Notre Dame Football Practice Notes - April 9th

Notes and observations from the Notre Dame spring practice

Notre Dame's Deion Colzie makes a one handed catch during practice at the SAC on Dec. 26, 2023, as / Alberto Silva Fernandez/ El Paso Times /

Notre Dame held another open practice this morning on the LaBar Practice Fields. The media was allowed to see the first four periods. Here are some observations I saw from today's practice, with my focus being on the offense.

*** The offense did go through a tempo period where they ran plays on air. It was a first team, second team and then a third team. Riley Leonard didn't participate in any of these periods, although he did get some throwing work in with the receivers when they did routes on air.

*** The first team quarterback was Steve Angeli and the running back was Jadarian Price. The receivers were Kris Mitchell (Z), Jaden Greathouse (Slot) and Micah Gilbert (X). The tight end was Cooper Flanagan. The offensive line was left to right: Charles Jagusah, Pat Coogan, Ashton Craig, Billy Schrauth, Tosh Baker.

*** The second team quarterback was Kenny Minchey and the running back was Jeremiyah Love. The receivers were Cam Williams (Z), KK Smith (Slot) and Deion Colzie (X). The tight end was Eli Raridon. The offensive line was left to right: Sullivan Absher, Rocco Spindler, Sam Pendleton, Christopher Terek, Aamil Wagner.

*** The third team quarterback was CJ Carr and the running back was Aneyas Williams. The receivers and tight ends were walk ons. The offensive line was left to right: Styles Prescod, Peter Jones, Joe Otting, Ty Chan, Anthony Knapp.

*** All the quarterbacks were relatively sharp during the tempo period. Angeli threw a really nice corner throw to Flanagan, and Carr threw a gorgeous ball over the middle. Angeli also threw a couple of nice corner balls during the routes on air period. Leonard was also sharp during the RVA period, and the ball was jumping out well for him. He was getting more zip today than we saw early in spring camp, and it's the second practice session in a row where that was true. It would seem that post-surgery he's able to drive better off his back foot. Carr is starting to look quite confident going through drills and throwing the ball. You could tell early he was still learning a lot, and of course he is still learning, but he's carrying himself with more confidence. He's more loose when he goes through work, and when he's throwing during RVA and the tempo period he's quick and decisive with his throws. Minchey was probably the least sharp of the QBs today, but he also had a good session during RVA. His ball placement wasn't quite as sharp as the others, but he was solid.

*** The offense and defense did a one-on-one space drill where the receiver would catch a pass, get upfield and the defender would have to meet him in space. They didn't tackle, but you could tell when a defender was in position to tackle a guy. I continue to be impressed with how good the offensive players are in space. The defense, as a whole, needs to take better angles, but part of the problem is the speed with which most of the offensive players get to spots, and how quickly they are able to make cuts.

*** I continue to be impressed with sophomore receiver Jaden Greathouse. He's so much more confident in what he's doing this spring, and he's moving around like a veteran. He's first in every drill, he plays fast, he's confident getting into and out of breaks and he catches the ball extremely well. Greathouse showed the ability to make defenders miss in space with sharp, sudden moves, and his ball skills continue to shine, even in drills. 

*** Today was the first time since the opening practice that we got to see Kris Mitchell really turn it loose, and I was reminded of how fast he is. Not only does he show really good vertical speed, but today Mitchell impressed me with how sudden he is as a route runner and with the ball in space. Freshman Micah Gilbert has really emerged as a potential difference maker for the Irish. He worked with the first team today, and he's showing really good confidence and certainty as a route runner. Gilbert was smooth during drills today and as a route runner, and he caught everything near him.

*** Jayden Harrison didn't practice today and Jayden Thomas continues to be limited.

*** The offensive line spent most of the practice working on double teams and driving on sleds, which was good to see. A lot of emphasis on working their feet through contact, which is very important for this line and is an area where it needs a lot of improvement compared to 2023. 

*** One observation that I was intrigued by was that Rocco Spindler spent the entire practice working at left guard, which is the same side as Pat Coogan. This was true during the team period discussed above, but it was also true during drills. They separated the left and right guards during sled drills, and Coogan and Spindler were together, and Billy Schrauth was opposite them. If you'll allow me to jump to a conclusion for a second, this could mean that Schrauth has taken the jump that was hoped for and has shown he has a spot locked down, and now Spindler and Coogan will battle for the other guard spot.

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