Notre Dame Football’s 11 Best: Offense

The idea of playing the best 11 guys you have on either side of the ball would seem to be conventional and a matter of common sense. Of course every team wants to play their best guys, who wouldn’t? Yet, avid fans of the game know that is not always possible. Here I take a shot at ranking the top 11 players on the offensive side of the ball, and you’ll see that the Irish backfield makes it very difficult to get Notre Dame’s best on the field at once.

11.) Equanimeous St. Brown

The 6-5 sophomore that runs like a gazelle appears to have the inside track at the starting W position, even if senior Corey Robinson returns from his issues with a concussion. There has been buzz about St. Brown ever since he stepped on campus last fall, lauded by Brian Kelly many times for his play making ability in practice. The prevailing thought was had St. Brown not been playing behind first round pick Will Fuller at the X, he’d have seen the field as a freshman and made a real contribution.

His development was slowed by a shoulder injury late in the season, and he also missed time with a minor injury to the other shoulder during spring practices. It was somewhat of a tough transition over to the W for St. Brown; that is the boundary spot, with less room to operate, and requires more physicality. The young receiver is a competitor, but he isn’t the thickest of players and physical play isn’t yet a strong part of his game. He is mainly a projection heading into the season, but too much talent to not make the top 11.

10.) Sam Mustipher

Mustipher figured to enter into a fierce battle at center against sophomore Tristen Hoge, who like Equanimeous St. Brown, received a lot of praise from Brian Kelly in the lead up to spring practices. It turns out, for the junior out of Maryland, it wasn’t much of a competition at all. Mustipher seemed to take control of the center position from the start of the spring session and Kelly proclaimed early that Mustipher had solidified himself along the offensive line. At 6-2, 305 his strength is, naturally, his strength, especially in the run game. He handled 315 pound Daniel Cage in the spring game with little trouble, and picked up the line calls seamlessly, which is half the battle at center.

This fall will be his first foray into the starting lineup and it remains to be seen if his snapping issues creep up again, and how well he does in pass protection. But, given the success of offensive linemen under Harry Hiestand, and the fact that Mustipher was essentially groomed his first two years into this position, it’s easy to project that he’ll be ready to go.

9.) Aliz’e Jones

The former five star tight end out of Las Vegas had what some would term a disappointing freshman year, but that wouldn’t be totally fair. It was projected he would make an impact in the passing game, which he did, but the loss of Durham Smythe to injury pressed Jones into the starter role much sooner than even a talent like him was ready for. Consequently, he struggled some with the rigors of a long season and bigger defensive ends and linebackers as a blocker.

His sophomore season brings a full year in the weight room under Paul Longo and a better understanding of what is needed on a day to day, game to game basis as a major college player. He was lined up in the W position a fair amount this spring a la Tyler Eifert in 2011 and 2012; Notre Dame clearly wants to get him into favorable matchups and give them a more physical player blocking on the edge with the loss of Chris Brown who was excellent as a blocker last season. With the loss of Brown, Fuller and Amir Carlisle at receiver, anything less than a 40 catch season would be surprising.

8.) Alex Bars

If not for breaking his ankle in his first start against USC, Bars would likely be higher up on this list. Shaking off the rust has been somewhat difficult for Bars, who didn’t have the best spring of all time, but his talent and previous play is undeniable. Brian Kelly has been effusive in his praise of Bars pretty much since his arrival on campus and even with his injury, his spot on the offensive line’s top five was never in question. The expectation is Bars will regain his form over the summer with more leg work in the weight room.

7.) Tarean Folston

It’s easy to forget how good Tarean Folston had been during his first two seasons in South Bend due to his injury and the stellar play of CJ Prosise and Josh Adams who replaced Folston in the lineup. Yet, it was Folston who many projected to have the monster season in 2015, myself included, and it’s hard to disagree with that assertion given the success of his backups. Folston possesses a skill set that Adams does not bring to the table as an inside runner with quick feet and the necessary burst through a small hole. It’s not to say Adams can’t run inside or in short yardage, but this is an area where Folston excels (In 2014, Folston was 7 of 8 on third and three or less, 5.75 a carry. Adams and Prosise in 2015? 3 of 10, 0.8 yards a carry). Given Notre Dame’s struggles on third and short in 2016, Folston’s ability in that area, as well as his experience in big environments, will prove invaluable for the Irish offense.

6.) Torii Hunter Jr.

I’m not sure anyone’s stock rose in the spring on offense as much as Hunter Jr’s, who looked every bit the #1 receiver that Notre Dame seemed to be lacking when Will Fuller left to be the 21st pick in the draft. Never seen as much of a speed guy, Kelly announced Hunter Jr. ran a 4.42 in winter workouts, which had it been the NFL combine, would have tied for third fastest. He then backed that up with multiple toastings of Notre Dame defensive backs in one on one drills and it wasn’t limited to just one guy. Add that to his Sportscenter top 10 highlight reel reception in the spring game, and Notre Dame may have found a permanent solution to the X position.

5.) Josh Adams

While there are things that Folston does that Josh Adams, thus far, has not, Adams has the home run ability that every coach covets. Still an efficient runner in between the tackles, Adams has the size to go inside, and the speed to turn big holes into long touchdowns, something Folston hasn’t done in his first two years. Adams scored on runs of 98, 70, and 62 yards while averaging 7.2 yards per carry, and only figures to improve in all facets of the game as he enters his sophomore season. He and Folston figure to form a solid two back committee next year, but given Adams’ home run ability and developing game, he figures to be the better player between the two, overall.

4.) Quenton Nelson

Prior to the high ankle sprain that Nelson incurred prior to USC week, Nelson was often dominant at left guard next to first round pick Ronnie Stanley. The former five star linemen acquitted himself very nicely in his first game action in his career for team 127 and lived up to all the praise and expectations heaped upon him prior to his insertion into the lineup. He’s an absolute monster as a run blocker, as some unsuspecting linebacker from Texas discovered early in the opening game. He’s got some limitations as a pass blocker, but he’s got plenty of time to develop that part of his game, and he showed so much promise during his first year, there is a great chance he moves up this list following his second campaign.

3.) Malik Zaire

No matter who Brian Kelly decides the starter is going to be for the 2016 season, he’s got a problem on his hands. Malik Zaire is a good football player, I’m not sure anyone is denying that. Whenever the fans have seen him in live action, either in the regular season or the spring game, he has performed well. For his career, as mismashed as it has been, he hasn’t turned the ball over once. He’s completed 63% of his 75 passes. Notre Dame has won every game he has started. Sure, it’s a small sample size, but he hasn’t failed at Notre Dame yet. He’s got the skills to take over a game; he’s got a huge arm to hit the deep ball and the legs to bust open any play. Most importantly, his heart is as big as any of his offensive linemen. In his first home start, the first time the team was truly his, he delivered one of the best passing performances in school history, when his passing ability was his biggest question mark. Any other year, he’s the no-brainer starting QB. But, this isn’t any other year, and his role on the team is very much in question.

2.) Mike McGlinchey

Notre Dame’s last two starting left tackles enjoyed stellar careers in college and promptly moved on to be first round picks in the NFL draft; McGlinchey looks to make it three in a row. McGlinchey is an enormously big human being at 6-7, 310 pounds, which make it all the more amazing that he can move his feet as fluidly as he does in pass protection. He makes the move from right tackle over to the left, a la his predecessor Ronnie Stanley, and paired with Quenton Nelson figures to form one of the most dominating duos in college football, clearing out running lanes for whoever is toting the ball behind them. Any prognostication of the Notre Dame offense starts and ends with the play of McGlinchey.

1.) DeShone Kizer

The fact there is a possibility Kizer is not named the starting quarterback of this team come fall practice is frankly, unbelievable. He checks every box you want in a quarterback; size (6-4, 230), power, speed, a strong arm, and perhaps most importantly, he’s got the clutch gene. In the 4th quarter last season he achieved his highest passer rating, his highest completion percentage, and had his best touchdown to interception ratio 7:1. He engineered late drives to win or take the lead against Virginia, USC, Temple and Stanford, incidentally, with the exception of USC, all of which took place on the road (not included in that was his 19 unanswered 4th quarter points at national runner up Clemson that came up just short).

Incredibly, he seems to have expanded his skill set to become a much better passer while on the run, and with pressure in his face (Brett Favre anyone?). This guy has got the kind of skills that teams trade multiple picks to acquire. And yet, he may not be Notre Dame’s starting quarterback. Whatever the case may be, he’s the best player on the Notre Dame offense.