Greg McElroy continued his spring previews with Notre Dame, as the Fighting Irish enter Year 2 with Marcus Freeman at the helm, and the presumption that Sam Hartman is the starting quarterback.

Gerad Parker is also the new offensive coordinator, and as the program turns the page to this season, McElroy said there were good things last year amid the disappointments of the losses to Marshall and Stanford. “There were some moments like, ‘What the heck happened,?'”

The biggest goal this season should be to find consistency, McElroy said, and mentioned continuity among the offensive staff with Joe Rudolph coaching the offensive line, and Gino Guidugli coaching quarterbacks.

“What is the offense going to look like? I’m assuming there won’t be much change,” McElroy said. “Assuming because they stayed in house, not a lot’s going to be different with how they attack opposing defenses. But here’s the thing, they were very public in their flirtation, call it that, if nothing else, with Andy Ludwig.”

Ludwig runs a pro-style, pistol, shotgun, a lot of different offenses, McElroy said.

About Hartman, McElroy said he’s very optimistic: “He has, I think, a unique ability to feel defenders. I think he has a unique ability to spot guys and identify matchups, and is very, very accurate with the football. Go back and look at the Clemson game, Wake Forest-Clemson, go watch that game and look at how many tight windows he hit throughout the course of that ballgame.”

Ultimately, McElroy said, “This is an important year for Marcus Freeman.”

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