Notre Dame Football: 4 Things We Learned About the Irish This Spring
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Notre Dame football's spring season wasn't particularly revelatory, but we still transition from the 15-practice slate with new insights.
While quarterback and other roster questions remain after a relatively uneventful spring, the Irish did shift an offensive weapon, develop an early enrollee and see encouraging growth from a vital member of the defense.
Let's highlight some of the key takeaways.
Max Redfield Has Made Definite Improvements
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In terms of what we learned this spring, Max Redfield’s growth is among the most important developments.
As a sophomore, Redfield made 11 starts at safety and finished second on the squad with 68 tackles. Redfield's late-season benching, however, revealed the need for significant growth moving into his third season in the program—growth the Irish coaching staff saw in the past few months.
"I thought Max Redfield continues to show why he's going to be a big player for us defensively," Irish head coach Brian Kelly said following the Blue-Gold game.
Notre Dame defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder said Redfield is "way more comfortable" and "way more knowledgeable" in the defense. There haven't been as many panicked snaps from Redfield and fellow starting safety Elijah Shumate, according to the defensive coordinator.
"I think Max has really stepped up as a leader," Irish fifth-year defensive back Matthias Farley said after the spring game. "I think he's a lot more comfortable in his role and a lot more comfortable with the playbook. … He's really taken that next step of establishing himself as a leader."
Redfield, a 5-star prospect, was the No. 3 safety and the No. 30 overall player in the class of 2013 coming out of Mission Viejo High School in California. At one point during the spring, Kelly mentioned how quickly it seems Redfield's career has gone. Still, Redfield could be poised for a breakout junior campaign.
"It's night and day compared to their recognition of what's happening out there and how they're seeing things," Kelly said in March of his two safeties and their improvements.
C.J. Prosise Is a Serious Offensive Weapon
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If you had C.J. Prosise as the headliner of Notre Dame's annual spring surprise(s), come on down.
Tarean Folston and Greg Bryant are set to begin their junior seasons, and Irish fans are certainly clamoring for upticks from the talented Floridians. But Prosise stole the seat at the head of the table in the running back room. Said to be cross-training between his slot receiver role and running back, Prosise sure seemed to spend most of his time with Folston, Bryant and new position coach Autry Denson.
The result? Prosise racked up 64 yards on 12 carries in the Blue-Gold game and landed further praise from Kelly.
"He's a guy that you're going to fear," Kelly said. "When you turn on the film, you're going to look at him and go, 'He scares me.'"
The 220-pounder made big plays out of the slot last year as both a pass-catcher (10 receptions of at least 20 yards and three grabs of 50-plus yards) and a ball carrier on jet sweeps (126 rushing yards in the Music City Bowl against LSU, a performance highlighted by a 50-yard sprint).
"It's our job to get the best 11 players on the field, and right now it's hard to make the case that he's not one of the best 11," Kelly said.
Prosise's role remains unclear. His potential impact is not.
Jerry Tillery Is on the Fast Track
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Before Prosise fully grabbed control of the headlines down the stretch in April, early enrollee defensive lineman Jerry Tillery carved out his spot as the spring darling.
The 6'6 ½", 300-pounder from Shreveport, Louisiana, stepped onto campus as a defensive lineman after being recruited—and expected—to play along Harry Hiestand's offensive line. Tillery, who did play along the defensive line at Evangel Christian Academy—where he notched 93 tackles, 15 tackles for loss and seven sacks as a senior—made a quick impression.
During the first spring practice, of which the opening 30 minutes were open to the media, Tillery lined up along the third-team defensive line with Jhonny Williams, Micah Dew-Treadway and Jonathan Bonner—behind the likes of Jacob Matuska and Daniel Cage.
By the end of the month, Kelly was heaping praise on Tillery and lauding his impressive skill set, highlighted by his hand skills.
"There's probably one guy that has separated himself from any of the younger players, and that's Jerry Tillery," Kelly said to reporters in March.
Tillery grabbed his share of first-team defensive reps as the spring sessions rolled along, and he's in position to contribute for the Irish in 2015, even when senior-to-be Jarron Jones (foot) returns to full strength and his perch in the starting unit.
While the freshman Tillery was not made available to the media during the spring, he spoke this week with ND Day's Jack Nolan and discussed, among other topics, his desire to play defense.
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The Offensive Line Depth Isn't What We Thought
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Notre Dame's offensive line hasn't shaken out exactly according to plan or previous expectations. That's not to say, though, that the group is or isn't in better shape. It's just not in line with the end-of-season projections.
Conor Hanratty retired from football, and Matt Hegarty has left the Irish program with plans to play elsewhere in 2015. All of a sudden, Notre Dame's offensive line doesn't appear nearly as deep. Hanratty started three games and played in eight others in 2014 after logging four starts in 2013. Hegarty started the final 11 games of the 2014 campaign at center and earned another start as a junior in 2013.
On top of those personnel losses, Tillery made the aforementioned move to the defense, sapping the Irish of another body, even if the true freshman wouldn't have profiled as an immediate contributor.
But the recent success in recruiting the offensive line has apparently begun to reap dividends in depth. After the spring game, Kelly said Notre Dame has the ability to go seven or eight deep—high praise considering redshirt freshmen Quenton Nelson and Alex Bars (Nos. 5 and 6, in some order) have a grand total of zero career snaps, and starting right tackle Mike McGlinchey has only made one career start.
Still, Kelly is confident in his unit and said the starting five is the deepest he's had during his tenure at Notre Dame.
"It was pretty clear that we've got a very good offensive line," Kelly said following the Blue-Gold game. "They're going to be able to control the line of scrimmage in most instances, and we'll continue to go to our strength, which we believe is up front."
Unless otherwise noted, all recruiting stats and information courtesy of 247Sports.com and all quotes obtained firsthand. Star ratings reflect 247Sports' composite rankings.
Mike Monaco is a lead Notre Dame writer for Bleacher Report. Follow @MikeMonaco_ on Twitter.
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