Category: Notre Dame Football

Notre Dame ’21 Commit Fisher Recruiting Elite RB Shipley

Notre Dame OL commit Fisher called elite RB Shipley, as he continues to recruit for the Irish.

There is something to be said about Notre Dame ’21 commit Blake Fisher becoming a leader in his class and putting on his recruiting hat as well. The Avon, Indiana native sees an opportunity for his future teammates to put together a recruiting class that could help change the future of the Irish program.

Last night Fisher picked up his phone and called elite RB Will Shipley from North Carolina and this is extremely significant. It is not normal for kids these days to call each other, they mostly text or send direct messages, so Fisher calling Shipley is a sight to see.

Fisher’s call holds weight due to his ranking among analysts, running backs always want to have maulers on the offensive line in their class to help them shine. He wants to play with some of the best players in the country and its clear he’s working hard to get other elite players to South Bend.

Just watching Shipley’s highlight reel gives you an idea of what kind of elite player he is, and it should come to no one’s surprise that Fisher is pushing him towards committing to the Irish. Every big-time recruiting class always has at least one player who takes the lead and helps the coaching staff spread the good word, Fisher has taken that role. If his leadership continues when he arrives on campus next year, there is a possibility that he becomes a captain for the Irish during his career.

Notre Dame TE Kmet Compared to Future Hall of Famer

Notre Dame TE Kmet ranked as best prospect at his position, compared to future Hall of Famer.

The NFL Combine is quick approaching, it beings this Sunday and many outlets will be looking forward to seeing which prospects stand out. Rivals recently has been ranking the best players at their positions and it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Notre Dame TE Cole Kmet is ranked among the best in the group.

Adam Gorney and Mike Farrell ranked Kmet as the best prospect at his position, while Farrell gave an explanation as to why they believe the former Irish star is ranked over his draft competition. Farrell initially saw Kmet as a “prospect who could stretch the field and was also very physical. I love the way his game translates to the NFL. He’s going to be the next Rob Gronkowski.”

That is certainly high praise for Kmet although he wasn’t as productive in college as Gronk was, but a comparison to the future Hall of Famer really puts perspective on the kind of player Kmet can be at the next level.

Kmet should have his name called early in the NFL Draft which begins on April 23rd and runs through the 25th. If Kmet impresses during the combine, he has a chance to hear his name being called very early in the draft, potentially in the first round. It will be fun watching Kmet perform at the next level and we will all be watching to see if he can become the next Gronkowksi.

Notre Dame Inside Top 10 in ESPN’s Preseason FPI

Notre Dame is ranked inside the Top 10 of ESPN’s Preseason FPI.

Earlier in the day it was the USA Today trying to make sense of what this upcoming college football season’s first set of rankings will look like, and now it is ESPN’s turn as they have released their preseason FPI. Like the USA Today, ESPN has ranked Notre Dame as the #9 team in the country.

When comparing the two rankings released today, there are two teams on the Irish’s schedule with differences between the two, Wisconsin and USC. USA Today was not very high on the Badgers, ranking them #18th while ESPN is very high on Paul Chryst’s team putting them at #6 overall. The Badgers will face the Irish in historic Lambeau Field on October 3rd at 6:30pm CST.

The Trojans are looked at much higher by the ESPN experts also, ranking them 13th compared to 17th by the USA Today. Although the jump is not as large, it is still significant enough to notice and will help the Irish out if they are able to win and impress the College Football Playoff committee in their final regular season game.

The Dabo Swinney led Tigers are once again the top dog in ESPN’s FPI, projecting their offense 4th overall and their defense as the best in the nation. The game against Trevor Lawrence and the Tiger will be one of the most anticipated games of the whole college football season when they come to South Bend.

It does seem like the consensus has Brian Kelly’s 2020 squad as a Top 10 team, and at the moment three games against Top 25 competition. The Irish will have their hands full with Wisconsin, Clemson and USC but should have a punchers chance in each of those contests.

Notre Dame Football is Highly Ranked in USA Today’s Way-Too-Early Top 25

Notre Dame is once again ranked high in a way-too-early Top 25 poll by USA Today.

Today was USA Today’s turn to give college football fans a sneak peak into the 2020 season as they released their way-too-early Top 25 rankings. In previous early rankings the Irish have been inside the Top 10 and that did not change with USA Today’s version.

Brian Kelly’s crew checked in at 9th overall in the country, a good starting spot for the Irish. There are few question marks heading into the season and the USA Today made note of that saying, “Notre Dame looks to have good depth and solid experience but doesn’t have any returning starters who are no-doubt contenders for preseason All-American honors.”

The USA Today questions if the Irish can make a push for a top 4 spot in the College Football Playoff rankings, which seems odd because they will face 3 teams ranked inside their early rankings. A date with #18 Wisconsin in Lambeau Field, hosting #1 Clemson and ending the season by going to The Coliseum and taking on #17 USC, they fail to mention this contest as a big game, is more than enough to impress the playoff committee if they go unscathed.

Things can clearly change between now and the start of the season, injuries, transfers, even coaches moving, that will dictate how the season plays out, so these early rankings are just best guesses. I believe that the Irish have been fairly ranked in the way-too-early polls, but none of this matters until the season plays out and the CFP comes out with their rankings, the only ones that matter.