Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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24 APRIL 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED offense, so Buchner had a leg up be- ing in that for two years. Hartman was learning something completely differ- ent from what he spent five years doing at Wake Forest. Now, Leonard and Angeli are picking up the Mike Denbrock offense together in real time. They'll prosper together. They'll struggle together. At the end of a month's worth of work, the better quar- terback should emerge. That was Hartman a year ago. It'll probably be Leonard this time. But op- timism for a guy who's gotten better every year he's been here says Angeli will make it close. And if he decides to stay at Notre Dame even if he loses the offseason competition, the Irish will be better and deeper for that choice. SIFTING THROUGH PASS CATCHERS Sometimes a quarterback is only as good as the guys he's got around him. Pa r t i c u l a rly, pa ss ca tc h e rs. No t re Dame's have a lot of asterisks next to their names going into spring practices. Tight end Mitchell Evans was a pre- mier pass catcher for the Irish as a junior last fall until he tore his ACL. That'll likely keep him out of all on-field activities for the duration of the spring slate. Figuring out his initial chemistry with Leonard and deepening what he already has with Angeli will have to wait until the fall. And even then, he might be limited. The Irish would be smart to avoid a setback with two tight ends, Kevin Bau- man and Eli Raridon, suffering two ACL tears in as many years recently. Clemson transfer Beaux Collins is not in South Bend yet. He's finishing up his degree at Clemson and getting to Notre Dame in the summer. That's when he can start syncing up with the Irish's signal-callers. Sophomore slot receiver Jordan Fai- son had nine goals in his first four la- crosse games for head coach Kevin Cor- rigan. Spring football is a full-time job in its own right. Is Faison going to forfeit football practices for lacrosse work if there is some overlap? Or will it be all football, all the time like it will be for linebacker Drayk Bowen, also a Notre Dame baseball player, according to line- backers coach Max Bullough? How Faison divvies up his time is something to watch this spring. Notre Dame needs his speed on the football field. That much became evident in the second half of last season when he posted 19 catches for 322 yards and 4 touchdowns in just seven games. Only two Notre Dame wideouts, Chris Tyree and Rico Flores Jr., had more receiving yards than Faison, and they both played five more games than he did. Tyree and Flores transferred out. Florida International's Kris Mitchell and Marshall's Jayden Harrison transferred in along with Collins. Mitchell and Har- rison will be in uniform this spring. They might be two of the fastest play- ers on the Irish roster, right up there with Faison. They'll both be in prove- it mode considering they have not had opportunities to play in person in front of the Notre Dame staff until now. The Irish have quality returners in se- niors Jayden Thomas and Deion Colzie and sophomore Jaden Greathouse, but all three of them were hampered by in- juries in 2023. If the trend continues, true freshmen Cam Williams and Micah Gilbert can wiggle their way into the mix this spring. When it comes down to it, Notre Dame quarterbacks won't care what number is on the back of the guys they're targeting or how they got to be on the field in a gold helmet on Satur- days. They just need reliable receivers to toss the ball to. Period. LINING UP THE LINEBACKERS Be careful what you wish for. For years, JD Bertrand and Marist Liufau had to listen to critics spit takes saying they weren't good enough to be starting linebackers on a Notre Dame roster positioned to break the program's agonizingly lengthy national champi- onship drought. The cries got so loud they made their way to Notre Dame defensive coordi- nator Al Golden in the form of a press conference question about Bertrand last fall. Golden called the criticism of the two-time Notre Dame team captain "unwarranted." "Any recruiting cycle, I'd take JD," Golden said. "Any calendar year I've been in coaching, he'd be one of the pre- mier leaders anywhere I've been." So could this be a case of not realiz- ing what you have until it's gone in the 2024 S P R I N G F O O T B A L L O V E R V I E W Former Florida International deep threat Kris Mitchell is among three incoming transfer wide receivers that are expected to provide Notre Dame with some play-making ability this fall. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER