Tag: st patricks day

2026 Notre Dame interior offensive lineman target to visit campus

Hope the Irish can impress him enough.

Notre Dame has been a hotbed for offensive line talent in recent years. While there are concerns about that unit in 2024, the future always seems bright these days. Hopefully for the Irish, that future will include 2026 recruit Ben Nichols.

Nichols, Michigan’s No. 3 recruit in the 2026 class according to 247Sports, has received offers from 19 Football Bowl Subdivision programs. The Irish made their offer on St. Patrick’s Day this year. Now, he’ll be making a visit to campus when the Irish open their home schedule against Northern Illinois.

Nichols took to social media and expressed excitement about his upcoming trip to South Bend:

The Irish have some stiff competition to try and win Nichols’ services. Alabama made the most recent offer in late August. Others aiming for him include Purdue, Indiana, Michigan State, Ohio State, Iowa, Penn State, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Tennessee, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech and Illinois.

Good luck to the Irish in landing Nichols. They just might need it.

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Four-star tight end picks Notre Dame

Nice get.

Notre Dame has developed a reputation in recent years as the landing spot for many quality tight ends. Our own Nick Shepkowski has taken to giving Notre Dame the moniker of “Tight End U.” Well, he’ll able to keep calling it that for the foreseeable future.

Many experts are high on [autotag]Nate Roberts[/autotag], and the 2025 four-star recruit from Washington, Oklahoma, picked the Irish during a live announcement on 247Sports’ YouTube channel:

Roberts, Oklahoma’s No. 2 recruit and the nation’s No. 3 tight end in the 2025 class, appropriately received his offer from the Irish on St. Patrick’s Day and was getting offers as recently as June 6. [autotag]Gerad Parker[/autotag] and [autotag]Marty Biagi[/autotag] led the charge in recruiting him, and this definitely is a big win for them. He’s comparable in size to [autotag]Michael Mayer[/autotag] and could very well catch up in at least that department by the time his collegiate career begins. Maybe the Irish should start the process of trademarking “Tight End U”?

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Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Niele Ivey speaks ahead of Notre Dame’s second-round NCAA tourney game

How do you feel after reading these quotes from the coach?

SOUTH BEND – As a player, [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] experienced what Purcell Pavilion is like when it hosts the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament. Now as the coach at Notre Dame, she knows what it’s like from the sidelines. The Irish’s first-round win over Southern Utah confirmed what she knew about the warm atmosphere the program’s fans provide. She’ll get to experience it again in the second round against Mississippi State.

While she still was reveling about the win over the Thunderbirds, she has another tournament game to prepare for. She knows what the Bulldogs will bring, and it’s her responsibility to relay that information to her team. She did that during practice the day before the Irish’s next test, and she then relayed her thoughts to assembled media during a news conference afterwards. While she obviously wouldn’t give away her exact strategy, she showed she’s been paying attention to the Bulldogs’ game.

Here is what she said during her post-practice news conference:

Photos of Notre Dame first-round NCAA Tournament win vs. Southern Utah

Here’s how the game looked in case you missed it.

SOUTH BEND – Notre Dame never allowed Southern Utah to get into its first-round game of the NCAA Tournament. It took control faster than a bar fills up on St. Patrick’s Day. That 82-56 final was a perfect representation of how lopsided it was. None of the many Irish fans inside Purcell Pavilion could have asked for much more.

Maybe the dominance made it a boring game for TV viewers who aren’t Irish fans, but sometimes, boring is good. It shows that you’re just that good when everything comes together, even when your best player is out for the season. Sure, the injured [autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag] only was able to watch in street clothes from the bench, but she surely knew deep down already that this team is good with or without her. The question now is how far it can go with both her and [autotag]Dara Mabrey[/autotag] out of action.

Here are some photos from a solid victory:

Oklahoma State trolls Notre Dame on St. Patrick’s Day

Sometimes you just have to tip your cap and say “I’d do the same thing if I were them”…

Marcus Freeman’s first game as Notre Dame’s head coach is one that Fighting Irish fans would like to wipe from their memory.  Despite jumping out to a 28-7 lead, Notre Dame ultimately fell to Oklahoma State this past New Year’s Day.

The game was an all-timer for Oklahoma State as head coach Mike Gundy called it the biggest win in program history afterwards.  Perhaps that was a bit of hyperbole in the world where everything a coach says is seemingly a recruiting pitch, but it was a huge win regardless.

With that in mind, Oklahoma State’s Twitter account used St. Patrick’s Day as an excuse to remember their huge win with a fine trolling effort.

Ultimately harmless, yet caused me a small amount of pain still upon reading it.  Well played, Oklahoma State.

Related:

Notre Dame offers over 60 football scholarships on St. Patrick’s Day

Notre Dame football’s all-time bowl history

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Follow Nick on Twitter @NickShepkowski.

Watch: Notre Dame celebrates in locker room after NCAA Tournament win

Think these guys are happy?

One of the cooler additions to March Madness coverage in recent years is celebrations in winning locker rooms. It usually consists of players and coaches gathering together and jumping up and down while cheering and shouting victory phrases. After Notre Dame beat Rutgers in perhaps the most epic game in First Four history, it would have been unreasonable to expect a calm locker room for the victors. Fortunately, for the sake of our enjoyment, that locker room was as far from calm as you possibly could get:

The Irish now will travel to the opposite end of the country to play sixth-seeded Alabama in the NCAA Tournament’s Round of 64. However, before that game begins, there’s a lot of celebrating to do, and that is well underway. In fact, it wouldn’t be surprising if no one on the team slept on the way to San Diego. We know Prentiss Hubb and Trey Wertz won’t be feeling tired anytime soon:

Oh, and a jubilant Mike Brey has this message for everyone:

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Notre Dame beats Rutgers in double-overtime classic, makes Round of 64

The Irish signaled that March Madness has begun!

Call it cliche that Notre Dame’s First Four game against Rutgers was decided right as it became midnight on St. Patrick’s Day. Whatever label you want to give it, the result was the same. After battling with the Scarlet Knights for 40 regulation minutes and two overtimes, the Irish appeared headed to a third extra session in Dayton, Ohio. Instead, a Paul Atkinson Jr. putback with 1.4 seconds left gave the Irish an 89-87 win and a date with Alabama in the Round of 64.

This NCAA Tournament game featured numerous ties and lead changes with neither team gaining a serious advantage for a lengthy amount of time. Every time it appeared over, someone would knot up the score, a game-winner would be missed, and the contest would be extended. By the second overtime, you couldn’t have called yourself a real fan and not be tuned into truTV at that moment. You would have missed something epic.

With 41 seconds left, Prentiss Hubb sank two free throws to give the Irish (23-10) an 87-84 lead. Although the Scarlet Knights (18-14) didn’t necessarily need a 3-pointer yet, Ron Harper Jr. fired one from way downtown and made it to tie the game at 87 with 22 seconds remaining. With the shot clock now off, the Irish had the chance to play for the final shot. Blake Wesley milked the clock before driving for a layup that missed everything, but that led to Atkinson’s game-winning heroics.

Atkinson scored all of his points in the paint, and his 26 led all scorers. Nate Laszewski came off the bench and scored 18 points. Cormac Ryan scored 16 and also picked up a game-high three steals in a terrific defensive effort. Dane Goodwin had 12 points as he returned to his usual spot in the starting lineup.

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Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Inside linebacker recruit Davis Sherwood commits to Notre Dame

St. Patrick’s Day has been terrific for Notre Dame’s linebacker corps on the recruiting front.

St. Patrick’s Day has been terrific for Notre Dame’s linebacker corps on the recruiting front. Earlier in the day, the Irish got a commitment from the highly touted Joshua Burnham. While Burnham won’t arrive for another year, the Irish’s linebackers will get an immediate addition from another recruit who also committed Wednesday. His name is Davis Sherwood, and he’s set to graduate from Our Lady of Good Counsel in Olney, Maryland:

The Irish definitely could use some reinforcements at inside linebackers after the graduations of Drew White and Bo Bauer. Sherwood, who weighs in at 6-foot-4, 225 pounds, is a good candidate to keep Notre Dame’s recent success at that position going. He was a captain and all-conference player in high school, and he also plays lacrosse. At the very least, he has the toughness to compete with athletes at the next level.

Sherwood scored a 1450 on the PSAT and has a 4.6 GPA, so it should come as no surprise that many Ivy League schools and nearly all military schools were after his services. Instead, he’ll go with the university with a richer football history and a solid academic reputation of its own. It’s difficult to argue against that, so kudos to Dave Peloquin for working his magic.

Notre Dame Schedules First-Time Opponent for 2022

UNLV will be making the trek to South Bend on October 22, 2022 and get a guaranteed $1.35 million for their troubles.

When 2022 gets here, or if it gets here, Notre Dame will be playing an opponent for the first time in school history.  UNLV will be making the trek to South Bend on October 22, 2022 and will get a guarantee of $1.35 million for their troubles.

UNLV Director of Athletics Desiree Reed-Francois released the following statement in regards to the future match-up:

“Nothing says college football history more than playing a game at Notre Dame,” said Reed-Francois. “We are looking forward to taking our team and our fans to South Bend for what is sure to be a memorable experience.”

This game is a result of Notre Dame wanting to schedule Cal in 2022 but Cal having to move their date with UNLV to make things work that year.

If you’re wondering, the Rebels aren’t exactly a powerhouse, having appeared in just two bowl games the last 20 seasons.  In their 42 seasons of playing college football, they’ve gone to a post-season game just four times altogether.