Stock up and stock down for Notre Dame football entering the summer
With the Notre Dame football’s spring game now a memory, it's time to dissect the players' performances. This analysis transcends mere numbers, aiming to shape the expectations of Fighting Irish fans for the upcoming 2024 season. These are the players who saw their stock rise the most this spring and the players that saw their stock drop the most.
Notre Dame football stock up
Adon Shuler
The redshirt freshman defensive back entered the spring with coaches discussing the steps he could take to become a starter. By most accounts, he’s done everything he’s been asked to do. That included having an excellent Blue-Gold game.
Shuler record 7 tackles and did a decent job in coverage, even while the Notre Dame football quarterbacks were having success carving up Al golden’s defense at times. He finishes up the Blue-Gold game looking like he could even beat out Northwestern transfer Rod Heard for a starting spot.
Kenny Minchey
Like Shuler, Kenny Minchey entered the spring as a young player who didn’t get much action in the 2023 season. He knew that he needed to impress this spring to make the competition at quarterback more than just Riley Leonard, Steve Angeli, and everyone else.
Minchey got glowing reviews as a “gunslinger” during practices this spring and it turns out that he showed off his arm and his ability to make plays in the Blue-Gold game. He completed 12-of-19 passes for 123 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT. He also ran the ball 6 times for 48 yards and another score.
Minchey showed that he offers a danger on the ground and through the air. If Riley Leonard isn’t totally healthy, he might pose an interesting option to the coaches who are going to be running more of an LSU offensive approach this year.
Notre Dame football stock down
Offensive line as a whole
Yes, I’m aware that the offensive line is not “a player” but there really isn’t one player on that unit that hasn’t seen their stock dip since spring practice started. The really depressing part about that is that the offensive line’s stock wasn’t all that high before the spring kicked off.
The offensive line allowed 7 sacks and 3 quarterback hurries in a game where Steve Angeli wasn’t even supposed to be a “live” player. The Notre Dame football team is expected to be very, very good in 2024, but that will only be the case if the offensive line can’t get its act together.