Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM MAY 2024 31 this spring. The player who earns the right to snap to punter Bryce McFerson needs to be able to get down the field and make a play. Kros, 6-foot-3 and 214 pounds, will be tough to beat in that regard. He prides himself on athleti- cism. He called the act of long snapping an "explosive movement." Monteforte seems to be more into the art of it. "Who's going to be the most consis- tent long snapper, snapping the ball to the right hip as consistently with a good spiral and at a fast and consistent snap speed? And on field goals, who's go- ing to snap the ball to the holder's hand the most consistently with the laces out every time, with a really good spiral, catchable ball, and brace for impact on protection?" Two potential starters going about their business in their own ways. Com- petition breeds success. PATIENCE WITH PLACEKICKING Mitch Jeter doesn't have much com- petition to win his job. He was brought in from South Carolina as a career 92.0 percent placekicker to take the transfer torch from Spencer Shrader. The media is not privy to such information, but if you tallied up all his kicks from the first few weeks of spring practice the number would likely not be that high. Reporters have seen Jeter miss by pretty substan- tial margins. Remember that 14-letter word that starts with "C"? Comfortability. Kick- ers tend to need a ton of it to be spot-on. "Overall it's a little bit more of a full unit assimilation in that we're looking for who our long snapper is going to be," Biagi said. "We have our holders and whatnot but [Jeter] has to have con- fidence in the snap and putting those guys in pressure situations, really get- ting that field goal battery — the snap- per, holder, kicker — being very consis- tent in that regard. "Then we'll get into some more live rep competitions just to get him com- fortable." Notre Dame has three walk-on kick- ers on the roster in sophomore Mar- cello Diomede, junior Zac Yoakam and graduate student Eric Goins, but Jeter is a former SEC talent who's made 23 of 25 career kicks. Goins, a U.S. Army veteran, has actually made more college kicks with the 25 he booted through up- rights at The Citadel. He hasn't kicked since his last year there in 2015, though. If anyone is going to put pressure on Jeter it'd be Yoakam, Notre Dame's 2022 kickoff specialist. But even he doesn't have much of a chance. Notre Dame is very much grooming Jeter to be the guy. "Of course we've seen Mitch can do it plenty, but just to get him in the feel, just to get him in our calls, and our mindset and cadence," Biagi said. "Do- ing a lot of focus on film work. He's a very big student of the game so he's of- ten critical of himself just wanting to be perfect. "He's not one that, 'Oh well, it went in.' He's one that wants it to go right down the middle, which you can ap- preciate." JAYDEN-OF-ALL-TRADES Jayden Harrison had the fourth-most kickoff return yards and the second- best average yards per return in 2023. He was one of five players in the FBS to take multiple kicks across the goal line for touchdowns. And he's … blocking on the front lines in Notre Dame spring practices? Yep. "It's a privilege to get to be the kick returner or punt returner at Notre Dame, so my philosophy is you're going to go through this, you're going to make sure you learn all the techniques and all the work the [front and back line guys] are putting in," Biagi said. "He's in my office and there's no ego there. I think it's just going to help him to be able to contribute to special teams more than just as a returner." Devyn Ford is the blueprint for Har- rison on that front. The former running back got into the Notre Dame special teams game as a returner, but Jadarian Price grabbed a hold of that role last year and didn't relinquish it. Now Notre Dame has Price and Harrison, so Ford has been phased out. He's also been phased out of the running back room; he swapped positions to safety this off- season. He's all in on the gritty side of special teams now. Harrison likely won't ever go that far; his speed is undeniable, and Notre Dame needs it in a traditional returning capac- ity. But if doing all the other little things helps him fit in — if it comes with com- fortability — then Biagi is doing the right thing putting him through those drills. "Jayden has been awesome," Biagi said. ✦ At Marshall in 2023, Jayden Harrison (No. 2) ranked second nationally with an average of 30.65 yards per kickoff return. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER