Tag: eric hansen

Social media reacts to Notre Dame walk-on scoring game-tying touchdown

Bet you didn’t have him scoring.

As far as Notre Dame walk-ons go, it’s gonna be tough to top [autotag]Rudy Ruettiger[/autotag] in terms of notoriety. But it’s a lot easier to pass Ruettiger in on-field performance if you have a chance to play. [autotag]Jordan Faison[/autotag] got that chance in the second quarter against Louisville, and he came up at a big time. Two plays after making his first collegiate catch, he caught a 36-yard touchdown pass from [autotag]Sam Hartman[/autotag] to tie the game:

Whatever happens the rest of this game, Faison will have this moment forever. Not everyone in his position has this particular opportunity, and he made the most of his. If he has a few more plays like this, he’ll be listed on the depth chart every week. Not bad for someone whose main sport is lacrosse.

While Faison is waiting, he can read these and other reactions that were posted to social media after his touchdown:

Cole Kmet set to graduate from Notre Dame

Congrats, Cole!

It always is inspiring to see a professional athlete who left college early come back to finish their degree. Notre Dame football has had many of those in recent years, including [autotag]Jerome Bettis[/autotag], [autotag]Jaylon Smith[/autotag] and [autotag]Stephon Tuitt[/autotag]. Now, it’s [autotag]Cole Kmet[/autotag]’s turn.

Ahead of commencement at Notre Dame this weekend, Eric Hansen of InsideNDSports wrote a piece about Kmet’s academic journey. With three years as a Chicago Bears tight end under his belt, he returned to South Bend in January and moved in with his brother, [autotag]Casey Kmet[/autotag], a starting infielder on the baseball team. One semester later, he will have his degree in political science.

The next former Irish player to join the delayed graduate club appears to be [autotag]Kyle Hamilton[/autotag], who began working towards that goal during the past semester after his rookie season with the Baltimore Ravens. It’s great to know so many current and former NFL players, no matter what university they went to, are going back to finish what they started. It certainly will do a lot to dispel the notion that college athletes who turn pro early don’t care about their studies.

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Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

No decision made yet on Kyle Hamilton for Fiesta Bowl

Will he or won’t he play?

It’s essentially a forgone conclusion that Notre Dame star safety Kyle Hamilton won’t be a part of the 2022 Fighting Irish football team as most assume he’ll be among the first 10 players taken in the 2022 NFL draft.  Has Hamilton played his final game at Notre Dame or will he play in the Fiesta Bowl to close the 2021 season on New Year’s Day?

New Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman was asked exactly that by Eric Hansen of the South Bend Tribune during Monday’s introductory press conference and said that decision hasn’t yet been made.

“I’ve communicated clearly with Kyle that his health is the number-one importance for any decision we make,” Freeman said, “Whatever is best for him and best for his health I’m going to support.” – Marcus Freeman

I’ve thought all along that Hamilton played his last down in blue and gold when he had the scary knee injury against USC and I support and understand why he’d make that decision.

In nothing else besides selfish reasons however, I’d be lying if I said I really didn’t want to see him play one more game for Notre Dame.

Stay tuned as we’ll certainly find out more about Hamilton’s availability as the Fiesta Bowl date on New Year’s Day with Oklahoma State draws nearer.

Related:

Marcus Freeman discusses wild week that was with Dan Patrick

Notre Dame OC Tommy Rees talks all things Fiesta Bowl

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Notre Dame vs. Alabama, eight years later is there a difference?

It’s been eight years since Alabama and Notre Dame faced off against each other, is there a difference between the two programs since?

The quick turnaround from Championship weekend to the College Football Playoffs and the subsequent matchup for Notre Dame against Alabama has many of us thinking about their last matchup in 2012. The Crimson Tide handled the Irish to a tune of 42-14, a mark that many Notre Dame fans want to forget.

In the eight years since their last meeting, both sides have made changes. Alabama and Nick Saban used to rely on a devastating defense and a ground-and-pound offense. They’re now a vertical passing offense with a much more athletic defense. The Irish have changed as well, but will it be enough to make a difference this time around?

The South Bend Tribune’s Eric Hansen looked into if the Irish have closed the gap  between them and the Tide, and it seems like no school has been able to do it. Hansen noted that the Tide have added championships in 2015 and 2017 since their beating of Notre Dame, with their recruiting making the biggest difference.

Saban continually signs big time prospects, 75 Rivals top 100 players in the time frame since their last meeting, while Kelly has signed just 25. For context, the other two playoff participants, Ohio State and Clemson, have signed 66 and 40 respectively.

Recruiting isn’t an exact science, but it’s a good judge of the kind of talent a team possess. What this shows is that Alabama continues to widen the gap between themselves and the rest of the nation.

But they aren’t unbeatable. Any team that expects compete with the Tide will have to bring their A-game, A+ in fact.

It’s not all about recruiting however, it’s also about developing that talent, something that Notre Dame can hang their hat on. Yes, they haven’t been bringing in the top 100 guys like the other three CFP schools, but what they have done is develop at a high level.

Hansen singles out the latest Butkus Award winner, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramaoh, a signing day flip who was a 3-star out of Virginia. He goes on to note that “Oklahoma and Notre Dame are the two schools that are producing well above their recruiting grades,” a sign that Kelly has been able to take the lower rated players and coach them up.

This year the Irish have been playing above their “recruiting rankings” due to sticking to a very solid game-plan, controlling the ball. They’ll need to get back to their ways after it failed them against Clemson in the ACC Championship game. If an upset against Alabama is in the cards, the Irish will need to keep the Tide’s uber-talented offense on the sidelines.

There is a difference between the two programs since their last meeting on the field. The question still remains, will it be enough for an Irish upset?

Notre Dame Press Box Pays Tribute to Vaughn McClure

Even if you haven’t covered Notre Dame football in years, it doesn’t mean you’ve been forgotten.

Even if you haven’t covered Notre Dame football in years, it doesn’t mean you’ve been forgotten. That’s the case with Vaughn McClure, the former Irish reporter for the South Bend Tribune, who died this week at the age of 48. McClure, whose picture was in Notre Dame Stadium’s press box for Saturday’s game against Louisville, wrote about the Irish for both the newspaper and its Irish Sports Report magazine during a tenure that spanned from 1999 to 2004. Since 2013, he had been ESPN’s beat reporter for the Atlanta Falcons.

Eric Hansen, the Tribune’s assistant sports editor and columnist, also used to be the aforementioned magazine’s managing editor. In the paper’s story about McClure, Hansen said the following:

“To try to sum up Vaughn McClure’s impact in a couple of paragraphs is like trying to pour the Pacific Ocean into thimble.

When we hired him in 1999, his goal — his obsession, really — was being better at his craft than the day before. And I’ve never seen someone grow as fast and as dramatically in our business as Vaughn, which isn’t even the most impressive thing about him.

What was? It’s who he was at his core, a man who wanted to make a difference in the world. Through his writing. Through some very frank late-night talks about life in America. Through his hugs. Through his disarming smile.

He didn’t just crush his mission of getting better. He made all of us, who came in contact with him, better people along the way.”

 

Former Notre Dame Star Recounts Racist Encounters at School

Ian Williams played at Notre Dame from ’07-’10. He is making his voice heard now about his encounters and what he hopes protests accomplish.

Ian Williams played defensive tackle at Notre Dame from 2007-2010, recording 13 tackles for loss for the Fighting Irish before being signed by the San Francisco 49ers in 2011.

Williams signed as an undrafted free agent, yet worked his way up to a defensive captain on the squad in 2015.  An ankle injury led to his release by the 49ers in 2016 that resulted in an injury settlement.

Williams bad ankle might not have let him continue playing professional football, but it didn’t stop him from marching and making his voice heard over the weekend.

From Eric Hansen’s piece in the South Bend Tribune:

“I saw an interesting meme on Instagram the other day,” Williams said. “So we all studied the Civil Rights movement. We all studied slavery. We’ve all sat there and thought about what we would do if we lived in that time. 

“Well, we’re doing that right now. Whatever you’d be doing then, we’re doing now. So I want to be able to tell my kids, ‘I wasn’t sitting at home watching TV, scared to go out, scared for my life. Didn’t want to risk anything for other people.” – Ian Williams

On his racist encounters while attending Notre Dame:

“Certain instances happened on campus when you were called the N-word,” he said. “‘What is this N-word doing at my party? Get this N-word out of here. No drinks for the N-words.’ It’s been multiple instances, and you just let stuff slide.

“I can’t fight you and get thrown out. I can’t mess you up, because your parent probably donates and probably paid for one of these buildings over here. So I can’t split your lip and I’m just going to let you be.” – Ian Williams

Williams went on to applaud the current Notre Dame students and players for speaking up on the issues in our society today.  If you’ve got the time it’s worth your time to see what Williams went through at a place we probably like to think such things don’t happen at.