Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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14 FEBRUARY 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY PATRICK ENGEL D eion Colzie spent most August practices in what Notre Dame calls "the pit" in the corner of the LaBar Practice Complex, rehabbing a PCL sprain suffered early in preseason camp. He stood on the side- line for all of September and most of October, healthy enough to be in uni- form but not helpful enough to see more than scattershot snaps. The prologue to it? Uninspiring showings and a concussion in spring practice that vaulted sophomore class- mate Jayden Thomas past him. Colzie, a hard-to-miss 6-foot-5, 211-pound smokestack, was visible in the first seven games only by squinting. He totaled 23 offensive snaps in that span. The first one did not come until Week 4. So, you can imagine the surprise — or recall your own stunned reaction — when quarterback Drew Pyne fired a first-down throw his way in the 41-24 w i n a t Sy ra c u s e Oct. 29. Yes, even after cleaning your glasses, that was No. 16 catching a pass. They weren't done. The two connected again for 21 yards on second-and-8. Col- zie's 11-yard catch on third-and-6 in the fourth quarter was part of a 7-play, 54- yard touchdown drive that pushed Notre Dame's lead to 31-17, stopping 15 minutes of bad momentum cold. It was one thing to see Colzie in the game. It was another to see him on the field in critical moments and Pyne throwing to him. That 3-catch, 44-yard outburst snowballed into a productive stretch run. Colzie ended the regular sea- son with 9 catches for 192 yards and a touchdown — all in the final five games. Every catch was either a first down or a score. Four of them came on third downs with at least 8 yards to gain. Notre Dame's other pass catchers com- bined for eight such third-and-long re- ceptions in the regular season. "You go make a couple plays, and you have confidence that you can do it, your game is going to continue to increase," offensive coordinator Tommy Rees said. "Your trust from the coaches, trust from quarterback is going to continue to increase." That trust put Colzie in the mix to be one of Notre Dame's key passing game figures in life after Michael Mayer, a competition that started in the Gator Bowl Dec. 30. Before he can do that, though, he had to put himself back in the conversation for 2022. Colzie's in-sea- son reversal from off the radar to re- liable third-down target is even more impressive in the context of Notre Dame's hit-and-miss and Mayer-cen- tric passing offense. No Irish wide re- ceiver finished the regular season with more than 340 yards. Notre Dame was 117th in pass attempts per game (25.3) heading into the bowl and did not clear 160 passing yards in five of the last 10 regular-season games. Mayer ac- counted for 101 of Notre Dame's 284 targets before he left for the NFL Draft. The path for Colzie to contribute felt obscured, if not invisible. There was ground to make up, and not a clear re- ward in 2022 if he covered it. Mayer wasn't going away in the regular season. The other receivers hadn't played their way out of snaps. Notre Dame's two- tight-end usage and run-first offense make receiver snaps and targets precious commodities. Colzie had to build trust in Notre Dame's staff to get a chance, but he also had to trust the coaches would find opportunities for him if he did. "That's one of the most unselfish po- "I started to feel myself and came into work every day wanting to be the best." COLZIE ON HIS RESURGENCE SECOND-HALF SURGE Deion Colzie put a lost first half behind him and thrust himself back in the wide receiver mix for 2023