Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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18 JUNE/JULY 2022 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED Players Signed: 17 Players On The 2022 Roster: 14 (WR Jay Brunelle transferred to Yale, WR Jordan Johnson transferred to UCF and CB Caleb Offord transferred to Buffalo) 2020 Recruiting Rankings: No. 14 by ESPN, No. 18 by 247Sports, No. 19 by On3 Consensus and No. 22 by Rivals Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Tosh Baker OT 6-8 307 The former top-100 prospect started two games at left tackle in 2021 and is the top backup at the tackle spots. Kevin Bauman TE 6-4½ 242 Suffered a broken leg in the 2021 opener that knocked him out of a chance to claim the No. 3 tight end role. Competing for a No. 2 job this offseason. Jordan Botelho DE 6-2½ 245 Had a bumpy 2021 season with multiple position switches and a one-snap appearance in the Fiesta Bowl. Settled in at rover during spring practice. Jay Brunelle WR 6-1 199 Did not play in 2020 and transferred to Yale in June 2021. Michael Carmody OT 6-5½ 290 Two-game starter at left tackle last fall moved to center in spring out of need. Unclear if it will be his long-term home. Alex Ehrensberger DE 6-7 255 Native of Germany notched three tackles and a sack in 10 games as a sopho- more. Will compete for a backup job in fall camp. Ramon Henderson CB 6-1 190 Began 2021 at corner before shifting to safety for the final four games, start- ing all of them. Competing to keep starting safety job. Jordan Johnson WR 6-2 195 Former top-50 recruit had zero catches as a freshman and transferred to UCF in 2021. Aidan Keanaaina DT 6-3 310 Projected No. 2 nose tackle heading into spring practice but tore his ACL in March and is expected to miss the season. Clarence Lewis CB 5-11½ 193 Six-game starter as a freshman struggled in coverage as a sophomore and bottomed out in the Fiesta Bowl, allowing 12 catches. Remained with the first-team defense during spring practice. Michael Mayer TE 6-4½ 251 His 71 catches and 7 touchdowns in 2021 led the team and set single-season program records for a tight end. Likely a three-and-done first-round draft pick. Rylie Mills DT 6-5 283 Rotation player at three-technique the last two years moved to defensive end and is the heavy favorite to start opposite Isaiah Foskey. Caleb Offord CB 6-1 184 Played in four games from 2020-21; transferred to Buffalo in January. Alex Peitsch LS 6-1 210 Was the backup long snapper to graduate student Michael Vinson last year and will be again this season. Drew Pyne QB 5-11½ 200 Competing for the starting quarterback role for the second straight offseason, this time with sophomore Tyler Buchner. The likely backup to Buchner. Chris Tyree RB 5-9½ 190 Shaky run blocking and a bout with turf toe limited the former top-100 recruit to 222 rushing yards in 2021. Competing for lead running back job. Xavier Watts S 5-11¾ 195 Shifted from receiver to defense in September, first at rover and eventually to safety. Debuted on defense in November 2021. Special-teams mainstay. Junior Class Review Jordan Botelho worked at rover during the spring and was identified by head coach Marcus Freeman as "a guy who is going to be a huge asset for this team." PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER Diggs out-carried him in the final four games, 23 to 20. Diggs isn't going anywhere this year either. But. Even if Diggs' presence pre- vents him from being Tyree's 2020 sea- son (6.8 yards per rush) and his Fiesta Bowl performance as a receiver (6 catches for 115 yards and 1 touchdown) are a re- minder of his dynamic ability when at full health the clear lead back, he will be a factor and can play on all three downs. Lewis started all 13 games and played 79 more snaps than any Notre Dame defender last year, but one wonders if he would have kept his job if Notre Dame had a freshman corner capable of push- ing him like he did TaRiq Bracy in 2020. He's a sound tackler whose 53 stops ranked third on the team. Coverage was his bugaboo, especially downfield. The coverage issues boiled over in the Fiesta Bowl, when he allowed 141 yards and two touchdowns on 12 catches. Oklahoma State's Tay Martin repeatedly torched him and would have done even more damage if not for a couple drops. It further opened the door to questions about Lewis' starting spot in 2022 under a new defensive coordinator. Yet Lewis remained a first-teamer this spring, even with the rise of a cou- ple underclassmen corners. That's a credit to how he moved past the Fiesta Bowl with his position coach's help. "I used from my personal experience my freshman year," cornerbacks coach Mike Mickens said, recalling the start to his career at Cincinnati. "I got bombed on two times in a row for 90 yards each time. I could fold or get back at it." Lewis's fluctuations were mild com- pared to linebacker Jordan Botelho, who see-sawed between non-factor and helpful role player all season. He was not available for the first two games for