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We are almost done with the first week of August and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish still have a “scholarship problem” on paper. The words, “on paper” are significantly important here. While we (you, me, and everyone else) may not know what’s going on inside the Gug with the count — but Brian Kelly and his staff probably do.
But what looks like an actual season around the corner, the problem on paper sticks out like a sore thumb. So — let’s get into it. Here’s Notre Dame’s scholarship count for the 2020 season:
2020 Notre Dame Football Scholarship Chart
| Position / Year | Freshmen | Sophomore | Junior | Senior | 5th Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position / Year | Freshmen | Sophomore | Junior | Senior | 5th Year |
| Quarterback | Drew Pyne | Brendon Clark* | - | - | Ian Book |
| Running Back | Chris Tyree | Kyren Williams* | Jahmir Smith*, C'Bo Flemister* | Jafar Armstrong*, Avery Davis* | - |
| Tight End | Michael Mayer, Kevin Bauman | - | George Takacs*, Tommy Tremble* | Brock Wright | - |
| Wide Receiver | Jordan Johnson, Jay Brunelle, Xavier Watts | Kendall Abdur-Rahman* | Micah Jones*, Kevin Austin*, Braden Lenzy*, Lawrence Keys III*, Joe Wilkins* | Javon McKinley, Bennett Skowronek | |
| Center | - | Zeke Correll* | Jarrett Patterson* | - | - |
| Guard | - | Hunter Spears* | John Dirksen* | Dillan Gibbons*, Aaron Banks* | Tommy Kraemer, Colin Grunhard |
| Tackle | Tosh Baker, Michael Carmody | Andrew Kristofic*, Quinn Carroll* | - | Robert Hainsey, Josh Lugg* | Liam Eichenberg |
| Defensive Tackle | Aidan Keanaaina, Rylie Mills | Howard Cross*, Jacob Lacey | Jayson Ademilola, Ja'mion Franklin* | Kurt Hinish, Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa | - |
| Defensive End | Alexander Ehrensberger, Jordan Botelho | NaNa Osafo-Mensah*, Isaiah Foskey* | Justin Ademilola*, Ovie Oghoufo* | Kofi Wardlow* | Ade Ogundeji, Daelin Hayes |
| Linebacker | - | Jack Kiser*, Osita Ekwonu*, Marist Liufau*, JD Bertrand* | Bo Bauer, Jack Lamb*, Shayne Simon, Paul Moala | Drew White*, Jordan Genmark Heath, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah* | - |
| Safety | - | Litchfield Ajavon*, Kyle Hamilton | D.J. Brown*, Houston Griffith | Isaiah Pryor* | - |
| Cornerback | Clarance Lewis, Caleb Offord, Ramon Henderson | K.J. Wallace*, Isaiah Rutherford*, Cam Hart*, | TaRiq Bracy | - | Shaun Crawford**, Nick McCloud |
| Specialists | Alex Peitsch (LS) | Jay Bramblett | - | Jonathan Doerer | - |
| Totals | 17/85 (17) | 38/85 (21) | 60/85 (22) | 75/85 (15) | 85/85 (10) |
According to the chart, the Irish are 3 scholarships over the limit — according to the chart. Missing from this chart are Mick Assaf and Colin Grunhard. Both are walk-ons that were given scholarships last season, but it is still very unclear if both will be on scholarship for 2020. If that is the case, then that number shoots up to 5.
There is a big difference between 3 and 5 — especially in August. With 3 players, I think we could bank on them being medical hardships, but 5 seems pretty extreme.
By all accounts, there doesn’t appear to be any players missing as we would have heard about them by now. The post-spring transfer attrition that normally happens wasn’t there, but it’s hard to imagine anyone announcing a transfer here in the next few days (if you were just about ready to name guys that might transfer because of playing time or whatever).
So here’s a question for you... is Notre Dame buying time in case a spring season is announced? If the season is moved to spring, there’s no reason to worry about the numbers now, and in fact, it’s likely that there will be some players that won’t play in the spring and will prepare for the NFL Draft.
That, of course, is just a theory — a very far out there theory.
A lot of the questions that we have about Notre Dame football and the 2020 season at large, should be answered in the coming days, but this one just seems strange. The numbers always work out by July, but not this year.