Tag: Nd Football

Lots To Be Thankful For In Irish Nation

It doesn’t always feel like it but there is a lot for Notre Dame fans to be thankful for this year

I always like to think of Thanksgiving as a time for reflection. One for taking some time to ponder the blessings each of us have in our lives even amid our unique struggles in an increasingly seemingly busier world than ever before. This concept also applies to football fandom as well, a big part of many of our lives.

Certainly, this year didn’t turn out as well as Notre Dame fans had hoped it would, but I’ve still found plenty to be thankful for from my unique position as an Irish voice in print and video this season. Here are 3 specific items of note that jump out to me.

Watch: Notre Dame players how it started, how it’s going Senior edition

They’v changed a lot since arriving in South Bend

The last game regular season game for many Notre Dame football players is just around the corner, as the Irish are set to face Stanford Saturday evening.

It will be the second to last time many players will wear the Blue and Gold, and the Irish social media account has us covered seeing how it started and how it’s going for many of the Irish seniors.

The journey surely went quickly, as it typically does when you are in school. Before you know it, it’s over, which is bittersweet for many. Some will play at the next level, others won’t but the memories will last forever. Just like this video. Check it out below.

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A potential quarterback transfer for Notre Dame football is expect to enter the market

Should the Irish pursue this SEC quarterback?

Notre Dame football head coach [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] has let it be known that he will be looking for quarterback help via the transfer portal.

At this point not many names have popped up, but one did on Friday afternoon. Mississippi State starting quarterback [autotag]Will Rogers[/autotag] entered the portal, and fits the mold that the Irish are looking for.

Every transfer quarterback Notre Dame has taken has been a graduate transfer, Rogers fits that mold. He’s also put up some extremely impressive stats, throwing for 12,315 yards and 94 touchdowns during his 4 seasons at Mississippi State. Naturally, the Irish and Rogers seem to be a good match, but it remains to be seen if Freeman will pursue.

It’s extremely early into the portal season, but Rogers should be on the Irish’s list of players to pursue.

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Watch: Notre Dame players and Marcus Freeman answer which side dish is best

Which is your favorite side?

That debate of which Thanksgiving side dish is the best is a question that will live on, even if the Notre Dame football team and Marcus Freeman tried to answer it.

Unfortunately, since the season doesn’t end before the holiday, most players are still on campus preparing for Stanford. That doesn’t mean they’ll miss out on Thanksgiving dinner, it’s just not with their regular family, it’s with their football family.

Naturally, the question of what is the best side will come up, and walk-on defensive back Eddie Scheidler gathered the answer with many of his teammates during their early afternoon dinner. Find out below which players, along with coach Freeman, believe is the best side dish at Thanksgiving.

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Watch: Inside the mind of Notre Dame All-American tackle Joe Alt

Get inside the mind of an All-American, Joe Alt

Although the Notre Dame football social media team has been good, it’s been great over the last two seasons.

Another example is the video they released on Wednesday morning featuring Irish offensive tackle [autotag]Joe Alt[/autotag]. The All-American most likely will get recognized again this season, but before we know that, we have an opportunity to get into the mind of Alt.

The Irish social media account released a video of Alt going over what he thinks about pre-snap, while defenders are making moves and what he will counter with. It’s a unique insight into how a high-level football player processes information and another example of how great the Notre Dame football social media team is doing.

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247Sports thinks this Notre Dame star could sit out the bowl game

Do you think this is a possibility?

Right now no one knows which bowl they will be attending but the recent trend of star players sitting out in preparation for the NFL has seen many miss their final game. Brad Crawford of 247Sports looked at who might opt-out of playing in their final contest and chose plenty of big-name players, including Notre Dame star tight end [autotag]Michael Mayer[/autotag].

Crawford’s rationale is pretty simple, “tight end is a position of need for most NFL teams” and he believes that Mayer will be the “first player off the board in this spot unless things go awry during the pre-draft process.” It’s hard to argue with the way he is thinking but at this moment he is just guessing on what Mayer will do.

If I had to guess, I would actually expect him to play in a bowl game. Mayer loves this team and the Irish and opting out just doesn’t seem like something he would do.

There is another player that could potentially do the same for the Irish that Crawford fails to mention, defensive end [autotag]Isaiah Foskey[/autotag]. Both players should get selected very early and have plenty of data for teams to analyze them. Hopefully, this weekend isn’t the final time we see both Mayer and Foskey in Blue and Gold.

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Wake Forest head coach critical of Notre Dame’s send off for Sam Hartman

Tell us how you really feel Dave

Wake Forest head coach [autotag]Dave Clawson[/autotag] watched quarterback [autotag]Sam Hartman[/autotag] orchestrate his offense at an extremely high level before he finished off his career with Notre Dame in front of him.

Like a bitter ex, Clawson wasn’t overtly happy with the way the Irish handled Hartman’s final home game as a collegiate player. The Demon Deacon’s coach claims that Notre Dame “rented him for a season” and “now they love him,” following a video board tribute.

He starts off by saying that won’t complain about it, the transfer portal, then goes on to complain about it. Clawson understands why Hartman left, then goes on to say it was about the money, which was surely part of the reason.

The bigger reason is winning, going from a school that has virtually no history of winning football to one of the most highly regarded programs in the country. It seems like Clawson isn’t a fan of the portal or Name, Image, and Likeness.

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Notre Dame running back Audric Estime snubbed for national award

This is a big miss by their committee

On Tuesday afternoon the [autotag]Doak Walker Award[/autotag], given out annually to the nations top running back announces its semi-final list, and Notre Dame running back [autotag]Audric Estime[/autotag] was nowhere to be found.

The Irish running back is No. 15 in rushing yards with 1,103 while being tied for 7th in touchdowns with 14 was shockingly omitted from the list of ten. There is now way that there are 10 better running backs in the country than Estime.

Many of the names I can understand, but having to Group of 5 players over him just makes no sense. On a weekly basis Estime has played better competition and produced at a high level.

It would be nice for them to amend this list, but that most likely won’t happen at this point. The snub hopefully motivates Estime this weekend and beyond.

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Notre Dame football adds 2025 Arizona cornerback to recruiting class

The Irish get a commitment from a very solid cornerback

Notre Dame football got some good news on Monday evening, Arizona 2025 cornerback [autotag]Cree Thomas[/autotag] verbally committed to the Irish.

Thomas is the No. 9 commit of the class, that is shaping up to be one of the best in the country. He selected Notre Dame over offers from Oregon, Wisconsin, Arizona State and others.

He is ranked as the No. 44 cornerback and 398th overall recruit in the 2025 cycle according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings. Thomas has great size for the position, standing 6-foot, 1-inch and weighing 175-pounds. The Irish have done a great job of finding elite members of the secondary, and Thomas might be the next one up.

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Pro Football Focus selects one Notre Dame player to win national award

It’s exactly who you think it is

Although we are at the unofficial midpoint of the college football season, many outlets have come out with their midseason All-American teams, award winners and front-runner for the four College Football Playoff spots.

Pro Football Focus released their midseason awards and even though I don’t agree with some of them (Alabama’s [autotag]Bryce Young[/autotag] being the Heisman front runner), there is one we completely agree on, their midseason John Mackey Award winner, Notre Dame tight end [autotag]Michael Mayer[/autotag].

The junior has been phenomenal this season, he’s been the best player on the Irish’s team this season. Through six games this season, Mayer has caught 38 balls for 411 yards and 5 touchdowns. Those are All-American type numbers.

Mayer has been the exception on the Irish offense this fall, in fact, he’s been exceptional. The one constant figure for Notre Dame all season should get recognized as one of the best and this, although not official, is a step towards potentially hoisting some hardware for the star Irish tight end after the season ends.

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

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