Notre Dame football: Predicting five breakout players for 2016

With plenty of holes left by departed veterans, Notre Dame football will need some young players to step up in 2016. Here are our predictions as to who will impress the most.

With the beginning of fall camp rapidly approaching for Notre Dame, there are still lots of questions for Irish fans, as the team returns just five starters apiece on offense and defense.

But thanks to the recruiting efforts of Brian Kelly’s staff, there’s talent waiting in the wings to emerge as everyday players and possibly even stars. We got a taste of who those guys could be in spring practices, and there’s been rampant speculation with the release of award watch lists and projected depth charts, but of course, at this point in the year there are something like 250 sure-fire All-Americans.

For the Irish, there are plenty of prime candidates for a breakout season. For these predictions, we looked at players with little to no starting experience who impressed in spring ball and are expected to start or see regular playing time this season. If a player had started in previous seasons, he received less priority, as any positive performances he might have in 2016 would be less of a breakout and more of a natural evolution.

Next: It all starts with him