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Notre Dame football: Five potential breakout players on offense in 2020

By Matt Clark

ARLINGTON, TEXAS - DECEMBER 29: Ian Book #12 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish speaks to his line in the first half 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 Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - DECEMBER 29: Ian Book #12 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish speaks to his line in the first half 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 Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /
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Despite the Notre Dame football team losing a number of top offensive weapons to the NFL, these five potential breakouts lend reason for optimism in 2020.

The Notre Dame football team lost significant contributors from their 2019 offense. Superstar wide receiver Chase Claypool is now a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Number two wide receiver Chris Finke was signed by the San Francisco 49ers. Their playmaking tight end, Cole Kmet, was drafted by the Chicago Bears. The top running back for the 2019 Fighting Irish, Tony Jones Jr., was signed by the New Orleans Saints.

Replacing the top two wide receivers, top tight end, and top running back on an offense is a daunting task. However, head coach Brian Kelly and his staff seem to have done just that with excellent recruiting classes and the addition of high-caliber transfers such as former Northwestern wide receiver Bennett Skowronek and Stanford running back Trevor Speights.

In fact, they seem to have addressed what was a major void for the offense of the Notre Dame football team in 2019, the lack of game-changing playmakers.  The 2020 offense is expected to feature a number of extremely athletic players who are capable of changing the game in an instant. Four of those players are featured on this list of breakouts.

Additionally, the level of depth at the skill positions is as flush with talent as any time in the Brian Kelly era. That trend is expected to continue in the future, as the 2021 Notre Dame recruiting class is currently among the top in the nation with elite recruits like quarterback Tyler Buchner, offensive tackle Blake Fisher, wide receiver Lorenzo Styles Jr., and tight end Cane Berrong already committed to the Irish. All of those recruits are listed as high-level 4-star recruits or better, meaning the future continues to look bright in South Bend, Indiana.

With the plethora of elite talent encompassing the entire depth chart of the Notre Dame football team’s offense, new Irish offensive coordinator Tommy Rees should be afforded the ability to get very creative with the offensive playbook. The offense should be able to withstand most injuries that they suffer because of the amount of talent they have on the depth chart.

As a result, the Notre Dame football program is expected to have a very dynamic offense heading into the season, led by veteran quarterback Ian Book who returned for his final year of eligibility. There are a lot of reasons for Irish fans to be optimistic about the offensive production heading into 2020.

Here are five players on the Notre Dame offense who could be poised for a breakout campaign in 2020:

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