Notre Dame 99-to-0: No. 92 Aidan Keanaaina, a senior defensive tackle now ‘fully healthy’ after a 2022 torn ACL

16.05.2023 - 18:17 nbcsports.com

Listed measurements: 6-foot-3, 312 pounds 2023-24 year, eligibility: A senior, Keanaaina has three years of eligibility remaining, since the universal pandemic eligibility waiver meant a subsequent season, Keanaaina’s three-game 2021, could count as his traditional eligibility-preserving foray. Depth Chart: Keanaaina has been jumped by at least three players younger than him among the defensive tackles, and that could be four if sophomore Donovan Hinish surges in the preseason.

Keanaaina looks more and more like a depth piece for Notre Dame but little more. Recruiting: The Irish beat out Nebraska, Wisconsin and Cal to pull in the No.

30 defensive tackle in the class, per rivals.com. A four-star prospect from Colorado and the son of a former Colorado State player, Keanaaina also mildly considered the Rams. CAREER TO DATE The day will come when the 52-0 rout of South Florida in 2020 is forgotten in this space, but as long as players persist on the roster that enjoyed that day as their first showings on a college football field, that day will not be today.

And it is a win worth remembering, both because it gave an excuse to think back to the memorable marathon against the Bulls in 2010 and because Notre Dame entered that 2020 day severely shorthanded due to a coronavirus outbreak in the locker room, yet rolled to a shutout victory, anyway.

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Listed measurements: 6-foot-5, 310 pounds. 2023-24 year, eligibility: A sophomore, Chan has all four seasons of eligibility remaining. Depth Chart: Chan might crack the two-deep as the backup to junior Blake Fisher at right tackle, conceivably competing with classmate Aamil Wagner for that theoretical honor. “Theoretical” because the practical backup to Fisher would more likely be senior Tosh Baker, though Baker will not be listed as No. 2 at both left and right tackle. Recruiting: Chan’s low-maintenance recruitment fit both an offensive lineman prospect and a Massachusetts product, turning down Boston College, Penn State and Syracuse when he committed to Notre Dame more than a year before he could sign his National Letter of Intent. The No. 11 offensive tackle and No. 221 overall prospect in the class, per rivals.com, Chan never wavered in that lengthy commitment.

Notre Dame 99-to-0: No. 78 Pat Coogan, junior interior offensive lineman

Listed measurements: 6-foot-5 ⅛, 309 pounds. 2023-24 year, eligibility: A junior, Coogan has three seasons of eligibility remaining. Depth Chart: An interior offensive lineman through and through, expect Coogan to spend some preseason practices working among the guards before being listed as the backup center on the public depth chart, behind fifth-year Zeke Correll. Recruiting: The recruiting rankings industry rarely respects centers, thus effectively capping Coogan’s ceiling at a consensus three-star prospect. Yet, Stanford and Michigan chased him until he chose Notre Dame, a clear choice all along given the Chicagoland product was a lifelong Irish fan.

Notre Dame 99-to-0: No. 79 Tosh Baker, senior tackle, again a backup but next year …

Listed measurements: 6-foot-8, 310 pounds. 2023-24 year, eligibility: A senior, Baker has two years of eligibility remaining. Depth Chart: Baker had the misfortune of arriving at Notre Dame just one year before the increasingly-heralded tackle duo of Blake Fisher and Joe Alt. Thus, Baker remains a backup as a senior, presumably penciled in as the No. 2 left tackle behind Alt on the public depth chart but perhaps the immediate option at both tackle positions if injury befalls either Fisher or Alt. Recruiting: The No. 5 offensive tackle in his class, per rivals.com, when he signed with Notre Dame, Baker fell to No. 13 by the end of the recruiting cycle, another example of recruiting rankings being fickle and confounding. Baker chose the Irish over the likes of Alabama, Michigan and Ohio State, a high-profile recruitment despite coming from Scottsdale, Ariz.

Notre Dame's Pat Kavanagh gives patriotic answer to why he battled through injury during lacrosse title game

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Penn State RB transfer Devyn Ford gives Notre Dame newly-needed backfield depth, experience

Entering spring practices, Notre Dame looked stocked at running back, returning two juniors who each rushed for at least 800 yards last season as well as a senior with 285 career touches. With three underclassmen supporting them, the Irish were wealthy in both depth and experience at running back.

Notre Dame 99-to-0: No. 83 Jayden Thomas, junior receiver, probable No. 1 target in 2023

Listed measurements: 6-foot-1 ½, 220 pounds. 2023-24 year, eligibility: A junior, Thomas has three years of eligibility remaining thanks to playing in only three games as a freshman. Depth Chart: Thomas’s moments of success in 2022 made him a clear starter for this coming season, the only question being at what position. By the end of spring practices, Thomas looked like the frontrunner at the boundary position, a similar big body as past boundary stars Miles Boykin, Chase Claypool and Kevin Austin, though significantly shorter than those predecessors. Recruiting: Considered the No. 45 receiver in the class of 2021 by rivals.com, Thomas turned down most of the SEC as he chose Notre Dame, most notably his homestate Georgia. And any recruit chased by the Bulldogs in the last four years stands out more than usual given the overall quality of Georgia’s roster.