Notre Dame's 10 most interesting players in spring: Will CJ Carr or Steve Angeli separate?

SOUTH BEND, Ind.

Marcus Freeman will unofficially begin the most difficult of encores on Wednesday morning, rebuilding Notre Dame after its run to the national championship game while trying to maintain the architecture of what got the Irish there in the first place.

All Freeman will have to do is embed new defensive coordinator Chris Ash and running backs coach JaJuan Seider, plus replace all five captains, and do so while pushing back on any hangover lingering from last fall.

And the longest season in school history feels like it might be a fog Notre Dame will need to clear through the Blue-Gold Game on April 12.

Advertisement Not only will Notre Dame be without nearly a dozen players due to injury both players who are out like Jordan Botelho (ACL) and Cooper Flanagan (Achilles) and players who are limited like Billy Schrauth (ankle) and Will Pauling (foot) but the Irish also wont burn any more tread off the tires of several frontline players, including Jeremiyah Love, Jaden Greathouse and Leonard Moore.

Basically, the Irish are going to stage a spring practice unlike any other after playing a season unlike any other.

That will change what Notre Dame can show and learn during the next three-plus weeks, which is different than saying the Irish cant show anything at all.

Because of the players who can practice without restrictions, there are depth chart movements to be made.

Here are the 10 most interesting (and fully available) players on the Notre Dame roster entering spring practice, listed alphabetically.

Quarterback Steve Angeli It would be a shock, including probably to Angeli, if the junior didnt take the first snap of spring practice with the starting offense.

After being recruited over in the transfer portal the past two offseasons but sticking with Notre Dame through the Sam Hartman and Riley Leonard experiences, Angeli has earned the right to get an honest look from the staff.

Angelis ability to answer the bell specifically in the postseason when Notre Dame played without Hartman or Leonard resonates in the locker room.

In a spring practice run where its unlikely anyone can win the starting quarterback job, the goal for Angeli is more about holding serve through the Blue-Gold Game.

Whoever wins the QB1 spot probably cant do it until August.

Quarterback CJ Carr The most-analyzed right elbow in college football history OK, maybe thats an exaggeration has fully healed and the freshman attached to it can attempt to pick up where he left off last spring.

Carr was never a serious candidate to play meaningful snaps last season with Leonard imported to lead a CFP charge.

But its worth remembering how Carr looked last spring when Leonard was sidelined, because even when working with/against second- and third-team talent, the former national prospect looked like the best quarterback on the roster in short bursts.

Advertisement Carr is a football nerd according to coaches who have worked with him, and now he has a full year in a college strength program, which the 6-foot-3, 210-pound quarterback desperately needed.

A good spring for Carr puts him in position for something bigger in preseason camp.

Defensive tackle Jared Dawson Notre Dame desperately needs the Louisville transfer to be an impact player for this rebuilt defense to function.

Dawsons PFF rating last season of 80.9 would have ranked second among Irish defensive linemen, trailing only Jordan Botelho.

The idea Dawson could give Notre Dame something comparable to Howard Cross and Rylie Mills feels like a reach on paper, but in reality Cross was banged up much of last season and Mills didnt find his stride until November before that season-ending knee injury suffered against Indiana.

If theres a concern with Dawson it might be durability, considering hes never played 300 snaps in a season before, a figure that 20 Irish defenders surpassed last season and 13 players beat the year before that (in a regular 13-game season).

Receiver Micah Gilbert Or maybe this should be KK Smith.

Or maybe its Logan Saldate? Could it be Cam Williams? Regardless, Notre Dame needs at least one of its recruited wide receivers to show something during spring ball, with Virginia transfer Malachi Fields not yet enrolled and Wisconsin transfer Will Pauling limited by a foot injury.

With Jaden Greathouse limited and Jordan Faison away playing lacrosse, the wide receiving corps may never be more open than it is right now.

Gilbert seemed closest to making an impact last season, even if that included a dropped touchdown pass from Angeli against Stanford.

Gilbert likely falls behind Fields after he arrives this summer as a boundary receiver, but the North Carolina product can still carve out a role this year, with an eye on moving into the starting lineup next season.

Advertisement Defensive back Karson Hobbs The freshman got stuck between two positions last season, backing up the corner and nickel spots where Notre Dame didnt need to push the issue.

However, Hobbs still burned a year of eligibility, playing in eight regular-season games, mostly because of blowout scores.

Christian Gray and Leonard Moore are back, although each will he limited during spring practice after last seasons marathon.

Devonta Smith is the new nickel after transferring from Alabama.

Does Hobbs still play both spots or does he settle at corner during spring practice, knowing the Irish will add Dallas Golden and Mark Zackery IV this summer? Hobbs doesnt need to win a job during spring practice, but he needs to make an impression now to put himself in position to win a role this fall.

Offensive tackle Guerby Lambert Notre Dame will be limited on the offensive line due to injuries, which may open the door for Lambert force his way into the starting lineup for now.

Even within Notre Dames talent roster of offensive linemen, the 6-foot-7, 323-pound Lambert is a physical specimen.

With Anthonie Knapp and Billy Schrauth limited by ankle surgeries and Aamil Wagner on a modified spring schedule after logging a team-high 973 snaps last season, offensive line coach Joe Rudolph will need to get creative to field a lineup.

Does Charles Jagusah stay at left tackle while Lambert subs in for Wagner? Or does Jagusah return to guard to make up for Schrauths absence and the departure of Rocco Spindler? The Irish will have a potentially great offensive line this season, even if it isnt one this spring.

As for how Lambert fits ...

thats what spring practice is for.

Defensive back Devonta Smith Notre Dame has been on a nickel heater in the transfer portal, from Thomas Harper (Oklahoma State) to Jordan Clark (Arizona State) to Smith (Alabama).

Like Harper and Clark, look for Smith to walk right into the starting lineup, where he would have been had he stayed in Tuscaloosa.

Smiths injury history is the biggest concern, having logged 57 snaps in his first three seasons at Alabama before staying healthy last season and racking up 420, including a career-high 58 snaps against USF.

The scouting report on Smith is hes more physical than Harper and Clark, although its hard to know if that will show during spring practice.

Regardless, among all of Notre Dames new faces on the roster, few are more interesting than the Cincinnati native who was a four-star prospect out of LaSalle High School.

Safety Luke Talich Its a big jump from special teams ace to starting safety, but Talich will get a chance to bridge that gap during spring practice with Xavier Watts gone and Virginia Tech transfer Jalen Stroman sidelined by that right clavicle injury suffered in the Hokies season-opener last September.

Stroman underwent another surgery to clear up that injury, with Notre Dame not planning to expose him to contact in March and April.

Advertisement Can Talich force the issue to win a job next to Adon Shuler? Talich was fourth on the team in special teams snaps last season and productive on defense when he got a shot, including a pick six against Florida State.

Hes 6-4, 211 pounds, and the Irish dont have another safety like him.

Linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa Viliamu-Asas freshman season didnt light the defense on fire, which was fine.

The Irish didnt need the national recruit to take reps away from Jack Kiser or Drayk Bowen or the rest of the teams linebackers.

But theres a sense Viliamu-Asa might be ready to make a move after playing a season-high 43 snaps against Ohio State in the national title game after returning from a knee injury suffered against Army.

Viliamu-Asa has the physicality an middle linebacker with the speed for a player more suited to play in space.

Point being, theres something about Viliamu-Asa thats just different from the other linebackers on the roster.

Now Kiser is gone, with Jaylen Sneed and Drayk Bowen on a modified spring schedule.

This might be Viliamu-Asas time to make a move.

Running back Kedren Young Young played in just three games last season, choosing to redshirt instead of burning a year on special teams and finishing off blowouts.

Notre Dame doesnt quite have another back like the 6-foot, 229-pound freshman, who admitted he got too big last summer, which led to a hamstring issue.

The pecking order at running back is clear with Jeremiyah Love, Jadarian Price and Aneyas Williams, although Love will have a modified workload during spring ball and Price probably doesnt need to push the issue.

Young needs to show enough to win over his new running backs coach, otherwise he might have a hard time carving out a role now that GiBran Payne has healed from an ACL tear and midyear enrollee Nolan James Jr.

is also available.

(Top photo of CJ Carr: Michael Clubb / South Bend Tribune / USA Today Network).

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