Tag: jayden thomas

Social media reacts to Jayden Thomas’ late first-half touchdown

One more for the half.

Only those who had the utmost faith in Navy believed it had any kind of shot against Notre Dame. At this point, it would take a complete collapse by the Irish for their faith to be rewarded. That happens when the Irish have possession four times in the first half and score a touchdown each time. The last of those touchdowns came on [autotag]Sam Hartman[/autotag]’s 15-yard pass to [autotag]Jayden Thomas[/autotag]:

Irish fans understandably are feeling good about the rest of the game. While 28-0 is not an insurmountable deficit, it’s hard to feel optimistic when Hartman already has exactly 200 passing yards and shows no sign of slowing down. The same can be said for the rest of the team. Barring a complete meltdown by the Irish, it’s no longer a matter of whether [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] will bring in his backups, but when.

Here are some of social media’s best reactions to Thomas’ touchdown:

Notre Dame statistical leaders using 2022 statistics

Get ready for the season with some familiar names.

The first buildup to a Notre Dame football game for 2023 finally has arrived. You all have been very patient in waiting for this week, but that patience has paid off. Waiting for this long deserves a pat on the back, so give yourself one as you’re reading this. And even if you have heard this preseason spiel before, give yourself a pat on the back anyway.

With that schmaltz out of the way, let’s talk about the players on the 2023 Irish roster who performed the best in 2022. We should see some of that on display in the season opener against Navy. Although the Midshipmen are not exactly the best opponent to use as a measuring stick, we at least can get an idea of what’s to come. After all, they don’t call it Week 0 for nothing.

Here are the 2023 Irish players who did the best in football’s top statistical categories:

Notre Dame football: Spring game instant reaction

What was your biggest takeaway from Saturday’s action?

There are some days that Notre Dame’s annual Blue-Gold game to cap spring practice takes place on a picture-perfect Saturday in South Bend.  That was not the case this time as rain, sleet, wind, and a lot of gray sky covered campus.

However, that doesn’t mean the spring game didn’t take place and that there weren’t plenty of things to take away from it.  The gold squad jumped out to an early lead on the backs of [autotag]Sam Hartman[/autotag] and [autotag]Jayden Thomas[/autotag] and never looked back.

What stood out in this edition of the Blue-Gold game?  Here are your instant takeaways.

Watch: Sam Hartman’s third touchdown of the Blue and Gold game

One, two and now three touchdowns for Hartman

[autotag]Notre Dame[/autotag] quarterback [autotag]Sam Hartman[/autotag] is lighting up his teammates on the Blue team.

The transfer quarterback led his Gold team to two touchdowns in its first three drives and wasn’t finished. On his fourth drive, Hartman guided his team to another score.

The first was a passing touchdown to [autotag]Jayden Thomas[/autotag], and the second was a run from a few yards out. No. 3 was through the air again: Hartman found wide receiver [autotag]Matt Salerno[/autotag] on a beautiful throw into the back of the end zone as the Gold team took a commanding 21-0 lead midway through the second quarter.

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Twitter reacts to Sam Hartman’s first quarter during Blue-Gold Game

You like what the transfer is providing so far?

With no kickoffs during Notre Dame’s Blue-Gold Game, Irish fans immediately gained a look at transfer quarterback [autotag]Sam Hartman[/autotag].

The Wake Forest legend was incredibly productive during his time with the Demon Deacons, and he showed why right out of the gate. Representing the Gold team, Hartman hit [autotag]Jayden Thomas[/autotag] for a touchdown on his first drive, then ran for one himself on his second. He completed all five pass attempts on those two drives.

Irish fans took notice of how good Hartman was and took to Twitter to express how they felt about it. Maybe it was because [autotag]Tyler Buchner[/autotag] was the quarterback for the Blue team. Maybe it has been too long since the fan base has claimed to truly be proud of a quarterback. Either way, the reception to Hartman was a warm one. In fact, it was warmer than the weather conditions at Notre Dame Stadium:

Watch: Notre Dame quarterback Sam Hartman runs in a score

Two drives, two touchdown for Hartman

So far, so good for [autotag]Notre Dame[/autotag] quarterback [autotag]Sam Hartman[/autotag]. On his first offensive series in the Blue and Gold game, the transfer quarterback found [autotag]Jayden Thomas[/autotag] for a passing touchdown.

On Hartman’s second drive, he led his Gold team down the field once again, and found the end zone. The quarterback used his legs this time, running in just a few yards for the second score of the game.

Although quarterbacks are wearing non-contact red jerseys, Hartman went untouched into the end zone on a very good play call. Two drives, two touchdown for the Gold squad with the presumed starter at the helm.

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Watch: Notre Dame quarterback Sam Hartman find Jayden Thomas for touchdown

Hartman looks good!

It didn’t take long for new [autotag]Notre Dame[/autotag] quarterback [autotag]Sam Hartman[/autotag] to find the end zone in Notre Dame Stadium.

During the first drive of the Blue and Gold game, Hartman drove his Gold squad down the field and found wide receiver [autotag]Jayden Thomas[/autotag] for a short touchdown pass.

Hartman looked very good on the first drive, and for him to lead his team to points is extremely encouraging.

There is a quarterback “battle.” Neither Hartman nor [autotag]Tyler Buchner[/autotag] has been anointed by head coach [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] as the starter. After their first series, it’s easy to make an assumption the job might be Hartman’s to lose. Check out his touchdown pass below.

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Notre Dame offers a pair of stellar wide receiver recruits

These two would be nice additions to the program

If there is one area where the [autotag]Notre Dame[/autotag] football program has underperformed recently, it’s the wide receiver room. This past season the yardage leader, [autotag]Jayden Thomas[/autotag], caught 25 balls for 361 yards and three scores. Not exactly tearing up the box scores.

Tight end [autotag]Michael Mayer[/autotag] led the team in all receiving categories but he is now off to the NFL. Yes, he was the focus of the passing offense, but there was an obvious need for more pass-catching threats.

In 2021, the Irish passed for more than 1,000 yards than in 2022 but the group still struggled, with the exception of [autotag]Kevin Austin Jr.[/autotag]

How do the Irish fix this? By recruiting and developing players. The first part of the task is the recruitment and identifying prospects that fit what [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] is looking for. It looks like they found two players that fit the mold.

Each of them was offered a scholarship and find out below who they are and why they’re good fits with Notre Dame.

Notre Dame quick to offer former Michigan wide receiver who just entered the portal

Could another portal WR be headed to South Bend?

The Irish found their quarterback this afternoon, as [autotag]Wake Forest[/autotag] graduate transfer [autotag]Sam Hartman[/autotag] announced what many of us expected, a commitment to [autotag]Notre Dame[/autotag]. Head coach [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] knows where his team needed to focus on on the portal, offensive playmakers.

Hartman checks off a big box and previously the Irish took a commitment from former [autotag]Virginia Tech[/autotag] wide receiver [autotag]Kaleb Smith[/autotag]. Freeman is looking for more, as an offer to former Michigan receiver [autotag]Andrel Anthony Jr.[/autotag] went out today. The mitten state native will have two seasons of eligibility remaining.

Anthony Jr. didn’t put up massive stats for the Wolverines, but he did show flashes of potential in catching 19 passes for 328 yards and four touchdowns. An average of a score every almost five touches is very impressive.

The Irish wide receiver room is very similar to what Anthony Jr. would bring, potential. [autotag]Jayden Thomas[/autotag] is the leading returning receiver with just 362 yards and 3 scores this past season. Any added veteran production would be welcomed with open arms for Notre Dame.

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The day after: Lasting thoughts on Notre Dame’s epic comeback over South Carolina

What still sticks out in your mind Irish fans?

How nice was it to wake up knowing that the Irish were winners of the [autotag]TaxSlayer Gator Bowl[/autotag]? Really nice, right?

As we all continue to watch the remaining bowl games, we can now look back on what happened yesterday and what could happen in the future with [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] and the [autotag]Notre Dame[/autotag] program. It’s going to be a very interesting off-season in South Bend, one which could very well give us an idea of what to expect going forward.

There were plenty of those thoughts that popped into my head since yesterday and here they are on plenty of Irish topics.

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