Notre Dame Football Spring Game - Instant Takeaways (2024)

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The quarterbacks would obviously be the main attraction Saturday as projected season starter Riley Leonard was out as he recovers from ankle surgery.

Steve Angeli had flashes but missed multiple throws to open targets – both by being late on making them and by throwing behind receivers. It wasn’t a complicated defensive scheme he was playing against Saturday, but it isn’t absurd to suggest it could have been more talented than the depleted roster Angeli and Notre Dame took on in the Sun Bowl.

Kenny Minchey (above) put his athleticism on full display but showed his inexperience at times as well. This was especially evident when he was on the move to the right, twice throwing into tight coverage and getting picked off.

Freshman CJ Carr wowed the crowd as in a green jersey, he took snaps for both the blue and gold squads. The quick release that has been discussed with Carr was crystal clear in scrimmage action.

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Will Notre Dame look quite the same in terms of tight end use under new offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock? Denbrock has said he’ll play to the team’s strengths, noting that he won’t run as much 11-personnel (1 running back, 1 tight end) as he did last year at LSU.

It’s safe to assume that Notre Dame’s tight ends will remain important to the offense with that kind of statement. It’s also easy to assume as tight end Eli Raridon had quite the showing on Saturday, hauling in the game’s first score. Freshman Jack Larsen also had a strong showing at the position, both doing so with veteran Mitchell Evans still out as he recovers from a torn ACL last season

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Was it a good defensive line or is it concerning to see the offensive line struggle at times? It’s worth noting that Notre Dame is without their two-best offensive linemen from 2023 as Joe Alt and Blake Fisher are off to the NFL.

Transfer end RJ Oben had a strong showing, often matching up with possible starting left tackle Charles Jagusah. Oben won that battle on multiple occasions, teaching the youngster a thing or two by changing moves and taking advantage for a second sack to close the first half. Veteran Jason Onye consistently applied pressure as well.

Notre Dame linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa (27) at Notre Dame spring football practice Thursday, March 7, 2024, at the Irish Athletics Center in South Bend.

They might not be stars in 2024 but they are rising stars in eyes of Notre Dame’s linebacking corps. Freshman Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa (KVA) displayed incredible athleticism both in tracking down running backs but especially in showing off his coverage skills. KVA also had a nose for the football as he was around the action more often than not, regardless of where the ball went. It wasn’t perfect, nothing was, but it was a very strong showing as the public got their first look at the five-star linebacker.

Sophom*ore Drayk Bowen made a great play to blow up a swing pass that looked like it was headed for a decent gain. Instead, Bowen showed why so many were so high on him coming out of high school as he used both his speed and athleticism to make the stop.

Kahanu Kia also had a strong showing, recording double-digit tackles on the afternoon, multiple which were delivered with quite the pop.

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A couple of seasons ago we asked how you replace a guy like Kyren Williams in the backfield. That 2022 season saw several young backs step up to replace the then-Notre Dame bell-cow and now the same will be asked in how the Irish replace Audric Estime.

The answer was on display on Saturday and appears to be much like 2022’s answer was.

With a stable of backs.

Gi’Bran Payne looks more explosive getting the ball. Although he isn’t Estime at this point (very few are) his game most closely matches his.

Aneyas Williams displayed speed early on in finding the end zone while having some highlight runs as well.

What is obvious is that this team has significant depth and will count on that in replacing Estime.

Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

Perhaps the best news of the day was that Notre Dame got out of the scrimmage without suffering any significant injuries. Two years ago it was incoming freshman JD Price who suffered an Achilles injury that sidelined him for a full year.

Coaches make these spring games move by quicker (hence the second half running clock) in order to limit playcounts and prevent as best as possible against such thing from happening and at game’s end it seems Notre Dame was able to do exactly that Saturday.