SOUTH BEND — Thirty-one thoughts (flavors) from high above Notre Dame Stadium while watching Saturday’s true Notre Dame football Blue-Gold game in controlled scrimmage format ...
▸ That age-old adage of the defense being ahead of the offense rings so true right now for Notre Dame.
▸ Most impressive quarterback Saturday? Easily freshman C.J. Carr, who showed plenty of pocket poise and rush awareness. He had a couple rocket releases, especially the 21-yard laser to freshman Cam Williams on second-and-13 that went for a touchdown. If all falls into place this fall, we may not see much of Carr, but his future is pretty darn bright.
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▸ Expected starter (maybe) Riley Leonard was limited by his recently-surgically repaired right ankle to mental reps Saturday. That’s admirable for such a team-first and second and third guy, but for this program to get to where it wants to/needs to go this season, Leonard needs to be in the huddle, deciphering defenses and making plays with his arm and his feet more than his mind.
▸ Expect junior quarterback Steve Angeli to at least exit the spring as the “starter.” With Leonard limited, a quarterback competition never materialized. Save that for August.
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▸ Didn’t have freshman Cam Williams as one wide receiver who would flash Saturday but flash he did. He ran crisp routes, made nice grabs and played with the confidence of someone who belongs instead of an early enrollee adjusting to college life.
▸ We may have taken what Audric Estime did for granted. There’s potential and talent in that running back room with Estime off to the NFL, but we didn’t see anyone Saturday who made us rest easily that all those carries, and all those yards, are in good hands. And feet.
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▸ Jeremiah Love had the best run among running backs Saturday when he burst up the middle, juked left and trucked safety Adon Shuler. That got a lot of attention.
▸ That Irish offense looks different without the luxury of a tight end who can routinely get you eight yards when you need six, or 12 when you need 10. Eli Raridon might be that guy until Mitchell Evans returns from knee injury, but Raridon has been slow played this spring.
▸ Most difficult job moving forward? Maybe wide receivers coach Mike Brown, who said earlier this spring that he’d like a core rotation of six guys for 2024. It’s going to be a chore to stay at six if everyone stays healthy.
▸ Pen sophom*ore Jaden Greathouse as WR No. 1. He can play inside. He can play outside. He makes the easy catches look easy. He makes tough catches look easy. That room is crowded in April, but Greathouse could/should be without peer come September.
▸It was surprising that we didn’t see more wide receivers do more Saturday. A couple contested catches for big gainers would’ve been encouraging.
▸ Was that former Mishawaka High School quarterback turned college tight end Justin Fisher working at ... running back? Sure was. Fisher even got a few carries as the short yardage back at a position he was asked to move to in February.
▸ Wait until freshman running back Kedren Young’s football maturity catches up to his physical maturity. When it does, he’ll be a beast.
▸The one guy that this offensive line cannot afford to lose? Sophom*ore center Ashton Craig, who enters his first full season as the starter. He stabilizes everything.
▸This Notre Dame offense doesn’t look LSU-like just yet. It’s the proverbial work in progress. Give it time. Coordinator Mike Denbrock will make it work.
▸ The first 36 plays of the scrimmage featured 18 runs and 18 passes. Unofficially. How’s that for being balanced?
▸Asking/expecting right tackle Tosh Baker to get out of his stance and get to edge and slow Jordan Botelho seemed unfair Saturday. For a few plays, it was.
▸ Blitzing off the edge, nickel back/transfer Jordan Clark showed Saturday some of what he can offer this veteran defense. He looked like he’d been on campus for years, not months.
▸ Seemingly just another guy most of spring, sophom*ore defensive end Boubacar Traore make a few “Wow!” plays Saturday. If the 6-foot-4, 240-pounder can build on that, watch out.
▸ Thought we’d see more from Duke transfer defensive lineman R.J. Oben, who had a quiet day. Too quiet. Maybe next week. Maybe in the fall.
▸ It’s illegal in some states to have Jack Kiser back for a sixth season of eligibility. That’s just unfair. He’s got so much football bouncing around that brain. If anyone can handle it, Kiser can.
▸ Good to see linebacker Kahanu Kia make a big hit that drew some attention/energy from the defensive sideline. Kia was on a Mormon mission in North Carolina the last two years but showed Saturday he still can make a big stick.
▸ Jaylen Sneed was as good Saturday as he’s been advertised all spring. We’ve seen only snapshots on how good the former five-star prospect might be to date. Now we’re really seeing how good he can be. He’s going to be good.
▸ Given what we continue to see from the defense, we may get to midseason and realize that coordinator Al Golden is underpaid ($2.1 million this season). He’s got so much to work with, almost embarrassingly so.
▸ Four months after earning national defensive player of the year honors, safety Xavier Watts continues to make Xavier Watts plays. On Saturday, he lurked toward the second level waiting for quarterback Kenny Minchey to settle on tight end Cooper Flanagan. When Minchey locked into Flanagan, Watts was already into his break on the ball. He snagged the pass and coasted 65 yards for the score.
Watts is becoming Kyle Hamilton-like back there, where a game’s not official until he makes a pick. Or a play. He did both Saturday.
▸ Not to be outdone, Jaden Mickey jumped in front of Kris Mitchell for a 75-yard Pick Six for the day’s first “big” play. Mickey needs a big spring (and fall) to hold off Christian Gray and win the starting job opposite all-everything corner Benjamin Morrison, out until fall after shoulder surgery.
▸ There’s something about the kicking game that seems ... unsettled. Maybe we were spoiled the last two springs watching Blake Grupe and Spencer Shrader. Maybe Mitch Jeter doinking a 30-yard field goal attempt off the left upright was just one of those days. This team has too much potential to have a game swing on a missed field goal or a point after.
▸ With Greathouse, Mickey and Jadarian Price working as the Nos. one, two and three punt returners, there’s too much talent back there for someone not to break one. Just as you think that, Price bobbled/dropped a punt.
▸ It’s hard enough to get a good feel of a gameday Saturday nine stories high inside the Notre Dame Stadium press box. It’s even harder to get any sort of a feel for a scrimmage from that perch. At least we saw more Saturday than we’ve seen all spring combined, so there’s that.
▸ Chick-fil-a chicken sandwiches > Notre Dame Stadium hot dogs all day. And twice on Saturdays. Not Sundays.
▸ August camp cannot get here soon enough. Actually, it can. Let’s enjoy summer before the grind of another college football season starts. It will be fascinating when it gets here, and it will be here soon enough.
Follow South Bend Tribune and NDInsider columnist Tom Noie on X (formerly Twitter): @tnoieNDI. Contact: (574) 235-6153.
