Category: Notre Dame

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.

2020 Big Ten Football Schedule. 5 Things That Matter. Who Gets Missed? Winners, Losers, Changes

With the Big Ten announcing that it will play a ten-game, conference only schedule, what does it all mean? Who wins, loses, and what’s next?

With the Big Ten announcing that it will play a ten-game, conference only schedule, what does it all mean? Who wins, who loses, and what’s next?

– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

Big Ten Football Schedule 2020

2020 Big Ten Team Previews, 5 Things To Know
East Indiana | Maryland | Michigan
Michigan State | Ohio State | Penn State | Rutgers
West Illinois | Iowa | Minnesota
Nebraska | Northwestern | Purdue | Wisconsin
CFN Preview 2020: All 130 Team Previews

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5. Big Ten 10-Game Schedule. The Basics …

The Big Ten released its 2020 football schedule. And the key parts are …

– Ten games, no non-conference dates. This was put forth before by the Big Ten, but now it’s settled. It’s all Big Ten vs. Big Ten battles spread out over the season.

– Unlike what the other Power Five conferences appear to be doing – kicking things off in mid-to-late September – the Big Ten is going to start right away on September 5th. Actually, it’ll all start on Thursday, September 3rd when Ohio State goes to Illinois. This allows each Big Ten team to have to built in weeks off along with an open date on November 28th for a possible make-up game.

– Also unlike the other Power Five conferences, the Big Ten is keeping its championship game for December 5th.

– Ohio State and Michigan don’t play on the final weekend. Go ahead and make your jokes about how the Big Ten doesn’t want Jim Harbaugh to end the season with a loss, but the October 24th date sets itself up to be something special, especially if it’s a night game.

– November 21st – the final weekend scheduled for the regular season – is all interdivisional games, and so is the first week of the season. The schedule is front loaded with divisional battles with the flexibility to fill in the gaps later if there has to be a week off.

NEXT: What Big Ten teams do the other Big Ten teams miss?

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5

College Football Playoffs for the Irish? Maybe, maybe not…

Two Rivals experts debate if Notre Dame can make the CFP now that they are in the ACC for the 2020 season.

Now that Notre Dame has been included in the ACC there has been plenty of conjecture on how the Irish’s season will play out. Yesterday, we looked at ESPN and their updated Football Power Index ACC title odds and corresponding impact on the conference race and College Football Playoff odds. Today, Rival’s Mike Farrell and Adam Gorney examined if the Irish could make the CFP now that they’re affiliated with the ACC.

Let’s start with the optimist, Gorney, who think’s the Irish have a very legit possibility to make the CFP. He says that “Notre Dame has all the pieces to make a run to the College Football Playoff – whether it’s with an ACC-only schedule or anything else. The Irish have a veteran quarterback, one of the best offensive lines in the country, defensive playmakers at all three levels and they have excellent coaching as well.” It seems like Gorney liked the Irish’s chances even before joining the ACC for this season.

Farrell, however, didn’t see it like Gorney, as he “could see Notre Dame losing to Louisville, Pitt or North Carolina and ending the season with two losses.” The other loss Farrell is eluding to is the matchup with Clemson, it seems regardless of how Notre Dame schedule played out thought they would lose to the Tigers anyways. Farrell goes further saying “we knew they (Notre Dame) need to be perfect to make the playoffs most likely and with this schedule, I don’t see that happening.”

The two analysts are split on whether or not the Irish can finish inside the final Top 4 teams. With a conference affiliation, this gives the Irish more wiggle room than in previous years where an undefeated season was the only way that Notre Dame could make the final group. The wiggle room is minimal though, as two losses will take any team out of Playoff contention. This is shaping up to be a very interesting 2020 college football campaign and if the Irish can navigate themselves to a 11-1 season with an ACC title, they will punch their ticket into the Final 4.

Notre Dame Injury News: Kevin Austin Breaks Foot

Wide receiver Kevin Austin, who was suspended for 2019 but is a big reason for huge expectations for the 2020 receiving corps, has broken his foot.

It’s not even the start of official practice yet but Notre Dame football has already suffered a significant injury.

Wide receiver Kevin Austin, who was suspended for 2019 but is a big reason for huge expectations for the 2020 receiving corps, has broken his foot.

From the Notre Dame Football PR Staff on Twitter:

The good news is that he’s not out for the season but the bad news is obvious. It’s a broken foot and not an injury that likely just is gone and forgotten about the second it’s technically healed.

Strength building and conditioning will come after as his potential 2020 outbreak so many are expecting, takes a major hit.

Austin only has five receptions in his Notre Dame career but was likely to enter 2020 as a starter and the benefactor of a significant amount of targets.

We’ll have more on this news at Fighting Irish Wire as more information becomes available.

Notre Dame Injury News: Kevin Austin Breaks Foot

Wide receiver Kevin Austin, who was suspended for 2019 but is a big reason for huge expectations for the 2020 receiving corps, has broken his foot.

It’s not even the start of official practice yet but Notre Dame football has already suffered a significant injury.

Wide receiver Kevin Austin, who was suspended for 2019 but is a big reason for huge expectations for the 2020 receiving corps, has broken his foot.

From the Notre Dame Football PR Staff on Twitter:

The good news is that he’s not out for the season but the bad news is obvious. It’s a broken foot and not an injury that likely just is gone and forgotten about the second it’s technically healed.

Strength building and conditioning will come after as his potential 2020 outbreak so many are expecting, takes a major hit.

Austin only has five receptions in his Notre Dame career but was likely to enter 2020 as a starter and the benefactor of a significant amount of targets.

We’ll have more on this news at Fighting Irish Wire as more information becomes available.

Notre Dame shakes up ESPN’s FPI after joining ACC

The Irish make their presence known with the latest update to ESPN’s Football Power Index.

With the announcement last week of the Irish joining the ACC for the 2020 season, many outlets needed to adjust their preseason rankings to account for this massive change. ESPN has just updated their Football Power Index and it looks fairly favorable for Notre Dame.

When looking at the numbers, there are plenty of them when breaking down the FPI, they Irish are almost assured of having a bowl game, as long as more of them don’t get canceled. With a 89.3% chance at more than 6 wins, you can bring that one to the back. The problem when looking further into the FPI is that the projection model has Notre Dame winning only one more game past that threshold.

ESPN’s projections have a final record of 7-3, but there is a silver lining to this, a chance to bring home an ACC Title. Clemson is the overwhelming favorite to win the conference, as the FPI gives the Tigers an 88.7% chance to bring home the hardware. The Irish rank second, and although chances are slim at 4.3%, it’s still a chance.

There’s a smaller chance the Irish win out, at a minute 0.2%, and even smaller chance to win the national title at 0.1%. Playoff’s are now the gold standard goal of ever program, and the FPI gives the Irish a 1.6% chance at making the coveted final four.

Getting an opportunity to play for a title in 2020 would be fantastic, even if it is an ACC one. How awesome would it be to play in a conference for a season, win the ACC title and ride off into an independence sunset hoisting the trophy and heading to the playoffs. Hopefully the FPI is off and that’s exactly how the 2020 season plays out for the Irish.

Will a true freshman be Notre Dame’s rising ACC star?

There is lot of hype surrounding an Irish true freshman and his opportunity to make an impact early for the Notre Dame Football team.

It seem’s weird to be included into ACC content regarding the Notre Dame football team, but here we are. It’s been a very odd year, but as football gets closer and closer, 247Sports took a look at up-and-coming players that they were excited to see this fall.

Irish incoming freshman Michael Mayer made Charles Power’s list, and for very obvious reasons. With the departure of Cole Kmet to the NFL, the path to early playing time is in the hand of the 5-Star recruit. Power believes “Mayer is a ready-to-go type prospect who is entering what looks to be a favorable situation in South Bend.”

What we don’t know is how quickly Mayer will pick up the playbook from new offensive coordinator Tommy Rees. If he is able to grasp the scheme quickly, the talented freshman should be able to hit the field running. “He’s (Mayer) physically developed and skilled enough to make an impact as a freshman,” said Power.

It makes sense to at least give Mayer a shot early to see if he can prove himself on the field. Since players are now able to play in 4 games without losing a redshirt season, Mayer could even play a bit part without losing a year of eligibility. Ideally, this is not the case, with Mayer forcing Brian Kelly’s hand to play him throughout the year. I think this is the most realistic scenario, as Mayer should. work his way into the tight end rotation this year, before breaking out nationally as a sophomore.

It’s worth noting that former Notre Dame quarterback Phil Jurkovic made the list for Boston College, although the NCAA has yet to determine if immediate eligibility will be granted to the transfer. With BC on the new Irish schedule for 2020, it would be interesting to see how Jurkovic performs against his former teammates if eligible.

Will Irish commit Diggs make you forget about missing out on Shipley?

Notre Dame finally got their running back in the 2021 class, but will the commit of Logan Diggs make your forget about losing Will Shipley?

The Irish gained a commitment from Louisiana running back Logan Diggs this week, but the sting of missing out on North Carolina’s Will Shipley still is there. Rivals recruiting experts Mike Farrell and Adam Gorney played fact or fiction if Diggs will ultimately be better than Shipley. Not so fast my friends, as Lee Corso would famously say on ESPN.

Both Farrell and Gorney believe that the statement is fiction, although both think that Diggs is underrated compared to his class of 2021 peers. I see Diggs as having tons of untapped potential, and so do Rival’s experts. Farrell noted that Diggs “missed some time due to injury as a sophomore and is just starting to emerge as a playmaker. He’s not Shipley, but he’s a solid replacement.” Gorney see’s Diggs as “underrated in this class, has great film, is a dynamic back who has make-you-miss ability and will be a nice weapon in Notre Dame’s offense, but there’s only one Will Shipley in this class.”

Yes, losing Shipley hurt. Hurt a lot, but the addition of Diggs will help ease the pain. The state of Louisiana is set to begin practice’s for high school teams tomorrow, but their season will soon be adjusted. As long as Diggs is able to continue his breakout from last year, he will rise in the rankings and hopefully will make every forget about missing out on Shipley.

Farewell to Golic & Wingo on ESPN Radio, Mike Golic’s morning show

After 22 years the voice of ESPN morning radio hangs it up to return to the collegiate game.

Former Notre Dame standout defensive tackle Mike Golic has had plenty of success on and off the field. Golic was a captain in his senior season with the Irish before being drafted in the 10th round by the Houston Oilers and playing in the NFL for 8 seasons. His post playing career has been even more impressive, as he began it prior to even finishing his NFL career.

During his time with the Philadelphia Eagles, Golic would do a weekly segment on the Randall Cunningham Show which began a long, successful media career. I did take him a few years to blossom but once he did, along with Mike Greenberg, Golic became the face of ESPN radio. The show began just on ESPN radio affiliates then moves to a simulcast on ESPN2. When Greenberg left, Golic had about two weeks off before getting back on the mic with Trey Wingo as their show’s run of three years came to an end today. That’s over 22 years of morning radio for the former Notre Dame star.

What’s in store next for Golic isn’t retirement, he will be behind the mic for ESPN during the college football season. That means we will get plenty more of Golic in our ears for the foreseeable future and that doesn’t seem to bother us one bit.

Irish stay hot on the recruiting trail, add ’21 TE Evans

With Ohio tight end Mitchell Evans committing to Notre Dame today, that makes 4 commits this week for the Irish.

It’s safe to say the Irish are red-hot on the recruiting trail right now. Just this week Brian Kelly and his staff have landed 2021 RB Logan Diggs, class of 2022 offensive tackle Joey Tanona and tight end Jack Nickel. You can now add ’21 tight end Mitchell Evans to the group also.

The Ohio tight end stands 6-foot-7-inches and weighs 240-pounds and the Irish beat out West Virginia, Florida State, Michigan State and others for Evans commitment. By the 247Sports composite, Evans is the 20th tight end nationally and the 435th overall player in the country.

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You want to know go good of an athlete Evans is? Just watch his highlight reel above and you see right away what the Irish staff liked about the tight end. The first play Evans lines up a quarterback and takes the snap 50-plus yards for a touchdown. There’s a lot to like about Evans’ game even though he didn’t put up eye-popping stats. The large frame will be a red zone nightmare for opposing defenses.

The commit by Evans is the 15th total commit for the 2021 class, bringing their national ranking to 13th rated by 247Sports. He is the second tight end commit for the Irish in the ’21 cycle joining Georgian Cane Berrong. Kelly and his staff are most likely done at the position as they continue to add premium talent on their way to South Bend.