Tag: Nd Football

Fighting Irish Football returns to the practice field

The Notre Dame Football team returned to the practice field in preparation for the 2020 season yesterday.

Since Notre Dame has announced that none of their players tested positive for COVID-19, it seemed safe to be able to get back onto the practice field but with precautions. That’s exactly what happened yesterday as Brian Kelly led his team back to work.

The hype video showed the team in three different areas: in their outside field, in the weight room and in the new indoor facilities as well. It looks like masks were worn only inside the weight room, a practice the Irish football players should get used to.

It’s great to see the football team get back in action, but with much consternation about what will happen in the 2020 season. At the current moment only the PAC12 and B1G have announced conference-only schedules, with the SEC, ACC and Big XII still yet to make a decision. This obviously looms large, as the Irish await what the rest of the college football world does. At least we have the return of the Irish to the practice field.

Two Irish Defenders named to Bednarik Watch List

Two breakout performers from Notre Dame’s defense last year are among the 90 players included on the Bednarik Watch List.

In what was viewed as breakout seasons for two Notre Dame defenders last year, safety Kyle Hamilton and linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, the hype continues over into the 2020 season as both of them have been named on the Chuck Bednarik Award preseason watch list.

The watch list consists of 90 of the best collegiate defenders in the nation, so there will surely be still competition for both Hamilton and Owusu-Koramoah if they want to bring award back to South Bend. The award began in 1995, with linebacker Manti Te’o as the only Notre Dame defender to win the award in 2012.

As a freshman, Hamilton put up impressive numbers in limited playing time, recording 41 tackles, grabbing 4 interceptions while taking one back for a touchdown with 6 passes defended. The Atlanta native sure showed some impressive ability for such a young player, and the expectations for bigger number this year is valid. Hamilton is expected to start in the defensive backfield.

Owusu-Koramoah was a bit of a different story than Hamilton, as he had to work his way into playing time as a junior. The wait was well worth it as the linebacker exploded on the scene with 80 tackles, 5.5 sacks along with 2 forced fumbles and two recoveries. If the rising senior continues his progression, a huge season is in line for JOK.

Both of them are seen as impact players on Clark Lea’s defense and keys to the upcoming 2020 season. With the offense having to replace all the starters from the skill positions, the defense will need to step up early to give that side of the ball a cushion while they figure things out.

Notre Dame: This Week in Twitter

Another week of Notre Dame centric tweets can be seen right here.

Let’s take a look back at this week’s action on Notre Dame Twitter:

 

Happy Birthday transfer safety Nick McCloud

Happy Birthday to incoming freshman tight end Michael Mayer

Head Football Coach Brian Kelly changes his profile pic

Notre Dame Football account does the same

Kelly has been impressive during his tenure with the Irish

Head Baseball Coach Link Jarrett hired a year ago Sunday

Former Notre Dame basketball star John Paxson on his time in South Bend

Lou Holtz sticking up for the Fighting Irish nickname

ESPN: How does the Big Ten’s decision impact Notre Dame

A look at what could be ahead for Notre Dame in the 2020 season after the Big Ten decided to play a conference only schedule.

After yesterday’s huge news that the Big Ten will only play conference games in the 2020 season and the potential for other conferences to follow is something worth tracking for Notre Dame faithful. ESPN’s Heather Dinich and Mark Schlabach looked into the conundrum the Irish could be facing in this season.

With just one game schedule against the Big Ten this year, against Wisconsin, this may not seem like a massive deal, but it is. Dinich and Schlabach view it like this, “For the independent outlier, this is a predicament, but there is a solution. First, losing the Wisconsin game is significant, but the Fighting Irish could overcome that alone. The problem comes if the Pac-12 does follow suit, because then Notre Dame would lose two additional games, in Stanford and USC. The most likely and expected scenario there would be for Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick and ACC commissioner John Swofford to extend their partnership and have the Irish fill the rest of their schedule with ACC games.”

This does seem like the most logical solution, already half of the Irish’s previously scheduled opponents reside in the ACC. Wake Forest, Pittsburgh, Duke, Clemson, Georgia Tech and Louisville would most likely stay on the docket, but who would the Irish add? It completely depends on what Swofford and other AD’s decide to do. There are rumors the Big Ten could play 10 conference games, but at the moment nothing is set in stone. If the ACC goes to conference only and plays 8 games, I would love to see the Irish add NC State, Florida State, North Carolina or Boston College. If the Irish join the ACC for the 2020 season, which opponents would you like to see them face?

Is Notre Dame a Contender for 4-Star Offensive Tackle Rucci?

Rivals projects who is leading for Nolan Rucci, the offensive tackle from Pennsylvania in the 2021 recruiting class.

The Irish just picked up a commitment from Minnesota offensive tackle Joe Alt on Monday, and instate Blake Fisher already in the fold make a solid tandem for the 2021 recruiting class. Brian Kelly and offensive line coach Jeff Quinn are still looking for another player at the position, as his philosophy is go hard after tackles and they can move down to guard if need be later.

With that in mind, Pennsylvania 4-Star offensive tackle Nolan Rucci is still trying to make a decision on where he will attend school. Rivals took a look at where his recruitment stands and it looks like Kelly and Quinn should continue to look at other prospects. Adam Friedman, a recruiting analyst with Rivals, doesn’t see this one trending in the Irish’s way.

The Irish ranked 6th for Rucci’s services, not a particularly encouraging spot going forward. They have a lot of other schools the Irish will have to jump in order to get Rucci in the Blue and Gold. His recruitment has been trending away from the Irish so Kelly will most likely have to look in another direction. When looking at the 16 tackles offered, only five remain uncommitted and none of them are trending the Irish’s direction. They most likely will have to find another diamond in the rough like Alt to round out the position in 2021 recruiting.

How would B1G going to a conference only schedule in ’20 effect Notre Dame?

Would there be a domino effect if the Big Ten decided to only play conference games in 2020?

There are rumors that the Big Ten could potentially cut out all of their out of conference games this season and play a 10-game conference schedule. Obviously this effects the Irish, as they are schedule to play Wisconsin in Lambeau Field, their only Big Ten opponent this year.

Yes, this is just a rumor at the current moment but with Ohio State being the first Big Ten school to suspend voluntary team activities after teams like North Carolina, Boise State and Kansas have done the same. The Buckeyes were one of the few schools that didn’t disclose their testing results, but it must be concerning if they opted to shut things down for at least a week.

If the Big Ten were to just go to a conference only schedule, the Irish would not face the Badgers this year, who knows if the game would be rescheduled in the future. It would be just one game, but the bigger issue would be if other conferences followed the Big Ten.

With no conference affiliation in football for the Irish, they could be put in a very awkward situation. Would Notre Dame join a conference for a season, and if so who would they join? The ACC seems like the most logical destination, but the hypothetical addition of the Irish would put the conference at 15 teams. Would the Atlantic and Coastal divisions be absolved for the year?

There would be so many questions going forward. It would make sense for the Irish to join the ACC for the season, getting a taste of conference football. Everything would go back to normal in 2021 hopefully, but regardless of what happens, the entire year of 2020 will always have an asterisk next to it.

College Football Jobs Ranked, Notre Dame highly coveted

The Irish head coaching job has been and will continue to be one of the best jobs in all of college football.

Coaching the fabled Notre Dame program has always been a high-profile job, expectations for every coach that lead the football program will always be sky high. Although the Irish have not won a title since 1988, the job is still held in high regards as 247Sport named the position as the 9th most coveted head coaching job in the country.

Brad Crawford, who ranked the jobs for 247Sports, sees that “there might not be a brand stronger than Notre Dame in college football. Touchdown Jesus, South Bend, the gold helmets … you get it.” It very hard to argue against that, there are not many schools with the same tradition that Notre Dame sports.

The explanation of the ranking is something that we all know, but Crawford points out two reasons why the Notre Dame job gets the 9th spot. The “drawbacks here that other programs don’t have in the Top 10 is location and academics. The standards at Notre Dame are higher than most and Indiana isn’t exactly pumping out elite athletes annually. That’s why Brian Kelly has taken a nationwide approach to recruiting during his tenure.”

The national approach has worked, but not quite as well as Kelly would like. In the last 5 recruiting cycles, including the current one, the Irish will have signed just 2 instate players. Kelly has said the recruiting needs to go to another level to compete with the teams they need to beat to be among the best in the nation.

The Notre Dame head coaching job will always be one that comes with gigantic expectations and lots of scrutiny. It is not cut out for every coach, some of them just can’t handle what it means to be the Irish’s lead man. Kelly’s been at the helm for 10 years now and he’s helped bring back some respectability after the Bob Davie, Ty Willingham and Charlie Weis eras.

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.