After a week where Notre Dame's coaches talked about wanting to improve the the wide receiver rotation, it looked like they were going to do anything but early in the game against Navy, until Jerome Bettis Jr. came into the game after Micah Gilbert had to leave with an apparent injury.
Bettis who had only caught four passes for 92 yards previously. He hauled in six passes for 78 yards and a touchdown to lead the 7-1 Irish in all receiving categories. Unsurprisingly, he also set career-highs in all three categories, including his first career touchdown.
“I thought he really did a good job of taking advantage of his opportunities,” Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman said of Bettis. “Thought he had a really good week of practice, he’s had good weeks of practice. And as we talked about as a staff, if there's opportunities to be intentional about trying to get guys in the game that can help us, then we're gonna do it.”
On the opening play of the fourth quarter, quarterback CJ Carr looked left as Bettis seemingly sat down for a simple curl route. After getting his cornerback to bite on the double move, Bettis performed a 360-degree twirl and took off down the left sideline, where he had four yards of separation to walk into the end zone untouched."
Jerome Bettis Jr. posts career highs as Notre Dame football expands receiver options
After the game, Notre Dame's star quarterback had nothing but praise for the young receiver coming off his best career game.
“He’s continued to grow and he’s a guy that’s super consistent for us,” Carr said. “He plays in that boundary spot, is willing to go in and block, and he does that well. And then he’s super consistent in the pass game, he’s going to make contested catches for you. So, super excited to see him get in the end zone today, and he did a great job for us.”
After leading Notre Dame with 6 catches for 78 yards and his first career touchdown, it looks like Jerome Bettis Jr. has made his case to be in the rotation more. Whether that expands to the Miami game is something to watch very closely on November 7.
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