Notre Dame needs a playmaker to step up in 2023

Notre Dame needs a playmaker to step up in 2023 to aid quarterback Sam Hartman, according to On3’s J.D. PicKell.

Tobias Merriweather, Jayden Thomas and Deion Colzie are a few names that come to mind. Hartman was a force in the ACC when he was at Wake Forest, but will it be the same in South Bend?

If someone on the Fighting Irish roster steps up, this could be a very scary squad.

“How differently would we view Notre Dame if you drop Marvin Harrison Jr. on Notre Dame’s roster,” PicKell said on The Hard Count. “Just think about that for a second. The best receiver in college football if he was playing with Sam Hartman, playing with that defense, playing with that run game and then you had a freak show wide receiver on the outside?

“I think Notre Dame would be very much so a College Football Playoff, I don’t know if favorite is the right word, but they’d be pretty high up there in the odds in Vegas. I’d venture to say Marvin Harrison Jr. is an extreme example. Xavier Worthy from Texas, drop him on that roster. How do we talk about Notre Dame? You see where I’m going with this?” 

Out of the three wide receivers mentioned above, Thomas received the most action last season. He finished the 2022 campaign with 25 catches for 361 yards and three touchdowns.

“There has to be somebody that steps up in a big way if Notre Dame wants to be in the College Football Playoff conversation,” PicKell said. “Whether it’s Colzie, whether it’s Chris Tyree … Whether it’s Merriweather, like whoever it is, there’s got to be somebody that steps up in a big way and just is the alpha at wide receiver. Because then you can’t just key on the run game.

“Then Sam Hartman has somebody to drop bombs to deep, life is good and South Bend if that’s the way you’re living.”

If that’s the type of production Hartman gets from his wideouts, Notre Dame is in business. Hartman could create things due to his skill level, but it doesn’t hurt to have some elite talent around you to compete at the top of the sport.

Throughout the course of his career, Hartman had 12,967 yards, 110 touchdowns, 41 interceptions and a 59.1% completion percentage at Wake Forest.