Game balls: Who stood out in the Notre Dame Blue-Gold Game?
Here are some of the players who stood out Saturday during the Blue-Gold Game in a 24-0 win for the Gold Team over the Blue Team.
Quarterback Sam Hartman
Hartman completed his first five passes of the game for the Gold Team, nine of his first 10 throws, and led touchdown drives on three of his four possessions in the first half before sitting out the second half.
Hartman finished the game 13-of-16 passing for 189 yards with 2 passing touchdowns, and he also added a rushing touchdown in the first quarter.
Wide receiver Jaden Greathouse
The freshman wideout led all Irish pass catchers with 11 receptions, 118 yards yards and 13 targets, including a nifty 21-yard catch.
Greathouse did most of his good work in the first half while his Gold Team built a 21-0 halftime lead.
The early enrollee enjoyed a solid spring season and looked especially dangerous and smooth on Saturday running middle slant patterns.
Don’t rule out Greathouse playing his way into a rotational role this fall.
Wide receiver Jayden Thomas
The Irish junior helped stake the Gold Team to an early lead. Thomas scored the first touchdown of the game on a 9-yard touchdown reception from Hartman on the gold’s first possession. One possession later, Thomas hauled in a 46-yard reception from Hartman that helped set up a 1-yard touchdown for the Gold Team and a 14-0 first-quarter lead.
Thomas finished with 4 catches for 71 yards with the one touchdown.
Running back Gi’Bran Payne
With the Irish running backs roster thinned out by injuries before the game, the Notre Dame sophomore got most of the carries and reps in the first half for the Gold Team. And he responded.
Payne finished the game with 11 carries for 51 yards. He also added a 30-yard rush in the first quarter and finished with 2 catches for 14 yards.
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Linebacker Nolan Ziegler
The Irish sophomore was all over the field Saturday for the Blue Team and finished with a game-high 10 tackles (9 solo) with 1 sack and a tackle for loss.
With much of the crew of experienced and projected starting linebackers held out of this game, Ziegler capitalized on his expanded playing time.
Linebacker Preston Zinter
For many of the same reasons that Ziegler excelled Saturday, this early enrollee freshman did as well for the Blue Team.
Zinter finished with 6 tackles (4 solo) with 2 tackles for loss.
Zinter won’t be in the linebacker rotation this fall, but perhaps Saturday’s performance could lift him into some special teams consideration.
The Notre Dame faithful
This scrimmage game was not for the faint of heart, and kudos to the couple of thousand hearty Fighting Irish fans who braved the elements and stuck it out.
The game was played with temperatures in the upper 30s, gusty winds up to 20 mph, and persistent and strong rain showers.
