Category: Notre Dame

Rumor: AD’s believe moving football to spring inevitable

New rumors suggest the football season will move to the spring of next year.

First it was independent Connecticut opting out of a fall season, then all of the Mid-American Conference, the MAC, following suit. Now it seems as if the Power Five conferences could be next. In a report last night from CBS Sports detailing unknown Athletic Directors believing the football season won’t be played in the fall, but rather in the spring.

The report had one AD saying, “I think it’s inevitable (the season will not be played in the fall)” while another says “it’s not fair what we’re doing to our coaches and student-athletes.” When looking at the landscape of college football, a spring season just seems like it is not plausible. The Big Ten was scheduled to begin padded practices this weekend, but that was put on a hold. Their first-year commissioner Kevin Warren seems to prefer a spring season, as reported by the Detroit Free Press.  Oklahoma started practices but now pushed them back, partly due to a change in scheduling, but also to monitor what has been happening around the country with cancellations. Players in the Pac-12 and Big Ten have rallied together to demand more adequate testing procedure, scholarship protection and more with so much uncertainty surrounding the season.

Those two conferences are the ones that the unnamed AD believe’s will be next to move football to the spring, “The Pac-12 will be next and then the Big Ten. The Big Ten just going to no contact, what’s that going to do for you? With California being so prominent (with the coronavirus), I see the Pac-12 getting out there next.”

It’s time to prepare ourselves for a spring football season. This isn’t what any of us want to see, but it seems like it’s an inevitability at this point. The fall surely will be different if football is not played, but the safety of the players and coaches should be at the forefront of this decision.

Scout’s View: Newest Irish Commit Offensive Guard Rocco Spindler

Find out what to expect out of Notre Dame’s newest 2021 commit, Michigan offensive lineman Rocco Spindler.

It isn’t very often that Brian Kelly and his staff go out searching for offensive guards. The philosophy on recruiting linemen has been to go after a center, which the Irish have in Illinois’ Pat Coogan, then get tackles like instate Blake Fisher and Minnesota’s Joe Alt. The last time Kelly signed a guard was in 2017 with Robert Hainsey, that turned out pretty well, but that all changed today with the commit of Michigan’s Rocco Spindler.

Spindler is ranked even higher than Hainsey was, 48th nationally compared to 84th, but expectations will remain the same for the 6-foot-5-inch and 315-pound star. The Irish beat out Midwest powers Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan, his perceived runner-up, along with defending national champion LSU for Spindler’s commitment.

[protected-iframe id=”f719a0ee7dc5f348ed2f4a3db79a5a39-162776928-178902091″ info=”//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/9649884/5d6d67f4da511b0c8cec9422″ width=”640″ height=”360″ frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen=””]

Although Spindler also lined up at tackle for his Clarkston High School team, he will make the full-time transition over to guard when he arrives at South Bend. Spindler is a devastating run-blocker, often getting to the second level and allowing the skill position players to matriculate down the field. A matchup between Spindler and a linebacker isn’t going to end well for the defender. He shows good footwork during pass blocking, sometimes he does get a bit upright and has to use his strength to overpower rushers. That will not be as effective at the next level when he faces against players who are of similar strength, but his frame looks like it could add on good weight in the near future. Spindler’s footwork allow him to be very effective at pulling and being the lead blocker on screen plays.  What he does have is a nasty streak, something coaches just can’t teach, a trait of any elite lineman.

Anytime you beat the Wolverines, wither it’s on the field or off it, it’s an extra cherry on top. The Irish scored in a big way today with the commitment of Spindler, who should have a bright future in Blue and Gold.

Grim outlook on College Football from NCAA President Emmert

NCAA President Mark Emmert make some very discouraging comments regarding NCAA fall sports.

Last night NCAA President Mark Emmert and chief medical officer Brian Hainline made some very discouraging comments regarding the playing of college football this fall. While conferences continue to adjust their schedules, just this morning the MAC canceled all fall athletics following the lead of Division II and III, the COVID-19 pandemic keeps throwing wrenches at NCAA’s fall sports schedule.

Emmert said in an interview last night via the NCAA’s twitter that “this is going to be difficult, to say the least, going forward.” Hainline was even more pessimistic as he believes “we’re in a place that is exceptionally narrow. The boundaries are … there’s not a lot of places to move one way or the other. Almost everything would have to be perfectly aligned to continue moving forward.” Needing perfection to play sports this fall is something that is a stretch, at this point in time it just seems like it’s not in the realm of possibilities.

Many players and coaches have gone to social media to plead with fans to wear masks and do their part, but unfortunately that just isn’t working. We all want to see college football in the fall, along with every other sport that participates when the leaves change. As of right now, the season is set to begin but there is still plenty of time to make changes. It wasn’t all doom and gloom from Emmert as “everybody wants to have kids back on campus. Everybody wants fall sports to return. But we can’t do it unless we can find a way to do it with minimized risk for these young people.”

Scout’s View: Linebacker Prince Kollie, Newest Notre Dame Commit

Take at look at what to expect out of the newest Irish commit, Tennessee linebacker Prince Kollie.

The Irish are starting to finalize their 2021 recruiting class and the newest addition is Tennessee linebacker Prince Kollie.

Kollie has started since his sophomore year on varsity, his tackles increased from 65 his first year to 78 in his second. He also added two more tackles for loss from the year prior with 4 total in his junior year. Kollie added two sacks to his junior stats along with an interception while causing 3 fumbles and recovering one. He did this in two less games as well.

[protected-iframe id=”adb7c586463e20f4bf95bc86cda919a9-162776928-178902091″ info=”//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/9889310/5dc8a6217bdd490dfc65caac” width=”640″ height=”360″ frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen=””]

After watching his highlight reel, the 6-foot-2-inch and 200-pound ‘backer shows a great nose for the football. Kollie lines up all over the field, from a strong safety in the box, blitzing off the edge, to a stand-up defensive end rushing the passer. He is a willing tackler and shows great hands, Collie caught 65 passes for 1,085 yards and 9 TD’s last year. Collie’s run defense is much more ahead of his coverage skills at the moment, he does play well when the play is in front of him. This could eventually lead to him moving back to safety at some point in his career. Although he is most likely going to start out as an outside linebacker, he could ultimately be looked at as a hybrid defender like Clemson had with Isaiah Simmons, making plays from different positions.

When Collie arrives on campus, defensive coordinator Clark Lea will have to figure out if Collie will join him in the linebacker’s room or if he’ll start out in the defensive back room with Terry Joseph. My guess would be starting off with Lea, due to the fact that the Irish did not sign a true linebacker in last years recruiting class. Either way, it’s a good problem for Brian Kelly to have as we welcome Prince Kollie to the Notre Dame family.

Does Clemson’s Xavier Thomas Redshirting Impact Notre Dame?

It seems like this is a loss for the Clemson Tigers, but is it really?

It came out yesterday that Clemson’s junior defensive linemen Xavier Thomas will be taking a medical redshirt this year and will not “play” for the Tigers. Thomas’ situation was scary, as head coach Dabo Swinney explained that Thomas was one of the many Clemson players to contract the Coronavirus, then after a quarantine contracted strep throat. The illness made an impact on Thomas’ physical well-being as he added 10-12 pounds.

While it may seem like the Irish are getting good news with Thomas not playing this year, that might not exactly be the case. His situation is different than some other collegiate stars who have opted out like Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons. Those players have given up their eligibility while Thomas is still a member the Tigers.

With the new redshirt rules this would enable Thomas to play in four games this year and still keep his extra year of eligibility. This is Swinney’s plan for Thomas this year, but the question remains which four games will he participate in? Looking at Clemson’s cakewalk schedule, the regular season really just see’s the game against the Irish as their only real competitive game on paper. The Tigers avoid North Carolina, but they will face Virginia Tech, the lowest rated ACC team inside the Amway Coaches poll powered by USA Today Sports.

The Tigers have been mainstays in the College Football Playoff’s and with their preseason number 1 ranking, another trip seems very likely. When you add in the ACC Championship game along with the potential of two more playoff games, it whittles down Swinney’s options for getting Thomas on the field. Games later in the year will give him more time to get physically in shape after his illness’, with the hope that the former 5-Star recruit will finally breakout, even in just 4 games.

If you go by my logic, there will be just one regular season game that makes sense for Thomas to play in, the first Saturday in November against the Irish. It may seem like Thomas’ decision to redshirt will help the Irish, but that might not be the case after all. We will wait and see how it plays out, but there is a very real possibility that Thomas will be in South Bend and play a role for the Tigers.

Navy finds Notre Dame’s ’20 replacement, yet extends Notre Dame series

Notre Dame and Navy won’t be playing for the first time in almost a century. So who did the Midshipmen replace the Irish with this year?

For the first time since 1926, Notre Dame and Navy won’t be meeting up in football this fall.  I discussed this and how it will just be weird and I won’t like the game not taking place this year, even if it is about as non-traditional as a rivalry can be.

The Naval Academy was probably aware how difficult it would be to pull off the necessary changes in order to pull off the game after the ACC’s requirement of only one non-conference game that had to be played in the ACC team’s home state.  That eliminated Notre Dame from being able to travel to Annapolis for the first time in the history of the series and sadly meant there wouldn’t be a Notre Dame/Navy match-up in 2020.

Notre Dame instead plays Western Michigan as their only non-ACC game and it didn’t take long for Navy to find a replacement in independent BYU, who will now travel to Annapolis on September 7.

Related:  Predicting Notre Dame’s Game-by-Game Results for 2020

Navy also announced an extension to the Notre Dame series that will run through 2032.

Assuming 2020 is the only year that Notre Dame and Navy are unable to play, they will have played in 105 of 106 seasons after the contract runs out in 2032.

Initial thoughts on Notre Dame’s 2020 schedule

A few immediate thoughts regarding the Fighting Irish’s first ACC conference schedule plus one.

As the Irish venture into the ACC for the season, their schedule was finalized finalized this morning along with finding out where they landed in the Amway Coaches poll powered by USA Today Sports. Here are a few thoughts on how the schedule is set up the Fighting Irish.

Clemson is still the toughest test for the regular season as they came in #1 in the Amway Coaches poll. The addition of #19 North Carolina will be tough, but the Tigers are still one of the best teams in the country. Dabo Swinney has recruited very well and his team is loaded with top-end talent led by quarterback Trevor Lawrence. The Irish get an advantage by hosting the Tigers, but without fans, this might negate playing in South Bend.

Keeping on the Clemson game, the schedule sets up well for the Irish and they should be going into the November 7th game against the Tigers a clean 7-0. The most difficult game prior to facing Clemson will be Louisville, they will put up some points this season. Quarterback Micale Cunningham and wide receiver Tutu Atwell make up one of the best QB-WR tandems in the country, but the defense was atrocious last year. The Irish scored 35 points in the ’19 opener against the Cardinals which was two points over what their season average was last year. That effort put them 109th in the country and the Irish have plenty of time to find new skills position stars prior to that game.

The bye weeks come at a great time. We could nitpick a little bit about the six-game stretch between the first and last bye week, but it works out fairly well for the Irish. It would have been nice to see a bye before or around the Clemson game but having one in front of traveling to North Carolina is almost as good. Getting an extra week to prepare to go on the road and face a Top 25 team is ideal.

All in all, the Irish seem to have path that doesn’t pose many roadblocks to get back to Bank of America Stadium and compete for the ACC Championship. A split of the Clemson and North Carolina games while taking care of the rest of the lesser opponents would put the Irish at 10-1 which should be enough to be one of the top two teams in the ACC. Let’s hope it works out that way, with the Irish getting a chance to play for a conference title for the first time ever on December 12th and a College Football Playoff berth.

Where Notre Dame ranks in 2020 preseason Amway Coaches poll powered by USA TODAY Sports

The preseason Amway Coaches poll is out. Where does Notre Dame and their opponents for 2020 rank? Find out here!

What a day.

First we get Notre Dame’s 2020 football schedule finally released, we have to say goodbye to the Navy game for the first time in almost a century and now we have a sure-sign of the dog days of summer and college football approaching as the Amway Coaches poll powered by USA TODAY Sports has been released.

Who gets the No. 1 ranking?  Where does Notre Dame come in?  And where do Notre Dame’s opponents for 2020 check-in?

It’s all below:

Preseason Amway Coaches Poll:

  1.  Clemson
    2.  Ohio State
    3.  Alabama
    4.  Georgia
    5.  LSU
    6.  Oklahoma
    7.  Penn State
    8.  Florida
    9.  Oregon
    10.  Notre Dame
    11.  Auburn
    12.  Wisconsin
    13.  Texas A&M
    14.  Texas
    15.  Michigan
    16.  Oklahoma State
    17.  USC
    18.  Minnesota
    19.  North Carolina
    20.  Utah
    21.  UCF
    22.  Cincinnati
    23.  Iowa
    24.  Virginia Tech
    25.  Iowa State

Notre Dame sneaks into the top ten and is scheduled to face two teams appearing in the preseason top 25:  No.1 Clemson and No. 19 North Carolina.

If ranked No. 1 on November 7, Clemson will be the first top-ranked team in the nation to come to Notre Dame Stadium since USC in the famed 2005 “Bush Push” game.

Notre Dame will kickoff the 2020 season when they play host to unranked Duke on September 12.

Notre Dame’s first ACC football schedule to be announced Thursday morning

As you know by now Notre Dame has given up its football independence for 2020 and is joining the ACC. They’ll play 10 ACC games, have one non-ACC opponent in a game that has to be played in Indiana, and will be eligible for the ACC Championship Game …

As you know by now Notre Dame has given up its football independence for 2020 and is joining the ACC.

They’ll play 10 ACC games, have one non-ACC opponent in a game that has to be played in Indiana, and will be eligible for the ACC Championship Game and any ACC bowl game tie-ins.

We now know when we’ll get that schedule announcement and the good news is you don’t have to wait long.

Thursday, August 6 at 9 a.m. ET the schedule will be released live on ACC Network.

Fighting Irish Wire will have all of the information in regards to the announcement so as always, make sure you keep it with us.

How much of an impact could freshman RB Tyree have this season?

Notre Dame freshman running back Chris Tyree has a golden opportunity to make an impact in his first year on campus.

We all know about Virginia’s Chris Tyree’s exploits as one of the fastest players in the country. Notice how it wasn’t just incoming freshmen, it’s in the country. While we know about Tyree’s speed, what we don’t know is how much of an impact he could have year one in South Bend. What we do know is that 247Sports Brad Crawford has Tyree on his list of 10 most impactful freshmen in the country.

The speedy back finished his high school career as the number 1 rated all-purpose back and 70th overall prospect in the country according to the 247Sports composite rankings. An ankle injury during his senior season derailed what would have been three straight seasons over 1,000 yards rushing.

The biggest knock on Tyree has nothing much to do with his game, but his stature. At 5-foot-10-inches and 180-pounds durability obviously could be an issue. That’s exactly how Crawford’s scouting report sees Tyree noting “there will always be questions about his frame and work-load compacity.” There weren’t many other detractors to Tyree’s game in the other parts of the report aside from “adding strength is a must. Yet to show he can be good at pass protect.” Adding solid weight to Tyree’s frame would go a long way for his on-field production.

The remaining portion of his scouting report was very positive as Tyree has “blazing speed with verified 4.38 second in 40. Burst is a plus. Vertical of 38.2 inches. Stop-start ability is impressive. Wildly productive. Good vision and patience in the hole. Excellent body control. Accelerates to full speed within three steps. Can run inside or outside. Tough to arm tackle. Dangerous pass catcher who can lineup in slot….Major contributor at elite college program. Middle round NFL draft pick.”

The opportunity there for Tyree to contribute after Tony Jones Jr’s departure to the NFL leaving the Irish running back room without much experience. If Tyree takes advantage of the situation and stay’s healthy, we could be seeing a big season from the speedy freshman.