Monday Morning Tail Slap: The State of the Irish
Oregon State's roster has seen plenty of turnover, what about their Sun Bowl opponent?
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While many Oregon State fans have kept their eyes glued to their X-formerly-known-as-Twitter feeds for the last two weeks, ruing the next piece of bad news, time has continued to march on and now we find ourselves just days away from the start of Bowl Season. It may not heal any freshly opened wounds, but Beaver fans can take some solace in not being totally alone in transfer portal devastation. Programs across the country have seen no shortage in players entering the portal, including one of the most glamorous programs in the sport, and also Oregon State’s upcoming Sun Bowl opponent, Notre Dame.
At the time of this writing, a dozen members of Marcus Freeman’s Fighting Irish have entered the transfer portal. The number of Golden Domers who are not participating in the festivities in El Paso could still increase as a number of draft eligible players could still declare for the NFL Draft and skip the Sun Bowl on December 29th.
As I’m starting this paragraph, The Athletic’s Nicole Auerbach has reported Notre Dame starting QB Sam Hartman has opted out of the Sun Bowl. The graduate transfer by way of Wake Forest leaves college football with the third most touchdown passes all time with 134. Only Case Keenum (Houston) and Kellen Moore (Boise State) were more prolific.
Hartman threw for 2,669 yards, 24 touchdowns, and eight interceptions for the Irish in 2023. He’ll skip trying to add to that total against the Beavs in El Paso and prepare for the NFL Draft.
Here’s what else we know now…
Definitely playing and definitely someone you should know about:
Xavier Watts, Safety
Watts has been one of the best stories in college football this season. The former wide receiver picked off an FBS-leading seven passes and was just awarded the Bronko Nagurski Trophy as the nation’s Defensive Player of the Year.
Watts is still undecided on if he’ll enter the draft or play another season in South Bend, but has stated that he'll play in the Sun Bowl no matter what. His seven interruptions resulted in 137 return yards, and his scoop and score fumble return for a touchdown put the final exclamation on Notre Dame’s 48-20 victory against USC and reigning Heisman winner Caleb Williams, who Watts picked off twice.
The Defensive Player of the Year has already earned his undergraduate degree and will wrap up a Master’s in Biology this spring. He’ll wait for a draft grade to see where scouts see him going before making any decisions in regards to the NFL. While we won’t know where Watts is playing football next fall for some time, I’m glad he’s playing in the Sun Bowl.
Bowl games once served as great opportunities for fans to get their first look at exciting players on other teams. I don’t begrudge any player for making decisions in the best interest of their future, but I long for the days when bowl games weren’t afterthoughts. A player like Watts is a representation of that sentimentality.
"Yes, I will be playing in the bowl game,” Watts told reporters after winning the Nagurski. "I just kind of want to play football regardless. I mean, even if I was maybe to decide to go to the draft, I think I’d probably lean towards playing the game anyway because regardless, it’s your last time around all the same guys that you’re going to be with. It’s the last time as the 2023 Fighting Irish.”
Keep an eye on No. 0 whenever Notre Dame’s defense is on the field. The kid is everywhere.
Still up in the air:
Joe Alt, Left Tackle
Even if both teams were playing at full strength, the only potential top five pick in 2024 on the field would be Notre Dame’s house of an offensive tackle, Joe Alt.
Alt on the field would be an awesome challenge for Oregon State’s front-seven. Andrew Chatfield Jr attacking the edge against an NFL talent like Alt would be appointment television.
If Alt stays healthy through the whole draft process, it’s hard to see him falling outside of the top ten. For that reason alone, I’d guess it’s unlikely we see him on the field in El Paso, but if he does decide to go it will certainly raise the profile of the game in the NFL Draft Sicko Circle.
Audric Estime, Running Back
Notre Dame’s passing game under Hartman this season has been efficient, but the rushing attack powered by Estime has been electric. Only Michigan’s Blake Corum and Oklahoma State’s Ollie Gordon rushed for more touchdowns than Estime’s 18 this season. Estime is big, powerful, and averaged 6.4 yards every time he touched the rock in 2023.
Don’t want the smoke:
I kid, I kid, I totally understand why players opt out, especially out of the games seen as ‘mid tier.’ Here’s who we know is definitely not playing for the Irish on December 29th and what it means for the game.
Sam Hartman, QB
The aforementioned Hartman opting out to prepare for the draft means backup Steve Angeli will get the start. Notre Dame announced it on Twitter with a gif declaring it ‘Peanut Butter Angeli Time!’
Awesome gifs aside, Angeli threw for four touchdowns, one pick, and 272 yards in 2023. He completed 19 passes on 25 attempts, doing most of his damage in Notre Dame’s Week One blowout win against Tennessee State. 247Sports rated Angeli as a 3-star QB in high school, and ranked him as the No. 37 QB nationally, and the No. 10 player out of New Jersey.
Blake Fisher, Right Tackle
The bookend to Alt on Notre Dame’s right side has declared for the 2024 NFL Draft. He’s not the seemingly generational prospect that Alt is, but he could be a Day Two pick in April.
Marist Liufau, Linebacker
The Senior Bowl-bound Liufau has played some of the most football for Freeman’s defense over the last two seasons. He led the team in defensive snaps in 2022 with 646, and his 595 snaps ranked third on the unit this season. Liufau’s draft declaration leaves a hole in the middle of defense for Deshaun Fenwick and Oregon State’s power running game to try and exploit.
Basically every pass catcher
Notre Dame wide receivers Chris Tyree, Rico Flores Jr., and Tobias Merriweather have all entered the transfer portal. Respectively, that’s the Irish’s No. 1, No. 3, and No. 4 receivers on their way out. Tight End Holden Staes is also in the portal. Add it all up and that’s a little less than half of Notre Dame’s receiving yards and receiving touchdowns outgoing.
It could prove to be a silver lining for the Irish, the backups who are sticking around likely have more of a rapport with their fellow backup Angeli.
We’ll keep a close eye on both teams bowl game rosters as they develop.