Notre Dame football 2023: Irish Will Look And Feel Different
As the 2023 football season quickly approaches, Notre Dame football fans are spending lots of time thinking about what the 2023 season may bring. What will the team look like this year? How will Marcus Freeman improve as a coach with a year of experience under his belt? How will all of the new players and coaches blend together?
I feel that this particular Notre Dame team will look, feel and operate much differently this year than what fans are used to from both the Kelly era and the first year of Marcus, for many reasons. Let’s examine some of these nuances in greater detail.
Hartman Tide Raises All Irish Ships
Nd Football Blue Gold Game
Sam Hartman brings a quarterback skillset to South Bend that Irish fans have been begging for. An experienced player who can make all necessary progressions, reads and most importantly, throws. This is great news, but even better news is that he doesn’t even need to be at “Heisman level” production to raise the bar of what’s possible for the Irish offense.
If you think about it, its actually pretty impressive that Notre Dame has accomplished all that it has in the last handful of years while running out offenses that were severely limited and flawed. The concept of the Irish being able to run the ball and pass the ball in a way that will make defenses respect the entire field is a game changer. If the Irish offense takes a major step forward as I expect, the defense will also benefit by simply not being on the field as much and not having to be near perfect to win games.
Year 2 Freeman
You often hear about how football teams take major steps forward between weeks 1 and 2. I wonder how this theory will translate for Marcus Freeman from year 1 to year 2. It has to help. Coach Freeman is ultra-cerebral in the way he maneuvers through the world. This leads me to believe he’s learned a lot since being named the head ball coach and certainly, he will evolve and adapt.
One example of this would be in his messaging to the team. Freeman recently spoke about altering his message to the squad to be more focused on the singular task of winning the game in front of them rather than focusing on bigger-picture goals as he did last year. This is coaching development and is a positive sign that Freeman can and will pivot when needed to yield better results.
Skill Talent Levels
2023 Notre Dame simply features more high-level “skill” position players than the team had available last year. Whether it’s the QB discussion, the revamped wide receiver room, a diverse set of skilled running backs and tight ends, or the Irish corner situation, the 2023 Irish have more playmakers.
All of the factors combined in these bullet points lead me to believe that Notre Dame fans will be in for a pleasant surprise this year. I genuinely expect the offense to look more like what playoff game-winning offenses look like, and if that is indeed the case, anything is possible for the Irish in 2023.
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