This past offseason fans were abuzz with the news of senior Riley Leonard’s decision to transfer from Duke to start at quarterback for Notre Dame. And while Leonard has been the center of the conversation, another ACC transfer has had huge impacts on the Irish this season.
In his three years at Clemson, graduate wide receiver Beaux Collins had 91 receptions, 1,290 yards and 11 touchdowns. All of this was despite several injuries throughout his career at Clemson, including a separated left shoulder inflicted on him by the Irish during the classic game in 2022 that ended with Notre Dame students storming the field.
Collins’ arrival in South Bend added a lot of experience to the wide receiver room. During his two years with the Irish senior Jayden Thomas had the most receptions, coming in at 46. Sophomores Jaden Greathouse and Jordan Faison gave Notre Dame fans a lot to cheer about last season, but even they only combined for 587 receiving yards out of the 3,065 that Notre Dame had all season.
Despite being in the ACC with Louisville when he was with Clemson, this Saturday will be the first time Collins actually takes the field against the Cardinals. Clemson defeated Louisville the week after losing to Notre Dame in 2022, but Collins was still injured. Still, after the game against Miami (Ohio), the leading receiver for the Irish was excited by the challenge posed by the Cardinals.
“Oh yes, it’s a big one, Louisville. They're always gonna bring their best. They're a team I have a lot of respect for just growing up watching Lamar [Jackson] and all that. They bring in players just like we do here. [They] have good guys there … but I feel like as long as we handle our business [and] execute, we’ll be just fine,” Collins said.
Recently Leonard has been under a lot of scrutiny for being a run-first, pass second quarterback. Collins has the distinction of being the only player for Notre Dame to have caught a touchdown pass from Leonard. The catch came at a pivotal point in the game on Saturday, putting the Irish up by two scores over the RedHawks, and quieting (at least for a little bit) some of the concerns about Leonard and the Irish passing game.
With all of the talent that Collins and the other receivers bring, it’s hard to fault anyone frustrated that they are not getting the ball more often. Still, Collins has seen teams that click and those that just haven’t and still feels very positive about what Notre Dame is doing.
“I feel like we’re pretty close, man. There’s just small things here and there,” he said. “We come in on Mondays, rewatch the film and things like that, see what to correct. When we go to practice on Tuesday and Wednesday, we really look to fix … the small details, whether it’s penalties or… things like that. And I feel like we’re pretty close. As an older guy, I know what it looks like, and I feel like we’re right there.”
One of the keys to victory for Notre Dame this weekend has to be getting the ball to No. 5 on offense. Irish fans hope they can do that early and often in the game.
