Tag: Nd Football

Marcus Freeman isn’t sure who will quarterback Notre Dame football next year

An interesting answer from Freeman on the who the Irish will turn to at quarterback next year

Two of the last three seasons, [autotag]Notre Dame football[/autotag] has used the transfer portal to find its starting quarterback.

Wisconsin transfer [autotag]Jack Coan[/autotag] and Wake Forest transfer and current Irish quarterback [autotag]Sam Hartman[/autotag] clearly were great options, but each of them only had one season in South Bend. Naturally, questions about who will take over next year will happen.

Irish head coach [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] was asked that question and his answer was fairly simple, he’s not sure. Multiple in-house options like [autotag]Steve Angeli[/autotag] and [autotag]Kenny Minchey[/autotag], with [autotag]CJ Carr[/autotag] on the way, give Notre Dame credence not to look for a new starter in the portal. That doesn’t mean that Freeman won’t consider it.

It’s an answer that many would question, but considering the lack of experience currently behind Hartman, going into the portal to find another potential starter isn’t the worst idea. At this current moment, we have no idea which quarterbacks will look to move on, but Freeman keeping his options open is a very smart idea.

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Know your foe Pittsburgh: With Panthers could give Notre Dame problems

More than a few familiar faces the Irish will line up against on Saturday

There is going to be a somewhat familiar feel for a few [autotag]Pittsburgh[/autotag] players as they are set to face off against [autotag]Notre Dame football[/autotag] this weekend.

Why you ask? Well, a few of them were once members of the Irish football team, the most recognizable is quarterback, err tight end [autotag]Phil Jurkovec[/autotag], although we most likely won’t see him this weekend except for maybe special teams after he lost the starting job earlier this season. So, we won’t touch on him here anymore.

However, there are others on the Panther team that will be easily recognized by Irish fans. Let’s take a look at which Pittsburgh players could give Notre Dame problems this Saturday afternoon.

Watch: Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman rips into reporter for his coaching style

You can now add reporter to Freeman’s resume

The shoe was on the other foot today for [autotag]Notre Dame football[/autotag] head coach [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag].

During is press conference on Monday morning, Freeman dug into Irish Illustrated’s [autotag]Tim O’Malley[/autotag] for his coaching. Specifically, it was O’Malley’s offensive decisions during a 3rd and 4th grade flag football game red zone play, which happens to have one of Freeman’s son’s on the team.

It was an extremely funny interaction between Freeman and O’Malley, who saw each of their jobs get reversed in the situation. Check out the two of them going back-and-forth below in a video clip of it shared on social media.

Glad to say that Irish football is back this weekend as Notre Dame sets to face off against Pittsburgh.

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How Notre Dame broke USC

You really just hate to see it.

Last Saturday’s college football slate was loaded with intriguing matchups. With Notre Dame on bye, fans were able to soak in a wonderfully entertaining slate of games stress-free. This was a well-deserved break for everyone.

Of all the action that occurred, Southern Cal losing to Utah’s backup quarterback and a last-second field goal had to be the highlight for Notre Dame fans eating cheeseburgers all weekend.

Just a couple of short weeks ago [autotag]Caleb Williams[/autotag] was in the hunt to repeat as the Heisman winner and USC, while flawed, were still undefeated and feeling themselves, in true LA fashion.

Then Notre Dame happened.

My how the tone inside and outside the Trojan program has changed quickly. Let’s examine the latest downfall of Troy more closely.

Notre Dame football receives a commitment from 4-star legacy tight end

The family tradition for the Flanigan’s lives on

There is something that draws football families to want to continue the tradition for [autotag]Notre Dame football[/autotag].

Once again, the son of a former Irish player will be heading to South Bend to carry out the tradition. Wisconsin tight end [autotag]James Flanigan[/autotag], whose father Jim, committed to Notre Dame on Saturday afternoon, following his footsteps.

Jim played for Notre Dame in the early 1990’s, eventually playing in the NFL for 10 seasons, so football runs in the Flanigan family. More specifically, Irish football runs in the family.

James is one of the best players in his class, ranking as the No. 3 tight end and 145th overall player in the 2025 recruiting class according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings.

The 6-foot, 5-inch and 220-pound Flanigan is the seventh commit of the class, and the first tight end. It’s safe to say, dad is pretty happy.

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Watch: Amon-Ra St. Brown plays off bet by wearing Notre Dame leprechaun costume

St. Brown looks pretty good

It has become an NFL tradition for players to make fun bets with each other when their colleges face off against each other and former USC player [autotag]Amon-Ra St. Brown[/autotag] had to play up as [autotag]Notre Dame[/autotag] defeated the Trojans last weekend.

St. Brown’s family is used to having Irish gear, as his brother, Equanimeous, played for Notre Dame, but it was a bet between his Detroit Lion teammate and former Irish star [autotag]Julian Okwara[/autotag] where the wide receiver had to pay up.

As you can see below St. Brown went with a full leprechaun outfit to complete the wager and it was quite the look.

Can’t wait to see more of these bets won for the Irish in the future.

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Watch: Notre Dame’s Sam Hartman missing his signature beard

Bye bye beard

It looks like [autotag]Notre Dame football[/autotag] quarterback [autotag]Sam Hartman[/autotag] has changed his look, specifically his facial hair.

Now this clearly isn’t about football at all, it’s more about the beard that we have all been accustomed to seeing from Hartman. In a video shared by Notre Dame football’s social media account, it shows the Irish signal caller sans a beard, instead sporting a mustache.

It’s definitely different from what we have seen from Hartman, but sometimes a change is needed. Take a look at the video below to see the “new man” and if the look works for the Notre Dame quarterback.

So, what do you think?

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Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman earns national recognition for win over USC

Coach Freeman doubling up on this award in 2023

It was the biggest win of [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag]’s [autotag]Notre Dame football[/autotag] coaching career, a 48-20 pummeling of USC in front of a raucous crowd in South Bend.

The impressive win caught the eyes of many, including the Dodd Trophy. They named Freeman their national coach of the week, the second time this season the Irish head coach has been given the award.

The first time was for their win over Navy, but the victory over the Trojans was much more significant for obvious reason. Anytime you defeat a top-10 program it’s impressive, but when you do it in the dominating style that the Irish did, it’s even more.

Congrats coach Freeman!

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Lasting thoughts on Notre Dame football’s win over USC

What still sticks out in your mind Irish fans?

[autotag]Notre Dame football[/autotag] gained its signature win of 2023, routing USC at home 48-20.

It was a surprise, not that the Irish won the game, but how well they looked, absolutely dominating the Trojans all evening. It was only in the first quarter that Notre Dame looked like wasn’t in full control, but the last 45 minutes was pure bliss.

It’s clear this win will stick in most people’s head for a while, the Irish do have a bye week so there aren’t dreams of what this coming weekend could be. Let’s take a look at some lasting thoughts I have about Notre Dame’s convincing win over USC.

Notre Dame-USC Fallout: The Fight Of The Irish

A bounce back of EPIC proportions for the Irish

Many different outcomes to this game seemed perfectly reasonable heading into it. However, I’m not sure anyone saw a Notre Dame blowout and beat down of the reigning Heisman winner coming, especially when considering what a hard journey the last month has been for the team.

Marcus Freeman needed this win. The players needed this win, and the fans needed this win. Quite frankly, Notre Dame needed this win. It felt as though whatever amount of energy jolt the team couldn’t dip into last week for whatever reason was carried over into this week tenfold. Never a dull moment with Notre Dame, that’s for sure.

There’s nothing that could be done in this game that could rewrite the final scores of the Louisville and Ohio State games. A Cardinals team that lost to Pitt by the way. The only thing the Irish could do to get back on track in every practical and perceptual way one could imagine was to win this game. And, boy, did they, in a very Clemson 2022-ish type fashion.

Let’s examine a few key areas from this mega bounce-back performance.