Roster Updates and Coaching Changes – Breaking Down the Wild Week that was for Notre Dame Football
Every year college football teams going into a transition phase after the season. Players graduate, some leave early for the NFL and others elect to come back for a final year of eligibility. In the current college football landscape, you also add the Wild West that is the transfer portal. Rules have changed to benefit the student athlete when it comes to transferring. For Notre Dame, you add in a brand new head coach who needs to fill some holes in his coaching staff and Notre Dame is set to have a very busy offseason. Well this past week was already a busy one for the Notre Dame football program. Let’s break it down.
Lets start with the guys who are staying:
- Defensive Lineman – Isaiah Foskey
- Safety – Huston Griffith
- Safety – DJ Brown
- Tight End – George Takacs
- Wide Receiver – Braden Lenzy
- Offensive Lineman – Josh Lugg
- Defensive Lineman – Justin Ademiola
- Defensive Lineman – Jayson Ademiola
The 2022 defense could be a special one. With Foskey and the Ademiola twins coming back, the talent we have and the freshman class coming, the sky is the limit for 2022. Lugg and Lenzy coming back adds offensive leadership needed heading into 2022. I am expecting big things from Lenzy next season.
Irish off to the NFL:
- Wide Receiver – Kevin Austin Jr.
- Running Back – Kyren Williams (announced before the bowl game)
- Safety – Kyle Hamilton (announced before the bowl game)
I’m really looking forward to watching these three at the next level. Hamilton was a once-in-a-lifetime talent at Notre Dame who looks to be a top 10 pick. Williams was special this season and someone will get an outstanding running back in the NFL. Austin showed this year how good he can be when he stays healthy.
New additions from the transfer portal:
- Safety – Brandon Joseph: The former Northwestern All-American will be an awesome addition to the Irish secondary who just lost an All-American in Hamilton.
Irish in the transfer portal:
- Offensive Lineman – Quinn Caroll – Heading home to the University of Minnesota
- Linebacker – Paul Moala
- Punter – Jay Bramblett
- Cornerback – Caleb Offord
Coaching Staff moves:
- Wide Receivers Coach Del Alexander has been let go.
- James Laurinatitis will be joining the Notre Dame coaching staff. Laurinatitis was former college teammates with Marcus Freeman at Ohio State.
- Offensive Line Coach Jeff Quinn has been let go.
- Brian Mason will be the next special teams coordinator. He held the same position at Cincinnati.
- Harry Hiestand is back as Offensive Line coach at Notre Dame. He held the same position from 2012 to 2017, and produced NFL draft pick after NFL draft pick while with the Irish.
This is just the first week of the offseason (!), and there are still coaching spots to fill and players to announce if they are staying or leaving. There is still a defensive coordinator position to fill, as well as a wide receivers coach. There are a couple of wide receivers who also will announce if they plan on coming back in 2022 or going pro. If this week is any indication of what the offseason holds, it sure should be an entertaining one.