Assessing the ceiling of Notre Dame's offense under new coordinator Mike Denbrock
Notre Dame‘s defense returns nine starters from last season and is expected to be one of the top units in the country for 2024. But their offense will be a revamped group led by new offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock.
Denbrock returns to the Fighting Irish after previously spending 10 seasons in South Bend. Fresh off of leading the nation’s top offense last season at LSU with hopes of doing the same with the Fighting Irish in 2024. As the Blue and Gold‘s Tyler Horka recently discussed what Notre Dame’s offense can look like in year one under Denbrock at the On3 Roundtable.
“You gotta remember that Notre Dame has one of the best tight ends in the country in Mitchell Evans,” Horka said. “That’s another guy that’s obviously coming back from injury though as well, he tore his ACL in late October, I believe it was, last year. He should be ready for the season opener and then every other game in the season.”
“So Notre Dame is awesome at the tight end position, and that is exactly what Mike Denbrock loves because he loves to utilize those tight ends. You’re going to see a bunch of different pass catchers in a bunch of different situations.”
According to Horka, Notre Dame’s top running back Jeremiyah Love has been taking snaps at slot receiver and wideout Jordan Faison, who blossomed late last season, has been moved out wide versus his previous spot in the slot. Tinkering with the Fighting Irish offense during fall camp as Denbrock attempts to get the most out of his weapons.
“So you’ve just got so many moving parts, and I think that’s the best way to describe it. So many different guys that can beat you,” Horka explained. “Obviously Denbrock, when he has talent like that and guys that he can kind of utilize and put in different positions, you just saw it at LSU last year. LSU recruits skill players as well as anyone in the country and when Denbrock has that at his disposal, I think you’re talking about one of the best offenses in the country.”
Outside of leading the nation in total yards and points per game, LSU’s quarterback Jayden Daniels also took home the Heisman Trophy and was selected in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft along with his two top receivers Malike Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr. following two years with Denbrock. And given current offensive talent of Notre Dame, the Fighting Irish reaching new heights offensively seems more than likely this season.
“I don’t know if Notre Dame is going to finish number one in total yards like LSU did last year, but I believe Notre Dame was somewhere around 30th last year. And you’re probably looking at an offense with top 15 potential, I think a lot of people would be satisfied with top 20 knowing what Notre Dame has defensively backing this offense up.”
“So it’s really exciting knowing that Notre Dame can be maybe as explosive as the Irish have been maybe even the entire Brian Kelly era. I know that he played for a national title in 2012, went to a couple College Football Playoffs. But you might be talking about an offense, if the offensive line holds up, that has potential to be as good as it’s been in South Bend in a really long time,” Horka concluded.