It was a far more exciting game than we had originally thought it would be. No, it wasn’t drama filled (what spring game is) but it had a nice mix of big plays, new names, and fun that we don’t always get in a spring game.

Let’s just go over this fairly quickly...

I thought both quarterbacks played well today. Brandon Wimbush and Ian Book both had their moments, but nothing happened that would cause me to think that Wimbush won’t start against Michigan. More importantly, is that I think between the two, they may have cemented a redshirt status for Phil Jurkovec this fall.

I am concerned with the running game if they try to shelf Dexter Williams again in 2018. Dexter had 117 yards and a TD today, and no other running back had that kind of “wow.” Jafar Armstrong came close and had a 25 yard TD run of his own.

Avery Davis as a utility player- an ATHLETE, did a good job today. He had 80 yards total offense today running, catching, and throwing. While his role will be much more defined this fall, I think it’s a role that will help the offense to move the sticks and be more dynamic.

Chase Claypool impressed, and there should be ZERO reasons that he isn’t a fulltime starter this year. Miles Boykin continued his impressive showing following the Citrus Bowl, and while he still has some work to do, he will be a major player in the offense as well. As much as people want to dismiss Chris Finke, he’s going to play and play a lot in 2019 (probably as a starter).

Defensively, I think the Irish still have a lot of work ahead of them to determine who plays safety, although both Alohi Gilman and Jalen Elliott had good days today. The corners played well, and despite the gaudy offensive stats, they were step for step for most of the game.

The front seven played strong, and the defensive line in particular, looks to be a major force come fall. Tranquill is much bigger and showed flashes, but his replacement at ROVER (Asmar Bilal) was fairly quiet for most of the game.

We will have more coming up on the game here on One Foot Down, but y’all should come away from this game fairly encouraged for the fall.