Tag: Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Cole Kmet Headed to NFL Draft

Do I wish he was back at Notre Dame? Yes, the Irish would be a better football team with him being there. But what else does Kmet have to prove in college?

Way back in October we shared a conversation with you here at Fighting Irish Wire with Eric Edholm, the lead NFL Draft analyst at Yahoo! Sports.

It was an interview in regards to Cole Kmet and how quickly he might be soaring up draft boards even though he missed the first couple of games in 2019 and had limited tape.

Eric pointed out the lack of tape isn’t a bad thing if a ton of it is good. Well, that was the case for Notre Dame tight end Cole Kmet who he gave a first round grade to even then.

Despite Kmet saying late in the fall that he intended on coming back to Notre Dame for his senior season, the tight end declared for the draft today.

I get people will be upset that he said one thing and then did another. He’s not the first and certainly won’t be the last.

Do I wish he was back at Notre Dame? Yes, the Irish would be a better football team with him being there. But what else does Kmet have to prove in college?

But football is an incredibly violent game that physically humbles even the greatest of players eventually.

I don’t blame Kmet one bit for going to the NFL – he’s got a limited window to make money for his insane talents and he’s good enough that another year in college wasn’t going to do much to improve his stock, but instead would most likely only hurt it if change it at all.

Thanks for the tremendous season, Cole.

Now go knock them dead in the NFL like so many Notre Dame tight ends before you have.

Lyght Officially Steps Down at Notre Dame – Brian Kelly Issues Statement

Lyght had been a member of Brian Kelly’s staff at Notre Dame since 2015.

Earlier this afternoon we passed along the report from Sports Illustrated that said Todd Lyght would not be back coaching cornerbacks in 2019. Since the time of our posting the news has been made official by Brian Kelly and the university.

Kelly released the following statement in regards to Lyght:

As stated previously the decision to leave was Lyght’s and it wasn’t a firing.

Matt Fortuna covers Notre Dame and college football for The Athletic and had a guess as to at least a direction Lyght may be headed:

Lyght had been a member of Brian Kelly’s staff at Notre Dame since 2015.

Chase Claypool Pens Heartfelt Goodbye to Notre Dame Community

I don’t anticipate he’ll be knocking down the first round door but he’s going to bring a playmaking ability to someone at the next level for likely some great value.

It may not be the most prestigious award around but I’m sure Chase Claypool will be pleased to know he’s been named Fighting Irish Wire’s inaugural Man I’m Gonna Miss the Hell Outta Watching That Guy Each Saturday Award.

Myself and Jeff Feyerer decided that weeks ago but I’m finally getting around to letting the masses know on here.

Tuesday afternoon the NFL-bound Claypool offered a kind farewell to the Notre Dame family and everyone who made his career in South Bend possible.

In a class loaded with wide receiver talent I’m incredibly curious around what number Claypool will get selected at. He may not have truly elite speed but has unreal size and GUAGI (Go-Up-And-Get-It, h/t Matt Spiegel).

I don’t anticipate he’ll be knocking down the first round door but he’s going to bring a playmaking ability to someone at the next level for likely some great value.

Side note – he’s also a decent downfield blocker if any NFL GM needs another reason to be interested.

Notre Dame Football: Tony Jones, Jr. Declares for NFL Draft

Jones finishes with 1481 career rush yards at Notre Dame but will forever be remembered by Fighting Irish fans for a reception he had on a late November night in Los Angeles.

Just days after setting the Camping World Bowl record for longest run in game history, Tony Jones, Jr. is hanging up his gold helmet for a final time and heading to the 2020 NFL Draft.

Jones has his most productive season in 2019, rushing for 857 yards and six touchdowns while adding another 104 yards and touchdown in the receiving game.

Jones finishes with 1481 career rush yards at Notre Dame but will forever be remembered by Fighting Irish fans for a reception he had on a late November night in Los Angeles.

Jones is likely fighting an uphill climb to get drafted but does possess a great skill in pass protection.

I would imagine he figures it’s his best chance with a loaded backfield for the Irish next year that includes the new and highly regarded Chris Tyree, Kyren Williams, Jahmir Smith, C’Bo Flemister as well as seniors-to-be Jafar Armstrong and Avery Davis.

Regardless of what happens in the next level of his football career, Tony Jones, Jr. will go down in Fighting Irish lore for years to come.

Ranking the top Georgia football wins of the decade: #5

UGA Wire reveals its number five game on the list of Georgia football wins this decade

In honor of the start of 2020 Wednesday, we decided to put together a list of the Top 10 Georgia football wins from the past decade.

We know you’ve been anticipating our Top 5 so let’s get this thing going. Coming in at No. 5 on the list is actually a duo of games which we will rank under one category, the Notre Dame series.

The Bulldogs traveled up to South Bend in 2017 for a 20-19 victory over the Irish, which helped spark the Jake From era in Athens and a season that saw wins over every rival and the No. 2 Oklahoma Sooners in Pasadena.

Here’s some highlights from the game that really kicked off the Fromm and Smart era in the Classic City.

Now, let’s talk about the 2019 edition of this historic series. Though the sequel didn’t end in as much optimism as Bulldog fans had hoped, the hype around the game in Athens was like no other. College Gameday came to town, CBS broadcast the game and Sanford Stadium showed off brand-new LED lights.

The atmosphere in Athens on September 21st was unmatched and for those lucky enough to attend, it’s a game you’ll never forget.

Here’s a glance at some of those highlights:

Wow, what a day!

Former Notre Dame DC Reportedly Headed to Purdue

Diaco left Notre Dame to become the head coach at Connecticut in 2014, a job he spent three seasons at going 11-26 in that time.  His trip to the 2015 St. Petersburg Bowl (16-10 L vs Marshall) remains the last bowl game Connecticut played in.

I didn’t look at life a week ago and think I was going to be writing about former Notre Dame defensive coordinator Bob Diaco on two separate occasions but here we are.

Diaco and has Louisiana Tech squad shutout Miami (FL) 14-0 on December 26 in the Independence Bowl and four days later he’s headed to coordinate the defense of a historical Notre Dame rival.

Diaco was on Brian Kelly’s coaching staff at Notre Dame from 2010-2013 where he oversaw a defense that was responsible for the Fighting Irish going 12-0 in the 2012 regular season.

Diaco left Notre Dame to become the head coach at Connecticut in 2014, a job he spent three seasons at going 11-26 in that time.  His trip to the 2015 St. Petersburg Bowl (16-10 L vs Marshall) remains the last bowl game Connecticut played in.

The Huskies went just 3-9 the following season however and Diaco was fired from the job.

He’s since spent time at Nebraska (2017, Defensive Coordinator), Oklahoma (2018, Linebackers) and Louisiana Tech (2019, Defensive Coordinator).

Diaco won the Broyles Award at Notre Dame in 2012 as the nation’s top assistant coach when the Irish allowed one or fewer touchdowns in eight of their 12 regular season games.

I don’t know how it will ultimately go for Diaco at Purdue.  He’s spent a season in the Big Ten before as Nebraska’s D-C and had a rough go as his Cornhuskers allowed 30 or more points eight times that season.

What I do know is that life just got more interesting for those that cover Purdue football:

“Like Pavlov’s dogs – I walk through the gate and I salivate!”

I’m just mad I didn’t use that for my senior quote.

Notre Dame Football: Ian Book Returning in 2020

Notre Dame’s QB-1 took to Instagram on Sunday and gave a pretty strong indication that he’s not done in South Bend just yet.

It appears Ian Book has decided his plans for 2020 and his career at Notre Dame. Hint: it’s GREAT news for Brian Kelly and the Fighting Irish.

The senior quarterback has a year of eligibility remaining and didn’t commit to returning when given the chance multiple times this season.

Notre Dame’s QB-1 took to Instagram on Sunday and gave a pretty strong indication that he’s not done in South Bend just yet.

View this post on Instagram

#BeatNavy

A post shared by Ian Book (@ian.book) on

Book finished the 2019 season with 3039 pass yards, 34 touchdown passes and just six interceptions. He added 567 yards and four more scores on the ground.

With stability at the quarterback position it’s hard to imagine this isn’t a top-ten squad entering next season.

See you in 2020, indeed.

Julian Okwara’s Touching Thank You Note to Notre Dame Community

Okwara finishes his Notre Dame career with 14.5 career sacks, three forced fumbles and a pair of interceptions.

Julian Okwara’s Notre Dame career didn’t end the way anyone wanted as he suffered a leg injury at Duke in early November but his future still remains plenty bright at the next level.

More on that in a moment but Okwara took a moment Sunday to simply say “thank you” to the entire Notre Dame community for his last four years.

Okwara finishes his Notre Dame career with 14.5 career sacks, three forced fumbles and a pair of interceptions.

In Pro Football Focus’s latest NFL Mock Draft they had Okwara going in the late first round, citing that he figures to be loved at the scouting combine.

Notre Dame Football: Today Sucks, but a Big Thank You

I’m genuinely excited for what 2020 is going to bring to Fighting Irish Wire. I just hate that we’re 244 days until Notre Dame plays another football game.

Greetings Fighting Irish Wire readers:

First off a very happy Sunday to each and everyone of you and a sincere thank you for being part of the FIW community this season.

I was offered a part-time job by the Team Wire group at USA Today back in October and took it thinking I’d be contributing a few posts a week and have a more logical outlet to share some of my Notre Dame and college football thoughts than my day-job really does.

Little did I know within just a couple of days of accepting that offer that Marek, who was the original publisher of FIW, would take a full-time job elsewhere and I’d be offered his position. After a day or so of figuring out how I would attempt to make it work with a full-time job already and my first child three weeks out at the time, I decided to accept.

It would be tough but it would be worth it.

Notre Dame’s win over Iowa State in the Camping World Bowl puts a bow on the 2019 season and wraps up the first run I’ve had at this.

I just wanted to share a sincere thank you to all of you for helping make this site grow like you have in the few short months I’ve been a part of it.

I took it on without fully knowing what I was getting into and have loved my first couple of months on the job.

With the season now a wrap I can tell you we have a ton planned for the months ahead.

We’ve recently added Geoffrey Clark to the staff. Geoffrey has been handling a lot of our basketball coverage and was able to contribute some valuable help during his first football game-day with us today.

Jeff Feyerer continues to be a part of the team here as well and we’ve collaborated on a ton of off-season plans that will include historic debates, Irish in the NFL Draft information and plenty of outlook to the 2020 campaign.

I’ll be here as well and encourage you to stay with us through the off-season. If you are interested in possibly joining our team here or know someone who might be, my email address is linked in on every one of my posts here. Shoot me a message and let’s see what we can figure out together.

I’m genuinely excited for what 2020 is going to bring to Fighting Irish Wire. I just hate that we’re 244 days until Notre Dame plays another football game.

Thanks again and all the best to you and yours in 2020.

Go Irish,

Nick Shepkowski

Look: Notre Dame Shows Off Camping World Bowl Uniforms

What we don’t see is if the commitment to green in the gloves and cleats will be made like in last year’s Cotton Bowl or if it’ll be the look we’ve seen the

Does Notre Dame show up and play to their potential today or do they sleepwalk through the Camping World Bowl against Iowa State?

If it’s at all like I feel this morning it will be a slow start to put it nicely. Regardless, they’ll look good doing it as they’ll be in their road uniforms and since it’s a postseason game, names will be on the back.

What we don’t see is if the commitment to green in the gloves and cleats will be made like in last year’s Cotton Bowl or if it’ll be the look we’ve seen the Irish have in road games all season.

For what it’s worth (nothing, actually) Notre Dame has not won a bowl game while wearing white since the 2010 Sun Bowl as they beat Miami 33-17 in a game the Irish dominated, leading 30-3 entering the fourth quarter.

Alright, enough about fashion. Let’s put the ball in the air already and get to kickoff.