Notre Dame Football: 5 Underclassmen to Watch for in Final Weeks

To put it kindly, the last few weeks haven't gone well for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Brian Kelly's team has lost three of four, throwing into chaos postseason plans that had Notre Dame fans hoping to be a part of the College Football Playoff, but now could have them finishing the season in the Belk Bowl. 

But that's what critical turnovers and a rash of injuries will do to a young football team. So now it's Brian Kelly's job to see just what the youth on this roster can do, with an eye toward next year's football team now playing a key role in the development of his roster.

While the loss to Northwestern still stings, the future is bright in South Bend. With rumors once again beginning to swirl, Kelly said the only interest in Florida he has is a trip to warm up in a few weeks—not any head-coaching vacancy—likely ending the silly season early.

That's likely easier as he'll look to a team that'll return 19 starters, with cornerback KeiVarae Russell and defensive end Ishaq Williams adding a few more experienced bodies. 

But with a bowl game and battles with Louisville and USC still ahead, it's time to see what the kids can do. Especially as they'll be counted on to play key roles on a team that'll have a playoff-or-bust attitude. 

Here are five underclassmen worth watching. 

*Unless otherwise noted, all quotes obtained firsthand. 

Jay Hayes

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Brian Kelly broke the news Thursday that the redshirt was coming off freshman Jay Hayes. After sitting out the first 10 games of the regular season, the New Yorker will be thrown into the mix at defensive tackle, with Sheldon Day and Daniel Cage both unavailable. 

It was a decision that Kelly didn't take lightly. 

"Jay Hayes has been ready every week, but we were hoping not to play him," Kelly acknowledged Thursday evening. "It was a difficult decision. I’ve had to weigh a lot of factors."

Those factors include finding enough reps to make it worth burning a year of eligibility for the freshman. While Justin Utupo will start and sophomore Jacob Matuska will rotate in, Kelly has committed to playing Hayes early and often. 

"We’re gonna play him a minimum of 30 plays," Kelly said, a significant workload against a Louisville team that'll run the football early and often. "If we can get him up to 100 reps and a couple weeks of practice, we’ll feel as though we did by him the right thing to get him enough reps and enough work to make it worthwhile."

After moving off the scout team Tuesday, Hayes impressed his head coach against his starting offensive line this week. And after seeing Louis Nix and Stephon Tuitt not finish off their eligibility in South Bend, the removal of the redshirt might ultimately have been paying Hayes a pretty large compliment. 

"We think Jay Hayes can play at the next level. We think he’s that good of a player," Kelly said. "We haven’t had a lot of NFL defensive linemen hang around here for five years."

Durham Smythe

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Senior Ben Koyack may lead the team in offensive snaps. But his backup should see more and more action down the stretch.

Sophomore Durham Smythe was an early candidate for a breakout season in 2014. With the Irish historically utilizing two tight ends under Brian Kelly, after sitting out the 2013 season Smythe looked like the beneficiary of Troy Niklas' decision to leave for the NFL early. 

The big year didn't come this season, with Smythe's lone catch coming against Arizona State. But the sophomore is a key ingredient to next season's roster, and giving Smythe some of Koyack's reps—as not just a blocker, but a pass catcher—might do everybody some good.

The ceiling is sky high for the 6'4.5", 242-pounder, with comparisons to former Mackey Award winner Tyler Eifert started already. Eifert's career started slowly too, with a redshirt season as a freshman before an injury to Kyle Rudolph opened the door for him. 

So while we didn't hear much from Smythe in 2014, expect big things to come in the future. 

Kolin Hill

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Early in the season, it looks as though the Irish defense may have found their next pass-rusher. But Kolin Hill's playing time has faded down the stretch. The 6'1.5", 230-pounder has gone from specialist to reserve over the last month, a time where the Irish pass rush has also disappeared. 

Listed as a linebacker, Hill doesn't have the length or size to be an every-down defensive end. But with the Irish desperate for pressure on the quarterback, finding some opportunities for Hill to come off the edge shouldn't be that hard to do.

Where Hill lines up in the future still remains to be seen. Two linebacker jobs seem set for 2015, with Joe Schmidt and Jaylon Smith a lock to return to the starting lineup and Nyles Morgan and Greer Martini earning key snaps as backups. He doesn't seem to fit the outside linebacker profile Brian VanGorder prefers on the strong side, with James Onwualu and John Turner more of a space defender. 

So Hill's value to both this year's team and 2015's will likely come from generating a pass rush. The experience he can build against Louisville and USC, before a month of practice leading into a bowl game, will be critical. 

Nick Watkins

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With Cody Riggs battling through the end of this season with a foot injury, Notre Dame's cornerback depth continues to be razor-thin. With seniors Josh Atkinson and Jalen Brown not even on the travel squad, freshman Nick Watkins is the next man in if injuries hit again. 

The freshman has contributed this season, playing early but mostly taking on a special teams presence for the Irish this season. But as the Irish prepare to travel to Southern California to take on a USC offense that's averaging nearly 300 yards passing a game, Watkins likely deserves an extended look in coverage. 

As the safety position reshuffles (Saturday's starting lineup will include Drue Tranquill and Austin Collinsworth), Devin Butler continues to share time with Riggs while Cole Luke has taken a large step forward. With Matthias Farley making big plays from the nickel position, snaps will come Watkins' way only if he's capable of contributing on the outside. 

He's got the talent, with the 6'0", 194-pound freshman possessing the ideal length and athleticism to be excellent in man coverage. Now finding a handful of snaps for Watkins to get some experience against some top-end receivers over the next few weeks will be key. 

With KeiVarae Russell set to return to the top of the depth chart, Watkins could add another solid corner to a two-deep that should return to optimal depth next season. 

Greg Bryant

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The 2014 season hasn't been the year many expected for sophomore Greg Bryant. After a medical redshirt in 2013, a three-man depth chart had many projecting big things for the former blue-chip recruit. But Bryant's gone from competing for the starting job to afterthought in the last month, a disappointing turn for a back many expected to break loose this season. 

Bryant has only earned six carries in the last five games. His 45 carries for just 208 yards this year was supposed to be a two-game stretch in the minds of some Irish fans, not his stat-line heading into the final two weeks of the regular season. 

But while expectations were sky high, Bryant's career is still in its infancy. And it's far too early to kick dirt on the redshirt freshman just yet. 

The Florida native has taken over the punt return duties from Cody Riggs. He'll also likely earn a few more carries after Cam McDaniel's fumble was just the latest in a season that's seen the senior's yards per carry drop to 3.4. 

Tarean Folston has emerged as the team's undisputed No. 1 running back. But that doesn't mean Bryant can't carve out a niche in these final three games, running hard and hitting the holes that seem to exist for Folston, but not necessarily for the rest of the backfield. 

Bryant's got the speed, power and agility that great backs possess. He's a smooth pass-catcher out of the backfield. Now we need to see if he has the patience not to get frustrated as his playing career takes a little bit longer to get off the runway than expected.