Notre Dame released it’s official roster for the 2019 season on Friday before Brian Kelly’s first presser of the summer. With the release came the official heights and weights for all Notre Dame freshmen – and updated weights in the case of the ten early enrollees who participated in spring football.
Let’s get the official heights and weights out of the way first, and then we’ll get into some observations.
- QB Brendon Clark: 6-1, 217
- RB Kyren Williams: 5-9, 205
- WR Kendall Abdur-Rahman: 5-11,189
- WR Cam Hart: 6-2, 208
- WR Conor Rattigan: 5-11, 172 *
- OL Quinn Carroll: 6-6 304
- OL Zeke Correll: 6-3, 270
- OL Andrew Kristofic: 6-5, 280
- OL John Olmstead: 6-4, 280
- DL Howard Cross II: 6-0, 269
- DL Isaiah Foskey: 6-4, 250
- DL Jacob Lacey: 6-1, 293
- DL Nana Osafo-Mensah: 6-3, 241
- DL Hunter Spears: 6-3, 303
- LB J.D. Bertrand: 6-1, 226
- LB Osita Ekwonu: 6-0, 230
- LB Jack Kiser: 6-1, 221
- LB Marist Liufau: 6-2, 213
- CB Isaiah Rutherford: 6-0, 188
- CB KJ Wallace: 5-10, 191
- S Litchfield Ajavon: 6-0, 192
- S Kyle Hamilton: 6-4, 210
- P Jay Bramblett: 6-1, 188
- K Harrison Leonard: 5-10, 203 *
* Denotes Walk-on
Ok now onto some observations from these.
- Kyle Hamilton at 210 lbs, is going to play. And honestly, he might play a lot at this point. The hype has been building for him for months now. At this point, it would be surprising if he didn’t have a significant role on defense by the end of the season. Hamilton was listed at 190 lbs in December.
- JD Bertrand could see time in the rotation at LB this year after checking in 26 lbs heavier than his listed weight from the Signing Day presser in December.
- Isaiah Foskey is probably going to force his way onto the field. He is starting his freshman year at 250 lbs. That’s one heck of a good start. We already mentioned how freakishly long he is so expected him to add more good weight to that frame in the future and become an absolute monster on the edge.
- Jacob Lacey is 2 lbs lighter than what he reported to Notre Dame at in December, but that could be a good thing as he gets rid of some bad weight in favor of good weight in Matt Balis’s program.
- Osita Ekwonu is still very raw so he might not factor in at LB for a little while but checking in at 230 lbs already bodes well for his future. He’s up 10 pounds since December.
- Jack Kiser has gained 16 lbs since December, which is promising with him coming off the injury.
- At 269 lbs, it will be interesting to see if Howard Cross can factor into the rotation on the inside of the line as some hoped. It’s a lot to ask of a true freshman to play meaningful snaps on the interior of the line – especially if they check in under 270 lbs.
- Cam Hart has put in some work. He was 190 lbs in the Signing Day release but is up to 208 lbs right now. He gets forgotten a bit, but it’s clear he dedicated himself to his off-season training.
