Notre Dame and Navy do not kick off the college football season for another two weeks, but the Irish are set to begin Midshipmen prep after the last two weeks of preseason practices.
“The true physical part of fall camp is over,” head coach Marcus Freeman said Saturday.
Navy’s triple-option offense is an annoyance no matter when it is faced or how much modern rule changes have defanged it. But facing it to start the year will allow Notre Dame to ease into defensive preparations rather than squeeze a crash course into one week during the season.
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“Defensively, it’s time to really turn your attention to Navy,” Freeman said. “We’ve been doing normal defensive things you’ll see for the majority of the year.”
Freeman began that process in a scrimmage on Saturday, opening it with the Irish starting defense against the scout-team offense, particularly the scout-team offense subset that has focused on readying its triple-option look. They’ve had some help in recent weeks.
“I’ve been working with the Navy scout team the entire fall camp,” Freeman said. “We do it at night, me and a couple [graduate assistants].”
But that is not the only aspect of facing the Midshipmen that the Irish need to figure out. They also have to navigate the logistics of traveling to Dublin. When Notre Dame and Navy began preseason practices, they did so two days earlier than anyone else playing on Aug. 26, except for Hawaii. What do the Irish and the Midshipmen have in common with the Rainbow Warriors? They need to cross an ocean before kickoff.
“NFL teams do it weekly, right?” Freeman said, alluding to the frequent NFL games in London. “We came up with our plan, what we think is going to help our players ultimately feel the best Saturday night in Dublin time.”
To be clear, Dublin is five hours ahead of South Bend, Ind. That 2:30 ET kickoff on NBC will be in primetime in Ireland.
How will Notre Dame navigate returning across the ocean? Instead of shoehorning in an idle week on Week 1 of the season, they found a willing opponent with an open date on short notice in Tennessee State.
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Marcus Freeman says guard spots are open, but notes Rocco Spindler and Pat Coogan have been getting lots of work with the starting offensive line. Competition continues.
— Pete Sampson (@PeteSampson_) August 12, 2023
INJURY UPDATES
Freeman confirmed two ACL tears suffered in these preseason practices. Senior tight end Kevin Bauman partially re-tore the ACL he tore last season and will now miss the 2023 season. And sophomore defensive end Aidan Gobaira tore an ACL, as well.
Bauman would have been competing to be the No. 3 Irish tight end, in competition with sophomore Eli Raridon, coming off his own ACL injury. Instead, junior Mitchell Evans and sophomore Holden Staes will handle tight end duties on their own until Raridon is given a full-go.
Gobaira would have been a depth piece at defensive end, unlikely to play in a competitive moment this year barring a rash of injuries ahead of him.
Arizona State QB Drew Pyne left the scrimmage with a hamstring injury https://t.co/DnlaZh3j8g
— Unabated College Football (@Unabated_CFB) August 12, 2023
YOU’LL HEAR THE TERM ‘AZTEC’
“Venmo” or “Cash app” would not have been as catchy, but they would have been more obvious replacements for “dime.” Kids these days simply do not have proper appreciation for cold, hard currency.
That’s a bit facetious, but the point stands: Do not get too confused when depth charts and/or announcers reference an “Aztec” defensive back this season. More than anything else, it is a renamed “dime” package.
“It’s the ability to get another [defensive back] on the field in certain passing situations,” Freeman said. “I’m sure we’ve given it some creative name, but all you’re doing is adding a DB and taking out either a defensive lineman or a linebacker.”
That’s a dime package, called such because it is a step further than a nickel package, called such because it includes five defensive backs.
If there is a specific aspect to the Aztec position, it seems to be that it will be filled by a safety, not a cornerback. Freeman mentioned only safeties and nickel back Thomas Harper as possibilities, a safety in his past life at Oklahoma State.
As much as anything, that may be a testament to the unexpected depth of Notre Dame’s safeties room, compared to the top-end talent at cornerback. While preseason All-American Benjamin Morrison and fifth-year Cam Hart should be one of the better cornerback duos in the country, behind them is sophomore Jaden Mickey, a confident player but not one with a proven track record. Senior Clarence Lewis is busy competing with Harper for nickel back duties.
But at safety, the Irish enjoy seniors Xavier Watts and Ramon Henderson, sixth-year DJ Brown and Rhode Island graduate transfer Antonio Carter. Pulling from them to fill the “Aztec” gig will burgeon the defensive backfield’s experience.
“When we’re in passing situations, and we think we’re going against an offense that might have four wideouts or truly in a passing situation, you have to be able to match up,” Freeman said. “They like it because we created this cool name and called it the ‘Aztec.’ It’s just another way to say, ‘Get another safety on the field.’”
