SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Marcus Freeman tried to watch it all Saturday morning inside the Irish Athletics Center, scouting his entire roster during the annual jersey scrimmage while also glad-handing about a dozen recruits and a few former players, including Riley Leonard and Sam Hartman.
The morning practice didn’t cap spring practices — that’s what the Blue-Gold Game next weekend is for — but it counts as “moving day” within the roster. The extensive 11-on-11 work gave players a chance to claim bigger roles with breakout performances. While the practice started with about a half hour of positional work and special teams drills, the hour-plus scrimmage showed what Notre Dame can be this fall and where the Irish need to shore up the roster.
Turns out, the potential of Freeman’s fifth team outweighs its problems.
The Athletic was on site for the entire practice and offers a running diary of what we learned about the Irish.
8:56 a.m.: While most of the roster gets stretched out, punter Jasper Scaife booms a few kicks with the specialists. The latest Australian import is further along in understanding the game than predecessor (and fellow Aussie) James Rendell. At least that’s what special teams coordinator Marty Biagi claims. The first look at Scaife backs that up as his punts look like a pitching wedge that sticks on the green from 45 yards out.
9 a.m.: “TGS!” That’s “The Golden Standard” for those who haven’t attended a practice as the players break the huddle before getting to work.
9:03 a.m.: New kicker Spencer Porath coolly makes field goals from 30, 47 and 38 yards with little fuss. The Purdue import looks like an upgrade from last season’s field goal unit that never made any field goals.
9:05 a.m.: The receivers drill routes, but Jaden Greathouse is barely there. A balky hamstring wrecked his junior year, and it’s ruining his spring ball, too. Greathouse takes reps at the back of the receiver group. He won’t be involved in Saturday’s scrimmage and probably won’t play next weekend. Not ideal.
9:06 a.m.: Linebacker Madden Faraimo is out of the red jersey and wearing white, although he doesn’t take full contact during the scrimmage. Nickel Dallas Golden is out entirely with a back injury. Quarterback Blake Hebert tweaked his knee in practice last week and doesn’t participate, opening the door for freshman Noah Grubbs, who kicks it in like the Kool-Aid Man busting through a brick wall. More on that later.
9:10 a.m.: First real look at freshman safety Joey O’Brien in drills. Yes, he’s long. And he’s sudden. But is he a five-star prospect ready to push the issue like Kyle Hamilton did? If you didn’t know O’Brien’s recruiting profile, you’d say he needs a year in the weight room.
9:14 a.m.: The defensive linemen work a drill where they run around a hula hoop, keeping their shoulders low as if they’re getting around an offensive tackle. Bryce Young does this much better than a year ago. Last year felt like too much weight gain, too fast. Now a junior, Young looks nimble to go with that 6-foot-6, 260-pound frame.
9:15 a.m.: More punting! This isn’t why we’re here, but Scaife hits a 56-yarder and a 57-yarder with a 36-yard shank in between. Aneyas Williams, Mylan Graham and Greathouse go back for punt returns. Graham gets my vote.
Junior Aneyas Williams has a career 443 rushing yards and seven touchdowns for the Irish. (Michael Clubb / South Bend Tribune via Imagn Images)
9:21 a.m.: Mercifully, the punting portion of practice is just about done, but it closes with a punt from plus territory. It’s weird to see Freeman intentionally practice bad coaching decisions, but I guess you’ve got to be prepared for everything. Scaife takes a snap, hesitates at midfield, then booms a punt that Cam Williams catches at the 1-yard line to pin the opposition deep. I stand corrected about the bad coaching decision.
9:23 a.m.: Scrimmage time. The first-team offensive line (left to right): Will Black, Anthonie Knapp, Joe Otting, Sullivan Absher and Guerby Lambert. Running back Nolan James Jr., receiver Micah Gilbert, tight end Ty Washington, receiver Jordan Faison and tight end Cooper Flanagan take the field with CJ Carr for a goal-line set. The good news? Notre Dame is better here than last camp, when it literally got shut out by the defense. The bad news? They’re only 1 for 4 from the 2-yard line, with a gritty James run the only score. Carr’s one pass attempt of the period is broken up by nickel Christian Gray.
9:29 a.m.: In 11 personnel, it’s Faison, Gilbert and Graham at receiver with Flanagan at tight end. On defense, Gray (nickel) is joined in the secondary by safeties Tae Johnson and Adon Shuler, plus corners Leonard Moore and Mark Zackery IV. It will be a long day for Zackery and a boring one for Moore. Because Carr doesn’t waste time with the All-American corner.
9:31 a.m.: Oregon defensive tackle transfer Tionne Gray shoots a double team to stop James for a short gain. He celebrates like he just beat USC — which, come to think of it, he did at Oregon last season.
9:32 a.m.: Carr’s first “Did he just do that?” rep of the day. Facing third-and-8 from the 32-yard line, Carr reads defensive coordinator Chris Ash calling drop eight, which should muddy the quarterback’s throwing lanes. Instead, he hits Faison for a 20-yard gain in front of Zackery. Notre Dame’s defense could have dropped all 11 defenders and Carr still probably finds the open man.
9:34 a.m.: Third-and-5 from the 7-yard line, Carr is in empty and forces a pass to James in the corner of the end zone that’s well covered by Jaiden Ausberry. James makes the catch but can’t stay in bounds. It says something that Carr believes James against a linebacker is a favorable look, even if this pass doesn’t connect.
9:35 a.m.: Porath hits a 25-yard field goal. Looked like a gimme putt.
9:37 a.m.: Grubbs leads the twos onto the field with the offensive line (left to right): Styles Prescod, Sullivan Garvin, Cam Herron, Chris Terek and Matty Augustine. Under normal circumstances, I’d predict this offensive line would get rolled by the backup defense … except it holds up quite well. Raise your hand if you thought Garvin would be the first freshman offensive lineman to hit the two-deep. No hands? That’s what I thought.
9:38 a.m.: The second-team defense: ends Rodney Dunham and Ebenezer Ewetade, tackles Sean Sevillano Jr. and Armel Mukam, linebackers Ko’o Kia and Teddy Rezac, corners Chaz Smith and Ayden Pouncey, nickel Jayden Sanders and safeties Luke Talich and O’Brien. Freshman running back Jonaz Walton immediately rips off a productive run.
9:40 a.m.: The third team, called “Basics” by the coaching staff, comes out with Grubbs staying in. He runs an RPO, choosing to hit Devin Fitzgerald for a 65-yard touchdown on a slant between a walk-on cornerback and a walk-on safety. It’s a big play, but doesn’t say much other than Fitzgerald is faster than guys not on scholarship. But it’s better than getting caught.
9:46 a.m.: Knapp is beating up the interior defensive line, and Black continues to stifle Boubacar Traore. If a unit moved the needle Saturday, it’s the left side of the offensive line, which went from a presumptive positive to certain strength. Both Knapp and Black look like classic Notre Dame offensive linemen. Speaking of classic Notre Dame players by position, Flanagan seems like a pain to play against at tight end. He punishes linebackers, which Jaylen Sneed doesn’t enjoy. The pair starts the day’s first fight.
9:50 a.m.: The defensive line jumps offside and Carr reconsiders his options, firing a 21-yard gain over the middle to Graham from the slot. Giving Carr free plays is ill-advised.
Sophomore Ohio State transfer Mylan Graham (right) had six receptions for 93 yards for the Buckeyes last season. (Austin Hough / South Bend Tribune via Imagn Images)
9:51 a.m.: Dunham beats Black inside, about the only loss by Black in practice. Dunham had a step on Black before the snap, meaning the tackle didn’t just get beat heads-up; he got beat by a play call. On the other side of the line, Lambert and Absher look like they need work.
9:56 a.m.: James scores after a devastating jump cut near the goal line. Didn’t get a license plate of the linebacker who tackled air. Sneed and Flanagan continue to not enjoy each other’s company.
9:57 a.m.: Backup center Herron snaps the ball over Grubbs’ head while backed up at the goal line. Grubbs throws the fumble out of the end zone as Dunham is all over the quarterback. Notre Dame never seems to have a capable backup center during spring practice, although it’s got an excuse this year with starter Ashton Craig recovering from that ACL tear, forcing Otting into the lineup.
9:58 a.m.: Walton hits a 24-yard run up the middle. The Irish are short at running back during spring ball, but Walton is doing enough to make you forget that.
10:05 a.m.: Lambert gets beat inside by Traore to the point Carr should have been dead. Instead, he finds Williams for a short completion on third-and-8 from the 17-yard line. Maybe moving from guard to tackle isn’t as easy as Black is making it look on the other side.
10:07 a.m.: Porath hits from 44 yards to close the drive.
10:08 a.m.: Grubbs is under immediate pressure and floats a swing pass to Walton in the flat. Ewetade blows up the play, dropping Walton for a 6-yard loss, which looked even worse than the box score would suggest. Notre Dame has something special in Dunham and Ewetade. Not sure the defense will need either freshman end this season, but the replacements for Traore and Young are already on the roster.
10:09 a.m.: Grubbs throws late over the middle, and Talich picks it off for what could have been a pick six if not for Herron’s diving tackle. For all the hype around O’Brien, it’s the former walk-on from Wyoming who is Notre Dame’s third-best safety and one of the defense’s most versatile players. Later in practice, the defense comes up with a three-safety look, but puts Talich at the line of scrimmage, almost like an edge rusher. Talich is perpetually productive in all roles.
10:10 a.m.: Just like that, O’Brien makes a lovely stop at the line of scrimmage, filling the alley to drop Walton for a 2-yard gain. It’s all there for O’Brien — at least it will be down the road.
10:14 a.m.: Grubbs with his best throw of the day, fitting a touchdown pass between O’Brien and Ethan Long that’s caught by Fitzgerald (or maybe Logan Saldate?). Either way, it’s a money throw by a quarterback who’s looked better Saturday than Hebert has ever looked in a practice open to the media. Does Grubbs have enough to be the heir apparent to Carr a year from now? That’s way too early to tell, especially with Teddy Jarrard showing up this summer. But Grubbs has done enough to make himself a candidate.
10:16 a.m.: Francis Brewu whips Absher while Young is untouched by Lambert. Still, Carr finds Faison despite having negative time in the pocket to throw. Overall, the offensive lines had strong days on Saturday. And when they got beat, Carr is smart enough to bail them out with his quick release and quicker reads.
10:17 a.m.: Carr hits Faison for a 42-yard gain over Zackery, whose sin is being in the same secondary as Moore. Because Moore is basically cancelling half the field and leaving Zackery to deal with the rest.
10:21 a.m.: Another big run by Walton, this one for 37 yards. This feels like a thing. Freeman said the freshman has learned how to practice like a college running back during the past couple of weeks instead of trying to just fit in like a high school prospect. Saturday backs up the claim.
10:26 a.m.: Traore beats Lambert again. Again, Carr hits Faison to avoid the sack.
10: 27 a.m.: Mukam bull rushes Absher straight into the pocket. Carr lofts a pass to Graham for a 17-yard gain. It’s hard to remember a practice performance this good by a quarterback. Former offensive coordinator Tommy Rees used to say a quarterback has all the answers on his call sheet, but the hard part of playing the position is understanding what questions the defense is asking. Carr seems to know exactly what the defense is going to do before it does it. It’s like he got a copy of Ash’s call sheet before practice.
10:30 a.m.: Cooper Flanagan vs. Jaylen Sneed: Round 3.
10:31 a.m.: Porath hits from 40 yards. He hasn’t missed.
10:33 a.m.: Now a reminder that Grubbs is still a freshman when on fourth down he sidesteps the blitz of Ko’o Kia — Walton ably picked it up — and decides to throw the ball away? Again, Grubbs looks about as advanced as any mid-year enrollee at quarterback that Notre Dame has had outside of Carr. But he’s still just 3 1/2 months into his college career.
10:37 a.m.: On the next fourth-and-1, Grubbs doesn’t throw the ball away, instead going deep to Fitzgerald, who almost makes a circus catch 45 yards down the field. The over-the-shoulder throw leads Fitzgerald out of bounds. Is there a role for Fitzgerald this season in the rotation? Probably not. But he looks like a recruiting hit.
10:39 a.m.: Grubbs’ final throw is a sharp one, hitting Saldate for 12 yards. Saldate gets away from Pouncey to set up a scrimmage-ending field goal for Porath with the score tied 31-31.
10:42 a.m.: Porath lines up for the 40-yard field goal, but Freeman calls timeout to ice the kicker, who endured much worse at Purdue last season than a simple delay. The defense surrounds the kicking operation, with Sneed taunting Porath before the attempt. The kick is never in doubt, comfortably good. The offense mobs Porath as jersey scrimmage winners.
Maybe Porath will be called on to make a game-winning field goal this fall. Or maybe Carr prevents that scenario from unfolding entirely, at least based on his scrimmage performance.