Notre Dame held its sixth fall camp practice, which we were allowed to watch in full. Today was a padded practice that ended with an 11-on-11 scrimmage session. Here are some takeaways and observations from myself and @Tyler Horka.
First, some injury notes. OT Blake Fisher didn’t practice and was in the second stage of the concussion protocol. DE Justin Ademilola is out with a hamstring issue. And DE Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa flew back to Hawaii to be with his family after his father suddenly passed away.
Onto position-by-position notes.
QUARTERBACK
First, some injury notes. OT Blake Fisher didn’t practice and was in the second stage of the concussion protocol. DE Justin Ademilola is out with a hamstring issue. And DE Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa flew back to Hawaii to be with his family after his father suddenly passed away.
Onto position-by-position notes.
QUARTERBACK
- No starter was named, but Drew Pyne and Jack Coan got a lot of the first-team work. Coan played one series in the scrimmage. Buchner was the primary second-teamer.
- Tyler Buchner was shaky in 7-on-7 and 1-on-1s, with a few high throws and short-hopped one. But he impressed in the scrimmage portion. He hit receiver Deion Colzie over the middle for a good gain on a throw with good anticipation. He sure likes to scramble, and it’s hard to miss his athleticism there with how he cuts and doesn’t lose momentum.
- An up-and-down day for Pyne, but he led a scoring drive in the scrimmage. In 7-on-7, TaRiq Bracy intercepted him when he locked on to a receiver on an out route. He had a couple impressive throws in red-zone drills, including a touchdown to tight end Michael Mayer.
- The scrimmage portion appeared to be an audition for No. 2 on the depth chart. It feels inevitable Kelly will name Coan the starter next week. So then the question becomes, who is Coan’s backup? Based on Thursday’s practice, the race might be closer than many originally thought. Buchner might have a chance to make his case.
- Didn’t see a lot of Chis Tyree in the scrimmage, but he was healthy. Kyren Williams was the expected No. 1.
- A good day for freshmen Audric Estime and Logan Diggs. Estime is veritably huge. He just doesn’t go down on first contact, whether it’s as a runner or receiver. Diggs had a nice catch and run on a screen where his acceleration showed up.
- Diggs scored a touchdown during the scrimmage. His offensive teammates — both the ones on the field with him at the time and the ones watching from the sideline — erupted. It became very clear quickly that he has the support of the team. And that didn’t just shine through on the touchdown. Any positive play resulted in a large ovation for Diggs.
- Kevin Austin was impressive. You can’t miss the tools. Body control. Hands. Acceleration. Ball skills. He’s by far the most physically impressive receiver.
- He got a lot of work with the first-team today and shined in the scrimmage. He caught a downfield pass from Pyne against Clarence Lewis where he adjusted to an underthrown ball and snatched it over Lewis. He had big a catch-and-run on another throw from Pyne
- Austin matched up a couple times with presumed boundary cornerback starter Cam Hart in 1-on-1s. He got a good 3-4 yards of separation on a simple curl against Hart. He walled him off on a fade route and hauled in a pass down the sideline.
- Braden Lenzy had a solid day overall, though he did drop a couple passes. Kelly and Rees were really pushing and challenging him in particular. He caught a downfield throw from Coan over Lewis on a deflection after initially adjusting to the ball.
- On one catch over the middle of the field, Lenzy used his chest to corral the football. Kelly gave him sarcastic grief for not extending and making the catch with his hands. Lenzy told him it would have been too difficult to do so. On his next rep, Lenzy stretched out for a catch — no chest corralling necessary. Kelly said, “How did you catch that ball? It was out in front of you!” More sarcasm. The two seemed to have a good rapport.
- Kelly later got serious with Lenzy after a route over the middle: “Outstanding inside release, but you have to release that way outside too.”
- In one-on-one drills, senior Lawrence Keys III burned junior safety Kyle Hamilton for a touchdown. His offensive teammates were fired up. Kelly told Keys, “We need that from you every day” after the score.
- Not a ton to reveal here, but freshmen Cane Berrong and Buchner connected on a well-placed throw on a corner route during the scrimmage. Seems like Michael Mayer and George Takacs are the top two, unsurprisingly.
- There was a drill in the first 30 minutes of practice designed to hone the tight end’s blocking assignments on bubble screens to wide receivers. No tight end, including sophomore sensation Mayer, was safe from Kelly’s wrath during the drill. Kelly nitpicked everything the tight ends did during the drill. He had direct conversations with Mayer after one of his reps, and he was especially animated when he didn’t like what he saw out of freshman Mitchell Evans on a particular rep.
- First team: LT Michael Carmody, LG Zeke Correll, C Jarrett Patterson, RG Cain Madden, RT Josh Lugg
- Second team: LT Tosh Baker, LG Rocco Spindler, C Andrew Kristofic, RG John Dirksen, RT Joe Alt
- Third team: LT Caleb Johnson, LG Quinn Murphy, C Pat Coogan, RG Max Siegel, RT Quinn Carroll
- Lugg had a good day in the scrimmage. He looks a lot more mobile and not hindered by his 2020 back issues.
- With Tagovailoa-Amosa and Ademilola absent from practice, junior Nana Osafo-Mensah moved to the first team at defensive end opposite junior Isaiah Foskey. That duo sandwiched graduate student nose tackle Kurt Hinish and senior defensive tackle Jayson Ademilola.
- Sophomore Jordan Botelho worked mostly at vyper with the second team. Tagovailoa-Amosa and Ademilola being out allowed sophomore Alex Ehrensberger to work at strong-side end with the second team. Juniors Jacob Lacey and Howard Cross filled the middle of the d-line with the second unit.
- Freshman DT Gabriel Rubio is really tough to block. He stood out in the 3-on-3 OL vs. DL work
- Defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman rotated liberally here, as he has promised. But Drew White, Marist Liufau and Jack Kiser were the first guys out there.
- Liufau had a good day. He blitzed on what was a run play and helped wrap it up for no meaningful gain. Later, he shot through the line and tipped a Pyne pass to himself for an interception. The confidence and decisiveness he displayed at the end of last season were there again.
- If JD Bertrand keeps flashing, he’s going to be hard to keep off the field. He blew up Kyren Williams on a blitz pickup. He had a pass breakup in 7-on-7 work when covering tight end Kevin Bauman.
- As expected, junior Cam Hart ran with the first team at boundary corner while sophomore Clarence Lewis manned the field corner position. Junior Kyle Hamilton and senior Houston Griffith were the starting safeties.
- The second team was Ramon Henderson and Philip Riley at CB, and KJ Wallace and Justin Walters at safety. Henderson looked physical and eager to run up on ball carriers and pass-catchers to make plays. Kelly spoke highly of him last week.
- In nickel packages, senior TaRiq Bracy was utilized as the third corner — and he didn’t disappoint. He picked off sophomore Pyne in the scrimmage portion of practice. He made another diving effort at an interception shortly thereafter. Kelly said Bracy is playing with the most confidence he’s ever had in a Notre Dame uniform.
