Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM MAY 2024 25 hold off junior Aamil Wagner) will make the group better, offensive line coach Joe Rudolph explained. "I think that's why you have the team, and that's why you battle position groups," Rudolph said. "When they're competing and helping each other to get better, that's the value of having a great room. A great room helps each other get better. That's what I appreciate about a group of guys." Schrauth played "exceptionally well," Rudolph said, when he replaced Spin- dler after the latter went down with an MCL injury in November. Rudolph feels he's grown since spring ball in 2023, when he was iffy on the details as the game sped up in full-team action. Spindler was the first one to call out Schrauth's improvement when he stepped into the lineup last season, and vice versa when Spindler won the start- ing job in August. Rudolph likes that about his unit. "Even though there's competition within the group, their overall vision has to be a special group here," Rudolph said. "That as a fan, as a coach, as any- one, you appreciate that." At tackle, Wagner said March 20 that he's up to 290 pounds with a goal of get- ting to 300 by fall camp. He's always been an athletic, fierce blocker, but gaining the weight necessary to hold up against Notre Dame's schedule is his hurdle. For Baker's part, he believes he's a changed player from the last time he had an opportunity to start, in 2021. He sees the field better, he said, and he feels more confident in his technique. Notre Dame has until Aug. 31 to de- termine its starting five along the of- fensive line. As the 2023 season showed, though, it will likely need its sixth and seventh options at some point. Compe- tition is the best way Rudolph knows to be ready for whenever that occurs. "We're gonna compete and keep growing," Rudolph said. "We're going to have that best group out there, for sure." ✦ 1. Sophomore Offensive Tackle Charles Jagusah Is Jagusah the next great Notre Dame offensive lineman? Many in and around the program believe so. The unanimous No. 1 player in Illinois and five-star prospect according to On3 surprised most outside observers by claiming the starting left tackle job after Joe Alt opted out of the Sun Bowl. He had only played five snaps throughout the regular season, all at left guard in Week 13 at Stanford. Internally, though, Jagusah's coaches and teammates could see his progress after he fully recovered from a torn PCL that required surgery in February 2023. He held his own in the Sun Bowl and with a full offseason working with the first-team offense, the Irish expect (and need) Jagusah to be a monster on the left side in 2024. 2. Junior Offensive Guard Billy Schrauth Schrauth was on this list last spring, but the hype around him feels more real this time. Despite junior Rocco Spindler (knee) appearing to practice with no limitations, it's been Schrauth taking the reps at right guard. Rudolph spoke volumes about Schrauth's performance filling in for Spin- dler in the Wake Forest and Stanford games, when the Irish rushed for a combined 518 yards (albeit against relatively weak opponents). The No. 127 player in the 2022 On3 Industry Ranking — one of Marcus Freeman's first big recruiting wins as head coach — looks like he has the inside track to a starting role in his third season. 3. Junior Running Back Jadarian Price Notre Dame gave Price 47 carries in his first healthy season, a year removed from missing his entire freshman year with a torn Achilles. Irish running backs coach Deland McCullough confirmed March 27 that the team was conscious of that and managed his workload as such. "All I wanted to do was bring him along the right way, put him in position to be successful for himself and for us to feel confident in his long-term de- velopment, but then not overstressing his Achilles," McCullough said. "We didn't need to." Entering 2024, Price projects at least as 1B to sophomore running back Jeremiyah Love's 1A. He showed plenty of explosiveness and burst in limited action last year, and Notre Dame could unleash him with 100-plus carries in his junior season. 4. Graduate Student Wide Receiver Jayden Harrison Harrison is among the best of the best in college football at returning kicks. Irish fans knew that when he committed to Notre Dame, but his role as a wide receiver was a question mark. How would a player whose offensive stats maxed out at 28 receptions for 410 yards in the Sun Belt Conference provide meaningful help on a projected College Football Playoff team? Well, if his work in spring ball is any indication, Harrison will contribute in a few ways. He can get open, particularly over the middle of the field, and he has reliable hands to finish the job. The Irish will use him on play-action slides to get the ball in his hands out in space, and only offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock knows what else they might have in store for him. Harrison might not put up greater stats than he did at Marshall, but he could help win games for Notre Dame. 5. Sophomore Wide Receiver Jaden Greathouse Last spring, three freshman wide receivers wowed reporters, fans and coaches enough to think they would contribute right away and be the stars of Notre Dame's offense for multiple years. Of those three, only Greathouse re- mains after Braylon James transferred to TCU and Rico Flores Jr. left for UCLA. Greathouse started phenomenally, but he missed Week 5 against Duke with a hamstring injury and was held without a catch from then until Nov. 18. Still, he finished his freshman season with 18 receptions for 265 yards and a team-high 5 receiving touchdowns. The Austin (Texas) Westlake graduate is best in the slot, but the Irish believe he can move all over the offense. Great- house is a prime sophomore breakout candidate for Notre Dame. — Jack Soble Five Breakout Candidates For The Offense Graduate transfer wide receiver Jayden Harrison has shown a knack for getting open in the center of the field this spring and appears to be carv- ing out a role for himself within the offense. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER