26 PRESEASON 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED
BY JACK SOBLE
N
otre Dame offensive coordina-
tor Mike Denbrock's eyes light
up when he talks about wide
receiver versatility.
When the Irish play 11-Charlie per-
sonnel, an almost giddy Denbrock ex-
plained, they have one wideout play
the field, one play the slot and one play
the boundary. But if they switch to
11-Quantico, those same three players
flip to completely different spots.
"We're trying to cross-train as many
of those guys as we can at multiple po-
sitions, so that we, in turn, offensively
can give multiple looks and be more
multiple," Denbrock said.
Does Notre Dame have the person-
nel to do that? Last year, it would have
been a hard "no." But with three gradu-
ate transfers, two sophomores with a
year of experience under their belts and
one veteran finally free of his seemingly
ceaseless hamstring issues, Denbrock
might have six players he can trust.
Take one of the sophomores, Jordan
Faison. The Irish know what he can do
in the slot, but he's spent most of fall
camp at field receiver. Options, options
and more options.
"There'll be things that we do against
Texas A&M where he's the field slot
LOCKED AND LOADED
Better, deeper group of weapons
provides optimism for Irish offense
Graduate student Jayden Harrison, a transfer
from Marshall, gives the Irish a weapon in the
slot who can attack defenses in different ways.
PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER
