Here are 4 players to watch when Notre Dame football faces Georgia Tech in Atlanta

Posted by Admin October 17, 2024 Football

Spread the love

This is an odd one for Notre Dame football.

Noie: Notre Dame football train might be rolling in right direction after win over Stanford

The program’s lone Atlantic Coast Conference road trip this season – seriously, this is it – and first flight since the season opener at Texas A&M takes the Irish into downtown Atlanta (not midtown) for a “neutral-site” game Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium against Georgia Tech (5-2), winners of two straight and three of four.

Back to Brunswick: Notre Dame football flips Clemson QB recruit Blake Hebert for 2025

Long before Northern Illinois happened, this was the game many circled on the schedule to continue with caution. Trouble seemingly lurked. Does it? Or is Notre Dame too battle-tested to fall into that trap?

Following are four players to watch as No. 11 Notre Dame aims to run its win streak to five straight with its first game outside of Notre Dame Stadium since Sept 14 and its first outside the state of Indiana since August 31.

No. 11 NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH (5-1)

TE Mitchell Evans (88)

Maybe this is the week we see Evans finally cut it loose and look like the weapon he was before suffering a torn ACL in his left knee last October.

Truth be told, we’ve been saying that about Evans since he caught a season-high three passes for 27 yards, long of 19, in the Week Three win at Purdue. He finally looked somewhat like his old self that day in West Lafayette, but the last three weeks, he’s sort of been invisible.

Evans caught five passes for 29 yards in the three games that followed Purdue, but he’s coming off his first O-for Saturday against Stanford. On a day when seemingly everyone in blue had a chance to eat, even starting center Pat Coogan, as Irish quarterback targeted 12 different players, no pass went toward Evans.

Through eight games before his injury last season, Evans made 29 catches for 422 yards and a touchdown. In his six games back, he’s made 10 catches for 82 yards. If Notre Dame is going to finish this season strong, Evans must be a factor. No more waiting around. It’s time to go. For the Irish. For him.

DE Bryce Young (30)

Can a true freshman with only a half dozen college games under his belt be considered a freak?

He can if they’re like Young, a 6-foot-7, 258-pounder whose length seemingly knows no boundaries. In any other year, and maybe with any other player, you’d want to slow play his expectations. Grow him. Nurture him. Young isn’t any other player. This isn’t any other season.

With the defense down two vyper defensive ends (Jordan Botelho, Boubacar Traore) for the rest of 2024 because of knee injuries, Young should find his way into a prominent role. Like, now. Move sophomore Joshua Burnham (five tackles against Stanford) to vyper and give Young some more snaps at defensive end in place of R.J. Oben, who hasn’t been anything close to what was expected.

Young (six tackles) has only three fewer stops than Oben (nine) despite playing in three fewer games. When Young’s on the field, you notice him. When Oben’s on it, you don’t.

Get Young some added work over these next few weeks so that the next time Notre Dame faces an elite pocket presence (hello, USC’s Miller Moss) he’s rushing the quarterback and creating havoc like an upperclassman.

GEORGIA TECH YELLOW JACKETS (5-2)

RB Jamal Haynes (11)

Name the best running back Notre Dame has faced now halfway through its schedule. A guy with game-breaking ability and make-you-miss agility.

Can’t do it, can you?

That question may have an answer this week in Haynes, a 5-9, 190-pound redshirt junior from Loganville, Georgia. Haynes has been on a two-week heater. He rushed for 128 yards two weeks ago against Duke, then followed with a career high 170 yards on 19 carries, including the game-winning run from 68 yards out and 16 seconds remaining Saturday against North Carolina.

The work of Haynes, who converted from wide receiver in 2023, allowed the Yellow Jackets to roll up 505 yards total offense and average a gaudy 7.7 yards per carry against the Tar Heels. Nobody’s getting 7.7 yards a carry against that Notre Dame defense. Not even Haynes, who leads Georgia Tech in rushing – 96 carries, 536 yards and seven touchdowns. It would be a feat for him to also match his 76.6 yards per game this week.

Haynes is good, but he’s going up against a defense Saturday that’s borderline great. And getting better. They’ve given opposing running backs next to nothing. Can Haynes do something?

DL Sylvain Youdjouen (32)

We’re not going with Georgia Tech’s top tackler or someone who might make a few plays on the back end of a defense that ranks 24^th nationally in rush defense (103.7 yards per game) and 36^th overall (327.4 ypg.) in this spot.

We’re going with the best story, in addition to someone who can play. That would be Yondjouen, a Belgium native who didn’t start playing football until age 16. That seems like a minute ago for Yondjouen, now a sixth-year 25-year-old working on his master’s in economics after graduating with a business administration degree.

The 6-4, 260-pound redshirt senior from Ruisbroek, Belgium also has overcome two season-ending injuries – in the third game of 2020 and in the first game of 2023 – but keeps coming back.

Seven games into his final season, Yondjouen is tied for 11^th on the team in tackles, but third in tackles for loss (3.5), first in sacks (two) and first in quarterback pressures (three). He’s coming off a solid game against North Carolina in which he tallied two tackles, a sack, a tackle for loss, two pass breakups and two quarterback hurries. He’s seemingly always on the move and making plays.

Follow South Bend Tribune and NDInsider columnist Tom Noie on Twitter: @tnoieNDI