Notre Dame football: 3 things Brian Kelly needs to do next

He Needs to Figure Out the Wide Receiver Position

One of the biggest issues for Notre Dame this past season was there was no wide receiver who could step up to replace Chase Claypool. Now, that’s still a question that needs to be resolved. Brian Kelly needs to find at least one good wide receiver, preferably two or three, or it doesn’t matter which quarterback is going to replace Ian Book.

There’s very little production returning at wide receiver, and what is returning hasn’t been particularly productive. So, there needs to be a breakthrough somewhere. This could come in the form of grad transfers.

Ben Skowronek was one last season, and the Irish saw mixed results there. This should be a year with lots of transfers around college football, so it would make sense to dip into this well again. Of course, getting an increase in production from someone like Braden Lenzy would be great.

Lenzy was expected to break out in 2020, but injuries limited him in a disappointing effort. The other place that Notre Dame will have to look, and Kelly doesn’t like doing this, is with the young wide receiver talent. Jordan Johnson, Xavier Watts, and Jay Brunelle didn’t see the field in any practical capacity this season.

Those players need to develop the speed, strength, and technique to get on the field, otherwise, the Irish will have one of their worst wide receiver rooms in modern history. Whatever the answer at wide receiver, Kelly needs to find it. He should also find a plan B and plan C too.

Otherwise, the offense will be telegraphing the zone run to Kyren Williams all season.