Notre Dame Notebook: Mike Denbrock Talks Offensive Line, Young Standouts

Notre Dame offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock talks about the offensive line, the evolving offense and talented young players

Notre Dame Offensive Coordinator Mike Denbrock talks to players at Notre Dame spring football / GREG SWIERCZ / USA TODAY NETWORK

Notre Dame’s spring football season is in its final days. Saturday’s Blue-Gold Game will be the last time the Fighting Irish convene in a full team setting until fall training camp opens later this summer.

Mike Denbrock, whose LSU offense led the nation by scoring 45.5 points a game last season, returned to Notre Dame this offseason after spending the last two years in Baton Rouge and six years prior to that as Cincinnati’s offensive coordinator. The veteran coach has mixed and matched and put the Fighting Irish through their paces in his return to Notre Dame this spring.

“I love our attitude towards work,” Denbrock said recently of what he has seen from his Irish offense this spring. “I love our ability to learn. I love our competitiveness. We’ve got really, really good unit strength as far as on the offensive side of the ball. The details are a little fuzzy. The more those come into focus and the more we continue to learn and grow, and I think more than anything how we adjust the base scheme based off what the defense is doing, those things come with time.

“We’re kind of in the process of that, so when we get it right, it looks really good, and when we don’t get it quite right, it can get pretty ugly pretty fast,” Denbrock continued. “We’ve just got to continue to work on it, we’ve got to rep it, we’ve got to show them it. Obviously, playing against (defensive coordinator Al) Golden’s defense every day doesn’t help our learning curve, because he’s got so much scheme-wise. I love it. It’s going to prepare us really well for the fall. But right now, it makes it a little bit painful here and there.”

A Reworked Offensive Line

Notre Dame returns just one regular starter, left guard Pat Coogan, from last year’s offensive line. The Irish lost tackles Joe Alt and Blake Fisher to the NFL and center Zeke Correll left via the transfer portal. Rocco Spindler, who started 10 games at right guard before his season ended with a knee injury has been working his way back into form this spring.

The five players who have had the most work together with the first team line this spring have been left tackle Charles Jagusah, left guard Coogan, center Ashton Craig, right guard Billy Schrauth, and right tackle Tosh Baker.

“I’ve been as pleased with that group as I have with any group so far during the spring,” Denbrock remarked. “I love the direction that they’re headed. Those guys are tough. They like to play the style of football that we’re playing. They’re pretty good at it. Just the communication alone, the ability of those guys, even though there’s some new faces in there, to communicate with each other and be on the same page has been really, really good. I’m excited about where the offensive line’s headed.”

Great Grades For Greathouse

Rising sophomore receiver Jaden Greathouse has continually turned heads with his play this spring. The Austin, Texas native had 18 receptions for 265 yards and five touchdowns last season. His natural position is in the slot, but he has shown the adaptability to play outside as well.

“Greathouse has been as pleasant a surprise,” Denbrock exclaimed. “His versatility is off the charts. He can play outside. He can play the boundary. He can play the field. He can play the slot. Him, in particular, is a guy that we’re going to have to kind of use mixed all over. If you watch our offense at the last place I was, the receivers rarely just lined up in one spot. We’re flipping guys around and using motion to create different things like we just discussed as far as matchups and things like that. He’s a really smart kid, and he’s a kid that can play all of those spots, which is pretty cool.”

More Versatility From Jeremiyah Love

Another rising sophomore, running back Jeremiyah Love, has seen extensive work as a receiver this spring. Love was Notre Dame’s second-leading rusher with 385 yards on 71 carries (5.4) last year. He also had a modest eight receptions for 77 yards.

But with a crowded backfield that includes Jadarian Price, Gi’Bran Payne and freshmen Aneyas Williams and Kedren Young, a little versatility from Love could go a long way for Denbrock’s offense this season.

“We’re trying to evaluate is there something where we can play some two-back stuff and use him out of the backfield a little bit more as a threat,” Denbrock explained. “He needs to touch the ball. We’ve got some really good backs beyond him. He’s really good, and we’ve got some guys who are really good beyond him. In an effort to get your best 11 guys on the field and give yourself the best opportunity to play against the really good teams as good as you possibly can, you have got to have your best players out there. The more he learns and the more versatile he can become, the more we can use him in different spots. So that’s the goal.” 

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