Category: Notre Dame

NCAA Exploring New Transfer Portal Rules

The NCAA is discussing the potential for a one-time transfer exception in all sports.

Since the inception of the NCAA’s transfer portal, they have made some very confusing decisions as to who becomes eligible immediately and who does not. They allowed current Miami and former Ohio State QB Tate Martell to become eligible right away due to Urban Meyer retiring, but current Illinois TE Luke Ford, transferred from Georgia to be closer to his dying grandfather and Virginia Tech lineman Brock Hoffman moved on from Coastal Carolina to be closer to  his mother who was recovering from brain tumor surgery both were denied.

Ford’s story stings as just yesterday his grandfather, who never saw him play in person, passed away. The NCAA transfer portal never really had any clear guidelines as to who would be eligible immediately and who would have to wait a season, taking each transfer as a case by case basis.

An absolutely terrible way of going about transfers, the NCAA has been proposed by the Transfer Waiver Working Group to have all athletes become eligible immediately in their first transfer. There are four of guidelines to be eligible for the one-time transfer exception:

1) The player needs to have an official release from the school

2) The student-athlete must leave academically eligible

3) Their academic standing at the new school must be maintained

4) If they opt to transfer due to a disciplinary suspension, they would not qualify

Coaches seem to no like this idea but take a look at what happened at Michigan State. Mark Dantonio retired the day before the final signing period began, putting the players who already signed and players to sign committed to a coach they hardly know. If coaches are allowed to up and leave whenever they please, why shouldn’t a player have the same option?

The NCAA clearly has a conundrum with the transfer portal and making changes will happen, the only question is what changes will actually occur. The NCAA needs to be more player friendly and making a move for a one-time transfer with immediate eligibility is a step in the right direction.

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 Football Schedule 2020 Prediction, Breakdown, Analysis

Notre Dame football schedule 2020 prediction, breakdown, analysis, ranking every game.

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Notre Dame football schedule 2020 prediction, breakdown, analysis, ranking every game.

Notre Dame Football Schedule 2020

Aug. 29 Navy (in Dublin)


Sept. 5 OPEN DATE

Sept. 12 Arkansas


Sept. 19 Western Michigan

Sept. 26 Wake Forest (in Charlotte)

Oct. 3 Wisconsin (in Green Bay)

Oct. 10 Stanford

Oct. 17 at Pitt

Oct. 24 OPEN DATE

Oct. 31 Duke

Nov. 7 Clemson


Nov. 14 at Georgia Tech

Nov. 21 Louisville


Nov. 28 at USC

Notre Dame Football Schedule 2020 Prediction, Best Case Scenario

12-0: The Fighting Irish roll through the manageable schedule without much of a problem – for the most part. There isn’t a hiccup in Dublin with an early win over Navy, September is a breeze, and then comes the fun. They survive Wisconsin in Green Bay to set the tone for the showdown in South Bend against Clemson a few weeks later.

It might not be the Game of the Century, but it might be the game of the year. A perfect performance and a win pushes them up to No. 1, they survive the rest of November, and it’s off to the College Football Playoff.

Notre Dame Football Schedule 2020 Prediction, Worst Case Scenario

7-5: The dream of going unbeaten might be a bit ambitious, especially after struggling to stop the Navy option in a stunning loss to kick things off. Realistically, the Irish get to the Wisconsin with no more than two losses – more likely one – but they lose in Lambeau. They drop the date against Clemson, but not before misfiring against a Stanford or Pitt. They lose at USC to close out a disappointing run.

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Notre Dame Football Schedule 2020 Ranking Hardest To Easiest

2020 preseason ranking of the Notre Dame football schedule from the hardest-looking games to the easiest.

Aug. 29 Navy (in Dublin)


Sept. 5 OPEN DATE

Sept. 12 Arkansas


Sept. 19 Western Michigan

Sept. 26 Wake Forest (in Charlotte)

Oct. 3 Wisconsin (in Green Bay)

Oct. 10 Stanford

Oct. 17 at Pitt

Oct. 24 OPEN DATE

Oct. 31 Duke

Nov. 7 Clemson


Nov. 14 at Georgia Tech

Nov. 21 Louisville


Nov. 28 at USC

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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.

Imcoming Freshman TE Mayer Highlighted as Top Recruit for Notre Dame

The praise continues for Notre Dame incoming freshman TE Michael Mayer.

It is well known that 5-Star TE Michael Mayer is the crown jewel of the 2020 recruiting class assembled by Brian Kelly and his staff. The praise continues to roll in for Mayer, this time as Austin Nivison of 247Sports gave scouting reports on the highest ranked commit for every Top 25 program.

Nivison thinks extremely high of Mayer’s frame saying he has a “prototypical tight end body with a taller frame that is already filled in.” Mayer is an impressive figure as he stands 6’4” and weights 232-pounds, but Nivison also believes that he will need to add weight to become a more effective blocker.

Mayer’s receiving skills are more advance than his blocking as he is an “elite pass-catcher who makes catches in traffic and can go up and high-point 50-50 balls. Gets off the ball quickly and runs routes like a wide receiver. Can play in the slot or outside in some situations,” are the praises Nivison says.

Irish fans will be happy to hear that Nivison believes Mayer “has a chance to be an immediate impact player in college, mulit-year starter and early round NFL draft choice.” That would be fantastic news if Nivison is correct, which many Irish fans are hoping is the case as there is a hole at the position after Cole Kmet declared early for the NFL draft.

Notre Dame Baseball Wins Opening Series of Season in Coach Jarrett’s Debut

Notre Dame Baseball wins their opening series of year with a 9-3 clinching victory against UAB.

The Notre Dame Baseball team are headed home with a series win, as Link Jarrett navigated his team to two out of three wins against University of Alabama-Birmingham this weekend in his first series as the Irish Manager. In his first start of his career, Will Mercer went three innings and gave up 3 runs while striking out three. Mercer pitched well, but was a bit wild, hitting two batters over his three innings.

The offense scored runs early, trying to give Mercer a cushion early on, as Catcher Danny LaManna drove in 2 runs with a double in the top of the second and DH Carter Putz scored on 3B Niko Kavadas sacrifice-fly. The 3 run lead would evaporate in the 2nd as Mercer gave up his all three of his runs with two outs.

Kavadas came up with one on in the 5th and launch his first homer of the year, giving the Irish a 5-3 lead they wouldn’t squander. Putz doubled in two more runs and scored on the play with some aid by sloppy Blazer defense. Second baseman Jared Miller then drove in SS Jack Prajzner to get to the final 9-3 tally.

The Irish relief pitchers where the story of the game as Mitch Megias, Tommy Vail and Joe Boyle held UAB to no runs over 6 innings without allowing a hit, just one walk, and striking out 7 Blazers. It was a very successful first weekend for Jarrett and the Irish as they return home with a 2-1 record and get ready for the Alamo Irish Classic next weekend in Texas. Their first game is against Incarnate Word on Thursday at 7pm EST.

Notre Dame Football Recruiting Among Best in Country Since 2016

Notre Dame Football recruiting among best in nation over 5-year span.

Recruiting is the lifeblood of college football programs, acquiring the best talent gives teams the best opportunity to win major games and have chances to win championships. Recently, Chip Patterson of CBS Sports went back to average out the best recruiting classes since 2016.

It should not come to a surprise to see the likes of Alabama, Clemson, LSU, Georgia and Ohio State ranking very high on Patterson’s list. Brian Kelly’s efforts on the recruiting trail did not go unnoticed, as his Irish program ranked 14th among some of the best schools in the nation on the recruiting trail.

During this 5-year span, the Irish averaged the 13.6th best class in the country, with a high of 10th in 2018 and a low of 17th this past cycle. Just because you have a high ranking doesn’t always equate to success on the field, but it sure helps. This years National Champion LSU was 4th over the five year span, while their opponent Clemson was 5th.

The 2021 class currently has 8 commits, many of them viewed as some of the best prospects in the nation. Many recruiting guru’s have the class ranked inside the Top 5 at the moment, with many other high-level prospects considering joining the class at a later date. Kelly and his staff are working hard to make sure some of the most elite prospects end up in South Bend and getting their 5-year average to climb higher than where it currently sits.

Notre Dame Baseball Falls to UAB 10-7, Series to be Decided Tomorrow

Notre Dame Baseball loses game 2 of the season to UAB, series to be decided tomorrow afternoon.

The Irish got off to a fast start in their second game of the year against UAB today, as SS Zach Prajzner continued his hot hitting early in the season. He launched an opposite field 3-run homer in the top of the first to give first time starter Alex Rao a cushion.

Rao would need it, as he gave up two runs in the bottom of the first, a stark change from yesterday’s low scoring contest. Rao would give up 3 more runs the next frame, unable to finish it as he left giving up 5 runs over 1.2 IP’s.

The Blazers would add another run in the bottom of the 6th off reliever Andrew Belcik, which chased him after going 2.1 IP’s. Link Jarrett’s team would answer tying the game at 6 runs a piece in the top of the 7th after LF Eric Gilgenbach hit a 2-run bomb after 2B Jared Miller scored on a wild pitch..

The tie game however was short lived as in the bottom of the 7th Blazers catcher JP Fullerton hit a grand slam to give UAB a 10-6 lead after the stretch. Jarrett’s team once again tried to battle back from a deficit, as pinch hitter Zack Zyska homered in the 9th but the rally fell short and the Irish lost 10-7. The series will be decided tomorrow as the finale will be played tomorrow at 1pm EST with a chance to come back to South Bend with a 2-1 record.

Notre Dame TE Commit Bauman a Star on the Hardwood As Well

Notre Dame ’20 TE Commit Bauman shows athleticism playing basketball.

The 2020 Notre Dame recruiting class has a pair of fantastic tight end prospects set to enroll on campus soon, with 5-Star Michael Mayer getting most of the publicity, but don’t sleep on Kevin Bauman. The New Jersey native not only excels on the football field, he’s a force to be reckoned with on the hardwood.

The first highlight show that Bauman can go up and get the ball, although it’s an orange ball in this situation, high pointing a catch in traffic is still a very high level skill. Although Mike Brey probably won’t get his hands on Bauman, he can hold his own on the court. He poured in a career high 31 points leading his team to a Founders Cup trophy.

Bauman shows exceptional athleticism out of his 6’5” frame and looks the part of an elite tight end. Many high level athletes were multiple sport stars in high school and college and Irish fans are hoping that Bauman is the next in line with those qualities.