Slap the Sign
Fansided

2019 Notre Dame Football Look Ahead: Special Teams

By Nathan Erbach

ARLINGTON, TEXAS - DECEMBER 29: Tyler Newsome #85 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish punts in the third quarter against the Clemson Tigers during the College Football Playoff Semifinal Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic at AT&T Stadium on December 29, 2018 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - DECEMBER 29: Tyler Newsome #85 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish punts in the third quarter against the Clemson Tigers during the College Football Playoff Semifinal Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic at AT&T Stadium on December 29, 2018 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 4
Next
Notre Dame
Notre Dame /

Mason’s Take 

The place-kicker position for Notre Dame this season will be a battle between Jonathan Doerer and  Harrison Leonard. Both guys are top-notch kicking recruits that should have just about an equal shot of landing the starting job at kicker this season.

A junior out of Charlotte, NC, Doerer has seen a solid amount of action through his first two seasons at Notre Dame. In his freshman season, Doerer saw action in seven games as the kickoff specialist. Justin Yoon struggled at times with kickoffs throughout his Notre Dame career, which left Doerer with the kickoff responsibilities. In his sophomore season — last season — Doerer kicked off 56 times with 25 touchbacks. Doerer also took over the place-kicking job against Navy last season when Yoon was out with a hamstring problem. He went 5-for-6 on PATs and made his first career field goal attempt from 30-yards out.

Doerer’s competition comes from freshman Harrison Leonard. Hailing from Jamestown, RI, Leonard is one of the better kicking recruits that Notre Dame has landed in recent years. Notre Dame coaches have spoken highly of Leonard in his young ND career and it should surprise no one if he sees the field this season. Leonard is not currently a scholarship player at Notre Dame, as the Irish are struggling with scholarship numbers. That said, he was given a preferred walk-on position.

Leonard, a lifelong Notre Dame fan, could have easily earned a scholarship at another big school, but it seems Notre Dame was the only place for him. Leonard should definitely earn a scholarship at Notre Dame if he sticks around — and based on recent interviews — he is not going anywhere.

Doerer came to Notre Dame ranked as the No. 6 kicker by Scout.com, No.17 kicker by 247sports.com and the No.2 0 kicker by ESPN.com. Leonard was ranked as the No. 9 kicker nationally by ESPN.com, and No. 23 kicker nationally by 247Sports.com. In all honesty, kickers are very tough to rank and the position is really up for grabs come this fall. Expect Doerer to win the job initially, but Leonard to possibly be featured throughout the season.

The punter position is much more clear as we look towards this fall. Jay Bramblett, the freshman punter out of Tuscaloosa, AL, has the position locked down. Bramblett is ranked as the No. 2 punter nationally by 247Sports.com, No. 4 punter nationally by Rivals.com and No. 5 punter nationally by ESPN.com. Bramblett was an All-American punter at Hillcrest High School and also played quarterback there. He completed 178 of 260 passes for 2,341 yards and 18 touchdowns. This provides Special Teams Coordinator Brian Polian with a lot of options for trick plays when the situation is right. Traditionally, punters are not the most athletic players on the field but Bramblett is a top-tier athlete that happens to be able to punt the HELL out of a football. Look out for Bramblett to pull some trickery from the punting position for the Irish not only in 2019, but throughout his Notre Dame career.

Home/Notre Dame Football