Tag: ND Football Recruiting

How Notre Dame Is Holding Strong Amid College Football Chaos

Notre Dame is still maintaining its independence in this crazy college football world. But how?

College football fans have gone from the lazy and hazy dog days of summer to a daily news bonanza seemingly overnight. Even just within the Notre Dame program alone, the news has been fast and furious between camp coverage, green jerseys, apparel deals, TV booth announcements, recruiting, etc. But if we pull the scope back a bit further, we can see that there are much bigger moving dynamics in play.

The Pac-12 is no longer going to exist. Oregon and Washington are headed to the Big 10, others to the Big 12. Some unfortunate schools will no longer be in a Power 5 conference, which will permanently damage them. Top ACC schools are trying to secure outside funding to escape the conference. Meanwhile, Notre Dame sits in South Bend Indiana comfortably enjoying the freedom of Independence.

Let’s examine how and why this is so.

Scout’s view: Notre Dame’s newest commitment, 2025 running back Justin Thurman

The Irish add more depth to their running back room

[autotag]Notre Dame[/autotag] scored a huge recruiting win for the 2025 class on Tuesday when Florida running back [autotag]Justin Thurman[/autotag] announced his commitment to the Irish.

Thurman stands 5-foot, 11-inches and weighs 185 pounds and is ranked as the 27th best running back and 281st overall prospect according to the 247Sports composite. He visited South Bend over this past weekend and the Irish coaching staff obviously did a great job.

He is the first commit of the class at his position, and after watching his sophomore film, it’s easy to see why Notre Dame wanted him. Find out what I saw in Thurman after watching his tape below.

Report: Notre Dame impressed 2025 quarterback recruit while on campus

The Irish showed him a great time

Now that the dead period is over, [autotag]Notre Dame[/autotag] and other schools across the country are beginning to host prospects again.

For the Irish, it was a chance to show 2025 Mississippi quarterback [autotag]Deuce Knight[/autotag] what their program is all about. The 6-foot, 4-inch and 190 pound signal caller seemed extremely excited to visit South Bend. The staff knew this a rolled the red carpet out for him.

According to a report by 247Sports Tom Loy, Knight was made to “feel like the President.” His family was along for the trip, which tells me that the Irish are extremely high on his list of schools he’s considering.

The next step will be making a decision, but not before seeing a couple games this fall, Loy reports. Hopefully, a return to South Bend during the fall is on tap. Knight is ranked as the 5th quarterback and 78th overall prospect according to the 247Sports composite.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Mike on Twitter: @MikeFChen

Notre Dame is trending to eventually add 2025 quarterback

Could the Irish be adding another big time quarterback in the near future?

During this past weekend we chronicled that 2025 Tennessee quarterback [autotag]Deuce Knight [/autotag] visited Notre Dame and subsequently had a great time doing so.

It was such a good visit that 247Sports Tom Loy decided that he had heard enough positive chatter that he put in a crystal ball pick for the Irish to add the 6-foot, 5-inch and 195 pound quarterback. Knight is one of the top players in the country, ranking as the 5th at his position and 78th overall player nationally according to the 247Sports composite.

Knight also holds offers from Alabama, Georgia, Miami and others so a commitment would be a big one for the Irish. Getting high level quarterbacks in back-to-back class isn’t something the Irish are accustomed to, but this could be the start of a big run if Loy is correct.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Mike on Twitter: @MikeFChen

Notre Dame Football: Irish to Extend Under Armour Contract 10 Years

Notre Dame appears set to remain with Under Armour. How you feel about that?

If the various stories circulating the internet, particularly on social media prove to be accurate, Notre Dame is set to extend their apparel contract with Under Armour for the next 10 years. In return, the Irish would receive 10 million per year in cash and gear each year, making this one of if not the richest deals of this kind in college football next to Texas and Ohio State‘s deals with Nike.

What does this deal mean for Notre Dame’s future? What does it mean for Under Armour as a company moving forward? What extra perks will the Irish receive this time around in lieu of stock options? Is this Jack Swarbrick’s final big win as he departs Notre Dame or is there also a mega TV deal announcement yet to come?

Let’s examine 5 instant reactions I had to this breaking news.

Notre Dame football: 2023’s Secret Weapons

The less talked about names to know for the 2023 offense

One thing that Notre Dame has lacked for some time now is having multiple home run hitters on offense. The types of players that can take a ball from anywhere and score with it and or simply cause nightmare mismatches for a defense. Teams that feature a multitude of these types of athletes tend to score bunches of points and change games in an instant. Any hope Notre Dame has of becoming a playoff team every year with the expanded field and having success is dependent on them finding more players that fit this profile.

I believe that Notre Dame’s offense, under the direction of a 6th-year well-experienced quarterback, could be in a great position to truly get explosive this year based on some of the personnel that will be featured. The following players will have roles that could keep defensive coordinators awake at night.

Notre Dame 2024 commits share their ‘Think Big’ videos and graphics

These are all excellent #ThinkBig

It has been a pretty big day for [autotag]Notre Dame[/autotag] and their social media team.

Not only was the Irish’s green jerseys unveiled on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, but multiple 2024 commitments shared videos and graphics with the hashtag of ThinkBig, the slogan of their class.

Was is unique about this campaign is that none of the videos shared were the same, each of the individually crafted for each commitment. It’s a job well done by the Notre Dame social media staff, as they have been extremely busy the past few weeks getting all of this prepared to roll out at the same time.

Take a look below at some of the videos and graphics shared by the Irish verbal commitments.

Notre Dame gets a crystal ball projection for 2025 running back

Good news for the Irish 2025 class if true

[autotag]Notre Dame[/autotag] hosted a “Grill & Chill” recruiting event this weekend and even before it happened, there was good news.

On Friday, 247Sports Tom Loy logged a crystal ball selection for 2025 Florida running back [autotag]Justin Thurman[/autotag] to end up committed to the Irish. At 5-foot, 11-inches and 185 pounds, the running back seemed very excited to be on campus this weekend.

Thurman is regarded as one of the best running backs in the nation, ranking as the 27th player at his position and 278th overall according to the 247Sports composite. The Notre Dame 2025 class currently does not have a commitment at Thurman’s position.

Loy’s went into detail as to why he made the crystal ball pick, saying the Irish “have already made a great impression and will look to close on the top target this weekend.” Unfortunately, Thurman didn’t commit during his visit but he might just be waiting for the right time if Loy is correct.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Mike on Twitter: @MikeFChen

Does Rivals believe Notre Dame will sign a 5-star in 2024 class?

Will the Irish sign a 5-star in 2024?

For a period of time, it seemed like [autotag]Notre Dame football[/autotag] would end up signing multiple 5-star prospects in their 2024 class.

Quarterback CJ Carr and wide receiver Cam Williams held the status at times, but following the summer re-ranking period, both of them fell slightly outside of the range.

Rivals recently looked at if the Irish could ultimately sign a 5-star this cycle, as Clint Cosgrove and Charleston’s Bowles played fact or fiction with the topic.

Both of them chose that it is a fact, for the exact same reason. Cosgrove and Bowles believe that Carr eventually earns the 5th star back.

Another interesting nugget from this article was they Bowles breached the subject of the Irish adding a 5-star prospect from outside the current commits, specifically Justin Scott. Unfortunately, he believes that Scott will stick with his commitment to Ohio State.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Mike on Twitter: @MikeFChen

How Real Is The “Heat” On Marcus Freeman in 2023?

What kind of pressure is on Marcus Freeman in 2023?

Being in the Notre Dame content creation space for the last 7 years has been eye-opening. It allows me to observe and be exposed to a wide range of Irish fan ideas, thoughts, and feelings. With this in mind, I must admit I’ve been a bit surprised to engage with so many folks who are already asking how warm Marcus Freeman’s seat is entering his second year at the helm.

In my opinion, barring an off-the-field scandal which isn’t a concern I have with Marcus, there is no actual “hot seat” or even a “warm seat” situation entering year 2. This is an absurd notion. There is, however, pressure. And lots of it. As it always has and should be for any Notre Dame Head Coach.

Let’s examine how 3 key groups of people are viewing Freeman in this critical 2nd year regarding pressure or “heat”.