Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM MARCH 2024 27 posting career highs with 6 tackles for loss and 3 sacks. He seemed more self- assured attacking the line of scrimmage. Liufau parlayed a strong season, one in which he tied for the fifth most de- fensive snaps of any Notre Dame player, into an appearance at the Reese's Senior Bowl. Maybe he'll ride that momentum into an NFL Draft selection this spring, too. 23. WR DEION COLZIE This was a miss, but primarily due to injury. Colzie had a great Week 0 against Navy in Dublin, Ireland, catching 3 passes for 45 yards and a touchdown. It looked like he'd be in the mix at wide receiver, but the knee injury that cost him much of 2022 flared up and wound up needing surgery. Colzie missed Weeks 4-12, returning for the Sun Bowl but playing minimal snaps. He'll be back in 2024, but the Irish targeted wideouts in the transfer portal like they don't expect much from Colzie next season. 22. OG BILLY SCHRAUTH This was a swing and a miss by the Blue & Gold Illustrated staff. At the time of coming up with the top 25 last sum- mer, Schrauth was in line to start for Notre Dame at left guard. He was passed up in fall camp by Pat Coogan, who ulti- mately started all 13 games. Schrauth got his shot to start in the final three games of the year, though, when right guard Rocco Spindler went down with a season-ending knee injury. Schrauth was also a staple on special teams. He played in every game on the extra point unit, but he made the origi- nal list because of his unrealized poten- tial to start on offense from Day 1. 21. DB THOMAS HARPER Harper was everything Notre Dame needed at the nickel back position. His strength in run support allowed the Irish to play nickel on a large major- ity of their defensive snaps, inherently improving the pass defense. He wasn't perfect in coverage but certainly wasn't a liability, allowing 5.4 yards per at- tempt on 43 targets. As a pass rusher, Harper was lethal when sent at the quarterback. He picked up 2 sacks and 8 total pressures in just 21 pass-rush snaps. Harper was a great transfer acquisition who should have been higher on this list. 20. OG ANDREW KRISTOFIC Here's another whiff from Blue & Gold Illustrated. Kristofic lost a fall camp competition with Rocco Spindler to earn starting status at right guard. Kristofic played in all 13 games but did not start any of them. His most extensive playing time of the season came in blowouts against Tennessee State and Stanford when he played 12 and 13 offensive snaps, re- spectively. He also replaced center Zeke Correll late in the Clemson game when Correll went out with a concussion. 19. S ANTONIO CARTER II Whoops. Carter served as veteran depth for Notre Dame, but not much else. The Irish played three safeties and he was the fourth. He played 72 snaps all year, and his most notable rep was a targeting violation in Week 1 against Tennessee State. Carter entered the transfer portal af- ter the season and, as of Jan. 31, he is the only Notre Dame portal entrant in the December window who hasn't found a new home. 18. DT HOWARD CROSS III Cross shouldn't have been this low. He should be in the top five. There's a case that even with safety Xavier Watts winning the Bronko Na- gurski Trophy as the nation's defen- sive player of the year and surefire NFL Draft selections in cornerbacks Ben- jamin Morrison and Cam Hart, Cross was Notre Dame's best defensive player from start to finish in 2023. He finished second on the Irish roster with 66 total tackles, the fourth-most among FBS defensive linemen in 2023. 17. C ZEKE CORRELL Correll's inclusion on this list was a no-brainer entering the season, com- ing in as the uncontested starting cen- ter. His play, while not necessarily poor, wasn't what Notre Dame wants in its offensive linemen. He was overpowered physically a few too many times and had issues with pre-snap penalties in Week 5 against Duke. After Correll suffered a concussion, sophomore center Ashton Craig took his place and played better. Craig will start at center in 2024 while Correll spends his final year of eligibility at North Car- olina State. 16. WR CHRIS TYREE Tyree led all Notre Dame pass catch- ers with 484 receiving yards. He ranked third overall and second among wide re- ceivers with 26 receptions. He was one of four players with at least 3 receiving touchdowns. He also scored once on a punt return. There are two wide receivers ranked higher than Tyree on this list, but in hindsight what he did in his first year as a wide receiver transitioning from run- ning back probably deserves WR No. 1 status. Still, that says more about Notre Dame's situation at the position than it does Tyree himself. 15. TE MITCHELL EVANS Evans moved up in the end-of-season rankings and he'd be even higher if his season didn't end after tearing his ACL TYLER HORKA'S POSTSEASON RANKING OF THE TOP 25 MOST VALUABLE IRISH PLAYERS Rk. Player, Pos. Preseason Rk. 1. Joe Alt, LT 2 2. Xavier Watts, S 9 3. Audric Estimé, RB 5 4. Sam Hartman, QB 1 5. Benjamin Morrison, CB 3 6. Howard Cross III, DT 18 7. Cam Hart, CB 8 8. Blake Fisher, RT 4 9. JD Bertrand, LB 11 10. Mitchell Evans, TE 15 11. Javontae Jean-Baptiste, DE 12 12. Jack Kiser, LB 13 13. Thomas Harper, CB 21 14. Marist Liufau, LB 24 15. Riley Mills, DT 14 16. Chris Tyree, WR 16 17. Rico Flores Jr., WR NR 18. Jordan Faison, WR NR 19. DJ Brown, S NR 20. Pat Coogan, LG NR 21. Rocco Spindler, RG NR 21. Christian Gray, CB NR 22. Jaden Greathouse, WR 25 23. Jordan Botelho, DE 6 24. Holden Staes, TE NR 25. Spencer Shrader, K NR Dropped out: Jayden Thomas, WR (7); Tobias Merriweather, WR (10); Zeke Cor- rell, C (17); Antonio Carter II, S (19); Andrew Kristofic, OG (20); Billy Schrauth, OG (22); and Deion Colzie, WR (23).