Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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40 SEPT. 23, 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED GAME PREVIEW: OHIO STATE NOTRE DAME PASSING GAME VS. OHIO STATE PASS DEFENSE Through Week 2, there were only six quarter- backs in the country with a minimum of 30 pass at- tempts who had a positive expected points added percentage of at least 60 percent. Graduate stu- dent Sam Hartman was not one of them, but he was the next in line at 58.8 percent. That means on nearly 60 percent of Hartman's passing plays, the result was a net positive for Notre Dame. USC's Caleb Williams led the country in the same statistic at that time with a figure of 65.8 percent. Hartman was known for leading the FBS in air yards in 2022. Through his first three games in 2023, he ranked 18th nationally in that statistic with 328. Three of the 17 quarterbacks ahead of him had also played three games at the same point. Every other QB had only played two. So, in one-quarter of a season, it became clear Notre Dame is not going to lean on Hartman to throw the deep ball as much as he did previously at Wake Forest. And that's fine. He completed 75.0 percent of his passes in the first three games with 10 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. Those are more important numbers. He also averaged 11.4 yards per attempt, which was fourth in the FBS among quarterbacks with at least 30 pass attempts through Week 2. His touchdown percentage of 15.6 percent was second behind Williams' 17.1. Ohio State has talented cornerbacks and ball- hawking safeties. NC State had a talented second- ary though, too, and Hartman bided his time and made the Wolfpack pay in the end. Hartman can do that against the Buckeyes in a way Tyler Buch- ner could not in the 2022 season opener. It's not a group of wide receivers that is still trying to find itself that might hold Notre Dame back the most against Ohio State's pass defense. Rather, it's the offensive line in its protection of Hartman. The Irish cannot allow a group of highly ranked recruits get after Hartman in the backfield all night. That would make for a long evening for the home team. Notre Dame ranked 30th in the country in points earned pass blocking per SIS through Week 2. Not terrible, but room for improvement. Ohio State, for all its talent, only ranked 106th in points above pass rushing, meanwhile. Notre Dame had a significant edge. It just cannot have a down day. Advantage: Notre Dame SPECIAL TEAMS New coordinator, same results. Notre Dame is still has one of the best special teams units in the country according to the Fremeau Efficiency Index. Through Week 2, the Fighting Irish ranked No. 6 nationally in special teams FEI. The Ohio State Buckeyes, meanwhile, came in at No. 18. The special teams FEI include opponent-adjusted data representing the scoring advantage per spe- cial teams event a team would be expected to have on a neutral field against an average opponent. Already this season, Notre Dame has blocked a field goal, forced multiple missed field goals and set a new program record for field goal yardage on a single kick thanks to the leg of South Florida transfer Spencer Shrader. He drilled a kick from 54 OFFENSE Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. WR 83 Jayden Thomas 6-1½ 221 Jr. 0 Deion Colzie 6-4¼ 210 Jr. WR 4 Chris Tyree 5-9½ 192 Sr. 19 Jaden Greathouse 6-1 204 Fr. LT 76 Joe Alt 6-8 322 Jr. 79 Tosh Baker 6-8 317 Sr. LG 78 Pat Coogan 6-5⅛ 303 Jr. 74 Billy Schrauth 6-4½ 311 So. C 52 Zeke Correll 6-3 306 Gr. 70 Ashton Craig 6-4¼ 307 So. RG 50 Rocco Spindler 6-4⅝ 314 Jr. 73 Andrew Kristofic 6-5¼ 305 Gr. RT 54 Blake Fisher 6-6 312 Jr. 59 Aamil Wagner 6-6 288 So. TE 88 Mitchell Evans 6-5⅛ 251 Jr. 13 Holden Staes 6-4¼ 242 So. 38 Davis Sherwood 6-3 238 Jr. WR 5 Tobias Merriweather 6-4 204 So. 17 Rico Flores Jr. 6-0⅛ 205 Fr. QB 10 Sam Hartman 6-1⅛ 212 Gr. 18 Steve Angeli 6-2⅜ 211 So. RB 7 Audric Estimé 5-11½ 227 Jr. 3 Gi'Bran Payne 5-9⅛ 208 So. or 24 Jadarian Price 5-10⅜ 206 So. or 22 Devyn Ford 5-11 200 Gr. or 12 Jeremiyah Love 5-11⅞ 197 Fr. DEFENSE Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. Vyper 12 Jordan Botelho 6-2½ 264 Sr. 44 Junior Tuihalamaka 6-1⅞ 254 So. DT 99 Rylie Mills 6-5⅛ 306 Sr. 47 Jason Onye 6-5 294 Jr. NT 56 Howard Cross III 6-0⅞ 288 Gr. 92 Aidan Keanaaina 6-3 309 Sr. or 41 Donovan Hinish 6-1⅝ 280 So. SDE 1 Javontae Jean-Baptiste 6-4½ 260 Gr. or 31 Nana Osafo-Mensah 6-3⅛ 264 Sr. 40 Joshua Burnham 6-3½ 248 So. Will 8 Marist Liufau 6-2¼ 239 Gr. 23 Jaiden Ausberry 6-0⅛ 224 Fr. Mike 27 JD Bertrand 6-1 233 Gr. 34 Drayk Bowen 6-2 234 Fr. Rover 24 Jack Kiser 6-1⅝ 232 Gr. 3 Jaylen Sneed 6-2 223 So. CB 5 Cam Hart 6-2½ 207 Gr. 7 Jaden Mickey 5-11½ 181 So. LS 2 DJ Brown 6-1¼ 202 Gr. or 9 Antonio Carter II 5-11¾ 207 Gr. or 13 Thomas Harper 5-10⅝ 195 Gr. RS 0 Xavier Watts 5-11¾ 204 Sr. or 11 Ramon Henderson 6-1 196 Sr. CB 20 Benjamin Morrison 6-0¼ 185 So. 29 Christian Gray 5-11¾ 189 Fr. or 6 Clarence Lewis 5-11½ 202 Sr. Notre Dame Fighting Irish Depth Chart Last year, graduate student linebacker Tommy Eichenberg led Ohio State with 120 total stops and 12 tackle for loss. PHOTO COURTESY OHIO STATE ATHLETICS Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. KO 32 Spencer Shrader 6-1⅜ 200 Gr. 92 Zac Yoakam 5-8 188 So. K 32 Spencer Shrader 6-1⅜ 200 Gr. 92 Zac Yoakam 5-8 188 So. P 14 Bryce McFerson 6-1½ 197 So. 43 Ben Krimm 6-1⅛ 204 Gr. LS 65 Michael Vinson 6-2 242 Gr. 51 Rino Monteforte 5-7 195 So. Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. H 16 Dylan Devezin 6-1⅛ 222 So. 14 Bryce McFerson 6-1½ 197 So. PR 4 Chris Tyree 5-9½ 192 Sr. 7 Jaden Mickey 5-11½ 181 So. KR 24 Jadarian Price 5-10⅜ 206 So. 12 Jeremiyah Love 5-11⅞ 197 Fr. SPECIAL TEAMS