cincinnati 9. LSU 10. Michigan Rk. School 11. Ohio State*^ 12. Utah 13. Baylor 14. Oregon 15. Oklahoma State 16. San Diego State 17. Penn State 18. Kentucky 19. UAB 20. NC State^ Rk. School 21. Florida 22. Iowa State 23. Auburn 24. Oklahoma 25. Boise State * 2022 Irish opponent; ^ 2023 Irish opponent; + 2024 Irish opponent COLLEGE FOOTBALL'S TOP 25 FUTURE DEFENSIVE POWER RANKINGS PER ESPN