Notre Dame spring game and general thoughts:
-Beautiful day, near-record crowd.
-CJ Carr had an off day. 3-4 passes were way off the mark, the other incompletions were great plays by the DB's. Wouldn't overthink this. Those in attendance during last week's scrimmage said it was one of the best practices by a ND QB in years. I think Carr deserves to be among the Heisman favorites but I'd like to see more consistency.
-Obviously, there's going to be a drop-off at RB without Love/Price. How big of a drop-off is the question? I happen to think Aneyas Williams and Nolan James will still be very productive, just less explosive.
-WR position will be much more dynamic. Jordan Faison will have his best season yet. Ohio State transfer Mylan Graham has had a great spring. The kid with the most long-term upside (2027 and beyond) is probably true freshman Devin Fitzgerald (Larry's son) who flashed again yesterday. Can't wait to see Ohio State transfer Quincy Porter and 5-star TE Ian Premer in the fall.
-OL was missing a couple of starters including a late scratch in RT Guerby Lambert. I like that they have kicked Anthonie Knapp inside to LG. If they stay healthy (big if), this should be an improved unit.
-DL is the story of the spring and I thought won the day yesterday. They're bigger, deeper and more talented than any ND DL in recent memory. Keep an eye on 5-star true freshman Rodney Dunham, the highest-rated ND recruit regardless of position in 13 years. I expect DE Boubacar Traore to play like an All-American and Bryce Young will have his best season. Transfers Tionne Gray and Francis Brewu will start at DT but Armel Mukam is going to get some snaps and impressed yesterday (so did Sean Sevillano and Davion Dixon).
-Starting LB's Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa and Drayk Bowen were out but they still had Jaiden Ausberry and Jaylen Sneed who have multiple years of starting experience. It's as talented and experienced as any ND LB unit in recent memory and I really like Madden Faraimo as the next great LB.
-Going to sound like a broken record but the DB's are loaded. Leonard Moore is by far the best CB in the country but did not play yesterday.
-Adon Shuler and Tae Johnson might be the best safety combo in the country (are you tired of the optimism yet?). Keep an eye on backup safety Ethan Long who had a great day. Also Michigan transfer Jayden Sanders is going to play a lot. Had a great game in place of Moore. Sanders is a kid who played 300 snaps for the Wolverines last year and graded out well. Underrated pickup for the Irish.
-FG kicking game has been a major weakness the last couple of years. Purdue transfer Spencer Porath has had a great spring.
-Finally, I think new DL coach Charlie Partridge is a big upgrade over Al Washington.
-Projection: 11-1 (I did bet UNDER 11.5). They'll be favored in every game and possibly 10 games by double-digits (at BYU and Miami being the exceptions). Freeman's teams have had a hiccup every season so far. I've said it the last two years and will say it again, this is the most talented and deepest ND team since the early 1990's. They deserve to be title favorites this year...however, the "Chicken Little" in me from the last three decades is just waiting for the bad news to drop.
