Tag: Greg Bryant

Notre Dame Football’s History of August Games

Let’s take a quick look back at five times Notre Dame has played in August, something that dates back to 1989.

Notre Dame helps kick off the college football season this weekend as the Irish will be in Ireland to take on Navy.  It’s rare that Notre Dame has kicked off a football season in Ireland but less that they have in August. The Irish have played a handful of times historically in the year’s eighth month and fared well.

So how well exactly have things gone for Notre Dame in August?  Check out below how the Irish have fared in those five games as we’ll see if they can add another victory to the list in 2023 as they open the season in Saturday against Navy.

 

Notre Dame’s top-rated running back recruits since 2000

What would happen if Notre Dame’s recruiting of the running back position could meet what it does on the offensive line?

Notre Dame has long been known for fielding a solid running game on an annual basis. [autotag]Jerome Bettis[/autotag], [autotag]Ricky Watters[/autotag], [autotag]Reggie Brooks[/autotag], [autotag]Ray Zellars[/autotag], [autotag]Autry Denson[/autotag] and [autotag]Allen Pinkett[/autotag] come to mind from yesteryear. Stars [autotag]Kyren Williams[/autotag], [autotag]Josh Adams[/autotag] and [autotag]Theo Riddick[/autotag] wowed crowds over the last decade.

It’s been a long time however since Notre Dame has brought in what would be considered top-tier talent at the position with regularity. Sure, Adams, [autotag]Tony Jones, Jr[/autotag] and some others have earned NFL paychecks over the last decade, it’s been a long while since Notre Dame produced Julius Jones, the last Irish running back to be more than simply a role-playing back in the NFL. Perhaps Williams will change that with the Rams, but time will only tell.

So what has Notre Dame’s recruiting at running back looked like the last two-plus decades?

Here are the top 30 Notre Dame running back recruits since 2000 according to 247Sports. It is worth noting some of these players wound up changing positions once getting to South Bend.

Greg Bryant’s death still stings six years later

Still stings to think about this one…

It was Mother’s Day weekend in 2016 when the shocking news came out of West Palm Beach, Florida that former Notre Dame running back [autotag]Greg Bryant[/autotag], Jr. had been shot and ultimately killed.

You can discuss the what’s, how’s and why’s to this for days on end and not come up with anything that makes any sense.  It was shocking and made no sense then.

Six years later it still stings to think about and still lacks any answers.

Bryant wasn’t perfect – none of us are.

He was a young man who happened to be a really gifted football player who was adored by his teammates.

His second season at Notre Dame in 2014 he took a significant step, scoring three rushing touchdowns and at the time, recording the longest punt return of the [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] era at Notre Dame.  Notre Dame’s second-leading rusher in 2014 seemed primed to take a leap in ’15.

2015 never came for Bryant at Notre Dame though as he was ruled ineligible and left campus, stopping at a junior college in Miami before announcing his commitment to the restarted UAB football program.

While home from UAB on Mother’s Day weekend Bryant was out late before the shooting took place.  Is that important to mention where he was?  Some say yes because perhaps it helps tell the story they’re hoping to tell despite knowing any exact facts.

To me, Bryant went to a place that plenty of 21 years old males have attended before and plenty more continue to do.  Some people like to act like he was asking for trouble by doing such a thing, but was whatever went down worth taking someone’s life over?

I don’t know what happened there or after he left but I do know whatever it was, it certainly wasn’t worth a 21-year-old man losing his life.

I don’t know if Greg Bryant, Jr. would have made the NFL but he was on his to graduating from college, something he never wound up getting the chance to do.

Greg Bryant, Jr. never got a chance to walk down the aisle and get married.

Greg Bryant, Jr. never got to see his middle years and share nights reliving the glory days with his old high school buddies.

Greg Bryant, Jr. never got the chance to be a father and impact his child’s life as positively as his father did for him.

It stung then and still stings just as much now when you take a moment to remember Bryant.

With the untimely passings in recent years of both Josh and [autotag]George Atkinson[/autotag] and [autotag]Louis Nix[/autotag], III just over a year ago, this time of year serves as a reminder of just how precious life is.

See photos from Bryant’s time at Notre Dame below.

Worst Notre Dame loss under Brian Kelly

What’s been the Irish’s worst showing under their current coach?

Brian Kelly is entering his 12th season as Notre Dame coach. He needs only four wins to pass Knute Rockne for the most in program history. Along the way, he has accumulated 39 losses. The worst came during the Irish’s annual meeting with USC in the 2014 regular-season finale.

The Irish entered the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on a three-game losing streak, including their final two contests at Notre Dame Stadium. It didn’t help that the defense was ravaged by injuries. The Trojans didn’t care about any of that as they dominated early and never looked back in a 49-14 win.

USC jumped out to a 35-0 lead late in the second quarter. Malik Zaire, whom Kelly substituted for the struggling Everett Golson, ran for an 11-yard touchdown soon after to keep the goose egg off the Irish’s side of the scoreboard before halftime. Late in the third, Greg Bryant, Notre Dame’s leading rusher for 79 yards on seven carries, had a 1-yard touchdown run. By then, however, the Trojans not only had finished their scoring, but became the first team ever to throw six touchdown passes against the Irish.

Golson turned in his worst performance of the season, completing seven of 18 passes for 75 yards and one interception. He and Zaire particularly had a tough time with Trojans linebacker J.R. Tavai, who recorded three-and-a-half sacks and forced a lost fumble. It’s a miracle that the Irish only turned the ball over twice.

2014 had a happy ending for Notre Dame as a month later, it defeated LSU in the Music City Bowl, 31-28. Still, it had to be hard to forget that poor showing in Los Angeles. Perhaps using that game as motivation, the Irish have won four of the five meetings since. Hey, whatever gets you ready to play.

Notre Dame: Top Ten Most-Viewed Stories of May

What were the stories you all read the most over the last month? Find out here.

We’re a couple days late to the party but it’s worth recapping the month of May here at Fighting Irish Wire as we share with you what our ten most-viewed stories of the month were.

First off a big thank you to a few people for making us reach unexpectedly high numbers during a month that again saw no live college sports.

Mike Chen has been doing a great job with recruiting news and keeping an eye on what a lot of the nation is saying about everything related to Notre Dame football.

Geoffrey Clark continues to grow and take more chances which has resulted in his best work to date with us.

Jeff Feyerer remains a constant to bounce ideas off of and a key part of talking sense into some of my weaker thoughts.

And you.  Seriously, as cheesy and corny as it may sound a huge thank you goes to you all for reading our site regularly and continuing to help it grow during an incredibly challenging time in an amount of ways that only continues to grow.  Thank you.

Here is your list of the top ten most viewed stories at Fighting Irish Wire in May:

10.  Greg Bryant’s death still stings four years later

9.  Confidence Picks for the 2020 Notre Dame Football Season

8.  Notre Dame’s best teams to not win a national championship

7.  Where Notre Dame ranks in pair of new pre-season polls

6.  No Stanford or USC for Notre Dame this fall?

5.  Notre Dame makes scholarship offer to son of former Fighting Irish star

4.  Top 10 College Football Helmets

3.  Rivals: Brian Kelly a great hire, Notre Dame to join super-conference?

2.  Notre Dame to limit attendance for 2020 home football games

Most Viewed Story of May:  The eight football opponents Notre Dame has never beat

You guys really like lists as 40% of that list consists of a list in some capacity.  We’ll take note of that as we get going in June.  Let’s make it a great month.

 

Greg Bryant, Jr.’s Death Still Stings Four Years Later

It’s been four years since former Notre Dame running back Greg Bryant, Jr. needlessly lost his life in a case that remains unsolved.

It was Mother’s Day weekend in 2016 when shocking news came out of West Palm Beach, Florida that former Notre Dame running back Greg Bryant, Jr. had been shot and ultimately killed.

You can discuss the what’s, how’s and why’s to this for days on end and not come up with anything that makes any sense.  It was shocking and made no sense then.

Four years later it still stings to think about and still lacks any answers.

Bryant wasn’t perfect – none of us are.

He was a young man who happened to be a really gifted football player that had teammates who adored him.

His second season at Notre Dame in 2014 he took a significant step, scoring three rushing touchdowns and at the time, recording the longest punt return of the Brian Kelly era at Notre Dame.  Notre Dame’s second leading rusher in 2014 seemed primed to take a leap in ’15.

2015 never came for Bryant at Notre Dame though as he was ruled ineligible and left campus, stopping at a junior college in Miami before announcing his commitment to the restarted UAB football program.

While home from UAB on Mother’s Day weekend Bryant was out late before the shooting took place.  Is that important to mention where he was?  Some say yes because perhaps it helps tell the story they’re hoping to tell despite knowing any exact facts.

To me Bryant went to a place that plenty of 21 years old males have attended before and plenty more continue to do.  Some people out there like to act like he was asking for trouble by doing such a thing, but was whatever went down worth taking someone’s life over?

I don’t know what happened there or after he left but I do know whatever it was, it certainly wasn’t worth a 21 year old man losing his life.

I don’t know if Greg Bryant, Jr. would have made the NFL but was on his to graduating from college, something he never wound up getting the chance to do.

Greg Bryant, Jr. never got a chance to walk down the aisle and get married.

Greg Bryant, Jr. never got to see his middle years and share nights reliving the glory days with his old high school buddies.

Greg Bryant, Jr. never got the chance to be a father and impact his child’s life as positively as his father did for him.

It stung then and still stings just as much now when you take a moment to remember Bryant.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZZVDVPbW7A&w=560&h=315]