Tag: Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Notre Dame Offers ’21 Texas RB

The Irish go out to the Lone Star State and offer a running back in the 2021 class.

Although the Irish missed out on North Carolina star RB Will Shipley yesterday, there are still plenty of big fish out there  for Brian Kelly to reel in. You can add a new name to the pool of ‘backs the Irish are after in Texas’ Alton McCaskill.

The 6’1” and 195-pound tailback from Oak Ridge High School has recently seen his recruitment blow up. In April McCaskill added offers from Florida State, Arkansas, Penn State, Virginia, Auburn, Michigan, USC and others. It shouldn’t be seen as a coincidence that after McCaskill ran a 10.91 100-meter dash that the offers started to pour in.

[protected-iframe id=”6be711208b9d574106ce2647356c2590-162776928-178902091″ info=”//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/10990536/5afafb85b0189307489a44e6″ width=”640″ height=”360″ frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen=””]

Speed kills and McCaskill has plenty of it as his highlight reel shows. The burst is elite, he shows good hands out of the backfield and isn’t afraid to run between the tackles. McCaskill is ranked by the 247Sports composite as the 35th best back in the country and 515th overall prospect in the nation. His production last year is most likely why his rating is so low currently, just 845 yards on 121 carries (6.9 yards per carry) and 10 touchdowns.

I love this offer to McCaskill, getting players from talent rich states like Texas, California and Florida always seem to be ready to contribute earlier over other states players. The Irish staff need to go hard after running backs after missing out on Shipley and offering McCaskill is a step in the right direction.

Two New Notre Dame Football Offers Out Today

The Irish were busy today inside the 2022 class, offering a prospect on each sides of the coast.

It’s been a busy recruiting day for the Irish, not all of the news has been good. Long sought-after North Carolina running back Will Shipley spurned Notre Dame and chose Clemson this afternoon, but that will not deter Brian Kelly and his staff from getting back on the horse.

In a span of about a minute, both class of ’22 stars Domani Jackson of California and Virginia’s Aiden Gobaira tweeted out verbal offers from the Irish staff. Starting with Jackson, the 6’1” and 185-pound corner has a very impressive offer list at this early juncture listing USC, Alabama, Georgia, LSU and a host of others.

Jackson was recently named a 5-Star by Rivals and at this early is wide open in his recruitment. Although he currently resides in California, Jackson is originally from the Midwest, having lived in Ohio, Pennsylvania and then Hawaii before his family settled in California. It has been noted he wouldn’t mind heading back to the area for college and with offers from Ohio State and Michigan it will be a hard-fought recruiting battle with the other Midwestern powers.

Gobaira’s recruitment hasn’t been as crazy as Jackson’s, he reports just a few offers including instate Virginia and Virginia Tech along with Penn State, Vanderbilt and Duke. The sophomore defensive end has a great frame at 6’5” but needs to add serious weight, as he weights just 200 pounds at the moment. Gobaira on projection alone has those offers, just imagine when he fills out and learns better technique. Judging by his offer list, Gobaira won’t have any issues with the rigorous academic Notre Dame schedule either.

It is still very early in both of these recruitment’s, as neither has put out a top list of school yet. A long ways to go for either player, but getting their attention at this early stage of the process can be seen as nothing but a positive sign for Kelly and the Irish.

The Ship(ley) has Sailed, Who Does Notre Dame Turn to Next in ’21 RB Recruiting

Missing out on Will Shipley hurts now, but the Irish do have plenty of other potential running backs they’ve continued to recruit.

At one point in time during North Carolina star Will Shipley’s recruitment Notre Dame was the perceived leader, but then the country shut down amidst the COVID-19 epidemic and the NCAA mandated dead period occurred. With many recruits including Shipley not being able to visit schools they were scheduled to during the summer has made this recruiting cycle one of the oddest ever. This enabled Clemson to really put the full court press on Shipley and gain a commitment from him today.

This is a tough blow for Brian Kelly as Shipley was seen as a Christian McCaffrey clone, a prospect any program would be happy to see don their colors. Kelly knew he couldn’t put all his eggs in one basket, as they have offered six other true running backs aside from Shipley in this class. Three of them have committed, so let’s eliminate TreVeyon Henderson and Lovasea Carroll along with Shipley from the big board. Texas’ Camar Wheaton hold’s an offer from Notre Dame and is viewed as one of the best in the country, but this one will be an uphill battle. Wheaton has local powers Texas and Oklahoma after him along with LSU, Alabama and SMU. If Notre Dame wants to really get involved in Wheaton’s recruitment, the staff needs to step up immediately.

Michigan’s Donovan Edwards is the highest rated local remaining running back with an offer and although he hasn’t released a top list yet, it’s perceived that instate schools Michigan and Michigan State along with Georgia are his top schools. Yes, Edwards seems to have made a connection with Irish commit Blake Fisher, but so did Shipley and look how that turned out.

Ohio back Corey Kiner has pushed his recruitment forward, but it doesn’t seem like the Irish have much of a shot in his recruitment at the moment. Although the Irish have offered him, Kiner isn’t high on the program, as it seems like Cincinnati, Louisville and Michigan have the leg up in his recruitment. He is set to commit on Independence Day, so if Kelly wants a commit from the Ohio back, they’ll have to really up their effort in recruiting Kiner.

The Sunshine State’s Prophet Brown is perhaps the most likely future Notre Dame player on this list. The only problem with that is Brown is being recruited by Notre Dame as a corner and not running back. Could that change after missing out on Shipley?  Either way, look for Brian Polian and Mike Mickens to ramp up their pursuit of Brown, as the clear need for running back and corner in the 2021 recruiting class is obvious for Notre Dame.

The Irish are in need of talent in the backfield and losing out on a commitment from Shipley hurts in the short term. Who the staff turns to now is the biggest question mark, but plenty of talented backs are still in play for the Irish. Notre Dame will bounce back, the pain of losing Shipley will linger, but if Kelly can reel in another big fish, it might not matter in the long run.

Notre Dame and Big Ten join forces to battle Mental Health

The Big Ten along with Notre Dame and Johns Hopkins has formed a Mental Health and Wellness Cabinet to assist student-athletes.

It has been quite a ride for Kevin Warren, the new commissioner of the Big Ten, since taking over full time for the retired Jim Delaney at the beginning of the year. Warren could not have expected to be battling a global pandemic, but that has not stopped the conference from moving forward and putting the student-athletes at the forefront of their minds.

Yesterday, the Big Ten along with Notre Dame and Johns Hopkins, announced a partnership in the battle against the mental health and wellness of their athletic student body. There will be 2 representatives from each school that will form a Mental Health and Wellness Cabinet to assist the student-athletes with anything they may need.

In addition to the added focus on their mental well-being, student-athletes, coaches, full time members of athletic departments and conference staff members will be given free access to the Calm app.

It has been a recent development for athletes to come out and speak about their mental health issues. These issues could affect anyone and by joining forces with the Big Ten and Johns Hopkins it is a move in the right direction. Having extra support for student-athletes is a huge step forward, just because they are in the limelight doesn’t mean they don’t go through tough times.

It seems very fitting for all parties to announce these plans now, as May is Mental Health Month.  This gesture by the 16 schools involved is a step forward in battling mental health issues on college campuses.

ESPN Updates FPI, See if Notre Dame is predicted to make the CFP

In an post-spring version of ESPN’s Football Power Index, find out where the Irish rank among contenders for the CFP.

Although much can’t change at the moment with on-field improvements, ESPN still is looking forward to the 2020 season by releasing a post-spring football power index. This one is a bit different as they combined the FPI with their Allstate Playoff Predictor and predicted what percentage the top teams have to make the College Football Playoff.

Seth Walder, who put together the data, sees the Irish’s chances at being one of the four teams to have a chance at a National Championship as slim, just 3% to be selected in the CFP. Their chances for a title are even lower, at under 1%, which makes sense when looking at the percentage of making the playoffs.

It seems like the data doesn’t favor Brian Kelly’s 2020 squad, but that shouldn’t mean the Irish won’t be competitive this fall. Looking at some of the teams ahead of Notre Dame, you will see two opponents projected into the final four. Clemson, who annually represents the ACC, and a surprise, Wisconsin, are two of the four to advance in this projection. The Tigers are a no-brainer, as they have only missed out on only the first edition of the CFP, but the Badgers have never been selected. I am not as high on Wisconsin as ESPN is at the moment, replacing a record setting running back, your top 2 receivers, best linebacker and senior center is a tall task.

The Irish will most likely end up facing just one playoff competitor this season, Clemson, but that game along with the trip to Lambeau to face the Badgers won’t be easy. Here’s to making this version of the FPI wrong, and the Irish having a chance to really put a wrench into the committee’s thinking when they select their final four.

Irish Baseball Star Myers Runs Up Top OF List

Notre Dame outfielder Spencer Myers recognized as one of the best in the country at his position.

Early this baseball season, Notre Dame centerfielder Spences Myers was running all over the basepaths against the Irish opponents. Myers was leading the NCAA in total steals with 15, had an NCAA high of 6 in a game, and led the nation in hits per game as well. Pretty impressive performance for the junior even in a shortened “season.”

Myers accomplishments did not go unnoticed as he was recognized as one of the best collegiate outfielders in the country by D1 Baseball. Ranked as the 27th best outfielder in the nation, is some high praise for the Florida native.

It was unfortunate that the season came to an abrupt end, Myers was well on his way to topping last years steals total of 28, but more importantly the Irish under first year coach Link Jarrett were making waves in the ACC. The 11-2 early season record indicated the coaching change was working well for the Irish, but who knows how the season would have turned out.

Myers was set to play in the Cape Cod League with the Wareham Gatemen, if you follow college baseball you know this is the most prestigious summer wood bat league a collegian can play in, but now that clearly won’t happen. Who knows how the MLB will handle their draft process this year, Myers very well could have been drafted if his early season progression continued, as we all sit and wait for answers. The answer we do know is that Myers was a demon on the basepaths and impressed people across the nation.

Kelly believes Notre Dame on the Cusp of Winning a National Championship

The Irish have had their chances but haven’t been able to break through, Brian Kelly thinks they are close to being crowned champions again.

The Irish have been close to breaking their championship drought, having had opportunities in 2013 and 2018, to end the misery of waiting since 1988 to be crowned college footballs top team. Although those chances slipped by Notre Dame, Brian Kelly sees the Irish as getting close to breaking though.

Yesterday, Kelly joined 247Sports Social Distance podcast and was asked about the difficulty of getting to the top of the mountain. When he was asked about being in the top tier of teams, Kelly responded by saying “the final step is to continue, you have to do this on a consistent basis. Three double digit win seasons, four out of five, is beginning to show signs of that consistency, but I think that that has to come first. Consistently double digits wins puts you then in a position where you can recruit at the highest level. Then I think the final stage of that is you have to break through and win one of those games. We’ve been in a number of those and I’ve led our team to a number of those games and we’ve quite frankly not broken though. We will…. We’ll break though at Notre Dame. We’ve got a great foundation, great coaches, great support. Our university has given us the support necessary. We got to continue to recruit at the highest level and win some of those battles that are out there.”

He finished off by saying the Irish are knocking at the door, but they have to win some of the big ones. Kelly is spot on with his assessment of the program, consistency being the key to improved recruiting and then getting the breakthrough win. They are just behind the elite of elite teams, Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and to get into the upper echelon with those teams you do have to knock the door down.

Just getting there doesn’t do much, look at Florida State, Michigan State, Washington, their appearances in the College Football Playoff’s were one offs, much like the Irish’s. The door has to be broken down to get to that elite level. Notre Dame is right on the cusp of belonging with those teams, they just need to have that one breakthrough we’ve all been waiting for.

Study Shows Notre Dame Ranks Among Best in Developing Talent

An analyzation of top talent and getting them drafted into the NFL see’s Notre Dame as one of the best in the country.

The NFL is a measuring stick for college football teams as to how they are able to improve their players once they hit campus. Over a five year period from 2011-2015, 247Sports took a deep dive into evaluating talent development, calling it their “Development Rating.”

Points are awarded to players inside their Top 247 who were drafted, with an emphasis on higher talent being drafted earlier and omitting some players, such as one’s who medically retired. The Irish finished as the 10th highest rated school in the time frame, having 42.9% of Brian Kelly’s player’s who qualified drafted in that span.

Chris Hummer, who collected the data, lumped Stanford along with the Irish due to their high academic standards and being able to overcome that and still produce NFL talent. “Stanford and Notre Dame have had their swoons in play over the last decade, but both produced a quartet of Top247 first-round selections within this recruiting period. They both also consistently land high-level recruits looks for a more rigorous academic process in college.” An impressive stat for both teams considering the difficult course load those players take on in their collegiate careers.

This analyzation of data isn’t an end all of how teams are viewed as developing their players, it’s a look at how teams do with top talent and getting them to the next level. Most collegiate players want to play in the NFL, it’s the next logical step. With Notre Dame having a good amount of success with their top recruits, it’s a big time recruiting pitch for Kelly and his staff to perspective Irish stars.

ESPN Not High on Book’s NFL Projection

The senior Notre Dame signal caller, Ian Book, is not getting any early love from NFL draft projectors at ESPN.

It seems like a right of passage every year after the NFL Draft concludes, many pundits are already looking forward to the 2021 version and the focus like most years is on the quarterback position. It seems like a consensus that Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence and Ohio State’s Justin Fields are the cream of the crop, with the draft almost a year away from being held in Cleveland.

Since the 2000 draft, four Irish quarterbacks have been drafted, Jarious Jackson in ’00, Brady Quinn in ’07, Jimmy Clausen in ’10 and DeShone Kizer in ’17. None of them had much success in the NFL, but that has never stopped teams from selecting who they believe will be effective at the highest level.  All it takes is that one elite season, see Washington selecting Dwyane Haskins or this year’s number one pick LSU’s Joey Burrow, for the NFL brass to change their views on a player.

ESPN looked at the 8 most likely drafted quarterbacks for this upcoming class, Book ended up being featured in their other QB’s to watch. The world wide leader told us what we already knew, that “Book has above-average athleticism and good accuracy, particularly in short and intermediate throws, but his downfield work and height (6-foot) don’t project as well to the next level.”

To me, the height isn’t an issue at all. Looking around the NFL numerous teams have successful QB’s that aren’t over 6-feet tall, New Orlean’s Drew Brees, Seattle’s Russell Wilson and Arizona’s Kyler Murray are just a few that height isn’t seen as a detractor.

What is a bit concerning at the next level is accuracy. This trait is viewed as something that is difficult to teach, either you have it or you don’t. Book had it in 2018, completing 68% of his passes during his sophomore year, but took a step back last year dropping 8% to just 60% completion rate. Yes, there were more than 80 more attempts, but a drop off should not have been as large. This could potentially hurt the way NFL team’s view Book.

With a big senior season, Book can change those narratives and become a viable NFL quarterback option for teams in the coming draft. He will need to improve his deep ball accuracy and if he can do that, could have a potentially huge season for the Irish this year. Here’s hoping Book can get better in that area, which would help the Irish in the short term and his NFL career in the long term.

NFL Draft: Alohi Gilman taken by Chargers in Sixth Round

The move paid off today as Gilman was selected by Los Angeles Chargers in the sixth round. The two-year Notre Dame starter complied 168 tackles, 3 picks, 4 forced fumbles and a sack while roaming the Irish secondary. His senior leadership along with Jalen Elliott, led the secondary to a top 20 total defense last year.

Although Alohi Gilman didn’t start his career at Notre Dame, he leaves as a captain and an NFL Draft pick. Gilman began his career at Navy, but his sights on playing in the NFL would have been put on hold due to a military commitment rule which lead to his transfer to South Bend.

The move paid off today as Gilman was selected by Los Angeles Chargers in the sixth round. The two-year Notre Dame starter complied 168 tackles, 3 picks, 4 forced fumbles and a sack while roaming the Irish secondary. His senior leadership along with Jalen Elliott, led the secondary to a top 20 total defense last year.

The fifth pick for the Irish in this years draft, following Cole Kmet, Chase Claypool, Julian Okwara and Troy Pride, Jr. Gilman will be missed next year, but his time to play at the next level has come. Los Angeles  will be happy with the leadership qualities Gilman brings, as he fulfills his lifelong dream of playing in the NFL and joins a slew of former Notre Dame players including Drue Tranquill, Jerry Tillery and Isaac Rochell.