Tag: Matt Salerno

Notre Dame Lands Walk-on Commitment From Kicker Christopher Salerno

In general, kickers don’t attract much attention on the recruiting scale unless they have otherworldly talent.

In general, kickers don’t attract much attention on the recruiting scale unless they have otherworldly talent. Still, with college kickers seemingly only being useful for so long, it never hurts to keep your options open. On Wednesday, Notre Dame will have one such option next season in Christopher Salerno, brother of current Irish punt returner Matt Salerno:

Like his brother, Salerno is from Crespi Carmelite in Valencia, California. When not on the gridiron, he’s also played soccer and lacrosse. Though also listed as a receiver, he definitely was recruited for his kicking. Why else would he have named Brian Polian in his announcement?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PF1SgXBC9Vk

Matt Salerno is responsible for 10 of the Irish’s 14 punt returns this season, averaging 4.5 yards a return. He spent most of his first two seasons in South Bend on the bench before finally finding a role on special teams. Luckily for him, special teams appear to run deep in the family, so he’ll get to show his younger brother what it means to play at Notre Dame. Perhaps he’ll even help Christopher earn a scholarship.

Notre Dame vs. Syracuse: Second-Quarter Analysis

When Clark Lea stepped off the Notre Dame bus Saturday, he probably didn’t expect Syracuse to present such a challenge to his defense.

When Clark Lea stepped off the Notre Dame bus Saturday, he probably didn’t expect Syracuse to present such a challenge to his defense. In the first half, we saw that at times. A victory that appeared to be such a foregone conclusion didn’t seem like it midway through the second quarter. Then, the Irish woke up, and they now hold a 24-7 halftime lead.

The Orange started their first drive of the second quarter at their own 38-yard line and executed it to perfection. Rather than go for it all on one big play, they successfully relied on a series of runs and short passes. It paid off when Rex Culpepper connected with Anthony Queeley for an 18-yard touchdown to give their team the lead. Dino Babers said that this is his team’s title game, and that’s how it’s played for the most part.

For most of the second quarter, the Irish’s offense continued to have trouble getting anything going. On one drive, they got into Orange territory and appeared to pick up a fourth down, but Michael Mayer’s momentum carried him back behind the marker, and the Irish turned it over on downs. Everyone was waiting for anything to happen to get this unit going.

The Orange inadvertently provided a spark for the Irish when they appeared to force a three-and-out, but Kingsley Jonathan was flagged for roughing the passer. Ian Book made Jonathan pay for his mistake with a couple of first-down completions to Tommy Tremble and Javon McKinley. He put a stamp on the drive with a 28-yard touchdown run to put the Irish back in front. That’s what happens when you give a team like this second chances.

After that, the Irish we’ve come to know finally showed up. Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa sacked Culpepper and forced a fumble that was recovered by Marist Liufau. It took forever for the replay booth to confirm that, but it finally happened. Speaking of things finally happening, McKinley, the Irish’s leading receiver, scored his first touchdown of the season on a 21-yard pass from Book on the first play of the drive.

With time running out in the half, the Orange gave the Irish another opportunity when Cooper Lutz ran into Matt Salerno after Salerno had called for a fair catch on a punt. The Irish took advantage of this latest in a series of Syracuse mistakes by putting together a drive in which they marched down the field as quickly as any offense in college football is capable of. Book’s 21-yard pass to Ben Skowronek put the Irish in field-goal range, but Book decided that wasn’t enough, and he hit McKinley for a 28-yard touchdown pass with six seconds left. All of that took 32 seconds, and the Irish went into the locker room feeling much more confident about their chances of a blowout win.

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.”