Irish Take Step Forward With Well-Executed Spring Scrimmage

By John Brice
Special Contributor

In a two-hour session inside Notre Dame Stadium that spanned some 90 plays, Marcus Freeman couldn’t get over what didn’t happen.

The Fighting Irish never had a single false start, illegal motion or play whistled dead before it ever got started.

Not a one.

With a new quarterback, a returning quarterback barely six months removed from shoulder surgery, a new offensive coordinator and two additional offensive assistants brand-new to the staff, the Irish offense flourished from a preparation and readiness standpoint, then made enough plays to retain the coveted blue home jerseys for next week’s Blue and Gold Game in the unit’s scrimmage “win” inside the program’s football home.

“It was really good, because I was concerned,” Freeman said of the game administration. “We didn’t really use play clocks many practices before today. And there were times in practice before today and you’re like, ‘OK, how are you going be when you’re using a play clock? I know we’re not using the play clock right now.’ And there were no play-clock issues. It was good. The quarterbacks had great awareness. …

“The one thing that sticks out to me is I don’t think that there was a pre-snap penalty on offense, which is really encouraging. I might be wrong, but I don’t remember stopping a play because of the play clock or because of a false start on offense. That’s really encouraging. The rest, the execution, we’ll continue to get better at. But those pre-snap penalties, to me, shows that, hey, you’re progressing, or, hey, we have a lot of work to do in that area of our offense. To have zero pre-snap penalties is really encouraging.”

Gerad Parker, the aforementioned new offensive coordinator after being elevated into the role as replacement to the departed Tommy Rees, noted the clean performance in the team’s first performance inside Notre Dame Stadium since last November.

“I’m happy for our guys. It’s the cliché, but it feels good to win, always, but I am happy for our guys to go into the stadium and really quote unquote pass the test,” Parker said. “We’ve still got to improve and all kinds of stuff to fix. But for them to come into the stadium and play well for the first time since whenever at the end of last year, that’s a big-time deal for us take a step and expect to come over here and play well.”

Both new quarterback Sam Hartman, the graduate-transfer record-setter from Wake Forest, and returnee Tyler Buchner, the Gator Bowl hero after his early return from shoulder surgery, uncorked highlight plays during Saturday’s work, according to coaches.

Too, neither player tossed an interception. The only turnover was a fumble out of the backfield. The cleaner operation under center as the Irish ran some offense with the quarterback at the line of scrimmage also showcased some of the spring progress.

“There were no turnovers; we had one fumble on offense,” Freeman said. “You’re talking 90 plays and one fumble, that’s really, really encouraging. No pre-snap penalties. Those are the little things that say, ‘OK, you are progressing as an offense. You’re doing the little things efficiently.’ That’s really good to see. There were no interceptions thrown. Guys seemed to be executing at a high level.

“I have to go back and watch the film to be able to say, ‘OK, this guy screwed up or this guy screwed up.’ But when you pull back and say, ‘No pre-snap penalties, one turnover,’ which was a fumble by a running back, that’s encouraging.”

Chris Tyree and Jayden Thomas were among the Irish offensive players to make significant plays in the passing game; Freeman also noted the defense reasserted itself after the offense initially seized command in the scrimmage.

And though Freeman noted the need for in-depth video review, Notre Dame’s second-year head coach likewise cited specific examples of growth during his second spring atop the program.

“One of those examples was a third-down play in practice six,” Freeman said. “Sam Hartman versus Cover-2. It was a third down. He’s looking to Tobias (Merriweather) on the sideline, and they weren’t on the same page. There was a lack of trust between Tobias and Sam and Sam and Tobias.

“Then practice eight or nine, the exact same situation came up. Third down, exact same defensive call. And there was a completion. Why? Because trust is built.”