Tag: 2022 Notre Dame

Cleats for a Cause coming to Notre Dame

Cleats for a Cause!

The following release is courtesy of the Notre Dame Athletic Department:

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Notre Dame football in partnership with Under Armour has announced a new initiative to support four local charities, ‘Cleats For A Cause’.

On Oct. 22 the Fighting Irish will wear special edition cleats during their home contest at Notre Dame Stadium against UNLV. An online auction will run prior to and after the game for the limited edition cleats.

“Our program is very excited about this initiative because we are very active at these four local charities,” said junior linebacker [autotag]Jack Kiser[/autotag]. “Giving back to our community is a priority as a student-athlete at Notre Dame. We are grateful for the chance to team up with Under Armour to be among the first programs in college football to give back in this way, while also helping our community.”

‘Cleats For A Cause’ will support the South Bend Center for the Homeless, the Boys & Girls Club of St. Joseph County, the YMCA of Greater Michiana and Cultivate Food Rescue. Notre Dame players will wear specially designed Under Armour cleats for the game against UNLV, and then the game-worn footwear will be auctioned off with all proceeds equally distributed among the four charities.

Each pair of cleats has been hand painted by two artists Mo Gafar (@KreativeCustomKicks) and David Zambrano (@DezCustomz) and each charity will be equally represented on the field against UNLV.

More information and details surrounding the ‘Cleats For A Cause’ initiative will be announced in the coming weeks.

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Notre Dame star tight end not fearful of Ohio Stadium

Calm, cool, and collected.

It’s guaranteed to be one of the craziest crowds the entire 2022 college football season should see on Saturday, Sept. 3 when No. 2 Ohio State hosts No. 5 Notre Dame, but Fighting Irish tight end [autotag]Michael Mayer[/autotag] doesn’t think he’ll be phased entering the Horseshoe.

“I don’t think it’s any different than the other stadiums we’re going to be playing in this year. To me, it’s like, ‘home game, away game, just go play football.’ I’m not worried about it.”

-Michael Mayer on August 24, 2022

Mayer met the media after Notre Dame’s fall camp session on Wednesday and delivered that.  Some will get out there and call it bulletin board material but can we all be adults here and admit that if you need some kind of bulletin board material or [autotag]Knute Rockne[/autotag] styled pep-talk before a game like this, that big-time college football probably isn’t for you?

I love that Mayer said it, now I just hope he and the rest of Freeman’s squad go and back that up in just under 10 days.

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Notre Dame football: All-American replacing an All-American

How will Notre Dame’s defense fare in 2022 without their biggest star?

We’ve been asking ourselves for a decent amount of time now how exactly Notre Dame can go about replacing Kyle Hamilton after he declared for the NFL draft.  The answer:

There is no replacing Kyle Hamilton.

Let’s be real for just a second as Hamilton was as talented of defender as I’ve seen in my time watching Notre Dame football since the early-nineties.  There are other greats on that list, certainly, Bryant Young, Justin Tuck, Manti Te’o, and Jaylon Smith are just a few of the many.

However, were any more talented combined with the football instincts and size that Hamilton possesses?  There’s a reason that he’s being projected as a top-five pick as a safety despite coming off a knee injury.

Related – Move Notre Dame-Ohio State to Sunday night?

However, Notre Dame isn’t going to be left in incapable hands as Hamilton departs.  Chip Patterson of CBS Sports recently took a look at some of the names around college football that are set to replace All-Americans in 2022 and here is what he had to say about Brandon Joseph transferring to Notre Dame and stepping in for Hamilton:

Replacement — Brandon Joseph: An All-American already from his time at Northwestern, Joseph is set to follow in Hamilton’s footsteps on the path from the Notre Dame defensive backfield to the NFL Draft. Houston Griffith and D.J. Brown are both there to provide depth and competition, but Joseph arrives as a highly-coveted transfer with star power and the expectation of locking down the back end of a defense that could be among the best in the country in 2022.

It’s crazy to think that a defense can get better despite losing their best player from the year before but that’s exactly where I’m at with my expectation for Notre Dame in 2022.  Hamilton may be gone but it’s worth remembering he was unfortunately unavailable for nearly half the season.  It also helps that there is a star-transfer replacing him and plenty of firepower playing in front of Joseph, Griffith, Brown and the rest of the Irish secondary.

Barring injury, if this defense isn’t among the nation’s best in 2022 it’ll be an utter disappointment for Freeman and Notre Dame.

Related:

An early look at Notre Dame’s 2022 football schedule

Notre Dame coaching staff tracker

Notre Dame transfer portal tracker

Two Notre Dame captains announce returns for 2022

More good news for Notre Dame on the staying or going front…

Notre Dame had a stellar weekend as the Fighting Irish football team were big time winners in recruiting battles to keep a few of their own on campus for another year.  The Irish had already received word that the likes of Isaiah Foskey as well as both Jayson and Justin Amedilola would be returning to the football team in 2022.

Then on Sunday, Marcus Freeman and company received official word that 2021 captains Avery Davis and Jarrett Patterson would both be returning as well.

Davis hauled in 27 receptions for 386 yards and four touchdowns last season before tearing his ACL in November while Patterson was probably Notre Dame’s best offensive lineman a year ago, manning the center position.

This news paired with the commitment of All-American safety Brandon Joseph in the transfer portal meant for a fantastic weekend for Notre Dame football.

Related:

Early look at Notre Dame’s 2022 schedule

2022 Notre Dame transfer portal tracker

Notre Dame gets great news for 2022 defensive line

Notre Dame got great news for their defensive line in 2022 on Wednesday. Will the news get even better in the days to come?

Notre Dame’s defensive line got great news for 2022 on Wednesday as vyper Justin Ademilola announced he’d be returning to school for a fifth year.  Ademilola finished second on the team in sacks in 2021, recording 5.5 while also making 35 total tackles.

His 5.5 sacks trailed only Isaiah Foskey who we still await word on the future of at Notre Dame.  One would figure if others on the defensive line are to stay and with Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa being out of eligibility, that Ademilola’s numbers would rise by default.

Regardless of what his numbers look like in 2022 this is great news for defensive line coach Marcus Freeman as his defense for next year starts to really take shape.

Related:  

An early look at Notre Dame’s 2022 football schedule

2022 Notre Dame transfer portal tracker

Notre Dame football coaching staff tracker 

Irish recruiting coordinator Polian excited for next step with ‘22 class

Notre Dame recruiting coordinator Brian Polian is excited to have more access to recruits in the 2022 class starting tomorrow.

The Notre Dame recruiting class of 2021 has not yet been signed, sealed or delivered, but that isn’t going to stop the staff from going after the next group of talented prospects in the 2022 class. September 1st means that college coaches can up the contact with the ‘22 players, and Notre Dame’s recruiting coordinator and special teams coach Brian Polian is excited.

As Polian points out that Brian Kelly’s coaching staff can now text, send direct messages via social media accounts, and go old school and send mail. You might be thinking mailers still in the internet age? That’s typically an edit, where they superimpose the prospect in uniform, on campus or some other creative way.

This is very popular among recruiting circles and although a bit archaic to send mailers, it’s still a key part of the recruiting process.

Right now the Irish staff has done a great job with limited contact in the ‘22 class, already securing three commitments for a top rated class. Instate offensive tackle Joey Tanona, tight end Jack Nickel and safety Nolan Ziegler comprise the commits, the trio are ranked 4th by 247Sports, while the other two major services (ESPN and Rivals) have yet to rank the teams classes.

The Irish have offered 96 prospects in the ‘22 class and expect that number to rise in the coming weeks. As an example the ‘21 class has offered 143 players while the ‘20 class offered 161. Stay tuned for more recruiting news in the future, as Notre Dame will try and bring in yet another highly regarded recruiting class.