Notre Dame 2021 Season Kicks Off With The Start Of Fall Camp
Brian Kelly and the Notre Dame football team are officially kicking off the 2021 football season today with its first practice of the fall. This will be our first look at the Notre Dame football team in its full capacity now that the rest of the freshman class has arrived.
Like every other team in the country, Kelly's 12th version of the Notre Dame football team enters fall camp with a lot of questions. Notre Dame must replace its all-time winningest quarterback, four starting players from one of the nation's best offensive lines, a pair of defensive ends that are now in the NFL, the Butkus Award winner at linebacker and the schedule gets much tougher this season.
The good news is Notre Dame returns a lot of talent across the board, some of its best athletes are now healthy, former young standouts are now becoming veterans, the Irish welcome an All-American transfer offensive lineman and the Irish also landed a transfer quarterback that was leading his squad to 10 wins, a trip to the Big Ten Championship and a berth to the Rose Bowl the last time he was on the field.
Notre Dame's first game is in 29 days, and between now and the season opener against Florida State we are going to learn a lot about this Fighting Irish squad. There are players that must break out, veterans that must step up, younger players that must provide depth and we need to see how the defense performs in the first year of defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman.
It is going to be a fun ride, and what we learn about the team today is going to look different by the time we get to September 5th when the Irish kick things off in Tallahassee.
Here are the biggest story lines and questions I'm looking forward to evaluating and learning about over the next month.
1) Is Brian Kelly returning to his roots - One of the first articles I wrote after the 2020 season concluded was that Brian Kelly had to get back to his roots. We needed to see the swagger-filled head coach who orchestrated an aggressive, explosive, high-scoring offense that resulted in back-to-back national championships at Grand Valley State and an undefeated season at Cincinnati. Kelly has been doing things this summer and on the recruiting trail that make me think he is getting back to being that guy, but that guy with 11 seasons of experience at Notre Dame. That combination could be scary for the rest of college football.
2) What will the offense look like - Kelly was the architect of that explosive offense at GVSU and Cincinnati, but he has turned the reigns over to young offensive coordinator Tommy Rees. Not having a real offseason, injuries to his two most explosive wideouts (Kevin Austin, Braden Lenzy), a strange Covid-filled season and his own inexperience resulted in the Irish turning to ground-and-pound last season, and the Irish did enough to win, and win they did. To keep winning in 2021, and to truly compete for a national title, the offense must become more explosive. Rees had a full offseason, he returns a lot of weapons and he has a much-needed year of experience under his belt. Will that result in the offense becoming a lot more explosive and exciting? We'll find that out very soon.
3) How quickly will the defenders adapt to the defense - Freeman built Cincinnati into an elite defense despite playing in a league known for having a lot of really good offenses. Landing him was a coup for Kelly and the Irish program, and now we will learn just how quickly the Irish coordinator, the Notre Dame defensive assistants and the players can get on the same page. The quicker that happens the more dominant that unit will be.
4) Is Jack Coan the real deal or not - I have to admit that it surprised me how little respect Jack Coan got this offseason from the national media. I didn't expect them to make him a Heisman contender but I also didn't expect them to dismiss the impact he could have. He got his feet wet this spring and now we get to see if Coan is as good as I think he can be or whether he'll struggle to win the job and just be the game manager that many outside the program think he is.
5) Can the offensive line remain a strength - Notre Dame lost four starters from its 2020 offensive line, a group that combined for 142 career starts, and the loss of grad assistant Chris Watt is not getting enough attention. The Irish return center Jarrett Patterson and added elite true freshman Blake Fisher (and another stud rookie Rocco Spindler) and All-American grad transfer Cain Madden. There is some talent up front but there are some inexperience and injury concerns that could be problematic. We'll find out soon if the unit is prepared to overcome its spring woes and once again develop into a strong unit.
6) Are the receivers as good as I think they are - Many view the Notre Dame receivers as a question mark but I'm excited about this group. Over the next month we'll find out if I'm right about this group or if I've hyped them up way too much. We'll find out if Kevin Austin is healthy, focused and ready to FINALLY become the star everyone thought he could be. We'll find out if Braden Lenzy is healthy and ready to get back to being the big-game weapon he was in 2019. We're going to see if Avery Davis is ready to make a jump, if Lawrence Keys III can carry his dominant spring into the fall, if Xavier Watts can break out and if the talented freshmen are ready to roll.
7) Is the defensive line ready to shine - Like the receivers, I've hyped up the defensive line quite a bit. Is that unit ready to keep shining despite personnel losses? We'll find out, but I'm predicting a major breakout from Jayson Ademilola, I'm predicting Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa to thrive as the big end and Isaiah Foskey will show flashes of brilliance. Kurt Hinish, Justin Ademilola and Jacob Lacey won't get the fan fare but they will be key players on this line and will be vital to the unit reaching its full potential.
8) What veterans will become stars - We see it every year, some veteran who wasn't a star, or even much of a rotation player, has a breakout season. Who will be that player, or those players, in 2021? We are about to find out.
9) What young players will step into important roles - We also see young players go from buried on the depth chart to being breakout players. Kyren Williams carried the ball four times during a redshirt season in 2019 but became a 1,000-yard rusher and a second team All-American as a sophomore in 2020. What players can do that in 2021?
10) Will the team stay healthy through camp - One of the things that can really dampen a team's expectations or potential as a team is how healthy it can stay during fall camp. That journey begins today!
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