Notre Dame will conclude its 2nd spring under Marcus Freeman on Saturday with the playing of the Blue-Gold Game (2 p.m. ET, Peacock).

Coming off a 9-4 campaign that saw the Fighting Irish win 9 of their final 11 games after an 0-2 start, including a Gator Bowl win over South Carolina, a foundation seemed in place for a springboard 2nd season under Freeman. The addition of Sam Hartman, the All-ACC quarterback who transferred from Wake Forest in January, only added to the optimism in South Bend.

In mid-February, however, Notre Dame’s plan for continuity and a crescendo in 2023 took a jolt when offensive coordinator Tommy Rees left his alma mater for the same position at Alabama. Hartman still arrives at Notre Dame with 12,967 career passing yards, but now he’ll have to operate under a new coordinator in Gerad Parker in an offense that spent much of 2022 floundering in search of an identity.

Losing Rees, 1 of the brightest young minds in the sport, just after a bowl performance where Notre Dame appeared to find an offensive identity built on a power run game and timely play-action passing, presented the Fighting Irish with a healthy dose of adversity as spring practice opened. Now, as the Fighting Irish put a 4-leaf clover on things in the Blue-Gold Game on Saturday afternoon, questions around the offense linger.

Some of these questions are normal, and they would have been asked even if Nick Saban didn’t give Rees an offer he couldn’t refuse. Once Drew Pyne transferred last December, Notre Dame was guaranteed to start a different quarterback to open 2023 than the 1 it closed the regular season with in 2022. New blood also was inevitable on the offensive line, where the Fighting Irish said goodbye to over 79 career starts at the guard position.

There’s also the fact that Notre Dame’s defense looks downright salty, as you’d expect when you return 3 starting linebackers and the core of your secondary, including All-American cornerback Benjamin Morrison. Throw in a new quarterbacks coach, new offensive line coach and new offensive coordinator to the mix and, well, growing pains were going to follow this spring.

Will they continue into September and October, as they did last season?

That’s the biggest question, and it’s 1 that won’t even be answered Saturday, even if Fighting Irish fans will get a glimpse at what could be with this Notre Dame offense and what could go wrong.

Freeman told the media again this week that a quarterback decision won’t be made after the spring, but there is at least some evidence that Hartman is ahead. Notre Dame’s offense has won a scrimmage with Hartman taking the majority of the reps, and he is developing instant chemistry with some of the team’s best weapons, including receiver Tobias Merriweather.

Tyler Buchner? He’s improved from the guy who threw 2 pick-sixes in the Gator Bowl, and even if he doesn’t win the job, Fighting Irish fans have to feel good about the fact that he’s pushing 1 of the best quarterbacks in ACC history, extending the quarterback battle into fall camp.

There’s also good news at running back, where the Fighting Irish pack the 1-2 punch of Audric Estime and Logan Diggs, and arguably have the deepest room in the sport if Jadarian Price stays healthy. And that’s before Jeremiyah Love arrives this summer to give Notre Dame an embarrassment of riches at running back.

With Joe Alt and Blake Fisher anchoring the offensive line, the loss of those 79 career starts inside feels less bad than it appears on paper, and the running game has been steady all spring, especially in the Fighting Irish’s most recent scrimmage.

Will the receivers get open?

Is there life in the tight end room after Michael Mayer?

These aren’t questions Notre Dame can answer immediately, but a solid performance from Merriweather or Deion Colzie on Saturday would do wonders to calm nerves.

It’s the questions on offense in general and the air of uncertainty everywhere but tackle and running back that makes this spring game much more about Notre Dame’s offense than its rock steady defense.

Yes, Notre Dame is retooling its defensive line, searching for an explosive replacement for Isaiah Foskey’s pass rushing and the steady if not spectacular play of the Ademilola brothers. But with tremendous linebackers, elite talent at cornerback and Xavier Watts providing future NFL talent at safety, the defense is ready, aside from the need to get Watts help, which will likely happen after Saturday when the Fighting Irish scour the transfer portal for safety help.

Plus, defensive lineman Jordan Botelho has been a menace all spring, suggesting that his Gator Bowl flourish was less fluke and more breakout, welcome news for a Fighting Irish defense that was splendid when it made big plays in 2022.

Whatever questions linger defensively, the big existential ones about this program are all on offense.

Is a star quarterback on the roster?

If Hartman is that star, how high does it raise Notre Dame’s ceiling?

Is there enough at wide receiver and tight end to maximize 1 of the nation’s best running back groups?

How much of the hope surrounding the tight end room this spring is just blind optimism in the face of the blinding reality that the All-American Mayer will be brutally hard to replace?

The spring’s questions begin to get answered on Saturday afternoon at Notre Dame Stadium.

But don’t worry. If April showers bring May flowers, April’s existential football questions bring August’s answers.

With a gentler September schedule that features just 1 high-level opponent in NC State, the Fighting Irish may even have until October to answer the hard questions in Freeman’s 2nd year. It would be a welcome respite from a season ago, when Ohio State awaited Notre Dame in Columbus and the home opener came against a Marshall team that was magnificent on defense, finishing 5th in yards allowed per play in 2022.

There is time to find an identity on offense again, even if that process isn’t over on Saturday.