Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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24 MARCH 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED That's the challenge for Notre Dame offensive line coach Joe Rudolph. He's actually got to make decisions about who's going to book end the Irish O- line. It isn't as easy as sending Alt and Fisher out there without thinking twice. It would've helped quite a bit for Notre Dame to get a tackle transfer from the portal in the spring cycle. For the time being, the Irish will go with who they have in the room right now. We'll find out if that's good enough. TAKING FLIGHT If you add all of the 2023 recep- tions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns produced by Chris Tyree and Rico Flores Jr., Notre Dame's top two wide receivers last year, the totals wouldn't match those of Kris Mitch- ell, one of three incoming wide receiver transfers for Notre Dame, in any of the three categories. Tyree and Flores: 53 receptions, 876 receiving yards, 4 receiving touch- downs. Mitchell: 64 receptions, 1,118 receiving yards, 6 receiving touch- downs. Notre Dame has not had a 1,000-yard receiver since Chase Claypool in 2019. Mitchell isn't expected to buck that streak; it's much easier to go for 1,000 yards at Florida International than it is against a Fighting Irish schedule. But it's got to be a collective effort among Mitchell and Notre Dame's 10 other scholarship wide receivers to be more productive as a whole. Notre Dame has had three wide re- ceivers reach 30 catches in a single sea- son in the last three years: Kevin Austin and Braden Lenzy in 2021 and Lorenzo Styles in 2022. The Irish did not have one wide receiver hit 30 catches last year. Not one. Let it be Mitchell. Let it be Jayden Thomas, Jaden Greathouse or Jordan Faison. Let it be Beaux Collins. Let it be Deion Colzie. Let it be anybody. Who- ever it is, it's finally time for a wide re- ceiver in a Notre Dame uniform to be someone opposing defenses have to ac- count for on every snap. The Irish of- fense has only had tight ends and run- ning backs be that type of guy in the last few seasons. It's not illegal to add a wide receiver into the fold. Heck, it's not illegal to add two or three wide receivers into the fold. Wide receiver play takes good teams and makes them great. Washington was what it was and Huskies quarterback Michael Penix Jr. was who he was in 2023 in large part because that team had the best combination of wide receivers in the country. The Kyle McCord ex- periment didn't work out at Ohio State, but the Buckeyes still went 11-1 and had a chance to beat the eventual national champions on the road in the last week of the regular season because the wide- outs that program produces are among the very best in the nation every year. Notre Dame is not going to be on Washington or Ohio State's level on the wide receiver front overnight. But the Irish, led by new wide receivers coach Mike Brown, have to take the first step in 2024. MAXIMIZING LEONARD Sam Hartman didn't transfer to Notre Dame to throw for as many yards or touchdowns as he did at Wake Forest. He transferred to become a better pro prospect and to win big in a Fighting Irish uniform. At the end of 12 games, he didn't accomplish either. By most accounts, Hartman has the same outlook in the NFL as he did when he was still with the Demon Deacons. He only threw 24 touchdown passes in 2023 after averaging 37.5 in 2021 and 2022. He threw for 2,689 yards at Notre Dame after averaging nearly 4,000 in his last two years as a starter at Wake. Again, it wasn't about the numbers. But numbers do tend to go hand in hand with team success. And a team's overall record is a grouping of what? Numbers. Nine wins and three losses is not the grouping Hartman was going for. It's not the grouping Duke transfer Riley Leonard is going for either. Leonard doesn't have to worry as much about his NFL future. It's pretty clear that with his size and skill set he has one. But just like Hartman, he can do more for it in South Bend if he has a really good year. It's in Leonard's best interest and in the best interest for Notre Dame for him to be one of the best quarterbacks in the country for the entire 2024 season, not just for the first month against bad teams like Hartman was. Hartman was led by an inexperienced offensive coordinator in Gerad Parker. His wide receiver options weren't the best because of injuries and just a sour recent history at the position for the Irish program. Notre Dame took steps to improve those areas by hiring offen- sive coordinator Mike Denbrock and bringing in three wide receiver trans- fers. Freshman Cam Williams may be the best wide receiver to sign with the Irish since Michael Floyd in 2008. The wide receiver room as a whole is still a question mark, tight end health has been at a premium and the offensive line isn't a sure thing after losing two NFL tackles. The right quarterback- coordinator combination can make up for a lot of deficiencies, though. Parker and Hartman couldn't do it. Wide receiver Jaden Greathouse made strides when healthy in 2023 and has an opportunity to take a big step forward as a sophomore in 2024. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER