Coming off another ten-win season, and a spot in the College Football Playoff, the Notre Dame football team has a lot of work to do in terms of the roster. On both sides of the ball, the Irish will have to replace some big-name players, many of whom were All-Americans, or will be selected in this year’s draft.
Luckily for the Irish, Brian Kelly has done a nice on in building up this roster in terms of depth, and there is a ton of good talent coming back. Also, Notre Dame football has brought in a tremendous recruiting class this offseason, and the recruits are only going to get better now that Marcus Freeman is on the staff.
As we look towards the 2021 college football season, Ian Book will need to be replaced at quarterback, and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, a top linebacker in the country, will also be missing from the defense. Also, four-fifths of the offensive line is gone, leaving the roster with holes to fill immediately.
Here, we take a look at the top-5 players returning on the offensive side of the ball.
Notre Dame football WR Avery Davis
Notre Dame is losing two key options on the outside this season, as Ben Skowronek and Javon McKinley will need to be replaced. One logical option would be Avery Davis, a versatile athlete who came in as a quarterback and has been moved all around, eventually settling as a slot receiver last season.
The Irish have a strong wide receiver class coming in, but making the jump from high school to the college game is never an easy thing to do. We will see the freshmen get their opportunities this season, but Davis has to be the leader of the group, and he did have some key moments last season.
Davis is a candidate to be a captain for Brian Kelly this year as well, and on the field, he has to emerge as a potential WR1.
Notre Dame football needs to get Chris Tyree more involved
Redshirt freshman Kyren Williams had a monster season for the Irish in 2020, rushing for over 1,000 yards and earning all kinds of awards and accolades. However, there was another freshman back that made his presence felt as well, a true freshman named Chris Tyree.
During the season, we saw glimpses of Tyree, and what he could bring to this Notre Dame football offense with more touches. He had blinding speed, possesses the big-play ability, and is someone the Irish could use not only as a runner in 2021 but someone who can make plays off screens in the passing game.
Williams is going to be the feature back this upcoming season, there is doubt there, but do not discount what Tyree is going to bring to this offense. There are a lot of question marks in terms of weapons coming back, but Tyree is not one of them, and getting him more involved has to be a priority for Tommy Rees in 2021.
Jarrett Patterson will have to lead this Notre Dame offensive line
Since becoming a starter during the 2019 college football season, Jarrett Patterson had yet to miss a game, this before a devastating injury during the team’s win against Boston College this past year. Patterson’s foot injury cost him the rest of the season, as the Irish had to shuffle their offensive line.
A key on one of the best offensive lines in college football, Patterson will now be tasked with leading the group, as he is the only returning starter from a year ago. There are a lot of new faces, including some true freshmen who could get a chance to start, including guys like Blaker Fisher and Rocco Spindler.
Another wrinkle to this is whether or not Patterson stays at center, or if he makes the move to left tackle, replacing an All-American in Liam Eichenberg. No matter where he plays, he is going to have to lead a group that is a big question mark heading into next season, protecting a brand new quarterback now that Ian Book is gone.
Michael Mayer will be the top option in the passing game
One of the big stories of the 2020 Notre Dame football team was the play of Michael Mayer, a true freshman Tight End from Independence, Kentucky. Mayer led a position group that played a key role in the team’s successes on offense, becoming a security blanket for quarterback Ian Book along the way.
Mayer played his way onto a spot in ESPN’s True Freshman All-American team, racking up 42 catches for 450 yards and two touchdowns. He seemed to always come up with a big play when needed and posted at least five catches in six of the Irish’s last nine games. Also, he had his season-high in the team’s loss against Alabama, hauling in seven catches.
In 2021, he will lead a talented crop of tight ends once again, including some new faces, as well as George Takacs, a group that saw Tommy Tremble leave early for the NFL. Mayer could be the next great tight end to come out of Notre Dame, and you can expect another big season from him this Fall.
Kyren Williams will look to post back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons
The Notre Dame football team did not know what to expect from the running back spot in 2020, as they were tasked with replacing Tony Jones Jr., who rushed for 857 yards and averaged six yards per carry in 2019. They had some young talent at the position, and after Kyren Williams got the start against Duke, the rest was history.
Williams finished his redshirt freshman season with 1,125 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns, while also hauling in 35 passes for over 300 more yards. Not only did he do a phenomenal job racking up yardage, but he also showed himself to be a tremendous blocker, talents that are going to go a long way at the next level.
This Fall, Williams will look to build on his tremendous 2020 campaign, a year that could be his last in South Bend. He leads a strong two-headed monster at running back, and should also help in the development of top-recruit Audric Estime.
The 2021 college football season is going to be an exciting one for Notre Dame football, as they try to continue to bridge the gap between them and superpowers like Alabama, Ohio State, and Clemson. New faces are going to have to step up and replace some key players, and the pressure will be on these five guys to help the offense move the ball consistently with Book gone.