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Notre Dame football “wrapped” up its spring practices on Saturday, as the Blue team defeated the Gold team 76-31.
It was a high scoring contest, but with adjusted rules that favored the offense, it was a fairly easy victory for that side of the ball. The Irish did the right thing and held out some players with nagging injuries, and even better news was that head coach Marcus Freeman told the media that there were no significant injuries to anyone on Saturday.
While this wasn’t really the Notre Dame team that we will see in the fall, it was great to see some of the younger players stand out. Find out below my final five thoughts on the Blue-Gold game.
Quarterback race
If this was a one game decision, it was pretty clear that CJ Carr would be the starter against Miami in the opener. I’ve seen plenty of people on social claiming that he’s won the job, but it’s not as easy as that. Carr threw the only interception of the three competitors, but still looked very good. Kenny Minchey showed his very strong arm off, along with some very good running ability. Steve Angeli started off slow, but finished strong, but that didn’t instill a lot of confidence in anyone that the most experienced of the group is winning the job.
Freeman said in his post-game that he’d like it to be a two-man race in the fall, but that doesn’t look like it will be the case. It wouldn’t surprise me at all to see at least two of them playing against the Hurricanes, as none of them have really separated from the pack but still have a few practices left to make that jump.
Defensive tackles
While the majority of the defense looked very good, I didn’t think this group played up to their potential. Gone are Rylie Mills and Howard Cross, who both did great when at the position or healthy. This group needs to keep the linebackers clean so they can make plays. Jason Onye had some spring hype leading up tho this game and didn’t show too much. Transfer Jared Dawson did play well, but there needs to be more from this group.
The running back room remains deep
Jeremiyah Love didn’t play due to a hamstring injury, but Jadarian Price showed that he can handle to role if need be. Nolan James is a huge threat out of the backfield, and while he didn’t do all that well with his carries, there’s plenty of potential there. Gi’Bran Payne and Aneyas Williams looked solid, but true freshman Kedren Young flashed plenty. I could see him being used in short-yardage situations. The majority of these players would be in the two-deep at a lot of other schools, but Love is still around, so they’re all backups at the moment.
Defensive backs
You didn’t hear much about any of the cornerbacks, mostly due to them not getting tested. It may have been a product of the youthful quarterbacks, but I’m still going to give them credit for a job well done. I was very impressed with the safeties, as Tae Johnson and Ben Minich really stood out. Even with the losses of Xavier Watts and Benjamin Morrison, this unit should once again be one of the best in the nation.
Early season outlook
It’s pretty clear where the strength of this team lies, in the defense, with the offense a work in progress. Until a quarterback is chosen, it will remain that way, but there are plenty of weapons for them. The backs are deep, and while the wide receivers remain inconsistent, there are more than a few that could breakout including Jaden Greathouse and Jordan Faison. The young guys got plenty of run, and Elijah Burress could be a very good one down the line.
If the defense can give the offense time to develop during the season, and they are able to “catch up” a bit, Notre Dame should once again be in the position to make a spot in the College Football Playoff. If the offense gets near the defenses level, we could be seeing the Irish play for a title again.
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