Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM APRIL 2025 35 2025 S P R I N G F O O T B A L L O V E R V I E W BY JACK SOBLE A t their best, special teams were a weapon for Notre Dame in 2024. Fortunately for the Irish, they were at their best in the College Football Playoff. Mitch Jeter, sans the doink on a short field goal in the title game, was Mr. January. He got his swagger back with a pair of made kicks against Indiana, went 3 of 3 in the quarterfinal win against Georgia and drilled the 41-yarder against Penn State that sent Notre Dame to the national championship game. JAMES RENDELL figured it out, too, consistently giving the Irish advantageous field position with 9 of his 13 postseason punts drop- ping either at or inside the oppo- nents' 20-yard line. Creativity was on full display, spotlighted by the aptly named "Got 'em" play on fourth down against Georgia. Notre Dame ran its punt team off the field and its of- fense on at the last moment, inside its own 20 with a 13-point lead in the Sugar Bowl. The goal was to get Georgia to use a timeout. It did not. Instead, the Bulldogs jumped offside and gave the Irish an automatic first down, which was the final nail in their coffin. Earlier in that game, Jayden Har- rison ran the second-half kickoff back 98 yards for a touchdown and broke the game wide open. Thanks to his creativity during the regular season and the domi- nance of the Irish specialty units in the postseason, Notre Dame special teams coordinator Marty Bi- agi was named the best at his job in college football by Football Scoop. He's back for his third season, and in an ideal world, the Irish will be more consistent in all facets of special teams. That consistency should start with Rendell, who finished the 2024 season better than he started it, ending with a 48.5 aver- age on two punts against Ohio State. Noah Burnette is the new graduate transfer kicker, coming over from North Carolina. Eliminating mistakes such as penalties, blocked kicks and muffed punts are at the top of Biagi's to-do list, too. If the Irish can do that, special teams should be a strength again in 2025. SPECIALIS TS PERSONNEL UPDATE Position Coach: Marty Biagi (third season) Returning Starters: Gr. P James Rendell, Sr. SS Rino Monteforte and So. LS Joe Vinci Departing Starters: K Mitch Jeter Projected New Starters: Gr. K Noah Burnette Top Reserves: Jr. LS Andrew Kros Newcomers: Burnette and Fr. K Eric Schmidt POSITION BATTLE TO WATCH PUNT RETURNER Walk-on Colgate transfer Max Hurleman earned the punt returner role midseason and never let it go. With Hurleman out of the picture, the Irish hope one of their more explosive athletes — such as junior wide receiv- ers Jordan Faison and Jaden Greathouse — can become more reliable with their hands and lock down the job. NUMBERS TO KNOW 4 Successful fake punts or field goals executed by Notre Dame in 2024, including "Got 'Em" in the Sugar Bowl against Georgia but not including Jordan Faison's fake punt that got called back for an illegal formation against Virginia. 9 Punts (out of 13) placed at or inside the 20 for James Rendell during the College Football Playoff, which led all punters. Yes, Rendell played more games than all but one other punter, but the next-highest total was 5. After a rough start to his college (and, indeed, American football) career, the ex-Aussie Rules football player finished strong. 34.4 Yards per kickoff return for Jadarian Price in 2023, including a 99-yard touchdown against USC. He took a year off from returning in 2024 due to the presence of Jayden Harrison, who ran one back 98 yards for a game-changing score in the Sugar Bowl against Georgia, but he should be the front-runner for the kickoff returner job in 2025. ALL EYES ON … GRADUATE STUDENT NOAH BURNETTE For the fourth straight year, Notre Dame will break in a graduate trans- fer kicker. Burnette was extremely accurate as a junior at North Carolina (95.0 percent on field goals, 19 of 20), but he took a step back as a senior (71.4 percent, 15 of 21). His predecessor, Mitch Jeter, went through inju- ries and slumps but was ultimately nails when the Irish needed him most. Notre Dame acquires kickers with their eyes on December and January. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER