Which non-QB is the most important Notre Dame football player in the Gator Bowl?

Notre Dame’s most pressing Gator Bowl storyline is the quarterback situation. That’s not debatable.

Junior quarterback Drew Pyne entered the transfer portal last week. Notre Dame will have someone new starting at QB for the first time since Sept. 10, when sophomore Tyler Buchner injured his non-throwing shoulder. It could be Buchner who gets his third start of the season, ot it could be freshman Steve Angeli‘s first start of his career.

There are 21 other players on offense and defense to worry about, though, and that’s what we’ll do here. This is a debate between two BlueandGold.com writers for who owns the title of most important non-QB on the Notre Dame roster going into the Gator Bowl.

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Tyler Horka: Jaden Mickey has to step up

Notre Dame has not had to experience what a world without Cam Hart is like much in the last two seasons. The rising fifth-year graduate student has started 20 games for the Irish since becoming a go-to cornerback at the beginning of 2021.

A taste of what life is like without Hart came against Southern Cal in the regular season finale, though, and it was as bitter as the purple cough syrup your mother used to spoon-feed you before bedtime.

Notre Dame started two freshman corners against the Trojans and their Heisman Trophy front-running quarterback, Caleb Williams. With an array of talented receivers to pinpoint, Williams often went at the one lined up across from Jaden Mickey, the less pronounced of those Irish freshmen cornerbacks.

Mickey was the most targeted Notre Dame defensive player vs. USC. Williams threw his way 4 times and completed all of those attempts for 71 yards. Mickey’s coverage grade of 40.3 per Pro Football Focus was the second-worst of any Irish player, only ahead of linebacker JD Bertrand’s score of 36.2.

South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler is not Williams. And he does not have quite the arsenal of weapons at his disposal. But he has thrown for 8 touchdowns in his last two starts, both of which were against top-10 opponents.

Rattler is going to come out slinging the ball in the Gator Bowl, and with Hart sidelined because of a shoulder injury that requires surgery, Mickey is going to have to be much better than he was in Los Angeles if the Irish are going to keep a hot Gamecocks offense at bay.

Todd D. Burlage: With Michael Mayer gone, Mitchell Evans is the man

The logical and expected decision made Wednesday by Notre Dame junior tight end Michael Mayer to ditch the Gator Bowl and start prepping for his NFL career provides a perfect dress rehearsal and a future forecast for one Irish player more than any other.

With Mayer out the door — exiting a position group already thinned by season-ending injuries to junior Kevin Bauman and freshman Eli Raridon — sophomore tight end Mitchell Evans has a postseason audition to replace Mayer next season. And expect Evans to handle it well.

Evans missed the first five games this season with a foot injury. And, while Evans never caught a pass or was even targeted in the seven games upon his return, the versatile 6-5, 255-pound player still earned cult status during the regular season with his work as a bulldozing quarterback in the “Mitch-A-Palooza” short-yardage package that netted him 7 attempts, 11 yards and a 1-yard touchdown plunge against UNLV.

And if Tommy Rees has enough faith to let Evans take snaps under center, the Irish offensive coordinator will trust his emerging tight end to fill Mayer’s void, and Evans will get his shot in the bowl game.

Expect some tight end combination of sophomores Cane Berrong and Davis Sherwood, along with freshman Holden Staes, to get plenty of reps against South Carolina. And that’s good news for these talented young players.

But when it comes to audition opportunity without Mayer, Evans — who recorded 2 catches for 21 yards as a freshman backup last season — is the man who more than any Irish player on the roster needs to slay this TaxSlayer Gator Bowl.