Mike Brown Wants To Expand The Notre Dame Receiver Rotation

Notre Dame wide receivers coach Mike Brown has a big task in front of him

Notre Dame wide receivers coach Mike Brown / Angela Driskell, Irish Breakdown

Six is the magic number for the Notre Dame wide receivers. In a perfect world, that’s how many receivers new receivers coach Mike Brown wants to have in his rotation when the 2024 season rolls around. 

"There's got to be six deserving snaps,” Brown said after Notre Dame’s most recent spring practice this week. 

Notre Dame’s receiving room has undergone a dramatic makeover this offseason and Brown is at the top of the list of new faces. Rico Flores Jr. and Chris Tyree, the team’s two most productive wide receivers last season, both left via the transfer portal in early December. Tobias Merriweather and Braylon James did as well. 

But the Irish were aggressive in adding to the position this offseason. They were able to bring in Kris Mitchell, fresh off a 64-catch, 1,118-yard season at Florida International, and Beaux Collins, who had 38 receptions for 510 yards at Clemson in 2023. Marshall transfer Jayden Harrison (28 receptions, 410 yards) is part of the room as well, although his biggest impact is likely to be as a kick return man. 

Brown has five returning Irish receivers, two transfers and two early enrollee freshmen working through his first spring leading the position. It has given him a lot to see and them a lot to prove this spring. 

"We put as much pressure on them as we can to try to simulate a game,” Brown said of how he has worked with his roster of receivers. "We throw them in there, move them around in different spots, put them in different situations, and you see how they respond and then all of a sudden, something bad happens and you're going to get challenged. The model behind that is 'Hey, man, if you can't handle this pressure right here from me right now, in practice, what are you going to do when it's 80,000 people in the stands?' So, you try to replicate it as best you can. But like you say, you truly don’t know.

"It's a matter of who can get their assignments done,” Brown continued. "Who's where they need to be when they need to be there? Do they understand why they're doing it, and then who's the most consistent. Then those are the guys who start off with the opportunities and then as they make plays, they earn their way up or earn more targets and quarterbacks get more comfortable with them and the ball starts to find them more. So, it's kind of a recipe." 

Senior Jayden Thomas (21 receptions, 310 yards) has the most production of the returning receivers from last year’s roster. Sophomore Jordan Faison (19-322), sophomore Jaden Greathouse (18-265) and senior Deion Colzie (3-45) are the only other returnees who caught a pass in an Irish uniform last season. Sophomore KK Smith missed the entire regular season but played in the Sun Bowl without catching a pass. 

Notre Dame’s receiver room was hit by injuries throughout last season and a total of nine receivers caught at least two passes in 2023. With that in mind, can the Irish get through a season with just six receivers in the rotation?

"You hope you do,” Brown remarked. "You may not. We have in the past, but that's the point of rotating. When you try to only play three guys, if you're playing with three receivers on the field, that stuff wears on you and you start to get down the stretch, so you (need) a good, healthy rotation. I think it's hard to rotate more than two guys at a specific position. But like you said, I mean injuries are 100% in football, right? So, you got to have guys that are ready. In a perfect world, you say you got six guys that you feel really, really good about. You got a seven and maybe an eight that could fill in and roll how you need them. Hopefully there's eight that you feel great about and then you got a lot of problems." 

With early enrollee freshmen Micah Gilbert and Cam Williams, the Irish currently have nine receivers on the roster this spring. Collins will make No. 10 this when he officially joins the team after he graduates from Clemson in May and another incoming freshman, Logan Saldate, will make No. 11. So, what separates the sixth man from the seventh man on the depth chart?

"Consistency, man,” Brown replied. “I think that's what separates any of them. Consistency and playmaking ability. Knowing what you're doing, knowing why you're doing it, and being able to do it on a high level on a consistent basis." 

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

———————

Become a premium Irish Breakdown member, which grants you access to all of our premium content and our premium message board! Click on the link below for more.

BECOME A MEMBER

Be sure to stay locked into Irish Breakdown all the time!

Join the Irish Breakdown community!
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown YouTube channel
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown podcast on iTunes
Follow me on Twitter: @SeanStires
Like and follow Irish Breakdown on Facebook

Sign up for the FREE Irish Breakdown daily newsletter