Notre Dame Football: The Biggest Offseason Storylines for the Irish

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — We’re one week into the offseason, and Notre Dame football has already watched the initial personnel dominoes fall.

Let’s analyze the biggest offseason storylines for the Irish over the next few months. Notre Dame has plenty of holes to replace in 2016 (more on that below), but the Irish are coming off a 10-win season with a crop of returning cogs.

Draft Departures

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The conveyor belt out of South Bend started less than 24 hours after Notre Dame’s loss to Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl on New Year’s Day.

Redshirt junior running back C.J. Prosise, junior wide receiver Will Fuller, senior cornerback KeiVarae Russell all declared for the NFL draft following the loss to the Buckeyes, and redshirt junior left tackle Ronnie Stanley announced the same before the game.

Earlier this week, we broke down the departures of Prosise and Fuller and the impact on the offense. Fuller racked up 62 receptions for 1,258 yards and 14 touchdowns this season, following up a 15-touchdown campaign in 2014. Considering the Irish also lose Chris Brown and Amir Carlisle to graduation, Notre Dame’s receiving corps—while talented—will need to prove itself.

Prosise, meanwhile, eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards. But with true freshman Josh Adams impressing, especially down the stretch, and Tarean Folston potentially returning to full health, the Irish backfield should be able to weather the storm.

Cole Luke, Devin Butler and Nick Watkins return at cornerback, and Stanley—long expected to bypass a fifth season on campus when he announced his return for his true senior season last offseason—leaves a void at left tackle.

Of course, the Notre Dame community is still awaiting word from stud linebacker Jaylon Smith, who hasn’t announced a stay-or-go decision after his knee injury suffered in the Fiesta Bowl.

Smith’s decision and how the Irish replace those departed stars—whether that group includes Smith or not—will be keys for the Irish heading into 2016.

Defensive Growth

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Notre Dame’s 2012 defense sure seems like a relic at this point.

That unit allowed an average of 12.8 points per game—the second-best scoring defense in the nation. In 2013, the Irish surrendered 22.4 points per game, 27th in the country.

The last two seasons, however, have been a drop-off for the Irish defense. The injury-ravaged group ranked 84th in scoring defense in 2014, allowing 29.2 points per game. Notre Dame fared better in 2015, checking in tied for 39th (24.1 points per game). Asked to evaluate his defense before the Fiesta Bowl, Irish defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder was blunt.

“Inconsistent, I guess, is probably the best word,” VanGorder told reporters. “We’ve played a lot of good football. We’ve had some plays that you just shake your head, both player and coach, when it’s all said and done.”

Why is that?

“These are young players,” VanGorder told reporters. “You’re constantly pushing on the idea of developing. They all develop at a different rate, a different process for all of them.

“A lot of those things come down to also focus. That’s, again, part of the development, part of the process, for somebody to focus through some 65 to 85 plays, for some it’s a challenge. That’s player responsibility, coach responsibility through a game to make sure we maintain a great concentration and a great focus.”

So how can Notre Dame start to construct an elite defense? That should be a focus this offseason.

Quarterback Competition?

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Would it really be a Notre Dame offseason if we didn’t discuss the quarterback position and analyze the depth chart?

DeShone Kizer now boasts 11 career starts to Malik Zaire’s three. Zaire is nearly four months removed from the season-ending broken ankle he suffered in Week 2 against Virginia.

“It will be outstanding,” Irish offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Mike Sanford said to reporters of the situation before the Fiesta Bowl. “Honestly, the room is in such a good position as far as those guys care for each other.

“It’s going to be competitive. We look forward to that. It already is. That’s what we want. We want a situation where each and every day you have to acquit yourself to be the leader of this football team and this offense. That’s what we look for out of that position on a daily basis, whether there’s a ‘quarterback’ competition or not.”

All quotes were obtained firsthand and all stats courtesy of CFBStats.com unless otherwise noted.

Mike Monaco is the lead Notre Dame writer for Bleacher Report. Follow @MikeMonaco_ on Twitter.