Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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4 SEPT. 16, 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED T here's no arguing that big halftime leads and blowout wins over Navy (42‑3) and Tennessee State (56‑3) to start this season were the primary reasons the Notre Dame coaches were able to go deep down their depth chart both early and often in the first two games, with minimal risk. But if you listen to Irish head coach Marcus Freeman and offensive coordinator Gerad Parker, continuing to play multiple guys within all position groups — even in the tighter games — will become the norm because it's the best way to keep players engaged, and the only way to build nec‑ essary roster depth, even if a liberal substitution plan may bring some risk along the way. Notre Dame already had 31 different players make their college football debuts through two games. The free substitutional approach is, of course, a change from the Brian Kelly era when true freshmen typically red‑ shirted and most of the game reps were reserved for the starters, oftentimes even late in blowout victories. This be‑ came a point of contention for many Fighting Irish fans. "The only thing us coaches can do is to continue to give those guys the opportunities that they've earned, be‑ cause it's performance based," Parker explained. "But also, to let them be able to go out there and have some pieces of success. And then, if there are some small failures, then I'm going to follow up and we'll keep moving forward." Offensively, Parker hasn't hesitated to go deep into his rotation and give his reserves some actual and meaningful live‑game action, not just last‑minute mop‑up duty. Through those first two games, four Irish running backs already had a rush‑ ing touchdown, and all four of those backs were averaging at least 15.0 rush‑ ing yards per game. This list includes true freshman tail‑ back Jeremiyah Love, and sophomores Gi'Bran Payne and Jadarian Price. And in the passing game, three Irish quarterbacks have already played live snaps and been asked to do more than simply hand the ball off, 16 different players already had at least one recep‑ tion, six of those had a touchdown catch, and seven receivers were averaging at least 20.0 receiving yards per game. A couple of other true freshmen — wideouts Jaden Greathouse and Rico Flores Jr. — have already established themselves as rotational regulars after combining for 8 catches, 131 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns in the first two games. Against Tennessee State, remarkably, seven different Irish offensive players scored a touchdown. "The advantage to play so many guys, especially in the first two games, is go‑ ing to be tremendous," Freeman said. "I don't know when it's going to be needed, but it will be needed. It's guaranteed. Over the course of a 12‑game season, you're going to have to have depth, and at multiple different positions." Again, when you outscore two op‑ ponents by a combined 98‑6, there are plenty of opportunities to play almost everyone, evalu‑ ate them and even experi‑ ment. "And I think that's what we have to do as a staff," Parker added. "If we don't let these guys grow, and empower them to get better, and try to assess where our depth is, we won't know." And to that end and based on the early data, maybe this is finally the season that of‑ fensive depth and balance at Notre Dame becomes a real‑ ity instead of the same unful‑ filled preseason promise we hear every year. Parker stressed that he has confidence in all of his guys and isn't afraid to use 'em. "The only way to improve is to play," he said, adding, "we believe in our guys who we brought in here as a recruiting staff, all the way down to our [support staff] and our coaches." After six different wide receivers and nine total pass catchers recorded at least one reception against Navy, 13 different pass catchers recorded at least one catch against Tennessee State. The latter performance against the Tigers came a week after five Irish tailbacks combined for 31 carries and 189 yards (6.1 yards per attempt) and 2 rushing touchdowns against Navy. Not every game and opponent will provide the Irish coaches the chance to use such a robust rotation — 13 scholar‑ ship freshmen and 15 walk‑ons played against Tennessee State — with negli‑ gible drop‑off. But every rep matters, especially for the younger guys. "We will need multiple guys through‑ out the course of the season," Freeman said. "And to get them valuable, mean‑ ingful reps is so important." ✦ Freshman tailback Jeremiyah Love was one of four Irish running backs that already had a rushing touchdown through the first two games, and all four of those backs were averaging at least 15.0 rushing yards per game. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER Improving Depth And Balance On Full Display UPON FURTHER REVIEW TODD D. BURLAGE Todd D. Burlage has been a writer for Blue & Gold Illustrated since July 2005. He can be reached at tburlage@blueandgold.com