Tag: Brian Polian

Details emerge of Brian Kelly’s final Notre Dame recruiting trip

Details about Brian Kelly’s final recruiting visit as Notre Dame’s head coach emerge…

Tobias Merriweather will be the answer to a trivia question years from now.

“Who was the recruit that Brian Kelly was visiting right when news of him leaving for LSU came out?” will be the question.

Meg Wochnick of The Colombian has details on what wound up being Kelly’s final recruiting trip with Notre Dame and perhaps his most memorable.

Some highlights of her report include:

  • The Vancouver visit to Merriweather featured Kelly as well as Tommy Rees, Brian Polian, and wide receivers coach Del Alexander
  • The conversation included Kelly discussing his 2009 exit from Cincinnati but not once did him ever potentially leaving Notre Dame come up
  • Kelly left in the middle of the visit to take a phone call that lasted roughly 15 minutes
  • Kelly had three servings of the home-cooked burnt ends

Be sure to check out the full story by Wochnick for one of the crazier recruiting moments you’ll ever hear about.

Merriweather, a four-star wide receiver remains verbally committed to Notre Dame but says Michigan, UCLA, and a host of other programs have contacted him since Kelly’s departure.

I can’t wait for the documentary that comes out in a decade where Tommy Rees spills the beans as to what was said in the SUV when reports of Kelly’s exit surfaced.

There was no word in the report on if Kelly spoke on that 15-minute phone call with a southern accent or not.

Related:

Notre Dame rooting guide for conference championship weekend

5 reasons to love the Marcus Freeman hire

See It – Brian Kelly arrives in Baton Rouge

Notre Dame Football Coaching Staff Wish List

The next Notre Dame football coaching staff dream team…

Notre Dame is looking for a new head coach after Brian Kelly bolted to Baton Rouge to head the LSU football program.  Where does athletic director Jack Swarbrick look after the tidal wave Kelly left in his wake?

The good news is Swarbrick shouldn’t have to travel very far to fill the suddenly open spot and that the program was clearly left in a great place.

So what would a dream Notre Dame coaching staff look like at the end of this coaching search?

Here’s the Notre Dame dream team that Swarbrick can start to piece together:

Notre Dame assistant breaks silence on Brian Kelly

Not always the easiest to take the high road…

In the tidal wave that Brian Kelly leaves at Notre Dame upon him taking the LSU job we’ve heard from the first member of the Fighting Irish coaching staff in regards to the move.

Notre Dame special teams coordinator Brian Polian took to Twitter to share the following in the early hours of Tuesday morning:

For those that don’t know, Polian is a football-lifer.  He’s the son of Bill Polian, the man responsible for building the Buffalo Bills dynasty and was GM of the Indianapolis Colts when they won Super Bowl XLI.

Brian has bounced around the college ranks for more than the last two decades and is certainly aware of how quickly life as a coach can change.

One day you’re plotting out recruiting trips while wondering about College Football Playoffs chances and the next you’re left wondering if you’ll have a job whenever a new head coach is officially hired.

Polian was also a member of Charlie Weis’s staff at Notre Dame from 2005-2009 before becoming an assistant for Jim Harbaugh at Stanford.

Related:

How Notre Dame players reacted to Brian Kelly news

Kelly’s text to Notre Dame players about departure

So who’s next? 10 possible targets to be Notre Dame’s next head coach

Photo gallery: Brian Kelly through the years at Notre Dame

Notre Dame’s latest national bowl projections

Notre Dame mourns loss of Blue & Gold senior editor Lou Somogyi

The Notre Dame writing community just lost a giant.

Whatever team you root for, there always is someone who has a deeper knowledge of it than you could dream of. Consequently, that person wins the utmost respect of people connected to the team. In the case of Notre Dame athletics, that person was Blue & Gold senior editor Lou Smogyi. Sadly, Smogyi died suddenly of an apparent heart attack Saturday at age 58.

The news was shocking to many in the Notre Dame athletics community, and Twitter tributes began to pour in. Among those expressing sadness were Brian Kelly, Mike Brey, Tommy Rees, Ryan Humphrey, Brian Polian, and Jack Nolan:

It never is easy to lose someone with encyclopedic knowledge about the thing they love. Those of us who write about Notre Dame know that we never will be able to duplicate what Somogyi contributed during his time covering the Irish. However, we can honor his legacy by striving for the excellence he did, and we owe at least that much to you readers.

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let the perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

Defensive Back Recruit Cooper Barkate Gets Offer From Notre Dame

Much of the hype surrounding Cooper Barkate has surrounded his receiving skills.

Much of the hype surrounding Cooper Barkate has surrounded his receiving skills. After all, there are a few videos out there celebrating that aspect of his game. However, he is equally valued while playing in the secondary. Brian Polian and Marcus Freeman recognize this and want him at Notre Dame, where he could team up with Kyle Hamilton if Hamilton stays in South Bend through his senior season.

Barkate, who hails from Santa Ana, California, and plays at Mater Dei after spending his first two football seasons with St. Margaret’s Episcopal, has received plenty of offers already. Notre Dame is the 18th school to offer him an opportunity to suit up. Six of the eight Ivy League schools have reached out to him, so he obviously has the smarts to go to a prestigious college. The other offers he’s received are from Purdue, Nebraska, Kansas, Utah, Oregon, Arkansas, Virginia Tech, Hawaii, UNLV, Arizona State and Illinois State.

 

Polian heads out to Utah for newest Notre Dame offer to stud athlete

Recruiting never sleeps and Notre Dame recruiting coordinator has found a big time athlete in Utah and offered him yesterday.

The second offer out to a defender since Marcus Freeman took over as defensive coordinator went out to Utah’s Lander Barton, a very impressive athlete who most likely will end up as an outside linebacker.

 

Although recruiting coordinator Brian Polian is leading his recruitment, Barton surely fits the mold that Freeman is looking for in his defense.

After reviewing the six-foot-four-inch and 220-pound linebackers film, there isn’t much to complain about. Barton flies around the field, showing his sideline-to-sideline speed, which will undoubtedly translate over to the collegiate level. The speed is shown off again when Barton blitzes off the edge, punishing offensive players and showing active hands when he arrives to ball-carriers. He’s no slouch at picking passes off either, with very good coverage skills. This shows that Barton will most likely be a three-down linebacker when he hits the field in college.

Notre Dame has identified a great prospect as Barton already holds offers from Oregon, Stanford, Washington and others. This is a great offer and I personally hope to see Barton ultimately end up donning the Blue and Gold.

Notre Dame Lands Walk-on Commitment From Kicker Christopher Salerno

In general, kickers don’t attract much attention on the recruiting scale unless they have otherworldly talent.

In general, kickers don’t attract much attention on the recruiting scale unless they have otherworldly talent. Still, with college kickers seemingly only being useful for so long, it never hurts to keep your options open. On Wednesday, Notre Dame will have one such option next season in Christopher Salerno, brother of current Irish punt returner Matt Salerno:

Like his brother, Salerno is from Crespi Carmelite in Valencia, California. When not on the gridiron, he’s also played soccer and lacrosse. Though also listed as a receiver, he definitely was recruited for his kicking. Why else would he have named Brian Polian in his announcement?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PF1SgXBC9Vk

Matt Salerno is responsible for 10 of the Irish’s 14 punt returns this season, averaging 4.5 yards a return. He spent most of his first two seasons in South Bend on the bench before finally finding a role on special teams. Luckily for him, special teams appear to run deep in the family, so he’ll get to show his younger brother what it means to play at Notre Dame. Perhaps he’ll even help Christopher earn a scholarship.

Michigan State RB Commit Audric Estime Receives Offer From Notre Dame

Notre Dame has had a fine season with its ground game thanks to Kyren Williams.

Notre Dame has had a fine season with its ground game thanks to Kyren Williams. The Irish seem bent on keeping the running back position solid for years to come. They made that clear after making an offer to Michigan State four-star commit Audric Estime. This also might be insurance in case they lose running back commit Logan Diggs, who got an offer last week from LSU:

Estime is a senior at St. Joseph Regional High School in Montvale, New Jersey. His strong season caught the attention of Irish running backs coach Lance Taylor. Estime also cited special teams coordinator Brian Polian when discussing the offer. It’s unknown whether Estime will sign with either Notre Dame or Michigan State this week, but the pressure to make a decision could come soon.

Estime would be a solid addition to a corps already featuring Williams, Chris Tyree and C’Bo Flemister. The downside is with all of that talent is that it might force Estime to wait his turn to get to the top of the depth chart. In that case, it might be more beneficial for him to stick with the Spartans. Whatever happens, the Irish have made it clear they value him, so there’s a lot to take into consideration.

Notre Dame adds yet another to 2021 recruiting class

What a week for Notre Dame on the recruiting front as they’ve now added four commitments with their latest coming from the Aloha State.

It’s been quite the week for Notre Dame on the recruiting front as they’ve now landed three commitments to the 2021 class in the last four days.

The latest adds depth to the linebacker position in 2021 and comes from The Aloha State.

Kahanu Kia, outside linebacker from Honolulu (Punahou), became the 22nd commitment to Notre Dame’s class as he made his decision official on Thursday.

Kia told Blue Gold Illustrated that his recent visit to campus during the weekend of the Clemson game made all the difference in him choosing Notre Dame over Utah, which is not only easier to get to from Hawaii than South Bend, but also where his father played in the mid-nineties.

Related:  Meet the Entire 2021 Notre Dame Recruiting Class

Kia ultimately chose Notre Dame over Utah as well as Stanford and UCLA and also added that the academics the University offers put it over the top compared to the other finalists.

 

5 Instant Takeaways from No. 3 Notre Dame’s win at Pitt

Notre Dame got bad injury news earlier in the week but came out firing on almost all cylinders in their rout of Pittsburgh. Takeaways here.

Good vibes were not being had by many after the injury report on wide receiver Kevin Austin came out early Saturday afternoon, but Notre Dame was able to answer the bell and cruise to a dominating win over Pitt, ______.

It wasn’t perfect but it was a pretty stellar showing for the third ranked Irish, one week after they were unimpressive in their win over Louisville.

What do you take away from the team that made a Pitt team that had started 3-0 before now dropping their fourth straight game, all in ACC play?

Here are five instant takeaways from the Notre Dame win, starting with Tommy Rees.

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