As Notre Dame opened up spring practice yesterday, we got a glimpse of one of the more fun and light-hearted stories of every season – jersey number changes. There was no shortage of jersey number swaps for Notre Dame players this year. Here’s a rundown.
Deion Colzie (WR): 16 > 0
Notre Dame’s offense has a new agent zero. Braden Lenzy donned the #0 on offense last year, but with Lenzy ending his football career instead of returning for a 6th year, Colzie takes it over. He wore #16 last year as he started establishing himself as a reliable option for the Irish offense. Playing time and starting spots receiver are up for grabs, and Colzie ended the 2022 season on an upward trajectory.
Xavier Watts (S): 26 > 0
Watts takes on #0 as well, meaning we won’t see Colzie and Watts both on the field at the same time on special teams – unless maybe Notre Dame wants to troll Pitt and send them both out for a field goal block just for funsies. Watts is being looked to be one of the veterans of the Irish defense this fall after playing 366 snaps.
Chris Tyree (WR/RB): #25 > #2
One of the most significant stories out of spring ball on Wednesday was Chris Tyree working at receiver. Marcus Freeman wouldn’t say if the move is permanent, but it makes a lot of sense. It’s kind of sad to see Tyree, a speed demon, move on from #25 as an enormous fan of Rocket Ismail, but another speedy receiver wore #2 recently for the Irish as well – Chris Brown.
Jaylen Sneed (LB): #17 > 3
Sneed takes over the #3 jersey on defense from Houston Giffith after playing his freshman season with #17. Jersey numbers in the teens always look a little weird to me, and #3 is meant to be for playmakers at Notre Dame, so I’m all for this switch. Notre Dame needs a big spring from Sneed and the other young linebackers because this defense desperately needs more playmakers.
Tobias Merriweather (WR): #15 > 5
Merriweather knocked a one off his jersey number to switch from 15 to 5. No one wors #5 on offense last year, so it’s not as though anyone occupied the number when he arrived. One tiny bit of significance here is that Merriweather wouldn’t be able to be on the field at the same time on special teams as Cam Hart, who wears #5 on defense.
Jaden Mickey (CB): #21 > 7
The sophomore corner takes over the #7 jersey that Isaiah Foskey wore last year before heading off to the NFL. Seven isn’t a standard number for corners at Notre Dame, but it is also currently worn by bulldozing running back Audric Estime on offense at the moment.
Tyson Ford: #98 > 95
Ford makes the slight change to #95 from 98, obviously signaling he is more of a Victor Abiamiri guy than an Anthony Weaver guy. Although, Ford does have a similar build to Abiamiri, who played for the Irish almost 20 years ago at this point – yikes, I’m getting old.
