With Notre Dame football’s season officially in the books, we’re ranking the top 5 Notre Dame players on offense from the 2022 season. While it’s pretty clear who comes in at the top, there may be a couple of surprises rounding out the group.
Notre Dame football: 5) QB Drew Pyne
Drew Pyne was thrust into a challenging situation early in the season with the injury to starting quarterback Tyler Buchner. With the offensive line still gaining cohesion, Pyne and the offense fought through some growing pains to have a relatively solid season. While outcries on Twitter and other social media apps would lead many to believe otherwise, Pyne had a fairly successful year. The problem with Pyne was his struggles at home and a few games he notably could have played better in.
Overall, a completion percentage of 64.6% with 22 touchdowns to 6 interceptions and 2,021 yards is nothing to be ashamed of. However, it was the stretch against Stanford, UNLV, and Syracuse where the fans noticed a lack of a passing game.
Pyne did about as well as expected, given how the year started. While he’s off to Arizona State to (potentially) finish his playing career, Notre Dame could’ve had a much worse record if it wasn’t for some solid games out of Drew.
Notre Dame football 4) WR Jayden Thomas
Though it was a down year from the wide receiver position for the Irish, Jayden Thomas put together a productive season. Jayden only had 25 receptions but turned that into a solid 361 yards while averaging 14.4 yards per catch. He also added 3 touchdowns on the season. While rated as the 51st overall receiver in his class, Thomas has shown the ability to be a playmaker at the college level.
Deion Colzie was the only other Irish receiver with multiple receptions that averaged higher yards per catch than Thomas at 21.3. Regardless of what happens moving forward, Jayden proved to be a more than capable receiver, which bodes well for Hartman and Buchner.
Notre Dame football 3) RB’s Logan Diggs and Audric Estime
It’s almost unfair to Diggs and Estime to lump the two together, but even Chris Tyree could be here. This year’s trio of running backs for Notre Dame football was genuinely outstanding. Of course, some of that success can be accredited to a much improved offensive line, but each brought a unique skill set to the team.
Estime is seen as a power back, Tyree has the lighting strike ability, and Diggs is more of an all-purpose back. That said, each can carry an offense should they get the opportunity. Logan and Audric averaged at least 5 yards per carry and over 800 yards. Audric was more efficient overall, with 9 fewer carries but 100 more yards. The running backs accounted for 23 touchdowns in total.
Notre Dame football 2) T Joe Alt
After an impressive true freshman season, Joe Alt continued his incredible collegiate success with an even better sophomore campaign. According to Pro Football Focus, the Notre Dame football sophomore was the highest-rated tackle in college football. Joe graded out at a whopping 91.4 overall.
If Notre Dame football tackle Joe Alt was eligible for the NFL draft, there’s no question he would be a first-round selection
Notre Dame football 1) TE Michael Mayer
The tradition of TEU continued thanks to the incredible career and success of All-American tight end Michael Mayer. The unequivocal all-around best tight end in college football, Mayer delivered some truly eye-popping numbers this year. Mayer finished the season with 67 receptions for 809 yards and 9 touchdowns.
While the modern tight end in football is a hybrid of blocking and catching abilities, Mayer is among the best at both. He was the highest-graded tight end by PFF at 92.5 overall, and though he needs to improve the pass-blocking a bit, he was the 6th best run-blocking TE in the nation. Mayer will leave Notre Dame as the most accomplished tight end in the university’s history, leading in receptions, touchdowns, and yards all time.
The team will need to replace some significant production with Mayer and Pyne out of the picture next year. Sam Hartman should be able to do that and more at the quarterback position, while for the first time in years, the tight end room is a bit of a mystery. They have the talent, but someone must step up and produce massive numbers.