Notre Dame spring football: A running diary of the Fighting Irish's open practice

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Marcus Freeman tried to watch it all Saturday morning inside the Irish Athletics Center, scouting his entire roster during the annual jersey scrimmage while also glad-handing about a dozen recruits and a few former players, including Riley Leonard and Sam Hartman.The morning practice didn’t cap spring practices — that’s what the Blue-Gold Game next weekend is for — but it counts as “moving day” within the roster. The extensive 11-on-11 work gave players a chance to claim bigger roles with breakout performances. While the practice started with about a half hour of positional work and special teams drills, the hour-plus scrimmage showed what Notre Dame can be this fall and where the Irish need to shore up the roster.Turns out, the potential of Freeman’s fifth team outweighs its problems.Advertisement