Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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8 DECEMBER 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME 2 Fighting Irish junior guards were listed among the top 25 players in women's college basketball by ESPN during the opening week of the 2023-24 season: Sonia Citron at No. 18 and Olivia Miles at No. 21. "Miles would be higher on this list if there was more certainty around her status for the season," ESPN's Alexa Philippou noted. "After suffering a significant knee injury at the end of February, Notre Dame hasn't provided a timeline on when the point guard could return, and it hasn't ruled out that she could miss the season entirely. While the Irish have another star guard in Hannah Hidalgo to hold things down in the meantime, their ceiling will be greatly shaped by the timing of Miles' return." Notre Dame was one of six schools that placed multiple players on ESPN's list. Defending national champion LSU and perennial power Connecticut led the way with three each, while Notre Dame, Virginia Tech, Ohio State and South Carolina had two each. 3 Notre Dame football 2024 commits were listed as top-50 prospects in On3's rankings update released Nov. 20. Glen Ellyn (Ill.) Glenbard South wide receiver Cam Williams moved up from No. 28 to No. 24, West Roxbury (Mass.) Catholic Memorial offensive tackle Guerby Lambert went from No. 29 to No. 21 and Charlotte (N.C.) Christian edge Bryce Young jumped from No. 121 to No. 49 in the national rankings. 5 Teams in the country ranked in the NCAA statistical top 14 in the Football Bowl Subdivision for both scoring offense and scoring defense through Week 12: Notre Dame, Michigan, Georgia, Oregon and Florida State. 5th Overall was where ESPN listed Notre Dame junior left tackle Joe Alt in its re-ranking of the 2021 recruiting class, behind only USC quar- terback Caleb Williams (No. 1), Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. (No. 2), Georgia tight end Brock Bowers (No. 3) and North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye (No. 4). Alt was listed as a three-star recruit and the No. 15 tight end in the country by ESPN in 2021. "Alt was a 6-foot-6, 240-pound three- star tight end out of high school. He has since grown two inches and added 75 pounds," ESPN noted. "While he added dominating size, he didn't lose much of the agility he flashed in high school. He's a prototypical left tackle with a long body and great feet. Alt earned All-America honors after not allowing a single sack in the 2022 season as a sophomore. He allowed only three as a true freshman starter. "He was fluid and flexible in pass protection, but his run- blocking skills lagged. Over the course of the past three sea- sons, he has become dominant in the run game. Alt has been just as impressive this year protecting the blind side of Sam Hartman." 6 Fighting Irish players were listed among the top 10 players at their position in ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr.'s Nov. 10 positional rankings for the 2024 NFL Draft: junior offensive tackle Joe Alt (No. 2), junior running back Audric Estimé (No. 2), junior tight end Mitchell Evans (No. 6), senior defensive tackle Rylie Mills (No. 7), senior safety Xavier Watts (No. 7) and graduate student kicker Spencer Shrader (No. 10, among both kickers and punters). 12 Notre Dame tight ends have notched at least 20 receptions and 300 receiving yards in a season since 2000, with junior Mitchell Evans joining the club this year with 29 receptions and 422 receiving yards before suffering a season-ending knee injury against Pittsburgh Oct. 28. Per Notre Dame media relations, only 12 other FBS teams have produced double-digit tight ends who have achieved the 20-catch, 300-yard marks during the same stretch: Stanford (14), Iowa (12), Miami (12), Wisconsin (12), Arkansas (11), Marshall (11), Colorado State (10), Georgia (10), Louisville (10), Penn State (10), Washington (10) and Western Kentucky (10). The 2023 campaign marks the sixth consecutive season an Irish tight end has reached that statistical plateau (20 catches, 300 yards): Year Name Rec. Yards 2018 Alizé Mack 36 360 2019 Cole Kmet 43 515 2020 Michael Mayer 42 450 2021 Michael Mayer 71 840 2022 Michael Mayer 63 809 2023 Mitchell Evans 29 422 20th Is where ESPN ranked the Notre Dame men's basketball pro- gram's three-man 2024 recruiting class. "It's expected to be a difficult first season in South Bend for Micah Shrews- berry, but this group should help improve the talent level in the future," ESPN"s Jeff Borzello said. "There are two ESPN 100 prospects in Nasir Mohammed (No. 56) and Cole Certa (No. 89), as well as four-star forward Garrett Sundra." 22 Fighting Irish players in program history have reached the 250-tackle milestone, with gradu- ate student linebacker JD BERTRAND the most recent addition to that exclusive club. Heading into the regular- season finale at Stanford, Bertrand ranked 21st all time at Notre Dame with 259 career tackles. 27 Steals for Notre Dame freshman point guard Hannah Hidalgo during Notre Dame's 3-1 start. Per Notre Dame media rela- tions, that is the most through the first four games of a women's college career in the last 25 years. Through games played Nov. 19, Hidalgo's 6.8 steals per game ranked first in the nation. 43.6 Points per game was Notre Dame football's scoring average in its six home games this season. That is the highest for the program since 1977, when the Irish averaged 45.2 points per game. The Fighting Irish scored 40 or more points in five home games — the most in school history. The previ- ous high was four such games in nine different seasons. ✦ BY THE NUMBERS PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER