Tag: Lance Taylor

Reasons why Marcus Freeman is the right choice for Notre Dame

Freeman has a lot going for him

It has yet to become official but it seems like on Friday the Irish will announce defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman as the successor to Brian Kelly. In my estimation, this is a home run hire, dating back to when Kelly sniped Freeman from Cincinnati. There has been major chances to the program and the future looks insanely bright. Here are reasons why I believe Freeman is absolutely the correct choice for the Irish.

Source: Lance Taylor to remain as Notre Dame running backs coach

Another Irish assistant is staying put.

Kyren Williams probably is headed to the NFL after this season, but the man who coaches his unit appears he will stay at Notre Dame. A source has told Blue and Gold Illustrated that running backs coach Lance Taylor will remain in his position when Marcus Freeman takes over:

Taylor, currently in his third season with the Irish, will have quite the amount of returning talent next year. Chris Tyree and Logan Diggs both have made great strides in 2021, and it will be interesting if either one of them can make up the production Williams is sure to leave behind after he most likely turns pro. It also will be worth monitoring how Audric Estime grows next year with more opportunities sure to come his way.

We don’t know if any of those running backs will develop into the next Christian McCaffrey, who Taylor coached at Stanford, but anything is possible after we’ve seen what Williams has become under the coaching of Taylor.

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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 running back commit Audric Estime tweets workout photos

In December, Notre Dame got a steal when running back recruit Audric Estime flipped to the Irish from Michigan State.

In December, Notre Dame got a steal when running back recruit Audric Estime flipped to the Irish from Michigan State. Even though this recruiting win over a regional rival undoubtedly excited many Irish fans, some might have decided they would feel a little better once they saw Estime actually going about his activities in Notre Dame gear. That time has arrived because Estime sent out this tweet earlier:

Estime will join Logan Diggs as a running back signee for the incoming class of players. These two are coming in at a time when the Irish already are stacked at the position. Kyren Williams, Chris Tyree and C’Bo Flemister have provided more than enough production there and are expected to continue that in 2021. That being the case, it might take a while before either Estime or Diggs see significant playing time. It’s a good problem for running backs coach Lance Taylor, who has more studs on his unit than he likely knows what to do with.

Running Back Recruit Jadarian Price Commits to Notre Dame

It appears Notre Dame might have its heir apparent to Kyren Williams, or at least an option for when the time comes.

It appears Notre Dame might have its heir apparent to Kyren Williams, or at least an option for when the time comes. His name is Jadarian Price, and he hails from Denison, Texas. He made the announcement Sunday, a special day for his mother:

Notre Dame clearly has been on Price’s mind for a while. In a previous interview with BlueandGold.com, he talked about the opportunities he could get with the program and the university:

“The education I can get from Notre Dame is unmatched. I am building great relationships with the coaching staff too. My relationship with running backs coach Lance Taylor has continued to grow.”

Per Rivals, Price was planning to visit the university during the past week, but bad weather prevented him from traveling. Fortunately for the Irish, that didn’t matter. Perhaps what best sold him on Notre Dame was its strong academic reputation, which is a major plus for someone with a 4.1 GPA. Sometimes, the glove simply fits effortlessly.

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Running Back Recruit Justice Haynes Receives Offer From Notre Dame

Sometimes, when seemingly every program is after somebody, you gotta make your move.

Sometimes, when seemingly every program is after somebody, you gotta make your move. Lance Taylor could see this during his pursuit of Justice Haynes, a running back from Blessed Trinity Catholic in Rosewell, Georgia. The time to make an offer to play at Notre Dame to the offensive player of the year in his state’s region was now or never. Luckily, Haynes confirmed that Taylor chose now:

Notre Dame’s offer was the fifth Haynes had received since Wednesday. The Irish came in just behind Oregon, Western Kentucky, Ohio State and Auburn in that order. Despite this latest round of offers pouring in, 247Sports sees Georgia as the clear front-runner to land his services. This all comes on top of the offers he’s also received from such schools as Florida State, Miami, Penn State, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Arkansas and Georgia Tech.

It goes without saying, but having to field offers from so many prominent programs in such a short period of time is a good problem for any recruit to have.

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Notre Dame Offers Running Back Recruit Jordan Bryant-James

The first thing to know about the above headline is that no, this has nothing to do with the constant GOAT discussion in the NBA.

The first thing to know about the above headline is that no, this has nothing to do with the constant GOAT discussion in the NBA. It just so happens that Notre Dame running back target Jordan Bryant-James has all three names that come up in that. The Murfreesboro, Tennessee, native from Oakland High School actually has a future in football, and the Irish want him. Naturally, Lance Taylor is looking out for when Kyren Williams eventually moves on:

So far, 14 schools have expressed interest in and given offers to Bryant-James. Both Tennessee and Vanderbilt in his home state are among them. The other schools in the mix include Missouri, Virginia Tech, Louisville, Florida State, Florida, Georgia, Alabama and Nebraska. When the Daily News Journal, your hometown newspaper, names you its all-area player of the year, you’re bound to attract some prominent schools. While we don’t know if he’ll take his talents to South Bend, at least he’s appreciative of that opportunity.

Scouts view: Newest flip and sign running back Audric Estime

A look at what to expect from the second flip of the day for Notre Dame, running back Audric Estime.

As Ice Cube once said, ‘today is a good day.’ That’s exactly what the Irish are feeling after securing their second flip of the day, first Khari Gee from LSU and now running back Audric Estime from Michigan State. (Check out what to expect from Gee here)

Although Notre Dame has to wait until February to find out if Logan Diggs will be a member of the 2021 class, Brian Kelly has now secured at least one running back in the class. Let’s take a look at what to expect out of the newest Irish commit, Audric Estime.

In just eight games, Estime totaled 1,862 rushing yards along with 24 touchdowns, huge numbers in such a short season. His first three touches on his highlight reel, Estime is barely touched while taking those carries for long touchdowns, showcasing his speed and vision. He’s not extremely shifty, but has enough wiggle to make defenders miss. Estime is more of a north/south runner, who is hard to take down, arm tackles he runs right through.

Estime shows good hands in the passing game, enough to keep a defense honest. His high school offense uses a variety of sets, from an offset I-formation to zone read plays from the shotgun. The versatility is impressive, for the six-foot-one-inch and 215-pound back.

The running back room is now absolutely loaded, with Kyren Williams and Chris Tyree leading the charge and Estime coming to join them. Kelly and running back coach Lance Taylor should be ecstatic about the commitment and signing of Audric Estime.

Michigan State RB Commit Audric Estime Receives Offer From Notre Dame

Notre Dame has had a fine season with its ground game thanks to Kyren Williams.

Notre Dame has had a fine season with its ground game thanks to Kyren Williams. The Irish seem bent on keeping the running back position solid for years to come. They made that clear after making an offer to Michigan State four-star commit Audric Estime. This also might be insurance in case they lose running back commit Logan Diggs, who got an offer last week from LSU:

Estime is a senior at St. Joseph Regional High School in Montvale, New Jersey. His strong season caught the attention of Irish running backs coach Lance Taylor. Estime also cited special teams coordinator Brian Polian when discussing the offer. It’s unknown whether Estime will sign with either Notre Dame or Michigan State this week, but the pressure to make a decision could come soon.

Estime would be a solid addition to a corps already featuring Williams, Chris Tyree and C’Bo Flemister. The downside is with all of that talent is that it might force Estime to wait his turn to get to the top of the depth chart. In that case, it might be more beneficial for him to stick with the Spartans. Whatever happens, the Irish have made it clear they value him, so there’s a lot to take into consideration.

Notre Dame continues offering ’22 prospects, RB Alston the newest

The Irish staff is hard at work in the 2022 recruiting class, as yet another offer to Georgia running back Damari Alston today.

It might seem like a broken record, but the Notre Dame staff has put their focus now on the 2022 recruiting class. Monday it was quarterbacks, earlier today an offer went of to offensive lineman Ty Chan and now Georgia running back Damari Alston has reported a verbal offer from the Irish staff.

The schools that have offered the 5-foot-11-inch and 200-pound back is impressive, Alabama, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio State and many others have offered the Atlanta star. Alston already possesses a college-ready body, ran for 889 yards with 10 touchdowns last year. His hands a solid as well, as he grabbed 22 passes for 161 yards and 2 TD’s during his sophomore campaign.

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A punishing runner who isn’t afraid of contact, just doesn’t go down with arm tackles. Alston’s thick lower half helps him churn out yardage after contact. Although he is not super-shifty, he’s got plenty of moves to get into the open field, going north and south has never really hurt a running back.

Alston becomes the fifth running back offered in the class of 2020 by Brian Kelly and running back’s coach Lance Taylor. It seems like losing out on North Carolina’s Will Shipley has made the staff change a bit on how they will approach recruiting running backs. By going after multiple prospects, the Irish are assuring themselves that they won’t have to scramble to find a replacement if their top options don’t end up in South Bend. There are two commits in the ’22 class in offensive tackle Joey Tanona and tight end Jack Nickel and adding Alston would be a great addition.