Blue and Gold Illustrated

Preseason2022

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

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30 PRESEASON 2022 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED center point of our offensive line." The center point of one of the best of- fensive lines in the country, perhaps. LIMITLESS SKILL One five-minute period of a fall camp practice Aug. 12 was a key indicator into why Notre Dame might make it out alive with just seven available scholarship wide receivers entering the 2022 season. The Notre Dame offense worked on one-on-ones during this particular pe- riod. Quarterbacks were throwing to … tight ends and running backs. The wide re- ceivers stayed on the other end of the field. They weren't needed for the offense to completely wreck the defense. Junior tight end Michael Mayer had his way with graduate student linebacker Bo Bauer. Junior running back Chris Tyree toasted senior linebacker JD Bertrand on a double move. Buchner hit him in stride downfield for a touchdown. Ju- nior tight end Kevin Bauman bullied se- nior linebacker Marist Liufau for a catch. Freshman tight end Holden Staes did the same to senior linebacker Jack Kiser on a skinny post. Sophomore running back Audric Estime bruised right by freshman linebacker Jaylen Sneed, and sophomore running back Logan Diggs crossed up linebacker Will Schweitzer with shifty footwork at the line of scrimmage. It was an absolute clinic for Notre Dame running backs and tight ends. "Offensively, we have enough talent," Rees said. "We have enough talent. It's my job to put the guys in the right spots. We have plenty of talent around this program and around this team. I'm ex- cited for the challenge and the opportu- nity to showcase it." Talent, talent, talent. Add freshman tight end Eli Raridon and freshman running back Gi'Bran Payne to the list of names from those position groups who are going to have to step up in the turbulent wake of a thinning wide receiver room. They have plenty of talent themselves. Raridon made easy work of walk-on Tre Reader in the one-on-one session. The loss of Davis was the last thing Rees wanted. It's the last thing any Notre Dame player wanted. They all look up to him, from cornerbacks and safeties to offensive linemen and fellow wideouts. But if any- thing, the Irish skill players have more of a reason to perform now than they did when Davis was among them on the field. The chips on their shoulders grew overnight. When Davis went down with the same injury last November, Lorenzo Styles filled the void. He's viewed as already established now, so while he can take his game to an even higher level it must be accompanied with someone else either doing the same or someone new achiev- ing what Styles did in the final month of 2021: arriving. Graduate students Braden Lenzy and Joe Wilkins Jr. are candidates for the former. Sophomore Jayden Thomas and freshman Tobias Merriweather are options for the latter. It doesn't matter who produces so long as the team is producing collectively. Tal- ent generally leads to production. Rees feels like he's working with plenty of it. At that point, there are no excuses. "We believe in our group," Styles said. "We're just workers, and we're going to keep working." ✦ Quarterback No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 12 Tyler Buchner 6-1 215 So./3 10 Drew Pyne 5-11½ 198 Jr./4 18 Steve Angeli 6-2 3 ⁄8 211 Fr./4 11 Ron Powlus III 6-2 5 ⁄8 227 So./4 Running Back No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 25 Chris Tyree 5-9½ 197 Jr./3 24 Audric Estime 5-11½ 229 So./3 22 Logan Diggs 6-0 214 So./3 13 Gi'Bran Payne 5-9 1 ⁄8 195 Fr./4 20 Jadarian Price* 5-10 3 ⁄8 197 Fr./4 Boundary Receiver (W) No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 83 Jayden Thomas 6-1½ 215 So./3 16 Deion Colzie 6-4¾ 211 So./3 15 Tobias Merriweather 6-4 198 Fr./4 Field Receiver (X) No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 0 Braden Lenzy 5-11 3 ⁄8 182 Gr./2 5 Joe Wilkins Jr. 6-1½ 202 Gr./2 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 ⁄8 195 Gr./1 3 Avery Davis* 5-11 198 Gr./1 Tight End No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 87 Michael Mayer 6-4½ 265 Jr./3 84 Kevin Bauman 6-4½ 252 Jr./3 81 Cane Berrong 6-3½ 243 So./4 9 Eli Raridon 6-6¾ 245 Fr./4 85 Holden Staes 6-4¼ 226 Fr./4 88 Mitchell Evans^ 6-5 1 ⁄8 255 So./3 Left Tackle No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 76 Joe Alt 6-7 5 ⁄8 317 So./3 79 Tosh Baker 6-8 310 Jr./3 59 Aamil Wagner 6-6 267 Fr./4 Left Guard No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 55 Jarrett Patterson 6-4½ 310 Gr./2 73 Andrew Kristofic 6-5¼ 300 Sr./3 74 Billy Schrauth 6-4½ 302 Fr./4 Center No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 52 Zeke Correll 6-3 308 Sr./3 78 Pat Coogan 6-51/8 309 So./4 Right Guard No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 75 Josh Lugg 6-6 7 ⁄8 316 Gr./1 50 Rocco Spindler 6-4 5 ⁄8 315 So./4 70 Ashton Craig 6-4¼ 293 Fr./4 Right Tackle No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 54 Blake Fisher 6-6 327 So./4 68 Michael Carmody 6-5½ 280 Jr./3 72 Caleb Johnson 6-5 5 ⁄8 295 So./4 77 Ty Chan 6-5 310 Fr./4 * Suffered a season-ending injury ^ Injured but expected to return this season BGI NOTRE DAME SCHOLARSHIP DEPTH CHART: OFFENSE After having an opportunity to watch a portion of a handful of practices in August, this is Blue & Gold Illustrated's projection for how Notre Dame's 2022 depth chart will shake out when the Fighting Irish kick off the season in September. Senior Zeke Correll has had his ups and downs at Notre Dame, but the team believes he'll be a dependable starting center in 2022. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER

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