Tag: Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Two New Preseason Top 25’s Released, See Where Irish are Ranked

It was Althon Sports and Pro Football Focus’ turn rank the preseason Top 25, see where Notre Dame landed in their projections.

College Football is trending in the right direction, as many conferences have announced plans to have student-athletes back on campus sometime in early June. The news has all of us salivating over the return of sports and dreaming about the upcoming season. Two different outlets, Althon Sports and Pro Football Focus have released their preseason Top 25 projections.

Let’s look at Althon Sports first, who rank the Irish 9th overall in the country heading into the season. Their look at the Irish goes in-depth as they voice some concerns prior to the contests being played, but nothing that we don’t know already. The core of Notre Dame’s returning offensive stars are led by quarterback Ian Book and all five starting offensive linemen. It’s the skill position where the Irish need to have players step up after losing a massive amount of production. “Incoming freshman Chris Tyree (RB), Jordan Johnson (WR) and Michael Mayer (TE) will have an opportunity to make an impact right away,” is how Steve Lassan of Althon Sports see’s it. Defensively, Lassan doesn’t think the group should miss a beat “but coordinator Clark Lea is going to have a busy fall trying to restock at defensive end and in the secondary.” The secondary concern’s shouldn’t be as large with the transfer of NC State’s Nick McCloud along with Ohio State transfer Isaiah Pryor and rising star sophomore Kyle Hamilton.

Pro Football Focus sees the Irish as one spot ahead at 8th in the country. Their preview doesn’t go as deep as Althon, but it’s still encouraging to see Notre Dame ranked that high. Book was singled out by PFF, as he had the “40th-highest PFF passing grade in the country in 2019,” a number that will need to be better if the Irish expect to contend for a spot in the College Football Playoffs.

Plenty of way-too-early Top 25 lists have been released, the majority have the Irish ranked anywhere from 8th to 12th at this juncture. When the season really gets started and the AP and Coaches polls are released, expect to find the Irish somewhere in that same range the preseason projections have them at.

California Dreaming, Notre Dame Recruits well in Sunshine State

The Irish have traditionally recruited California well and expect that to continue.

Yesterday, it was the minimal presence that the Irish in their neighboring state Ohio, but today Rivals took a look at who recruits California the best. It should not come as a surprise that Notre Dame made the list, the Irish have traditionally recruited the state well.

The Irish have secured a commitment from Tyler Buchner in the 2021 recruiting cycle, he is the top rated quarterback and second overall prospect in California. Last year it was CB Ramon Henderson and in the 2019 class it was CB Isaiah Rutherford and DE Isaiah Foskey. It was CB TaRiq Bracy, OT Jarrett Patterson and LB Jack Lamb who signed with the Irish in 2018.

It is safe to say the state of California has been kind to the Irish, and Brian Kelly keeps dipping into the Sunshine State for talent every year. There is potential for more Californian’s to sign with the Irish this year as RB Prophet Brown and DB Dyson McCutcheon both have Notre Dame in their top few schools.

Of the offers out to the 2022 class, only Texas with 10 has more than California’s 5 right now, so expect Kelly to continue to look for talent out west. Making the state a priority is a good thing, as it’s a hotbed for Division I talent. The California to South Bend pipeline should continue to be strong in the future.

Irish make recent offers Top 10

The Notre Dame offer clearly held some weight as the class of 2021 Tennessee star included the Irish in his Top 10 going forward.

It didn’t take long for recent Irish offer Prince Kollie to released his Top 10 school after getting an offer from Notre Dame on Sunday. The class of 2021 Tennessee athlete could end up on either side of the ball.

Kollie sports an impressive offer list and extremely tough competition for the Irish as his recruitment continues. Battling schools SEC and Big XII powers will not be an easy task for Brian Kelly but there is a silver lining here. The offer was made less than a week ago to Collie and already had made an impression on the young man.

The Irish offer wasn’t the only good thing to happen to the talented athlete this week, he was named a 4-Star prospect after the 247Sports update on Wednesday. A huge jump for Collie as he rose from 448th overall to 230th player in the nation. A perfect example of a prospect who would have blown up this summer during the camp circuit but due to the current circumstances hasn’t had the exposure. That clearly has changed, and the Irish are squarely in the stars recruitment.

Does Notre Dame Need to Recruit Ohio Harder?

It might be time for the Irish and Brian Kelly to have more of an impact with their neighboring states recruits.

Indiana’s neighbor to the east is Ohio, the most fertile football recruiting ground of any of the northern states. Rivals took a look at which schools recruit the Buckeye state the best and Notre Dame was not listed as one of the top 5 schools.

The current roster has 8 players from the state of Ohio; offensive linemen Tommy Kraemer and Liam Eichenberg along with defensive back Shaun Crawford are the biggest impact players from the state for the Irish. In this current recruiting cycle, wide receiver Lorenzo Styles Jr. is the lone Ohioan commit.

The state pumps out high-level Division I football players each year and it seems like Brian Kelly hasn’t been dipping into Ohio enough. This year, the state’s top 20 players are ranked inside the top 600 nationally, with schools like LSU, Northwestern, Purdue poaching talent.

It will always be a battle against Ohio State for their state’s top prospects, they usually have their pick of the litter. When Michigan was a college football power, they relied on Ohio players to make an impact. Their most recent Heisman winner Charles Woodson, he’s from Fremont, Ohio.

Kelly should know about how talent rich Ohio is, he should still have plenty of connections from his time as Cincinnati’s lead man, even if it was 10 years ago. Since 2016, the Irish have signed 4 players from the state. Not in one cycle, four total in that time frame, not including Styles Jr. who has yet to sign.

This year’s class from Ohio is deep, but even when it’s not, there are player’s who undoubtedly have the academic and athletic profile that fits what the Irish are looking for. It might be too late for the 2021 cycle but going forward it’s time to go back into Indiana’s neighboring state and start poaching away prospects.

Kelly Named a Top 5 Head Coach in the Country

Notre Dame’s head coach Brian Kelly made a jump in CBS Sports top college football coach rankings.

We all knew that Notre Dame Football’s head coach Brian Kelly was well respected in the coaching community, what he hasn’t always had was the media’s backing. Well, yesterday CBS Sports released their Top 25 coaches in college football and Kelly ranked 5th among his peers.

The move into the Top 5 for Kelly is a nice coup, after he placed 7th in last years rankings. Tom Fornelli, who put together the rankings for CBS, mentions the success among Irish greats that Kelly has achieved since taking over the program in 2010. If the wins in 2012-13 were not vacated, would give Kelly “92 wins in South Bend. That’s 13 fewer than Rockne’s 105, which means there’s a good chance Kelly will pass Rockne during the 2021 season,” as Fornelli points out, Kelly is close to putting his name amongst former Irish greats.

Kelly’s job of getting the Notre Dame program back to national respectability has been very refreshing. He has brought the stability back to South Bend, after Lou Holtz hung up his coaching whistle, the Irish have had issues with their lead men. Bob Davie, Tyrone Willingham and Charlie Weis each hover around a .500 record, not good enough for the storied program. The most successful era’s in Notre Dame history saw the head coach stay at the position for more than 10 years. Kelly has reached that and it’s clear his time has been a success, even with the vacated wins.

Kelly successor Weis didn’t help him, as he inherited a program that had gone 16-21 in the previous 2 seasons. “He (Kelly) took over a program that found itself on the brink of becoming a historical relic and has restored the shine to the golden dome,” Fornelli explained. Although Kelly has yet to have that major breakthrough, if he continues with this track, the Irish will get that win that propels them into the super elite status of college football.

 

247Sports Updates 2021 Recruiting Rankings, Irish Commits on the Move

Notre Dame is recruiting at a high level, with more than half of their commits inside 247Sports Top 247.

Without the plethora of camps this spring and summer, it will be increasingly difficult for recruiting evaluators to place proper rankings for many of the best prospects in the country. Although there are issues, today 247Sports made an update to their Top 247 with many Irish commits on the move.

Of the ten current commits, the highest rated is quarterback Tyler Buchner who made a modest move up one spot in their rankings to 49th overall.  Instate offensive tackle Blake Fisher moved down two spaces to 84th nationally, another move that isn’t of big significance.

Lorenzo Styles Jr. had a nice leap up from 136th to 128th, inching closer towards being a Top 100 prospect in 247Sports rankings. Initially the talented wide receiver was 109th but has seen his stock yo-yo since then almost getting back to his original ranking. Defensive tackle Gabriel Rubio also has seen his rankings move in and out of the Top 100, this update saw him move back towards that range going from 119th to 112th.

The biggest mover was recent Irish commit Philip Riley. The Florida corner was once outside the Top 400 prospects in the nation, jumped almost 100 spots from the last update to 247Sports rankings. Riley went from the 310th overall player to 216th. A huge boost as Notre Dame seems to have scouted correctly with their assessment of Riley.

Tight end Cane Berrong took a bit of a tumble in this update, although not a huge drop for the Georgian, who went from 209th to 218th overall. He was the last of the Irish commits to be ranked inside the Top 247. Having six of the ten is a great start, the 247Sports composite team rankings have the Irish at 12th overall. There are plenty of talent prospects the Notre Dame staff is still after including OT Nolan Rucci (14th), TE Thomas Fidone (39th), and G Rocco Spindler (66th). Look for the 2021 class to finish strong on the recruiting trail.

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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’s Playmaker? A Group of Five

It isn’t just one Irish player that is considered a playmaker by CBS Sports, it’s a group.

It seems as if every day the hope for a season gets larger and larger. With than many people are getting excited about what could be and it was CBS Sports Barrett Sallee that looked ahead to which players are the best playmakers at their positions.

It wasn’t just one Notre Dame player to make Sallee list, it was the offensive line as a unit. Although the big men up front aren’t normally seen as playermakers “they’re play facilitators. With that said, let’s give this award to a Notre Dame unit that is loaded with returning talent.” That loaded talent is led by Liam Eichenberg who is seen as a potential first round draft pick.

What was interesting is that Sallee mentioned the goal for every top program in the nation, getting into the Playoff’s. He believes that “if they’re (Notre Dame) going to get back to the College Football Playoff, it’ll be up to the big guys up front to get the job done.” Sallee isn’t wrong, as the Irish do return senior QB Ian Book but have to replace every skill position starter from last year. Leaning on the veteran line early should help Book find his go-to guys this coming season.

The health of the line shouldn’t be understated, as tackle Robert Hainsey and guards Tommy Kraemer and Aaron Banks each suffered an injury at some point in the last year. Keeping the group injury-free will be a key for the Notre Dame offense. If the quintet is healthy, expect phenomenal play from Jeff Quinn’s group and the possibility of getting back to the playoffs for the second time in the Brian Kelly era.

It seems as if every day the hope for a season gets larger and larger. With than many people are getting excited about what could be and it was CBS Sports’ Barrett Sallee that looked ahead to which players are the best playmakers at their positions.

It wasn’t just one Notre Dame player to make Sallee list, it was the offensive line as a unit. Although the big men up front aren’t normally seen as playermakers “they’re play facilitators. With that said, let’s give this award to a Notre Dame unit that is loaded with returning talent.” That loaded talent is led by Liam Eichenberg who is seen as a potential first round draft pick.

What was interesting is that Sallee mentioned the goal for every top program in the nation, getting into the Playoff’s. He believes that “if they’re (Notre Dame) going to get back to the College Football Playoff, it’ll be up to the big guys up front to get the job done.” Sallee isn’t wrong, as the Irish do return senior QB Ian Book but have to replace every skill position starter from last year. Leaning on the veteran line early should help Book find his go-to guys this coming season.

The health of the line shouldn’t be understated, as tackle Robert Hainsey and guards Tommy Kraemer and Aaron Banks each suffered an injury at some point in the last year. Keeping the group injury-free will be a key for the Notre Dame offense. There’s a reason Notre Dame got the moniker of O-Line U, groups like this. If the quintet is healthy, expect phenomenal play from Jeff Quinn’s group and the possibility of getting back to the playoffs for the second time in the Brian Kelly era.

Irish Offer Two Class of 2021 Prospects On Sunday

Notre Dame was busy this weekend and it continued on Sunday with two offers out to prospects in the 2021 class.

The Notre Dame staff took Saturday “off” this weekend, offers went out on Friday night and then again yesterday. Two new verbal offers went to the 2021 class, which currently has 10 commitments and ranked as the 10th overall class by the 247Sports composite.

The first reported offer went out to Tennessee linebacker Prince Kollie. The Irish joined Georgia, Oklahoma, Auburn and others in offering the 6’2” and 200-pound athlete.

Although he is listed as a linebacker, Kollie could end up playing a variety of positions such, running back and safety along with linebackers. The talented athlete does a variety of things for his high school team, rushing from the edge, lining up as a hybrid safety, taking passes the distance as a wide receiver as well. Kollie is the type of athlete you want on your team and can figure out what to do with later when his body matures.

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The second offer on Sunday went out to Georgia’s 6’0” and 195-pounds safety Kaleb Edwards. He holds offers from Stanford and Northwestern, which means that Edwards fit the academic profile the Irish are looking for.

Not only is he a standout in the classroom but on the field as well. Edwards bring a physical attitude to the secondary but has good enough hands to take passes the other way. His willingness to come into the box and make plays is impressive, something you love seeing from downhill safeties.

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The Irish do not have any of their 10 verbals at the linebacker position, a need that Kollie could fill. In the secondary, corner Philip Riley and safety Justin Walters are in the bank, and Edwards would be a welcome addition to the group. Brian Kelly and his staff are still working hard at the 2021 cycle and both Kollie and Edwards are names to watch going forward.