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After a long and grueling offseason, we finally got to see Notre Dame play this past weekend in the Shamrock Series. The Irish kicked off their season 1-0 with a resounding 41-13 victory over the Wisconsin Badgers in a game that was a tale of two halves. There were several newcomers who made their presence felt in the opener between new arrivals to Notre Dame's squad and players stepping into bigger roles. 

Head coach Marcus Freeman talked yesterday around some of those new faces in the program or players stepping into new roles. Two of those players, defensive tackles Tionne Gray and Francis Brewu, really impressed their head coach with the performance they put on at Lambeau Field. 

"We're going to rely on them a lot, and they played really well," Freeman said about the two transfer defensive tackles. "As I said previously, I saw those four guys between Jason Onye, Armel Mukam, Tionne, and Brewu playing probably an equal amount of snaps. It's close to what you saw on Saturday. It wasn't exactly perfect, but those guys are all going to play."

"Now, with Jason being out, there's a little bit more on everybody's plate, but Tionne and Francis both played well," Freeman continued about Brewu and Gray. "They played really well on Sunday, and we'll continue to get them to practice with the habits that we really will emphasize. But it was great to see them, and those guys both were difference makers.”

With the release of Notre Dame's depth chart yesterday, we saw that Gray is now going to start in the place of Onye while he works back from a lower body injury. The other player we saw on the depth chart was running back Nolan James Jr. who remains in the RB2 spot for Rice. The New Jersey native had a breakout performance against the Badgers and made a strong impression on Coach Freeman. 

"The entire running backs room had a big role in the pass game, Nolan included," Freeman raved about the running backs. "It was good to see him out in space, making some guys miss, running hard. He is a talented football player. He just embraced his role and when given the opportunity, he made the most of it and had some explosive plays. He's doing a phenomenal job, and it was good to see him out there and get rewarded with that long touchdown.”

James was a part of the roster last season as a true freshman, but he's a new face in terms of the role he's playing on the Fighting Irish offense. There were several questions about how the Irish would replace star running backs Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price. All three backs that played should put the minds at ease of the Irish faithful. 

There wasn't a lot that I necessarily learned from Notre Dame's matchup against Wisconsin. But there was a lot that was verified. Throughout the offseason, we talked about how deep and talented this team was and with players like James Jr., Gray and Brewu stepping up in the season opener, that was verified. 

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NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

After a long and grueling offseason, we finally got to see Notre Dame play this past weekend in the Shamrock Series. The Irish kicked off their season 1-0 with a resounding 41-13 victory over the Wisconsin Badgers in a game that was a tale of two halves. There were several newcomers who made their presence felt in the opener between new arrivals to Notre Dame's squad and players stepping into bigger roles. 

Head coach Marcus Freeman talked yesterday around some of those new faces in the program or players stepping into new roles. Two of those players, defensive tackles Tionne Gray and Francis Brewu, really impressed their head coach with the performance they put on at Lambeau Field. 

"We're going to rely on them a lot, and they played really well," Freeman said about the two transfer defensive tackles. "As I said previously, I saw those four guys between Jason Onye, Armel Mukam, Tionne, and Brewu playing probably an equal amount of snaps. It's close to what you saw on Saturday. It wasn't exactly perfect, but those guys are all going to play."

"Now, with Jason being out, there's a little bit more on everybody's plate, but Tionne and Francis both played well," Freeman continued about Brewu and Gray. "They played really well on Sunday, and we'll continue to get them to practice with the habits that we really will emphasize. But it was great to see them, and those guys both were difference makers.”

With the release of Notre Dame's depth chart yesterday, we saw that Gray is now going to start in the place of Onye while he works back from a lower body injury. The other player we saw on the depth chart was running back Nolan James Jr. who remains in the RB2 spot for Rice. The New Jersey native had a breakout performance against the Badgers and made a strong impression on Coach Freeman. 

"The entire running backs room had a big role in the pass game, Nolan included," Freeman raved about the running backs. "It was good to see him out in space, making some guys miss, running hard. He is a talented football player. He just embraced his role and when given the opportunity, he made the most of it and had some explosive plays. He's doing a phenomenal job, and it was good to see him out there and get rewarded with that long touchdown.”

James was a part of the roster last season as a true freshman, but he's a new face in terms of the role he's playing on the Fighting Irish offense. There were several questions about how the Irish would replace star running backs Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price. All three backs that played should put the minds at ease of the Irish faithful. 

There wasn't a lot that I necessarily learned from Notre Dame's matchup against Wisconsin. But there was a lot that was verified. Throughout the offseason, we talked about how deep and talented this team was and with players like James Jr., Gray and Brewu stepping up in the season opener, that was verified. 

—— 

Become a premium Irish Breakdown member, which grants you access to all of our premium content and our premium message board! Click on the link below for more.

BECOME A MEMBER 

Be sure to stay locked into Irish Breakdown all the time!

Join the Irish Breakdown community!
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown YouTube channel
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown podcast on iTunes
Follow me on Twitter: @TTrow5
Like and follow Irish Breakdown on Facebook

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos