Category: Notre Dame Football

Notre Dame Offers 2021 S Mukuba of Texas

Irish offer ’21 S Andrew Mukuba of Texas.

Texas is a hotbed for recruiting and today Recruiting Coordinator/Special Teams Coordinator Brian Polian made a call out to one of the state’s top prospects, Safety Andrew Mukuba. The conversation went well, with Polian offering the defender a scholarship.

It’s been quite a day for the DB from Austin, also picking up offers from Duke and Washington State, which adds to schools like Alabama, TCU, and Auburn having already thrown their hat in the ring. The 5’11”, soon to be junior looks like he could be a star on the offensive side of the ball as well.

The highlights are impressive as Mukuba runs by the competition over and over again. Ranked as the 198th overall player and 8th safety by 247Sports while Rivals has him 36th at his position and ESPN has yet to rank the speedy safety. Mukuba it is still very early in his recruitment, but getting an early Notre Dame offer will hopefully catch the Texas star’s eye.

Notre Dame’s Clark Lea Named Among Best Assistant Coaches in Country

Notre Dame DC Clark Lea named as one of best assistant coaches in the country.

Yes, a head coach is extremely important to any collegiate football programs, but just as important are the assistant, who typically work closer with position groups and specific players. Having dependable assistants are keys to success and Brian Kelly has hit a home run when he hired Clark Lea in 2017.

Barton Simmons of 247Sports recently ranked the best assistants in the country assistants in the country and Clark Lea was among the group named. Simmons has some very high praise for the Irish’s Defensive Coordinator as he has taken the defense to another level since his elevation from linebackers’ coach.

Simmons noted that Lea has helped the defense rate with the best in the nation as they “continued up to No. 14 in 2018 and climbed to No. 8 last season. In particular, Notre Dame has been one of the top programs in the nation in pass defense each of the last two years and Lea has shown a penchant for fantastic in-game adjustments.”

Lea will have his work cut out for him this coming season as the Irish return only a few players with staring experience. If Lea is able to keep the Irish’s defensive rating close to where it has been the last few years, then he will more than earn this recognition that Simmons has given Lea.

NFL Combine: Notre Dame’s Chase Claypool Tests Into Elite Company

Notre Dame’s Chase Claypool wows NFL scouts at NFL Combine.

Everyone who follows Notre Dame Football knew WR Chase Claypool would test out very well at the NFL Combine, but no one really knew how impressive Claypool would be. He put on a show in Indianapolis yesterday.

Claypool’s 40-yard dash time put him among some very elite company. Since the 2006 NFL Combine, Claypool joins future Hall of Fame WR Calvin Johnson as the only WR’s over 230-pounds to run that fast. When adding in the bench press numbers along with his measureables, the NFL is drooling over Claypool’s potential.

Any time you are compared to Megatron, you are in very good company. Claypool was asked to work out at tight end as well, but after putting up these kind of numbers, NFL teams will be falling in love with him even more.

Claypool’s impressive showing yesterday will most likely make him plenty of money, as he will for sure move up many teams’ draft boards. The NFL executives tend to fall in love with players who test out this well and Chase Claypool is the latest player to wow everyone while doing drills in Indy.

Notre Dame’s Eichenberg Named Among Best Returning Offensive Linemen

Rivals names Notre Dame OT Eichenberg among best returning offensive linemen.

The clear strength of the Irish offense coming into this year is the offensive line, with all 5 starters returning to protect QB Ian Book, the unit should be one of the best in the country. With a top group there always has to be a standout and today Mike Farrell, Rival’s National Recruiting Director revealed his Top 10 returning offensive linemen.

It should come to no one’s surprise that Liam Eichenberg made the list, but where he is on the list may be a bit surprising. Farrell named the star offensive tackle as the 10th best returning lineman on the offensive side, behind names like Kentucky’s Darrian Kinnard and Wisconsin’s Cole Van Lanen.

Many of lists are subjective, each expert could be looking for multiple factors in how they grade out players. Farrell did say however that the Irish star “is efficient and a strong leader on the Notre Dame offense who doesn’t get enough credit.” Maybe Farrell should have given him more credit by ranking Eichenberg higher on his list of returning offensive linemen. Where do you think Eichenberg ranks among his lineman peers?

 

In-state ’22 LB Moon will visit Notre Dame for Blue-Gold Game

Local ’22 LB Domanick Moon sets up visit to Notre Dame for Blue-Gold game.

As spring practices are getting started, plenty of recruits are locking in the visits and today marks 2022 LB Domanick Moon’s intentions the weekend of April 18th.

Moon will make a visit to South Bend from nearby Fort Wayne and be in attendance for the Blue-Gold Game. Moon also has an invite to go to Iowa spring game as well, which takes place a few weeks prior so there is not a conflict.

At the moment the instate LB does not have any offers, only a sophomore at the moment the 6’2” 215-pound ‘backer will soon see offers roll in. Watching Moon’s highlights show a linebacker that can move from sideline to sideline and has solid instincts. He lines up at middle and outside linebacker positions, occasionally as a stand-up end as well. For being just a sophomore, Moon’s future is bright and getting him on campus early is a definite positive for Notre Dame.

Brian Kelly has gotten off to a fantastic start for the 2021 class, which helps with the 2022 class as it enables the staff to get ahead on their assessments of players. It remains to be seen if Moon gets the coveted Irish offer, but if he does Notre Dame could be in the driver seat for his commitment.

ESPN Updates their 2021 Recruiting Rankings, High on Many Notre Dame Commits

ESPN ranks 7 of 8 Notre Dame commits inside their updated Top 300 class of 2021 recruit rankings.

Rivals and 247Sports beat ESPN to update their prospect rankings but it still is very much worth checking out where the current 8 Irish commits rank inside their Top 300.. Seven of the current 8 commits are ranked among the best in the nation:

#8 Pocket QB Tyler Buchner, 42nd overall

#1 H-TE Cane Berrong, 48th overall

#10 WR Deion Colzie 71st overll

#15 OT Blake Fisher, 113th overall

#10 DT Gabriel Rubio, 159th overall

#49 WR Lorenze Styles Jr., 232nd overall

#14 OG Greg Crippen, 290th overall

The only commit not ranked in ESPN’s Top 300 is S Justin Walters, who is still a very good prospect despite his low ranking. If you need proof, just take a look at Walters 23 offers from schools like Michigan, Kentucky, Wisconsin and Syracuse.

It is very encouraging to see the quality of prospects that Brian Kelly has gotten commitments from this early in the ’21 recruiting cycle. The base of elite players will surely help going forward as high level players want to play with other players of the same caliber. The 2021 Notre Dame recruiting class is well on their way to being one of the best in the country.

Notre Dame to Host Large Group of California Prospects Monday

A large group of California prospects are scheduled to make a visit to South Bend on Monday.

There should be multiple high-level prospects visiting South Bend this coming Monday, headlined by 2021 DE Korey Foreman, a Clemson commit, reports Tom Loy of 247Sports. Premium Sports and their CEO Malik James will bring a group of California prospects out to see multiple schools in the Midwest and East coast: Michigan State, Virginia Tech, Michigan, and Ohio State along with Notre Dame.

Aside from Foreman, who holds an Irish offer, there will be multiple prospects on the tour from the ’21 class checking out those schools including LB Raesjon Davis (LSU commit), CB D.J. Harvey (Notre Dame offer), ATH Anthony Beavers Jr., QB Miller Moss, ATH Jaylin Smith, QB Chayden Peery, WR DJ Justice, CB Dylan Flowers, CB Robert Regan, WR Jonah Carnell, WR Brenden Alvarez, WR Orion Peters, DB Dillon Kendle, ATH Kaylin Moore, and WR Jode McDuffie.

It is a large group that will visit and there is potential that a few prospects earn an offer from Brian Kelly and his staff. California has been a prosperous state for Notre Dame recruiting as there are currently 11 players from the state on the roster led by QB Ian Book. The talent level in the state is high, which tends to lead to more college ready prospects who have higher ceilings and if the Irish land any of these prospects it would be a huge coup to an already impressive start to their 2021 recruiting class.

NFL Combine: Kmet Well Aware of Hometown Bears Need at Tight End

As the Chicago Bears enter 2020 the need at the position is as obvious as it gets and the Notre Dame product is well-aware of his hometown team’s hole at the position.

The Chicago Bears have a good amount of needs headed into the 2020 NFL Draft with tight end being a massive one.  In the offense they’re trying to run, modeled off of that from Andy Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs, the importance of a tight end can’t be understated.

However, the Bears have struck out on the position in recent years paying a boatload of money to former Philadelphia Eagle Trey Burton and spending a second round pick on Adam Shaheen who has done practically nothing in three seasons.  As they enter 2020 the need at the position is as obvious as it gets and the Notre Dame product is well-aware of his hometown team’s hole at the position.

“I’ve definitely looked at it” is what Kmet said Tuesday at the combine when asked about the Bears issues at the position.

“Obviously it would be a great opportunity to play in Chicago and the hometown and all of that. That would be a lot of fun” Kmet added.

Notre Dame used to be a hot-bed for talent for the Chicago Bears as 22 different former Fighting Irish players have been drafted by the Bears over the years.

Dave Duerson, Jim Flanigan, Mike Gandy and some guy named Johnny Lujack immediately come to mind.

When asked his favorite NFL team growing up, Kmet let his fondness for the orange and blue in Chicago be known:

“The Bears. The hometown.”

Kmet helped guide St. Viator High School in Chicago suburb Arlington Heights, Illinois to a state championship in baseball his senior year.  Tom Thayer and Chris Zorich are a couple of the Chicago locals to go on to Notre Dame before ending up with the Bears, a list Kmet could potentially join.

Personally I’d hope for Kmet to be a Bear, been a while since a Notre Dame player was brought in and expected to be a difference-maker on my favorite NFL team.  I’m guessing Kmet would be happier to sneak into the back end of the first round (Bears first pick is 43rd overall) and find a more consistently good franchise and bigger paycheck that comes along with it.

Cole Kmet Meets with the Media, Proclaims He’s Best TE in Draft

Notre Dame TE Cole Kmet met with the media, thinks he’s best TE in NFL Draft

Notre Dame TE Cole Kmet met with the media today and talked about a variety of topics including his decision to leave South Bend, why he’s the best tight end in the draft, why he chose to play football instead of baseball and plenty more.

Kmet will hit the field on Thursday, the first day of football drills for the skill position players. The only thing Kmet won’t participate in is the bench press. Most likely he will do that during the Irish’s Pro Day next month. The talented TE said this his goal was to run under a 4.69 40-yard dash, which was his previous best.

Kmet has already met with Washington and has 12 meetings with other team’s on schedule for tomorrow. It is quite an exciting time for the former Irish star and it will continue throughout the next few months leading up to the NFL Draft on April 23rd.

Notre Dame’s CB Pride Predicted to Put Up Impressive NFL Combine Numbers

Notre Dame Troy Pride predicted to wow NFL scouts at Combine this week.

Notre Dame Troy Pride Predicted to Put Up Impressive NFL Combine Numbers

The underwear Olympics or better known as the NFL Combine is underway with players arriving and getting measured before hitting the field on Thursday for the beginning of the workouts. The NFL is always looking for the next group of elite athletes and yesterday Charles Power of 247Sports predicted 10 players the NFL will fall in love with over the next week.

Power named an Irish player, although not one you would have thought, CB Troy Pride, as a player with the potential of wow many NFL scouts. Defensive backs are coveted by their size and speed, and it is anticipated that Pride will put up impressive 40 yard-dash times. Power noted that “Pride was a state champion in the 100 and 200 meters in high school and ran track for the Irish, hitting the 10.4’s in the 100 meters.” Pride has made it know that he wants to post the faster 40 time ever for an Irish player at the combine, stating his goal is to run a 4.2, which is blazing fast.

Pride made some waves at the Senior Bowl and will look to continue to impress the NFL scouts. Pride unofficially stands at 5’11” and weights 194-pounds, which is great size for a corner and with the elite speed that he possesses, Pride should be a prospect that sees his draft stock rise over the next few days.