Category: Brian Kelly

Scout’s View: Newest Irish Commit Offensive Guard Rocco Spindler

Find out what to expect out of Notre Dame’s newest 2021 commit, Michigan offensive lineman Rocco Spindler.

It isn’t very often that Brian Kelly and his staff go out searching for offensive guards. The philosophy on recruiting linemen has been to go after a center, which the Irish have in Illinois’ Pat Coogan, then get tackles like instate Blake Fisher and Minnesota’s Joe Alt. The last time Kelly signed a guard was in 2017 with Robert Hainsey, that turned out pretty well, but that all changed today with the commit of Michigan’s Rocco Spindler.

Spindler is ranked even higher than Hainsey was, 48th nationally compared to 84th, but expectations will remain the same for the 6-foot-5-inch and 315-pound star. The Irish beat out Midwest powers Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan, his perceived runner-up, along with defending national champion LSU for Spindler’s commitment.

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Although Spindler also lined up at tackle for his Clarkston High School team, he will make the full-time transition over to guard when he arrives at South Bend. Spindler is a devastating run-blocker, often getting to the second level and allowing the skill position players to matriculate down the field. A matchup between Spindler and a linebacker isn’t going to end well for the defender. He shows good footwork during pass blocking, sometimes he does get a bit upright and has to use his strength to overpower rushers. That will not be as effective at the next level when he faces against players who are of similar strength, but his frame looks like it could add on good weight in the near future. Spindler’s footwork allow him to be very effective at pulling and being the lead blocker on screen plays.  What he does have is a nasty streak, something coaches just can’t teach, a trait of any elite lineman.

Anytime you beat the Wolverines, wither it’s on the field or off it, it’s an extra cherry on top. The Irish scored in a big way today with the commitment of Spindler, who should have a bright future in Blue and Gold.

Scout’s View: Linebacker Prince Kollie, Newest Notre Dame Commit

Take at look at what to expect out of the newest Irish commit, Tennessee linebacker Prince Kollie.

The Irish are starting to finalize their 2021 recruiting class and the newest addition is Tennessee linebacker Prince Kollie.

Kollie has started since his sophomore year on varsity, his tackles increased from 65 his first year to 78 in his second. He also added two more tackles for loss from the year prior with 4 total in his junior year. Kollie added two sacks to his junior stats along with an interception while causing 3 fumbles and recovering one. He did this in two less games as well.

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After watching his highlight reel, the 6-foot-2-inch and 200-pound ‘backer shows a great nose for the football. Kollie lines up all over the field, from a strong safety in the box, blitzing off the edge, to a stand-up defensive end rushing the passer. He is a willing tackler and shows great hands, Collie caught 65 passes for 1,085 yards and 9 TD’s last year. Collie’s run defense is much more ahead of his coverage skills at the moment, he does play well when the play is in front of him. This could eventually lead to him moving back to safety at some point in his career. Although he is most likely going to start out as an outside linebacker, he could ultimately be looked at as a hybrid defender like Clemson had with Isaiah Simmons, making plays from different positions.

When Collie arrives on campus, defensive coordinator Clark Lea will have to figure out if Collie will join him in the linebacker’s room or if he’ll start out in the defensive back room with Terry Joseph. My guess would be starting off with Lea, due to the fact that the Irish did not sign a true linebacker in last years recruiting class. Either way, it’s a good problem for Brian Kelly to have as we welcome Prince Kollie to the Notre Dame family.

Will a true freshman be Notre Dame’s rising ACC star?

There is lot of hype surrounding an Irish true freshman and his opportunity to make an impact early for the Notre Dame Football team.

It seem’s weird to be included into ACC content regarding the Notre Dame football team, but here we are. It’s been a very odd year, but as football gets closer and closer, 247Sports took a look at up-and-coming players that they were excited to see this fall.

Irish incoming freshman Michael Mayer made Charles Power’s list, and for very obvious reasons. With the departure of Cole Kmet to the NFL, the path to early playing time is in the hand of the 5-Star recruit. Power believes “Mayer is a ready-to-go type prospect who is entering what looks to be a favorable situation in South Bend.”

What we don’t know is how quickly Mayer will pick up the playbook from new offensive coordinator Tommy Rees. If he is able to grasp the scheme quickly, the talented freshman should be able to hit the field running. “He’s (Mayer) physically developed and skilled enough to make an impact as a freshman,” said Power.

It makes sense to at least give Mayer a shot early to see if he can prove himself on the field. Since players are now able to play in 4 games without losing a redshirt season, Mayer could even play a bit part without losing a year of eligibility. Ideally, this is not the case, with Mayer forcing Brian Kelly’s hand to play him throughout the year. I think this is the most realistic scenario, as Mayer should. work his way into the tight end rotation this year, before breaking out nationally as a sophomore.

It’s worth noting that former Notre Dame quarterback Phil Jurkovic made the list for Boston College, although the NCAA has yet to determine if immediate eligibility will be granted to the transfer. With BC on the new Irish schedule for 2020, it would be interesting to see how Jurkovic performs against his former teammates if eligible.

Notre Dame Football COVID-19 Testing Update

If you’re looking for good news in the way a group here nationally is handling COVID-19 you certainly don’t want to look at Major League Baseball as five more St. Louis Cardinals tested positive on Saturday morning. One place in sports where test …

If you’re looking for good news in the way a group here nationally is handling COVID-19 you certainly don’t want to look at Major League Baseball as five more St. Louis Cardinals tested positive on Saturday morning.

One place in sports where test results continue to comeback negative, however?

The Notre Dame football program.

Saturday saw the football program release the results of their latest round of COVID-19 testing and to make a long story short – Notre Dame got a perfect score.

103 players tested and 103 negative tests.

Notre Dame has now administered 459 tests to the football team and athletic staff in recent with just two positive tests coming back and both of those players have since recovered.

The Notre Dame football program has clearly done a great job keeping COVID-19 from overtaking their locker room. Let’s hope they can keep that up and that more programs nationally start to have similar success stories.

How Notre Dame Coaches will adjust while dealing with COVID-19 precautions

As the country continues to battle with COVID-19, the Irish coaching staff will make adjustments to their coaching habits this year.

This upcoming season is setting up to be odd, like last night’s report from Yahoo Sports’ Pete Thamel that the ACC might add the Irish as their Plus 1 in the 2020 season. Another odd aspect will be how coaches handle the social distancing during practices and games. ESPN’s Heather Dinich got an inside look at how Brian Kelly and his coaching staff will handle trying to properly distance themselves from the players.

Dinich reports that “the coaches will be wearing a fitted, clear, plastic face mask so the players will be able to see their facial expressions… and the coordinators and coach Brian Kelly will wear microphones to help cast their voices.” This will not be what the players are used to but for this season and potentially going forward it is a warranted change.

Another change will be how the team sets up their positional group meetings. Dinich reports that the Irish intend on still having their meetings in person, but “the offensive linemen will have to use the full team meeting room instead of their usual, smaller space, and a room that was once divided with a partition for the defensive line and linebackers is now wide open for an entire position group. What was once a recruiting lounge is now a defensive back meeting room.” As the Notre Dame Football program tries to adhere to CDC rules, this once again makes sense. The safety of the players and coaches is at the top of the Irish’s concerns, as it very well should be.

What about on-field activities? We all know that football is played is a vacuum, most players have to be in close proximity to each other, but the Irish have a plan. Kelly told Dinich that “we have to practice football. We’re going to be smart, and we’re going to do the thing necessary as coaches, but the players have to be able to be prepared to play the game when the game is ready to be played. When I look at the schedule that I put together, there are some tweaks relative to how we’re teaching, but when it comes to the fundamentals of the game, they will be taught in the same fashion that I’ve taught them for 30 years.” It’s hard to argue Kelly’s logic on teaching the team fundamentals, hitting blocking sleds and tackling dummies goes only so far.

As long as the program continues to be smart and safe regarding COVID-19, the football team will continue to be one of the very few that have yet to have any positive tests. On Wednesday Michigan State shut down their voluntary workouts due to a coach testing positive, while many other schools across the country have had to do the same. So far, the Irish have done fantastic with their players doing the right things on and off the field in preparation for a wild 2020 season.

Scouts Eye: What to expect from Newest Irish commit Tucker

Notre Dame’s newest commit Chance Tucker brings a lot to the table, find out what we see after watching his highlight reel.

The newest Notre Dame commit from the 2021 class, California cornerback Chance Tucker, has great size at 6-foot-1-inches and weighs 170-pounds. The weight isn’t much of a concern at the moment, as once Tucker arrives to South Bend and enters a collegiate weightlifting program, that number will surely rise. What Tucker shows on film however is impressive.

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Tucker mainly plays on an island, something that gives defensive coordinators the utmost confidence that he can stick to his man. This allows other members of the defense to be more aggressive, and a safety doesn’t need to shade over to help Tucker’s side. One thing that Tucker will have to work on is getting his head turned around quicker, as this could potentially lead to pass interference penalties. Defensive backs coach Mike Mickens will surely work with Tucker on that aspect.

He plays on both sides of the ball like most high school stars do, although he will focus mainly on defense when Tucker enters the program. There is a possibility that Tucker could contribute early on special teams as well if he does not crack the lineup early in his career. Either way, Brian Kelly has gotten a commitment from a player who has a high ceiling even though his star ranking might not be exceptional.

Irish make final 5 for Georgia Wide Receiver

Notre Dame Football is still a contender for a Georgia two-sport star

As the Irish continue to look for a second wide receiver in their 2021 recruiting class along with Lorenzo Styles Jr., they received good news to filling that spot on Friday. Georgia’s Jayden Thomas released this Top 5 school and Notre Dame made the cut.

Thomas checks in at 6’1” and 198-pounds and the Irish have a battle on their hands to grab his verbal commitment. Right now neither Rivals nor 247Sport’s experts have predicted where Thomas may end up and baseball will play a into his decision. He would like to play both sports at the next level and Thomas would be a great addition to Jarrett Link’s group.

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The two-sport athlete is an impressive player, as he plays all over the football field for his Pace Academy team. What sticks out most to me is the work he does off the ball, blocking for his teammates. That shows every that Thomas is a team player and will do what his team needs to win. Thomas would be a welcome addition to the 2021 Notre Dame class and we will have to wait a little long to find out if that is a reality.

Notre Dame Goes to a Familiar Place for Newest ’22 Offer

The Irish are back at Burke High School in Nebraska with their latest offer.

Defensive coordinator Clark Lea was busy yesterday, as Nebraska’s edge rusher Devon Jackson also added an offer. Lea offered Sebastian Cheeks on Friday also, and although they are in the same 2022 recruiting class, they do not play the same position.

Jackson uses his 6’2” and 200-pound frame differently than Cheeks does, lining up more on the edge of the defensive line instead of a more traditional linebacker. Jackson uses his speed to attack opposing offenses, while being a menace on special teams. Jackson looks skinny now, and once he adds on more weight, he will become a more complete player.

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The Irish join instate Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa, Arizona State and a few others vying for Jacksons commitment. Brian Kelly and his staff are very familiar with the Burke program, as incoming freshman WR Xavier Watts and Jackson were teammates. This could play big dividends for the Irish as they continue to look for their first 2022 commit.

Irish offer ’22 Illinois Linebacker

Notre Dame goes into the Chicago Suburbs with their latest offer in the 2022 class.

Brian Kelly has gone a bit west with his newest offer in the 2022 class, as Evanston, Illinois linebacker Sebastian Cheeks has been given the opportunity to play in South Bend.

The Irish join Midwest schools like Michigan, Northwestern, Wisconsin, and others for the commitment of the 6’2 and 200-pound ‘backer. Cheeks has very good instincts, which leads to big plays for his Wildkit team. The potential for Cheeks to be a three down linebacker is very intriguing. What’s just as intriguing is the fact that Cheeks has his offer from the Irish pinned on his twitter page

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It is clear that Kelly and defensive coordinator Clark Lea have gotten Cheeks attention as they battle for his verbal pledge. The Irish current do not have any commitments in their 2022 recruiting class.

Another Honor for Irish Commit

The hype continues for the highest rated commit in the 2021 Notre Dame Football recruiting class.

The anticipation for Notre Dame quarterback commit Tyler Bucher’s senior season continues to build. After performing well during the Elite 11 QB camp, he has now been named as a MaxPreps preseason high school 1st team All-American as an all-purpose player.

There has been some conversation as to whether high school football will actually be played this fall, as Virginia has canceled their season, Arizona has delayed their start and California, where Bucher is from, will make their decision on their season public on Monday the 20th.

Back to what MaxPrep’s had to say about the future Irish signal-caller as Buchner “put up video game numbers as a junior at Bishops’s (La Jolla, Calif.). The 2021 Notre Dame commit accounted for 6,084 yards of total offense (4,474 passing, 1,610 rushing) and 81 touchdowns (53 passing, 28, rushing).” Those numbers are truly amazing, La Jolla played 13 games last year, so Buchner accounted for almost 35 points a game.

The top-rated player in Brian Kelly’s 2021 recruiting class will have plenty on his shoulders when he arrives on campus next year. The starting spot will be vacant after Ian Book graduates, so Buchner will have a shot at starting as a true freshman. That may not happen, but he should see some time, even if it’s mop up duty. If Buchner lives up to the hype, he’s rated as the 42nd overall prospect in the ’21 class by the 247Sports composite, all of Blue and Gold Nation will be proud.