Tag: Notre Dame football

Notre Dame offensive tackle Joe Alt gets selected at No. 5 by Los Angeles Chargers

Alt goes off the board early. Congrats Joe!

Notre Dame offensive tackle [autotag]Joe Alt[/autotag] didn’t have to wait long during the NFL draft to hear his name called.

With the No. 5 pick, the Los Angeles Chargers took him to bolster their offensive line. It is no surprise Alt was taken so high, the writing had been on the wall since he took over the starting spot during his freshman year.

Alt moves onto the NFL as one of the more highly decorated Notre Dame linemen. He was a two-time All-American and this past season earned the unique distinction of being a unanimous selection.

You also have to give a lot of credit to the Irish coaching staff for finding him and accelerating his development.

Congrats Joe, we will be rooting for you, but not necessarily your new head coach.

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Commanders hosted Notre Dame OL Blake Fisher on a top 30 visit

Joe Alt gets the recognition but Blake Fisher could be a steal on Day 2 of the draft.

The storyline surrounding the Washington Commanders this offseason has been centered around the quarterback position and the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft.

However, Washington has been focused on other positions, too. The Commanders were active in free agency, addressing a 4-13 roster by signing over 20 external free agents and allowing some of their own top free agents to depart.

One area Washington didn’t address in free agency — outside of re-signing veteran Cornelius Lucas — was offensive tackle. Lucas has started 31 games at left and right tackle during his four seasons in Washington, but is best suited to be the team’s swing tackle.

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With a deep offensive tackle class in the draft, the Commanders are rumored to be interested in using some of their nine draft choices to move back into the first round to select one of the top tackle prospects.

Washington has hosted multiple offensive line prospects on top-30 visits, and we recently learned of another visit: Notre Dame offensive tackle Blake Fisher, according to Matt Freeman.

Fisher is a 6-foot-6, 310-pound redshirt sophomore who left the Fighting Irish with two years of eligibility remaining. In 2021, Fisher became the first player in school history to start at left tackle as a true freshman, but unfortunately suffered a knee injury and redshirted.

He took over as Notre Dame’s right tackle the past two seasons, starting a combined 25 games. He and Joe Alt proved to be one of the best tackle duos in college football.

Fisher is extremely athletic and talented. With strong coaching, he could prove to be a steal on Day 2 of the draft. Currently, the Commanders have five selections in the second and third rounds.

Fisher has the potential to be a long-term starter at either tackle spot in the NFL. There is some technique work that needs cleaning up, but Daniel Jeremiah of the NFL Network sees the upside with Fisher, ranking him as his No. 54 overall prospect in a loaded offensive tackle class.

 

Notre Dame sees its first player enter the portal post-spring practices

Good luck Micah

It was inevitable that Notre Dame football would lose a player to the transfer portal now that spring practices are over.

Although it wasn’t immediately following the Blue and Gold game, cornerback [autotag]Micah Bell[/autotag] went to social media on Tuesday and announced that he will be moving on from the program and entering the transfer portal.

The rising sophomore most likely would have been a reserve player this fall, and you have to believe that part of his decision was made due to playing time. As a recruit, Bell was the nations No. 258 overall prospect according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings. He registered just one tackle during his Irish career.

We wish Bell the best as he looks for his next football home.

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Watch: Transfer Kris Mitchell scores his first touchdown in Notre Dame stadium

What a play by Mitchell

There was a big jump in stadium size for Notre Dame football transfer wide receiver [autotag]Kris Mitchell[/autotag].

Coming from FIU, where the capacity of the stadium was just 20,000, the adjustment to over 5-times that would clearly be different. It didn’t seem to faze the transfer, as he showed off his big-time playmaking ability with a touchdown in the Blue and Gold game.

Mitchell beat his defender, who slipped down the right side of the field, where Steve Angeli found him wide open for the long touchdown score. That’s the kind of explosiveness that many expect to see when he made the move to come to South Bend.

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Watch: Micah Gilbert scores again in Notre Dame’s Blue and Gold game

The freshman is showing out

It’s time to get the hype train going for true freshman wide receiver [autotag]Micah Gilbert[/autotag].

For the second time during Notre Dame football’s Blue and Gold game, the North Carolina native found the end zone. It was a simple go-route, but Gilbert showed his speed to get past the cornerback and race beyond the safety for the score.

The different between the first and second score was who threw him the ball. The first touchdown was from Kenny Minchey and the next one was from fellow freshman CJ Carr. We could be seeing a whole lot of the connections from either of these quarterbacks and Gilbert in the near future.

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Watch: Jeremiah Love’s TD gives Blue the lead back in Notre Dame’s spring game

Gonna see a lot of this in the fall from Love

With Audric Estime off to the NFL, Notre Dame football will have a new starter at running back, [autotag]Jeremiyah Love[/autotag].

The rising sophomore showed last year that he’s capable of carrying the load, so a big Blue and Gold game really wasn’t needed. Love didn’t care about that, as he made multiple solid plays throughout the contest.

One of those was his touchdown in the second half, as Love dashed to his left and found an open lane that led right to the end zone. He was barely touched as he ran in for the score, showing his exceptional speed and vision.

There is no doubt in my mind that Love is in line for a huge season for the Irish.

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Watch: Kenny Minchey finds Micah Gilbert for tying score in Notre Dame spring game

We could get used to Minchey to Gilbert

You have to give some credit to Notre Dame quarterback [autotag]Kenny Minchey[/autotag] for not letting an early interception deter the day.

It would have been very easy for him to turtle up and just go through the motions following an ill-advised throw in the first half. Minchey started to find his groove following the bad pass, and he make one of those highlight reel passes you love to see.

The second-year player found early enrolling true freshman wide receiver [autotag]Micah Gilbert[/autotag] along the right side on a beautiful throw over his right shoulder for a score. The impressive throw tied the game at 14 points midway through the third.

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Watch: Kenny Minchey runs it in for third score of Notre Dame’s spring game

The second-year quarterback finds the end zone

Although Notre Dame football’s second-year quarterback [autotag]Kenny Minchey[/autotag] threw an interception earlier in the Blue and Gold game, it didn’t put him in the dumps.

A few series following the errand throw, Minchey drove his Gold team down the field and into the red zone. He initially rolled out to his left looking to throw the ball, but when no one came open, he called his own number and powered his way into the end zone.

It does look like at this moment Minchey is most likely the third-string quarterback behind Riley Leonard and Steve Angeli, but putting points on the board must have felt great for him.

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Watch: True freshman RB Aneyas Williams finds end zone in Notre Dame’s spring game

The true freshman could make plays like this in the fall

It’s safe to say that Notre Dame football’s 2024 recruiting class will be setting the stage for years to come.

One of those freshman is running back [autotag]Aneyas Williams[/autotag], who entered the program as the nations No. 19 back and 250th overall prospect according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings. It didn’t take long for him to make an impact in Notre Dame’s Blue and Gold game, as he found the end zone early in the second quarter.

Williams started his run on the inside, bounced outside and outraced the defenders to the pile-on and cashed in. What was an interesting aspect of the score was that the broadcast actually was interviewing head coach [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] and he explained how a freshman back could get playing time.

Since he knows the protections, Freeman believes that his young back will see the field early for the Irish this season. That is exciting to hear.

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Watch: Steve Angeli finds Eli Raridon for first score of Notre Dame’s spring game

Angeli to Raridon for the first score of the Blue and Gold game

The first few minutes of Notre Dame football’s spring game was pretty boring, but that all changed when the Blue team found the end zone.

Quarterback [autotag]Steve Angeli[/autotag], who led the Irish to an impressive win in the Sun Bowl, looks like he has picked up where he left off. He was accurate and on time with his throws, moving his team down the field.

On 3rd-and-ten Angeli made a fantastic hard count to get the defense to jump offsides. The “free play” saw the sophomore find tight end [autotag]Eli Raridon[/autotag] over the middle, who juggled the ball, got control and powered his way for the first score of the Blue and Gold game.

Big things are expect from both players, even if Angeli is expected to be Riley Leonard’s backup when the season begins.

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