Some observations from watching warmups and the first five periods of Notre Dame's eighth spring practice inside the Irish Athletics Center.
Wide receiver Joe Wilkins Jr. and safety Houston Griffith were not practicing today. We hope to get confirmation of their situations from head coach Marcus Freeman here shortly.
WR Deion Colzie was a full participant in practice after previously being limited with a concussion.
The rest of the injured group remained the same: CB Cam Hart, WR Avery Davis, DT Jayson Ademilola, OL Jarrett Patterson, OL Billy Schrauth, OL Pat Coogan, OL Joey Tanona and TE Cane Berrong. Walk-ons LB Colin Gutzmer and WR Henry Cook were also sidelined.
A number of Notre Dame's visiting recruits were already on campus Saturday morning. I spotted four-star offensive lineman Austin Siereveld being shown around by director of recruiting Chad Bowden. Bowden was later watching the defensive line practice with four-star defensive end commit Brenan Vernon. Three-star quarterback Danny O’Neil, a 2024 prospect, was sticking around offensive coordinator Tommy Rees.
Former Notre Dame offensive linemen Quenton Nelson and Sam Mustipher were at Saturday's practice. Former safety Kyle Hamilton was also in attendance again. Former Notre Dame defensive coordinator Greg Mattison was chatting with offensive line coach Harry Hiestand before practice.
The first period of practice featured some action for Notre Dame's field goal kickers. It did not go nearly as well as when we watched them on Saturday. With Michael Vinson snapping and Chris Salerno holding, both Josh Bryan and Blake Grupe missed half of their attempts.
Bryan, a sophomore, made kicks of 33, 43, and 46 yards and missed from 35, 37, and 50. His attempt from 50 yards sailed way left.
Grupe, a graduate transfer from Arkansas State, missed kicks from 34, 36, and 50 yards out and made kicks from 42, 44 and 48.
A big chunk of our viewing window was spent on individual drills, but there were some competitive drills. The first paired offensive skills players against defenders meant to tag up as if they were tackling them in space. I watched the wide receivers against defensive backs. The receivers caught short passes running to the outside while the defender had to drop his chest to the ground before getting up and tracking down the ball carrier. The defense won most of the reps, as they should since they're not asked to fully tackle the receivers, but a few defenders were caught off balance. WR Matt Salerno moved past S DJ Brown. WR Conor Ratigan shook off S Brandon Joseph. WR Lorenzo Styles maneuvered around CB Chance Tucker.
The next competitive drill was set up for a quarterback and two or three offensive skill players to execute some variety of screen plays against four defenders. The defense fared pretty well in these with its better numbers, but the offense tried to counter with some fake screen plays too. WR Jayden Thomas tripped over one of his own blockers on a bad rep for the offense. CB Clarence Lewis made a nice read on a pass to WR Matt Salerno. The first fake screen went to tight end Michael Mayer, who leaked down field after the initial fake and was left wide open.
S Ramon Henderson had a nice play on Styles. Tucker nearly intercepted one of the fake screen passes that was thrown downfield, but he dropped the near one-handed, leaping catch when he hit the ground hard with his back. S Xavier Watts had a nice tackle on RB Logan Diggs. Brown did the same on Thomas. TE Kevin Bauman had one of the best blocks of the session when he buried LB Jaylen Sneed.
That's all for now. Time for Freeman's press conference.
Wide receiver Joe Wilkins Jr. and safety Houston Griffith were not practicing today. We hope to get confirmation of their situations from head coach Marcus Freeman here shortly.
WR Deion Colzie was a full participant in practice after previously being limited with a concussion.
The rest of the injured group remained the same: CB Cam Hart, WR Avery Davis, DT Jayson Ademilola, OL Jarrett Patterson, OL Billy Schrauth, OL Pat Coogan, OL Joey Tanona and TE Cane Berrong. Walk-ons LB Colin Gutzmer and WR Henry Cook were also sidelined.
A number of Notre Dame's visiting recruits were already on campus Saturday morning. I spotted four-star offensive lineman Austin Siereveld being shown around by director of recruiting Chad Bowden. Bowden was later watching the defensive line practice with four-star defensive end commit Brenan Vernon. Three-star quarterback Danny O’Neil, a 2024 prospect, was sticking around offensive coordinator Tommy Rees.
Former Notre Dame offensive linemen Quenton Nelson and Sam Mustipher were at Saturday's practice. Former safety Kyle Hamilton was also in attendance again. Former Notre Dame defensive coordinator Greg Mattison was chatting with offensive line coach Harry Hiestand before practice.
The first period of practice featured some action for Notre Dame's field goal kickers. It did not go nearly as well as when we watched them on Saturday. With Michael Vinson snapping and Chris Salerno holding, both Josh Bryan and Blake Grupe missed half of their attempts.
Bryan, a sophomore, made kicks of 33, 43, and 46 yards and missed from 35, 37, and 50. His attempt from 50 yards sailed way left.
Grupe, a graduate transfer from Arkansas State, missed kicks from 34, 36, and 50 yards out and made kicks from 42, 44 and 48.
A big chunk of our viewing window was spent on individual drills, but there were some competitive drills. The first paired offensive skills players against defenders meant to tag up as if they were tackling them in space. I watched the wide receivers against defensive backs. The receivers caught short passes running to the outside while the defender had to drop his chest to the ground before getting up and tracking down the ball carrier. The defense won most of the reps, as they should since they're not asked to fully tackle the receivers, but a few defenders were caught off balance. WR Matt Salerno moved past S DJ Brown. WR Conor Ratigan shook off S Brandon Joseph. WR Lorenzo Styles maneuvered around CB Chance Tucker.
The next competitive drill was set up for a quarterback and two or three offensive skill players to execute some variety of screen plays against four defenders. The defense fared pretty well in these with its better numbers, but the offense tried to counter with some fake screen plays too. WR Jayden Thomas tripped over one of his own blockers on a bad rep for the offense. CB Clarence Lewis made a nice read on a pass to WR Matt Salerno. The first fake screen went to tight end Michael Mayer, who leaked down field after the initial fake and was left wide open.
S Ramon Henderson had a nice play on Styles. Tucker nearly intercepted one of the fake screen passes that was thrown downfield, but he dropped the near one-handed, leaping catch when he hit the ground hard with his back. S Xavier Watts had a nice tackle on RB Logan Diggs. Brown did the same on Thomas. TE Kevin Bauman had one of the best blocks of the session when he buried LB Jaylen Sneed.
That's all for now. Time for Freeman's press conference.
