Category: Notre Dame

Notre Dame (sort of) makes ESPN Bracketology

What will Notre Dame’s record be over their three games this coming week?

Can Notre Dame make the NCAA Tournament this March?  After an embarrassing loss at Boston College in early-December that seemed about as far-fetched as imaginable as the Fighting Irish fell to just 3-4 overall that Friday night.

Yet, two months later it’s certainly a possibility although a lot of work remains.  Work that begins with a challenging week ahead as the Irish host Duke before playing road games at both Miami and North Carolina State.

Notre Dame was however able to erase some demons against Virginia on Saturday night as the Irish improved to 14-6 overall and 7-2 in the ACC.  The victory landed Notre Dame in Joe Lunardi’s Bracketology that was released Sunday morning.

Well, sort of.

Lunardi projects the 68-team NCAA Tournament field all season long and also gives his “first four out” as well as his “next four out”.  It’s in the later that Notre Dame appeared Sunday morning, being the second to last team mentioned.

It’s crystal clear that Notre Dame has a lot of work left to do in order to get back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017.  However, they’re a lot closer than just about anybody expected after that disastrous night in Boston two months ago.

Will Notre Dame ultimately be an NCAA Tournament team?

Ask me again in a week and if Mike Brey, Blake Wesley, and the Fighting Irish can muster a 2-1 record over their three games this coming week I’ll really start buying into the real possibility.  1-2 wouldn’t be the end of tournament hopes but certainly wouldn’t be preferred while an 0-3 stretch here would likely require the Irish to run the table in the ACC Tournament to gain entry.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Nick on Twitter: @NickShepkowski

Is Alabama trying to flip a 2023 Notre Dame commit?

Stay away Saban!

The short answer is yes, the Crimson Tide are working hard to flip a Notre Dame commitment. This weekend has seen many school across the country host junior days, with Alabama being no different.

What is different is that Irish defensive end commit Keon Keeley was not in South Bend this weekend, but in Tuscaloosa. In a report from 247Sports Hank South, with photo proof as well, the Irish commit visited Alabama today as part of their group of rising seniors.

This can not be seen as good news for the Irish, Keeley is extremely highly regarded as a prospect and once Alabama and Nick Saban set their eyes on a prospect, it’s never a good sign for a verbal commit. Hopefully Marcus Freeman continues to recruit Keeley and he stays with his commitment to Notre Dame.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Mike on Twitter: @MikeFChen

Rivals already regrets not making a Notre Dame 2022 signee a 5-Star

The comp is one Irish fans will remember fondly

The digital ink hadn’t even dried up from Rivals final rankings of the 2022 recruiting class and each one of their analysts was already having second thoughts. These weren’t necessarily bad thoughts, just regrets about not having a player ranked high enough.

For Adam Friedman, it was Irish linebacker Jaylen Sneed, who was a national top-45 prospect, but did not crack their 5-Star list. The linebacker was described as “one of the most athletic, quick-twitch and bouncy linebackers” that Friedman had covered.

The comparison was very familiar as well, Friedman thinks that Sneed looks like former Butkus Award winner Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. If Sneed has a similar career to JOK, all Irish fans will be happy regardless of what his star ranking was.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Mike on Twitter: @MikeFChen

Freeman visits Ohio high school as his recruiting tour continues

Racking up those frequent flier miles coach!

This past week on Fighting Irish Wire we have seen new Irish head coach Marcus Freeman in Maryland, Chicago, in Indiana and now he’s been spotted today in Ohio. The new Notre Dame head coach visited Findlay High School,  home of offensive line target Luke Montgomery.

Obviously the Irish are hitting their neighboring state hard and results have already happened. The number one 2023 prospect in the state, defensive end Brenan Vernon, has committed to the Irish and multiple others are considering the Blue and Gold. Montgomery obviously is one, but linebacker Trevor Carter, who is a Cincinnati commit, could be looked at as well. Hopefully Freeman’s hard work in his home state pays off with another Ohioan joining the 2023 Irish recruiting class.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Mike on Twitter: @MikeFChen

Notre Dame offers PWO to local 2022 athlete

The Irish could have found a walk-on with talent

With scholarship’s restricted to 85 and many teams having to deal with super seniors after the COVID-19 season, preferred walk-ons on will help bridge the game for many schools. Typically these players have the opportunity to play at lower levels but take this opportunity to play for a school they would love to attend.

Mishawaka athlete Justin Fisher will get that chance as today Notre Dame offered the in-state player a spot on the team. The Irish were familiar with Fisher, he visited campus during the Georgia Tech game earlier this year. He has yet to announce his intentions, but it looks like it might be extremely hard for Fisher to turn down this opportunity.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Mike on Twitter: @MikeFChen

Hiestand wasting no time, out on the recruiting trail for Notre Dame

Hiestand is making connections right away

It looks like the time off for Notre Dame’s “new” offensive line coach Harry Hiestand has reinvigorated him. After leaving the Irish for the NFL and the Chicago Bears, one of the most well regarded OL coaches seems like he was calling it a career.

Then Marcus Freeman came calling, and enticed Hiestand to return to South Bend for a second go-around. He looks like he isn’t wasting any time getting to make connections on the recruiting trail as he visited in-state powerhouse Lawrenceburg High School, Ashton Craig just signed with the Irish this cycle.

I have interviewed their head coach Ryan Knigga previously, and he runs a fantastic program with a lot of talent. Expect to hear another name soon from LHS getting a look from the Irish in the coming years.

Oh and Hiestand wasn’t the only Irish coach visiting …..

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Mike on Twitter: @MikeFChen

Notre Dame offers intriguing 2024 Texas cornerback Black

The Irish have been busy on the recruiting trail

We have been tracking the recruiting for Notre Dame the last few days and it is really heating up. Multiple offers have gone out to talented players, especially in the 2024 and 2025 classes.

Today, that continued as the Irish went out to Texas and offered cornerback Kobe Black. This past week has see the defender add multiple scholarship offers including Oregon, Oklahoma, Texas, Arizona State and today’s offer from Notre Dame.

At six-foot-one-inch and 176-pounds, Black fits the mold of what many teams are looking for in a cornerback. Long, fast and athletic, who can guard bigger wide receivers. It seems like by the time Black will make his decision, there are going to be plenty of options, but hopefully the Irish are in it at the end.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Mike on Twitter: @MikeFChen

Freeman still on the road, this time visiting a Chicago powerhouse

The Irish head coach has been getting his frequent flyer miles in

New Irish head coach Marcus Freeman is logging is air mileage this week. Yesterday he was on the east coast and today Notre Dame’s brand new coach was in Chicago as he visited Marist High School.

As a former scout in this area, I know that Marist has a very exceptional program. Each year they send at least one player to compete at the Power-5 level, Notre Dame signing offensive lineman Pat Coogan in the 2021 class.

As for the future, it is unknown who Freeman was there to impress, but surely the Marist coaching staff has given him a hint as to who will be the new up-and-coming Red Hawk that has Power-5 potential.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Mike on Twitter: @MikeFChen

Offer out to 2024 Georgia athlete after impressive season

This would be an impressive pull from Georgia

The Irish are really hitting the recruiting trail hard and it’s not just finishing out the 2022 class. The coaches are evaluating all current high school athletes and have found a very good one in Georgia’s Sammy Brown.

The rising junior played just over six games this fall but that was enough for Marcus Freeman and company to offer him a scholarship. The Jefferson High School star has seen multiple big time schools offer him including Ohio State, Oklahoma, Auburn, Georgia and others.

It’s quite an impressive list for a player finishing his second-year of high school but Brown has an extremely high ceiling. It seems like he will play linebacker at the next level and after retweeting the official hiring of Al Washington, the Irish look to have a solid chance with Brown.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Mike on Twitter: @MikeFChen

ESPN selects one Notre Dame game in 2022 they’re looking forward to

It’s exactly the game you’re thinking about

The season won’t get started for another eight months and change but that still has not stopped ESPN from dreaming about what could be for the 2022 season. Today, Harry Lyles Jr. looked ahead to what could be the biggest games of next season and not surprisingly, one of the Irish’s upcoming contests was included.

The season opener for Notre Dame will no doubt have the nations eyes, as they travel to Columbus to face Marcus Freeman’s former collegiate team, the Ohio State Buckeyes. Lyles Jr. expects both teams to be ranked inside the Top-10, while the majority of starters are expected back for each team as well.

The expectation for each team will be a measuring stick, will the Irish start off Freeman’s first regular season game with a win or will it be two losses in-a-row? For Ohio State, Lyles Jr. is interested in seeing how much of an impact the assistant coaching changes will have for the Buckeyes.

Either way, this game will have national importance, as the winner will have the best win in the country at that stage of the season.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Mike on Twitter: @MikeFChen