Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1508272
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM SEPT. 30, 2023 41 GAME PREVIEW: DUKE COACHING Duke won 10 games in its last three seasons under former head coach David Cutcliffe. Since former Notre Dame defensive coordinator Mike Elko took over, the Blue Devils have won 12 games — with a 13th likely against Connecticut in Week 4 — in less than a year and a half. What's more, while there were 10 transfers in and 12 transfers out from 2021- 22 in Durham, N.C. Most of the team's core this sea- son and last season — Leonard, Waters, Calhoun, Moore, Barton, Carter, Mausi, senior safety Jaylen Stinson and junior nickelback Brandon Johnson — are holdovers from the previous regime. This wasn't a Deion Sanders-style "I'm bringing in my own guys" operation, far from it. Elko and company are getting the absolute best out of the players in that room, and he was rightly named ACC Coach of the Year in 2022. Is the job Duke's coaching staff has done impres- sive enough to give it a definitive edge over Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman and company? It's a tough call to make, but I'm going to say no. The Irish came into this season with several team goals: Don't overlook any opponent, create more turnovers and ball disruption on defense, figure out a receiver room whose most experienced player is a converted running back and become a prolific passing team while maintaining a power- running identity. Through four games, Notre Dame had done all of that. The Irish look like one of the most improved teams in college football right now, for reasons beyond just the quarterback. Both schools should be very happy with their coaching staffs right now. Advantage: Even INTANGIBLES Yes, the dreaded Ohio State hangover is a real possibility. In the latest "Can you stay focused on the task at hand?" test, the Irish must either rebound from a gut-wrenching loss or kill the cel- ebration Sunday morning and get ready for Duke. The Blue Devils, on the other hand, have had this game circled on their calendar since the Clemson win. They know an upset would open up possibili- ties Duke football fans wouldn't have dreamed of two years ago, and they'll come out ready to play. Duke is also the home team in this matchup, which is another edge for the Blue Devils. While not renowned for its game-day atmosphere, Wal- lace Wade Stadium was filled with 40,004 fans and provided an electric environment last year with archrival North Carolina in town Oct. 15. When Clemson visited on a Monday night in Week 1, the 31,638 Duke fans in the stadium brought a high-energy atmosphere again, storm- ing the field afterward. Even in smaller stadiums, if fans show up and show out, it can have an effect on the visiting team. Expect that to be the case in Durham on Saturday. Advantage: Duke 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 4 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 Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. 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