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The Notre Dame Fighting Irish spring practice preview for 2017. Here are three storylines to follow leading up to the team’s spring game on April 22.

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Notre Dame endured a disastrous 2016 college football season.

Brian Kelly’s program stumbled to a 4-8 mark, complete with four home losses and without a postseason berth. The Irish fired defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder in late September after the team allowed 134 points in its first four games. No previous Fighting Irish team had allowed that many points in its first four contests. Offensively, the team’s rushing averaged dropped 44 yards from the 2015 season, although not one of the team’s nine lost fumbles was from a running back. So it wasn’t all that bad.

With spring football just around the corner, let’s take a look at the biggest questions facing the Fighting Irish as they get set to prepare for their Blue-Gold spring game on April 22 at Notre Dame Stadium as well as the 2017 campaign.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish Spring Practice Storylines

1. Brandon Wimbush gets the keys to the offense

With DeShone Kizer leaving South Bend early for the NFL Draft, the Fighting Irish will have a new starting quarterback in 2017. Rising junior Brandon Wimbush, who was the third-team signal-caller in 2016, is the clear-cut No. 1 option with Kizer gone and Malik Zaire looking for a new home after deciding to transfer. Wimbush redshirted in his sophomore season after throwing five passes and logging seven rushing attempts in two games in 2015, but his talent and athleticism are unquestioned. The 6-foot-1, 225-pound New Jersey native arrived in South Bend as a highly touted recruit, and he has impressed coaches and teammates with his strong arm, speed and toughness, as well as his maturity.

Improving his pocket presence and defense recognition will be his biggest challenges, as will working with new offensive coordinator Chip Long, who has arrived from Memphis. Long completed his first year with the Tigers after moving there from Arizona State with head coach Mike Norvell. Notre Dame lost Mike Sanford, who became Western Kentucky’s head coach, as well as Mike Denbrock, who joined Luke Fickell’s new staff at Cincinnati. Memphis averaged 38.8 points per game in 2016 under Long despite losing quarterback Paxton Lynch to the NFL.

Kelly has had a lot of success with quarterbacks throughout his career, and he has also employed a number of OCs. Expect Kelly to be hands-on with Wimbush in a very critical 2017 campaign, which could ultimately benefit the offense. Wimbush could have started for many college football teams dating even back to last year, but he remained in South Bend, prepared as if he were the starter and did everything asked of him by the staff. Now it’s his turn to run an offense that will be looking for consistency and big plays in 2017. He’ll have a chance to show off the skill set that made him an Elite 11 participant.

2. Getting coordinated with new DC Mike Elko

While offense sells tickets, all eyes will be on the Notre Dame defense in 2017. Elko arrived from Wake Forest to shore up a unit that played poorly in 2016. He helped lead the Demon Deacons to three straight top 40 defenses nationally, so Irish fans should be ecstatic considering he’ll have better material at his disposal in South Bend. The former Ivy League safety led the 6-6 Demon Deacons to a No. 20 national ranking in scoring defense last season at 21.8 points per game, helping Wake make its first bowl game since 2011. Additionally, his final unit at Bowling Green ranked 10th nationally in total defense and fifth in scoring defense. In terms of how the ‘D’ will look schematically, Kelly and Elko expect it to be multiple, blending Wake’s base 4-2-5 look, a little 3-4 and the 4-3 base the Irish employed primarily under VanGorder. A key aspect of the 4-2-5 is the rover position, which is a hybrid safety/linebacker role. Keep an eye on Drue Tranquill for that spot. Overall, Elko wants his unit to be more physical and aggressive.

3. Wide receiver Chase Claypool has a chance to break out

There are high expectations for Claypool to emerge as a Jeff Samardzija-type wide receiver in this offense. He is still raw after logging just five catches in 2016, but his ceiling is very high. And his athleticism is intriguing for an offense that is looking to become more explosive. The 6-foot-4, 220-pounder runs like a gazelle and could pose quite a matchup problem for opposing defenses lining up opposite of Equanimeous St. Brown, who hauled in 58 passes for 961 yards and nine touchdowns in 2016. Throw in tight end Aliz’e Jones, and you’re talking about some real weapons for the Irish, particularly in the red zone.

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