Everything you need to know about Notre Dame’s first spring practice

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Notre Dame began its spring practice season for football to the delight of many. Obviously it’s just the first day of practice, many (many) players are either out or limited, and it’s not full contact yet as they were in helmets and shells. Taking too much away from the first day is dangerous to anyone’s mental health, but… there were some great signs for Notre Dame.

So let’s quickly talk about a few of the things that matter.

OFFENSIVE LINE​

One of the most telling parts of spring football is who Notre Dame puts out there as its first five offensive linemen. Generally speaking — those are the five that will likely begin the year as the starters across the line. On Friday, this was the Irish OL:

LT – Will Black
LG – Anthonie Knapp
OC – Joe Otting
RG – Sullivan Absher
RT – Guerby Lambert

A little over a month ago I projected Knapp to still be the starter at LT after doing the job for two years. All logic told me that he should be moved, but I thought that after two years, he might be locked in. So — I was wrong about that, which is a good thing.

The left side and right tackle are probably locks, but with center Ashton Craig scheduled to be back for fall camp and the possible return of Charles Jagusah, we could see Craig and Jags plugged in at center and right guard.

QUARTERBACK​

With CJ Carr firmly in place, the job is to find his backup for the fall. The Irish are still waiting on the arrival of Teddy Jararrd this June, but Blake Hebert and Noah Grubbs are there this spring. By all accounts, Grubbs has a really strong arm and showed plenty of zip in practice number one.

RUNNING BACK​

Despite being limited this spring, Aneyas Williams was plenty active on a day without a ton of contact. It was also noted that he was very helpful with the walk-on running backs the Irish added to help with depth this spring (due to injuries). This says a lot about Williams as a team leader and what he brings to the table for the Irish.

OTHER STUFF​

Just some bulletpoint things here:

• Tae Johnson looked incredible and made some really athletic plays to the shock of no one.
• Notre Dame’s depth along the defensive line stood out — especially at edge where freshman Rodney Dunham had a really good practice.
• Mylan Graham looks like an athlete at WR that the Irish normally don’t have. Plenty of time to go, but maybe the hype is real with this one.
• There were reportedly three big scuffles/fights. I can assure you this is how Marcus Freeman likes his practices — mean and violent.

VIDEO​

Here is a collection of some of the best video of plays and analysis of the day.

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