Tag: Isaiah Pryor

Notre Dame announces staNDtogether Time

The Irish football team with get together tomorrow and hold a prayer along with a peaceful march on campus.

The Notre Dame football team will come together tomorrow, Friday June 19th for a peaceful prayer and walk in support of equality and unity. The march begins at 12:30pm EST at the Irish Green Arena, and a request has been made to wear black along with protective face coverings.

The Irish now join multiple schools who have responded to the Black Lives Matter movement, including Clemson, South Carolina, Auburn and others to back the cause. After multiple instances of issues around the country, such as Iowa firing their strength and conditioning coach Chris Doyle for numerous accusations from players for his treatment of them, Oklahoma State’s head coach wearing a OAN shirt and star running back Chuba Hubbard not standing for that.

It takes many for a movement like this to continue to see progress and the Irish have joined in on the cause. Just look at how many player’s tweeted about the event.

 

 

 

Notre Dame understands it reach and the impact they can have on many young peoples lives. Actions like these bring groups together and with the college football season still influx anything the Irish can find to rally around is a good thing.

Irish Overrated? CBS Gives Thoughts on Notre Dame’s ’20 Season Outlook

In a season series preview, CBS Sports looks at what is in store for the Irish this season.

The fact that Brian Kelly seems to falter against top teams is fair, since 2010 he has led the Irish to a 21-20 record in Top 25 matchups. So, Ben Kercheval’s assessment of that portion of the program is accurate, but that is in the past, this is about what is in store for the Irish in 2020.

There were multiple high-level players who left the Notre Dame program since it’s win over Iowa State in the Camping World Bowl just a few months ago. Kercheval feels like the biggest losses include TE Cole Kmet, WR Chase Claypool, RB Tony Jones Jr. and DE Julian Okwara. Each of them have brought their talents to the NFL.

What’s interesting is the fact that Kercheval mentions the firing of Offensive Coordinator Chip Long as a loss. Long was replaced by Tommy Rees prior to the bowl win, was seen as a excellent recruiter, but Kelly couldn’t mesh well with his play calling, especially in the aforementioned top matchups. While the offense under Rees was fantastic in Irish wins, averaging 38 points, the fact that Long couldn’t get more, 13.5 points per game, in losses irked Kelly and let to a change. The jury is still out on Rees, this season will be a big test for the first full year as offensive coordinator for the former Irish QB.

We all know about the returning Notre Dame stars, Kercheval sees QB Ian Book, OT Tommy Kraemer and WR Braden Lenzy as the offenses top returning playmakers. Pretty interesting that the other starting tackle, Liam Eichenberg isn’t mentioned, but Lenzy to me is the key. The leading returning receiver had just 11 catches last year, a number that will surely see a rise this coming season. The rising junior needs to break out for the Irish offense.

Defensively CB TaRiq Bracy and DE Daelin Hayes will be the key assets according to Kercheval. I think he didn’t pick the right players as Notre Dame’s key returning defenders. Safety Kyle Hamilton and linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah would have been my choices. It’s not a knock on Bracy and Hayes, they’re great players in their own right, I just believe that Hamilton and Owusu-Koramoah will have larger impacts.

Rees was named a fresh face, along with Northwestern WR transfer Bennett Skowronek and incoming freshman RB Chris Tyree. Spot on with Tyree, as the newest face to the Irish running back room might be needed to contribute immediately. Skowronek was a captain for the Wildcats last year, bring leadership to a position group that will need it. There are plenty of others that could have ended up in these spots include transfers safety Isaiah Pryor and CB Nick McCloud or freshman TE Michael Mayer. Each of them could play big roles for the Irish in ’20.

Kercheval sees the floor as 9 wins for the Irish, otherwise disappointment will reign in South Bend. A favorable schedule should result in double digits wins, so Kelly’s streak of 3 straight 10-plus win seasons should extent to a 4th once the season is played.

Notre Dame Football: Is Another Grad-Transfer in the Cards?

Notre Dame has added three grad-transfers ahead of the 2020 season. Could another still be on the way? Find out who that might just be.

Notre Dame has done a phenomenal job re-working their roster for 2020 by adding graduate-transfers who are eligible to play right away.

Isaiah Pryor, a former top-100 recruit to Ohio State figures to challenge for a starting safety spot while Bennett Skowronek, formerly of Northwestern should help in at least trying to replace Chase Claypool.

Yesterday it was former North Carolina State corner-back Nick McCloud committing to Notre Dame in 2020 as he figures to challenge for a starting spot immediately.

Is that it for Notre Dame in terms of grad-transfers and essentially rebuilding on the fly?  Not so fast.

Running back Trevor Speights, a Stanford graduate remains looking for a new home and has already listed Notre Dame as a finalist along with Rice.

Notre Dame isn’t in awful shape at running back but depth and certaintities are few and far between.  When you have that then its the more able-bodies the better.

Jafar Armstrong, Jahmir Smith and C’Blo Flemister figure to be in the running for playing time but there are plenty of questions about if any of those three can be a load type back.  Chris Tyree is a great recruiting win as well but figures to need to put on some weight and strength before he becomes a major player.

As it sits right now Notre Dame has 88 scholarships committed to the 2020 squad and will have to get 85 before the season kicks off, whenever that might actually be.

Notre Dame Transfer Pryor Named One to Watch

The graduate transfer from Ohio State is expected to provide an instant impact in the Irish secondary.

When the NCAA instituted the transfer portal, it seemed like college football was going to have a free agency type impact for many teams. That has been the exact case with some big-time examples such as former Alabama QB Jalen Hurts moving to Oklahoma and former Georgia Bulldog Justin Fields going to Ohio State, both helped their new teams make the College Football Playoff last year.

This coming season will feature the same type of instant impact players and today Rivals ranked the top nine transfers to watch for this coming season. It should come as no surprise to see Notre Dame’s presumed starting safety and Ohio State transfer Isaiah Pryor making the list.

Rival’s Recruiting Director Mike Farrell mentioned Pryor “fills a big need at Notre Dame and he has the talent to impact right away.” I tend to agree with him, as the Irish will be breaking in two new safety starters, but neither will lack talent. Kyle Hamilton is the other potential starter.

Pryor went to Columbus from IMG Academy in Florida with high expectations, but after three years could never crack the starting rotation. His playing time dipped from his sophomore to junior year, and with him graduating, had an opportunity to move on and play right away. Pryor committed to the Irish in November of last year and will have two years remaining to play for Brian Kelly.

Also, of note in this article, Farrell opines to have some changes for this recruiting cycle due to the impact the COVID-19 has had on making visits to campuses and contact with recruits. Yes, everything has changed with the mandated dead-period, but when everything returns to normal, so should recruiting. Making changes seems like an overreaction, just getting back to normal would be fantastic.

Notre Dame Football: Is Kyle Hamilton a Top-5 Safety Nationwide?

Now to the question some may be asking: is Hamilton really a top-five safety?

Notre Dame loses talent in the secondary in 2020 as Alohi Gilman has entered the NFL Draft while Donte Vaughn and Troy Pride, Jr. are both out of eligibility.

Earlier this month Shaun Crawford announced he’d be returning for a sixth season at Notre Dame which will be incredibly beneficial for the Irish as long as Crawford can stay healthy.

What will also help is Kyle Hamilton returning after a freshman year that landed him on both the Pro Football Focus and FWAA Freshman All-American Teams.

PFF released their “Top 30 Returning Defensive Backs” Saturday and Hamilton found a spot at number 20 there.

True freshman safety Kyle Hamilton could not have done much more in coverage for the Fighting Irish this year. The 6-foot-4 defensive back finished among the five best safeties in the country in PFF coverage grade and had more interceptions plus pass breakups (nine) than catches allowed (seven). That production paved the way to just a 1.3 passer rating allowed. He read quarterbacks like books and made special plays all year long — he’ll be a vital piece to the Irish secondary over the next couple of seasons.

If you rank only safeties then Hamilton comes in fifth.

Although the eventual starting defensive backfield won’t have much experience playing together, the likes of Hamilton, Crawford, transfer Isaiah Pryor create a pretty high floor.

Now to the question some may be asking: is Hamilton really a top-five safety?

Frankly, five seems a bit low for a guy who it was newsworthy to pull in a reception against in 2020.

Notre Dame Football: Alohi Gilman Declares for NFL Draft

He has a nose for the football and made a habit making huge plays which was on display Saturday as Brian Kelly gave him the game ball for his performance in the Camping World Bowl victory over Iowa State.

It wasn’t much of a surprise if you’ve been paying attention but on Monday night Notre Dame safety and captain Alohi Gilman announced he’ll be passing on his fifth year of eligibility and putting his name in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Gilman played the last two seasons at Notre Dame after spending his freshman year at the Naval Academy where he was credited with 76 tackles (50 solo) and a forced fumble.

After sitting out the 2017 season due to a transfer ruling it didn’t take long for Gilman to make an impact on the field in 2018.

When I think of Gilman I think of a player that teammates clearly love and feed off of but someone who has a knack for making a huge play in the most-necessary of moments.

He has a nose for the football and made a habit making huge plays which was on display Saturday as Brian Kelly gave him the game ball for his performance in the Camping World Bowl victory over Iowa State.

With Isaiah Pryor coming in next season and Houston Griffith already being on campus it’s easy to see why Gilman is deciding to take his NFL chance now instead of playing with Kyle Hamilton another year.

From the way-back machine – Alohi Gilman takes down Josh Adams back in 2016:

FWIW – WalterFootball.com ranks Gilman as the 19th best safety in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Notre Dame Football: Hamilton Earns National Honors Again

Another week has come and gone and more hardware is headed towards freshman safety Kyle Hamilton.

Another week has come and gone and more hardware is headed towards freshman safety Kyle Hamilton.

After recording his fourth interception of the season and three tackles versus Boston College, Hamilton was named to the Pro Football Focus College Football Week 13 Eckrich Team of the Week.

Pro Football Focus summed up Hamilton’s week with the following:

The Fighting Irish have a bright future with Hamilton roaming the backend of their defense. He recorded four total tackles against bost College and saw three passes come his way as the primary coverage defender. Allowing just one reception for seven yards, Hamilton broke up another and intercepted the third pass his way to see just a 2.8 passer rating into his coverage.

Hamilton’s four interceptions are tied for the most by any freshman in the nation, unfortunately that target he allowed after his interception evened up his totals for the year between personal interceptions and receptions allowed – an absurd stat to consider.

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With Isaiah Pryor committed to play in the secondary next year you can’t help but feel good about the future of Notre Dame’s secondary as Hamilton appears to be one of the schools all-time greats in the making.

Notre Dame Captain Headed to Senior Bowl

The Reese’s Senior Bowl announced Tuesday night that senior-captain, safety Jalen Elliott will participate in the 2020 Senior Bowl at the conclusion of this college football season. We are proud to announce @NDFootball DB Jalen Elliott ( @Jae_Uno_) …

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The Reese’s Senior Bowl announced Tuesday night that senior-captain, safety Jalen Elliott will participate in the 2020 Senior Bowl at the conclusion of this college football season.

Elliott has started all nine games this season and recorded 35 tackles along the way while also picking off a pass against New Mexico and Bowling Green, both.  He also intercepted four passes during Notre Dame’s 12-0 regular season in 2018.

The Lloyd C. Bird High School (Virginia) product was recruited as a three-star safety in the 2016 class and has appeared in all 47 Notre Dame games since stepping foot on campus for the first time as a student-athlete back in 2016.

He will undoubtedly be missed next year, although Kyle Hamilton’s start and Isaiah Pryor’s recent commitment makes you feel pretty good about where the safety position will be headed into 2020.