Notre Dame Football: Irish offense primed to reload, not rebuild

Notre Dame football will have to replace quite a bit of offensive production from a season ago, but the Irish have the the committee to do it.

Notre Dame football lost quite a bit of production on offense from a season ago. Chase Claypool, Cole Kmet, Tony Jones, Jr. and Chris Finke have all moved on to their respective NFL careers, taking roughly 3,000 yards of offensive production with them.

Obviously, that’s a lot of production.

But the Irish won’t be at a loss to replace the production of those individuals, and perhaps that’s the biggest difference between this Irish team and teams of the past.

It’s an unprecedented time for college football teams. That said, the Irish have plenty going for them as they look to replace so much production.

First, the Irish have experience at the most important position in football. Ian Book finally can provide Irish fans what they have been yearning for: Experience and development. Put simply, Notre Dame has a significant advantage having Ian Book’s talent, experience, and leadership on the roster this season.

Next, though, the Irish have developed a level of depth that, frankly, they haven’t always had.

Mentioned earlier was Notre Dame having to replace the production of four individuals that have moved on to the NFL. Generally, though, Notre Dame has been no stranger to having to replace offensive production. A year ago, the Irish were looking to replace the production of Miles Boykin and Dexter Williams, who took over 2,000 yards of offensive production with them. And that’s not even mentioning Alize Mack.

In short, the point is this: The guys that Notre Dame has to replace this season are generally the guys who stepped in to replace someone the season before. Someone (or multiple someones) is going to step into a bigger role and excel in 2020. Kevin Austin, Tommy Tremble, and a whole host of talented running backs are all candidates for breakout seasons.

Those breakout candidates will have an easier go at their respective crafts while getting to play alongside a talented quarterback in Ian Book and an offensive line that has been called the best in college football. Notre Dame will be just fine on offense.