Business is business but it can’t be fun coaching against your son…can it?
Notre Dame has announced 11 of their 12 games for the 2024 football season. One of those 11 will be played at home, offer the Fighting Irish chance at some revenge from a 2023 loss, and feature a father versus son battle.
Safety Daeh McCullough was a four-star recruit in the 2023 recruiting cycle and spent last season at Oklahoma. He entered the transfer portal following this regular season and announced he’ll be playing in 2024 at Louisville.
Daeh is the son of Notre Dame’s running backs coach, [autotag]Deland McCullough[/autotag] who has held the post each of the last two seasons.
So when Louisville comes to Notre Dame September 28 next year it will feature a father-son competition.
Congrats on making the decision and all the best of luck in 2024. We hope Daeh balls out, even on September 28 but we hope that he makes the trip back to Kentucky that night holding an L that doesn’t stand for Louisville.
You know you are doing well when three of your assistant coaches are named finalists for an award, which is exactly what happened to Notre Dame.
Running backs coach [autotag]Deland McCullough[/autotag], defensive back coach [autotag]Mike Mickens[/autotag], and defensive backs / safeties coach [autotag]Chris O’Leary[/autotag] were all named to Football Scoops Coach of the Year final list.
McCullough is being credited for the play of Aurdic Estime, who rushed for 1,341 yards and 18 touchdowns on the year. The junior running back has declared for the NFL and looks to be one of the first off the board at his position.
As for Mickens and O’Leary, the exploits of safety Xavier Watts, who won the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, along with Benjamin Morrison’s play showed everyone that they are two of the best in the country.
If I had to guess who was most likely to win the award, it would be O’Leary, as he gets the most credit for the success of the secondary.
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Notre Dame is losing an assistant coach, this one being Jeremy Larkin. According to Football Scoop, Larkin is headed to Youngstown State to coach running backs. Larkin was a full-time assistant on Marcus Freeman’s staff this past season as he worked as an analyst, high school relations, and helped in recruiting.
Larkin is a former Northwestern running back who previously worked as a graduate assistant on Pat Fitzgerald’s staff in Evanston. As the former running back now goes to coach his own running backs group he does so having worked closely with one of the best of those, Notre Dame running backs coach [autotag]Deland McCullough[/autotag].
Larkin rushed for 849 yards and 10 touchdowns between 2017 and 2018 at Northwestern.
The #Chiefs recently hosted former assistant coach Deland McCullough at the team practice facility for a visit. | from @EdEastonJr
The legacy of the Kansas City Chiefs’ growth over the past few years, becoming perennial Super Bowl contenders, was a complete franchise effort beyond the field. Many coordinators, former coaches, and players have returned over the years in either a working capacity or to visit, maintaining the camaraderie forged on the gridiron.
Deland McCullough served as the Chiefs running backs coach from 2018 – 2020, contributing to the team’s Super Bowl LIV victory over the San Francisco 49ers. The former position coach for Kansas City spent two seasons as an active player in the NFL in the late 1990s, including a practice squad stint for the Philadelphia Eagles in 1997 coached by Andy Reid.
McCullough recently returned to Kansas City for a visit to the Chiefs’ practice facility. He tweeted out photos with Travis Kelce, Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Patrick Mahomes, who all appeared to be in attendance for Phase 2 of the offseason workout program.
“It’s all love in the Chiefs Kingdom!!! Had to holla at my guys while in town,” McCullough wrote on Twitter. “Thanks Coach Reid for letting me slide thru. Appreciate these dudes.”
It’s all love in the Chiefs Kingdom!!! Had to holla at my guys while in town. Thanks Coach Reid for letting me slide thru. Appreciate these dudes✊🏾☘️ pic.twitter.com/FP4DDsKwt4
McCullough became the associate head coach for the Indiana Hoosiers after departing Kansas City following Super Bowl LV. He has since moved onto his current role as the running backs coach of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The Chiefs’ appreciation for their former assistant coach is evident and a reminder of the culture instilled within the organization, even for those who are no longer working for the team.
It’s always fun to hear and see what happens during a [autotag]Notre Dame[/autotag] football practice. We got a glimpse of that today as Irish running back coach [autotag]Deland McCullough[/autotag] was mic’d up during a conditioning session.
Even though McCullough’s playing days are far from over, it still looks like he spends plenty of time in the weight room. He also participates in some drills, which is also impressive.
You can see the excitement and how demanding this can be. It mixes in strength and conditioning while making contests out of the drills.
Although it is a bit different than an actual practice, it’s still intense and lively. Just watch for yourself.
As [autotag]Notre Dame[/autotag] is still getting ready to start their spring practice, evaluations of prospects are still happening and offers are being sent out.
The Irish coaching staff has made their decision on 2025 Virginia athlete [autotag]Gideon Davidson[/autotag], and it resulted in a scholarship offer. The three-sport athlete tweeted out Friday afternoon that after a conversation with head coach [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag], an offer was made.
Although Gideon is considered an athlete, most likely he will end up as a running back. His frame at 6-foot, 193 pounds and tagging of running back coach [autotag]Deland McCullough[/autotag] most likely confirm that offense is in the future for him.
Gideon is rated as a 4-star, top 8 running back in the country and 64th overall player nationally according to the 247Sports composite in the 2025 class.
The Sooners earned a commitment from 2023 four-star safety Daeh McCullough. From @john9williams
The Oklahoma Sooners 2023 recruiting class received a boost on Monday night with the commitment of four-star safety [autotag]Daeh McCullough[/autotag].
McCullough flips from the Cincinnati Bearcats, with whom he’d been committed since August. With Luke Fickell leaving Cincinnati for Wisconsin, the opportunity arose for the Sooners to add an impact safety to the 2023 class.
The McCullough brothers are the sons of Deland McCullough, who currently coaches running backs at Notre Dame. Prior to landing his gig with the Fighting Irish, Deland was the running backs coach with Indiana. No longer there, the McCulloughs sought opportunities elsewhere, and Oklahoma was able to add two talented defenders.
Here’s what “Locked On Hoosiers” Jacob Rude and Sports Illustrated’s John Garcia had to say about the younger McCullough following his decommitment from Indiana this summer. There are some thoughts on the older McCullough from the two as well.
Just last week, the Sooners were projected to flip Daeh McCullough from the Bearcats. Now those projections have become a reality. Here’s what I had to say about what he brings to Brent Venables’ defense when the projections first hit.
On Daeh, the four-star safety brings good size at 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds. McCullough plays fast, coming downhill in a hurry in run support from single-high safety looks. Playing both ways for St. Joseph’s High School, Daeh shows off good ball skills, attacking the ball in the air and knows what to do with it when he has it in his hands. He times his blitzes well as both a pass rusher and run defender. He’s sticky in man coverage and able to carry players across the formation.
With the early signing period less than two weeks away, Oklahoma looks to close the 2023 recruiting class in a big way. Peyton Bowen and David Hicks are the big names the Sooners remain in contention for, but there will likely be a few surprises as well.
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Something had to give, as the Irish just accepted their 27th commitment of the class yesterday when Virginia athlete [autotag]Brandyn Hillman[/autotag] announced his commitment. It left many, including myself, how many players [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] would ultimately sign in the 2023 cycle.
Things have a way of working out and that’s exactly what happened today as Kansas running back [autotag]Dylan Edwards[/autotag] has decommitted from Notre Dame. The back had been committed to the Irish since August and went on to have a very impressive senior campaign and the timing of this decommitment is very odd as Freeman and running backs coach [autotag]Deland McCullough[/autotag] had just visited Edwards earlier in the week.
It’s an unfortunate turn of evens but the Irish aren’t left without other options. They still have [autotag]Jayden Limar[/autotag], Hillman and [autotag]Jeremiyah Love[/autotag] who can all play running back in the class.
Who do you think the Buckeyes should target in the portal?
The transfer portal is full-on crazy right now, with over 700 FBS players potentially changing schools and growing. It’s an absurd number and honestly a scary one. In the ideal scenario, each one of these student-athletes would get a chance to play for another school, but unfortunately, that won’t be the case.
Every school has different needs, some of them use the portal as a way to jump-start a program and others use it to fill gaps left by players who have either left early for the NFL or themselves have entered the portal.
For [autotag]Ohio State[/autotag], it’s the ability to round out a roster and fill some gaps. The Buckeyes recruit at such a high level, the needs aren’t paramount, and filling the gaps is all that is needed. Find out below which prospects I’d love to see in the Scarlet and Gray next fall.
The Irish have had some clear and obvious misses in recruiting and they have shown this fall by some lack of depth at important positions. Here are five recruits that committed elsewhere that Notre Dame wishes they could have had during last seasons cycle.
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