SOUTH BEND — No more spring/summer/preseason workouts. No more wondering. No more worrying. It's almost time for No. 7 Notre Dame to huddle up and line up and play some college football. The Irish will do that Saturday (7:30 p.m., ABC) when they open a season in Texas for the first time since 2016 (sorry, still too soon?) with a visit to No. 20 Texas A&M and 102,733-seat Kyle Field.
It will be hot. It will be humid. It likely will get heated. Can the Irish offense deliver? Can the Irish defense dominate? We’ll soon find out. We can’t wait for it. For all of it.
Prediction Time:What will 2024 look like for Notre Dame football?
Noie:How can Notre Dame football handle looming chaos of 2024 season?
Here are four players who could have a hand in Saturday’s outcome:
No. 7 NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH (0-0)
LB JACK KISER (24)
Saturday night in College Station might underscore the main reason that Kiser decided to play one more season of college football. His sixth season of college football.
Gone from last year’s rock-solid linebacking core are J.D. Bertrand, who led the unit in tackles his final three years, and steady Marist Liufau. Kiser’s the last man standing, in part, because he wanted to work in the role as Bertrand did the last few years — that of the main guy. The guy that everything runs through. The guy that runs around out there and makes all kinds of plays. And tackles.
Kiser was the program’s player of the year on special teams last year, but he’s covered his final kickoff. It’s time he’s that valuable in every-down situations while stuffing the run, playing in the passing game and being the team’s vocal and steady leader. It’s all there for him. Everything that Kiser’s wanted to do, he’ll get a chance to do in as hostile atmosphere as he’s maybe ever experienced.
QB RILEY LEONARD (13)
For the second straight season opener, the offensive player highlighted as one to watch for Notre Dame is the graduate transfer quarterback. Last year, Sam Hartman stepped into the white-hot spotlight that accompanies the position and promptly completed 19 of 23 for 251 yards and four touchdowns in a win over Navy. This year, another former Atlantic Coast Conference QB — Riley Leonard (Duke) — makes his first start in 308 days in an environment that won’t be anywhere near as inviting as Hartman’s in Dublin.
All eyes are on the 6-foot-4, 216-pound Leonard, named the team’s only offensive captain before he’s even played a game. Unable to participate in spring because of clean-up surgery on a right ankle he hurt last season against Notre Dame, Leonard played catchup in the summer and preseason camp and played it well. So much so that Leonard believes this offense can be special from the start, and it must start with him Saturday in College Station. He believes it can. It better. Everyone’s watching.
No. 20 TEXAS A&M AGGIES (0-0)
DE NIC SCOURTON (11)
One of 33 A&M transfers, Scourton isn’t just another guy who found a map and somehow found his way to College Station to play for head coach Mike Elko. The place is home. Literally.
A former four-star recruit, Scourton was a dominant prep defender at nearby Bryan (Texas) High School, a 13-minute drive from Kyle Field. He made 136 tackles with 20 tackles for loss and eight sacks his final two prep years.
Scourton spent his first two seasons at Purdue, where he changed his last name (nee Caraway) to honor his father and terrorized opposing backfield. Especially quarterbacks. In 11 games for the Boilermakers last season, Scourton made 50 tackles (fifth on the team) with a team-best 15 tackles for loss. His 10 sacks led the Big Ten and ranked eighth nationally.
For a Notre Dame team that is suspect at best at both tackle spots, Scourton’s the last guy the Irish linemen want to see revving up across from them. They’ll see a ton of him Saturday.
QB CONNER WEIGMAN (15)
Like his counterpart on the other sideline in Leonard, it’s been a small sample size in what Weigman, a former five-star recruit, can do in the pocket when healthy. Weigman also saw his 2023 season cut short by injury. He completed 61.8 percent of his passes and threw for 1,885 yards and 16 TDs last fall before a broken foot shelved him after only four games. Leonard appeared in nine.
Weigman certainly can read a defense, evidence with his completion percentages in those four starts — 78.3 percent, 58.5 percent, 86.2 percent (seriously) and 57.1 percent. Look for Irish defensive coordinator Al Golden to keep Weigman guessing with a variety of pass rushes, blitzes, coverages and personnel packages from a group that should be among the nation’s best.
With top RB Rueben Owens lost for the season with a foot injury, the offense may sink or swim behind Weigman and his right arm. He’ll make some plays, but can he make enough against that defense to keep the Aggies afloat?
Follow South Bend Tribune and NDInsider columnist Tom Noie on Twitter: @tnoieNDI. Contact: (574) 235-6153.
