Tag: Notre Dame Fighting Irish

ESPN: Notre Dame Hiring Kelly One of Best in Last 25 Years

ESPN took a look at the top 25 Head Coaches hired in the last 25 years and the Irish’s hiring of Brian Kelly was high on the list.

The Charlie Weis Era was a forgettable one, after posting 9 then 10 wins in his first two seasons at the helm of the Irish seemed to be going in the right direction, but then a 3-9 season followed up by 7 and 6 wins seasons did Weis in. His firing led Notre Dame to hire Brian Kelly from Cincinnati and ESPN thought that the hire was the 13th best in the last 25 years.

Kelly, according to Adam Rittenberg, “created the type of stability Notre Dame struggle to achieve after Lou Holtz left town…. A two-time AP national coach of the year, Kelly doesn’t dance around Notre Dame’s national championship ambitions and knows there’s work to do there. But he has put the program in a position to challenge the nation’s best.”

Similar to Weis, Kelly had a very down year during his tenure as the head coach in 2016 when the Irish went 4-8, but Kelly’s rebound since that year makes the ’16 season look like a blip in the radar. That was a “disastrous season, Kelly made important changes to the staff and how he runs the program,” Rittenberg stated. Since then, the Irish have accumulated a 33-6 record, more along the lines of what fans expected when Kelly was hired in 2009.

Kelly has done a fantastic job as the Notre Dame head coach, as it takes time to build a program and sometimes a year like in 2016 needs to happen in order to self-analyze and make positive changes going forward. Those changes have seemed to work, with the Irish headed in the right direction. Kelly has focused on the programs consistency, something that only time can bring and he is close to getting the Irish into the elite of college football.

Notre Dame Football: Friday Night Sees Three New Offers in ’22 Class

The Irish staff was busy last night, offering three offensive lineman from the 2022 recruiting class.

It was a busy day for the Irish staff, offering three prospects in the 2022 class, each of them an offensive tackles. These offers are very much in line with the offensive lineman recruiting plan, go after mostly tackles and a few guards and centers when needed.

The first reported offer was from Kentucky’s Grant Bingham. The 6’6” and 302-pound tackle has added Michigan, Purdue and Georgia Tech offers this month as we could be seeing Bingham’s recruitment starting to blow up.

Bingham’s Johnson Central High likes to use his athleticism to their advantage, often pulling him as a lead blocker. When he gets to the second level, Bingham manhandles linebackers and defensive backs. The sophomore is a great looking prospect and the Irish getting out an offer early hopefully grabs Bingham’s attention.

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Next up was Virginia’s Zach Rice as the Irish join numerous other high level offers for the lineman which include LSU, Ohio State, USC and Georgia. It’s safe to say the 6’6” and 282-pound Rice is already a national prospect.

Rice looks very lean and should be able to add good weight while retaining his athleticism as he gets older. He has great feet and when Rice adds on more weight, he will be a devastating blocker. Another great offer out by the Irish staff.

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Last but not least was New Jersey’s Jacob Allen another national prospect. The Irish joined Oklahoma, Auburn, Florida and others for the 6’6” and 275-pound in the battle for the tackles commitment.

Allen is ranked by 247Sports as the 106th prospect in the country and the 10th tackle, the only one of the three currently ranked. At this point in time, he looks like the furthest along as a pass protector. Allen getting an early offer puts the Irish in a good position early on in his recruitment

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The busy day for the Irish staff will hopefully pay off down the road. At the current moment, the 2022 Notre Dame recruiting class has no commitments. It’s still very early for that cycle but getting offers out to top level prospects at this point is a good sign.

Who Do The Irish Turn to Now at Offensive Tackle in ’21 Class?

Although Notre Dame missed out on Florida’s offensive tackle Caleb Johnson, there are still plenty of big fish out there.

The Irish missed out on one of their top offensive line targets today when Florida offensive tackle Caleb Johnson committed to Auburn. Johnson would have been a nice addition to the already committed tackle Blake Fisher and guard Pat Coogan and now Brian Kelly and offensive line coach Jeff Quinn will turn their attention to other prospects.

Of the current offensive tackles that have Irish offers it seems as if Pennsylvania’s Nolan Rucci is the biggest fish out there. A massive 6’8” frame is the prototype for a tackle and at 290-pounds Rucci looks skinny. Rucci should be first off the bus when his high school travels, he’s just a massive human. He moves extremely well for his size and will be able to add on good weight and end up around 320-pounds. Kelly and Quinn should turn the heat up on Rucci’s recruitment after the Irish were included in his Top 9 released last month.

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Staying with tackles the Irish realistically have a chance at securing a commit from, Texas’ Matthew Wykoff should be next on the list. The 6’6” and 300-pound Texan released a Top 7 without the Irish on it, but don’t worry, that was prior to getting an offer and making an impression on the young man. It will be hard to get him out of Texas, but if Brian Polian, who is his lead recruiter, can get in his ear often, the Irish will have a shot with Wykoff.

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Out east in Connecticut is another massive tackle in Tristan Bounds. Another first off the bus guy for his high school, Bounds stands also at 6’8” and weights 285-pounds. The Irish have made his Top 8 list and have a great shot at the bookend tackle. Bounds might not be as highly ranked as the other two tackles the Irish are persuing, but that shouldn’t matter much. He is talented and have a very high ceiling, even if he needs a few years to get acclimated to this level.

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As for guards, the Notre Dame staff has extended only three offers, Texas’ Donovan Jackson committed to Ohio State while Coogan verballed to the Irish last month. Michigan’s Rocco Spindler is the lone man standing at guard and the main competition looks to be from Michigan. Spindler will trim his list down from 10 schools to 5 a week from today, and expect the Irish to make the cut for the 6’4” and 290-pound prospect.

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The Irish have a great shot with all four of these prospects and there is bound to be a few new prospects that pop up between now and signing day. I am a huge fan of the way Kelly is attacking the offensive line, go after as many tackles as possible and if they need to move to guard, it’s a much easier transition. If I had to make a guess as to who the Irish end up with to finish the 2021 offensive line class it would be Spindler and Bounds. Time will tell if I am right, but the Irish are in good position with each of these prospects.

When Notre Dame DC Lea Speaks, We Listen

Irish defensive coordinator Clark Lea breaks down how he goes about coaching linebackers.

Notre Dame’s defensive coordinator Clark Lea sat down with 247Sports Barton Simmons today and among the topics they discussed was what the Irish are looking for out of their linebacker’s.

In a common theme among the Irish coaching staff, Lea made sure that he reiterated what Brian Kelly preaches all the time, it’s not just about playing football in South Bend for the next 3-5 years, is a lifetime commitment. “These guys come to Notre Dame because they know about backup plans. We want guys that are so focused in every area, so prideful in excelling in all areas, that we really just get to pour into them as football players and make the four year experience the best we can make it.”

Lea also went in depth as to how the staff goes about the academic side of being a member of the Notre Dame Football team. “We want to make sure we have guys that are focused, that are task-orientated, that have the resilience to get done what needs to be done in the classroom, in study table, and in tutoring environments so that everything that we do in coaching them is centered around football.” My biggest take away is the resilience portion, as we all know in football there are going to be trying times at certain points in the season and having the ability to keep their focus and get the job done is paramount in life as well as football.

Lea also went on to talk about one of his star pupils, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and what stands out about the linebacker. “I went and watched him play basketball and the twitch was unbelievable. It wasn’t just the ability to jump, I’m watching him crossover dribble in warm-ups and just his head and shoulders, and the way he moved. It was so evident to me he had elite twitch, short area movement skill that through our system developing has only increased.” It seems as if Lea knew early on, Owusu-Koramoah had the skill set to dominate at this level.

It was a great insight in the defensive coordinators mind, and it shows why Lea is one of the best in the country. If he continues developing players like Owusu-Koramoah, school will be knocking at the door with head coaching offers soon. Hopefully, its not too soon.

Notre Dame Football offers Alabama Rising Sophomore

Notre Dame joins a plethora of schools to have offered the talented freshman from Alabama.

There have been plenty of stories regarding early offers out to players, a few have been offered full rides before they ever play a snap of high school football. That wasn’t exactly the case with the newest offer by Brian Kelly and his staff but it’s damn close.

Alabama defensive end Peter Woods was offered a scholarship this morning and the Irish are seemingly late to Woods recruitment. The massive freshman, yes technically he’s still a freshman, stands 6’4” and weights 250-pounds already holds offers from 18 other schools. It’s not as if they’re small schools offering Woods, its Alabama, LSU, Auburn, Georgia and others that the Irish have joined in offering the impressive young player.

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It seems as if Woods could play either end or tackle on the defensive line as his highlights show he’s making plays all over the field. Playing varsity for a freshman is impressive, but what makes Woods more so is the numbers he put up: sacking the quarterback 7 times, forcing and recover a fumble and accounting for 54 tackles. A senior would be happy with those numbers!

Woods recruitment has just started but it has started with bang. The class of 2023 prospect will be a wanted man and now the Irish have joined in the attempt to lure this exceptional player to South Bend.

Could Another Notre Dame Commit Get his 5th Star?

There is one Irish commit who could make a move into the elite 5-Star club, find out who could be on the upward movement in the rankings.

With Rivals updating their 2021 recruiting rankings this week, all three of the major recruiting services, 247Sports and ESPN also, have recently done the same. It is a good time to look at what their composite rankings are and if another future Irish star could get the elusive 5-Stars next to their name.

California quarterback commit Tyler Buchner still has his 5-Star status, just barely however as after the update his is the last player with that distinction. The player in question isn’t Buchner, its instate offensive tackle Blake Fisher. In Rivals recent update, Fisher is just outside their 5-Star range, 22nd overall in the country just 4 spots away from getting that extra star.

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Rivals recruiting expert Mike Farrell sees potential for Fisher to get that 5th star, not having camps hurt the fact they were not able to reassess Fisher. Farrell sees the Irish commit as “a massive tackle with light feet and he was so pumped and determined to show out this spring it’s a shame we didn’t get to see his hard work. I expect a huge season from the Notre Dame pledge.”

Fisher’s composite ranking now puts him as the 54th overall player in the country, and if he’s to join Buchner, Fisher will have to make another jump in the rankings. The strength of his Rivals ranking currently is keeping Fisher inside the top 60 composite rankings, while his ESPN ranking of 103rd and 247Sports 82nd are significantly lower. If Fisher is able to continue to get better like Farrell believes he can, Fisher could very well end up with his 5th star when its all said and done.

Which Notre Dame True Freshman Steps Up Contributes Immediately? (Part 2)

Yesterday, it as the offensive freshman that were profiled as contributors and today it’s the defenses turn for potential early impacts.

Yesterday we took a look at which Notre Dame offensive true freshman could make an impact this coming season. The key part of yesterday’s quote from Irish head coach Brian Kelly was that he expected both sides of the ball to have an impact freshman. Today, it’s time to look on the other side of the ball and see who could impact the Irish defensive after being in high school just a few months ago.

Linebacker Jordan Botelho

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The Irish have had good luck with Hawaiian prospects before, Manti Te’o worked out pretty well and Alohi Gilman was just drafted in the sixth round a few weeks ago, and the 6’3” and 230-pound edge rusher could see time early this coming season. Botelho won’t be an every down player, but in certain situations he could be deadly. Imagine a 3rd and long with a fresh Botelho coming off the edge, causing havoc for opposing offenses. The leading tackler from last year Drew White returns along with rising star Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, but there is one spot open and there is potential that Botelho can force Brian Kelly to get him on the field early and often.

Defensive End Rylie Mills

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The Illinois native was a wanted man during his recruitment, the who’s who of college football was after his pledge (Clemson, Alabama, Ohio State, LSU and others) but Kelly won the battle for Mills’ commitment. A player with that kind of offer list is not expected to come in and sit, and the 6’5” and 275-pound defensive end should have an opportunity for some early playing time. With Khalid Kareem and Julian Okwara moving on to the next level, Kelly will be looking for someone to fill that production and Mills could be that guy. There aren’t many proven commodities at defensive end for the Irish and Mills could push his way into the lineup early in his career.

Athlete Ramon Henderson

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Henderson does not come with the accolades as his two classmates before him do, but he could have just as good of a career as either of them. Henderson could make his impact first on special teams, where the 6’3” and 180-pound Californian strides long, gets to his top speed quickly and takes fantastic angles to find open return lanes. The Irish haven’t returned a kick or punt for a touchdown since 2016, when C.J. Sanders did it twice. In the long term, Henderson could be a special cornerback, his length is elite and if he continues to get more experience on that side of the ball, his ceiling is sky high. Henderson could very well end up as a high pointing receiver as well, his body type gives the Irish staff plenty of options.

The last two days we have looked at potential freshman who could make an impact in their first year at South Bend. Who knows, maybe one of the overlooked prospects such as Germany’s Alexander Ehrensberger emerges as the freshman who has the biggest impact next year. What we do know is it will be fun watching each of these 17 recruits for the next 3-5 years while they wear the Blue and Gold.

Brian Kelly gives update on all things Notre Dame football

Notre Dame head football coach Brian Kelly joined Rich Eisen on Wednesday and updated the world on everything going on in regards to Notre Dame football.

Brian Kelly has been coaching football for over 30 years and hasn’t experienced anything quite like what he’s dealing with as a coach right now.  Kelly joined “The Rich Eisen Show” on Wednesday and updated the world on pretty much everything in regards to Notre Dame football in 2020.

Why is he optimistic that Notre Dame will have a football season in 2020?

“Because I think our university wants to have one,” Kelly said.  He wouldn’t speak for university administration but also offered “if there are students on our campus, we’re playing football!”

On playing Navy on August 29th in Dublin, Ireland:

“Navy is gonna be a game, whether it’s played in Ireland or Bethesda.  I think we’re going to play. I don’t have definitive, 100%, but obviously things are trending that way, we’re moving in that direction, we want to play in the fall…at the end of the day those decisions are going to be made by our president and board of trustees, not the football coach at Notre Dame, so let’s get that straight.

So FedEx Field just outside of Washington, DC I assume he means?  That’s fine, although playing in Annapolis would be a lot cooler.

On how Notre Dame plans to handle social distancing with the football team:

“As we’re planning on no salad bars and spacing in the locker room and the weight room and some of these really important issues so you can in fact avoid a hot spot or the potential of what the worst case scenario could be, you start and then you have to shut down“

On what the players most want to know:

“The players just want to know dates and times. They want to be in the position where they can put on the calendar.  The problem is we can’t give them that because everything is staged in terms of the states and universities. They want to wait as long as they can because they want to get better testing, they want to get better tracing, they want to get where are we going to quarantine and and those things take more time.”

On uniqueness of getting players back on campus:

“It gets to the point where I know it’s frustrating for them, but they know that we’re doing all the planning necessary, because here’s where it’s a little different than year’s past.”

“We have to over-communicate with the parents. If it’s my kid I’m not putting him on a plane to South Bend.  I better know exactly what’s in place for my son when he gets there that he’s not going to get sick.”

You can watch the entire interview, complete with a Brian Kelly head-shot from probably 2011, below.

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Which Notre Dame True Freshman Steps Up and Contributes Immediately?

Which offensive true freshman will step up for Notre Dame and play a big part in the 2020 season?

Every year you expect a freshman to arrive onto campus, make an impact right away and contribute to the team. Last year it was safety Kyle Hamilton, exploding onto the national scene, becoming a Freshman All-American, and setting himself up for a huge second season in South Bend.

Yesterday, not only did Brian Kelly speak on raising money for COVID-19 during “The Fight,” but he also had a chance to speak about the upcoming season. Kelly was pretty positive that “a true freshman will emerge and play significant time on both sides of the ball.”

This past year’s recruiting class for Notre Dame had a total of 17 players, which was good for 17th overall in a nation according to the 247Sports composite. There were plenty of good players which signed with the Irish and Brian Kelly will have to figure out which ones can see the field early. Today, we will look at some of the offensive freshman that could make an impact.

Tight End Michael Mayer

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Mayer is the lone five-star prospect in the class, but even if he wasn’t there would be an opportunity for the Kentucky native to see playing time early. Gone is Cole Kmet, drafted in the second round by the Chicago Bears, and in comes the 6’4” and 232-pound Mayer as his potential replacement. Mayer will have to battle upper-classmen Brock Wright, George Takacs and Tommy Tremble for playing time, but he should be able to crack the rotation due to his impressive skill set.

Running Back Chris Tyree

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The speedster out of Virginia fills an immediate need, gamebreaker in the backfield. With Tony Jones Jr. using up all his eligibility, the opportunity for Tyree to make an impact early is there. Tyree’s size at 5’10” and 180-pounds won’t allow him to be a 20 carry a game back, but 10-15 touches a game for the freshman seems very logical. Like Mayer, the depth chart is in Tyree’s favor, with Jones Jr. leaving no other back on the team registered more than 48 carries, so playing time is there. I expect to see Jahmir Smith as the starter, but Tyree should be a good change of pace back and see plenty of time on the field as a true freshman.

Offensive Lineman Tosh Baker and Michael Carmody

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The offensive line isn’t a need for an instant impact freshman, every starter returns from last years squad, but the need is looking towards the future. Six seniors will graduate from the offensive line next year, although three of them could return for a 5th year, the need is still there for the future of the program. Getting Baker (6’7” and 271-pounds) and Carmody (6’5” and 283-pounds) ample playing time would be ideal, especially considering the Irish will be breaking in a new starting quarterback in 2021. Having an offensive line that can give a first year starting QB plenty of time would make the transition much easier.

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These are just a few of the talented offensive freshman that could make an impact early in their Notre Dame careers. Tomorrow we will take a look at which freshman defensive stars could emerge for the Irish during the 2020 season.

Rivals Updates their Top 250, See Where Irish Commits are Ranked

In the newest update of Rivals Top 250, a few of Notre Dame’s 2021 commits make the list.

Going into today’s update, the Notre Dame 2021 recruiting class consisted of 10 commits which is good for 9th best nationally according to their rankings. Of those ten, only four made it into the Top 250 prior to the update and that number stayed the same after as well.

In-state offensive tackle Blake Fisher, the Irish’s highest ranked commit, was 20th prior to today and was now ranked 22nd, a minute drop. Ohio wide receiver Lorenzo Styles Jr. also fell two spots to 39th overall in the country, earlier today Irish Wire looked at his potential to move to the defensive side of the ball. California QB Tyler Buchner fell one more spot than his classmates, dropping from 43rd to 46th overall. The final Irish commit was Missouri’s Gabe Rubio, who’s ranking stayed the same at 99th.

There were plenty of Irish targets inside Rivals Top 250 also, which included Maryland’s Dont’e Thornton is ranked 53rd, Michigan’s guard Rocco Spindler is 56th, staying in the same state with running back Donovan Edwards at 61st, Iowa tight end Thomas Fidone at 62nd, Texas back LJ Johnson ranked 69th, and former commit Deion Colzie at 73rd that made it inside the top 100.

It’s a bit surprising to see Irish TE commit Cane Berrong not ranked inside the Top 250, that is a clear omission by the Rivals recruiting staff. At the current moment Rivals does not rank anyone lower than 250 so it is difficult to tell where the rest of the class stands. Either way, the base for Brian Kelly’s 2021 recruiting class is solid and with plenty of very good prospects still uncommitted, the class could go from solid to spectacular by signing day.