Why Notre Dame's offense will look 'very different' under Mike Denbrock

For the third time in three seasons, Notre Dame has had a change at offensive coordinator. This time, head coach Marcus Freeman was able to bring Mike Denbrock to South Bend coming off a phenomenal offensive season that he led at LSU.

As Tyler Horka of BlueandGold.com explained during an appearance on the Andy Staples Show, it’s going to be a very different-looking offense for the Irish in 2024 under Denbrock.

“It’s gonna look very different,” Tyler Horka said. “I liken it to a quote that Notre Dame’s defensive coordinator Al Golden actually gave us this weekend on Saturday, and he mentioned Mitchell Evans the number one tight end for Notre Dame, one of the best tight ends in the country, and then he said, ‘And the other two tight ends too.'”

Essentially, the quote is a signal that the offense will look notably different. In particular, it’s going to be a different approach to the personnel on the field, adding more outside threats at any given time.

“Well, Notre Dame has six scholarship tight ends and we’ve been used to seeing sometimes three or four of them on the field at the same time. I mean, you’re going all the way down to Davis Sherwood playing the H-back role with two other tight ends on the field,” Horka said. “Now, I think you’re gonna see Mitchell Evans out there by himself. You might see Cooper Flanagan, Eli Raridon, out there by themselves. Two tight ends maybe. But, Andy, this is kind of the difference in the Mike Denbrock offense compared to what we saw with Tommy Rees and Gerad Parker.”

Last season, Denbrock led LSU to 45.5 points per game. That was the best in the country in scoring offense. Along the way, quarterback Jayden Daniels won the Heisman Trophy.

“You’re gonna see some wide splits. You’re gonna see pass catchers all over the field. You’re gonna see running backs lined up as pass catchers,” Horka said. “Tight ends, obviously you’re gonna have to put your hand in the dirt sometimes but I think they want these guys to catch passes from Riley Leonard and be a part of the offense that moves the ball down the field, not just blocking guys down the field. So, it’s different and I think that quote kind of stuck out to me.”

One challenge that could come with this is that pass catchers, particularly along the outside, has been a weakness for Notre Dame in recent years. It was a strength at LSU. Now, Denbrock will need to find a way to get those weapons.

“I’ve been asking Mike Denbrock this question… he didn’t know if Notre Dame had a dude, a guy, a number one wide receiver, and I asked him this past weekend as well. Does Notre Dame have a guy? And he said, ‘I don’t know if we have a guy, but we have a collection of guys that can do what we want to make this offense go and make this offense hum.'”

Ultimately, Tyler Horka thinks there are options for the Irish. In particular, several younger players and guys who have recently transferred into the program.

“So, who are those guys? I think you’re looking at Kris Mitchell, the Florida International transfer who caught 64 passes for over 1,100 yards last year. You’re looking at Jaden Greathouse, if he’s healthy. Had two touchdowns in his very first college game. Then you didn’t hear a lot from him after that but that’s because he was dealing with the hamstring. Those two guys. Jordan Faison, the lacrosse player that everyone knows…I think those are probably some key guys,” Horka said.

“Then you’ve got Beaux Collins, the Clemson transfer as well. If you’re trying to look for some things on the outside, you’re looking at Beaux Collins, probably Jayden Thomas. The guy that comes back for Notre Dame that has the most experience in a Notre Dame uniform, but I think you are looking at these transfers as guys that can do a little damage as well.”

Mike Denbrock has experience working both with Marcus Freeman and at Notre Dame. This will be his third stint with the Irish under a third different head coach. He also was the offensive coordinator opposite Freeman while the two were at Cincinnati.