Notre Dame will open the 1st full season of the Marcus Freeman era on Sept. 3 with a trip to No. 2 Ohio State (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC). The national television, primetime, game-of-the-week atmosphere is something Notre Dame as a program is accustomed to, but it still will be interesting to see how a Fighting Irish team with a first-year head coach in only his 2nd game and a quarterback making his first start  respond to the immense challenge of playing Ohio State in Columbus during Week 1.

From a depth standpoint, the biggest difference between Notre Dame in Year 1 under Freeman and Notre Dame in Year 1 under former coach Brian Kelly is the infusion of more blue-chip talent. The Fighting Irish will slot in at 10th in the 247 Team Talent composite next month, their 3rd season among the top 10 during the past 5 years, which have included 2 playoff appearances. Kelly mined the country to upgrade the roster from a top-25 overall talent unit upon arrival to one that now frequents this list. Freeman, who is recruiting at an even higher level than Kelly and whose 1st full class leads the nation in blue-chip commits (19), ranking 3rd nationally, appears set to continue that trend.

What the roster lacks, however, as evidenced by the Game 1 depth chart, is balance across the board. There are questions at playmaker positions and significant depth issues on the back end of the defense. Still, this is a talented group that will compete to put Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff for the 3rd time in 5 seasons.

Here are Saturday Road’s grades for Notre Dame’s depth chart ahead of the opener at No. 2 Ohio State.

Quarterback: B-

A talented group, but one with virtually no collegiate experience.

Tyler Buchner is a big-time talent, a 4-star, top-75 national recruit who has waited his turn in South Bend, Ind. He has dual-threat capability like Ian Book, who led the Fighting Irish to 2 College Football Playoff appearances, with perhaps a bigger upside. He also has played just 136 snaps of college football. The backup, Drew Pyne, also was a 4-star recruit, but more of a pocket passer. Pyne has played just over 50 snaps in his 2 seasons in South Bend. While Pyne probably is a better thrower than Buchner, he is not nearly the athlete. Freshman Steve Angeli, from prep power Bergen Catholic in New Jersey, rounds out the top three. A redshirt seems likely.

Running Back: B

A versatile group with a dynamic piece in Chris Tyree.

Tyree’s ability to catch the ball and impact the game on the perimeter makes him offensive coordinator Tommy Rees’ most valuable weapon on the Fighting Irish offense. He’s not as effective as a between-the-tackles runner, however, which makes the battle behind him fascinating.

Logan Diggs hasn’t played with any contact yet in fall camp as he continues to recover from a torn labrum suffered during the spring game. But he is getting repetitions with the first team in non-contact drills. Audric Estime didn’t play much last year, but he’s the program’s most-highly touted recruit at running back, and he has turned heads in fall camp. Gi’Bran Payne, a 4-star recruit who Notre Dame stole late in the process from Indiana, appears capable of entering the fold as well.

Even with 1,000-yard rusher Kyren Williams gone, the Fighting Irish are in a good spot at this position.

Wide Receiver: D

This is the position that makes Rees lose sleep.

The top returner is Braden Lenzy, who caught 32 passes for 350 yards a season ago but struggled with consistency issues. For example, he caught 7 passes for 60 yards in the Fiesta Bowl against Oklahoma State but managed to catch only 8 passes for 93 yards the entire month of October. The program needs more from Lenzy in 2022. The loss of Avery Davis to another ACL injury is devastating, considering he’s the lone player on the roster with double-digit receptions in each of the past 3 Notre Dame seasons.

The Fighting Irish have recruited decently at the position, but there’s no proven guy. Lorenzo Styles is the most likely pro, but he caught just 24 of 40 targets in 2021. That receptions number needs to improve in 2022. Deion Colzie and longtime special teams guy Matt Salerno round out the depth chart, and neither has made much of a mark in the Frisbee-catching business during their time on campus.

Tight End: A+

Talk about going from famine to feast!

Michael Mayer is the nation’s best tight end, the preseason John Mackey Award frontrunner and Notre Dame’s biggest matchup issue on offense. Mayer led Notre Dame in receptions (71) and tied for the lead in receiving touchdowns (7) in 2021. He’ll almost assuredly do that again in 2022. The big question is how much help he gets from the receiving corps. Defenses are going to key on Mayer until Notre Dame proves other pass catchers can step up. If Mayer faces double teams constantly, it will be up to Rees to develop wrinkles to free his All-American up to make plays.

Offensive Line: B+

This unit would get an A if Jarrett Patterson weren’t battling a foot sprain that has called his participation in the Ohio State game into doubt. Patterson is one of the strengths of a deep Notre Dame offensive line unit that will start 3 seniors and 2 highly coveted underclassmen. Even without Patterson, the Fighting Irish will roll out juniors Andrew Kristofic, Tosh Baker and Michael Carmody as backups, meaning the Fighting Irish have experience at the No. 2  spots at guard, center and tackle. That’s a rare luxury in college football, as is having a 5-star right tackle as talented as sophomore Blake Fisher, who could blossom into an All-American by season’s end. This unit will be one of the strengths of the team.

Defensive Line: B+

Notre Dame returns the core of a veteran defensive line that was outstanding against the run a season ago but would like to be more consistent pressuring the quarterback. The good news? Top sack man Isaiah Foskey, who had 11 sacks and forced a ridiculous 6 fumbles in 2021, is back for his senior season. He gives Notre Dame an All-American candidate at the VYPER spot. Jayson Ademilola will be in his 3rd season as a starter for Notre Dame at defensive end. He finished with 3.5 sacks in 2021.

There isn’t experience everywhere. Jacob Lacey has played plenty over the prior 2 seasons in South Bend, but he’ll be a new starter at nose tackle. Still, even Notre Dame’s backups, such as Howard Cross III and Nana Osafo-Mensah, have starter’s experience, giving the group depth and plenty of repetitions as it enters 2022.

Linebacker: A

One of the nation’s best position groups.

Jack Kiser isn’t the fastest or the biggest linebacker, but he’s one of the country’s best college football players. He’ll play 3 downs and is outstanding in pass coverage, as evidenced by his 2 interceptions returned for touchdowns and 5 pass deflections in 2021. Marist Liufau and Bo Bauer have been so good in practice that J.D. Bertrand, a senior captain who had over 100 tackles last year, might not start. Al Golden, the Notre Dame defensive coordinator, loves the talent and energy of sophomore Will Schweitzer and 4-star freshman Jaylen Sneed. Jordan Botelho played in all 11 games he was  available in 2021. You get the idea. When you combine 4 players with 3 or 4 years of college experience with immense recruiting wins like Sneed or Schweitzer, you get a deep, versatile, talented group that should be the best position group on this team.

Defensive Back: B

If you are just looking at starters here, Notre Dame is an “A.”

Cam Hart and TaRiq Bracy are outstanding as a 1-2 at corner. Kyle Hamilton’s departure to the NFL (Round 1, Baltimore Ravens) stings, but coach Freeman went out and hauled in Northwestern All-Big Ten safety Brandon Joseph to replace him. Clarence Lewis was thrown into the fray last year, targeted more than any Notre Dame corner, and lived to tell about it with 44 solo tackles, 4 pass breakups and an interception. The problems are all depth-related. Roman Henderson is a converted corner who isn’t particularly big or fast. Houston Griffith has played plenty of football but struggles with the top-end speed of opposing receivers over the top in coverage. Plus, the Fighting Irish might need to rely on a freshman if anything happens to Hart or Bracy. It’s unpleasant to think about this unit — which ranked a pedestrian 63rd nationally against the pass last season, if they suffer much attrition. If healthy, however, the top end of the unit is talented, experienced and good.

Special Teams: C

Notre Dame’s lack of elite depth last year made it one of the nation’s worst teams in punt and kickoff coverage. The net result was the program’s worst special teams efficiency rating (65th, per SP+) in the past 5 seasons. That Notre Dame was that poor on special teams despite the presence of Tyree, one of the country’s most electric return men, speaks to the problems in kick and punt cover. The Fighting Irish have 2 new specialists as well, with transfer kicker Blake Grupe (Arkansas State) likely an upgrade over an inconsistent Jonathan Doerer, but Harvard transfer Jon Sot is a question mark. Sot averaged 40.5 in net punting last year, earning All-Ivy League honors, and that average alone would be a modest improvement from Notre Dame’s 2021 net in the high 30s. But we’ll need to see it to believe it before we upgrade this grade.