Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM AUGUST 2022 27 Talk about pressure, especially for a sophomore. "He's got to do it live, with live bullets," Freeman said of Buchner. "He's done it in a red jersey. Until you do it out there with live bullets, that's a little bit different. And I'm talking about doing it with an entire package, not just a small package. "Until that happens, there's always going to be that sense of, 'Can he do it?'" There's no way of knowing until Sep- tember. If Buchner is the guy, give him the keys and let him operate the bus. That could happen soon after fall camp starts on Aug. 5. Again, Freeman wants out- siders to believe he isn't hiding any- thing. This isn't about gamesmanship. It's about winning games. "The minute you feel like there's a distinct advantage for one guy, then you'll name a starter so you can get that cohesiveness across your offensive unit," Freeman said. Asked if the spring showed him enough to at least start making his way toward a decision, Freeman didn't reveal his hand. "Still a battle," he said. "Still a battle." Not coy. Meticulous. Diligent. Pains- takingly scrupulous. Freeman's first season as Notre Dame's head coach depends largely on this decision. He's going to take his time with it, but he's going to act swiftly once he feels it's the right thing to do. All options are on the table, too. "I wish I could put a timeline on that, but there is no timeline," he said. "It could be the first game. I don't think in a perfect world I want a two-quarterback system, but if that's what's best for the team we'll do it. "As soon as there is a clear distinction to who should be the starting quarter- back, we'll name a starter." Time is ticking. INJURIES IMPACT DEPTH AT KEY POSITIONS Coaches normally take a sigh of relief as soon as spring practices conclude. Summer workouts aren't a usual time for injuries to occur. The Irish were hit by two significant ones in the span of a few weeks, though. Freshman running back Jadarian Price tore his Achilles in late June. He's out for the season. Sophomore tight end Mitchell Evans fractured his foot in mid-July. He's out for several months. Price's injury leaves Notre Dame with three healthy scholarship running backs (junior Chris Tyree, sophomore Audric Estime and freshman Gi'Bran Payne). Sophomore Logan Diggs is still recover- ing from an April shoulder surgery. He should return sometime in September per head coach Marcus Freeman. Junior Michael Mayer is the team's unquestioned No. 1 tight end, but Evans was battling junior Kevin Bauman for the second spot. Sophomore Cane Ber- rong plus true freshmen Holden Staes and Eli Raridon all bump up a smidge with Evans going down. Graduate student wide receivers Avery Davis (ACL) and Joe Wilkins Jr. (foot) are making quick progress in re- hab according to Freeman. Like Diggs, both could make a return in the first month of the season. Freeman appreci- ates what he has seen from Davis. "I don't know exactly when he'll be cleared, but he's been doing a lot of the running," Freeman said in late June. "There are really no limitations." Graduate student interior offensive lineman Jarrett Patterson, who's likely making a move to guard after starting for three seasons at center, has fully re- covered from his torn pectoral muscle in March. Freshman offensive lineman Billy Schrauth is also a full-go after missing the spring rehabbing from foot surgery, but fellow freshman offensive lineman Joey Tanona is still taking it slowly after suffer- ing a concussion in a car wreck in March. "He has severe trauma from that car accident," Freeman said. "He's still to be determined." ✦ Quarterback No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 12 Tyler Buchner 6-1 215 So./3 10 Drew Pyne 5-11½ 200 Jr./4 18 Steve Angeli 6-2 3 ⁄8 215 Fr./4 11 Ron Powlus III 6-2 5 ⁄8 225 So./4 Running Back No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 25 Chris Tyree 5-9½ 190 Jr./3 24 Audric Estime 5-11½ 228 So./3 13 Gi'Bran Payne 5-9 1 ⁄8 198 Fr./4 22 Logan Diggs^ 6-0 206 So./3 20 Jadarian Price* 5-10 190 Fr./4 Boundary Receiver (W) No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 16 Deion Colzie 6-4¾ 207 So./3 15 Tobias Merriweather 6-4 190 Fr./4 5 Joe Wilkins Jr.^ 6-1½ 195 Gr./2 Field Receiver (X) No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 0 Braden Lenzy 5-11 3 ⁄8 182 Gr./2 83 Jayden Thomas 6-1½ 215 So./4 Slot Receiver (Y) No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 4 Lorenzo Styles 6-1 1 ⁄8 195 So./3 29 Matt Salerno 6-0 5 ⁄8 199 Gr./1 3 Avery Davis^ 5-11 202 Gr./1 Tight End No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 87 Michael Mayer 6-4½ 251 Jr./3 84 Kevin Bauman 6-4½ 242 Jr./3 80 Cane Berrong 6-3½ 235 So./4 85 Holden Staes 6-4¼ 224 Fr./4 9 Eli Raridon 6-6¾ 240 Fr./4 88 Mitchell Evans^ 6-5 1 ⁄8 250 So./3 Left Tackle No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 76 Joe Alt 6-7 5 ⁄8 305 So./3 79 Tosh Baker 6-8 307 Jr./3 59 Aamil Wagner 6-6 260 Fr./4 Left Guard No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 55 Jarrett Patterson 6-4½ 307 Gr./1 73 Andrew Kristofic 6-5¼ 295 Sr./3 74 Billy Schrauth 6-4 272 Fr./4 Center No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 52 Zeke Correll 6-3 295 Sr./3 68 Michael Carmody 6-5½ 290 Jr./3 78 Pat Coogan 6-5 1 ⁄8 305 So./4 Right Guard No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 75 Josh Lugg 6-6 7 ⁄8 305 Gr./1 50 Rocco Spindler 6-4 5 ⁄8 300 So./4 58 Ashton Craig 6-4¼ 291 Fr./4 56 Joey Tanona^ 6-5 284 Fr./4 Right Tackle No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 54 Blake Fisher 6-6 335 So./4 72 Caleb Johnson 6-5 5 ⁄8 287 So./4 77 Ty Chan 6-5 309 Fr./4 ^ Sidelined for fall camp due to injury; * out for the season BGI Pre-Fall 2022 Notre Dame Scholarship Depth Chart: Offense Prior to fall camp, here is Blue & Gold Illustrated's projection for how Notre Dame's 2022 depth chart could shake out when the Fighting Irish open the season this fall.