Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1474524
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM AUGUST 2022 21 Players Signed: 22 Players Available In 2021: 11 (WR Kendall Abdur-Rahman transferred to Western Kentucky; S Litchfield Ajavon transferred to Rice; P Jay Bramblett transferred to LSU; OL Quinn Carroll transferred to Minnesota; QB Brendon Clark transferred to Old Dominion; S Kyle Hamilton entered the NFL Draft after his junior campaign; OL John Olmstead transferred to Lafayette College; CB Isaiah Rutherford transferred to Arizona; OG Hunter Spears medically retired; S K.J. Wallace transferred to Georgia Tech); and RB Kyren Williams entered the NFL Draft following his junior season. 2019 Recruiting Rankings: No. 14 by On3, Rivals and ESPN, and No. 16 by 247Sports Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Kendall Abdur-Rahman RB/WR 5-11½ 190 Transferred to Western Kentucky in April 2021. Litchfield Ajavon S 6-0 1 ⁄8 198 Former top-300 recruit played eight defensive snaps in three seasons and went to Rice as a graduate transfer this spring. JD Bertrand LB 6-1 230 Led Notre Dame in tackles as a junior after stepping into the starting lineup due to Marist Liufau's season-ending injury … battling for starting job in camp. Jay Bramblett P 6-1½ 193 Three-year starter who averaged 43.1 yards per punt in 2021 … Went to LSU as a graduate transfer after his junior season. Quinn Carroll OG 6-6 3 ⁄8 306 Former top-100 recruit tore his ACL as a freshman and was a backup from 2020-21 … Transferred to Minnesota in January as a graduate. Brendon Clark QB 6-1 5 ⁄8 212 Was briefly the No. 2 quarterback in 2020 until knee trouble sidelined him … No. 4 on the depth chart in 2021 and transferred to Old Dominion in the fall. Zeke Correll C/G 6-3 295 Benched after six starts at guard last year but is expected to open camp as the starter at center, where he played from 2019-20. Howard Cross III DT 6-0 7 ⁄8 275 Has played nose tackle and three-technique his first three seasons and is the No. 2 at the latter this year. Osita Ekwonu DE 6-0¾ 236 Missed 2021 due to an Achilles tear and projects as a deep reserve in 2021 … Was a special teams staple in 2020. Isaiah Foskey DE 6-5 260 Put off the NFL Draft and Day 2 projections this spring to return for his senior year. Kyle Hamilton S 6-4 216 Consensus All-American in 2021 who was selected 14th overall by Baltimore Ravens in the 2022 NFL Draft. Cam Hart CB 6-2½ 205 Returns for his second season as a starter after breaking up a team-best 7 passes in 2021. Jack Kiser LB 6-1 5 ⁄8 222 Entering his second year as the starting rover … returned 2 interceptions for touchdowns last year. Andrew Kristofic OL 6-5¼ 295 Started at left guard for the final seven games of 2021 but could be the sixth man as a senior. Jacob Lacey DT 6-1 5 ⁄8 275 Taking over for Kurt Hinish as the starting nose tackle after spending 2019-20 as his backup and 2021 at three-technique. Marist Liufau LB 6-2¼ 229 Suffered a season-ending ankle fracture shortly before 2021 opener, derailing a potential breakout year … Returned in the spring and worked as the No. 1 Will linebacker. Nana Osafo-Mensah DE 6-3 1 ⁄8 250 Was the No. 2 strong-side end in 2021 and will likely hold that role in 2022. John Olmstead OG 6-4½ 283 Transferred to Lafayette after a redshirt year as a freshman. Isaiah Rutherford CB 6-0½ 189 Former top-150 recruit transferred to Arizona in January 2021 and was a starter for the Wildcats. Hunter Spears OG 6-3 5 ⁄8 304 Medically retired in 2021 after a career hampered by injuries. KJ Wallace DB 5-10¼ 189 Was a key special teams player in 2021 … Transferred to Georgia Tech this spring after graduating. Kyren Williams RB 5-9 195 Fifth-round draft pick of the Los Angeles Rams in April after topping 1,000 yards rushing each of the last two seasons. Senior Class Review Rover Jack Kiser's 83.0 run defense grade from Pro Football Focus was the highest on the team. He also returned 2 interceptions for touchdowns last year. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER • Quarterback Brendon Clark (October 2021): Played three games in three seasons and attempted 2 passes. Clark was primarily the No. 3 or 4 quarter- back at Notre Dame and transferred to Old Dominion. • Safety Litchfield Ajavon (December 2021, graduate): Saw action in 11 ca- reer games as a deep reserve and spe- cial teamer, making 1 tackle, before transferring to Rice. • Wallace (January 2022, graduate): Atlanta native played 104 snaps on special teams and 67 on defense from 2019-21 before transferring to Geor- gia Tech. • Punter Jay Bramblett (January 2022, graduate): His participation in Se- nior Day last fall signaled a departure might be forthcoming. He later fol- lowed Brian Kelly to LSU. • Offensive lineman Quinn Carroll (January 2022, graduate): Was on the field-goal unit as a blocker in 2021 but played just 52 offensive snaps at Notre Dame before transferring to Minnesota. ✦