Notre Dame Hit Homerun with Mike Sanford, Autry Denson

Notre Dame fans had every reason to feel anxious heading into the 2015 season. Head coach Brian Kelly had masterfully managed to keep cohesion within his coaching staff since heading to South Bend in 2010, but the endless coaching carousel of college football can only be kept at bay for so long. Kelly lost a number of assistant coaches this past offseason, although none as costly as Tony Alford, Notre Dame’s running backs coach and recruiting coordinator. Alford was the one Kelly would dispatch when making one last recruiting pitch to a blue-chip prospect, and Alford served as Notre Dame’s main recruiting presence in Florida, arguably the most talent-rich state in the country. The losses to Brian Kelly’s staff were significant.

Complicating matters was the unproven nature of the new hires. Mike Sanford, the new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, arrived with the reputation as one of the hottest young coaches on the market, but at the age of 33 there was still the question of experience. Notre Dame’s all-time leading rusher and new running backs coach, Autry Denson, only received an interview out of respect for his history with the program before earning the job after an impressive interview. Denson, a Florida native, was a gamble considering he had only coached one season at the FBS level at Mid-American Conference member Miami (OH).

Not only did the anxiety prove to be unfounded, but Notre Dame would not be set to square off with Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl without Sanford and Denson, who have more than proven their coaching mettle against unthinkable odds.

Mike Sanford had the unenviable task of overseeing the quarterback duel between Everett Golson and Malik Zaire this spring, balancing time between fine-tuning Golson’s mechanics while preparing Zaire for life as a possible starter. The “quarterback whisperer”, as ESPN labeled Sanford in September, endured setback after setback in 2015, with the transfer of Everett Golson to the loss of Malik Zaire to injury, forcing an inexperienced redshirt freshman named DeShone Kizer into the lineup. And Sanford succeeded at developing whoever was lined up behind center no matter how limited their experience.

Malik Zaire, in his first appearance as the undisputed starting quarterback, recorded the second highest completion percentage in school history en route to a 38-3 manhandling of the Texas Longhorns. And when Zaire went down with injury, Sanford took DeShone Kizer, a quarterback who spent most of the spring practice session holding for kickers rather than taking reps at his position, and made him a solid starter capable of leading Notre Dame to an 8-2 record, with the lone losses coming on the road against top ten ranked teams in the waning seconds of the game.

Autry Denson faced a similar uphill battle after former five-star running back Greg Bryant left the program and starter Tarean Folston was lost for the season with a torn ACL. The running back position quickly transformed from a position of strength to one lacking any form of depth. Denson was charged with turning C.J. Prosise, a former safety prospect moved to wide receiver, into Notre Dame’s starting running back despite Prosise having never played the position at any level. Prosise became one of the most productive running backs Notre Dame has had since Julius Jones. But Denson’s most impressive feat involved the play of true freshman running back Josh Adams. Adams, forced into the starting lineup due to a Prosise injury, ran circles around Stanford’s Heisman candidate, Christian McCaffrey, gaining 168 yards on only 18 carries (9.3 yards per carry) to McCaffrey’s 97 yards on 27 carries (3.5 yards per carry).

The success of Notre Dame’s new assistants has created waves in the college football world. In addition to his on the field production, Autry Denson is making the most of his notoriety and is developing a reputation as an elite recruiter after securing an official visit from Ben Davis, an Alabama native whose father played for the Crimson Tide, as well as the No. 1 inside linebacker prospect in the nation. Mike Sanford living up to his status as one of the best up-and-coming coaches has led to his name being connected to several head coaching vacancies – with the most recent being Virginia – although Sanford has reportedly informed recruits he intends to stay at Notre Dame.

Concerns about the lack of experience of Notre Dame’s new hires have been answered, and Brian Kelly has done an excellent job of identifying new coaching talent. And while hanging on to that new talent will be a challenge – as it is for every elite program – it’s a welcome change for a Notre Dame team seeking to join its ranks.

Scott Janssen is a blogger for the Huffington Post and has authored several nationally-featured articles, including an appearance on MSNBC as a sports contributor. He talks football 24 hours a day, much to the chagrin of his wife and those around him. Scott can be reached at scottjanssenhp@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter.