Tag: Jack Kiser

Notre Dame linebacker Jack Kiser named Wuerffel Trophy finalist

Jack is an award finalist for the second time this season.

Jack Kiser has had a fantastic graduate season for Notre Dame both on and off the field. The linebacker already has been named a finalist for the Campbell Trophy, which honors players for on-field performance, academic performance and community service. Now, he can add being a finalist for another trophy to his resume.

Kiser has been named one of three finalists for the Wuerffel Trophy alongside Penn State offensive lineman Nick Dawkins and Washington State kicker Dean Janikowski. This award is given to the player “who best combines exemplary community service with leadership achievement on and off the field”. The winner will be announced live on ESPN on Dec. 12 and be invited to the Heisman Trophy festivities.

If Kiser were to win this award, he would be the second Notre Dame player to be so honored after fellow linebacker Drue Tranquill in 2018. Here’s the video the Irish released after he became a semifinalist:

Best of luck to Kiser as a finalist for both trophies he is up for.

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Notre Dame statistical leaders through 11 games

Who leads the Irish heading into the final regular-season contest?

Notre Dame has its fate in its own hands for the College Football Playoff. All it needs to do is defeat USC, and a first-round game at Notre Dame Stadium appears to be a certainty. Who would have thought the Irish would be in such a good position after the loss to Northern Illinois threatened to derail their season early?

The Irish can’t afford to get complacent though. The Trojans have not had a great season, but dealing the Irish a loss that could threaten their playoff chances would make up for everything that has gone wrong for them. That’s why the Irish will need to prepare for them like they would for any ranked team, and the talent they have should allow them to emerge victorious.

Here are the major statistical leaders the Irish are taking into their regular-season finale. Not all of them will be available, but they’re fun to see nonetheless:

Notre Dame Week 13 highlight — Forced fumble before half kills Army drive

A fumble before halftime sums up Army’s night against Notre Dame so far.

After No. 6 Notre Dame punched the ball into the end zone late in the first half against No. 18 Army, courtesy of running back [autotag]Jadarian Price[/autotag], the Black Knights did have a chance to mount a scoring drive before halftime.

The Fighting Irish prevented that from happening, however, when cornerback [autotag]Leonard Moore[/autotag] forced Army quarterback [autotag]Bryson Daily[/autotag] to fumble. Notre Dame linebacker [autotag]Jack Kiser[/autotag] recovered.

The Irish failed to capitalize, however, when kicker [autotag]Mitch Jeter[/autotag] pushed a 48-yard field-goal attempt wide right. Jeter has been dealing with a groin injury.

Jack Kiser is now the longest-tenured Irish player.
Notre Dame linebacker Jack Kiser (24) lines up during a NCAA college football game against Florida State at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024, in South Bend.

Notre Dame vs. Army: Second-Quarter Analysis

The Irish have the lead halfway through.

Notre Dame’s defense did itself no favors at the beginning of the second quarter against Army. If one had told that unit the Irish would be up, xx-7, at halftime, they have might considered themselves lucky.

With the Knights near the end zone on third-and-short, [autotag]Rylie Mills[/autotag] was penalized for hands to the face, which gave Bryson Daily the fresh set of downs he needed to run for a 4-yard touchdown and get his team on the board.

[autotag]Riley Leonard[/autotag] led an impressive offensive drive that began at the Irish’s 25-yard line and mainly consisted of run plays. The Irish ultimately got to the 1-yard line on fourth-and-goal, but [autotag]Jeremiyah Love[/autotag] lost a yard on a carry, resulting in a turnover on downs.

Backed up by their own end zone, the Knights went three-and-out for the third time in four drives. James Wagenseller’s punt only went for 32 yards, and Love carried the ball 41 yards over three plays for his second touchdown of the game.

Another Knights three-and-out followed, and Wagenseller’s ensuing punt went to midfield. After Leonard completed a 28-yard pass to [autotag]Kris Mitchell[/autotag], the Irish went with runs the rest of the drive, including one by Leonard that went for 13 yards and set the Irish up at first-and-goal. Leonard failed to score on two straight runs before handing it off to [autotag]Jadarian Price[/autotag] for a 2-yard touchdown.

Daily ran the ball 20 yards on the Knights’ first play from scrimmage, but [autotag]Leonard Moore[/autotag] forced a fumble, which was recovered by [autotag]Jack Kiser[/autotag]. The Irish tried to add onto their lead right before halftime, but after a false start penalty, [autotag]Mitch Jeter[/autotag] missed a 48-yard field-goal attempt as the clock hit zero.

Things are looking good for the Irish, but there’s half the game left.

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Notre Dame linebacker marks historic occasion against Virginia

Notre Dame’s Jack Kiser has very noteworthy achievement.

Notre Dame linebacker [autotag]Jack Kiser[/autotag] has earned a very cool honor.

Kiser has now played the most games for the Irish in school history.

The sixth-year man played in his 63rd game on Senior Day against Virginia on Saturday.

He surpassed safety/special teams player [autotag]Houston Griffin[/autotag] (2018-2022) for the honor.

Kiser wouldn’t have the chance to play so many games for the Irish if the COVID-19 pandemic hadn’t led the NCAA to offer extended eligibility.

One of the neater things about this is that Kiser played with [autotag]Kurt Hinish[/autotag], who had 61 games for the Irish before his career ended, and is now playing with Kurt’s brother Donovan.

“Jack is special to me,” Notre Dame coach [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] told the South Bend Tribune this week. “He’s the only player in this program I actually got a chance to coach as his position coach.”

“(Kiser) is truly a Notre Dame man,” Freeman said. “He grew up here in Indiana. He reached his full potential. He’s been an unbelievable leader. He’s made this place better. And he’s going to leave this place better than he found it.”

Notre Dame safety Rod Heard II (2) and linebacker Jack Kiser (24) celebrate a tackle by Heard during a NCAA college football game against Virginia at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, in South Bend.

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Notre Dame linebacker Jack Kiser named Campbell Trophy finalist

Congrats, Jack!

Notre Dame is proud of its academic reputation as well as its athletic excellence. It does its best to make sure those two things go together rather than be independent of each other. While some Irish fans think those academic standards make it difficult to attract top football talent, the university simply will not compromise itself in this way.

Case in point, Irish linebacker [autotag]Jack Kiser[/autotag] has been named one of 16 finalists for the William V. Campbell Trophy, the college football award given to the player who best combines their on-field performance with their academic performance and community service.

Just for being named a finalist, Kiser will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship to continue his education. If he wins the award, and he’ll find out Dec. 10 at the prestigious Bellagio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, that scholarship will be bumped up to $25,000.

Knowing of the friendship between Kiser and former teammate [autotag]JD Bertrand[/autotag], a 2023 award finalist, the Irish chose to have Bertrand give Kiser the news:

Congratulations to Kiser on this wonderful honor.

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Notre Dame LB Jack Kiser named a semifinalist for on and off the field success

Another honor for Kiser

It’s not just one organization that views Notre Dame football linebacker [autotag]Jack Kiser[/autotag] as an all-around person, as the [autotag]William V. Campbell Trophy[/autotag] named the senior a semifinalist for its award.

Previously it was the Wuerffel Trophy recognizing the linebackers on and off the field excellence, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that Kiser was on the Campbell Trophy’s list as well.

He’s constantly giving back to the South Bend community, as he represents the Irish extremely well. Not only that, Kiser was named a captain, showing his leadership on the field.

Kiser is having a solid start to the season, as he’s racked up 22 tackles over the course of four games for Notre Dame. The big plays have yet to happen, but eventually they will as he’s shown the ability in the past.

It’s another individual honor for Kiser who doesn’t necessarily go out looking for them, it’s just in his nature.

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Notre Dame statistical leaders through four games

Who’s on the board going into the next game?

The great thing about Notre Dame’s dominant win over Miami (Ohio) is that a few more players got a chance to shine. Consequently, we have a few new names popping up in our weekly statistical leaders listicle heading into the game against Louisville. That should force the Cardinals to be a little more aware of the players they’ll be going up against.

This goes without saying, but the Irish always can benefit from new players appearing in these categories. It highlights just how deep the team’s talent is, and anyone can step in at any point. It might take some players longer to crack the leaders lists than others, but that’s the beauty of a regular season that runs through the end of November.

So who are the players standing out the most going into the Irish’s last game before their first bye week? Take a look for yourself here:

Jason Onye dedicates his season to injured Notre Dame teammate

You can feel the ND family in Onye’s words

In any sport, your teammates has to get each others backs and it looks like that is going on for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team.

Defensive end [autotag]Jason Onye[/autotag] spoke with the media recently and let everyone know he’s playing with heavy heart due to [autotag]Jordan Botelho[/autotag]’s season-ending injury. One of his closest friends on the team, the defense wants to play for him.

He wasn’t the only member of the team to speak about Botelho’s injury, as linebacker [autotag]Jack Kiser[/autotag], like the leader he is, stepped up to speak about how the team is rallying around his injury.

Onye said the team is “motivated as ever now, to play fast and do it for him (Botelho) because if he was on the field, he would be right there with us.” Different things motivate different people, and it seems like this injury has had a huge impact on the Notre Dame locker room.

Notre Dame defensive lineman Jason Onye (47) reacts after a Northern Illinois field goal during a NCAA college football game between Notre Dame and Northern Illinois at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in South Bend.

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Notre Dame linebacker Jack Kiser has a big day off the field

Kiser gets some big recognition for his work off the field

If you haven’t seen Peacock’s “Here Come the Irish” Notre Dame Fighting Irish football docuseries, then you missed out on an off the field look at linebacker[autotag]Jack Kiser[/autotag] .

The Indiana native knows how important it is for him to represent the Irish as a home-state star, and has gone out of his way to help the community. Kiser was honored by AllState twice on Tuesday, as he was selected as a member of the Good Works Team and named a semifinalist for the [autotag]Wuerffel Trophy[/autotag].

The award is given out annual to a player across the nation for their work on the field, in the community and in the classroom.

It’s surely a great honor for Kiser to be recognized for his efforts off the field, but he doesn’t do it for that. Clearly he’s as great of a person as he is a football player.

https://twitter.com/NDFootball/status/1836021642767601868

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