It has been a turbulent month for Notre Dame football. First, they fired wide receiver coach Chansi Stuckey, which caused a massive exodus of receivers. Four Notre Dame wide receivers ended up in the transfer portal and will be playing somewhere else next season. On top of this, Sam Hartman, Audric Estime, Joe Alt, Blake Fisher, and Cam Hart announced they’d enter the NFL draft, and opted out of playing in the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl.
However, it wasn’t all bad for the Irish. They were able to get Mike Denbrock to leave LSU, and become the new offensive coordinator for Notre Dame. They were also able to get several highly touted transfers including Riley Leonard, Kris Mitchell, and Beaux Collins. However, those changes will affect Notre Dame next season. They still have one more game this season, Friday against Oregon State. With all the transfers and opts out it’s a great time to see all the young players on the roster. Here’s who to watch during the Tony the Tigers Sun Bowl.
Players to Watch on Offense
Embed from Getty ImagesQB: Steve Angeli
Even though the quarterback position is practically decided for next season, with Leonard transferring, he’s only a short-term solution. Leonard only has one year of eligibility left, and Notre Dame can’t keep going to the transfer portal to find their quarterbacks. At some point, a player Notre Dame recruited is going to have to be taking snaps under center.
This brings us to the Sophomore quarterback Steve Angeli, who was recruited by Notre Dame last season, out of Oradell New Jersey. The three-star recruit has seen some action this season appearing in seven games, completing 19/25 passes for 272 yards, four touchdowns to one interception. Solid numbers for some only getting spot starts. Now what Angeli can do is when the support of the coaching staff and fanbase in this game. All the talk right now is centered around incoming freshman CJ Carr. He’s essentially been dubbed the future starter. However, if Angeli plays well enough, it could open a discussion.
RB: Jeremiyah Love
With Estime going to the NFL draft, Notre Dame needs a new running back. Especially considering the Irish offense relies heavily on the running attack. Having someone who can take over the game with his ability to run the ball. Jeremiyah Love is the logical successor. The freshman back ran for 356 yards on 52 carries and one touchdown, he also had seven receptions for 67 yards. This Bowl game will be our first look at what Love can do when he’s given the touches of a running back one. It’s essentially his audition to become the featured back.
WR: Jaden Greathouse
With the amount of receivers that left Notre Dame over the past month, the wide receivers room barren. Fans and experts have been asking who is even going to be left for the Irish to pass to. That’s where Jaden Greathouse comes in. He had 15 catches this year for 252 yards and five touchdowns. A pretty decent considering it was his first season in South Bend. Now Greathouse wouldn’t be auditioning for a wide receiver one position. That’s been covered by Notre Dame bringing in Mitchell and Collins, but he could find himself in a wide receiver three roll, until Mitchell and Collins graduate.
Players to Watch on Defense
Embed from Getty ImagesDE: Jordan Botelho
Thanks to the global pandemic, Jordan Botelho has another year of eligibility left. Now the hope for Botelho is that he would be able to develop into the pass rusher this Notre Dame defense has been missing. Someone who can be a complete game wrecker and can be someone offense has to game plan for. He had a bit of a lackluster season, only getting 27 tackles for three sacks. However, this bowl game is a chance to give the coaching staff hope that he can still develop. A big game for him can build promise for next season, and show people he still can be a game-wrecker.
CB: Benjamin Morrison
With Hart off to the NFL, there is a major hole at cornerback that has to be filled. The most likely person to fill this role is Benjamin Morrison. As a starting cornerback this season he had 29 tackles, three of them being for loss, as well as two interceptions. Pretty decent number as a secondary cornerback. But the Sun Bowl will be the first time without Hart. We’re going to see what he’s able to do when he lines up against a team wide receiver one. We’re going to see if he can be the guy that can lead a secondary, or is he a solid piece, but not a building block.
Thanks for reading! Credit to my featured image goes to Brandon Sloter. You can find more college football content at Belly Up Sports and follow me on Twitter/X.
