Tag: irish

Notre Dame Football: 7 Reasons to Love Mike Denbrock Hiring

We don’t like it, we love it.

Notre Dame football and Marcus Freeman decided to swing for the fences with their new offensive coordinator search and it appears they connected, launching the pitch out of the ballpark.

Although it hasn’t been made official yet, reports from multiple outlets are out that Notre Dame is set to hire Mike Denbrock from LSU for the same role.

For Denbrock, its a return to his Midwest roots but also Notre Dame where he has had two previous stops.

Notre Dame fans were thrilled upon hearing the news, taking to social media and celebrating in the same way they would following a big win on Saturday.

So why are they so excited?

Here are 7 reasons to love Notre Dame’s hire of Mike Denbrock.

Never A Dull Moment: Gerad Parker Leaving Notre Dame

Notre Dame was handed a gift when Gerad Parker was named head coach at Troy. Find out more about what that means now!

There’s never a dull moment in Notre Dame land. Just when you feel like things have leveled off for the Irish after a chaotic last couple of weeks, boom, more breaking news. This week the news is that Notre Dame offensive coordinator Gerad Parker will soon be named Troy’s head coach.

Around and around we go.

As for the fan base, there are certainly some folks who were excited to see what Parker could do in year 2 at the offensive helm, noting that his offense did average over 39 points-per-game. But the larger majority felt as though the offensive numbers were padded against poor defenses and then the offense struggled to accomplish much against the top-tier defenses faced. So here we sit. For now, quarterbacks coach Gino Guidugli will assume play-calling duties for the bowl game while the search for a replacement ensues.

Let’s examine some things to keep in mind regarding this dynamic.

Notre Dame football: Why to get excited about new quarterback Riley Leonard

Will this finally be the answer at quarterback Notre Dame is looking for?

After a very adventurous early off-season, Notre Dame has officially landed big-bodied former Duke quarterback [autotag]Riley Leonard[/autotag] for the 2024 season. This will be Notre Dame’s third portal quarterback in four years.

Will this one truly be the one that can help the offense be more effective against top-flight defenses? Notre Dame fans hope so. Will the mobility Leonard offers help struggling play-caller Gerad Parker’s vision come to fruition?

While there are still more questions than answers about the Irish offense overall, the staff should be commended for how aggressively they have attacked the portal this year. They wasted no time identifying targets and seem to be operating in high gear. This intensity regarding player acquisition in the modern portal era is a necessity and the Notre Dame staff came to play this cycle.

Great job.

Let’s examine some of the key features Riley brings to South Bend.

Notre Dame cornerback target sets commitment date

Reinforcements coming from the desert?

Just over a week from now Notre Dame could be landing secondary help in their 2025 recruiting class.

One of their top defensive back targets in the class, cornerback Cree Thomas of Phoenix (Ariz.) Brophy College Prep has set his commitment date for November 20.

Notre Dame makes his list of finalists, as does every team that has offered him.  Oregon, Wisconsin, Arizona, Arizona State, Boston College, Cal, Colorado State, Nevada, Purdue, San Diego State and UNLV all offered Thomas and appear on his list of finalists as well.

Thomas has six interceptions so far this season and has played a significant role in Brophy’s season as they sit two wins from a trip to the state championship game.

Brophy is graded as a three-star prospect by 247Sports and the 29th overall cornerback in the 2025 recruiting class according to the same outlet.

For what it’s worth, all three crystal ball predictions that have been submitted on 247Sports have Brophy ultimately picking Notre Dame.

Notre Dame lands big-time receiver through transfer portal

Big get for Notre Dame next year!

Much needed help is on the way for the Notre Dame wide receiver corps.

On Tuesday, senior-to-be Kris Mitchell announced that he has committed to play his final year of college football at Notre Dame in 2024.

Mitchell comes from Florida International University where he led all of Conference USA in receiving yards this year with 1,118.  That was on 64-receptions as he also scored six touchdowns.

This comes just days after a mass exodus at receiver for Notre Dame.  Mitchell brings a speed element that will significantly soften the blow of losing both Chris Tyree and Tobias Merriweather.

Mitchell has just one year of eligibility remaining.  The 6-1, 175-pounder will join Jayden Thomas and Deion Colzie in that regard as Notre Dame certainly isn’t done looking to add more at receiver in the portal.

Report: Tyler Buchner is headed back to Notre Dame

Could he win two national championships in the next six months?

What’s old is new again at Notre Dame.

Former Fighting Irish starting quarterback Tyler Buchner, who transferred to Alabama last spring, is transferring back to continue his athletic career at Notre Dame.

Just it won’t be on the football field.

Buchner, who was a star lacrosse player as well as quarterback in high school, will be back at Notre Dame but this time as a member of the national powerhouse lacrosse program.

Terry Foy of Inside Lacrosse first had the news on Monday.

So realistically speaking, Buchner could win a national championship in football with Alabama next month, transfer to Notre Dame, and win a national championship in a different sport in the spring.

Welcome back, kid!

Notre Dame football: Oregon State down two quarterbacks for Sun Bowl

Don’t expect a shootout in El Paso…

Notre Dame finishes the 2023 season as for the second time in program history they’ll head to the Sun Bowl.  There they’ll play Oregon State, a team they’ve met twice all-time, losing both games.

This game seems to set up a bit better for Notre Dame, however.  At least at the quarterback position.

Beavers starting quarterback DJ Uiagalelei had already announced that he was entering the transfer portal, making him unavailable for the bowl game.  Now Oregon State’s second-string quarterback, Aidan Chiles, is entering the portal as well.

So Oregon State will be playing with their third string quarterback seemingly while Notre Dame may have to take guys off the street to dress at wide receiver.

By all accounts, Sam Hartman is expected to play for the Irish.

Stay tuned and get in on the under early!

Report: Notre Dame has found their next wide receivers coach

Thoughts?

It appears Notre Dame has found their new wide receivers coach.

Less than a week after parting ways with Chansi Stuckey, the Irish are headed back to Wisconsin for another assistant.

Back to Wisconsin via Cincinnati, anyway.

According to reports from 247Sports and Bucky’s 5th Quarter, Notre Dame will be hiring Mike Brown to be their next wide receivers coach.  Brown coached the receivers at Wisconsin this season after having spent the previous four seasons at Cincinnati.

The Cincinnati connection is worth noting not just because of Marcus Freeman but also because of quarterbacks coach Gino Guidugli whose time overlapped with Brown.  Both followed Luke Fickell to Wisconsin although Guidugli left for Notre Dame before coaching any games.

Brown played at Liberty University before spending three seasons in the NFL.

We will have more on this story as it develops.

Notre Dame Football – As Season Ends, Questions Begin

Time for the Irish to get back to work…

It feels like just yesterday we were grinding through the dog days of summer begging for college football to start back up again. Just as fast as it all started, it’s now over, and Notre Dame has finished their regular season at 9-3 with more ups and downs than the newest roller coaster at your local Six Flags.

With the season complete, Irish fans are now asking what comes next. This applies to both bowl season this year and into next year as well. There are a lot of moving parts and I suspect more to come. This year featured lots of things to really appreciate and enjoy, it’s just unfortunate that in the big picture, the deficiencies that led to the 3 losses on the ledger weigh down the positivity, justifiably so.

Let’s examine the three big questions Irish fans have now that the regular season has concluded.

Notre Dame Football: Irish Down the Tree to Finish 9-3

What do we make of Notre Dame’s dominating end to the 2023 regular season?

After overcoming a bit of a slow start on the road, which was a worrisome trend all year, Notre Dame ended up doing just as they should and downed Stanford 56-23 in sleepy Palo Alto. The presentation of the game felt odd as it was occurring during the Pac 12 Network’s 3-hour funeral eulogy.

With the feeling of finality in the air and literally on it as well, Notre Dame fans were in their thoughts late last night as evidenced by the calls I took on the post-game show. Things quickly turned from Stanford to the big picture with Irish fans pondering where exactly the team finished, how they arrived there, and what comes next. All fair thoughts given a frustrating up-and-down year.

Let’s take a look at three major takeaways from the last game Notre Dame will likely ever play against a Pac 12 opponent.