mike denbrock needs wr drops to stop

Notre Dame’s spring practice talk has been dominated by the three man quarterback competition, new coaching hires and big time recruits visiting South Bend. In the midst of all of that, OC Mike Denbrock is focused on getting the entire Fighting Irish offense to elevated to match the dominance of it’s defefnsive counterpart.

Denbrock’s offenses have a history of making significant strides in yards per game and points per game in his second season as the play-caller at Cincinnati, LSU and his first stint at Notre Dame.

Mike Denbrock stats in first 2 years as OC

The numbers show that his offense is about balance and efficiency, highlighted by a strong run game and big play passing game that allows his teams to increase the points per game with an efficiency rating of 1 point added per 7.3 yards per game.

The Notre Dame offense was 51st in the nation in passing efficiency, and that wasn’t a result that solely laid at the feet of starting quarterback Riley Leonard. The offensive suffered injuries and an inability to secure time to throw consistently, and the wide receiver group was unable to provide separation along with developing a habit of dropping passes in big moments. In order for Denbrock’s offense to continue his 2nd year trend, catching the rock has to be a top priority this spring.

'“From their stanpoint, we dropped the football way too much last year,” Denbock said. We gotta make the plays. I don’t know if you’d call them ordinary plays, but we need to make the plays.

“The ones that are 100 out of 100,” Denbrock continued. We gotta be 100 out of 100. That comes with consistency in depth, consistency in route running. For a wide receiver, to be honest with you, it really shouldn’t matter who the quarterback is.”

The Fighting Irish added transfers Will Pauling and Malachi Fields to the room with budding stars like Jordan Faison and Jaden Greathouse coming off big moments during the College Football Playoffs. There are several younger receivers getting opportunities this spring due to due to injuries like Cam Williams, Micah Gilbert, KK Smith, Logan Saldate, and freshmen Jerome Bettis Jr. and Elijah Burress. Securing the ball is the priority for WR coach Mike Brown and his group this spring and it’s an important facet independent of the ongoing quarterback battle.