Category: Notre Dame

Notre Dame Issues Response to Student Newspaper’s COVID-19 Editorial

On Friday, Notre Dame began hearing about its response to the COVID-19 outbreak on campus from its own student newspaper.

On Friday, Notre Dame began hearing about its response to the COVID-19 outbreak on campus from its own student newspaper. In an editorial by The Observer, which covers Notre Dame, Saint Mary’s and Holy Cross, made its stance clear: “Don’t make us write obituaries.” For anyone who’s ever worked on a student paper, the idea of having to produce such a section is unfathomable.

Notre’s Dame response to the editorial came Sunday via a statement from university spokesman Dennis K. Brown that was provided to CNN:

“Students, faculty and staff are all in this together, and it’s only by working together that we can stay safe and continue to stay on campus for the remainder of the semester.”

Earlier Sunday, Notre Dame released its latest COVID-19 testing numbers. An additional 19 positive tests were reported, its lowest daily total in a week. That brings the total to 408 confirmed cases out of 2,339 tests conducted since Aug. 3.

The university’s dashboard containing its COVID-19 numbers is updated daily at noon, Eastern Standard Time. While the number of daily cases appears to be dropping, we’ll have to see how this all plays out as remote learning is enacted. Hopefully, students can get back to in-person learning soon.

Irish have 6 players on Senior Bowl Top 250

There could be up to six Notre Dame Football seniors who could play in this years version of the Reese’s Senior Bowl.

The Reese’s Senior Bowl has been a great sendoff for collegiate seniors since 1950, giving them once more opportunity to impress the NFL scouts as the finish off their eligibility. This year six Notre Dame players made their top 250 list, which were: offensive linemen Tommy Kramer, Liam Eichenberg and Robert Hainsey, quarterback Ian Book, and defensive linemen Daelin Hayes and Ade Ogundeji.

This game has been a spring board for some great prospects, as their alumni consists of Cowboys quarterback Dan Prescott and New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones. The Irish have had one MVP of the Senior Bowl, coming all the way back in 1959 when running back Norm Odyniec shared the title with Georgia full back Theron Sapp.

All six of the Notre Dame players on their top 250 list have a great shot at making the All-Star game. Last year Chase Claypool impressed many while Troy Pride Jr., Alohi Gilman and Jalen Elliott each made their marks during the week. Hopefully they all get their chance to shine one more time wearing the Blue and Gold.

Notre Dame gets defensive in ’22, offers North Carolina LB Hamrick

The Fighting Irish offer yet another class of ‘22 prospect, this time in North Carolina with linebacker Malaki Hamrick.

The Irish have narrowed in on some of the best prospects in the 2022 class and have been very active recently with dolling out offers. Another one when out to North Carolina outside linebacker Malaki Hamrick yesterday.

At the current moment Hamrick is ranked as the 142nd player in the 247Sports composite, while being the 12th rated outside linebacker. What’s intriguing about Hamrick is the potential versatility as his body matures. At 6-foot-4-inches and 200-pounds, Hamrick could eventually grown out of his current position and end up on the defensive line.

Either way, Brian Kelly and defensive coordinator Clark Lea want the talented defender. His stat line from his sophomore campaign is extremely impressive, amassing 129 tackles, taking down the quarterback 19 times, and getting 39 tackles for loss. You can watch is exploits right here.

The Irish are getting to Hamrick at the right time, his recruitment has yet to go national although he does report offers from North Carolina, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech and a few others. He was named as a MaxPreps Preseason Junior 2nd team All-American, so the talent is there. A great offer by Kelly and staff, which hopefully with catch the eye of the elite defender.

Offers flowing out of South Bend again, Irish after top Texas RB Blue

Notre Dame goes out to the Lone Star state to offer Jaydon Blue, one of the best running backs in the country.

We have noted that the Notre Dame coaching staff is really working hard on the recruiting trail, specifically the 2022 and 2023 classes just this week. Yet another offer went out today, this time to Texas’ star running back Jaydon Blue.

Blue is viewed as one of the best in the nation, as he was named by Rivals as their top running back and 247Sports has him ranked as their 4th best running back. Multiple schools have noticed Blue already including Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Oklahoma, Texas, USC and a load of other top schools. He is currently reporting 29 offers and Blue has yet to play a down in his junior year, pretty damn impressive.

Although Blue isn’t the tallest running back, at just 5-foot-10-inches, he’s compact and runs very balanced. Shows good hands and has breakaway speed. Just watch his highlights and it’s easy to see why he’s so highly regarded by collegiate teams.

That now makes six running backs offered in the 2022 class, the second one this week behind Damari Alston. The Irish have two commits in that class, offensive tackle Joey Tanona and tight end Jack Nickel, and would love to see Blue being added to the group.

Irish have two stars honored as preseason All-Americans by CBS Sports

One Notre Dame star on the first team, one on the second team while a snub happens and head coach Brian Kelly gets some love as well.

The preseason accolades will be changing significantly with the absence of the Big Ten and Pac-12, but no Notre Dame player who gets nominated will care much about that. Today, 247Sports and CBS Sports, in conjunction announced their 2020 preseason All-American teams.

There was only one Fighting Irish star to make the first team, offensive tackle Liam Eichenberg. The presumed leader of the offensive line should complete his Notre Dame career with plenty of pancakes. He will literally have quarterback Ian Book’s back for the season. Linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah made the second team, but safety Kyle Hamilton was omitted from the list. I think the experts overlooked the rising sophomore star as he was named to the USA Today preseason All-American second team yesterday.

It shouldn’t be ignored that head coach Brian Kelly garnered votes for coach of the year, even if another ACC coach was selected, Clemson’s Dabo Swinney. Notre Dame should be able to navigate through their ACC schedule fairly easily, with the game against the Tigers in South Bend as the contest everyone has circled on their calendars. Kelly last took home coach of the year honors during the 2018 campaign, which he led the Irish to an undefeated regular season and berth into the College Football Playoffs.

These are big honors for Eichenberg and Owusu-Koramoah, as the culmination of their collegiate careers will hopefully be very fruitful. Also, keep an eye out for Kelly and Hamilton, they could potentially be in line for some postseason recognition.

Notre Dame offers class of ’23 star DE Moore

The Fighting Irish get in the game early by offering rising-sophomore defensive end Jason Moore.

The Fighting Irish coaching staff has been hard at work on the recruiting trail recently, adding multiple commits and offering plenty of class of 2022 players. It was time to dip into the 2023 class as Maryland’s Jason Moore was offered by Brian Kelly and staff yesterday.

Moore is entering his sophomore year at powerhouse DeMatha Catholic and they know a thing or two about elite defensive ends, this past year’s number two overall draft pick Chase Young prepped there before heading off to Ohio State. At 6-foot-6-inches and 255-pounds, it seems like Moore could enroll in college now. The Irish joined LSU, Michigan, Penn State, USC and others for the underclassman’s verbal. He was recently ranked as the 24th best overall prospect in the country by 247Sports.

This is just the 6th offer the Irish have given out to player in the 2023 class, all on the defensive side. None of those players have yet to commit to the Irish at this early juncture in the class. The 2023 recruiting class seems very far away, but it’s great to see the Notre Dame coaching staff hard at working trying to get ahead of the game for these elite prospects.

Notre Dame is Failing to Properly Accommodate Its COVID-19 Patients

On Wednesday, WSBT-TV broadcast a reporter that included an interview with an anonymous Notre Dame student who tested positive for COVID-19.

On Wednesday, WSBT-TV broadcast a report that included an interview with an anonymous Notre Dame student who tested positive for COVID-19. The student provided a damning description of every step of the process from the moment she woke up sick to the sterile conditions of the apartment she is being quarantined in. “Scary” and “stressful” are among the words she’s used to describe her experience.

A major university like Notre Dame has to do better than this. It had more than enough time to figure all of these logistics out, and we’re getting a story that makes COVID-19 testing and accommodations seem more like an appointment with your cable company or waiting at the DMV. Nothing is being handled in a caring or timely matter.

COVID-19 patients at Notre Dame are being treated like cattle. The university has an obligation to protect its students no matter how many people are infected by the virus. Many college students’ entire worlds take place on their campus, so where else are they supposed to go to get tested, treated and quarantined? This is when individuals become numbers, and that’s not good.

It’s almost as if Notre Dame is hovering its finger over the button that will send its on-campus students home, so it figures, “We’re kicking everyone off soon anyway, so do we really need to fix everything?” The simple answer to that is we are living through the greatest crisis in our lifetime, and there’s no guarantee you’ll be making that call. Even if you do, you have to properly and efficiently care for your sick students in whatever time they still have in South Bend. If you’re not, why is anyone even allowed at the university right now?

What’s Next for Notre Dame Students After New COVID-19 Outbreak?

Notre Dame now is at 222 COVID-19 cases since students returned to campus, including 73 reported Wednesday.

Notre Dame now is at 222 COVID-19 cases since students returned to campus, including 73 reported Wednesday. This comes a day after the university implemented online learning for the next two weeks. During that time, we should see if that and the threat of possible disciplinary action make a difference.

The uncertainty of it all has left students split on what the outcome of this will be. A report by WSBT-TV highlights this. Views vary from nothing getting better to students using this time as an incentive to avoid going home. It’s a perfect metaphor for COVID-19 itself.

Whether or not the university can discipline the students, even if it really wanted to, is debatable because of the ever-changing environment. The Rev. John Jenkins, Notre Dame’s president, was right not to promise harsh consequences for behavior that allows COVID-19 to thrive. With so little information about this virus available, there are no definitive rules for avoiding it, so containment by way of mask-wearing and social distancing is the way to go. Hopefully, this is a wake-up call for students to do both of those things.

Notre Dame continues offering ’22 prospects, RB Alston the newest

The Irish staff is hard at work in the 2022 recruiting class, as yet another offer to Georgia running back Damari Alston today.

It might seem like a broken record, but the Notre Dame staff has put their focus now on the 2022 recruiting class. Monday it was quarterbacks, earlier today an offer went of to offensive lineman Ty Chan and now Georgia running back Damari Alston has reported a verbal offer from the Irish staff.

The schools that have offered the 5-foot-11-inch and 200-pound back is impressive, Alabama, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio State and many others have offered the Atlanta star. Alston already possesses a college-ready body, ran for 889 yards with 10 touchdowns last year. His hands a solid as well, as he grabbed 22 passes for 161 yards and 2 TD’s during his sophomore campaign.

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A punishing runner who isn’t afraid of contact, just doesn’t go down with arm tackles. Alston’s thick lower half helps him churn out yardage after contact. Although he is not super-shifty, he’s got plenty of moves to get into the open field, going north and south has never really hurt a running back.

Alston becomes the fifth running back offered in the class of 2020 by Brian Kelly and running back’s coach Lance Taylor. It seems like losing out on North Carolina’s Will Shipley has made the staff change a bit on how they will approach recruiting running backs. By going after multiple prospects, the Irish are assuring themselves that they won’t have to scramble to find a replacement if their top options don’t end up in South Bend. There are two commits in the ’22 class in offensive tackle Joey Tanona and tight end Jack Nickel and adding Alston would be a great addition.

Breaking: Notre Dame suspends football practice today

According to Yahoo’s Pete Thamel, the Fighting Irish will pause practice as they work out logistics as the university battles COVID-19.

The hits just keep coming in South Bend, as yesterday the campus put a hold on students on-campus learning and today the football team has halted practicing.

This should not come as a surprise, as there was an off-campus party during the weekend that resulted in over 80 positive COVID-19 cases for Notre Dame students. This is unprecedented waters that the Irish are navigating, but it’s not isolated to just students in South Bend. Michigan State announced they will have students stay home for the fall semester and do online learning. North Carolina had a similar situation to Notre Dame’s and instead of giving two weeks off from in-person learning, the opted to go right to online classes.

This news that Notre Dame has stopped practicing isn’t a surprise, as Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick is taking proper precautions as to how the university will handle the outbreak among the student body. Stay with Fighting Irish Wire as we will continue to monitor this situation.