Newsstand: ESPN reveals Notre Dame football’s biggest weakness entering the fall
Just 40 days remain until the Notre Dame football program kicks off the 2024 season at Texas A&M on Aug. 31. On Friday, ESPN college football reporter David Hale revealed the Fighting Irish’s biggest question mark heading into the fall. He went with wide receiver.
“There’s room for optimism with this receivers corps, which includes the addition of transfers Beaux Collins (Clemson) and Kris Mitchell (FIU), along with holdovers Jordan Faison, Jaden Greathouse and Jayden Thomas,” Hale said. “But last year’s leading wideouts, Chris Tyree and Rico Flores Jr., both transferred, and it was a unit that struggled often even with them. No wide receiver caught more than 27 passes in 2022 or 2023. Notre Dame hasn’t had a 1,000-yard receiver since Chase Claypool in 2019.
“With Riley Leonard’s legs, a big O-line and a talented backfield (not to mention a burgeoning star in tight end Mitchell Evans), there’s not a ton of pressure on the receivers to put up earth-shattering numbers, but genuine progress will be critical to an Irish offense that lost three games last season — all scoring 23 points or less. In those three games, the wide receivers combined for just two touchdown grabs and none had more than four catches in any one game.”
Last season, Notre Dame’s pass offense averaged 246.5 yards per game — good for 48th in the nation. The Irish hope to reinvigorate the air game under first-year offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock, who returned to South Bend in the winter for his third tour as an assistant at Notre Dame.
Notre Dame Posts of the Weekend
The Irish are releasing a video feature recounting last year’s game against Navy at 6 p.m. on Monday on their athletics channel.
Irish quarterback Riley Leonard and cornerback Benjamin Morrison reenacted a scene from the musical Hamilton while in New York last week.
Top 10
- 1Breaking
Michigan loses QB
Carter Smith decommits from Wolverines
- 2
Hunter Heisman
Colorado star becomes betting favorite
- 3Hot
Terrible calls
10 worst CFB ref blunders
- 4
Nightmare scenario
ACC tiebreak chaos
- 5
Donald Trump
Former President nixes PSU vs. Ohio State
The Irish faced Temple in primetime on Oct. 15, 2015. The No. 9 Irish escaped Philadelphia with a 24-20 victory over the No. 21 Owls.
Notre Dame Quote of the Weekend
“Notre Dame has strong academics, great football traditions, and world-class coaches. They have developed many players at the safety position. Coach (Marty) Biagi and (Marcus) Freeman have done a tremendous job in the recruitment process thus far.”
— Stacy Bradford, the father of Baton Rouge (La.) Catholic junior Blaine Bradford, to On3 vice president of recruiting and transfer portal Steve Wiltfong ahead of the coveted recruit’s Notre Dame return visit on Thursday. The 6-foot-1, 195-pound Bradford is the No. 15 overall player and No. 1 safety in the 2026 class.
Notre Dame Headlines of the Weekend
- 41 days until ND football: How the Irish ranked seventh nationally in 2023
- The five best wins for players from the ND recruiting class of 2019
- Why Bergen Catholic four-star CB target Jordan Thomas remains invested in ND football
- The five best performances from the ND recruiting class of 2019
- No. 1 ranked safety Blaine Bradford set for multi-day visit to ND
- Four-star WR Derek Meadows picks LSU over ND
- 42 days until ND football: Can Navy keep it closer with the Irish?
- The five best players from the ND recruiting class of 2019
- Why four-star DL target Jermaine Kinsler chose to play as ND in EA Sports College Football
- Those who stayed starred: Recapping the ND recruiting class of 2019
