Notre Dame Football: Final 2015 Positional Grades for the Irish
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Bowl season is nearly upon us, but before we dive into postseason play, let’s reflect on the performance of Notre Dame football’s various position groups.
We’ll judge production in the context of all circumstances, including the rash of unexpected injuries. An average performance will be graded a ‘C.’
Away we go.
Quarterback
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Twelve games later, with the dust finally settled, where do you begin assessing the Notre Dame quarterback position?
Malik Zaire began the season with one career start—and not even a full game’s worth of duty, at that—and a pair of inexperienced backups behind him. But Zaire set the tone for a strong season of quarterback play. The lefty completed 19 of 22 passes for 313 yards and three touchdowns in the season opener against Texas—his only full game before his fractured ankle the following week ended his season.
Enter redshirt freshman DeShone Kizer. The confident Ohio native started the final 10 games and completed 63 percent of his passes for 2,600 yards and 19 touchdowns—against nine interceptions. Despite a moderate tendency toward tossing interceptions, especially in the red zone, Kizer’s late-game performances (Clemson, Temple and Stanford, for example) and somewhat unexpected rushing ability (499 yards and nine touchdowns) far outweigh his miscues.
Grade: A-
Running Back
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Like quarterback, Notre Dame’s running back room took on a decidedly different feel before the season even started.
No Greg Bryant and, minutes after the season started, no Tarean Folston. Yet all running backs C.J. Prosise and Josh Adams did was rack up nearly 1,800 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns. Combined, Prosise (1,032 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns) and Adams (757 yards and five touchdowns) averaged 6.91 yards per carry. As a team, Notre Dame’s 5.76 yards-per-carry average ranks sixth in the country.
Grade: A
Wide Receiver
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The 2015 regular season was a mixed bag for Notre Dame’s receiving corps.
Predictably, junior standout Will Fuller powered the group with 56 receptions for 1,145 yards and 13 touchdowns en route to a slew of All-American honors. The speedster and team MVP posted big performances against Texas (seven catches, 142 yards, two touchdowns), Virginia (5-124-2), Georgia Tech (6-131-1), USC (3-131-1), Pittsburgh (7-152-3) and Stanford (6-136-1). But drops, such as in the Clemson game, continue to be an issue for Fuller, who tallied 10 in the regular season, per the CFB Film Room.
Senior Chris Brown proved to be the reliable second option for Kizer, as the South Carolina product hauled in 44 grabs for 562 yards and three touchdowns, including the outstanding scoring stab against Boston College.
Amir Carlisle (30 receptions for 341 yards and one touchdown) and Torii Hunter Jr. (24-311-2) combined to provide satisfactory production out of the slot, while junior Corey Robinson’s numbers (13-159-1) are a far cry from those of his impressive sophomore season.
Grade: B
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Tight End
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When Durham Smythe was lost for the season after two games, Notre Dame was left with two sophomores (Tyler Luatua and Nic Weishar), a true freshman (Alize Jones) and a converted defensive lineman (Chase Hounshell).
Combined, the five Irish tight ends produced 17 receptions for 204 yards and one touchdown (on a fake field goal, of course).
At times, blocking penalties on the perimeter slowed the Irish ground game, but all things considered, Notre Dame’s tight ends were serviceable.
Grade: B
Offensive Line
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You can’t praise the somewhat unexpected performances of Notre Dame’s inexperienced running backs without lauding the men in front of them.
Left tackle Ronnie Stanley, left guard Quenton Nelson, center Nick Martin, right guard Steve Elmer and right tackle Mike McGlinchey deserve plenty of credit for plowing ahead to that 5.76 yards-per-carry average. The group also managed to keep Kizer upright, allowing 22 sacks (ranking middle of the pack nationally) and plenty of time to throw.
Notre Dame, along with Alabama, Arkansas, Iowa, Michigan State and Stanford, is a finalist for the inaugural Joe Moore Award, given to the top offensive line in college football.
Grade: A
Defensive Line
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Between a healthy Sheldon Day, a steady Isaac Rochell and a breakout Romeo Okwara, Notre Dame’s defensive line proved stout throughout much of the regular season.
Nose tackle Jarron Jones’ season-ending injury in August left a void to be filled by a pair of inexperienced underclassmen in Daniel Cage and Jerry Tillery, who each flashed at various points over the course of the season.
Irish head coach Brian Kelly routinely praised the play of his front seven. Day notched 41 tackles, four sacks and a team-high 14.5 tackles for loss. Okwara spearheaded the group with eight sacks, while Rochell’s 58 tackles were the most of any defensive lineman and rank fifth on the defense.
The Irish ranked 79th nationally by allowing 4.52 yards per carry and totaled 22 sacks, tied for 80th.
Grade: B+
Linebacker
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Star junior Jaylon Smith headlines the unit with his freakish playmaking ability. The All-American piled up 113 tackles (48 more than the next-highest tackler on the Irish defense), nine tackles for loss, five passes broken up, five passes defensed and six quarterback hurries. In other words, he’s decent.
Fifth-year middle linebacker Joe Schmidt ranked second with 65 tackles, and his unquantifiable value is likely most strongly tied to his communication and leadership skills.
At the “Sam” linebacker position, James Onwualu (36 tackles, two sacks) and Greer Martini (35 tackles, one sack) combined to form a productive tandem, as Onwualu drew praise for his coverage skills, in particular, and Martini was at his best against the run, specifically against Notre Dame’s option opponents.
Grade: B
Secondary
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At the midway point of the regular season, we assessed the Irish secondary: “This group has been the biggest question mark for Notre Dame. It likely also has the most room for growth down the stretch.”
Well, what changed?
Notre Dame still gave up more than its share of big plays, namely against Pitt and Stanford. In particular, the Irish couldn’t deliver the necessary stops against the Cardinal in the regular-season finale. Stanford quarterback Kevin Hogan sliced the Irish for 269 yards and four touchdowns on 17-of-21 passing. Wide receiver Devon Cajuste routinely found open space and delivered 125 yards on five catches. After gains of 38 and 42 yards earlier in the night, Cajuste hauled in one final big play, a 27-yard grab into the Irish secondary to set up the game-winning field goal.
Grade: C
Special Teams
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Youngsters highlighted Notre Dame’s special teams units.
Freshman C.J. Sanders reinvigorated the return game and provided both a punt- and kick-return touchdown, while fellow rookie Justin Yoon powered past a shaky start to connect on 88.2 percent of his field goals, tied for the fifth-best mark in the country. Sophomore Tyler Newsome, meanwhile, averaged 44 yards per punt (25th in the country) and had 20 punts downed inside the 20-yard line.
Fifth-year senior Matthias Farley earned the squad’s Special Teams Player of the Year award and proved reliable in key spots, downing punts near the goal line, recovering onside kicks and squashing fake punts.
Grade: B+
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.
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