Notre Dame football once again practiced on the grass field just outside the Labar Practice Complex on Saturday. On a day in which parents were allowed to attend practice, media members were allowed to observe the first five periods.
It was easily the most entertaining five-period session we've seen so far this preseason.
The first period started with some competitive one-on-one goalline reps with wide receivers and defensive backs. With Sam Hartman throwing the passes, the offense won the battle 4-3.
Head coach Marcus Freeman called out the matchups for the first six reps. Tobias Merriweather got things started with a TD catch against Cam Hart. Then the defense won three consecutive reps with a Benjamin Morrison PBU against Jayden Thomas, a Thomas Harper PBU against Chris Tyree and an incomplete pass to Matt Salerno that he couldn't haul in after getting open against Clarence Lewis. The offense recovered with Rico Flores Jr. beating Jaden Mickey and Jaden Greathouse beating Christian Gray. Greathouse made his win look the easiest by shaking Gray loose on a fade.
With it tied 3-3, Freeman let the offense and defense choose its players for the tiebreaker. Jayden Thomas won with a physical battle with Cam Hart for the touchdown on a back shoulder throw.
The practice then shifted to a special teams focus with open-field tackling drills before a competitive return vs. coverage one-on-one. The drill requires a blocker to retreat and try to cut off the path of the coverage player who is trying to get to a dummy down the field.
When they were split into groups, the most impressive rep came from freshman Cooper Flanagan. He ran over Jaylen Sneed's attempt to block him.
To finish the drill, all three groups came together with special teams coordinator Marty Biagi calling out matchups. The coverage unit, which has an easier task, won four of the five reps. Tobias Merriweather was the only blocker to win and he did so against Harper.
The coverage wins went to Mickey over Flores, Sneed over Drayk Bowen, Adon Shuler over Greathouse and Preston Zinter over Flanagan.
It was easily the most entertaining five-period session we've seen so far this preseason.
The first period started with some competitive one-on-one goalline reps with wide receivers and defensive backs. With Sam Hartman throwing the passes, the offense won the battle 4-3.
Head coach Marcus Freeman called out the matchups for the first six reps. Tobias Merriweather got things started with a TD catch against Cam Hart. Then the defense won three consecutive reps with a Benjamin Morrison PBU against Jayden Thomas, a Thomas Harper PBU against Chris Tyree and an incomplete pass to Matt Salerno that he couldn't haul in after getting open against Clarence Lewis. The offense recovered with Rico Flores Jr. beating Jaden Mickey and Jaden Greathouse beating Christian Gray. Greathouse made his win look the easiest by shaking Gray loose on a fade.
With it tied 3-3, Freeman let the offense and defense choose its players for the tiebreaker. Jayden Thomas won with a physical battle with Cam Hart for the touchdown on a back shoulder throw.
The practice then shifted to a special teams focus with open-field tackling drills before a competitive return vs. coverage one-on-one. The drill requires a blocker to retreat and try to cut off the path of the coverage player who is trying to get to a dummy down the field.
When they were split into groups, the most impressive rep came from freshman Cooper Flanagan. He ran over Jaylen Sneed's attempt to block him.
To finish the drill, all three groups came together with special teams coordinator Marty Biagi calling out matchups. The coverage unit, which has an easier task, won four of the five reps. Tobias Merriweather was the only blocker to win and he did so against Harper.
The coverage wins went to Mickey over Flores, Sneed over Drayk Bowen, Adon Shuler over Greathouse and Preston Zinter over Flanagan.
