Marcus Freeman’s first goal for Notre Dame’s preseason practices was to build experience in the Irish depth chart.
“There were a lot of guys we’re going to count on that do not have game experience,” he said Monday before No. 13 Notre Dame begins its season against Navy in Dublin on Saturday (2:30 ET; NBC).
First and foremost among those inexperienced players, the Irish will start a pair of offensive guards who have not seen a competitive collegiate moment between them. Notre Dame announced junior Pat Coogan will start at left guard and classmate Rocco Spindler will start at right guard after beating out sophomore Billy Schrauth and fifth-year Andrew Kristofic. Entering the preseason, Schrauth and Kristofic were widely considered the frontrunners for the starting nods.
“Rocco and Pat both, the confidence they built in their coaching staff, the trust of them being able to do their job on a consistent basis was why they’ll be in there to start the game,” Freeman said. “I feel really good about the depth of our guard position. [Schrauth] had a great fall camp, but those two guys have had a really good fall camp, in terms of just the execution.
“All of them are physical, all of them have the traits that you look for in offensive guards, but the overall execution of what they were asked to do on a consistent basis was why those guys will be starting for us.”
Not that Schrauth and Kristofic are undersized by any means, but Coogan and Spindler should provide a more physical presence on the interior. Coogan was regarded as a mauling center in his recruitment, and Spindler’s interior presence has never been doubted. With them starting alongside preseason All-American left tackle Joe Alt, three-year starter Zeke Correll and a historical landmark at Notre Dame in right tackle Blake Fisher, the Irish front will average 312 pounds and 6-foot-5 ⅓.
Correll should start on Saturday, despite an ankle injury keeping him from some practice last week.
“We expect him to be able to go,” Freeman said. “He’s progressing really well, want to see him go out there in practice today. We kind of held him out last week, but we’ll push him to go and he’s been doing a great job in rehab, recovery. Today well tell us a lot.”
For what it’s worth, sophomore Ashton Craig is listed as Correll’s backup.
That may be about it for nagging injuries costing Freeman any sleep. His second goal this preseason was to reach the season healthier than a year ago, when a handful of soft-tissue injuries limited players in preseason practices, an ACL tear ended starting receiver Avery Davis’s collegiate career, a foot injury ended receiver Joe Wilkins’s Notre Dame career, a knee injury cost sophomore receiver Deion Colzie the start of the season and a few concussions furthered consternation.
Freeman said the Irish suffered half the concussions this preseason and decreased every soft-tissue or ligament injury, perhaps in part because the weather and better preparation cut into dehydration symptoms by 79 percent.
Not to diminish senior tight end Kevin Bauman’s re-tear of an ACL injury or sophomore defensive end Aidan Gobaira’s ACL tear, but exiting spring practices with only those two notable injuries — moments that cost depth but not expected contributors — is a surprise simply given the realities of football.
Oh, and also not to diminish senior offensive lineman Michael Carmody’s broken bone in his hand suffered last week, but Freeman said Carmody will still travel to Dublin after already having surgery on the bone. That description suggests the veteran lineman (outside the two-deep) should still be available this year if needed.
"There is no substitution for experience." - Marcus Freeman
— Douglas Farmer (@D_Farmer) August 21, 2023
Related: Last year Notre Dame had a first-time starter at QB playing for a first-time head coach.
Now it has the most experienced QB in college football playing for a second-year head coach.
ON TRAVEL PLANS
No one is surprised playing in Dublin changes both the week of preparation and the week of recovery. That is, in part, why the Irish will face an FCS foe for the first time in history on Sept. 2 (Tennessee State at 3:30 ET on NBC).
The lightest practice of Notre Dame’s week will come on Thursday, not on Friday, with Freeman hoping to allow some recuperation after the flight across the Atlantic. The stiffest practice of the week may be Wednesday, intentionally so.
“The thought is to truly get after them Wednesday,” Freeman said. “I want them pretty tired as we get on this flight Wednesday night to fly over to Dublin. We’ll land in Dublin Thursday morning, go to the hotel, get unpacked, keep our guys up. We’re going to keep them up, really do some walk-throughs and stuff at the hotel, then we’ll go practice Thursday. Friday will be a little bit more intense than Thursday.”
Perhaps more notably, the Irish will stay in Ireland until Sunday, spending the night in Dublin and flying back the next morning. For context, Notre Dame flew back immediately after the game in 2012 and memorably struggled against Purdue the following week.
“I’ve always been told coming west you should be better because you’re gaining hours, so I’m less concerned with the trip back,” Freeman said. “... Then you gotta think about the next week of practice, understand there is still going to be some fatigue when you travel from a different country back to here in Indiana.”
It is worth noting, of the NFL’s five games in Europe this season, half the teams play the following week.
Another local broadcaster encourages Freeman to sample all the local news show ...
— Douglas Farmer (@D_Farmer) August 21, 2023
Penn High School football is gonna get such thorough coverage this season. (Freeman's son plays there.) https://t.co/Lj4d2iW9FN