Tag: notre dame fighting irish football

ESPN: Four What If’s for Notre Dame to be Title Contenders

The Irish have appeared on many experts short list of title contenders, with ESPN looking at scenarios for those teams to make a CFP run.

When you look at what it takes for a run at the College Football Playoff Championship, teams with the least questions heading into the season usually have the best opportunities to finish the season winner of the CFP. ESPN’s Bill Connelly looked at 18 teams and their If’s regarding making a run at being a contender this season.

The Irish were included by Connelly, with 4 Ifs, two each on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. The first If for the Irish starts with who will be catching passes from Book.  Now that Tommy Rees took over for Chip Long as the offensive coordinator, Rees will have to figure out Book’s best bet to make plays. Connelly mentions Northwestern transfer Ben Skowronek, Javon McKinley, Braden Lenzy and in-coming freshman Jordan Johnson as receivers who could step up and says, “someone needs to come through.” Connelly is right, at least two receivers or tight end’s will need to step up and be a major contributor. Keep an eye out for a pair of unknowns in Kevin Austin and incoming freshman Jordan Johnson, either one of them could have an impact this coming season.

Next, Connelly stays on the offensive side and looks at who will line up next to Book in the backfield. C’Bo Flemister, Jafar Armstrong and Jahmir Smith are the returning players mentioned while freshman Chris Tyree could make an impact as well. Connelly fails to mention the potential impact of Stanford transfer Trevor Speights, which gives me a feeling his impact might be minimal. I expect Tyree to emerge from the group, provided he stays healthy.

Moving on to the defense, Connelly is looking at the defensive backfield as and If for the Irish. This point I actually disagree with as I feel like this group will be a strength for Notre Dame. Sophomore safety Kyle Hamilton should become a household name by the end of the year, while cornerback Houston Griffin has been working hard this offseason to finally make an impact, which I think he will. The addition of NC State transfer Nick McCloud, a cornerback, along with Ohio State transfer Isaiah Pryor makes a solid group in my eyes.

Connelly’s final point stays on the defense and questions the “lack of beef” on the defensive line. I would agree with this point, as he points out that just “two of 10 returning contributing linemen are listed above 286 pounds. This group will have to grow up in a hurry to protect the linebackers and allow them to continue to make plays.

These four If’s are important keys to the Irish season, although some of them aren’t nearly as concerning as others, especially on the defensive side of the ball. If Kelly is able to overcome some of these questions, Notre Dame should have a standout 2020

Irish Overrated? CBS Gives Thoughts on Notre Dame’s ’20 Season Outlook

In a season series preview, CBS Sports looks at what is in store for the Irish this season.

The fact that Brian Kelly seems to falter against top teams is fair, since 2010 he has led the Irish to a 21-20 record in Top 25 matchups. So, Ben Kercheval’s assessment of that portion of the program is accurate, but that is in the past, this is about what is in store for the Irish in 2020.

There were multiple high-level players who left the Notre Dame program since it’s win over Iowa State in the Camping World Bowl just a few months ago. Kercheval feels like the biggest losses include TE Cole Kmet, WR Chase Claypool, RB Tony Jones Jr. and DE Julian Okwara. Each of them have brought their talents to the NFL.

What’s interesting is the fact that Kercheval mentions the firing of Offensive Coordinator Chip Long as a loss. Long was replaced by Tommy Rees prior to the bowl win, was seen as a excellent recruiter, but Kelly couldn’t mesh well with his play calling, especially in the aforementioned top matchups. While the offense under Rees was fantastic in Irish wins, averaging 38 points, the fact that Long couldn’t get more, 13.5 points per game, in losses irked Kelly and let to a change. The jury is still out on Rees, this season will be a big test for the first full year as offensive coordinator for the former Irish QB.

We all know about the returning Notre Dame stars, Kercheval sees QB Ian Book, OT Tommy Kraemer and WR Braden Lenzy as the offenses top returning playmakers. Pretty interesting that the other starting tackle, Liam Eichenberg isn’t mentioned, but Lenzy to me is the key. The leading returning receiver had just 11 catches last year, a number that will surely see a rise this coming season. The rising junior needs to break out for the Irish offense.

Defensively CB TaRiq Bracy and DE Daelin Hayes will be the key assets according to Kercheval. I think he didn’t pick the right players as Notre Dame’s key returning defenders. Safety Kyle Hamilton and linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah would have been my choices. It’s not a knock on Bracy and Hayes, they’re great players in their own right, I just believe that Hamilton and Owusu-Koramoah will have larger impacts.

Rees was named a fresh face, along with Northwestern WR transfer Bennett Skowronek and incoming freshman RB Chris Tyree. Spot on with Tyree, as the newest face to the Irish running back room might be needed to contribute immediately. Skowronek was a captain for the Wildcats last year, bring leadership to a position group that will need it. There are plenty of others that could have ended up in these spots include transfers safety Isaiah Pryor and CB Nick McCloud or freshman TE Michael Mayer. Each of them could play big roles for the Irish in ’20.

Kercheval sees the floor as 9 wins for the Irish, otherwise disappointment will reign in South Bend. A favorable schedule should result in double digits wins, so Kelly’s streak of 3 straight 10-plus win seasons should extent to a 4th once the season is played.

Notre Dame adds NC State Grad Transfer CB McCloud

Irish add former NC State DB Nick McCloud to 2020 roster as a graduate transfer.

The Irish have hit the transfer portal jackpot once again, this time going to North Carolina State and adding cornerback Nick McCloud. An injury held McCloud to only two games last year, his final season after being named a captain.

In his four years at NC State, McCloud totaled 105 tackles, 3 interceptions and 20 passes defended. What Brian Kelly is getting from McCloud is a talented player who will bring valuable experience to the Irish’s defensive backfield.

The Irish have reworked their secondary, with Ohio State transfer Isaiah Pryor as another player who didn’t start his career in South Bend. McCloud will battle Shaun Crawford and TaRiq Bracy for one of the corner starting spots and should have an impact this year, his only year where he will be able to wear the Blue and Gold.

Another Flurry of Offers Yesterday for ’22 Notre Dame Prospects

The Irish coaching staff was very busy yesterday, doling out offers to multiple class of ’22 prospects across the country.

The Irish staff has been very busy this past week on the recruiting trail, adding two commits in CB Philip Riley and DE Jason Onye for the 2021 class. The focus isn’t just on this year, but also the next as the Notre Dame staff has been offering prospects left and right this week.

Tuesday it was corner Domani Jackson and defensive end Aiden Gobaira getting offered within minutes of each other, then wide receiver Caleb Burton got his offer on Wednesday as did tight end/athletes Benjamin Gosnell and Jack Nickel. Devin Moore started it off yesterday and he was just the beginning of the Irish offers.

It was then out to Texas as an offer was given to LSU commit Bryce Anderson. The safety stands 6’0” and weights 187-pounds is a big-time player, holding offers from Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Ohio State and others.

Anderson has been committed to the Tigers since September of last year, but that hasn’t stopped school like Oregon, Auburn and Arizona State offering the star this week. Anderson seems like a good candidate to be flipped at some point and the Irish are hoping they’re the ones with the spatula.

The next offer went out to wide receiver Kevin Coleman of Missouri. Coleman stands at 5’11” and weights 170-pounds and that size hasn’t scared off anyone. He lists offers from Georgia, Alabama, LSU, Michigan, Penn State among others.

The star sophomore has yet to cut any schools so getting out in front of his recruitment will help the Irish. The battle will be tough going up against major players, but the Irish staff will be up for the challenge.

Georgia athlete Malaki Starks was the next to tweet out his offer from the Notre Dame coaching staff. The Peach State star already had the SEC big boys after him, Alabama, Georgia, and LSU, with the Irish offer his first from a northern state.

Starks could line up at multiple position when he arrives at a college campus, either quarterback, running back or cornerback, depending on how his 6’2” and 190-pound frame fills out.

The last offer that went out yesterday was to Louisiana corner Laterrance Welch. He already possess ideal lock down corner size at 6’1” and 180-pounds and once again the SEC powers have already noticed Welch. Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma are just some of his early offers at this juncture.

It is so early in the 2022 cycle so it is hard to tell at the current moment how much impact these early offers will have. There is one thing that we do know, that the Irish want these talented athletes to matriculate to South Bend and wear the Blue and Gold in the near future.

Notre Dame’s Brian Kelly Named Voice of Reason

CBS Sports Dennis Dodd has high praise after Brian Kelly met with the media yesterday.

The Notre Dame football leader, Brian Kelly, met with the media yesterday via Zoom, touched on a variety of topics, but something caught the eye of CBS Sports Dennis Dodd. After Kelly finished, Dodd’s headline read like this: Notre Dame’s Brian Kelly emerges as voice of reason in sea of tone-deaf college football coaches.

What caught Dodd’s attention was the way Kelly handled himself when asked to speak to the community regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. Kelly seemed very statesmanlike when he said “We have not won yet. We’re just getting to halftime. We have a second half to play here. Really good job in the first couple of quarters, but we’re just getting into the locker room. Let’s look toward having a better second half. If we have a better second half, we’re going to win the game.”

This is certainly high praise for Kelly as Dodd explains that while “Updating the status of the Fighting Irish as a whole, Kelly seemed to warm to the topic of inspiration.” This is a clear contrast from what other coaches have recently said, such as Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy. Gundy wants football to start up by May 1st, citing an influx of money to go through the Sooner state. It was a bad look for the Cowboys.

Kelly has shown that he has a firm grasp on the situation, as this is the new norm and he has accepted it and adapted to it as well. Praise like this is fantastic for the Irish’s head coach, after Gundy makes a fool of himself, Clemson’s Dabo Swinney’s reports of taking vacations, and Mississippi State’s Mike Leach posting a extremely racial photo on his Twitter feed that has since been deleted and at least one player will transfer due to it.

Dodd’s headline was spot on, as Kelly has handled this situation extremely well, making positive headlines instead of negative ones. This can only help the university and it’s easy to say Notre Dame faithful are extremely proud of their head coach.

Illinois Mauling OT Schedules Official Visit to Notre Dame

Offensive lineman Pat Coogan schedules official visit to South Bend.

In the midst of the recruiting dead period, one where coaches are able to contact players, just unable to physically see them, 2021 Illinois offensive tackle Pat Coogan has scheduled his first official visit.

Coogan will visit South Bend in June from the 12th to the 14th assuming the stay-at-home orders will be lifted by then. The massive tackle, standing 6’5” and weighing 287-pounds, has recently seen his recruitment blow up. Coogan has added offers from LSU, Oklahoma, Ohio State and Texas A&M since the Irish offered on March 26th.

Although the recruiting services don’t rank Coogan extremely high, 445th overall by the 247Sports composite, his offers clearly show he’s much better than his current ranking. Watching his highlight reel, the first play shows Coogan on special teams making a tackle, showing impressive athleticism from the big lineman. Coogan is an absolute mauler, he eats defensive lineman for breakfast, getting pancake after pancake.

Coogan’s twitter feed is very pro-Irish, as he grew up a fan of Notre Dame. Although these kinds of marriages don’t always work out, see Deion Colzie, Coogan would be a welcome addition to instate OT Blake Fisher in the Irish’s 2021 offensive line recruiting class.

A Flurry of Notre Dame Football Offers Out This Week

The Irish staff offered five more players this week, find out who got a coveted Notre Dame offer.

This normally would be a time where many schools around the country would be having prospects on their campus’ for visits during spring practices, but due to the COVID-19 outbreak, recruiting has been quite a bit different. No visit to campus’ allowed currently, but contact is allowed via calls and mailers, and Brian Kelly and his staff have been quite busy this week offering 2021 prospects.

Fighting Irish Wire took a look at the wide receiver recruiting earlier today with the offer out to J. Michael Sturdivant of Texas this week. He wasn’t the only offensive player offered as Illinois ATH Sam Jackson got a coveted Irish offer as well. The former Minnesota commit plays quarterback currently, but at the next level his size might be an issue for the position at 5’11” and 170-pounds. Jackson could potentially be a slot receiver but there is potential on the defensive backfield as well.

Florida defensive back Philip Riley also got an offer from the Irish staff as his recruitment blew up this week. Just in the past few days, Riley added Miami, FL and Colorado to an already impressive offer list that included Clemson, Texas, Penn State among others. Riley posses’ great size for a corner at 6’1” and 190-pounds, so look for Notre Dame to keep recruiting the talented defender going forward.

Staying in the Sunshine state, the Notre Dame staff offered safety Terrion Arnold as well. Similar to Riley, the size is impressive, as Arnold is just a bit taller than Riley at 6’2” and weights almost the same at 187-pounds. The two-sport standout, Arnold is also a star on the hardwood, could play anywhere in the secondary when he arrives in college. Arnold will have his choice of elite schools as he holds offers from Alabama, LSU, Georgia and others.

One more defender got an offer, staying in the defensive backfield with Maryland’s Ryan Barnes. Barnes, like Arnold and Riley, has the elite body type at 6’2” and 175-pounds, for a player in the secondary. What the Irish have going for them with Barnes is that he is also elite in the classroom, with Duke and Virginia among his schools he’s considering. When you think about the academic and athletics mix, Notre Dame is a perfect fit for prospects like Barnes who are looking for that.

The focus of the most recent offers are in the secondary, with just one of the Irish’s 7 commits in the defensive backfield, safety Justin Walters, the staff is hard at work to change that with some elite prospects. After DE David Abiara’s commitment yesterday, the class is back up to 6th nationally according to the 247 composite team rankings. Look for Notre Dame’s class to continue to rise if they add any of the talented prospects that were offered this week.

USA Today Releases Preseason Top 25, Where was Notre Dame Ranked?

Once again the Irish are ranked high, but just how high is the question entering the 2020 campaign.

Once again, the college football world is seeing another way too early Top 25,this time by the USA Today. It has become fairly obvious that the Irish are among the best teams in the nation and they have been ranked accordingly.

Checking in at 10th overall in the country, Brian Kelly’s team has the makings of one that can make a run for a final four spot in the College Football Playoff. The USA Today notes that the goal is to win a national championship, which shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. Since the inception of the CFP in the 2014-15 season, only 4 schools have been crowned champions: Ohio State and LSU winning it once, Alabama and Clemson each owning two titles.

It seems like the USA Today has narrowed in on the offense for the Irish, as they questioned if Tommy Rees at such a young age, 27, could lead the offense to the promise land. When Rees took over for Chip Long before the Camping World Bowl many wondered what the offense would look like with a new leader. Rees led the offense to 33 points, with QB Ian Book going 20/28 for 247 yards, a TD and no interceptions. Tony Jones Jr. went off for 135 yards on just 11 carries and WR Chase Claypool benefited from Book’s good day with 7 receptions and 146 yards with the lone TD through the air. Although the offense put up plenty of points, there will still be some questions regarding how Rees will call an entire season when teams get a more advance look at what concepts he likes to deploy. A spring game would have been huge for Rees’ development as the play caller.

Although there are some questions for Notre Dame going into the 2020 season, not many teams don’t, there are some very encouraging signs. The whole offensive line returns, sack leader Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah returns for what could be a huge junior year, leading tackler LB Drew White is also back, and a reworked secondary has plenty of weapons. The Irish are poised to be a Top 10 team entering 2020 and the USA Today’s ranking once again confirms that.

Notre Dame ’21 QB Commit Buchner Earns Invite to Prestigious Elite 11 Finals

Notre Dame ’21 QB commit Buchner earns invite to Elite 11 Finals.

The early spring season for high school football players is made mostly up of camps, qualifying to make the next round, ultimately ending in the 7-on-7 The Opening Finals at Nike Headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon. This weekend Notre Dame QB commit Tyler Buchner competed and impressed enough to earn an invite to their final competition.

Current Irish QB Brendon Clark made the finals in ’18 and potential number one pick and 2020 Notre Dame opponent Trevor Lawrence of Clemson are some former participants at the prestigious event.

Buchner was more than impressive throwing as he was the winner of the Golden Gun Accuracy Challenge, putting up the best score at the camp along with two other competitors.

At the current moment, Buchner, the 6’2” and 200-pound signal caller, is the highest rated commit in the 2021 Irish class. 247Sports composite rankings have him as the 33rd best overall player in the country while being the 3rd best dual-threat QB in the nation. The California star will most likely arrive in South Bend with an opportunity to compete to start as a true freshman as senior Ian Book graduates after this year.