Notre Dame Enters Spring With 85 Players On Scholarship

Is there anything more worthless for a Notre Dame football fan to be concerned about than whether the Fighting Irish can “cut down” to the NCAA maximum 85 scholarships? Last year at this time, the number was more than 90, but by the start of the season the staff was able to award senior walk-on running back Josh Anderson a scholarship to fill out that chart.

The number was approaching 90 again at the turn of this year, but since then the Irish have seen the loss of senior guard Steve Elmer (early graduation), senior defensive end Doug Randolph (medical), junior tight end Tyler Luatua (transfer to BYU) and sophomore wideout Jalen Guyton (internal disciplinary matter).

This spring, the Irish by our unofficial count have 67 scholarship players, including five freshman who are early entrants. Eighteen more freshmen are slated to join the fold in June for the maximum 85 total.

There could still be some attrition between now and then — seldom has a summer occurred where there wasn’t — or maybe even an addition while holding out hope for Georgia five-star wide receiver Demetris Robertson, but one way or another rest assured Notre Dame won’t be over the 85 limit. Here is the breakdown of scholarships by class:

• Five fifth- or sixth-year seniors — Safety Avery Sebastian is the sixth-year figure after sitting out two of the last three years with injuries, and about half of the third year too.

The fifth-year players are led by starting nose guard Jarron Jones. The other three are long snapper Scott Daly, aforementioned running back Anderson and versatile offensive line reserve Mark Harrell.

• 15 seniors — As noted in a story earlier this week, this original No. 3-ranked class with 24 players has been whittled down significantly by attrition, from disciplinary issues, to medical, to three early departures to professional lives (linebacker Jaylon Smith, wide receiver Will Fuller and Elmer opting to move on with life after graduating early).

It still remains a strong class with a future professional NFL aspirant at each position group: Isaac Rochell (defensive line), James Onwualu (linebacker), Cole Luke (cornerback), Max Redfield (safety), Mike McGlinchey (offensive line), Tarean Folston (backfield) and Torii Hunter Jr. (wide receiver), plus possibly Durham Smythe (tight end), Corey Robinson (wide receiver) and Malik Zaire (quarterback).

• 20 juniors — This class arrived with 23 players, but has subtracted four (most recently Luatua). Quarterback DeShone Kizer, left guard Quenton Nelson and center Sam Mustipher headline the offense, and the staff will challenge end Andrew Trumbetti, Mike linebacker Nyles Morgan, cornerback Nick Watkins and strong safety Drue Tranquill to become impactful mainstays on defense.

Later counted among the scholarships to bring it up to 20 is quarterback Montgomery VanGorder, who originally walked on.

• 22 sophomores — Two are gone from the original group (Guyton and defensive end Bo Wallace). Headlining the offense are running back Josh Adams and tight end Alizé Jones, although wideout Equanimeous St. Brown also is vying for a starting role. Lineman Jerry Tillery is the prime figure on defense, but the rebuilding linebacker corps will be counting on the trio of Josh Barajas, Asmar Bilal and Te’von Coney to make huge advances in their game.

• 23 freshmen — Five of them are already enrolled for the spring semester: wide receiver Kevin Stepherson on offense, and on defense it’s ends Daelin Hayes and Khalid Kareem plus safeties Devin Studstill and Spencer Perry — the latter quartet aiding two of the most acute needs on the team.

With senior starting free safety Redfield slowed a bit, Studstill took reps with the ones in the opening practice on Friday. Hayes will be withheld from major action this spring while rehabbing from multiple shoulder surgeries.

There are also 26 walk-ons this spring. Here are their positions:

Quarterback (one): Sophomore Nolan Henry.

Note: Classmate Robert Regan — who plays quarterback for the scout team when the Irish face a triple-option team (Navy and Army) this year — is listed as a safety, but will still help at QB against the specialized scheme.

Running back (two): Seniors Austin Ross and Bailey Ross.

Wide receivers (six): Seniors Buster Sheridan and Omar Hunter, juniors Keenan Cantilever, Grant Hammann and Austin Webster, and sophomore Chris Finke

Tight ends (one): Senior Ben Stuntman.

Offensive linemen (two): Junior Sam Bush and sophomore Logan Plantz.

Defensive linemen (three): Senior Marquis Dickerson, junior Ryan Kilander and sophomore Lincoln Feist.

Linebackers (four): Sophomores Brandon Hutson, Kier Murphy, Devyn Spruell and Jimmy Thompson.

Cornerbacks (two): Senior Jesse Bongiovi and sophomore Brian Ball.

Safeties (two): Senior Drew Recker and sophomore Robert Regan.

Specialists (three): Senior kicker John Chereson, junior kicker Sam Kohler and sophomore kicker/punter Jeff Riney.

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