Notre Dame kicker Josh Bryan leaves Fighting Irish football program
The Notre Dame kicking situation has taken a turn. Rising junior Josh Bryan, a potential starting place-kicking replacement for one-year graduate transfer rental Blake Grupe, has left the Fighting Irish program, head coach Marcus Freeman announced Wednesday.
Bryan arrived at Notre Dame in the class of 2021 as the No. 4 kicker recruit in the country. The three-star prospect hails from Chatsworth (Calif.) Sierra Canyon High School.
Bryan only attempted one kick in two seasons in South Bend. He made an extra point in a 55-0 blowout of Georgia Tech last fall. Grupe, an Arkansas State transfer who battled Bryan for the starting job in the offseason, attempted every kick for Notre Dame in 2022. He was 43-of-43 on extra points and 13-of-18 (72.2%) on field goals.
Bryan and Grupe were two of the four kickers listed on the 2022 Irish roster. The others are walk-ons Zac Yoakam, a true freshman who handled kickoff duties all season, and sophomore Chris Salerno, younger brother of Notre Dame wide receiver Matt Salerno. Now all signs point to South Florida transfer Spencer Shrader assuming the starting role.
Shrader, though, does not arrive on campus until this summer. Notre Dame will go through the entire spring schedule with two walk-ons, junior Chris Salerno and sophomore Zac Yoakam, taking care of place-kicking duties. Yoakam served as Notre Dame’s kickoff specialist last season. Salerno and Yoakam have not attempted any extra points or field goals in game action.
Shrader was 9-for-13 (69.2 percent) on field goal attempts and 37-for-37 on extra points for South Florida in 2022. His longest field goal was 49 yards. He’s 28-for-41 on field goals in his career with a long of 52 yards. He has made 95 of his 96 extra point attempts. He also handled kickoffs for the Bulls the last three seasons, and his 80.65 touchback percentage in 2022 ranks fourth in the FBS.
New Notre Dame special teams coordinator Marty Biagi is tasked with helping Salerno and Yoakam improve as much as they can before Shrader’s arrival. One thing seems certain; April 22’s Blue-Gold Game does not appear to be trending toward being a kicking exhibition. It wasn’t last year, either, between Grupe missing a field goal and Bryan missing two. Help is on the way for the Irish in the form of Shrader.
