Notre Dame Football Special Teams Preview 2024: New Kickers Have to Come Through

The Notre Dame special teams have to replace two solid kickers, but the third phase should be good again.

Notre Dame graduate senior Mitch Jeter gets ready to kick a field goal during practice Thursday, March 7, 2024, at the Irish Athletics Center in South Bend. / MANDATORY CREDIT: Austin Hough / South

Notre Dame Football Preview 2024: Special Teams

Note: This is adapted from the CollegeFootballNews.com preview, taking a generalized view for a more national audience. We'll break down the 2024 Irish in far more granular detail here over the coming weeks as we ramp up to the start of the season.

The Irish lost a good one in punter Bryce McFerson. He averaged over 45 yards per punt and placed five of 38 inside the 20, but he left for Maryland. Chris Salerno will get a look, but be shocked if new option, Australian James Rendell, doesn’t rise up and win the job in fall camp.

Mitch Jeter is coming in from South Carolina to take over the placekicking duties after hitting 12-of-14 last year—both misses were from beyond 50 yards.

Several players will get a shot in the return game, but Jadarian Price is back as the main kick returner after averaging over 34 yards per return—he took one 99 yards for a touchdown against USC. 

WR Jordan Faison will get a chance on punt returns; he averaged 14 yards on his two attempts last season.

The Irish ranked 96th in the nation in punt coverage, allowing 10.13 yards per return on 23 attempts, and 85th in kickoff returns, allowing 21.2 yards per return.

Notre Dame Preview 2024
Notre Dame Football Preview 2024
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