Tag: irish

Duke names their starting QB against Notre Dame

The Blue Devils gave up some valuable intel when they announced their season opening quarterback. Advantage Irish.

Clemson has been a quarterback factory, with many of them highly ranked who can’t crack the starting lineup transferring to different programs. Duke was the benefactor of Trevor Lawrence’s greatness, as Chase Brice transferred to Durham looking for an opportunity to start. Well, that opportunity has become reality, as Duke named Brice their starter.

The Irish will face a former 3-star recruit who in limited playing time behind Lawrence completed 82-of-136 passes for 1,023 yards and 9 TD’s with 4 INT’s. Brice also rushed for 187 yards and 1 TD on 30 attempts.

Duke struggled at the quarterback position last year after first round pick Daniel Jones went off the to NFL. Brice is a solid quarterback, but obviously is not Lawrence and will not have the talented skill position players Clemson has at their disposal.

Now that Clark Lea and the rest of this defensive staff know who they are going up against they can properly game plan for Brice. Honestly, this isn’t the smartest decision by Duke head coach David Cutcliffe. He could have announced to the team his intentions, and not make it known to everyone, giving Duke an advantage without the Irish knowing who would be behind center the first snap. Now this is a wash, as Brian Kelly and Lea will surely be looking over old Clemson tape to get a feel for what Brice can do. Duke’s announcement is Notre Dame’s gain in this situation.

Irish offer class of 2022 Florida Safety Rowser

Notre Dame offers former Michigan commit Myles Rowser who now preps in Florida.

The Notre Dame football staff saw their class of 2022 work finally be rewarded last week as offensive tackle Joey Tanona and tight end Jack Nickel became the first two verbal commits for the class. As the recruiting cycle continues, so do the efforts of the Irish as they last night offered Florida safety Myles Rowser.

A Michigan native, who just recently moved to IMG Academy to get ready for his collegiate career. Rowser has already committed once, to home state Michigan, but opted to reopen his recruitment. The 6-foot-1-inch and 185-pound safety already holds 22 offers including Florida, Penn State and obviously Michigan. He will not be afraid to return to play his collegiate football in the Midwest, but it seems like Rowser could have the ability to play in almost any region.

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The Irish hope that a return to the Midwest is the case, more specifically South Bend. Rowser is currently ranked as the 151st overall player nationally and the 10th ranked safety by the 247Sports composite. The Irish are making some waves in the 2022 class, and a future addition of Rowser would be more than welcome.

Fighting Irish Football returns to the practice field

The Notre Dame Football team returned to the practice field in preparation for the 2020 season yesterday.

Since Notre Dame has announced that none of their players tested positive for COVID-19, it seemed safe to be able to get back onto the practice field but with precautions. That’s exactly what happened yesterday as Brian Kelly led his team back to work.

The hype video showed the team in three different areas: in their outside field, in the weight room and in the new indoor facilities as well. It looks like masks were worn only inside the weight room, a practice the Irish football players should get used to.

It’s great to see the football team get back in action, but with much consternation about what will happen in the 2020 season. At the current moment only the PAC12 and B1G have announced conference-only schedules, with the SEC, ACC and Big XII still yet to make a decision. This obviously looms large, as the Irish await what the rest of the college football world does. At least we have the return of the Irish to the practice field.

Is Notre Dame a Contender for 4-Star Offensive Tackle Rucci?

Rivals projects who is leading for Nolan Rucci, the offensive tackle from Pennsylvania in the 2021 recruiting class.

The Irish just picked up a commitment from Minnesota offensive tackle Joe Alt on Monday, and instate Blake Fisher already in the fold make a solid tandem for the 2021 recruiting class. Brian Kelly and offensive line coach Jeff Quinn are still looking for another player at the position, as his philosophy is go hard after tackles and they can move down to guard if need be later.

With that in mind, Pennsylvania 4-Star offensive tackle Nolan Rucci is still trying to make a decision on where he will attend school. Rivals took a look at where his recruitment stands and it looks like Kelly and Quinn should continue to look at other prospects. Adam Friedman, a recruiting analyst with Rivals, doesn’t see this one trending in the Irish’s way.

The Irish ranked 6th for Rucci’s services, not a particularly encouraging spot going forward. They have a lot of other schools the Irish will have to jump in order to get Rucci in the Blue and Gold. His recruitment has been trending away from the Irish so Kelly will most likely have to look in another direction. When looking at the 16 tackles offered, only five remain uncommitted and none of them are trending the Irish’s direction. They most likely will have to find another diamond in the rough like Alt to round out the position in 2021 recruiting.

Newest Irish Baseball Commit Bonaparte wants to impress pro scouts

Notre Dame Baseball’s newest commit Karson Bonaparte has his eyes set on a big league future.

Link Jarrett saw his first season as the Irish baseball head coach end prematurely, but the seeds for an improvement over the Mik Aoki era were sown. The year ended with Notre Dame’s record a sparkling 11-2 and plenty of what if’s after the fantastic start.

It was enough to impress Illinois INF/P Karson Bonaparte to commit to Jarrett and the Irish. Bonaparte has a solid head on his shoulders, knowing that with a truncated 2020 MLB Draft he most likely was not going to be selected, so a decision had to be made and the Irish fit in his plans.

Bonaparte will work hard to show scouts that he can advance to the next level and contribute to a big league team. Fortunately for Jarrett and Notre Dame, Bonaparte won’t be heading off to the professional ranks any time soon.

Irish Ranked Highly in another Pre-Season Poll

It seems like all but a certainty that Notre Dame Football will be ranked inside the Top 10 to start the season.

Other outlets have updated their pre-season Top 25 and it was 247Sports turn to do the same thing but with a caveat. “This isn’t an updated version of something 247Sports put out in the winter. This is a start-from-ground-zero ranking that takes into account an offseason worth of coaching changes, recruiting wins and transfers.” I’m sure other publications take this into their equations as well, but the eight experts polled by 247Sports just wanted to make sure you knew the criteria for their rankings.

With that in mind, Notre Dame has come in 8th in this newest update. At first glance, noticing the Irish ranking 83rd overall in returning production is a bit scary.  This shouldn’t be a concern at all, look at the rest of the teams ranked in this Top 10. Each of the top three schools, Ohio State, Clemson and Alabama are in comparable returning production areas, while Oklahoma, who is ranked 7th is just one spot ahead of the Irish.

The Irish preview starts on the offensive end as “Notre Dame has maintained some offensive continuity this offseason by promoting quarterback coach Tommy Rees.” The offensive line will clearly be a strength for the Irish this season but having to replace each skill position starter is a challenge. Chris Hummer, who wrote the snippet, see that “there’s a strong skill cast beside him and some exciting impact freshman (Chris Tyree, Jordan Johnson) than can help right away.” It is a lot to ask for freshman to be big time contributors, but the Tyree, the Virginia running back and Johnson, the Missouri wide receiver could do just that. Look out for Kentucky tight end Michael Mayer to make an impact as a first-year player as well.

Looking on the other side of the ball, Hummer is a bit worried about the “defense is far more of a question mark with just five defensive starters returning.” Yes, it is a bit worrisome but as I mentioned earlier, returning production doesn’t tell the whole picture. “You have to trust coordinator Clark Lea, though. He’s put together back-to-back top 15 defenses.” The trust is there, with a reworked secondary and the emergence last year of linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah the base for a solid defense is there.

As we have seen the Irish have been ranked somewhere in this range by the majority of outlets. A pre-season Top 10 ranking will bring a lot of expectations in South Bend. Brian Kelly will have his work cut out for him to finish with Notre Dame’s fourth consecutive 10-plus win seasons.

Notre Dame Lands a Commitment from Maryland Cornerback

Irish landed commitment #11 in the 2021 class today when DB Ryan Barnes made his decision.

In late March, the Irish staff offered Maryland defensive back Ryan Barnes, and today he verballed to Notre Dame over Clemson, Georgia, LSU and others. The 6’2” and 180-pound cornerback is the 11th commit in the 2021 class.

Although Barnes ranking is fairly low, he is the 585th player ranked by the 247Sports composite. I feel like this is a scenario where if summer camps had happened this year, Barnes would have blown up. College coaches rarely look at the major recruiting services rankings, so looking at a players offer list is much better indication of how they are perceived. Along with the aforementioned trio, Penn State, Oregon, USC, and Oklahoma all offered Barnes a scholarship.

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Barnes’ frame is what stands out, his length creating issues for opposing wide receivers. Lining up at safety and corner brings plenty of versatility to Barnes’ game, from either position he is always looking for the big hit.

Brian Kelly will have to decide if Barnes’ will end up with safeties coach Terry Joseph or cornerback coach Mike Mickens. This is a great problem to have, as Barnes should make an impact at one of those positions.

ESPN: Four What If’s for Notre Dame to be Title Contenders

The Irish have appeared on many experts short list of title contenders, with ESPN looking at scenarios for those teams to make a CFP run.

When you look at what it takes for a run at the College Football Playoff Championship, teams with the least questions heading into the season usually have the best opportunities to finish the season winner of the CFP. ESPN’s Bill Connelly looked at 18 teams and their If’s regarding making a run at being a contender this season.

The Irish were included by Connelly, with 4 Ifs, two each on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. The first If for the Irish starts with who will be catching passes from Book.  Now that Tommy Rees took over for Chip Long as the offensive coordinator, Rees will have to figure out Book’s best bet to make plays. Connelly mentions Northwestern transfer Ben Skowronek, Javon McKinley, Braden Lenzy and in-coming freshman Jordan Johnson as receivers who could step up and says, “someone needs to come through.” Connelly is right, at least two receivers or tight end’s will need to step up and be a major contributor. Keep an eye out for a pair of unknowns in Kevin Austin and incoming freshman Jordan Johnson, either one of them could have an impact this coming season.

Next, Connelly stays on the offensive side and looks at who will line up next to Book in the backfield. C’Bo Flemister, Jafar Armstrong and Jahmir Smith are the returning players mentioned while freshman Chris Tyree could make an impact as well. Connelly fails to mention the potential impact of Stanford transfer Trevor Speights, which gives me a feeling his impact might be minimal. I expect Tyree to emerge from the group, provided he stays healthy.

Moving on to the defense, Connelly is looking at the defensive backfield as and If for the Irish. This point I actually disagree with as I feel like this group will be a strength for Notre Dame. Sophomore safety Kyle Hamilton should become a household name by the end of the year, while cornerback Houston Griffin has been working hard this offseason to finally make an impact, which I think he will. The addition of NC State transfer Nick McCloud, a cornerback, along with Ohio State transfer Isaiah Pryor makes a solid group in my eyes.

Connelly’s final point stays on the defense and questions the “lack of beef” on the defensive line. I would agree with this point, as he points out that just “two of 10 returning contributing linemen are listed above 286 pounds. This group will have to grow up in a hurry to protect the linebackers and allow them to continue to make plays.

These four If’s are important keys to the Irish season, although some of them aren’t nearly as concerning as others, especially on the defensive side of the ball. If Kelly is able to overcome some of these questions, Notre Dame should have a standout 2020

ESPN Updates FPI, See if Notre Dame is predicted to make the CFP

In an post-spring version of ESPN’s Football Power Index, find out where the Irish rank among contenders for the CFP.

Although much can’t change at the moment with on-field improvements, ESPN still is looking forward to the 2020 season by releasing a post-spring football power index. This one is a bit different as they combined the FPI with their Allstate Playoff Predictor and predicted what percentage the top teams have to make the College Football Playoff.

Seth Walder, who put together the data, sees the Irish’s chances at being one of the four teams to have a chance at a National Championship as slim, just 3% to be selected in the CFP. Their chances for a title are even lower, at under 1%, which makes sense when looking at the percentage of making the playoffs.

It seems like the data doesn’t favor Brian Kelly’s 2020 squad, but that shouldn’t mean the Irish won’t be competitive this fall. Looking at some of the teams ahead of Notre Dame, you will see two opponents projected into the final four. Clemson, who annually represents the ACC, and a surprise, Wisconsin, are two of the four to advance in this projection. The Tigers are a no-brainer, as they have only missed out on only the first edition of the CFP, but the Badgers have never been selected. I am not as high on Wisconsin as ESPN is at the moment, replacing a record setting running back, your top 2 receivers, best linebacker and senior center is a tall task.

The Irish will most likely end up facing just one playoff competitor this season, Clemson, but that game along with the trip to Lambeau to face the Badgers won’t be easy. Here’s to making this version of the FPI wrong, and the Irish having a chance to really put a wrench into the committee’s thinking when they select their final four.

Study Shows Notre Dame Ranks Among Best in Developing Talent

An analyzation of top talent and getting them drafted into the NFL see’s Notre Dame as one of the best in the country.

The NFL is a measuring stick for college football teams as to how they are able to improve their players once they hit campus. Over a five year period from 2011-2015, 247Sports took a deep dive into evaluating talent development, calling it their “Development Rating.”

Points are awarded to players inside their Top 247 who were drafted, with an emphasis on higher talent being drafted earlier and omitting some players, such as one’s who medically retired. The Irish finished as the 10th highest rated school in the time frame, having 42.9% of Brian Kelly’s player’s who qualified drafted in that span.

Chris Hummer, who collected the data, lumped Stanford along with the Irish due to their high academic standards and being able to overcome that and still produce NFL talent. “Stanford and Notre Dame have had their swoons in play over the last decade, but both produced a quartet of Top247 first-round selections within this recruiting period. They both also consistently land high-level recruits looks for a more rigorous academic process in college.” An impressive stat for both teams considering the difficult course load those players take on in their collegiate careers.

This analyzation of data isn’t an end all of how teams are viewed as developing their players, it’s a look at how teams do with top talent and getting them to the next level. Most collegiate players want to play in the NFL, it’s the next logical step. With Notre Dame having a good amount of success with their top recruits, it’s a big time recruiting pitch for Kelly and his staff to perspective Irish stars.