Tag: Spencer Shrader

How social media reacted to Notre Dame-Duke: Irish side

Are you happy, relieved or both?

It looked like for a second straight season, Notre Dame was headed for a letdown after losing to Ohio State. But the Irish got one final chance to prevent the upset by Duke, starting at their own 5-yard line.

It all came down to whether the Irish could convert on a fourth-and-long at the middle of the field. [autotag]Sam Hartman[/autotag] found a bunch of real estate nearby and picked up the first down in amazing fashion:

With the Irish now in field-goal range, they focused on just running the ball to put [autotag]Spencer Shrader[/autotag] in good position for a game-winning kick. [autotag]Audric Estime[/autotag] decided that wasn’t good enough and instead took it to the house from 30 yards out:

The Irish held on for the 21-14 victory. The fan base might have sweated off a few pounds watching this game, but there is happiness among it. Here are some of the best reactions on social media:

Social media reacts to Jaden Greathouse touchdown before halftime

Nice response to adversity.

After [autotag]Spencer Shrader[/autotag]’s 56-yard field-goal attempt hit the upright, Notre Dame got back on defense against NC State. The possession was a disaster as one penalty after another played a major role in the Wolfpack scoring their first touchdown of the day. Needing a big offensive play before halftime, the Irish got it on a 65-yard pass from [autotag]Sam Hartman[/autotag] to [autotag]Chris Tyree[/autotag]. One play later, Hartman hit [autotag]Jaden Greathouse[/autotag] from 12 yards out for a big score:

Just when it seemed like the Wolfpack were going to go into the locker room with all the momentum, Hartman took control of the situation in a collected manner. The result is the Irish had a 17-7 halftime lead. That’s what you want to see in a leader, and Hartman is one of them. Of course, Greathouse had to make the play, and he’s shown he’s good at that, too.

Here are some of the best tweets reacting to the score:

Social media reacts to Spencer Shrader’s program-long field goal

Nice leg on the transfer.

As advertised, NC State has provided Notre Dame with its greatest test so far, at least in the first quarter. The Irish’s offense was unable to do anything on its first two drive, but the defense likewise held serve on the other end.

On the offense’s third drive, it finally was able to put something together, getting to the Wolfpack’s 36-yard line on third down after [autotag]Sam Hartman[/autotag] was penalized for intentional grounding. [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] opted to send [autotag]Spencer Shrader[/autotag] out for a 54-yard field goal, and the USF transfer had plenty of leg to split the uprights on the longest successful kick in Irish history:

The fact that Shrader hasn’t really been needed until now shows how easy the Irish’s first two games were. The tougher the opponent, the more valuable Shrader becomes with points coming at a premium. Hopefully, that doesn’t come very often, but regardless, here is what folks had to say on social media after the kick:

Social media reacts to Deion Colzie’s fourth-quarter touchdown

Mercy.

We’re running out of ways to describe how dominant Notre Dame has been against Navy. The Irish didn’t fail to score a touchdown or fail to put up any points on a drive until [autotag]Spencer Shrader[/autotag] missed a 42-yard field goal attempt late in the third quarter.

That quickly was forgotten as [autotag]Sam Hartman[/autotag] went right back to work once his defense did its job once again. He ended a seven-play, 60-yard drive with his fourth touchdown pass of the day, a 25-yarder to [autotag]Deion Colzie[/autotag] that gave the Irish a 42-0 lead:

Nobody could have asked for a better opening to the season. The Irish have dominated on both sides of the ball, and if this game lasted any longer, there’s no doubt they would continue to pour it on. That’s the main takeaway from this game, and they’ll leave Ireland happy.

Here are the best tweets regarding Colzie’s touchdown catch:

Notre Dame special teams taking shape for 2023

Notre Dame’s special teams were outstanding in 2022 and the leaders of the unit for 2023 are starting to take shape.

Two weeks away from the season-opener in Dublin, Ireland we’re starting to see the picture of what Notre Dame’s special teams units will look like.  New special teams coordinator [autotag]Marty Biagi[/autotag] met the media following Friday’s practice session and named four winners in special teams competitions in fall camp.

[autotag]Bryce McPherson[/autotag] will be Notre Dame’s punter while Chris Tyree will return punts for the Irish.

“Right now, Bryce (McFerson) is going to be our starting punter going in and he’s earned that in how he competed in camp,” Biagi said, “He’s done really well. This spring, I wanted him to prove that he can be more consistent. Even challenged him after the spring game, he had had a really good spring but then performed the spring game, not to the level that was the right standard. We used that as a learning experience. Hey, these are elements that you’re going to have to deal with, with no excuses and practice those things. He’s come out and done really well from a consistency standpoint.”

“CT (Chris Tyree) has done a really good job this camp,” Biagi said. “Really showing he can protect the ball. He wants to be the guy, which is exciting. He’s putting himself in situations when he’s out there, he’s not just catching gradually doing it. There’s an intent that you see. He caught a ton of balls this summer just to prove the point ‘I want the opportunity to do this’. He’s done well.”

-Notre Dame Special Teams Coordinator Marty Biagi on Aug. 11

Tyree’s ball protection was key in him winning the job.  He remains in contention to be one of Notre Dame’s kickoff returners as well as his battle with [autotag]Devyn Ford[/autotag], [autotag]Jadarian Price[/autotag] and [autotag]Jeremiyah Love[/autotag] remains open according to Biagi.

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Biagi also added that backup and walk-on quarterback [autotag]Dylan Devezin[/autotag] will handle the holding duties and extra point and field goal attempts.  As expected, those will be handled by graduate transfer [autotag]Spencer Shrader[/autotag] who enters after playing the last few years at South Florida.

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Notre Dame players named to preseason award watch lists

Will anyone win this year?

It’s the time of year when we start seeing award watch lists come out in anticipation of the college football season. With Notre Dame expected to be highly ranked once again, there are plenty of players who are ripe for watching. Whether or not any of them actually take home any of this hardware is anyone’s guess right now, but they’re at least on the radar of those who know college football best.

In some cases, more than one Notre Dame player is on the watch list for the same award. Also, as different award watch lists come on different days, it can be difficult to keep track of them all. Rest assured, we will be doing just that as these lists continue to come out.

At season’s end, we’ll find out if any of them or maybe somebody different becomes the first national award winner for the Irish since [autotag]Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah[/autotag] won the Butkus Award in 2020:

Notre Dame hosting Virginia Tech wide receiver transfer this weekend

He would be a great addition!

The Irish have a few needs that they are going to try and fill via the transfer portal. One of the biggest is quarterback, but there has not been much news from any of the multiple targets Notre Dame is going after. They have already found a kicker, [autotag]Spencer Shrader[/autotag], and are hosting former [autotag]Virginia Tech[/autotag] wide receiver [autotag]Kaleb Smith[/autotag] this weekend.

Smith, a grad transfer, played his best football during his final year for the Hokies, catching 37 passes for 674 yards and three touchdowns. All of those numbers were career highs for the six-foot-two-inch and 222-pound receiver. By getting Smith to South Bend, it’s a big first step in gaining a commitment from the transfer.

The wide receiver unit struggled mightily this fall and with tight end [autotag]Michael Mayer[/autotag] leaving, the need to add more talent really is paramount. [autotag]Lorenzo Styles Jr.[/autotag] suffered through a sophomore slump after it looked like he was primed for a breakout after a huge [autotag]PlayStation Fiesta Bowl[/autotag] last year.

[autotag]Jayden Thomas[/autotag] showed flashed, but wasn’t consistent. Same goes for [autotag]Deion Colzie[/autotag] and [autotag]Tobias Merriweather[/autotag]. If the Irish are able to get a commitment from Smith, it would be a very big transfer portal recruiting win.

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Notre Dame lands new kicker in transfer portal

No bull, Notre Dame lands South Florida kicker in portal.

For the second year in a row Notre Dame went fishing in the transfer portal for a new kicker and found a grad-transfer.  Spencer Shrader, previously of South Florida, announced his commitment to Notre Dame on Tuesday.  The Irish are getting a veteran collegiate kicker who began at South Florida as a walk-on and has overcome early struggles and developed into an asset.

After going just 4 of 9 on field goal attempts as a freshman in 2019 and 4 of 6 a year later, Shrader has been successful on 20 of 26 attempts over the last two years.  He’s also never missed an extra point attempt in his career and has hit from as far out as 52 yards in a game.

In addition, Shrader handled kickoff duties at South Florida.  My expectation is that he’ll enter spring as the favorite to win both placekicking and kickoff responsibilities.

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