Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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28 PRESEASON 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED Progress has been made since practice No. 1, which often wasn't pretty. "Today was a big step forward in [pass protection] with a couple of blitz peri- ods we had," McCullough said Aug. 2, after practice No. 3. "The guys did re- ally, really well, so I'm excited." For this reason, graduate student run- ning back Devyn Ford has taken more reps with the first team than freshmen Kedren Young and Aneyas Williams, particularly leading up to a pivotal Week 1 matchup at Texas A&M. Williams, McCullough said, has the traits to be an effective pass blocker and could be a trustworthy one at some point later this season. He can bench-press 400 pounds, and he has the right mindset for it. But for now, Notre Dame's order of trust appears to be 1) sophomore Jeremiyah Love, 2) Ford and 3) junior Jadarian Price. "It wouldn't be smart to drop any of those really young guys into Col- lege Station against [Texas A&M head coach] Mike Elko," McCullough said. "You gotta be smart. You can't commit malpractice at the position, you know?" Ford's presence certainly helps Mc- Cullough sleep easier at night, which is why the Irish moved him back to running back in the aftermath of Payne's injury (he had switched to safety prior to spring ball). However, if the season started tomor- row, Love would play in obvious passing situations that call for extra protection. Love moved from 190 pounds when he started the Sun Bowl against Oregon State Dec. 30 to about 210, he told re- porters. That's all good weight. He's also tall for a running back, standing 6-foot, and with that comes long arms that can help keep blitzers away from Leonard. "With me being a lot stronger than I was last season, that helps keep [rush- ers] off me," Love said. "I don't want anybody to get up in my grill." ON THE COMEBACK TRAIL Senior Notre Dame tight end Mitchell Evans isn't 100 percent yet — he re- mains in "return to play" protocol — but he's expected to reach that point by Week 1 against Texas A&M. Coming off a breakout season in which he caught 29 passes for 422 yards in just eight games, to say Evans is itching to return is an understatement. He's well aware that his season was cut short just when he had hit his stride, and he hasn't forgotten that in the nine months since he underwent ACL reconstruction surgery. "I haven't been this eager to play football since, I don't know, middle school," Evans said. "Whatever you want to say. I'm more energetic, more excited and ready to go this season." Evans saw a silver lining as spring prac- tice moved along and he couldn't par- ticipate — quarterback Riley Leonard was also injured, so he spent more time with his signal-caller than ever. The two put in work on the field to build chemistry in the summer, but talking off to the side in the spring helped them develop a rapport. "'Hey, this is what he wants me to do on this route. Hey, I think I should do this on this play,'" Evans said. "It's just bouncing ideas off each other." Behind Evans, graduate student tight end Kevin Bauman was written off out- side the Guglielmino Athletics Com- plex. And, at times, even internally. "I really thought my football career would be over," Bauman said. He had missed the better part of two seasons with multiple significant in- juries, and he was in "return to play" protocol as of Aug. 5 as well. But during routes on air, Bauman has been right behind Evans in the tight end pecking order. He could become a part of offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock's offense, competing with sophomore Cooper Flanagan and junior Eli Raridon. "There is a lot more that I want to ac- complish here," Bauman said. "When I'm done here, I want to have no regrets." ✦ Quarterback No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 13 Riley Leonard 6-4 216 Sr./1 18 Steve Angeli 6-2 205 Jr./3 8 Kenny Minchey 6-2 207 So./4 or 12 CJ Carr 6-3 210 Fr./4 Running Back No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 4 Jeremiyah Love 6-0 206 So./3 24 Jadarian Price 5-10 203 Jr./3 22 Devyn Ford 5-11 200 Gr./1 or 20 Aneyas Williams 5-10 200 Fr./4 or 21 Kedren Young 6-0 229 Fr./4 3 Gi'Bran Payne^ 5-9 203 Jr./3 Boundary Receiver (W) No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 83 Jayden Thomas 6-2 218 Sr./2 5 Beaux Collins 6-3 202 Sr./1 0 Deion Colzie 6-4 212 Sr./1 14 Micah Gilbert 6-2 208 Fr./4 Field Receiver (X) No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 10 Kris Mitchell 6-0 183 Gr./1 6 Jordan Faison 5-10 182 So./3 11 KK Smith 6-0 178 So./4 17 Cam Williams 6-2 199 Fr./4 Slot Receiver (Y) No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 1 Jaden Greathouse 6-1 215 So./3 2 Jayden Harrison 5-10 198 Gr./1 19 Logan Saldate 5-11 187 Fr./4 Tight End No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 88 Mitchell Evans 6-5 260 Sr./1 9 Eli Raridon 6-7 250 Jr./2 87 Cooper Flanagan 6-6 257 So./3 84 Kevin Bauman 6-5 260 Gr./2 85 Jack Larsen 6-3 246 Fr./4 38 Davis Sherwood 6-3 238 Sr./1 Left Tackle No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 79 Tosh Baker 6-8 320 Gr./2 54 Anthonie Knapp 6-4 291 Fr./4 71 Styles Prescod 6-6 293 Fr./4 56 Charles Jagusah^ 6-7 330 So./4 Left Guard No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 78 Pat Coogan 6-5 310 Sr./2 or 50 Rocco Spindler 6-5 331 Sr./2 73 Peter Jones 6-5 310 Fr./4 Center No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 70 Ashton Craig 6-4 308 Jr./3 72 Sam Pendleton 6-4 305 So./4 64 Joe Otting 6-3 303 So./4 Right Guard No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 74 Billy Schrauth 6-5 315 Jr./3 75 Sullivan Absher 6-7 321 So./4 55 Chris Terek 6-5 333 So./4 Right Tackle No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 59 Aamil Wagner 6-6 290 Jr./3 77 Ty Chan 6-5 327 Jr./3 76 Guerby Lambert 6-7 318 Fr./4 ^ Injured FALL CAMP 2024 NOTRE DAME SCHOLARSHIP DEPTH CHART Here is Blue & Gold Illustrated's projection of Notre Dame's 2024 offense scholarship depth chart a few days into fall camp.