Tag: Jeff Quinn

Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola makes history in Saturday’s win

Dylan Raiola continues to impress on the field.

Nebraska football quarterback Dylan Raiola made history in Saturday’s 34-3 win over Northern Iowa. He went 17-of-23 on the afternoon, throwing for 247 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. He is the first Nebraska quarterback to complete at least 70% of his passes in three straight games since Jeff Quinn in 1980.

Quinn threw for 1,337 yards, 14 touchdowns and six interceptions during the 1980 season. Raiola is on pace for a successful year. He has tallied 670 passing yards, five touchdowns and an interception as Nebraska has started 3-0 for the first time since the 2016 season.

It seems as though the program is taking down records by the week. They are rewriting the program’s culture and makeup in the process. Raiola is an important part of that as he continues to develop. Nebraska will face Illinois this Friday at 7 p.m. CT.

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Notre Dame football: Harry Hiestand discusses offensive line

How much of a strength will this unit be in 2022?

At most places the hiring of an offensive line coach would be considered news but the excitement of it wouldn’t come close to the hiring of other position coaches.  But then again most places aren’t Notre Dame, specifically when it comes to offensive line lineage and few position coaches are as good at their craft as [autotag]Harry Hiestand[/autotag] is at his.

So after four years of [autotag]Jeff Quinn[/autotag] as offensive line coach, Notre Dame welcomes back Hiestand who helped develop the likes of [autotag]Zack Martin[/autotag], [autotag]Quenton Nelson[/autotag], [autotag]Ronnie Stanley[/autotag], and [autotag]Mike McGlinchey[/autotag] among others, is back and expectations are high for a unit that had plenty of issues a season ago.

So how does Hiestand see his offensive line this year?  Here is what the Notre Dame offensive line coach had to say.

Notre Dame to make massive hire at offensive line coach

Will he bring the same success he did a few years back?

Rumors have been swirling for weeks that Notre Dame may be going back to a well that was once very good to it and now it appears that is true.  According to Matt Fortuna of The Athletic, Notre Dame is close to officially naming Harry Hiestand as their new offensive line coach.  Hiestand will replace Jeff Quinn who came under much scrutiny during his time but especially this past season.

Hiestand is viewed by many as one of the best offensive line coaches in all of football.  He coached Notre Dame’s offensive line previously from 2012-2017 and saw six of his players be drafted in that time.  Zack Martin, Ronnie Stanley, Quenton Nelson, and Mike McGlinchey were all selected in the first round of their respective drafts.

His history at Notre Dame makes this an incredibly exciting hire that I was hoping for the second Brian Kelly departed for LSU.

Hiestand was also the offensive line coach of the Chicago Bears from 2005-2009 as well as for the 2018 and 2019 seasons.  He’s had stops throughout his career at Tennessee, Illinois, Missouri, Cincinnati, and Toledo as well as being a graduate assistant at USC back in the late eighties.

Related:

Notre Dame coaching staff tracker

An early look at Notre Dame’s 2022 schedule

Notre Dame 2022 transfer portal tracker 

Notre Dame Football Coaching Staff Wish List

The next Notre Dame football coaching staff dream team…

Notre Dame is looking for a new head coach after Brian Kelly bolted to Baton Rouge to head the LSU football program.  Where does athletic director Jack Swarbrick look after the tidal wave Kelly left in his wake?

The good news is Swarbrick shouldn’t have to travel very far to fill the suddenly open spot and that the program was clearly left in a great place.

So what would a dream Notre Dame coaching staff look like at the end of this coaching search?

Here’s the Notre Dame dream team that Swarbrick can start to piece together:

Notre Dame lands another four-star offensive lineman

Did you expect this one?

Notre Dame has landed the 22nd commitment in their 2022 recruiting class as offensive tackle Aamil Wagner of Wayne High School in Dayton, Ohio announced his pledge on Thursday.

Wagner is listed at 6-6, 265-pounds and chose Notre Dame from the over-25 scholarship offers he received.  Among those were Ohio State, Michigan, Oregon, Penn State, Michigan State, Cincinnati, Northwestern, and plenty of others.

Also on that list was the University of Kentucky where Wagner’s brother is a graduate assistant.

Wagner is listed as a four-star prospect on both 247Sports and Rivals.  247Sports lists him as the 11th best offensive tackle prospect in this recruiting cycle while Rivals has him 23rd.

Wagner shared with 247Sports why he chose Notre Dame:

“I choose Notre Dame because the coaches made the university feel like home and I felt that Notre Dame can not only provide me with a great football career but can put me in the best position for life after football” – Aamil Wagner

Wagner becomes the fourth Notre Dame offensive line commitment in the 2022 class, joining Ashton Craig, Ty Chan, and Joey Tanona, all of which also have four-star ratings.

Offensive line coach Jeff Quinn deserves credit for pulling in this commitment as the Irish.  It’s also worth noting that Wagner attends the same high school that Notre Dame assistant coaches Marcus Freeman and Mike Mickens attended so even they coach the other side of the ball, I’d imagine that connection didn’t hurt, either.

This is a huge commitment that feels like when you find a fifty dollar bill in a pair of dress pants you hadn’t worn in years.

Related:

Meet all 22 commitments in Notre Dame’s current 2022 recruiting class

See it – Notre Dame’s map to a College Football Playoff berth

Notre Dame among finalists for elite Ohio offensive tackle

Notre Dame Football: Cincinnati fallout after humbling defeat

What are you most looking forward to the rest of this season?

We knew going into this season that Notre Dame was going to make several overhauls but after last week’s 24-13 loss to Cincinnati the Irish left many with more questions than answers, even if they are 4-1.

With a trip to Virginia Tech this Saturday before a bye week there are tons of questions.  Who starts at quarterback, is the offensive line going to improve at some point, and why couldn’t any receiver get open against Cincinnati?

Those are just a few of the many.

Ultimately how good can this Notre Dame squad end up?  Could they still crash the New Year’s Six party?  Or are things going to get worse before they get better?

I discussed all of that with Ben Belden and Michael Palkovics on the latest episode of the “Under the Golden Dome” podcast.  Check it out in full here.

Related:

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Notre Dame releases depth chart for Virginia Tech game

Stop overthinking things and start Drew Pyne

Reading between the lines it sure seems like Pyne will start at Virginia Tech

40 Notre Dame players on NFL rosters to start 2021

Current NFL receiver shares why he de-commited from Notre Dame

Cowboys release a former Notre Dame great

Notre Dame gives offer to offensive tackle recruit Ashton Craig

The Irish are after a recruit who could end up with them or in the Big Ten.

With much of his 2020 unit not returning in 2021, Notre Dame offensive line coach Jeff Quinn has his work cut out for him. He will do everything in his power to keep the Irish’s reputation for churning out quality offensive linemen going for as long as possible. To that end, he has presented an offer to a tackle who would need to wait only a year before arriving in South Bend. This latest target is the 6-foot-5, 260-pound Ashton Craig from Lawrenceburg, Indiana:

Craig is very interested in Notre Dame, but he also is giving serious consideration to numerous Big Ten schools. Namely, he is looking at Michigan, Northwestern, Iowa and Nebraska. Other programs in the running include Duke, Wake Forest, Florida State, Boston College, Purdue, Indiana, Cincinnati and Toledo. Wherever he ends up, he has the body that belongs in college football, and any offense would benefit from having him.

Offensive tackle recruit Samson Okunlola receives offer from Notre Dame

A big offensive lineman recruit is on Notre Dame’s radar.

It’s difficult to imagine an offensive line better than what Notre Dame had this past season. Obviously, the Irish want to keep that a strength for as long as possible. Even if some players won’t arrive for a few years, it always is helpful to look towards the future. The Irish are doing that with Samson Okunlola, a 6-foot-5, 320-pound sophomore offensive tackle from Brockton, Massachusetts:

Jeff Quinn will do everything possible to land Okunlola, who attends Thayer Academy. He’ll have some stiff competition as Okunlola already has received offers from two dozen schools. These include Florida State, Mississippi, South Carolina, USC, Virginia, Boston College, Michigan, Florida, Penn State, Maryland, Arizona State, Georgia, Indiana and Rutgers.

Although Notre Dame had a great offensive line in 2020, it’s difficult to know what state the unit will be in once Okunlola arrives (assuming he does). That’s why Okunlola would be a big get for Quinn.  It always help to have a little insurance for the future.

Notre Dame makes top 5 for the best tackle in the country

A potentially huge addition to the ‘22 class

The 2022 recruiting class for Notre Dame is shaping up to be one of the best in recent memory. The class of ‘13 was a fantastic group, ranking inside the top 5 in the country, with the ‘08 version pacing the field after finishing second in the nation. The current class has the same ranking as ‘08 class held, which included Michael Floyd, Kyle Rudolph, and Dayne Crist.

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The momentum is building and the Irish are still certainly in the mix for the best offensive tackle in the country Zach Rice. The Virginia native dropped his top 5 and Notre Dame was included.

The plan is for Rice to visit each of his final schools for an official when the NCAA finally ends the long dead period. At six-foot-six-inches and 282-pounds, the tackle has a very good last group of schools to choose from.

Jeff Quinn, Notre Dame offensive line coach, and Brian Kelly, has their work cut out for the to beat the current college football power powerhouse, Alabama, the Midwest power Ohio State, his home state school in Virginia and another ACC foe in North Carolina.

A commitment from Rice would certainly be a cherry on top of the Notre Dame recruiting class and the Irish are hungry to make that addition.

 

OT Recruit Chase Bisontis Latest to Get Offer From Notre Dame

Jeff Quinn continues to be on the move to build Notre Dame’s offensive line for the future.

Jeff Quinn continues to be on the move to build Notre Dame’s offensive line for the future. This week, we’ve already seen an offer for Tyler Booker from Florida. Now, we have one from Chase Bisontis, an offensive tackle from Ramsey, New Jersey, who just completed his sophomore season at Don Bosco Prep and weighs in at 6-foot-5, 275 pounds. This could amount to a couple of solid gets from Quinn in the same recruiting class.

Bisontis has lured offers from 19 schools thus far. Among those vying for his services in a couple of years are Florida State, Michigan State, Michigan, Ohio State, Arkansas and West Virginia. Brian Dohn of 247Sports projects him as a starter with an elite Power Five program. Based on the programs already looking at him when he’s not even a high school upperclassman yet, that’s sure to become a reality, and we naturally hope he’ll pick the Irish.