Spoiler SOUTH BEND, Ind. — It’s an uncomfortable conversation, because pushing the 85-man scholarship limit means real-life consequences for the players who sit on the wrong side of the line. And yet, as Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly has evolved as a recruiter, he’s also adapted his roster management, trading an awkward reality at the start of training camp for an awkward question around National Signing Day. Before, Notre Dame took a conservative stance with the 85-man limit by pulling up short in recruiting to ensure the Irish wouldn’t run into a messy situation the next season. It turns out Notre Dame ran into one anyway, it was just a different isssue. The cautious approach of recruiting turned into a roster that never would hit 85 scholarship players at the start of camp, sometimes missing by at least five players. Now, Notre Dame does a better job with advance scouting of itself, picking out potential medical retirements, graduate transfers, NFL jumps and standard departures early. That foresight let Notre Dame address those roster deletions in advance during the current cycle instead of unintentionally carrying a roster of 80 scholarship players next fall, which could amount to unintentional probation. “Well, it is a reality,” Kelly said last December as Notre Dame began to sign what grew into a 27-man class. “You know, our situation here at Notre Dame is we have not been at that 85. So we’ve been more aggressive this year with that. I never feel really comfortable with it, to be quite honest with you, but I’ve had to get over that. “We’ve consciously been more aggressive in that fashion.” The Irish expect to sign at least 20 prospects this month and could add another during the late signing period in February if four-star defensive end Isaiah Foskey breaks for Notre Dame. The Irish coaching staff visited Foskey, a product of De La Salle High School in Concord, Calif., this week. The 247Sports Crystal Ball has Notre Dame as the overwhelming favorite. It all amounts to an offseason roster that will appear over the 85-man limit during spring practice and maybe summer workouts before it resolves itself before next season. There will be draft departures, surprise transfers, medical retirements and dismissals in some combination. There always are. Notre Dame will sort them out later. For now, the Irish want to focus more on adding maximum talent before the early signing period opens on Dec. 19. Below, The Athletic goes position by position through the Irish roster as it’s projected today. Right now, it appears Notre Dame will have 90 players set for scholarships. It won’t shake out that way by next September. But at a minimum, these numbers offer a rough look at where the scholarships are going within the roster. Quarterback: 3 Ian Book – Senior Phil Jurkovec – Sophomore Brendon Clark – Freshman The rundown: Brandon Wimbush is already on record that he needs to be a little selfish about his next football step, and if that means playing quarterback, it wouldn’t make sense for him to take his fifth year in South Bend. If Wimbush wants a shot as a slash player similar to Jafar Armstrong, maybe there’s a role here. But for now, assume that Wimbush takes his experience and diploma elsewhere for a shot to play quarterback, even if that’s not a sure thing. A three-man depth chart of Book, Jurkovec and Clark works as long as everybody stays healthy, but name a College Football Playoff contender where “starting quarterback doesn’t get hurt” isn’t a key to the season. With the offensive firepower returning on the edges of Notre Dame’s offense, Book should throw Miles Boykin and Chase Claypool up draft boards a year from now. Jurkovec will need some live action as a sophomore, while Clark has some Book qualities about him coming out of Virginia. With Drew Pyne committed in the 2020 class, Notre Dame is as stable as can be at quarterback. Running back: 6 Tony Jones Jr. – Senior Jafar Armstrong – Junior Avery Davis – Junior C’Bo Flemister – Sophomore Jahmir Smith – Sophomore Kyren Williams – Freshman The rundown: Losing Dexter Williams will be a massive blow as the Irish won’t have a ready-made game-breaker to replace him. Jones is a workhorse but not a burner. Armstrong is a burner but not a workhorse. Davis, Flemister and Smith combined for 12 offensive snaps in the season’s final seven games. What the Irish have in that group remains unclear. Kyren Williams plans to enroll early and should push those three for the No. 3 running back job if he can pick up the offense. The St. Louis product jumped to a four-star prospect on 247Sports and Rivals during the season. Williams earned it, too, accounting for 2,760 total yards and scoring 254 points this season while winning a state championship. Jones and Williams are the only four-star running backs on the roster, according to the 247Sports Composite. There’s quantity here. It’s the quality that has to get sorted out. Receiver: 13 Miles Boykin – 5th Chris Finke – 5th Chase Claypool – Senior Javon McKinley – Senior Isaiah Robertson – Junior Michael Young – Junior Kevin Austin – Sophomore Micah Jones – Sophomore Lawrence Keys – Sophomore Braden Lenzy – Sophomore Joe Wilkins – Sophomore Kendal Abdul Rahman – Freshman Cam Hart – Freshman The rundown: It’s hard to imagine Notre Dame starting next season with all 13 of these receivers on the depth chart, which amounts to more than a four-deep at a position where the Irish barely played four guys all season. Michael Young and Kevin Austin averaged eight snaps per game as the No. 4 and No. 5 options. That’s not a lot. As long as Boykin, Claypool and Finke return — Finke said he’ll be back, Claypool likely will be and it’s less clear with Boykin — it’s hard to see how the younger talent gets on the field at all. If you’re an upperclassman like McKinley or Robertson, does it make sense to stick around with intentions to do a graduate transfer? Beyond Austin, all four of Notre Dame’s freshman wideouts took redshirts this season, although Wilkins got some end-of-game work in a few games while saving a year. Assuming the Irish get their top three receivers back, it’s difficult to figure out how last year’s class and this year’s two-man group slot into the mix, at least at receiver in the immediate term. Tight end: 4 Cole Kmet – Junior Brock Wright – Junior George Takacs – Sophomore Tommy Tremble – Sophomore The rundown: Ask around about Notre Dame’s tight end situation, and you’ll hear about the “Cole Kmet Show” coming next fall. Alizé Mack and Nic Weishar combined to log 799 offensive snaps this season, all of which need to be replaced. Though Kmet’s workload will double (he played just 318 snaps this season), Wright can make a huge move going into his junior year and now a full year removed from shoulder surgery. Notre Dame’s staff is quietly optimistic about Takacs and Tremble, but neither saw the field this season while taking a traditional redshirt. Offensive coordinator Chip Long is also tight ends coach, meaning this position will get extended work. Offensive tackle: 6 Liam Eichenberg – Senior Robert Hainsey – Junior Cole Mabry – Sophomore Jarrett Patterson – Sophomore Quinn Carroll – Freshman Andrew Kristofic – Freshman Offensive guard: 7 Tommy Kraemer – Senior Aaron Banks – Junior Darnell Ewell – Junior Dillan Gibbons – Junior Josh Lugg – Junior John Dirksen – Sophomore John Olmstead – Freshman Center: 3 Trevor Ruhland – 5th Luke Jones – Sophomore Zeke Correll – Freshman The rundown: Notre Dame’s offensive line recruiting took a step back in the past couple classes in terms of star power as the Irish haven’t landed the Quenton Nelson, Mike McGlinchey or Ronnie Stanley types that they did earlier in Brian Kelly’s tenure. Yet the incoming freshman class could get the Irish back on track in that regard, particularly Zeke Correll and Quinn Carroll. Of course, both likely will redshirt, as is custom at the position. Overall, this is a talented group but lacks an All-America pick. That’s perfectly normal at most places but a testament to how good the Irish offensive line talent has been for most of Kelly’s tenure. It’s hard to keep pumping out Nelson, McGlinchey, Stanley, Nick Martin, Zack Martin and Chris Watt every year. Like this season, it won’t be a surprise if Notre Dame experiments with its next line next fall. Center Sam Mustipher and guard Alex Bars are major losses, akin to losing Te’von Coney and Drue Tranquill at linebacker. Defensive end: 9 Daelin Hayes – Senior Jamir Jones – Senior Khalid Kareem – Senior Ade Ogundeji – Senior Julian Okwara – Senior Kofi Wardlow – Junior Justin Ademilola – Sophomore Howard Cross – Freshman NaNa Osafo-Mensah – Freshman Defensive tackle: 6 Kurt Hinish – Junior Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa – Junior Jayson Ademilola – Sophomore Ja’Mion Franklin – Sophomore Jacob Lacey – Freshman Hunter Spears – Freshman The rundown: Much depends on the NFL Draft decisions of Khalid Kareem and Julian Okwara, with both decent bets to return after breakout junior seasons. Notre Dame needs them back, too, all 21.5 tackles for loss and 11.5 sacks combined. Losing All-America defensive tackle Jerry Tillery will be a massive blow after he led the position in snaps played each of the past two seasons, and while the Irish don’t have a like-for-like replacement for Tillery, returning the team’s entire roster of talented defensive ends would be a huge boost. The interior, which also loses nose guard Jonathan Bonner, will need to be rebuilt on the backs of Hinish, Tagovailoa-Amosa and Ademilola and perhaps the freshman class. Lacey and Spears plan to enroll early, as does Osafo-Mensah. All will get a chance to push for playing time as a position open to playing freshmen if they’re good enough. There’s a need at defensive tackle for that, especially with Franklin recovering from a season-ending leg injury. Linebacker: 14 Asmar Bilal – 5th Jonathan Jones – Senior D.J. Morgan – Senior Drew White – Junior Jordan Genmark Heath – Junior Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah – Junior Jack Lamb – Sophomore Ovie Oghoufo – Sophomore Bo Bauer – Sophomore Shayne Simon – Sophomore Osita Ekwonu – Freshman Jack Kiser – Freshman JD Bertrand – Freshman Marist Liufau – Freshman The rundown: No position is more open than linebacker, which will lose Drue Tranquill and Te’von Coney and their 579 career tackles. Like receiver, there probably are some upperclassmen who have fallen behind younger talent, which could prompt departures before next season or future graduate transfers. Bilal could bump back inside from Rover to Buck next season to replace Tranquill, with Simon taking over at Rover. The middle position has no clear-cut replacement for Coney, with Jones and Bauer first in line for auditions next spring. Among the incoming freshmen, only Kiser will enroll early, although he projects himself as a five-year player after making the step up from small school football in Indiana. Notre Dame has numbers to throw at its linebacker situation minus Tranquill and Coney. As for solutions, this will be a critical offseason for Clark Lea in terms of player development. Look for some wiggle room to be created here in terms of counting against the 85-man limit. The Irish won’t have 14 scholarship linebackers on the roster next fall. Cornerback: 9 Shaun Crawford – 5th Julian Love – Senior Troy Pride Jr. – Senior Donte Vaughn – Senior TaRiq Bracy – Sophomore DJ Brown – Sophomore Noah Boykin – Sophomore Isaiah Rutherford – Freshman KJ Wallace – Freshman The rundown: Love could easily declare for the NFL Draft, a blow to what could be Notre Dame’s strongest position next season. And yet, even if the All-American does depart a season early, the Irish appear positioned to absorb that setback if Crawford can stay healthy for a full season. Unfortunately, he’s missed three of the last four years with season-ending injuries, including two ACL tears. To sign five cornerbacks in a two-year cycle should stabilize this position for the next four to five years, with Rutherford and Wallace both four-star prospects. Considering the Irish whiffed at cornerback completely two cycles ago, the recruiting bounce-back at this position has been critical and impressive. If Love returns, Notre Dame might have the best cornerback depth chart in the country next fall. Without him, it’s still really good. Safety: 7 Jalen Elliott – Senior Alohi Gilman – Senior Derrik Allen – Sophomore Houston Griffith – Sophomore Paul Moala – Sophomore Litchfield Ajavon – Freshman Kyle Hamilton – Freshman The rundown: Safety enters the offseason on a high as Notre Dame’s most improved position, not just on the defense but on the team. Elliott will be done after next season and Gilman could be, opening the door for this year’s freshman class and next year’s two-man group of Kyle Hamilton and Litchfield Ajavon. Overall, the Irish have recruited themselves into a healthy spot here after some lean years. Like at cornerback, Notre Dame doesn’t need to overload moving forward. It’s easy to imagine Hamilton and Ajavon making some kind of impact next season, at least on special teams. Even if starting jobs aren’t on the line, the competition among Allen, Griffith, Hamilton and Ajavon with the reserves will be critical. Specialists: 3 John Shannon – Junior Jonathan Doerer – Junior Jay Bramblett – Freshman The rundown: The departures of kicker Justin Yoon and punter Tyler Newsome will be massive. The former is Notre Dame’s all-time leading scorer. The latter was a captain. On top of that, what the Irish actually have in Doerer is unclear after he was benched from kickoff duties in-season. If a kicker can’t handle kicking off, how would a game-winning field-goal attempt work, exactly? The Irish picked up Bramblett this cycle as a scholarship punter and grabbed kicker Harrison Leonard as a preferred walk-on. Kicker and punter are both up for grabs. (Photo by Chris Williams / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Unfortunately I was kidding. I'd have no problem but my dad won't even ride in a car with his best friend for more than 2 hours. The only person on earth he can do it with is me.
ND basketball is as bad as I've ever seen it - and I was in school for the last season of John Macleod.
Thought Gibbs would be All-ACC this year, man he has regressed. Decision making is at an all-time low for a Brey PG
Was listening to the game on my way home from Chicago. Listened for 6 minutes of game action, ucla outscored us 6-0 and was 1 of 9 from the field. Looks like we've turned it around in the second half.
ND can't get out of its own way. Horrible last minute of shots and then gutted with a 3 pointer with 0.01 seconds left? Sounds about right for this team.
It doesn’t matter but am I wrong in the idea that the last block was goaltending? Ball looked like it was on its way down.
It was a fun game to be at. Pauley was rocking at the end. Exciting ending. Lots of bad basketball though. I can’t remember a Brey team ever taking so many bad shots.
The second half was fine. The first half was unwatchable. I agree, the offense is really baffling to watch.
The best friend was here last week so no sexy time but this week, it shall be so. Did the cheesy robot show 2 nights ago and it had one of the most attractive women I've ever seen in person dancing in it, Asian or not.
ND apparently submitted 5 underclassmen names for evaluation by the NFL. Sounds like the list includes: Julian Love Khalid Kareem Julian Okwara Chase Claypool Miles Boykin or Alohi Gilman or Troy Pride My guess the fifth name is Miles Boykin.
BK has been pretty supportive of players "getting their grade" so they can make an informed decision. Also the feedback is usually worse than most people expect. Really feel that Love, the 2 wideouts and Gilman are the ones to worry about. Keep in mind that Gilman transfered to ND to have the option to go pro. Love is the one who should most consider it although I guess Boykin cant expect his stock to improve all that much given his lack of top end speed
you know what really sucks your not in a conference yet you get to play . I looked at the title at espn know what the damn thing says ? it don,t say power 5 it says exactly this . FBS ( 1-A ).not power 5 . the mack attack is gonna destroy lsu then in 2019 we play Stanford ect,ect , ect so ? get ready enjoy like while you can .