Notre Dame football: Fall camp begins for the 2021 Irish
By Brad Weiss
The Notre Dame football team has a lot to be excited about this season, and it all starts today with the kickoff of the 2021 Fall Camp.
The 2020 Notre Dame football team was one of the best in the country, running through their regular season undefeated, and earning a spot in the College Football Playoff. That team saw 14 players begin their NFL journey this summer, so there are a lot of players to replace on both sides of the ball.
Overall, on offense, the quarterback battle is going to be one to watch this summer, with Jack Coan trying to stave off Drew Pyne and Tyler Buchner in his first and only season with the Irish. The running back room is loaded, and they have talent at tight end and along the offensive line, but the wide receiver group is once again a question mark.
On defense, there is veteran talent on all three levels, and many feel that safety Kyle Hamilton is one of the top defensive players in the country and a potential top-5 pick. New defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman has a lot of good players to work with, including upfront, where they could have one of the better defensive lines in the country in 2021.
Notre Dame football looking to get back to the CFP
The goal every season in South Bend is to win a national title but to do so, they first have to punch their ticket to the College Football Playoff. That has not been a problem over the past few seasons, as they have made the playoff in two of the last three years, but getting over the hump again could be challenging for a new-look Irish team this Fall.
Going back to their Independent schedule, the Irish will restart some key rivalries, including Stanford and USC, which they could not play against due to the COVID-19 pandemic last year. Most of the Irish games will be played inside Notre Dame Stadium, which will be at full capacity, so there are some dominoes lined up for this to be another successful season.
This is a team that may have a lot of question marks heading into fall camp, but it is also a team loaded with talent, including some All-Americans. There is no reason why they should not once again be one of the top teams in the country, and looking at some incoming recruiting classes, they are not going anywhere anytime soon.