Notre Dame Football Practice Report: Practice No. 6 - Offense

News, notes and analysis of the offense from the sixth Notre Dame football practice of the 2021 season

Notre Dame held its sixth practice of the 2021 football season. Here is Irish Breakdown's news, notes and analysis from the practice. Here is the offensive report.

OFFENSE

Notre Dame kicked off the practice as it always does with its "team take off" period. Here is how the team lined up:

Group One

QB - #10 Drew PyneRB - #23 Kyren Williams / #25 Chris Tyree
WR - #5 Joe Wilkins Jr. / #3 Avery Davis
WR - #13 Lawrence Keys III
WR - #4 Kevin Austin Jr.
TE - #87 Michael Mayer / #85 George Takacs
LT - #68 Michael Carmody
LG - #52 Zeke Correll
C - #55 Jarrett Patterson
RG - #62 Cain Madden
RT - #75 Joshua Lugg

Group Two

QB - #17 Jack Coan
RB - #20 C'Bo Flemister / #24 Audric Estime
WR - #0 Braden Lenzy / #21 Lorenzo Styles Jr.
WR - #2 Xavier Watts / #29 Matt Salerno
TE - #84 Kevin Bauman / #80 Cane Berrong
TE - #88 Mitchell Evans
LT - #79 Tosh Baker
LG - #50 Rocco Spindler
C - #73 Andrew Kristofic
RG - #56 John Dirksen
RT - #76 Joe Alt

Group Three

QB - #12 Tyler Buchner
RB - #22 Logan Diggs
WR - #16 Deion Colzie
WR - #37 Henry Cook
WR - #86 Brian Ratigan
TE - #89 Charlie Selna
LT - #72 Caleb Johnson
LG - #53 Quinn Murphy
C - #78 Pat Coogan
RG - #64 Max Siegel 
RT - #77 Quinn Carroll

Here's stats and notes from the One-on-One period where wide outs and tight ends matchup against defensive backs.

Jack Coan - 9-17 - two dropped passes, one pass break up
Drew Pyne - 5-9 - two pass break ups
Tyler Buchner - 2-6 - two dropped passes, 1 pass break up

Coan was a bit inconsistent during the one-on-one period but he was much better during the team period. Buchner showed good throwing ability on deep throws but was erratic on short throws.

Wide receiver Kevin Austin Jr. was the star of the one-on-one period for the Irish offense. He made a number of incredible grabs and was getting open consistently. On one snap where cornerback Cam Hart actually had really good coverage the Irish wideout simply out-leaped Hart and reached behind him to grab the football. Austin looked explosive, healthy and dominant.

Wide receiver Lawrence Keys III was another standout during one-on-ones. He absolutely smoked safety Kyle Hamilton on a vertical route for a big gain and he also beat freshman Justin Walters for another catch.

Keys dropped a couple of passes during the team period that he should have caught.

Both Braden Lenzy and Lorenzo Styles Jr. body caught a bit too much but both showed good speed. Lenzy had a really nice route on an in cut that let him get free against TaRiq Bracy.

Lenzy looked even better during the team period and was getting open quite a bit but Pyne didn't look his way much.

Freshman Deion Colzie had two great catches during practice. He made a tremendous one-handed grab to beat Chance Tucker and made another strong catch against good coverage from Ryan Barnes.

TEAM PERIOD

During the team period we only saw about 10 snaps with the "first group." The first group of receivers Kevin Austin, Avery Davis and Braden Lenzy, but they were rotating a lot of receivers during the period and we also saw Joe Wilkins Jr. and Lawrence Keys III.

Austin was also outstanding during the team period. Austin and Coan have a really, really nice connection so far. Coan was much sharper during the team period than he was during the one-on-ones. Pyne was erratic in the team period and wasn't looking at the deep ball enough.

Regarding the offensive line, the starting offensive line was just okay, although Joshua Lugg had a good day. Right guard Cain Madden is strong but his foot quickness is problematic. The first team line really struggled in the run game and could not get any movement in the run game. We saw him struggle to get outside on a screen pass. The backup offensive line really struggled and simply could not protect the quarterback, but the second line did a much better job getting movement. 

The Irish attacked the seams effectively during the team period, especially with Michael Mayer and George Takacs.

We got to see a lot of freshmen running backs Audric Estime and Logan Diggs, and they ran very, very well. They are both very physical runners and both look consistent, confident and they run with authority.

Freshman tight end Cane Berrong made a couple of really nice plays along the sideline during the team period.

INJURIES

Freshman left tackle Blake Fisher was out with a concussion. Freshman receiver Jayden Thomas was also out.

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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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