Detailing changes Mike Denbrock brings to Notre Dame's offense from Gerad Parker

Notre Dame fans were given their first chance to see the Fighting Irish’s offense under new head coach Mike Denbrock during their annual spring game.

In front of 37,000+ fans inside Notre Dame Stadium to watch the Blue team defeat the Gold team 28-21 in what turned out to be a fun game down the stretch. Joining On3’s Andy Staples on Tuesday, Blue and Gold’s Tyler Horka explained what stood out to him the most after watching the Irish take the field over the weekend.

“I think Gerad Parker was still so new to all of this that he just didn’t really have. You didn’t really know what a Gerad Parker offense was,” Horka told Staples. “He took so many elements from Tommy Reese, and really so many elements from what Notre Dame has been doing for decades. It was very much ground and pound. And you saw Audric Estime, who just got drafted this past weekend, run the ball 210 times and he didn’t even play in the bowl game. He was getting quite a few carries out there, and Notre Dame had a lot of other running backs. … And that’s what it’s been for a long time.”

That has immediately shifted to more 11 personnel installment and playing a more modern style of football under Denbrock.

Horka also pointed out the fact that multiple tight ends were being utilized in unique yet consistent roles in Denbrock’s offense. He explained why fans should rest assured that the Irish’s new-look offense will be just fine doing this.

“That’s what stood out to me in the Blue and Gold [spring] game as you hear [Notre Dame] is going to 11 personnel,” he continued. “That may be for some Notre Dame fans, they get in their head. ‘Oh man, that means the tight end is less important and we’re going to see less of them.’ Every time I saw a tight end on the field in 11, he was split out wide like a wide receiver.

“I believe Eli Raridon and Cooper Flanagan and Jack Larson, the three healthy scholarship tight ends that Notre Dame had in that game, all had at least five targets in that game, and all had at least three catches I believe, with Raridon and Flanagan both having five maybe somewhere around there. They were being used as pass catchers being used as weapons and that’s nothing new at Notre Dame because you’ve seen Michael Mayer go off.”

Notre Dame has the rest of the summer to tweak and master the offense in Denbrock’s vision. The next time the Fighting Irish take the field will be on Aug. 31 when they travel to College Station to take on Texas A&M to kick off the 2024 season.