Category: Notre Dame

Watch: “Irish Intel” Features ‘95 Notre Dame Rout of USC

Next up it was Ron Powlus’ turn as the 1995 blowout of USC was discussed, specifically a broken down two point conversion that wound up successful.

A sincere tip of the cap to the Notre Dame advanced media team for their efforts to entertain during the international pandemic. Literally everyone in the world has seen their lives change in one way or another in recent weeks and we’ve had to find new senses of normal.

One of those for me has come by those who run Notre Dame’s athletic media pages. Twitter, Facebook or YouTube have all been willing to take a chance and just try things. The Saturday night classic football replays have been fun to check out and the top-ten lists bring back both great memories and fun debates.

Another new segment or idea they’ve tried is “Irish Intel” where a significant play gets broken down. Earlier in the week the Women’s LaCrosse team got a chance to break down an impressive transition goal from this year.

Next up it was Ron Powlus’ turn as the 1995 blowout of USC was discussed, specifically a broken down two point conversion that wound up successful.

I’ve enjoyed the folks in this specific Notre Dame office taking chances and trying things. I remembered Notre Dame beating the tar out of USC in 1995 but I’d forgotten about the Powlus reception for two points.

It’s not anything earth-shattering by any means but it’s a fun roughly 140 seconds to take a trek down Memory Lane.

And anytime that trek involves a blowout of USC nobody here is really going to be upset, are they?

Notre Dame Baseball Adds Graduate Transfer LHP Bertrand

Link Jarrett added Furman LHP John Michael Bertrand to the team as a graduate transfer.

The NCAA has announced that spring sport athletes will not be penalized by the cancelation of their seasons and gives those players an opportunity to finish out their athletic careers. Notre Dame Baseball head coach Link Jarrett’s team was off to a fantastic start, which clearly caught the eye of Furman transfer John Michael Bertrand.

Bertrand will join his brother, JD who is a linebacker on the football team, in South Bend next year, as the redshirt Junior will be added to the team as a graduate transfer. The two-time Southern Conference Academic Honor Roll starter was considered the teams #1 during his redshirt sophomore year, 13 of his 15 appearances were starts resulting in a 4.90 ERA in 82.2 innings.

Although Bertrand will most likely not be given the ball as the top starter for Jarrett’s squad, it should be Tommy Sheehan, the addition of another solid arm is always a positive. The 6’3” and 205-pound left-handed starter will have two seasons remaining to pitch for the Irish.

The 2019-20 NCAA baseball season was cut short, but Link Jarrett is very high on his team after a 11-2 start. The addition of Bertrand will add more excitement to the beginning of the Jarrett era.

Navy AD Remains Optimistic for Notre Dame Game in Dublin

Navy’s Athletic Director spoke positively about the chances of Notre Dame/Navy in Ireland this August. But did he also walk them back?

Each day that goes by seems to bring another quote from a head college football coach discussing contingency plans and hearing ideas of how a full college football season could still be played despite possibly starting late.  As much as that may be gaining steam, one important figure in Notre Dame’s season opener in Dublin, Ireland remained optimistic that game will still be played as scheduled.

Speaking to ESPN, Navy Athletic Director Chet Gladchuk was spitting confidence about the end of August affair.

“We’re going to play it,” Gladchuk told ESPN. “We expect this to pass. We’re not naïve. We’re five months away from that game happening. There’s a lot that could happen in five months. If the economy and the United States are still shut down in five months, we all have significant issues, more so than a game in Dublin.”

Gladchuk didn’t walk back his “we’re going to play it” statement but he did come off a little less sold on the guarantee later in the ESPN article.

“The game is important, but nothing will supersede the medical issues and the direction we get from the medical authorities,” Gladchuk said. “As ambitious as we are, it’s got to be cleared and travel has to be cleared and international travel has to be cleared for that to be realistic.”

I wish I knew if there was going to be a game in Ireland or not but I don’t.  If you’ve read FIW for any length of time you’re aware that I’m not the most conifedent in this game being played in Ireland or college football starting as currently scheduled.  After reading the first comments from Gladchuk and his last one’s in the piece I get the feeling he’s like me:

Hoping for the best but being plenty realistic about the possibilities of that not happening.

Notre Dame’s Brian Kelly Named Voice of Reason

CBS Sports Dennis Dodd has high praise after Brian Kelly met with the media yesterday.

The Notre Dame football leader, Brian Kelly, met with the media yesterday via Zoom, touched on a variety of topics, but something caught the eye of CBS Sports Dennis Dodd. After Kelly finished, Dodd’s headline read like this: Notre Dame’s Brian Kelly emerges as voice of reason in sea of tone-deaf college football coaches.

What caught Dodd’s attention was the way Kelly handled himself when asked to speak to the community regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. Kelly seemed very statesmanlike when he said “We have not won yet. We’re just getting to halftime. We have a second half to play here. Really good job in the first couple of quarters, but we’re just getting into the locker room. Let’s look toward having a better second half. If we have a better second half, we’re going to win the game.”

This is certainly high praise for Kelly as Dodd explains that while “Updating the status of the Fighting Irish as a whole, Kelly seemed to warm to the topic of inspiration.” This is a clear contrast from what other coaches have recently said, such as Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy. Gundy wants football to start up by May 1st, citing an influx of money to go through the Sooner state. It was a bad look for the Cowboys.

Kelly has shown that he has a firm grasp on the situation, as this is the new norm and he has accepted it and adapted to it as well. Praise like this is fantastic for the Irish’s head coach, after Gundy makes a fool of himself, Clemson’s Dabo Swinney’s reports of taking vacations, and Mississippi State’s Mike Leach posting a extremely racial photo on his Twitter feed that has since been deleted and at least one player will transfer due to it.

Dodd’s headline was spot on, as Kelly has handled this situation extremely well, making positive headlines instead of negative ones. This can only help the university and it’s easy to say Notre Dame faithful are extremely proud of their head coach.

Former Notre Dame Star Smith Honored by MaxPreps

Jaylon Smith is recognized as one of the best high school players in the last decade.

Earlier this week MaxPreps came out with their All-Decade High School Football Team, consisting of the best prep players from 2010-2019. They honored 100 players in their list, with former Irish star LB Jaylon Smith being named to the first team.

Zach Poff, MaxPreps National Football Editor, who compiled the list, wrote that Smith “was the top-rated linebacker in his class and helped the Knights to four consecutive state titles. Named Mr. Football in Indiana as a senior and was a three-time all-state first-team selection.” The production by Smith in high school led to a 5-Star ranking by all services and finished his career by playing in the prestigious U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

Smith then made an impact early and often in his career in South Bend, totaling 292 tackles, 24.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, 3 forced fumbles and an interception. The three-year starter was a second-team All-American his sophomore season before winning the Butkus Award as the nation’s best linebacker his junior year. Smith’s final year saw him become a consensus All-American and unfortunately during his final game in the Blue and Gold, he tore his ACL and LCL.

This clearly hurt his draft stock, as prior to Smith’s injury he was viewed as a clear-cut first round pick. The Dallas Cowboys selected Smith in the second round with the 34th overall selection but did not play his “rookie” year due to rehabbing the injury. When Smith finally returned to the field, his talent’s shined once again, as he has totaled 344 tackles, 7.5 sacks, an interception, 6 forced fumbles and a touchdown. His efforts impressed Dallas as they extended him through 2024 for $64 million. Smith has been a star at every stop he’s had in his football career. He has made Notre Dame extremely proud to call him an alumnus.

Illinois Mauling OT Schedules Official Visit to Notre Dame

Offensive lineman Pat Coogan schedules official visit to South Bend.

In the midst of the recruiting dead period, one where coaches are able to contact players, just unable to physically see them, 2021 Illinois offensive tackle Pat Coogan has scheduled his first official visit.

Coogan will visit South Bend in June from the 12th to the 14th assuming the stay-at-home orders will be lifted by then. The massive tackle, standing 6’5” and weighing 287-pounds, has recently seen his recruitment blow up. Coogan has added offers from LSU, Oklahoma, Ohio State and Texas A&M since the Irish offered on March 26th.

Although the recruiting services don’t rank Coogan extremely high, 445th overall by the 247Sports composite, his offers clearly show he’s much better than his current ranking. Watching his highlight reel, the first play shows Coogan on special teams making a tackle, showing impressive athleticism from the big lineman. Coogan is an absolute mauler, he eats defensive lineman for breakfast, getting pancake after pancake.

Coogan’s twitter feed is very pro-Irish, as he grew up a fan of Notre Dame. Although these kinds of marriages don’t always work out, see Deion Colzie, Coogan would be a welcome addition to instate OT Blake Fisher in the Irish’s 2021 offensive line recruiting class.

A 2020 College Football Season? Here’s What Notre Dame’s Kelly and other Coaches Think

Recently, man high profile coaches discussed the subject of a 2020 season and a few of them are cautiously optimistic.

Spring football has already been halted; the NCAA mandated a dead period for recruits on campus and with Stay-At-Home orders having been extended, it is very fair for college football coaches to wonder if the season will actually happen.

Over the weekend Brian Kelly was the keynote speaker for a Zoom call that had over 200 Athletic Directors and Coaches invited to join on the video chat. Plenty was discussed on the call and of course the topic of having a season this year was touched upon. Kelly believes that “football is going to be hard to cancel, unless there are certainly safety precautions that we can’t get through. I think we got some time to work through those things,” and we all hope he is right.

Dabo Swinney, the Clemson head coach, whose team is scheduled to visit South Bend on the first Saturday of November, is very optimistic about the situation. He said on Friday during a conference call that “I don’t have a doubt. I have zero doubt that we’re going to be playing and the stands will be packed.” Swinney has the right attitude towards the situation, there could be doubts as this COVID-19 pandemic continues.

On ESPN’s First Take this morning Oklahoma’s Lincoln Riley breached the subject as well, saying “I am extremely confident that we will have a season at some point. It may look different.” The differences that Riley pointed out could be start times for games, fans in the stands, and the schedule. Riley isn’t as convinced as Swinney about the fan’s inclusion, but he still thinks there will be football.

Alabama’s Nick Saban seemed to avoid the question when asked last week during a conference call about his thoughts. The 6-time National Championship coach “never really answer(s) hypothetical questions. I’m sure that everyone’s going to want me to speculate on what’s going to happen in the future, and nobody really knows. It’s very uncertain.”

It seems like each coach has their different stance on the matter, I’m sure that everyone would love to see college football be played in some compacity this season. The reality of the matter is that Saban is right, there is so much unknown at the current moment that no one can really know what will transpire in a few short months.

Where Notre Dame Stands with ’21 WR Thornton According to Rivals

Rivals ranks the top contenders for Thornton’s commits and the Irish have some work to do to catch up.

Recently Rivals has done a series of articles where they take a look at a prospects top list and rank the contenders for their verbal commitment. After Maryland WR Don’t’e Thornton released his Top 12 schools this weekend, Rivals recruiting analyst Adam Friedman ranked the contenders for Thornton’s pledge.

The way Friedman see’s the star WR’s recruiting going at the moment has the Irish running third, behind Oregon and Penn State. Although Oregon is the first school that is mentioned, “If the Ducks are in the lead for Thornton, it isn’t by much.” This bodes well for Notre Dame’s recruitment of the 6’5” and 195-pound star.

Previously Thornton had been committed to Penn State, backing off his verbal in August of last year. Although rare, players have recommitted to their original school, and Thornton is continuing to have a relationship with the Nittany Lion’s staff. What the do have going for them at the moment is fresh faces, as James Franklin had to replace his WR coach with Taylor Stubblefield and his offensive coordinator with Kirk Ciarrocca, who just coached arguably the best pair of WR’s in the country last year at Minnesota.

Being in third place isn’t a bad spot to be for the Irish, as Thornton “was on campus last summer and really enjoyed the atmosphere.” It gave him a feel similar to his high school, which is always a plus in recruiting. Notre Dame has an opportunity to add another talented WR to their roster and it looks like the Irish will hope that they can edge out the other top contenders.

See Which Notre Dame Football Targets Made Rivals Top 100 for 2022

Rivals took the week to release their Top 100 for 2022, Notre Dame targets littered their list.

Throughout this past week Rivals has been releasing their Top 100 prospects for the 2022 class, day by day but without exact rankings. It may seem like a quite a way from either 2022 signing day, but it’s never to early to take a look at who stands out as some of the best prospects around the nation.

The Irish currently do not have any prospects committed for the ’22 class, but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t hard at work trying to secure commits from some of the best players in the nation. Monday’s set of highlighted players with Irish offers saw Florida OT Julian Armella (5-Star), Wisconsin Safety Braelon Allen, Illinois Athlete Kaleb Brown, and Ohio LB Gabe Powers. Even tough Massachusetts LB Tyler Martin doesn’t hold an offer, Rivals Mike Farrell sees the Irish as a player in his recruitment. Brown and Powers are players that their experts see the Irish standing out for at the current moment.

Tuesday saw Wisconsin OT Joe Brunner, California WR Tetairoa McMillan, and Nevada OLB Cyrus Moss all named, all holding Irish offers. Farrell sees Brunner as a tough pull from to get out of state as the Badgers are viewed as the team to beat. The Irish are seen as a few schools that stand out early to McMillan and Moss while Michigan’s Will Johnson doesn’t hold an offer, but like Martin, Notre Dame is squarely in his recruitment.

The midweek group of players included California WR CJ Williams, Maryland DE Dani Dennis-Sutton, Colorado RB Gavin Sawchuk, Kansas S Dasan McCullough and Illinois WR Tyler Morris. In-state QB Brady Allen doesn’t hold a Notre Dame offer, but Farrell believes if that were to happen, the Irish would be right in the mix for the talented signal caller. Of the players who hold Irish offers, Williams, Sawchuk and Morris, the Blue and Gold are in the mix for their commitments.

Thursday once again saw players that have already caught the Irish’s eyes in Maryland OLB Jaishawn Barham, California Athlete Kamari Ramsey, and Pennsylvania RB Nicholas Singleton. Farrell sees Notre Dame as a team Ramsey is highly considering. New Jersey OT Jacob Allen and Ohio OT Blake Miller don’t hold an offer currently, but Farrell sees the Irish as a contender for his commitment if they throw their hat in the ring.

The final set of players on Friday had Ohio S CJ Hicks, Wisconsin C Carson Hinzman, Texas RB Emeka Megwa, and Florida DE Shemar Stewart. Farrell likes Notre Dame’s chances with Hicks and Hinzman as their recruitments pick up. No offer for Virginia DE Bryce Carter, but Farrell thinks if that offers comes from Brian Kelly and staff, the Irish could potentially stand out for Carter.

The recruitment for the 2022 class is just starting the heat up and there are many encouraging signs early on for an elite group of prospects to ultimately end up in South Bend. Brian Kelly and his staff have done a great job early of identifying top talent and offering them early. Hopefully this early work on the class has big time results later on.

Notre Dame Makes Florida DB Riley’s Top 7

The Irish coaching staff has made a very good impression on the DB after making a verbal offer just last week.

Although the dead period has been extended through the end of April, recruiting is still in full go and last night class of 2021 defensive back Philip Riley released his Top 7 schools going forwards. It was a pleasant surprise to see Notre Dame on the list after just offering Riley a little over one week ago.

The rest of the Florida’s stars Top 7 schools are all out of state, but Riley is not a native of the state, having moved there last year from Washington. The move payed off big time for Riley, as a huge junior season has seen his recruitment blow up, adding offers from USC, WVU, Miami, FSU and others in addition to his Top 7. His academic profile fits well with the Irish as well, with offers from Duke and Vanderbilt backing that up.

The defender has fantastic size for a corner, standing 6’0” and weighing 187-pounds, which on paper looks like a college-ready body. When watching his highlights, which you can see right here, his Bloomingdale High School teams plays a majority of man principles which plays anywhere.

Although Riley is unable to visit South Bend until the NCAA’s dead period is over, what Brian Kelly and his staff have done to impress the defensive back has been remarkable. If the coaching staff is able to continue to expand their relationship with Riley, there a potential the Irish won’t just make his Top 7 list.