The 2019 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team was an American football team that represented the University of Notre Dame as an independent during the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season. In their tenth year under head coach Brian Kelly, the team compiled an 11–2 record, outscored opponents by a total of 478 to 233, and were ranked No. 12 in the final AP poll and No. 11 in the final Coaches Poll. In games against ranked opponents, they lost to No. 3 Georgia and No. 19 Michigan and defeated No. 18 Virginia and No. 21 Navy. They concluded the season with a victory over unranked Iowa State in the Camping World Bowl.
The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Ian Book (3,034 passing yards), running back Tony Jones Jr. (857 rushing yards), wide receiver Chase Claypool (66 receptions for 1,037 yards), and kicker Jonathan Doerer (108 points scored).
The team played its home games at Notre Dame Stadium in Notre Dame, Indiana.
Offseason Departures QB Brandon Wimbush (graduate transferred to UCF) RB Dexter Williams (drafted by the Green Bay Packers) WR Miles Boykin (drafted by the Baltimore Ravens) TE Alizé Mack (drafted by the New Orleans Saints) OL Luke Jones (transferred to Arkansas) DT Micah Dew-Treadway (graduate transferred to Minnesota) LB D.J. Morgan (transferred to UConn) CB Julian Love (drafted by New York Giants) DB Noah Boykin (transferred to UMass) DB Devin Studstill (transferred to USF) LB Drue Tranquill (drafted by the Los Angeles Chargers) LB Te'von Coney (signed by the Oakland Raiders) DT Jerry Tillery (drafted by the Los Angeles Chargers) S Derrik Allen (transferred to Georgia Tech) P Tyler Newsome (signed by the Los Angeles Chargers) K Justin Yoon (graduated)
Coaching changes Departures
Autry Denson, the former running backs coach of the Fighting Irish, accepted the head coaching position at Charleston Southern University.
Additions
Lance Taylor was hired to replace Denson as running backs coach. Taylor previously spent time with the Carolina Panthers of the NFL, coaching wide receivers, and at Stanford University, coaching running backs.
The Shirt 2019 The 30-year-old tradition of "The Shirt Project" continued with the unveiling of the 2019 edition student t-shirt. For the first time, there is a sweatshirt to go with the traditional tee.
The project has sold more than 2.5 million shirts and raised more than $11 million over its 30 years of existence. Each year, a committee of students designs a shirt to raise money for Notre Dame student clubs and organizations. Actor Patrick Warburton was on hand for the ceremony, as was Coach Kelly.
This year's t-shirt features 'Notre Dame' in 1930's Art Deco lettering to mirror the style that is found all throughout the Stadium. It is set on a faded blue background and includes a very traditional white football and a clover in the middle.
Blue–Gold Game The 90th edition of The Blue–Gold Game, an annual spring exhibition game, was played on April 13, 2019, at Notre Dame Stadium and was broadcast on NBCSN. It served as the 15th and final spring practice for the Irish. The Gold Team (defense) beat the Blue Team (offense) by the score of 58–45.
Award watch lists Listed in the order that they were released Lott TrophyAlohi GilmanSSRMaxwell AwardIan BookQBSRBednarik AwardJulian OkwaraDESRBednarik AwardKhalid KareemDESRJim Thorpe AwardAlohi GilmanSSRWuerffel TrophyJalen ElliottSSRWalter Camp AwardIan BookQBSR
Training camp The Irish officially kicked off the 2019 season as they do every season, traveling just under an hour south of campus to Culver Academies in Culver, IN, for an intense five-day training camp. The first practice of the season began in Culver on Sunday, August 4, and the team continued to practice in Culver until Thursday, August 8, at which point the Irish returned to campus to continue its training camp until fall classes begin on Tuesday, August 27.
Team captains On Saturday, August 10, the day of Notre Dame's first practice of the season on campus, Brian Kelly publicly announced the captains for the 2019 Irish football team captains. These captains are Ian Book, Chris Finke, Julian Okwara, Khalid Kareem, Jalen Elliott, Alohi Gilman, and Robert Hainsey. Six of these seven captains are seniors or older, with Hainsey being the lone junior captain this season.
2019 recruiting class Notre Dame received 22 signed letters of intent, including 21 during the early signing period. The Class of 2019 includes 10 early enrollees, the most ever for the program, who opted to graduate high school early so that they could train and practice with the team during the 2018 spring semester.
Schedule
Rankings
Personnel
Coaching staff Name Position Year at Notre Dame Alma Mater (Year)Brian KellyHead Football Coach10thAssumption (1982)Mike ElstonAssociate head coach/defensive line10thMichigan (1998)Brian PolianRecruiting coordinator/Special teams coordinator8thJohn Carroll (1997)Clark LeaDefensive coordinator/linebackers3rdVanderbilt (2004)Chip Long Offensive coordinator/tight ends3rdNorth Alabama (2005)Jeff QuinnOffensive line5th (2nd in position)Elmhurst (1984) Todd LyghtDefensive backs4thNotre Dame (1991)Del AlexanderWide receivers3rdUSC (1995)Tom ReesQuarterbacks3rdNotre Dame (2013)Terry JosephDefensive Pass Game Coordinator/safeties2ndNorthwestern State (1996)Lance TaylorRunning backs1stAlabama (2003)Matt BalisDirector of Football Performance3rdNorthern Illinois (1996)Bill ReesDirector of Scouting3rdOhio Wesleyan (1976)Clay BignellSenior Defensive analyst4thMontana State (2011)Tyler PlantzSpecial teams analyst5th (3rd in position)Notre Dame (2014)Jacob FlintCo-Director of Football Strength & Conditioning10thCentral Michigan (2007)Robert StinerAssistant Director of Football Strength & Conditioning2ndBelhaven (2008)David GrimesAssistant Strength & Conditioning Coach9thNotre Dame (2009)
Roster 2019 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Football RosterQuarterbacks 7 Brendon Clark – freshman 12 Ian Book – senior (6'0, 208) 14 J.D. Carney – junior (5'10, 180) 15 Phil Jurkovec – sophomore (6'5, 225) 17 Nolan Henry – graduate student (6'1, 195) 31 Cole Capen – sophomore (6'5, 232)
Running backs 6 Tony Jones Jr. – senior (5'11, 227) 8 Jafar Armstrong – junior (6'1, 220) 16 Cameron Ekanayake – junior (6'2, 202) 20 C'Bo Flemister – sophomore (5'11, 195) 23 Kyren Williams – freshman (5'9, 209) 32 Mick Assaf – senior (5'11, 215) 34 Jahmir Smith – sophomore (5'11, 207)
Wide receivers 4 Kevin Austin Jr. – sophomore (6'2, 210) 4 Avery Davis – junior (5'11, 200) 10 Chris Finke – graduate student (5'9, 175) 13 Lawrence Keys III – sophomore (5'10, 172) 17 Isaiah Robertson – junior (6'2, 202) 18 Joe Wilkins Jr. – sophomore (6'2, 190) 22 Kendall Abdur-Rahman – freshman (6'0, 189) 25 Braden Lenzy – sophomore (5'11, 184) 26 Leo Albano – sophomore (6'1, 212) 27 Arion Shinaver – senior (6'1, 184) 29 Matt Salerno – sophomore (6'1, 188) 43 Greg Mailey – sophomore (6'1, 200) 80 Micah Jones – sophomore (6'5, 215) 83 Chase Claypool – senior (6'4, 229) 86 Conor Ratigan – freshman (6'0, 172) 87 Michael Young Jr. – junior (5'10, 190) 88 Javon McKinley – senior (6'2, 215)
Tight ends 24 Tommy Tremble – sophomore (6'3, 237) 48 Xavier Lezynski – junior (6'2, 205) 49 Jack Henige – junior (6'5, 235) 81 John Lager – graduate student (6'4, 249) 84 Cole Kmet – junior (6'6, 255) 85 George Takacs – sophomore (6'6, 255) 89 Brock Wright – junior (6’5, 250) Offensive linemen 52 Zeke Correll – freshman (6'3, 295) 53 Quinn Murphy – freshman (6'5, 289) 55 Jarrett Patterson – sophomore (6'5, 300) 56 John Dirksen – sophomore (6'5, 310) 57 Trevor Ruhland – graduate student (6'4, 293) 60 Cole Mabry – sophomore (6'5, 273) 61 Colin Grunhard – junior (6'1, 282) 62 Logan Plantz – graduate student (6'2, 310) 64 Max Siegel II – sophomore (6'2, 305) 69 Aaron Banks – junior (6'6, 325) 71 John Olmstead – freshman (6'5, 280) 72 Robert Hainsey – junior (6'5, 298) 73 Andrew Kristofic – freshman (6'5, 275) 74 Liam Eichenberg – senior (6'6, 305) 75 Josh Lugg – junior (6'7, 310) 76 Dillan Gibbons – junior (6'4, 308) 77 Quinn Carroll – freshman (6'7, 285) 78 Tommy Kraemer – senior (6'6, 319)
Defensive linemen 9 Daelin Hayes – senior (6'4, 268) 19 Justin Ademilola – sophomore (6'2, 250) 29 Ovie Oghoufo – sophomore (6'3, 230) 31 NaNa Osafo-Mensah – freshman (6'3, 235) 41 Kurt Hinish – junior (6'2, 295) 42 Julian Okwara – senior (6'5, 240) 44 Jamir Jones – senior (6'3, 257) 47 Kofi Wardlow – junior (6'2, 245) 53 Khalid Kareem – senior (6'4, 262) 54 Jacob Lacey – freshman (6'2, 295) 55 Ja'Mion Franklin – sophomore (6'1, 308) 56 Howard Cross III – freshman (6'1, 269) 57 Jayson Ademilola – sophomore (6'3, 285) 70 Hunter Spears – freshman (6'4, 290) 91 Adetokunbo Ogundeji – senior (6'5, 250) 93 Zane Heemsoth – freshman (6'5, 241) 94 Isaiah Foskey – freshman (6'5, 250) 95 Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa – junior (6'3, 286)
Kickers 39 Jonathan Doerer – junior (6'3, 200) 98 Harrison Leonard – freshman (5'10, 203)
Punters 19 Jay Bramblett – freshman (6'1, 189) 30 Jake Rittman – sophomore (6'2, 205) Linebackers 2 Jordan Genmark Heath – junior (6'1, 231) 6 Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah – junior (6'2, 215) 13 Paul Moala – sophomore (6'0, 210) 22 Asmar Bilal – graduate student (6'2, 227) 24 Jack Kiser – freshman (6'2, 212) 27 JD Bertrand – freshman (6'1, 226) 31 Jack Lamb – sophomore (6'4, 227) 33 Shayne Simon – sophomore (6'3, 230) 34 Osita Ekwonu – freshman (6'1, 230) 35 Marist Liufau – freshman (6'2, 229) 40 Drew White – junior (6'0, 225) 45 Jonathan Jones – senior (6'0 227) 50 Reed Gregory – junior (6'0, 210) 52 Bo Bauer – sophomore (6'3, 230)
Defensive backs 15 Isaiah Rutherford – freshman (6'1, 188) 43 Marcus Thorne – sophomore (6'1, 204)
Cornerbacks 3 Houston Griffith – sophomore (6'0, 205) 5 Troy Pride – senior (6'0, 194) 8 Donte Vaughn – senior (6’3, 210) 9 Cam Hart – freshman (6'3, 208) 20 Shaun Crawford – graduate student (5'9, 186) 26 Temitope Agoro – senior (6'1, 203) 28 TaRiq Bracy – sophomore (5'10, 172) 39 Brandon Garcia – senior (5'8, 197)
Safeties 11 Alohi Gilman – senior (5'11, 201) 12 D. J. Brown – sophomore (6'0, 192) 14 Kyle Hamilton – freshman (6'4, 210) 16 KJ Wallace – freshman (5'10, 191) 21 Jalen Elliott – senior (6'1, 210) 23 Litchfield Ajavon – freshman (6'0, 192) 25 John Mahoney – junior (6'0, 205) 30 Chris Velotta – freshman (5'9, 195) 32 Patrick Pelini – junior (6'1, 188) 36 Eddie Scheidler – freshman (5'10, 185) 37 Chase Love – sophomore (6'0, 190) 38 Christopher Schilling – senior (5'11, 204)
Long snappers 46 Axel Raarup – sophomore (6'0, 195) 54 John Shannon – senior (6'2, 238) 65 Michael Vinson – sophomore (6'2, 221)
Game summaries
At Louisville
New Mexico
At Georgia
Virginia
Bowling Green
USC
At Michigan
Notre Dame was routed by No. 19 Michigan 45–14, snapping an 8-game losing streak to top 10 teams for the Wolverines. The loss, combined with the loss to Georgia earlier in the season, ended Notre Dame's hopes to qualify for the playoffs.
Virginia Tech
After poor performances against USC and Michigan, Notre Dame stepped up defensively against Virginia Tech. The hokies were held to their lowest total yards game since 2015 and lowest yards per play since 2016 in what was billed as "one of the best group effort performances" ever seen by Sports Illustrated sportswriter Bryan Driskell. Yet, Notre Dame still needed a late touchdown to win the game by a final score 21–20 and Notre Dame extended their home winning streak to 16 games.
After this win, ESPN analysts Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach both projected that Notre Dame will play Kansas State in the Camping World Bowl on December 28 in Orlando, Florida as a part of their Week 10 predictions Notre Dame (ranked #15 after this week) "did not exactly play an inspired game in a come-from-behind win over Virginia Tech" according to ESPN Analyst Andrea Adelson. However, Notre Dame is projected for a ten-win season.
At Duke
Navy
Boston College
At Stanford