Marcus Freeman’s quest to bring Notre Dame its first national championship since 1988 begins Saturday at the Blue-Gold game.
The annual spring exhibition provides Freeman with a more comprehensive look at what players can make a real impact this fall.
For some, there’s little mystery. Of course CJ Carr will impress. Jordan Faison should as well. On defense, Drayk Bowen and Adon Shuler should have no problem holding down the fort.
Freeman’s biggest question centers with the newcomers. Which one of them will seize the opportunity?
Here are three players on Saturday who can do exactly that.
Nolan James Jr. (So.)
Nolan James Jr. has been waiting for this moment.
The former four-star recruit from the widely-acclaimed Delbarton School in New Jersey featured in a minimal role as a freshman this past fall. However, that’s expected when sitting behind Jeremiyah Love, Jadarian Price and Aneyas Williams.
With the former two headed to the NFL, James is expected to create the Irish new backfield tandem alongside Williams.
In the spring, James has stepped up to the plate and delivered. Clips of his nifty footwork at practice generated thousands of views on social media. The coaching staff has taken notice, and it seems as if it understands it has another gem in its hands.
“He’s a kid that was born to play running back,” positional coach Ja’Jaun Sieder said at a press conference in late March. “He’s built like you want a running back to be built, he’s super smart, he’s super intelligent. He’s like a quarterback playing running back, he can already see things most guys can’t at the running back position.”
That’s lofty praise coming from a coach who has coached his fair share of superstars.
Devin Fitzgerald (Fr.)
Maybe it’s because he’s the son of NFL Hall of Famer Larry Fitzgerald, but there is seemingly a palpable buzz about the emergence of freshman Devin Fitzgerald this spring.
Fitzgerald arrived to campus this spring as an early enrollee in this freshman class; he starred in high school for Brophy Prep in Arizona. Like his father, Devin is an elite runner with even better hands.
And similarly to James, clips of Fitzgerald impressing at spring practice have done their rounds on social media. In early April, his one-handed grab for a touchdown garnered several big reposts. Just this past week, a video of Fitzgerald turning a routine slant into a touchdown received tons of online attention.
Although virality is fleeting, Fitzgerald’s talent is certain. Fitzgerald has all the intangibles needed to be a star and provides Notre Dame’s offense a much needed boost after losing Malachi Fields.
Saturday’s game will give Fitzgerald a golden opportunity to show he can contribute from day one.
Spencer Porath (Jr.)
After Notre Dame’s lackluster performance in the kicking department against Boston College this past fall, Freeman said, “The issues were every time we kicked the ball it did not go in between the field goal posts. That’s the issue. We’re going to keep putting guys in there until we can have somebody consistently put the ball through the field goal posts.”
The Irish were supposed to win that game with ease. In an ugly 25-10 marred by special teams woes, it was anything but easy. Three different Notre Dame kickers failed to convert on two of three extra-point attempts and didn’t convert a single field goal.
After the season, Freeman knew he had to make a change.
Enter Spencer Porath.
The junior transfer from Purdue arrives having converted 41-of-41 PAT attempts. In his sophomore season, he knocked in 15-of-17 field goal attempts with a long of 53 yards against Washington.
Porath is tasked with weathering the Irish special teams storm. Although the stats don’t lie, the Blue-Gold Game will be his first real chance to show Notre Dame has found its long-awaited answer at the kicker position.
