Tag: Braden Lenzy

Guessing who leads Notre Dame in major offensive stat categories

Who are you offensive stat leader projections for this fall?

It’s close, the season is so close, in just under two weeks college football is back. As training camps around the country are close to naming starters, Notre Dame has jumped the gun and already done so at a major position. Wisconsin transfer Jack Coan will replace the departed Ian Book at quarterback and take over the offense.

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Now is the time to put out guesses as to who will be the top performers for the Irish this fall. Take a look below at my guess as to who will lead Notre Dame in the major offensive categories.

Guessing Notre Dame biggest liability heading into the 2021 season

This group really needs to bring it this fall

Recently the Twitter handle of Big Game Boomer released what they believe is the biggest liability for each of the Power 5 schools. In their estimation Notre Dame’s is the offensive line.

It’s hard to disagree with that, after seeing four of the five starters from last year head off to the NFL. Jarrett Patterson is the only holdover from the 2020 season and while there is still a ton of talent on the various positions on the offensive line, they’re very green. Don’t forget about getting Marshall transfer Cain Madden, the All-American only strengthens the group.

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With some talk about true freshman Rocco Spindler and Blake Fisher having a chance to start, you can see where Big Game Boomer is coming from. I don’t see it that way, in my estimation the offensive line will have some growing pains, but should be fine as the season progresses. The biggest area of concern in my mind would be the wide receivers.

The leading WR in terms of yardage, Javon McKinley is gone to the NFL. As is the touchdown leader from last year Ben Skowronek. You might be thinking about Michael Mayer, well he’s a tight end and although a great threat, not as a wide receiver.

Avery Davis is the leading returning receiver with just 24 catches for 322-yards and 2 scores. Braden Lenzy is the second leading returning receiver, he had just 7 receptions last year for under 100-yards.

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The difference is that the talent on the offense line is just green, they don’t have much experience. The same can’t be said about the wide receiver group. Multiple players will need to step up and in my eyes, this position group posses the biggest liability for Brian Kelly and the Irish this fall.

Watch: Braden Lenzy makes video after day at summer internship

See how one Irish receiver is spending his summer.

With school out and training camp far away, Notre Dame football players have to do something in the interim. Some of them are doing things that will help prepare them for life after college and football. One such player is receiver Braden Lenzy, who has landed a summer internship in Chicago and agreed to document his time there. After one recent day of working and learning, he made a video saying he’s about to hit the gym as part of his preparation for the 2021 season:

Just so everyone knows, the latest video clearly was not taken Friday even though it was released then. Friday in the Chicago was cold, cloudy and rainy. That’s far from the 80 degrees Lenzy mentions in the video, though it suggests it was shot when there were much warmer temperatures earlier in the week. But regardless of when it was released, it’s great to see Lenzy on the path to what should be a great professional life.

Notre Dame spring game: Five questions that could be answered

Who steps up this afternoon?

The final taste of football is upon us, this weekend is the culmination of Notre Dame’s spring practice ending with the Blue and Gold game.

Heading into the season, there will be plenty of question surrounding the program, the biggest is undoubtably the quarterback position. Find out five question that could be answered during Saturday’s controlled scrimmage.

ESPN answers if Notre Dame’s offense will be top-10 caliber the next 3 years

Too low or too high?

The offseason is in full force, with the Notre Dame staff focusing on spring practice and recruiting, it’s been a great time for analysts to look ahead at what to expect for this upcoming season.

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Well, ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg did us one better, he looked at the next three years (insider) looked at the next three years and tried to predict the best upcoming offenses in the country.

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How did the Irish fare in Rittenberg’s future estimation of offenses? Short answer, they’re one of the best, but not nearly as good as we’d all like them to be coming in ranked as the 14th best offense in the country.

With last season being offensive coordinator Tommy Rees’ first full year calling an offense, he’s established a solid base for Brian Kelly. During the shortened 2020 campaign, the Irish were just outside the top 25 in total offense, 26th, averaging 33.4 points-per-game, good for 30th nationally.

Rittenberg saw what we all did in the Irish’s final two contests, “that the program clearly needs more explosiveness on offense to win titles. The Irish must continue to build on their strengths — offensive line, tight end, running back — and get more from the perimeter game and ultimately quarterback.”

Hard to disagree with that assessment, quarterback in my estimation, is the biggest weakness of the offense at the current moment. Rittenberg views transfer Jack Coan as “a solid option for 2021, but Notre Dame needs incoming recruit Tyler Buchner to be as advertised to help elevate the unit for the future.”

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What about the guys the quarterbacks will ultimately throw to? Rittenberg sees that group as one that “must step up this fall.” The collective of Avery Davis, Kevin Austin Jr., and Braden Lenzy needs to help Coan. Also mentioned was the young duo of Jordan Johnson and Deion Colzie potentially being the “big -play spark Notre Dame desperately needs.”

Aside from that position, Rittenberg is high on the rest of the offense. Michael Meyer is mentioned as a Mackey Award candidate, the depth at tight end being impressive beyond the rising sophomore. He see’s the line returning “versatile veterans such as Jarrett Patterson and Josh Lugg,” along with Zeke Correll.

Although the ranking isn’t what many of us wanted to hear, the nice part about it is that the Irish have room to grow. Even with the so-called offensive deficiencies, the Irish have been to the College Football Playoff’s two of the last three years and are on the cusp of breaking through to join some elite company in the college football world.

Reload or rebuild for Notre Dame in 2021?

Will Notre Dame have a season where they struggle like in 2016 or will it be a prosperous season like this past season?

The list keeps growing with Notre Dame players making their intentions for next year known, many of them opting to move on instead of come back. Quarterback Ian Book, tackles Liam Eichenberg and Robert Hainsey, guards Tommy Kraemer and Aaron Banks, linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, tight end Tommy Tremble, defensive lineman Ade Ogundeji, cornerback Houston Griffith transferring are just a few of the players on the move.

Recently, ESPN took a look at which schools have recruited the best (insider) to have success in 2021 due to their recruiting. Although Brian Kelly’s efforts have been great, they didn’t make the main portion of the article, the Irish were mentioned in the second group of teams.

Being on the list alone is a good omen for Notre Dame, as the list of players moving on that were major contributors from this past season is significant. Luckily, Kelly has done a great job accumulating talent in South Bend, giving hope that 2021 won’t have a similar result as the 2016 season did.

Per the ESPN article, the Irish will have 38 players returning to the 2021 roster at the current moment that were ranked inside their top 300. So what does that mean for the ‘21 season?

There will be some bumps in the road with many of the younger players getting their first significant amount of playing time, but that doesn’t mean it will be all bad. This past year saw multiple freshman (cornerback Clarence Lewis, tight end Michael Mayer, running back Chris Tyree, defensive end Rylie Mills and linebacker Jordan Botelho) each show flashes of their futures. The first three really shined and you can add Jordan Johnson to the list as well.

Second-year players like safety Kyle Hamilton, interior lineman Zeke Correll, defensive lineman Isaiah Foskey, running back Kyren Williams, linebacker Marist Liufau, and punter Jay Bramblett were major contributors. This group will need to continue to grow.

As for the 2018 class which was ranked in as the 10th best class nationally, they have struggled to make a significant mark. Griffith transferring along with quarterback Phil Jurkovec already leaving and wide receiver Kevin Austin unable to stay healthy has hurt the classes outlook. Those three were the top ranked players in the class. There, however, have been contributors from that class, with include linebacker Jack Lamb, wide receiver Braden Lenzy and tight end George Takacs, linebacker Bo Bauer and center Jarrett Patterson. This class needs to step up in a big way for the Irish to be successful this coming season.

I haven’t even touched on the potential incoming-freshman contributors, which include tackle Blake Fisher, wide receiver Deion Colzie, guard Rocco Spindler, quarterback Tyler Buchner, linebacker Prince Kollie and other talented players.

The schedule isn’t quite daunting, the first three games should give Kelly plenty of time to get the pups feet wet before their big contest against Wisconsin in Chicago.

In my opinion the Irish are not rebuilding, but they aren’t quite reloading. Having a regular spring schedule will be extremely important for this team. The reps and practice time will further develop the players who don’t have as much experience. We should not see another year like 2016.

ESPN bearish on Notre Dame’s way-too-early 2021 ranking

The sports media giant projects what the top 25 will look like entering the 2021 season, and it is not that high on Notre Dame’s ranking.

While we haven’t even had much time to process the finalization of the 2020 college football season, ESPN is already looking ahead to the 2021 campaign. Although ESPN has Notre Dame ranked inside its top 25, unlike many other outlets, it is not giving Brian Kelly’s squad much love at all, ranking the Irish 15th.

As Mark Schlabach ranked the top teams heading into next year, the Irish are behind 2021 foes North Carolina (Oct. 30 in South Bend), USC (Oct. 23 in South Bend) and Cincinnati (Oct. 2 in South Bend). Another opponent on next year’s schedule, Wisconsin (Sept. 25 in Chicago), checks in two spots below the Irish.

Schlabach’s rationale behind Notre Dame’s ranking revolves around a quarterback battle after quarterback Ian Book will move on. “Notre Dame has good pieces on offense to build around, including tailbacks Kyren Williams and Chris Tyree and wide receivers Braden Lenzy and Jordan Johnson.”

ESPN notes four of the five starting offensive lineman will be gone; center Jarrett Patterson appears to be the lone holdover. Giving almost no love to the defense, Schlabach says new defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman “will have to rebuild the defensive line and find more depth in the secondary.”

To me, this ranking is a bit low. Yes, the Irish lose plenty of talent, including Book and linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, but the talent is certain there waiting in the wings. Having a more regular spring schedule, along with a spring game, will surely help the younger players get more comfortable, especially on defense.

Notre Dame at worst, is still a top-10 team entering the 2021 season. Schlabach got this one wrong.

Good news for Notre Dame on injury front

Braden Lenzy hasn’t been available much this year as he’s battled a hamstring injury but could be returning to action here shortly.

Notre Dame got good news in terms of the injury report against Clemson as they have been able to avoid major injuries for the most part this season.

One player that has struggled staying on the field this fall though is speedster Braden Lenzy who has been battling a hamstring issue on and off since the opener against Duke back in early September.

Related:  The best photos from Notre Dame’s upset of No. 1 Clemson

Brian Kelly spoke about the injury front on his Monday availability with the media and Lenzy’s name was quickly brought up.

  • Lenzy will attempt to do change of direction running on Wednesday this week
  • Possibility he’s ready to play Saturday at Boston College, but it didn’t sound very likely
  • It sounded like Kelly is airing on the side of caution which would involve Lenzy sitting against the Eagles, taking the bye week and then returning for Notre Dame’s road trip to North Carolina the day after Thanksgiving.

On the year Lenzy has just six receptions for 63 yards and one touchdown.  He’s also ran the ball three times for eight yards this season.

Lenzy’s elite speed and threat of just being there would give this offense something at the receiver position that it certainly has lacked so far in 2020.

WATCH NOW: Notre Dame releases epic hype video ahead of Clemson game

It’s game day. Get up and start getting excited by watching the epic video Notre Dame produced ahead of the Irish taking on No. 1 Clemson.

It’s been 15 years since Notre Dame played a top ranked team at Notre Dame Stadium, losing a heart-breaker to Reggie Bush and USC.

It’s been 27 years since Notre Dame knocked off No. 1 when they did so in the “Game of the Century” win over Florida State in 1993.

And it’s been 32 years since Notre Dame both knocked off No. 1 Miami and went on to win a national championship as they did in the fall of 1988.

It’s been a long time and now we’re counting only hours instead of days and weeks until the latest shot at No. 1 comes.

Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET tonight on NBC but until then, enjoy the hype video the University of Notre Dame released on Friday night.

Pardon me while I go run through a wall now.

Go Irish.

Beat Tigers.

Two more defensive players out for Clemson vs. Notre Dame

The injury and health bugs continue to bite the Clemson Tigers ahead of their showdown with Notre Dame on Saturday.

When No. 1 Clemson heads to No. 4 Notre Dame this weekend the Tigers will already be playing short handed as star quarterback Trevor Lawrence is out while getting back from COVID-19 while linebacker James Skalski also remains out.

Now you can add two more defensive players to that list for Clemson as defensive tackle Tyler Davis and linebacker Mike Jones both won’t travel to South Bend according to Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney on Wednesday.

Davis is a regular starter at defensive tackle and was named to the ACC’s All Second-Team as a freshman in 2019.  Jones is in his first year as a starter for Clemson.

As Brian Kelly stated Monday however, it’s not like the second and third string players on Clemson are lacking for talent.  That’s the case when you’re looking at perhaps the deepest roster in terms of talent in all of college football.

As for Notre Dame their biggest injury concern as of Wednesday evening remains speedy wide receiver Braden Lenzy who has already been ruled out by Kelly.