Notre Dame coaches impressed so far with Spencer Shrader’s leg

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WNDU) - In just his third game wearing the Blue and Gold, grad transfer kicker Spencer Shrader broke the Notre Dame school record for longest field goal.

Shrader drilled a 54-yard kick in the rain late in the first quarter against NC State, and he nearly broke it again in the second quarter with a 56-yard attempt that bounced off the upright.

Shrader’s coach, special teams coordinator Marty Biagi, was asked if there’s a chance he could go as far as 60-65 yards.

“He can. It might not happen, but he can,” Biagi replied. “I mean, we don’t sit there and try to put a specific number on it, but he’s perfectly capable. He’s kicked all the way back to 60, 65 yards… even a little further. But at the end of the day, it’s how can he do it consistently. But yeah, that’s definitely an option.”

Head coach Marcus Freeman also expressed his trust in Shrader’s leg during a press conference earlier this week.

“I have confidence that Spencer can make a 60-yard field goal because I’ve seen him do it in practice, but a lot of it comes in factor with wind and what kind of field conditions,” Freeman explained. “I’m in communication with Coach Biagi, ‘Where’s the line? Where’s the line?’ because the line can be different in terms of the directions we’re going. The line, whichever way we were going that part of the game, was right where we were at, and he said, ‘Hey, I feel confident that he can do it.’ I said, ‘Let’s kick it.”

The Irish are hosting Central Michigan this weekend at Notre Dame Stadium. Kickoff for Saturday’s game is set for 2:30 p.m. EDT. A reminder, the game will be streamed exclusively on Peacock.

Meanwhile, we want to hear from you ahead of this weekend’s matchup. In this week’s Lochmandy Auto Group Irish Fan Poll, we’re asking you who you think has been the MVP of Notre Dame’s defense so far this season? Click here to vote!

We’ll share the results on Countdown to Kickoff, which airs right here on WNDU Friday night at 7 p.m.

Copyright 2023 WNDU. All rights reserved.