Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1491978
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM MARCH 2023 29 wasn't perfect, by any stretch. Notre Dame ended the season knowing it needed an upgrade at quarterback. Still, the offense functioned well enough to go 8-2 with him at the helm, even if he wasn't always a catalyst in the wins. All told, that's a good outcome for a backup. There weren't 24 more impor- tant players than him this season. 23. RIGHT GUARD JOSH LUGG Lugg moved from right tackle in 2021 to right guard in 2022 and started every game. He allowed just 12 pressures and no sacks. His 71.6 Pro Football Focus run-blocking grade is a solid number. Maybe Notre Dame's run blocking wouldn't have considerably dipped if senior and eight-game starter Andrew Kristofic was the right guard, which puts a ceiling on Lugg's ranking. But Lugg was a 13-game starter on Notre Dame's best unit and the one most cru- cial to its success on offense. That's worthy of inclusion, and this placement feels right. 22. WIDE RECEIVER AVERY DAVIS An August ACL tear wiped out Da- vis' 2022 season before it even started. Notre Dame could have used a steady chain-moving presence at receiver and another veteran voice on offense. No Irish receiver had more than 30 catches or 340 receiving yards. That's due in part to quarterback play and opportu- nity, but also uneven play at receiver. Davis, when healthy, is hardly uneven. But how much would he have elevated the passing game given the quarterback switch and low volume of throws? 21. RUNNING BACK AUDRIC ESTIME Notre Dame's backfield would have still been strong if any one of its three contributors were pulled away. Estime posted team highs in rushing yards (920), yards per carry (5.9) and rushing touchdowns (11). He added 135 receiv- ing yards and another score. Fumbling issues arose in October and might have cost the Irish a win against Stanford, but they didn't boot him from the rota- tion for good. He was the steadiest pass protector of the running backs. This feels a little low in hindsight, but not egregiously given Logan Diggs' and Chris Tyree's presence and the fumbles. 20. DEFENSIVE TACKLE JACOB LACEY This pick was made under the assump- tion that Lacey — not Howard Cross III — would start next to Jayson Ademilola. But Notre Dame went with Cross at nose tackle after seeing too much evidence he was one of the best four linemen. That left some room for Lacey, who had 2 sacks in the win over California and played 73 snaps in the first four games. But not enough room to his liking. Lacey entered the transfer portal in October. He will play at Oklahoma next season. 19. SAFETY RAMON HENDERSON Henderson started the last four games of 2021, but Notre Dame went with Bran- don Joseph and DJ Brown as its opening- day starters at safety. Xavier Watts, not Henderson, grabbed a starting spot when Joseph missed time in November and sat out the Gator Bowl with an ankle injury. Henderson still played 319 snaps, seeing time at nickel back and at safety. That was enough for him to make 23 tackles and 2 tackles for loss. He passed graduate student Houston Griffith in the rotation and started at nickel in the regular-season finale at USC. That role was notable, but not among the 25 most important. 18. WIDE RECEIVER DEION COLZIE I was the lone staff member to leave Colzie off my ballot following an injury- filled and not exactly impressive spring. That theme carried over to fall camp and dropped him from the rotation to begin the year. What I didn't foresee was Colzie climb- ing out of that hole to become an occa- sional big-play threat in the second half of the season. He had 9 catches for 192 yards Senior linebacker JD Bertrand had a team-high 82 stops, including 8.5 tackles for loss and 2 sacks. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER