Five Biggest Questions For Notre Dame Heading Into The 2021 Season
Notre Dame has been a playoff team in two of the last three seasons and the Fighting Irish should be pretty good once again. We already broke down the greatest strengths of the program, and now we dive into the five biggest questions face Notre Dame as it gets ready for fall camp.
Here are the five biggest questions:
1. Offensive Line - There is talent returning to the Notre Dame offensive line and on paper the Irish should be a good unit, but there are still a lot of questions surrounding the group. How quickly will the unit gel? With Chris Watt and four starters gone will the unit still be physical and effective or will it look more like the 2018 and 2019 lines? Will grad transfer Cain Madden be as good as advertised? How well this unit comes together will ultimately play a major role in determining if the Irish can play for a championship.
2. Will Linebacker - In the podcast we make the case for why the Will linebacker position could be a strength in 2021, but we also explain why it's such a huge, huge question mark. Shayne Simon and Marist Liufau are both very athletic players but they struggled mightily last season? Will they both step up, will only one step up, will either step up? We discuss the group and why its so important for at least one to step up and predict which player that will be.
3. Cornerback/Safety - This should reach cornerback and safeties not named Kyle Hamilton. The junior was an All-American last season and will once again be a star for the Irish, but the rest of the secondary has a lot of question marks. Can Cam Hart break out? Can TaRiq Bracy get back on track and be the cover player he was in 2018 and 2019? Will Clarence Lewis make a jump in 2021? Will Houston Griffith become a dependable starter or will the second safety position be a struggle?
4. What will the offense look like in 2021? - This is a question from the standpoint of being concerned about the unit playing well, but rather just a question about what the offense will look like. How does offensive coordinator Tommy Rees build around a new-look receiving corps and offensive line? How does he build around the quarterback depth chart? How does he build around the talented backs? We can't wait to see what that looks like.
5. How quickly will the defense come together? - Marcus Freeman was our top choice for defensive coordinator when the job came open and there is a great deal of excitement about what he'll do at Notre Dame, but whenever you have a coaching change their's a period of time where the coach and the players have to get comfortable with each other. Did that happen during the spring? Will it happen in fall camp? Will it take time into the season? We'll find out soon enough.
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