Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1519898
20 JUNE/JULY 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY TYLER HORKA I n recent years if you attended the Notre Dame Blue-Gold Game with the purpose of seeing points put on the board you left South Bend on a late April afternoon — sometimes sun-drenched in warmth or bundled up with flurries floating around in other instances — sorely disappointed. Not in 2024. The two sides combined for 49 points in a 28-21 victory for the Blue team April 20. That was more than twice as many as what was scored in a 24-0 show- ing in 2023 and in a 13-10 final in 2022. The worst thing you can do as a col- lege football fan is take too much away from a spring game. But the dispar- ity in points scored, especially against defensive players led by coordinator Al Golden in his third season at Notre Dame, is a sign that first-year offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock is making the right changes for the Fighting Irish on that side of the ball. Denbrock just led the No. 1 offense in the country at LSU, and having the Heisman Trophy winner in quarterback Jayden Daniels went a long way in that. However, Denbrock made Daniels bet- ter, allowing him to tap into his fullest potential and make plays at a higher rate than anyone else in college football. The consensus among Notre Dame players is that's what's currently hap- pening for the Irish, and it's only the beginning. "We make more explosive plays be- cause whenever we identify what we see from the defense, we get in plays that are perfect for that defense. We have more gashes and less negative plays for the of- fense," sophomore Kenny Minchey said of Denbrock allowing quarterbacks to check into other plays at the line of scrimmage. "It's just more positive plays for us." "Playing in shotgun is definitely a switch, but it feels good," junior quar- terback Steve Angeli added. "We're able to make more plays. Coach Denbrock has put me and the offense in great po- sitions to make plays throughout spring. We're explosive. "The ball's being thrown around a lot. There are a lot of gashing runs. I feel like we're very multiple and diverse now with what we're doing." Here is what else is happening with the Notre Dame offense exiting the spring practice schedule and heading into the summer. QUARTERBACK PARITY Let's play a game. Assume senior Riley Leonard gets his body right and is Notre Dame's starting quarterback for the season opener at Texas A&M Aug. 31. Who's his backup? If you ask one Notre Dame fan, he might say junior Steve Angeli. How can you look past Angeli almost being flawless in every appearance he's ever made, including the Sun Bowl? In the Blue-Gold Game, he completed 17 of 25 passes for a game-high 228 yards with 2 touchdowns — including the 62-yard game-winner to graduate transfer wide receiver Kris Mitchell. DIALING IN Notre Dame's offense made immense strides across every position group during the 15 spring practices The sky is the limit for sophomore Jeremiyah Love as both a runner and a pass catcher in Notre Dame's offense. In the Blue-Gold Game, he ran the ball 7 times for 36 yards and caught 5 passes for 41 yards. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER