As spring practice has officially started for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, here are the impressions that have been made from the early enrollees on the offensive side of the ball.
Art by The Irish Tribune
Fresh off a National Championship run, Marcus Freeman has reloaded his roster to be primed to make another deep run into the playoffs next season for the Fighting Irish. With spring practices officially commencing, some of the freshmen who decided to enroll during the spring semester have started their first stint of spring camp.
Here are some initial impressions from the freshman offensive early enrollees.
Wide Receivers (3)
We'll start in the wide receiver room, as it is the biggest early enrollee position group.
The three freshmen early enrollees are Elijah Burress, Jerome Bettis Jr., and Scrap Richardson, and each is focusing on their own skillsets during spring camp.
Burress, the four-star product from New Jersey, cited improving his blocking and creating more separation as his primary focuses during spring camp.
As for Bettis, adjusting to the speed of the college game and being able to slow the game down, even in the practice setting, will be at the forefront of his mind.
Richardson brings a more unique situation to spring practice, as the Greenville, Georgia native is switching from playing quarterback, running back, and defensive back in high school to the wide receiver position. Simple things such as technique in his stance and route running will be critical.
The wide receiver room is open with Jordan Faison sharing time with lacrosse and Malachi Fields not enrolling until the summer. With limited numbers, these freshmen could make a splash during spring practices and start to cement trust from the coaching staff.
Offensive Line (3)
Notre Dame has welcomed three offensive linemen into their early enrollee class, as Matty Augustine, Cam Herron, and Owen Strebig have all already set foot on campus.
With Will Black being one of the heralded gems of this class, Augustin, Herron, and Strebig have flown under the radar as good additions to this class. However, as it is for most true freshman offensive linemen, all will be needing to bulk up to adjust their weights to the college level.
As the Fighting Irish are bringing back five players who have starting experience along the offensive line, it is highly unlikely that any of these players will see significant playing time this year. Yet, in the midst of an elongated college football season, the ability to get to campus and learn from Joe Rudolph is extremely valuable.
Quarterback (1) and Running Back (1)
In the case for Blake Hebert and Nolan James Jr. the opportunity to come to campus early and start to learn Mike Denbrock's offensive playbook will pay dividends down the road, but maybe not so much this year.
In the case for Hebert, he is entering as the true freshman who has been excluded from the ongoing quarterback competition between CJ Carr, Steve Angeli, and Kenny Minchey. With those three guys occupying most of the reps during spring practice, it is essential for Hebert to begin to familiarize himself with the playbook and start working on certain intangibles outside the field.
As for James, he is being brought into one of, if not the most, complete running back rooms in all of college football. Jeremiyah Love, Jadarian Price, Gi'Bran Payne, and Aneyas Williams have all had extremely important reps during Notre Dame's past two seasons. Not to mention Kedren Young also in the mix, it will be necessary for James to pick the brain of the upperclassmen in front of him.
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