Tag: Nd Football

Rivals: Buchner Stock Down after Elite 11 Finals

Tyler Buchner, the 2021 Notre Dame quarterback commit did not have his best showing last week during the Elite 11 Finals.

This was not what Notre Dame fans wanted to hear, that their prized quarterback recruit Tyler Buchner picked up some bad habits this offseason. This has caused Mike Farrrell, Rivals Recruiting Director, to include Buchner in among his group that saw their stock fall after the Elite 11 quarterback camp.

Farrell went on to say that “someone messed with the Notre Dame commits mechanics as a sidearm, baseball sling is occurring often now. This leads to all sorts of issues from accuracy to the ball hanging at times. This was an odd performance.” That is not a very glowing review for Buchner, so hopefully he works on those aspects of his game.

It is hard to tell what Farrell is seeing in the few clips that were posted by spectators at the event. What I saw was not quite enough lower body rotation, with Buchner relying on his arm strength too much. That is an easy fix, as with more reps he can get his footwork in order to help with his delivery.

The most concerning part of Farrell’s assessment is the accuracy of Buchner’s balls. It’s a skill that is very difficult to teach, some quarterbacks have it, some don’t. At such an early age, Buchner has plenty of time to correct these mistakes before he arrives to South Bend. We know that he is a hard worker and the hope is he takes these critiques to heart and works on them before his final high school season.

Irish included in Ohioan’s Top 10 over weekend

Notre Dame is included in the Top 10 for a very intriguing tight end prospect.

It seems like the Notre Dame staff is looking to add on to the tight end room, the 2021 class already has a commitment from Georgia tight end Cane Berrong and are actively recruiting Ohio TE Mitchell Evans.

This weekend Evans released his Top 10 which included MSU, UVA, FSU and others along with Notre Dame. Evans checks in at 6’7” and 240-pounds which is a very large tight end, he even plays some quarterback for his Wadsworth High School team.

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The frame makes me wonder if Evans will actually end up playing tight end at the collegiate level, as his body matures and he adds more weight, the potential for a move to the offensive line increases. There is always a place for athletic offensive tackles in anyone’s locker room. It remains to be seen where Evans will eventually end up, but the Ohioan is more than worth a look at either position and hopefully makes his home for 3-5 years in South Bend.

Rivals: Notre Dame is Recruiting Defensive Tackles with best in Nation

The lone Irish commit on the interior of the defensive line is among the best in the country.

Although the 2021 Irish recruiting class only has one defensive tackle commit at the moment, Missouri’s Gabriel Rubio, he is still a very impressive prospect. His commitment alone was good enough for the Irish to be placed as Rivals 5th best class of ’21 at his position.

It’s the work ethic like this that has made Rubio a national name, according to Rivals rankings he’s the 99th best player in the country, 8th at defensive tackle and 2nd in the state. After posting impressive junior season stats, 117 tackles to go with 18 sacks, Rubio should see a huge senior sendoff before arriving in South Bend.

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It’s not just that Rubio is a great player, he’s also put on his recruiting hat, trying to help Brian Kelly and the Notre Dame coaching staff with their efforts.

Rubio will have high expectations when he arrives on campus, with a resume like his it would be hard not to. The Irish beat out schools like LSU, Ohio State, Georgia and others for Rubio commitment, making him the highest rated defender in the class up to date. Expect Rubio to have a very good career in the Blue and Gold.

Irish commit Buchner Finishes in Top Group at Elite 11 Finals

Notre Dame quarterback commit Tyler Buchner is named among the top group after completing the Elite 11 camp.

Notre Dame quarterback commit Tyler Buchner performed well, but not quite well enough to garner the MVP honor at the Elite 11 camp. That award went to uncommitted Washington DC quarterback Caleb Williams, who is ranked by the 247Sports composite as the best quarterback in the country.

What is weird about this award was how the MVP was chosen, as it consisted of half of the player’s junior film and the other half was the performance during the last 3 days. I find this extremely odd, as a camp MVP should be awarded to the top performer, not what they did they the year prior.

Since this was the first big camp of the summer, there surely will be a change in the quarterback rankings. We will be on the lookout for where Buchner gets moved to, hopefully he will continue his rise in the rankings.

Notre Dame Football joins viral trend of High School to Now

The Irish join in the trend and post multiple pictures of current players in high school and now.

The internet constantly gets creative, even during tough times like we are currently facing. The Notre Dame Football social media coordinator hit a home run with their series of Irish players in high school and then now. Take a look at their work:

Quarterback Ian Book

Running back Cameron Ekanayake

Long snapper Alex Peitsch

Defensive end NaNa Osafo-Mensah

Linebacker Paul Moala

Defensive back John Mahoney

Safety Kyle Hamilton

Linebacker Jack Kiser

Defensive end Adetokunbo Ogundeji

Defensive back Houston Griffith

2020 FIW Tournament: Second Round Voting Open – Hesburgh Region

Any win over Michigan is sweet and this Second Round match-up offers a couple of those.  Manti Te’o’s huge night en-route to 12-0 takes on the old No.1 vs No. 2 game from 1989 that saw Rocket Ismail blast off.  Twice.

The time has come to begin voting in the Hesburgh Region in the 2020 FIW Tournament to crown the best Notre Dame football game since 1986. Round one in the Hesburgh Region saw an 11 knock off a six-seed and was also home to the closer opening-round game where ’00 Purdue beat ’90 Tennessee by just a vote.

How was Round Two shape up? Gets your votes in now. The second round will close voting on Sunday afternoon before we advance to the Sweet 16.

— 1. ’93 Florida State vs. 8. ’99 Oklahoma

The Game of the Century goes down to the final play and results in a Notre Dame win over No.1 Florida State.  That will be a tough one to beat at all but the ’99 forgettable season did feature an entertaining comeback win over Oklahoma that got into the second round.

— 5. ’02 Florida State vs. 4. ’00 Purdue

Carlyle Holiday found Arnaz Battle to start things early as Notre Dame went on the road and beat Florida State in 2002.  Can that huge win get by 2000 Purdue who avoided upset in round-one by the slightest of margins or will Gary Godsey and Nick Setta sneak out another victory?

— 3. ’89 Michigan vs. 11. ’12 Michigan 

We (and by we I actually just mean me) were surprised how little love the 2000 win against Air Force received.  That said, any win over Michigan is sweet and this Second Round match-up offers a couple of those.  Manti Te’o’s huge night en-route to 12-0 takes on the old No.1 vs No. 2 game from 1989 that saw Rocket Ismail blast off.  Twice.

–2. ’12 Oklahoma vs. 7. ’12 Stanford 

We often view the 2012 Oklahoma as the biggest win of the 2012 season and it takes on the overtime thriller that concluded with an all-time goal-line stand.  During seeding, I thought it was certain the Oklahoma game would roll but the more I think the more I’m like Stanford’s chances to make this a Second Round thriller.

Notre Dame ’22 Quarterback Target Bumps Up Visit

Harrison had previously made it his plan to be on Notre Dame’s campus during the annual spring game in April but it turns out he’ll be in South Bend even sooner.

If you’ve been following Notre Dame’s recruiting news and targets in recent week you’ve probably become aware of the name Chase Harrison, a 2022 quarterback from Dayton, Ohio (Centerville High).  Harrison had previously made it his plan to be on Notre Dame’s campus during the annual spring game in April but it turns out he’ll be in South Bend even sooner.

Tom Loy of 247Sports/Irish Illustrated reports that Harrison will be on campus for the massive recruiting weekend Notre Dame has planned for the weekend of March 20-22.  He hasn’t received a scholarship offer yet nor will he during that visit, but Loy offered a timetable as to when that may happen.

If all goes well and continues to progress positively, don’t be surprised if Harrison returns to Notre Dame for a third trip, this one coming in the summer for the Quarterback Academy on Saturday, June 6. That is the plan as of today. At that point he will workout in front of Rees and the Fighting Irish coaching staff. Rees does a good job of getting his top targets to throw on campus before any offers go out at the position and the expectation is that this takes place in the coming months.

Harrison was set to visit Indiana on Tuesday and is scheduled to visit Toledo next week.  He previously visited Ohio State last week.  Keep checking back to Fighting Irish Wire to find out all the latest on not just Harrison but all things Notre Dame recruiting.

Former Brian Kelly Player is Notre Dame’s New DB Coach

Mike Mickens played under Kelly at Cincinnati and was a seventh round draft pick of the Dallas Cowboys after suffering a knee injury his senior year.

The long wait for Notre Dame football is over as the search to find Todd Lyght’s replacement as Defensive Backs Coach appears to have ended.

According to Pete Thamel of Yahoo! Sports, Lyght’s replacement comes in the form of a former Brian Kelly player.

Mike Mickens played under Kelly at Cincinnati and was a seventh round draft pick of the Dallas Cowboys after suffering a knee injury his senior year.

He has spent time coaching defensive backs at at Idaho and Indiana State before getting the corner back coaching job at Bowling Green from 2013-17.

He was then hired by Luke Fickell at Cincinnati where he spent the last two seasons.

Notre Dame All Decade Team – Wide Receivers

That the win propelled the Irish to the College Football Playoff was just an added bonus.

We continue our Notre Dame All-Decade team series with a group chock full of high performers during the Brian Kelly era: the wide receivers.  From a few Charlie Weis recruits that helped make a massive impact early on and plenty of middle round draft picks throughout the past ten years.  Let’s start with the close calls that just didn’t quite make it before getting to the reserves:

Missed the Cut

Equanimeous St. Brown, Davaris Daniels, Chris Brown

Backups

Miles Boykin (2016-2018)

Best Season: (2018) 59 catches, 872 yards, 8 touchdowns

Career: 77 catches, 1,206 yards, 11 touchdowns

Boykin didn’t put up the same career numbers of others on this list,  but from the time he introduced himself to the college football world with his miraculous go-ahead touchdown against LSU in the Citrus Bowl to the close of his career in the College Football Playoff, Boykin was a problem for opposing defenses.

His ability to high point the ball and snatch the ball away from defenders made him a valuable weapon in the red zone. He also came through in big moments in 2018, especially in the second half of games where the outcome hadn’t been decided. In a mid-season, five-game stretch that saw the Irish move their record to 9-0, Boykin delivered seven touchdowns in the second half of those contests (at least one in each) helping Notre Dame pull away or take the lead.

Chris Finke (2016-2019)

Best Season: (2018) 49 catches, 571 yards, 2 touchdowns

Career: 106 catches, 1,251 yards, 8 touchdowns

Finke’s story of a walk-on becoming a starter is a great one. But he wasn’t just a novelty. Although he didn’t contribute much during his first two seasons, Finke fit his role as slot receiver perfectly for his final two seasons. The rapport he developed with quarterback Ian Book meant that in tight situations, even on an offense with top producers like Miles Boykin and Chase Claypool, he was looking Finke’s way.

That he reserved the top two most important catches of his career for games against Michigan and USC, facing off against two hated rivals chock full of blue chip recruits, will forever bring a smile to my face. His “Moss-ing” of Michigan defensive back Matt Mitchell was as surprising as it was spectacular and it helped propel Notre Dame to a season-opening victory. Then he capped the season with his 24-yard go-ahead touchdown catch to invigorate a struggling Notre Dame offense. That the win propelled the Irish to the College Football Playoff was just an added bonus. His early struggles in 2019 were noticeable, but he finished off his career with at least five catches in four of the last five Notre Dame games – all wins.

T.J. Jones (2010-2013)

Best Season: (2013) 70 catches, 1,108 yards, 9 touchdowns

Career: 181 catches, 2,429 yards, 19 touchdowns

To call someone solid isn’t exactly a ringing endorsement. To say someone’s development remained steady throughout their entire career isn’t exciting.  But for as unremarkable a career TJ Jones seemed to have relative to the high points or career numbers of other Irish receivers, Jones was an underappreciated player for the Irish. I have heard him described as a slower Will Fuller with better hands and that makes a lot of sense.

Jones currently sits second in Notre Dame history in catches while he’s seventh in receiving yards and touchdowns. When the Irish offense centered around Theo Riddick and Tyler Eifert during the 2012 season, Jones was a reliable third option. And when both Riddick and Eifert left before the next season, Jones was there to pick up the slack catching 70 balls and going over 1,000 yards.

Next Up – The Starters:

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Notre Dame: Decade Challenge Fighting Irish Football Version

Previous to Kelly’s arrival you would have to count back all the way to 1991 if you wanted to count out all of Notre Dame’s victories over USC, a number Kelly was able to reach in just one decade.

While looking through Twitter on Monday afternoon I stumbled into a tweet from a fun follow, CFBTalkDaily.  They do a good job discussing the national news both on their feed and on their podcast and are worth a follow if you’re a part of that website.

They however asked a very simple question on Monday that I wanted to look a little further into instead of just give a simple yes or no.

Let’s examine this from the Notre Dame fan perspective for a bit, shall we?

It starts with coaching:

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