ND FOOTBALL: Plenty of new faces as Irish begin spring practices

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Mar. 22—SOUTH BEND — After an offseason that saw plenty of changes, Notre Dame football took the field for its first of 15 official spring practices Wednesday.

The final spring practice will be the Blue-Gold Game on April 22 at Notre Dame Stadium.

"As a coach and a player, you're going to have that pit in your stomach: it's the first day," Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman said. "That competitive spirit we have, the love for the game of football; it's always exciting. There's a lot we have to get cleaned up. We have to continue to practice to the standard we have set."

There were many new faces roaming around the Irish Athletics Center, primarily on the offensive side of the ball. While Gerard Parker was a familiar one, it was his first practice as offensive coordinator after Tommy Rees departed for the same position at Alabama.

Three other new assistants have joined the Notre Dame staff: Gino Guidugli, who replaces Rees as the team's quarterbacks coach; Joe Rudolph, who takes over for the retiring Harry Hiestand as the offensive line coach; and Marty Biagi, who is now the special teams coordinator after Brian Mason took the same position with the NFL's Indianapolis Colts.

Freeman detailed some more of the changes to his staff as well.

"We added Amir Carlisle, a former player, as our Director of Player Development, as well as several analysts and GA's," Freeman said. "And then, we added responsibilities to (cornerbacks coach) Mike Mickens. He will now be our passing game coordinator on defense, and (running backs coach) Deland McCullough will be the run game coordinator on offense."

There was also a lot of player personnel updates from Freeman. Players that were on the roster for the Fighting Irish in the fall that were expected back this year but are not are kicker Josh Bryan, cornerback Phillip Riley and offensive lineman Caleb Johnson. There were also a couple of players forced to medically retire as well in quarterback Ron Powlus III and safety Justin Walters.

As far as injuries, graduate seniors Cam Hart and Thomas Harper, both defensive backs, are able to go through drills without contact. Those out of spring ball for good with injuries are tight end Eli Raridon (knee), defensive lineman Devan Houstan (shoulder) and safety Adon Shuler (shoulder), while running back Jadarian Price (ankle) has a chance to work his way back into practices before the Blue-Gold Game.

"He'll progress to do more," said Freeman of Price. "I don't know if he will be full-go, but he's done a lot of running and I see him progressing to more and more actual football practice."

The new player on the roster for the Irish that will get the most attention is graduate senior quarterback Sam Hartman. A transfer from Wake Forest, Hartman will play his final collegiate season in South Bend after setting the ACC record for most career passing touchdowns from a player in conference history.

Hartman is the presumed starter, but he will face competition for the job in junior Tyler Buchner. After being named the starter to begin the 2022 season, Buchner suffered an injury in the Irish's week two loss to Marshall. He then returned in time for the team's Gator Bowl appearance, winning game MVP as part of a 45-38 victory for Notre Dame over South Carolina.

"Credit to coach Guidugli, but also credit to those two guys and that entire quarterback room," Freeman said. "Those guys spend a lot of time together. They compete, they push each other. We know there's only going to be one starter when we go out and get ready to play Navy (Aug. 26), but the ability to have that respect — choosing to love each other and having each other's back — but also have the competition and the ability to make each other better, that's a reflection of the leadership in that room."

While most players have kept their same positions from a season ago, one working at a new spot Wednesday was Chris Tyree. The senior has been a running back his first three seasons in South Bend, but spent time at practice with the wide receivers during the parts open to the media.

"It's to be determined," said Freeman when asked if Tyree's move to wide receiver was permanent. "I think he's a guy that has multiple skillsets. We know Chris Tyree is a guy we have to have on the football field, and the ability to be able to put him as a wideout ... he can really be a guy to do multiple, different things."

Austin Hough can be reached at austin.hough@goshennews.com or at 574-538-2360. Follow him on Twitter at @AustinHoughTGN.