Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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22 PRESEASON 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED able target at Notre Dame. The finish Thomas had to the 2022 season com- bined with what he looked like in the spring and early in fall camp makes him stand out over the rest of Notre Dame's eight scholarship wide receivers. Thomas had multiple catches in five straight games to conclude his sopho- more campaign. He finished with 362 receiving yards, the most of any Notre Dame player not named Michael Mayer. Mayer is gone, so Thomas can take the torch. 8. CB CAM HART As a cover corner and ball disruptor, Hart had a better season in 2021 than he did in 2022. He missed the final two games of last season with the shoulder issues that have plagued him for years, and he's back for his graduate season. At 6-foot-2, 207 pounds and with good movement skills for his size, Hart has the appearance of a lock-down cor- nerback. He's been tantalizingly close to that at his best. The nice thing for him is that with Morrison's breakout, he doesn't need to be the best player in the secondary in order to be successful. All Hart needs to do is stay healthy, and cornerback is a bona fide strength for a Notre Dame defense that badly needs one. 9. S XAVIER WATTS Watts started the final four games of the 2022 season and played in all 13 of them. That was before he had a slate of spring practices that made on- lookers feel very confident he'll be a heavy snap-eater in 2023. Notre Dame coaches were left thinking the same thing. He carried that momentum into the beginning of fall camp, and he made it clear early on that Notre Dame does not have a better starting option at strong safety. This is a Notre Dame safety room that had to look to the FCS ranks for rein- forcements, but it's starting to seem like Watts could be the best of the bunch. 10. WR TOBIAS MERRIWEATHER Only one catch last season? No mat- ter. From a measurable standpoint, Merriweather was essentially built in a lab to play the "X" receiver position, and he's been doing that with the first team throughout the spring and fall. That one catch was a 41-yard touch- down against Stanford, which show- cased his size (6-foot-4), track speed, route running and ability to line up in the slot if necessary. He shares that last trait with Thomas, giving Notre Dame impressive versatility at the position. It would be nice for the Irish if Merri- weather takes a massive leap to No. 1 re- ceiver status, but that's an awfully high standard to hold him to. With Thomas looking very good in camp, a comple- mentary role would be just fine. Senior defensive lineman Rylie Mills didn't put together a wildly successful season in 2022, but the Irish are expecting a lot of him as a full-time starter in 2023. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER