Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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22 MAY 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED increased trust from the staff. Instead, he will have to rejuvenate the momen- tum in spring practice. O u ts i d e o f q u a r te rba c k , Me r r i - weather might have the most potential to elevate Notre Dame's offense. He's an intriguing blend of size and speed. Virginia Tech graduate transfer receiver Kaleb Smith assumed Merriweather was an upperclassman when he watched a December practice on a recruiting visit. Tight end Eli Raridon had a brief run as the backup to Mi- chael Mayer in late September and early October, but an ACL tear wiped out any hopes of keeping that job when Mitchell Evans returned from injury. He arrived with more buzz about his receiving skill and athleti- cism, but impressed in a block- ing-heavy role before he was injured. Fellow tight end Holden Staes played 10 games, but had just 1 catch. A winter spent adding weight should help his case for a larger role. Junior Tuihala- maka made the switch from linebacker to "vyper" defensive end, where he could be the No. 2 behind senior Jordan Botelho. Perhaps the most surpris- ing freshman contributor was walk-on kicker Zac Yoakam, who stepped in to handle kick- offs for an injured Bryce McFerson in the opener and never relinquished the job. YEAR 2 LEAPERS? Discussion around sophomore year breakouts starts with Merriweather. Not far behind, though, is guard Billy Schr- auth. The list of potential redshirt-to- starter leaps on offense or defense starts with him. Schrauth's impressive fall be- hind the scenes launched him into the competition at guard with graduate stu- dent Andrew Kristofic, senior Michael Carmody and junior Rocco Spindler. "He's just strong, extremely fast and has hands like I've never seen," defen- sive tackle Howard Cross III said. McFerson had an inside track to the starting punter job before special teams coordinator Brian Mason left for the NFL in March. Even with Marty Biagi replacing Mason, he's the favorite over Penn walk-on graduate transfer Ben Krimm. Schrauth and Merriweather will at- tract most of the attention if they can claim starting spots. But the potential redshirt-to-rotation-piece breakouts are nearly as crucial to Notre Dame's 2022 season. The Fighting Irish have a defensive line in need of depth and supplemen- tal pieces. Five sophomores are at the center of the competition there: tackle Tyson Ford, tackle Donovan Hinish, end Joshua Burnham, end Aiden Gobaira and Tuihalamaka. That's a quartet of former four-star prospects and the brother of a former Notre Dame captain. There's talent, but not experience. Only Tuihalamaka played more than one snap in 2022, and he didn't switch to defensive end full time until December bowl practices. Tuihalamaka and Burnham are work- ing at vyper, which does not have a clear backup to Botelho (who's not yet en- trenched as the starter himself ). The Irish have three returning veterans at defensive tackle. Their search for a fourth rotation piece is an opportunity for Ford and Hinish. Gobaira has the build of a vyper (241 pounds) but might have a less obstructed path at field end. That leaves the class' highest-rated prospect, Jaylen Sneed, who is less cru- cial to the 2023 defense but an impor- tant down-the-road piece. The senior linebacker trio of JD Bertrand, Jack Kiser and Marist Liufau played most of the snaps in 2022 and return in 2023. Sneed's primary position, rover, saw a decrease in snaps last year with Golden leaning into the nickel defense. Notre Dame still found 17 snaps for Sneed in the Gator Bowl, mainly in coverage or as a pass rusher. That workload was a positive end to a redshirt year. Building on it won't guarantee him more snaps in 2023 because of the graduate students' pres- ence. But Golden wants to see him and the other linebackers challenge for snaps and will make room if Sneed or someone else leaves him no choice. LONGER-TERM PIECES The development of offensive tackle Aamil Wagner into a po- tential 2024 starter began when he enrolled last June. Wagner, an On3 five-star recruit because of his athleticism and upside, arrived at about 260 pounds. A d d i n g a n d m a i n t a i n i n g strength to his 6-foot-6 frame was not a short-term project. He is up to 278 pounds this spring and working with the second unit. Fellow sophomore tackle Ty Chan figures to be in the tackle competition next offseason, presuming there is one. Starters Joe Alt and Blake Fisher are candidates to leave for the NFL after their junior season. Interior lineman Ashton Craig has been working at center since his arrival and could be in the mix to replace starter Zeke Correll if Correll declines a sixth season. Similarly, quarterback Steve Angeli doesn't have much upward mobility in 2023, but building a case to start in 2024 after presumed 2023 QB1 Sam Hartman departs begins now. The post-Hartman conversation starts with junior Tyler Buchner, but Angeli has left an early im- pression on quarterbacks coach Gino Guidugli. Tobias Merriweather is challenging for a starting receiver job in 2023. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER