Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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12 JANUARY 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME PHOTO BY TAVAN SMITH ✦ BY THE NUMBERS 4 Notre Dame commits have won the high school Butkus Award as the best linebacker in the country since its inception in 2008, with Merrillville (Ind.) Andrean standout DRAYK BOWEN earning the honor fol- lowing the 2022 campaign. Bowen joins Manti Te'o (2008), Jaylon Smith (2012) and Prince Kollie (2020) as fu- ture Fighting Irish players to win the award. Te'o (2012) and Smith (2015) also went on the win the collegiate Butkus Award. In the 15 years it has been awarded, no program has signed more high school Butkus Award winners than Notre Dame. Only Alabama and Texas have inked more than one, with two apiece. 13 Turnovers forced (4 fumble recoveries and 9 interceptions) by Notre Dame's defense through 12 games this season. That was tied for 105th nationally with nine other schools, with only 17 FBS teams producing fewer takeaways. If the Fighting Irish are unable to force any turnovers in their bowl game, it would mark the fewest takeaways by an Irish team in the modern era. Our esteemed colleague, the late Lou Somogyi, did a deep dive on Notre Dame's takeaway history with research dating back to the 2-8 season in 1956 after the 8-5 2011 Irish managed only 13 takeaways in their first 12 games. They notched one more takeaway in their 18-14 bowl loss to Florida State to finish with 14, but still were the first Notre Dame team to have more than twice as many turnovers (29) as its opponents (14), per Somogyi's research. "From 2000-09, the fewest turnovers Notre Dame induced were 19 by the 2009 and 2006 teams of head coach Charlie Weis," Somogyi noted. "The most it generated during that time was 33 in 2002, when the defense propelled an 8-0 start. … From 1990-99, the fewest turnovers forced by Notre Dame were 16 by Lou Holtz's 1990 team that finished the regular season 9-2. From 1980-89, the fewest turnovers Notre Dame forced were 21 in Holtz's 5-6 debut campaign in 1986. "From 1964-80, the Ara Parseghian and Dan Devine eras, the Irish often forced 30-40 turnovers per year in an era where protecting the ball seemed more precarious. For example, Notre Dame's 1977 national champions had 39 turnovers on offense — but gen- erated 52 (not including 6 more in the 38-10 Cotton Bowl versus No. 1 Texas), or about 5 per game." Since 2010, the fewest turnovers forced by Notre Dame is 14 — in 2011, 2015 and 2016. The most takeaways during that stretch was 28 by the 2019 squad. 8 Straight years (2015-22) the Fighting Irish have had at least one player declare for the NFL Draft after his junior season academically: linebacker Jaylon Smith and wide receiver Will Fuller (for the 2016 draft), quarterback De- Shone Kizer (2017), running back Josh Adams and wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown (2018), cornerback Julian Love (2019), tight end Cole Kmet (2020), tight end Tommy Tremble (2021), safety Kyle Hamilton and running back Kyren Williams (2022), and tight end MICHAEL MAYER (2023). On Feb. 17, 1990, the NFL declared it would allow college football players who had completed their junior years to be eligible for the spring draft. In the first 20 years from 1990-2009, only five Notre Dame players turned pro following their junior seasons academically: wide receiver Raghib "Rocket" Is- mail in 1991, running back Jerome Bettis and cornerback Tom Carter in 1993, cornerback Bobby Taylor in 1995 and wide receiver Darius Walker in 2007. Since 2010, 16 Irish juniors have departed for the NFL early: quarterback Jimmy Clausen and wide receiver Golden Tate (2010), tight end Kyle Ru- dolph (2011), defensive end Stephon Tuitt, tight end Troy Niklas and run- ning back George Atkinson III (2014), along with the previously mentioned group from 2016-23. Of the first 21 Irish juniors to go pro, four were picked in the first round, nine in the second round, one in the third round, two in the fourth round (Ismail went here but was projected to go No. 1 overall before opting to sign with the CFL's Toronto Argonauts), one in the fifth round and one in the sixth round, while three went undrafted (Walker, Atkinson and Adams). As of mid-December, Mayer was being projected by various media outlets to be selected in the first round. It's kind of scary what we can do when we play really well. And you see what happens when we play really well." — Sophomore point guard Olivia Miles after scoring 21 points, grabbing 8 re- bounds and dishing out 4 assists in Notre Dame's 74-60 win against No. 3 Connecticut Dec. 4 I've really enjoyed my experience at Notre Dame. The first reason I picked Notre Dame was the NFL, it was on my mind a very, very long time. I saw a lot of good tight ends in the NFL from Notre Dame. That was one of the main reasons I went there. … I wanted to come and win games be a first-round draft pick at tight end. I set my sights on it, and that's what I've been working toward the last three years." — Junior tight end Michael Mayer (via Pete Thamel of ESPN) He probably could have been an NFL starter this year. A 6-4, 265-pound frame. Route-running sav- viness. Nearly impossible to bring down after the catch. Above-average blocking ability. He might not have elite speed, but he has every other trait you look for in a potential Pro Bowl tight end. Mayer might be the safest prospect in the class." — ESPN NFL Draft analyst Todd McShay on Notre Dame junior tight end Michael Mayer Notre Dame rebounded from a brutal start to play its way into New Year's Six conten- tion before losing at USC. Marcus Freeman's first season as head coach offered plenty of learning op- portunities, and he seemed to take advantage. The rout of Clemson gave Notre Dame a signature mo- ment, and recruiting appears on the upswing. The season wasn't what Freeman or Notre Dame wanted, but the program seemed to learn during its 8-4 finish. A Gator Bowl win would send Notre Dame into the offseason with some optimism." — The Athletic's Pete Sampson on giving the Irish a B- for their 8-4 season 136-43 Scoring advantage for the Fighting Irish football team in the second quarter of its 12 regular-season contests during the 2022 season. That 93-point differential is the second best for Notre Dame since 1980, with three of the top four marks achieved during the past three seasons: 2005 — 98 2022 — 93 2021 — 91 2020 — 89 PHOTO COURTESY ON3.COM