Category: Brian Kelly

ESPN: Four What If’s for Notre Dame to be Title Contenders

The Irish have appeared on many experts short list of title contenders, with ESPN looking at scenarios for those teams to make a CFP run.

When you look at what it takes for a run at the College Football Playoff Championship, teams with the least questions heading into the season usually have the best opportunities to finish the season winner of the CFP. ESPN’s Bill Connelly looked at 18 teams and their If’s regarding making a run at being a contender this season.

The Irish were included by Connelly, with 4 Ifs, two each on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. The first If for the Irish starts with who will be catching passes from Book.  Now that Tommy Rees took over for Chip Long as the offensive coordinator, Rees will have to figure out Book’s best bet to make plays. Connelly mentions Northwestern transfer Ben Skowronek, Javon McKinley, Braden Lenzy and in-coming freshman Jordan Johnson as receivers who could step up and says, “someone needs to come through.” Connelly is right, at least two receivers or tight end’s will need to step up and be a major contributor. Keep an eye out for a pair of unknowns in Kevin Austin and incoming freshman Jordan Johnson, either one of them could have an impact this coming season.

Next, Connelly stays on the offensive side and looks at who will line up next to Book in the backfield. C’Bo Flemister, Jafar Armstrong and Jahmir Smith are the returning players mentioned while freshman Chris Tyree could make an impact as well. Connelly fails to mention the potential impact of Stanford transfer Trevor Speights, which gives me a feeling his impact might be minimal. I expect Tyree to emerge from the group, provided he stays healthy.

Moving on to the defense, Connelly is looking at the defensive backfield as and If for the Irish. This point I actually disagree with as I feel like this group will be a strength for Notre Dame. Sophomore safety Kyle Hamilton should become a household name by the end of the year, while cornerback Houston Griffin has been working hard this offseason to finally make an impact, which I think he will. The addition of NC State transfer Nick McCloud, a cornerback, along with Ohio State transfer Isaiah Pryor makes a solid group in my eyes.

Connelly’s final point stays on the defense and questions the “lack of beef” on the defensive line. I would agree with this point, as he points out that just “two of 10 returning contributing linemen are listed above 286 pounds. This group will have to grow up in a hurry to protect the linebackers and allow them to continue to make plays.

These four If’s are important keys to the Irish season, although some of them aren’t nearly as concerning as others, especially on the defensive side of the ball. If Kelly is able to overcome some of these questions, Notre Dame should have a standout 2020

Recruiting: Irish in Georgia Star’s Top 10

Notre Dame recently offered a scholarship to a Georgian safety and have made it into his Top 10 schools going forward.

Although Georgia’s Kaleb Edwards was offered by Brian Kelly and Clark Lea just over two weeks ago, the safety likes what he sees from the Irish and included them in his newly released Top 10 schools.

Edwards is still keeping his options open, as he noted in his tweet, but making his top school list shortly after getting an Irish offer is a good sign going forward. The 6’0” and 195-pound defender does a bit of everything for his Dacula High School team, showing a variety of skills that have plenty of coaches excited for his future on the field.

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The Irish have done a good job recruiting Edwards and are in the mix for a commitment from the safety. The 2021 recruiting class has Illinois’ Justin Walters as the other safety commit, and if Kelly is able to convince Edwards to join, they would make a great pair of prospects to arrive in South Bend next year.

Rivals: Kelly Hire Great, Notre Dame to Join Super Conference?

The Irish hiring of Brian Kelly gets praise once again, and Rivals Mike Farrell dreaming about four superconferences.

First it was ESPN giving Notre Dame’s hire of Brian Kelly away from Cincinnati as one of the best and now it is Rivals Mike Farrell giving props to the Irish for hiring Kelly. Farrell ranked the top coaching hires since 2008, with Kelly being ranked 6th among his coaching peers.

Farrell ranked Kelly behind Oklahoma’s Lincoln Riley and LSU’s Ed Orgeron and a few others who have made a lot of noise since their hires. Farrell said “Kelly is 92-37 at Notre Dame and has been to a national title game. Dealing with academic restrictions, he’s done a great job.” Don’t forget Kelly guided the Irish to a College Football Playoff spot as well.

The most interesting part of Farrell’s article was his proposition of forming a ‘Power Four’ conference alignment. Farrell eliminates the Big XII, giving each conference in his scenario 16 teams with the Irish’s addition to the ACC giving them 17 teams. He propositions that every game would be a conference game except one, saying “we still want to see Notre Dame-USC and others, right?”

Farrell has the ACC adding the Irish along with West Virginia and TCU. Notre Dame would be in a division with newcomer TCU, Clemson, Florida State, Syracuse, NC State, Boston College, Louisville, and Wake Forest. Farrell believes that “Notre Dame in the same division as Clemson would be awesome,” but would it really? Part of the Irish allure is having a national schedule, playing teams from all across the country. This would limit those games, as traditional games against opponents like Stanford would be off the table.

This is just an idea, as Farrell states at the end “I know it’s impossible and won’t happen, but it sure is fun to imagine it. The ACC and the Pac-16 would certainly be much more interesting than they are now.” Yes, more interesting but would it work? Would you like to see the Irish join the ACC and have just one out of conference foe each year? I like it the way it is.

Does Notre Dame Need to Recruit Ohio Harder?

It might be time for the Irish and Brian Kelly to have more of an impact with their neighboring states recruits.

Indiana’s neighbor to the east is Ohio, the most fertile football recruiting ground of any of the northern states. Rivals took a look at which schools recruit the Buckeye state the best and Notre Dame was not listed as one of the top 5 schools.

The current roster has 8 players from the state of Ohio; offensive linemen Tommy Kraemer and Liam Eichenberg along with defensive back Shaun Crawford are the biggest impact players from the state for the Irish. In this current recruiting cycle, wide receiver Lorenzo Styles Jr. is the lone Ohioan commit.

The state pumps out high-level Division I football players each year and it seems like Brian Kelly hasn’t been dipping into Ohio enough. This year, the state’s top 20 players are ranked inside the top 600 nationally, with schools like LSU, Northwestern, Purdue poaching talent.

It will always be a battle against Ohio State for their state’s top prospects, they usually have their pick of the litter. When Michigan was a college football power, they relied on Ohio players to make an impact. Their most recent Heisman winner Charles Woodson, he’s from Fremont, Ohio.

Kelly should know about how talent rich Ohio is, he should still have plenty of connections from his time as Cincinnati’s lead man, even if it was 10 years ago. Since 2016, the Irish have signed 4 players from the state. Not in one cycle, four total in that time frame, not including Styles Jr. who has yet to sign.

This year’s class from Ohio is deep, but even when it’s not, there are player’s who undoubtedly have the academic and athletic profile that fits what the Irish are looking for. It might be too late for the 2021 cycle but going forward it’s time to go back into Indiana’s neighboring state and start poaching away prospects.

Kelly Named a Top 5 Head Coach in the Country

Notre Dame’s head coach Brian Kelly made a jump in CBS Sports top college football coach rankings.

We all knew that Notre Dame Football’s head coach Brian Kelly was well respected in the coaching community, what he hasn’t always had was the media’s backing. Well, yesterday CBS Sports released their Top 25 coaches in college football and Kelly ranked 5th among his peers.

The move into the Top 5 for Kelly is a nice coup, after he placed 7th in last years rankings. Tom Fornelli, who put together the rankings for CBS, mentions the success among Irish greats that Kelly has achieved since taking over the program in 2010. If the wins in 2012-13 were not vacated, would give Kelly “92 wins in South Bend. That’s 13 fewer than Rockne’s 105, which means there’s a good chance Kelly will pass Rockne during the 2021 season,” as Fornelli points out, Kelly is close to putting his name amongst former Irish greats.

Kelly’s job of getting the Notre Dame program back to national respectability has been very refreshing. He has brought the stability back to South Bend, after Lou Holtz hung up his coaching whistle, the Irish have had issues with their lead men. Bob Davie, Tyrone Willingham and Charlie Weis each hover around a .500 record, not good enough for the storied program. The most successful era’s in Notre Dame history saw the head coach stay at the position for more than 10 years. Kelly has reached that and it’s clear his time has been a success, even with the vacated wins.

Kelly successor Weis didn’t help him, as he inherited a program that had gone 16-21 in the previous 2 seasons. “He (Kelly) took over a program that found itself on the brink of becoming a historical relic and has restored the shine to the golden dome,” Fornelli explained. Although Kelly has yet to have that major breakthrough, if he continues with this track, the Irish will get that win that propels them into the super elite status of college football.

 

Irish Overrated? CBS Gives Thoughts on Notre Dame’s ’20 Season Outlook

In a season series preview, CBS Sports looks at what is in store for the Irish this season.

The fact that Brian Kelly seems to falter against top teams is fair, since 2010 he has led the Irish to a 21-20 record in Top 25 matchups. So, Ben Kercheval’s assessment of that portion of the program is accurate, but that is in the past, this is about what is in store for the Irish in 2020.

There were multiple high-level players who left the Notre Dame program since it’s win over Iowa State in the Camping World Bowl just a few months ago. Kercheval feels like the biggest losses include TE Cole Kmet, WR Chase Claypool, RB Tony Jones Jr. and DE Julian Okwara. Each of them have brought their talents to the NFL.

What’s interesting is the fact that Kercheval mentions the firing of Offensive Coordinator Chip Long as a loss. Long was replaced by Tommy Rees prior to the bowl win, was seen as a excellent recruiter, but Kelly couldn’t mesh well with his play calling, especially in the aforementioned top matchups. While the offense under Rees was fantastic in Irish wins, averaging 38 points, the fact that Long couldn’t get more, 13.5 points per game, in losses irked Kelly and let to a change. The jury is still out on Rees, this season will be a big test for the first full year as offensive coordinator for the former Irish QB.

We all know about the returning Notre Dame stars, Kercheval sees QB Ian Book, OT Tommy Kraemer and WR Braden Lenzy as the offenses top returning playmakers. Pretty interesting that the other starting tackle, Liam Eichenberg isn’t mentioned, but Lenzy to me is the key. The leading returning receiver had just 11 catches last year, a number that will surely see a rise this coming season. The rising junior needs to break out for the Irish offense.

Defensively CB TaRiq Bracy and DE Daelin Hayes will be the key assets according to Kercheval. I think he didn’t pick the right players as Notre Dame’s key returning defenders. Safety Kyle Hamilton and linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah would have been my choices. It’s not a knock on Bracy and Hayes, they’re great players in their own right, I just believe that Hamilton and Owusu-Koramoah will have larger impacts.

Rees was named a fresh face, along with Northwestern WR transfer Bennett Skowronek and incoming freshman RB Chris Tyree. Spot on with Tyree, as the newest face to the Irish running back room might be needed to contribute immediately. Skowronek was a captain for the Wildcats last year, bring leadership to a position group that will need it. There are plenty of others that could have ended up in these spots include transfers safety Isaiah Pryor and CB Nick McCloud or freshman TE Michael Mayer. Each of them could play big roles for the Irish in ’20.

Kercheval sees the floor as 9 wins for the Irish, otherwise disappointment will reign in South Bend. A favorable schedule should result in double digits wins, so Kelly’s streak of 3 straight 10-plus win seasons should extent to a 4th once the season is played.

Notre Dame’s Playmaker? A Group of Five

It isn’t just one Irish player that is considered a playmaker by CBS Sports, it’s a group.

It seems as if every day the hope for a season gets larger and larger. With than many people are getting excited about what could be and it was CBS Sports Barrett Sallee that looked ahead to which players are the best playmakers at their positions.

It wasn’t just one Notre Dame player to make Sallee list, it was the offensive line as a unit. Although the big men up front aren’t normally seen as playermakers “they’re play facilitators. With that said, let’s give this award to a Notre Dame unit that is loaded with returning talent.” That loaded talent is led by Liam Eichenberg who is seen as a potential first round draft pick.

What was interesting is that Sallee mentioned the goal for every top program in the nation, getting into the Playoff’s. He believes that “if they’re (Notre Dame) going to get back to the College Football Playoff, it’ll be up to the big guys up front to get the job done.” Sallee isn’t wrong, as the Irish do return senior QB Ian Book but have to replace every skill position starter from last year. Leaning on the veteran line early should help Book find his go-to guys this coming season.

The health of the line shouldn’t be understated, as tackle Robert Hainsey and guards Tommy Kraemer and Aaron Banks each suffered an injury at some point in the last year. Keeping the group injury-free will be a key for the Notre Dame offense. If the quintet is healthy, expect phenomenal play from Jeff Quinn’s group and the possibility of getting back to the playoffs for the second time in the Brian Kelly era.

It seems as if every day the hope for a season gets larger and larger. With than many people are getting excited about what could be and it was CBS Sports’ Barrett Sallee that looked ahead to which players are the best playmakers at their positions.

It wasn’t just one Notre Dame player to make Sallee list, it was the offensive line as a unit. Although the big men up front aren’t normally seen as playermakers “they’re play facilitators. With that said, let’s give this award to a Notre Dame unit that is loaded with returning talent.” That loaded talent is led by Liam Eichenberg who is seen as a potential first round draft pick.

What was interesting is that Sallee mentioned the goal for every top program in the nation, getting into the Playoff’s. He believes that “if they’re (Notre Dame) going to get back to the College Football Playoff, it’ll be up to the big guys up front to get the job done.” Sallee isn’t wrong, as the Irish do return senior QB Ian Book but have to replace every skill position starter from last year. Leaning on the veteran line early should help Book find his go-to guys this coming season.

The health of the line shouldn’t be understated, as tackle Robert Hainsey and guards Tommy Kraemer and Aaron Banks each suffered an injury at some point in the last year. Keeping the group injury-free will be a key for the Notre Dame offense. There’s a reason Notre Dame got the moniker of O-Line U, groups like this. If the quintet is healthy, expect phenomenal play from Jeff Quinn’s group and the possibility of getting back to the playoffs for the second time in the Brian Kelly era.

ESPN: Notre Dame Hiring Kelly One of Best in Last 25 Years

ESPN took a look at the top 25 Head Coaches hired in the last 25 years and the Irish’s hiring of Brian Kelly was high on the list.

The Charlie Weis Era was a forgettable one, after posting 9 then 10 wins in his first two seasons at the helm of the Irish seemed to be going in the right direction, but then a 3-9 season followed up by 7 and 6 wins seasons did Weis in. His firing led Notre Dame to hire Brian Kelly from Cincinnati and ESPN thought that the hire was the 13th best in the last 25 years.

Kelly, according to Adam Rittenberg, “created the type of stability Notre Dame struggle to achieve after Lou Holtz left town…. A two-time AP national coach of the year, Kelly doesn’t dance around Notre Dame’s national championship ambitions and knows there’s work to do there. But he has put the program in a position to challenge the nation’s best.”

Similar to Weis, Kelly had a very down year during his tenure as the head coach in 2016 when the Irish went 4-8, but Kelly’s rebound since that year makes the ’16 season look like a blip in the radar. That was a “disastrous season, Kelly made important changes to the staff and how he runs the program,” Rittenberg stated. Since then, the Irish have accumulated a 33-6 record, more along the lines of what fans expected when Kelly was hired in 2009.

Kelly has done a fantastic job as the Notre Dame head coach, as it takes time to build a program and sometimes a year like in 2016 needs to happen in order to self-analyze and make positive changes going forward. Those changes have seemed to work, with the Irish headed in the right direction. Kelly has focused on the programs consistency, something that only time can bring and he is close to getting the Irish into the elite of college football.