Midweek Musings: Notre Dame Speed Is Going To Surprise Many

Thoughts on Notre Dame football, its recruiting efforts and college football

Thoughts on Notre Dame football, its recruiting efforts and college football

NOTRE DAME SPEED IS GOING TO SURPRISE PEOPLE

There has been some lazy analysis from national analysts going on when it comes to the 2021 Notre Dame football team. There are many who seem to have ignored the last four seasons and still evaluate this program based on what it used to be, not what it is.

One of the themes I see from national analysts are questions about the Notre Dame skill players at wide receiver and in the secondary, at least for the DBs not named Kyle Hamilton.

Some of the questions about the skill players is legitimate, and that is the fact that most of the returning wideouts are unproven, and their ability to stay healthy is a legitimate question.

One thing many national analysts are missing on when it comes to this Irish football team is its speed, and that's especially true on offense. A source I spoke with who viewed multiple Notre Dame practices this fall camp told Irish Breakdown that this is the fastest Notre Dame team he's seen since Brian Kelly arrived. You can read that report HERE.

Offensively, Notre Dame has one of the nation's most explosive players in running back Chris Tyree, who Bruce Feldman included in his "Freaks" list for college football in 2021. Tyree will have an expanded role on the Notre Dame offense this season.

On the perimeter Notre Dame has a healthy Braden Lenzy making a lot of plays in fall camp, which you can read about in our latest intel feature on the premium message board. We saw Lenzy's speed in 2019 when he had touchdowns of 70, 61 and 51 yards and had another gain of 52 yards in limited snaps.

When a player like Lenzy is your second fastest player your team doesn't have a lack of speed, but those two burners aren't alone. Lawrence Keys III is a player that has consistently runs in the 4.4s during his Notre Dame career. Senior Kevin Austin Jr. is an explosive athlete that has impressive vertical ability for a player that is 6-2 and 215 pounds. Freshman wideout Lorenzo Styles can flat out run and brings home run ability.

The fact a player like Kyren Williams and a wideout like Avery Davis aren't being discussed when talking about your "speed players" speaks volumes about the skill talent Notre Dame will be putting on the field this fall.

Assuming most of them stay healthy the Notre Dame offense is going to surprise a lot of outsiders with its big-play speed this season.

THOUGHTS ON CARNELL TATE

Star 2023 wide receiver Carnell Tate recently tweeted that he plans to make his decision on October 8th. The Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy standout is a native of Chicago and was a 2019 teammate of current Notre Dame freshman offensive lineman Pat Coogan at Marist High School.

Tate's recruitment is huge for Notre Dame and is a bit of a bellweather situation. 

Notre Dame landed two huge wide receivers commitments in the 2022 class when it hauled in Tobias Merriweather and CJ Williams, two players I grade out as Top 100 recruits. For some strange reason Merriweather wasn't recruited by the major programs and Williams has been a strong Notre Dame lead for quite some time. They are big commitments but their recruitments favored Notre Dame.

Tate's recruitment is completely different. This is the kind of recruit Notre Dame SHOULD land, but he's not the kind of player Notre Dame has landed enough of. That is a player that plays a premium position and is being recruited by the nation's best programs. Right now Tate is basically down to Notre Dame and Ohio State, and many national analysts view Ohio State as the leader.

Ohio State and Alabama are the two programs dominating wide receiver recruiting in recent seasons, and Ohio State has been especially good at it. The Buckeyes rarely lose receivers they want, and they definitely don't lose them to Notre Dame .... or at least they haven't in quite some time.

If Notre Dame OC Tommy Rees and wide receiver Del Alexander are able to pull off the upset and land Tate it would be one of the biggest pickups of the Kelly tenure at wide receiver. It's not just that Tate is very talented, but it's more about who Notre Dame would beat for him.

There are almost two months between now and the time Tate makes his decision. It's crunch time for the Notre Dame staff, and it's time for the offensive coaches to pull off the kind of shocking pickup that Marcus Freeman and the defensive staff are now doing on a regular basis.

Right now my pick is for Notre Dame, but right now Tom Loy of 247Sports and I are very much in the minority with that prediction. If we prove correct it would be a huge, significant step for the Notre Dame offensive coaches .... and that's how you close the gap.

2021 COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREDICTIONS

My college football Power 5 conference predictions are up. I think this is going to be an exciting season of college football and expect a lot of great games, which made predictions a bit more challenging than normal, but here are my predictions.

ACC Atlantic - Clemson Tigers
ACC Coastal - North Carolina Tar Heels

ACC Champ - Clemson

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Big Ten East - Ohio State Buckeyes
Big Ten West - Wisconsin Badgers

Big Ten Champ - Ohio State

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Big 12 No. 1 - Oklahoma Sooners
Big 12 No. 2 - Iowa State Cyclones

Big 12 Champ - Oklahoma Sooners

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Pac 12 North - Oregon Ducks
Pac 12 South - USC Trojans

Pac 12 Champ - Oregon

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SEC East - Georgia Bulldogs
SEC West - Alabama Crimson Tide

SEC Champ - Alabama

TWEET OF THE WEEK

Former Notre Dame running back Tony Jones Jr. had a strong performance in the first spring game for the New Orleans Saints. Here is the touchdown run that was part of his strong night. Jones had 7 carries for 82 yards and a score. He also caught 5 passes for 38 yards.

Tony Jones Jr. around the edge… TOUCHDOWN! #NOvsBAL pic.twitter.com/q2iTrucGEy

— NFL (@NFL) August 14, 2021

FILM TO WATCH

Recently we went into the film room to break down what Jack Coan brings to the Notre Dame offense.

Be sure to check out the Irish Breakdown message board, the Champions Lounge

Irish Breakdown Content

Notre Dame 2021 Roster
Notre Dame 2021 Schedule

Notre Dame 2022 Commits Big Board: Offense
Notre Dame 2022 Commits Big Board: Defense

2022 Big Board: Running Back
2022 Big Board: Slot Receivers

Notre Dame 2022 Scholarship Offers

Notre Dame 2022 Class Big Board
Notre Dame 2023 Class Big Board

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