Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1491978
28 MARCH 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY PATRICK ENGEL A Notre Dame football season of sharp turns made for an enter- taining look back at the 2022 version of an annual Blue & Gold Illustrated summer exercise. Our July ranking of the Irish's top 25 most impor- tant players had some hits, in hindsight. It featured some big swings and misses. It made some projections of increased roles look wise and others appear overzealous. Back in the summer, we unveiled our picks for Notre Dame's 25 most impor- tant players for the 2022 season. The goal was to highlight individuals that needed to emerge, remain a centerpiece or break out to help get Notre Dame to the College Football Playoff. Talent and impact were factors, but these questions were the primary con- siderations when filling out ballots: 1) How much of a setback would losing this player be? 2) If this less proven player emerges, how much does that raise the ceiling (or lower it, if a breakout does not happen as expected)? After a 9-4 season that featured two home losses to unranked teams, a dusting of a top-10 op- ponent, a quarterback switch (two, technically) and many more plot twists, we're revisit- ing our list from the summer to see how it held up in hindsight. 25. CENTER ZEKE CORRELL One year after a failed move to left guard, Correll started every game at center, where he played from 2019-20. He allowed 6 pres- sures in the first four games of the year, but then gave up just 7 in the final nine (with 1 sack). His run- blocking improvements coincided with the line's overall growth there. Correll made Notre Dame shift three- year starting center Jarrett Patterson to guard. That was enough of a statement to earn a spot in the 20s in July, which feels about right five months later. 24. QUARTERBACK DREW PYNE Pyne made only two ballots, but Blue & Gold Illustrated staff member Tyler Horka's premise for ranking him made sense: He's one snap away from becom- ing a crucial piece of the offense. Turns out, that was astute. Pyne LOOKING BACK BGI's preseason ranking of Notre Dame's top 25 most important players had big hits and surprising misses Sophomore left tackle Joe Alt established himself as a future early round NFL Draft pick. PHOTO BY KAYDEE GAWLIK