Rakes Report #213: My hеart could be burnin' but you won't see it on my face
With camp beginning, it feels like a good time to ponder some potential X factors. Plus, Hannah Hidalgo takes the gold.
~optional musical accompaniment~
Well, camp started last week and in one month we’ll be talking about the Navy game. That is pretty wild! A few notes before we jump in:
Eric Hansen of Inside ND Sports was kind enough to come on the podcast and talk about the opening days of practice. That should be in your feeds (Spotify) (Apple) now.
Inspired by the fun of Barbenheimer, Friend of the Report Bridget Reynolds whipped up a new shirt design, which you can find in both pink and green.
If there is a Notre Dame fan in your life you haven’t already bothered about this newsletter, now is a wonderful time to bombard your preferred group texts, message boards, etc., etc. Much of this community was built via Twitter and boy is that a much less likely path going forward.
I thought it would be interesting to take a look at some potential X factors for the 2023 football season. I’m not going to get into wide receiver or the front seven, because I think you could make a case for almost everyone who plays those positions and we’ll talk about them in a future edition. Does abiding by this decision mean a couple of these are maybe a little too cute? Maybe, but I'm not proposing these are the biggest variables, just ones that are fun to discuss.
Gerad Parker
That’s right, we’re starting with a coach. Assuming a normal level of progression/development/pleasant surprise from receivers, I am comfortable fulfilling my annual offseason obligation to become increasingly bullish about the offense. You’ve got a prolific passer, a productive and powerful tailback, two NFL tackles and some quality options for the interior offensive line. If no one on the outside can step up then this is all for naught, but I think the combination of Sam Hartman making guys look better and those guys actually being better means we’ll be in good shape.
However, that will require Parker to handle the controls of this operation with aplomb after a messy offensive coordinator search. He’s said all the right stuff so far and has taken an ego-free approach that things were not broken so they do not need to be completely overhauled because a new guy is in charge, simply tweaked and refined. Taking the plays that worked last year and rolling that into the very exciting things that Hartman is both comfortable with and good at (RPOs and deep balls*) gets you into a position to put up some points.
* Positive Parker quote from last week when asked about Hartman stretching the field: “We're going to play to our strengths and play to our quarterback’s strengths. And that's certainly something that he does very well, and it gives everybody confidence.”
As we’ve discussed before, Parker doesn’t have a ton of play-calling experience but he’s been around some fun offenses during his football career and is surrounded by a staff that has spent time coordinating run and passing games on which he can lean. He also established a quick bond with his QB (Hartman fishes at Parker’s home) and is certainly very aware of and motivated by how him getting this position is viewed by many fans as a fallback option. He is an easy guy to root for and this can absolutely work.
Gloomy concluding paragraph envisioning worst case scenario you’re welcome to skip: If we are at the midpoint of the season, the offense has been struggling and everyone is trying to reverse engineer how we got into this position, the story of “A rookie head coach with a defensive background hired a former colleague to an offensive assistant role and then a year later promoted him to coordinator after failing to secure a different candidate” is as predictable an autopsy as you might find.
Cam Hart
The veteran corner was one of the best players on the 2021 defense, highlighted by him establishing a beautiful rapport with Graham Mertz1 at Soldier Field and performing better than any Badger wide receiver on that day. Last offseason it was reasonable to think that between his size and productivity Hart would likely be set to jump to the NFL, but he suffered a hamstring injury in camp that seemed to bug him all year, never reaching the heights we saw in 2021 before a shoulder injury cost him both USC games and the bowl practices that came between them.
Following practice last Wednesday, Freeman was asked about the general potential of the cornerback group and began his answer by saying the following of Hart: “He's made a huge jump in a year. I'm just saying a guy that has been a starter, he's made a huge, huge jump this summer, just in terms of his work ethic off the field. I think his film study, he's made a huge jump.”
Let’s project Benjamin Morrison is as good as he was last year or even better, and that Hart is healthy and at a 2021 (or even better!) level. We’re now talking about two lockdown corners, which suddenly makes life so much easier for everyone on that side of the ball. That pass rush that might be a step slower than the last couple years? They’re buying you time to get there. Or if you want to send a blitz hey that’s okay too because they’re comfortable living island life. If Hart and Morrison are soaking up most of the snaps on the outside, you have more options to play around with at nickel, and, potentially, safety, depending on how they use the transfers.
Consider the toughest three opponents on Notre Dame’s schedule: Ohio State has the best wide receiver tandem in the country, USC has the Heisman winner and a fleet of targets and Clemson should be considerably better at offense with Garrett Riley coming over from TCU. Big wins will require quality secondary play.
Speaking of: When Notre Dame made the college football playoff in 2018, they did so with two NFL draft picks starting at corner. When Cincinnati made the playoff in 2021 with the defense Freeman and Mike Mickens helped build, it was the same situation. Let’s run that back.
The post-spring practice transfers
This is a mix of something I believe and also talking about a couple guys we haven’t discussed in this space due to the inconsistent schedule of offseason newslettering. It’s possible neither safety Antonio Carter II nor tailback Devyn Ford start a game this season, but they could be really helpful at the margins.
Carter committed to Notre Dame in mid-May, choosing the Irish over a host of other power programs suitors and bringing more size and athleticism than you would expect when reading the words “Rhode Island football transfer.” A corner for the Rams, Carter will be in the mix at safety (and potentially nickel) for the Irish, and while it seems like D.J. Brown and Xavier Watts will be the starters out of the gates, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Carter slide into a starting spot over the course of the season. Even if he only rotates in, safety depth was such a glaring weakness that his presence is huge, and if he’s even better than anticipated? We’ll take that, too.
Ford came to South Bend from Penn State a couple weeks after Carter. A top 100 prospect out of high school, he never quite locked in steady carries for the Nittany Lions, but he showed some versatility both catching the ball and on returns. Audric Estime is going to play a ton and there are some really exciting but equally inexperienced options behind him so if Ford can be a steady second back in the season’s early going until Jadarian Price, Jeremiyah Love* or Gi’Bran Payne have enough seasoning, that would be huge. Despite losing Logan Diggs, this position feels like it’s in a good spot.
* Freeman said Love, who enrolled in June, could “fly” last week. Few things would be better news than a bye week civil war among fans about whether it's Price or Love who need more non-Estime touches.
Even if they end up not being major contributors, the coaching staff should still be credited for the process here, staying alert for later portal opportunities and bringing in guys who at least profile as legitimate contributors.
Steve Angeli
I very much hope we don’t see Angeli playing any high-leverage snaps this season — no offense to him, this is a pro-Hartman position — but it’s a possibility. If the worst does happen to QB1 and he’s out for a prolonged absence, we’ll have to reevaluate expectations for the season, as I think it’s a tough ask for Angeli to pull off a DeShone Kizer 2015. (But could he do Tommy Rees 2010 or Drew Pyne 2022?…)
What I’m talking about here is a spot start or even spot quarter, where Hartman is dinged up briefly and someone needs to keep the chains moving and not totally crater the offense. Think about 2017 when Ian Book made the start at North Carolina for an injured Brandon Wimbush, or 13 months later when Wimbush returned the favor for an ailing Book against Florida State. If Hartman suffers a minor injury against Ohio State, does Angeli have the ability to steal a win at Durham the next week? If pressed, could he handle Pitt or Wake Forest at home? Could he keep the offense from completely bottoming out for a series or two in one of the big games if need be?
By all reports, Angeli has been sturdy in his role, with a good feel for the game and some wheels. He’s been taught by two really smart quarterback coaches in his brief career, both of whom developed prospects who were rated hundreds of spots lower than Angeli as recruits into NFL picks. With the hype around Kenny Minchey and C.J. Carr and the potential for another transfer in this offseason, it’s quite possible Angeli ends up the odd man out, but we’ve seen far crazier career paths.
Al Golden
Yes, both coordinators, I know. (We could also include new special teams boss Marty Biagi, as the quality of his Brian Mason impersonation will be pretty important. Or Fred Hale, who steps in for Matt Balis to lead the strength and conditioning program.) The hiring of Golden made plenty of sense: A seasoned college defensive coordinator with head coach experience who was coming off a run to the Super Bowl. Golden was solid in his first year at Notre Dame, particularly when one accounts for the lack of a Kyle Hamilton or Jeremiah Owusu-Koromoah. (I will note that while he had a slow start, Isaiah Foskey was the program’s all-time sack leader and went with the 40th pick of the draft.) But even considering the talent dip it would be nice to have some improvements after the Irish slid to 31st in defensive F+ after five straight top 20 rankings.
There is a ton of depth in the front seven that needs to be managed appropriately, which is trickier than when you have no-doubt stars with little behind them and don’t really have choices to make. Golden mishandled the linebacker rotation last year and asked for far too many snaps from Marist Liufau, something that has to be tightened up this fall. (Good piece on Jack Kiser here.) I also would like to no longer do the safety blitzes that haven’t been communicated to the corners. And then there is the red zone defense — which in a point that I do not think can be repeated enough — was literally last in the country in opponent red zone touchdown percentage, allowing 27 endzone visits in 32 attempts, just behind Arizona (125th in DF+) and Colorado (127th). It would be nice if that was cleaned up a smidge.
(This is a great sign of the difference in how fans view defense versus offense. I think there’s a general sense that coaching defense can be hard while most people at a sports bar believe if you handed them the offensive reins they’d simply call the good plays and easily score. Can you imagine if the Notre Dame offense finished 131st in the country in red zone touchdown percentage? It would be shoehorned into every offseason piece and post, regardless of topic.)
As Freeman gets more comfortable as a head coach, will he maybe have more of a role with the defense? Perhaps. Want to note on this topic that last week it was announced former Wisconsin defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard, who is very good at his job, was taking a position at Illinois as an analyst. That seems like a nice spot for him to cool his heels in case a high-level Midwestern defensive coordinator job happens to come open in December.
We’re running long already but I want to heap some praise on Hannah Hidalgo, who was critical in Team USA winning gold at the FIBA U19 World Cup. She was great throughout the tournament (highlight reel here), including getting a comical eight steals against Argentina, setting the U19 record with 13 assists against the Czech Republic and wrecking a Spaniard via block in the gold medal game. This all comes after she won MVP at the McDonald’s All-American Game.
But don’t trust me on this - what do I know? Thankfully Sabreena Merchant, who covers women’s basketball for The Athletic, was generous enough with her knowledge to provide a mini-scouting report on Hidalgo after sending some exuberant texts about her during the gold medal game:
The interesting thing about the U19 World Cup, and why the Americans say it's the hardest to win, is that Team USA sends high school and college players to compete against a lot of internationals who have already turned pro. And yet, even within that context, Hannah Hidalgo was in complete control. An 18-year-old point guard running the show, and she didn't look at all overcome by the moment.
You know what you're going to get passing-wise, especially in transition (I mean, this hit-ahead is so easy). She was second in the tournament in assists despite playing only 20 minutes per game and managed at 2.9 assist-to-turnover ratio. She hit some jumpers, but that's obviously an area for growth. More than anything, she just finds a way to make plays, like blocking a corner three — oh my goodness, that block — or the game-saving steal in the final.
Having never watched Hidalgo before these tournament games, I couldn't take my eyes off of her. Talana Lepolo started her entire freshman year at Stanford, and yet I only felt comfortable with Hidalgo in the game as the USA was trying to close out Spain. She already has this intense magnetism. I have no doubt she's going to be a star.
When Olivia Miles is back to full health it’s so very exciting to imagine her and Hidalgo on the court at the same time, along with Sonia Citron being a killer combined with Maddie Westbeld and Cass Prosper (who won a FIBA bronze model with Team Canada) as stretch bigs destroying everyone else. Seven Seconds Or Less is my core basketball ethos and I’m delighted about the potential of this Irish squad.
(Speaking of the women’s basketball team, if you want a tea leaf on the apparel deal, the social media team edited the swooshes off the ladies’ civilian Nikes when they went to the Chicago Sky game last week to see Jackie Young and Marina Mabrey square off. Maybe the fact your athletes are wearing a certain apparel brand in their downtime is a sign to just work with that company?)
Okay, that’s it, thank you so much for reading. There will be at least two more newsletters before things kick off and I’m going to try and get to all the traditional preview podcasts as well. Apologies that this has been a spotty offseason on the audio front but we’ll make up for it now in crunch time. Also appreciated those who reached out to say they enjoyed our nerdy position breakdown with Jamie Uyeyama - check that out if you haven’t. Until next time, take care of yourselves and each other.
Mertz is still set to be the starting quarterback at Florida and I’m curious what a change of scenery and new offense will do for him. Their first game is at Utah! Billy Napier is coming off a 6-7 debut season in Gainesville and now has games against Rocky Top, Georgia, LSU and Florida State, as well as road trips to Kentucky and South Carolina, Very exciting stuff.