What to watch for in Notre Dame’s Blue-Gold Game

All eyes usually land on the quarterbacks in the Blue-Gold Game. The 2023 rendition will be no exception. And this time, Notre Dame has reached the 36-hour mark of the game without a quarterback’s ankle meeting an apparently unfriendly stairwell and costing the game its most captivating figure.

Sam Hartman and Tyler Buchner will be dueling quarterbacks Saturday, likely for about half of the Blue-Gold Game (2 p.m. ET, Peacock) that will feature a running clock at times. It’s the ACC’s all-time touchdown pass leader and a 45-game starter versus the original 2022 starter who returned from injury to total 5 touchdowns in his most recent game.

It should be good theater. But hardly the only part of the scrimmage worth closely monitoring. Here are five individuals and groups to track Saturday that will likely have an impact on how Notre Dame fares in the fall.

How does Sam Hartman look with less pressure?

Notre Dame has set up the spring game to favor offenses, especially quarterbacks. The defense cannot bring pressure more than once every four downs during the first three quarters. Anything goes in the fourth quarter, but Hartman’s day will likely be done then.

Hartman shouldn’t have rushers in his face or unblocked defenders charging at him on more than half his dropbacks. The two practices open to reporters included periods with the exact opposite. Want to make a new quarterback’s life even harder? Throw blitzes at him for an entire period in practice.

Marcus Freeman didn’t want Al Golden to hold anything back. Now, though, he’s toning down the pressure. It should create a setting where a 45-game starter with nearly 13,000 career passing yards should be expected to thrive.

Hartman’s ball placement and decision-making has been sharp in seven-on-seven drills. Saturday should be closer to seven-on-seven than the blitz periods that reporters saw Hartman slog through in practice. His bumpy play in open practices needed to be processed with the context of all the newness around him and the pressure coming at him at times. (Not every period where he struggled was a blitz period, though.)

But Saturday will be his 15th practice or scrimmage since arriving at Notre Dame. It won’t be against an aggressive defense or even 11 likely starters. It’s fair to expect a player with his credentials to shine in this spot, especially after hearing how he helped the offense win last weekend’s closed scrimmage that didn’t have restrictions on the defense. He can remind all observers why their expectations are rightfully high.  

Can Tyler Buchner keep ascending?

Buchner isn’t irrelevant Saturday either. He looked more comfortable running the offense and operating in blitz periods than Hartman did in those two practices. He should get an entire half of action, too.

Buchner shining doesn’t need to spark a rethink of the 2023 picture. Not everything he does has to be viewed through the lens of what it means for Aug. 26 in Dublin and 11 Saturdays after it. Seeing growth and improvement from him would be valuable even if Hartman wasn’t here for a season. His progression has value beyond 2023.

No matter his outlook, he needed to get better between walking off the field after the Gator Bowl and August. A productive scrimmage Saturday would suggest he’s on that path.

Can the freshman receivers and Tobias Merriweather back up the buzz?

Wide receivers coach Chansi Stuckey knew the three early enrollees belonged at Notre Dame before spring practice was close to over.

“We hit on all three freshmen, and that was huge,” Stuckey said.

Stuckey talks about Jaden Greathouse, Rico Flores Jr. and Braylon James like he could put them in the rotation this year. Each has impressed in practices. They look the part physically. Their purported ability to help this year is why a fragile unit last fall doesn’t feel doomed with its most experienced player (Kaleb Smith) no longer on the roster and 2022 catches leader (Lorenzo Styles) experimenting at cornerback.

Spring games cater to individual performances. Can the freshmen show why Stuckey is enamored with them and continue to push for playing time? If so, it will strengthen the feeling that this is the Irish’s deepest receiver unit in some time.

The Notre Dame receivers’ 2023 ceiling doesn’t depend on them, though. At this stage, the Irish aren’t asking any of them to be a go-to presence. That role could be for sophomore Tobias Merriweather, on whom Stuckey puts no ceiling.

“I don’t do comparisons, but Randy Moss, when the ball was in the air, it’s like he got faster,” Stuckey said. “Tobias, the guy is right next to him and I feel like he hits another gear and just runs away from guys. That’s a very unique skill set to have.”

All indications are that Merriweather has turned heads this spring, even if the two open practices were quieter given the overall passing game issues. Saturday is a stage set up for his traits to shine.

Can Jordan Botelho and Javontae Jean-Baptiste create pressure themselves?

Notre Dame won’t blitz often in the Blue-Gold Game. That doesn’t mean every pocket will be tidy. The rules restriction on blitzes put a premium on winning one-on-one matchups up front. Notre Dame’s pass rush will rely on its edge players to do the same in the fall. Nobody needs to try to be Isaiah Foskey. But the Irish have to find someone who can bring pressure off the edge in four-man fronts and without needing free runs or blitzes.

That search starts with defensive end Jordan Botelho and Javontae Jean-Baptiste. Botelho was a backfield mainstay in the Gator Bowl in place of Foskey. Jean-Baptiste was a four-year rotation player at Ohio State whose first step and pass-rush arsenal has impressed in one-on-ones. The good news for both is they’re on the same team as left tackle Joe Alt, who shut them down in most matchups with them in the two open practices.

Notre Dame’s pass rush won’t hinge on what happens in the spring game. A rough day from one or both of Botelho and Jean-Baptiste won’t shake up the depth chart. At the same time, some dominant flashes and pressures from them would give more credence to Notre Dame’s belief it has a strong defensive line.

This spring established that Irish have depth up front after some significant losses. Do they have stars? That’s not yet clear. But Botelho and Jean-Baptiste have a prime opportunity to make a case.

Can the linebacker rotation expand to five or six?

Golden said the backup linebackers Nolan Ziegler, sophomore Jaylen Sneed and junior Prince Kollie are “all in the rotation.” That’s an encouraging sign for the unit’s depth and life after fifth-year players JD Bertrand (mike), Jack Kiser (rover) and Marist Liufau (will) move on, though all have a sixth year available.

But those graduate students aren’t going anywhere in 2023. As it stands, they’re the starters. And Notre Dame didn’t use six linebackers a year ago. The rotation was more like 3.5. Kollie played 136 snaps in nine appearances on defense. Junior Tuihalamaka, now a vyper defensive end, played 87 snaps, but 29 of those came when he started in place of Bertrand and another 24 were at vyper in the Gator Bowl. Sneed redshirted and played just 39 snaps.

Golden wants to see the senior starters challenged. That doesn’t mean they have to be overtaken, but the Irish could afford to give them more rest in each game if they have a trustworthy second unit.

Two members of second line should get a lot of action Saturday. Kollie has missed recent practices with a concussion, per Freeman, and won’t play in the scrimmage. Sneed, a rover, should have ample playing time available with Kiser out. He and Ziegler will have a long runway Saturday to continue to build their case to play in some capacity in 2023, perhaps in a sub-package role.