Tag: Liam Eichenberg

Tidbits from Notre Dame’s head coach Brian Kelly’s Monday press conference

Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly touched on Louisville, Kyle Hamilton, Liam Eichenberg, Kevin Austin, Tariq Bracy, Chris Tyree and more.

As Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly does every Monday, he met with the media this morning. He touched on a bunch of topics ahead of the contest with Louisville. Here are some of the highlights of what Kelly touched on today:

-Louisville will employ a 3-4 defensive scheme that will be “the first time we’ll see this,” so there might be a few early bumps in the offense this weekend.

-The struggles defensively against Florida State can be attributed to not having guys in practice. Kelly said “there were some defense lapses that occurred that we don’t normally have,” but he’s confident “they’ll be corrected for this weekend.”

-Kevin Austin is full go and will battle with Javon McKinley for playing time. Both of them will see the field together.

-Austin along with Matt Salerno will have the punt return duties after Lawrence Keys III struggled against Florida State

-Kelly has been impressed with the running back group, in particular Kyren Williams and Chris Tyree. Noted that the patience and ability Tyree has “you usually don’t get that with a young back.” Kelly pointed out both backs are impressive in yards after contact.

-Tariq Bracy’s improvement has been due to hitting the weight room hard. Kelly said with Bracy’s stronger lower half it has helped his explosiveness out of breaks and ability to tackle in space one-on-one.

-The return of Kyle Hamilton is such a game changer. Kelly said “he’s a difference maker, he covers ground like no safety that I have coached. He plays with physicality, it’s difficult for teams to go in his area.” That makes a lot of us happy that Hamilton has returned from his injury.

-Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah doesn’t really ever leave the field, Kelly has a few reasons why: “he gives us a lot of versatility, can play a lot of downs for us” due to his man-to-man coverage and pass-rushing skills.

-Liam Eichenberg’s has the respect of his fellow lineman, after playing with a swollen eye Saturday, he’s go the respect of everyone else now. Kelly said “it solidified respect that they have for him.”

Notre Dame offensive line rated highest by massive margin

Just how much better than every other offensive line has Notre Dame’s played this year? PFF has that incredible answer for you.

If you’ve been following the rankings of offensive lines from Pro Football Focus this year you already know that they’ve been very high on Notre Dame’s offensive line, but just how high they are on the big uglies for the Irish compared to anyone else might surprise you.

In their most recently updated rankings that were released late Wednesday, Notre Dame didn’t just get the top overall offensive line grade for the season, but did so by an extremely large margin.

It’s worth noting that Duke has a decent defensive front but that the competition Notre Dame has faced isn’t going to threaten for too many accolades this fall.

That said, up front the Irish haven’t just handled their business but entirely dominated it.

Yesterday we looked at how both Liam Eichenberg and Jarrett Patterson were called two of the best non-quarterbacks in all of Power Five football so far this season and without much surprise, the entire offensive line falls in line with those rankings.

It almost goes without saying at this point but as excited as we are for how well they’ve played so far in 2020, we’ll let the performances against the likes of Pitt and Clemson’s star-studded defensive lines decide just how good this offensive line ends up being, but clearly early returns have been outstanding.

PFF gives pair of Notre Dame linemen massive praise

Notre Dame’s offensive line has played at a high level we know, but just how high two members have played may surprise you.

Notre Dame has only played two games so far this season and their opponents in those two are a combined 1-6 on the season but praise is still being thrown in the direction of two Fighting Irish players.

Pro Football Focus has graded every Power Five player and today released their rankings for the highest graded non-quarterbacks this season that play at Power Five programs.

In that list, two Notre Dame players showed up in the top five.

Only Kyle Pitts, who already has six touchdown receptions in two games, outranks Liam Eichenberg who mans the left tackle position.  Then just two spots behind him is Jarrett Patterson who mans the center position seemingly as well as anyone in the nation.

This speaks to what we’ve said a lot here, that the best unit of any on Notre Dame is easily their offensive line.  The question with it that will come into play eventually is how it does in the run game against strong defensive fronts?

It was far from special against Georgia a year ago and downright disasterous in the late October affair at Michigan.

Can it take a significant step there when Pitt and Clemson show up on the schedule in the next month?

If the answer to that question is yes then you might be looking at a Notre Dame team that returns to the College Football Playoff.

If it’s a no then things are likely headed towards another plenty good, but far from truly great season for the Fighting Irish.

Notre Dame offensive line named best through 4 weeks

Pro Football Focus has graded every college football offensive line in the nation a month in and you-know-who is rated first.

The first four weeks of college football have come and gone and as we turn our calendars to October, we look back a bit on the first month of the season of college football.

When you do that with Notre Dame a good place to look in terms of performance level is their offensive line unit.

Why?

Well, it’s not just because the program has developed into “O-Line U” in recent years but because this was the unit that was supposed to be the strongest of any for Notre Dame entering 2020.

Now a month in (just two games in this case) Notre Dame’s offensive line is graded by Pro Football Focus to be the best so far early on in this young college football season.

The Pro Football Focus writeup on the Notre Dame offensive line:

1. NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH

LT: Liam Eichenberg — 93.7 PFF grade
LG: Aaron Banks — 82.2 PFF grade
C: Jarrett Patterson — 91.4 PFF grade
RG: Tommy Kraemer  — 72.9 PFF grade
RT: Robert Hainsey — 88.6 PFF grade

The Fighting Irish came in at No. 1 in our preseason rankings, and they have certainly played like it thus far. On true pass sets (i.e., no play action, screen, quick throw, etc), The Irish have the highest-graded offensive line (88.5) in the country among those with at least 25 such reps. For perspective on how good that is, second place has a 76.2 grade. As you can find in CFB Premium Stats, the Irish offensive line is also the highest-graded unit in the run game.

Starting left tackle Liam Eichenberg leads the unit and is the highest-graded tackle in the country. He’s the only tackle to produce grades above 85.0 in both pass protection and as a run blocker. Center Jarrett Patterson also leads his position in PFF grade, while guard Aaron Banks and tackle Robert Hainsey each crack the top 10 at their respective positions. Guard Tommy Kraemer may not have a top-10 grade like his peers, but it’s still a solid mark relative to his counterparts. He has also allowed just one pressure in 2020.

Because of questions at running back coming in and injuries and a lack of production early on from the wide receivers, it’s more important than ever to get great results from the offensive line and through a pair of games its safe to say that Notre Dame is getting exactly that.

Joining the Irish in the top 5 were:

2. BYU
3. Appalachian State
4. Clemson
5. Marshall

Notre Dame named top offensive line of week

It wasn’t a pretty start but it got dominating as it went on Saturday for Notre Dame’s offensive line against Duke. See how dominating here

It didn’t start very pretty but it sure did end up so as Notre Dame went from three-and-out their first three possessions on Saturday to just three punts the entire rest of the game.

Why?

Part was likely play-calling while shaking off some rust certainly applies but an offensive line that dominated as the game went on was a large part of that as well.

Tuesday saw Pro Football Focus rate the best offensive line units for the college football weekend and Notre Dame topped the charts.

On the first three possessions Saturday we saw Notre Dame gain -5 yards on the ground on seven attempts.  That’s because of the odd rule where sacks count as rush yards in college football and Ian Book was sacked twice those first three drives for a total of 12 yards lost.

The rest of the game Notre Dame ran the ball 36 times for 183 yards, an average of more than five yards per attempts, up significantly from their brutal start.

Also after allowing those two sacks on the first three possessions, the Notre Dame offense allowed just one the rest of the game, a noteworthy improvement.

It wasn’t perfect, especially the start, but the middle and end were a mighty impressive showing for Notre Dame’s big ugglies.

 

Could another Styles be headed to Notre Dame?

The Fighting Irish coaching staff are trying to have Sonny Styles, young brother to commit Lorenzo, join him in South Bend.

The Fighting Irish already have secured a commitment from one Pickerington Central star in Lorenzo Styles Jr. and there is plenty to be excited about his pledge. There could be another Styles on the way to South Bend as Lorenzo’s younger brother, Sonny was offered by Brian Kelly and his staff on the first of the month.

After watching Lorenzo’s highlights from their season opening win, I thought they could be making a move on the younger Styles soon. That’s exactly what happened as Sonny put on a show during a nationally televised game.

The Irish joined instate powerhouse Ohio State in offering the star sophomore, and once again more flip ideas went into many peoples minds. The Buckeyes have done well keeping the best talent in state, but the Irish are one of the very few schools that can pull elite talent out of Ohio. Recently, Notre Dame has pulled offensive lineman Zeke Correll, Tommy Kraemer and Liam Eichenberg away from their home state to play for the Blue and Gold.

Rivals once again revisited Lorenzo’s potential for a flip and both of their recruiting experts Mike Farrell and Adam Gorney don’t believe the Buckeyes will be able to. They actually see Michigan as Notre Dame’s biggest threat to flip Styles Jr., but I just don’t see that happening.

Back to Sonny, who seems to be on the verge of blowing up nationally, already with two Midwestern power programs after his pledge. Having a family member as a teammate is always something players will consider and when Lorenzo ultimately signs with the Irish, a build in recruiting advantage will be made.

The recruitment of Sonny is just beginning, but already having a relationship with the Styles family, father Lorenzo played for the Buckeyes, is an advantage that Kelly must take. Lorenzo Jr. is already asking Irish Nation to show his younger brother some love. The Irish coaching staff has already done that and hopefully they will once again be reunited on the field wearing the same colors.

Notre Dame Football: Pair of Irish named to CFN’s Top 50 list

A pair of Notre Dame players showed up on the CFN Top 50 players list entering 2020. Who didn’t make the cut that’s the surprise, though.

We’re just 13 days until Notre Dame kicks off against Duke and the 2020 college football season gets underway for Fighting Irish fans.

As we’ve gone over the rankings of best teams each time we can find one, we haven’t done much on the actual best players outside of Notre Dame.

College Football News did that recently, naming the 50 best players in college football entering the 2020 season.  In order to make their list you have to be on a team that is scheduled to play this fall, not in the winter or spring.

With that in mind, know that two Notre Dame players made the list but they probably aren’t the two you’re guessing.

If you’re like me your first thought is probably “OK, its Kyle Hamilton easily and did they go with Koramoah or Eichenberg as the second?”

Well, about that.

They didn’t actually go with Hamilton in the top 50, instead ranking offensive tackle Liam Eichenberg as the 11th best player and linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah as the 34th best player.

Here’s what they said about both.  First up, 11th ranked Eichenberg:

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4

Notre Dame Football: Is a leader at running back emerging?

Does Notre Dame have a running back starting to emerge from the back in the battle for reps?

One thing we’ve discussed this summer is that Notre Dame has a stockpile of options at running back, but that there isn’t a lot of faith in what those backs will be able to in 2020.

When Brian Kelly met the media for the first time back in the first week of fall camp, he noted the weight freshman Chris Tyree came in at and that Tyree wasn’t going to just be a gadget guy in 2020.  Kelly was also complimentary towards another running back earlier this week when asked about red-shirt freshman, Kyren Williams.

“I think the hard work, his commitment in the offseason has put himself in a position now where he’s what we thought he would be,” Kelly said. “He can catch the football. He’s got really good vision, escapability. He’s not afraid to block or run the ball up between the tackles so he’s going to be a really key piece for us moving into the season.” – HC Brian Kelly

Liam Eichenberg was interviewed after a recent practice and shared the following while discussing the offensive, specifically the running backs:

“The running backs – Kyren Williams is having a great camp. The offense is rolling. It’s been good.” – LT Liam Eichenberg

Williams played in the first four games of 2019 as a true freshman, getting four carries and one reception that totaled 29 yards.  He also returned a pair of kickoffs for a combined 35 yards.

It’s early and it’s going strictly on words from his coach and teammate, but it would appear Kyren Williams is turning heads and doing a lot to earn a good amount of touches early in the 2020 campaign.

Notre Dame Football: Irish all over PFF’s Preseason All-ACC Team

What is particularly interesting to me here is that by simply counting, Notre Dame has three more members on the First Team than Clemson, with only Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne receiving that honor for the Tigers. 

This is weird to write.

Looking at Pro Football Focus’s Preseason All-ACC Team and seeing Notre Dame players listed is strange.  I’m used to seeing Notre Dame listed as an independent and not really looking much at it.

But it’s 2020 and Notre Dame is playing in the ACC as a full-time member this season.  The Irish are all over the list with five players earning First Team status, a pair more making the Second Team, three more being named to the Third Team and one player earning an Honorable Mention.

Notre Dame’s First Team Selections:

OT – Liam Eichenberg
Eichenberg already earned the 18th-best pass-blocking grade among FBS tackles over the entire season, but his grade from Week 7 on actually cracked the top-10 (7th).

C – Jarrett Patterson
Patterson finished as the 19th most valuable player in the FBS at the position and produced an above-average pass-blocking grade on his true pass sets.

OG – Aaron Banks
He allowed zero pressures in seven of his 13 games and dominated against Power 5 competition. He actually produced an 85.6 pass-blocking grade in those matchups, third in the country among those with at least 175 such snaps.

LB – Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah
From Week 10 on, Micah Parsons and Isaiah Simmons were the only Power 5 linebackers who earned a higher PFF grade.

S – Kyle Hamilton
The 6-foot-4 safety allowed only seven catches on 23 targets in coverage while making four interceptions and breaking up another five passes en route to a 1.3 passer rating allowed.

Notre Dame’s Second Team Selections:
OG – Tommy Kraemer
K – Jonathan Doerer

Notre Dame’s Third Team Selections:
OT – Robert Hainsey
Edge – Ade Ogundeji
LB – Drew White

Notre Dame’s lone Honorable Mention:
QB – Ian Book

What is particularly interesting to me here is that by simply counting, Notre Dame has three more members on the First Team than Clemson, with only Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne receiving that honor for the Tigers.

Clemson had four players on the Second Team, six on the Third Team and one player receive honorable mention.

Notre Dame actually has more players combined on the first and second teams than Clemson does but the Tigers have 13 players mentioned in total to Notre Dame’s 11.

Irish have 6 players on Senior Bowl Top 250

There could be up to six Notre Dame Football seniors who could play in this years version of the Reese’s Senior Bowl.

The Reese’s Senior Bowl has been a great sendoff for collegiate seniors since 1950, giving them once more opportunity to impress the NFL scouts as the finish off their eligibility. This year six Notre Dame players made their top 250 list, which were: offensive linemen Tommy Kramer, Liam Eichenberg and Robert Hainsey, quarterback Ian Book, and defensive linemen Daelin Hayes and Ade Ogundeji.

This game has been a spring board for some great prospects, as their alumni consists of Cowboys quarterback Dan Prescott and New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones. The Irish have had one MVP of the Senior Bowl, coming all the way back in 1959 when running back Norm Odyniec shared the title with Georgia full back Theron Sapp.

All six of the Notre Dame players on their top 250 list have a great shot at making the All-Star game. Last year Chase Claypool impressed many while Troy Pride Jr., Alohi Gilman and Jalen Elliott each made their marks during the week. Hopefully they all get their chance to shine one more time wearing the Blue and Gold.