| #24 Notre Dame Fighting Irish |
| Independent |
The good news is that Ian Book elected to return for his senior year. The third year starter jump started the Irish’s playoff run in 2018, as a sophomore. The bad news is that even with a loaded group of skill position players around him as a junior last year, Book regressed. More was put on his shoulders, attempting over 6.5 more passes per game in 2019 compared to 2018, which resulted in him surpassing the 3,000 yard passing mark, the first Notre Dame quarterback to do that since Everett Golson in 2014. However his completion percentage fell by 8%, and he lost 0.8 ypa. The even worse news is that with running back Tony Jones Jr. and tight end Cole Kmet turning pro early, Book loses his best running back, top two receivers, and starting tight end. The accuracy problems he had last year cannot return. As far as who fills those skill positions slots, it’s anybody’s guess. The leading returning rusher is Jahmir Smith with 187 yards, while Tommy Tremble and his 13 receptions for 158 yards leads all returning players in receptions. Notre Dame’s three highest rated recruits in their 2020 class, including their lone 5-star, tight end Michael Mayer, should be immediate factors. Receiver Jordan Johnson and all purpose back Chris Tyree are the other two. Then you have Northwestern transfer receiver Ben Skowronek, who had 90 receptions for 1,206 yards and 8 touchdowns between 2017 and 2018, and was on a similar pace last year before suffering a season ending injury in his third game. They also hope to get sophomore Kevin Austin Jr. back, after being suspended for the entire 2019 season. To his credit, he stuck with the program, and most Irish insiders say he might have been Notre Dame’s best receiver last year. He missed the end of 2018 as well though, so by the time the season starts it will have been 23 months since his last action. The should benefit from an experienced offensive line, which they have not had the previous two seasons, after seeing a pair of high NFL Draft picks depart. All five starters return, and a couple of the reserves have starting experience. All in all, there are a combined 114 starts among the offensive linemen, which is nearly two full years of starts per position. The line ranked #5 in line yards in 2017, but fell to #106 in 2018, and back up to just #62 last year. This unit has no excuse not to be top 20. He’s not even listed here, but if Notre Dame is going to surprise in 2020, their best defensive player has to be sophomore linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, who has easily the highest ceiling of anyone on the roster, certainly of the defense. He started to put it all together at the end of last year, and while the guys listed below had better years, that finish, extrapolated out, gives the Irish an All-American. His versatility is impressive. He can move inside and stop the run, or move out and either defend in coverage or rush the passer. Outside of linebacker and safety, the Notre Dame defense has plenty of questions. On the line, the starting group is serviceable, but depth is a major issue, particularly as much as Notre Dame rotates linemen; and there is a major question mark at cornerback. Neither Tariq Bracy or Shaun Crawford has instilled much confidence in their previous chances, and now it seems likely that is your starting duo. The Irish have been able to rely on a top 4 pass defense in each of the past two seasons, and it appears highly unlikely they’ll scratch that this year.
| KEY PLAYERS |
| QB | Ian Book, Senior |
| T | Liam Eichenberg, Senior |
| G | Aaron Banks, Junior |
| . |
| DT | Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa, Junior |
| LB | Drew White, Junior |
| S | Kyle Hamilton, Sophomore |
