Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1515937
28 MARCH 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED in late October. Despite playing only seven games, Evans led the Irish in re- ceptions with 29 and ranked second in receiving yards with 422. In Weeks 4-6, Evans was the most dominant tight end in college foot- ball. He peaked with a 6-catch, 134- yard performance that helped will the Irish to a win over Duke. When he went down, Notre Dame's passing offense suffered in a loss to Clemson one week later. It's hard to overstate how impor- tant he was. 14. DT RYLIE MILLS Mills led Power Five defensive tackles with 9 quarterback hits in 2023 to go along with 5.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. He was a perfect complement to Howard Cross III at three-tech defen- sive tackle. Mills isn't an unblockable interior lineman. He's prone to losing some reps. But he's also consistent enough to the point of making opposing signal-callers feel his presence over the course of a 60-minute game, and that's a must- have quality in a defensive tackle. 13. LB JACK KISER Kiser didn't play as many snaps as Blue & Gold Illustrated anticipated be- fore the season, but he made the most of those snaps, and then some. He led Notre Dame in tackles on a per-snap basis by a long shot, with 62 on just 354. Kiser constantly made plays around the line of scrimmage. Among linebackers with 300 snaps or more. Kiser earned the second-highest PFF defense grade in the nation at 90.3. He took a backseat to Liufau and JD Ber- trand on the depth chart, but his reps should skyrocket after he chose to re- turn for his sixth season. 12. DE JAVONTAE JEAN-BAPTISTE You couldn't have asked for a bet- ter year in Jean-Baptiste's lone season with the Irish after transferring from Ohio State. He led Notre Dame with 10.5 tackles for loss and 5 sacks. He capped his college career as a team captain for the Irish in the Sun Bowl. He recorded a strip-sack in a 40-8 Irish victory over Oregon State. Jean-Baptiste showed up every week and laid the foundation for RJ Oben to follow in his footsteps at the same posi- tion transferring in from Duke. 11. LB JD BERTRAND Bertrand was a big reason Kiser didn't play as much. He led the Irish in tackles for the third straight season with 76 and set career highs in sacks (2.5) and passes defended (5). However, his biggest con- tributions were intangible. Notre Dame felt Bertrand's leadership and commu- nication skills were too valuable to take off the field. Additionally, the slightly undersized Bertrand played above his weight in run support and was a key piece of de- fensive coordinator Al Golden's third- down pressure and coverage packages. He earned an invite to the Senior Bowl for his performance. 10. WR TOBIAS MERRIWEATHER Merriweather was barely a catch per game guy for the Irish with 14 recep- tions for 284 yards and 2 touchdowns in 12 games. He transferred to Cal after the conclusion of the regular season. The hope for Merriweather was for him to be who he was against Central Michigan, when he posted 3 catches for 91 yards and a score, all the time. It just never panned out that way in two sea- sons in South Bend. That ended up be- ing his best game with the Irish, by far. 9. S XAVIER WATTS What more can be said about Watts? After a strong finish to the 2022 season, he was a popular name on the "Hey, this guy is going to have a big year" rumor mill during fall camp. Watts delivered, and then some. Watts intercepted a whopping 7 passes, which led all of college football. He forced a fumble and recovered an- other one, both in his 4-takeaway game against USC Oct. 14. Watts wasn't just an interception merchant, either; he was a valuable run stopper with 52 tack- les. He won the Bronko Nagurski Trophy as the nation's top defensive player in his first full year as a starter. 8. CB CAM HART This was too low of a ranking for Hart. But perhaps it's appropriate because for the last two or three seasons, Hart was continuously one of the most under- rated players on the Notre Dame roster. He never came away with the intercep- tion totals obtained by Xavier Watts or Benjamin Morrison, but when Hart was healthy he was one of the best cover cor- ners in college football. He's going to have a chance to prove that at the next level. 7. WR JAYDEN THOMAS Lingering hamstring injuries are kill- ers, and Thomas dealt with one from Junior Audric Estimé had one of the best seasons of any running back in Notre Dame history with 210 carries for 1,341 yards and 18 touchdowns in 12 games. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER