hated that quote...he said he would love to have dabos problem with the qbs. well recruit them and it makes the qbs at Nd right now feel like shit, that was a self serving quote and it’s not a good look. Plus phil jurkovec was right here.
I've said it before but I can't see him going anywhere else. Also, be careful what you wish for, he's a diva and his parents are, let's just say, intense.
I’ve seen this a lot of places. Could backfire for sure. He is so damn talented though. He’s the type of player they have to take a chance on when he has the grades because they don’t get many like him
If ND can add players to this cruiting class that can make a difference they better do it 2022 and 2023 the schedule include OSU, Clemson, and USC both years
100 things to say... Spoiler 1 — It is amazing to think about how good Doug Flutie was at football, college and NFL< when you look at Jac Collinsworth towering over him from six feet away. 2 — Kind of hard to be mad at Dabo pre-game when he’s shown lighting a candle at the Grotto for his father. Way to ruin the mood, guys… 3 — Here we go, time to settle in. Touchdown. 7-0 Irish JUST. LIKE. THAT. Michael Mayer and Liam Eichenberg seal outside and Aaron Banks gets to the second level. That’s all Kyren Williams needed to go one-on-one with Clemson safety Nolan Turner (who brought his cement shoes, apparently) for the quick juke and 65-yard sprint-and-score. That’s untouched rushing touchdown No. 10 on the season for the Irish, plus one in which a defender touched the runner’s leg, plus a glorious 12th in which Kyren Williams decided to go ahead and hit some fool in the end zone at Pittsburgh. 3 — Personal Press Box (Basement) Advantage No. 1: That marks the first time I have cheered watching a Notre Dame football game since DeShone Kizer hit Will Fuller at Virginia. (The only play I saw live that day on TV after a baptism!) 4 — Travis Etienne hammers off left tackle for 10 yards, or just over one-third of his total rushing yards for the evening…. 5 — Pass Stuff by Drew White to set up a 3rd-and-1. The senior reacted IMMEDIATELY to that boundary look screen. Following, White’s best buddy Kurt Hinish knifes through to disrupt an inside handoff to Etienne and Shayne Simon cleans him up. Shayne Simon, folks. 6 — Matt Salerno with a five-yard punt return, or just over 1/6 of Etienne’s total rushing yards over the four-hour contest. 7 — Kyren Williams with a beautiful blitz pickup and Miles Boykin—sorry, my bad, that was Javon McKinley—with a leaping back-shoulder grab for 27 yards on 3rd-and-7. 8 — 3rd-and-4 because Ian Book runs like a man out there. Even Notre Dame’s quarterback is more physical than opposing defenses this season. 9 — Designed run by Book is Stuffed…BUT, I can feel it coming: a designed run by Book in which he takes two steps and pulls up to hit the seam route the next time these teams meet…or maybe in Chapel Hill. Time to bring that true RPO element back to the offense as it complements the power approach… 10 — Michael Mayer flinches on 4th-and-1 at the 2-yard line. Man that hurts. Jon Doerer finishes off the otherwise sterling drive and its 10-0 Irish. There wasn’t a Notre Dame fan in America that didn’t feel unsettled by that field goal rather than touchdown opportunity at this point. 11 — DJ Uiagalelei bangs a 53-yard post to Cornell Powell as TaRiq Bracy does his best Clifford Jefferson/Fiesta Bowl imitation. What the hell was that? 10-7 and Clemson shows the value of a deep threat in this sport, i.e., not everything has to be perfect on every drive. 12 — 3rd-and-4 and Book patiently finds Skowronek on a smash route out of the boundary-side bunch to move the chains. By the way, Book was just 2-for-5 throwing to his left under 10 yards through the first four contests. During this contest alone, Book will hit 13 of 18 passes under 10 yards to his left side vs. Clemson. Now THAT’s breaking a tendency! 14 — Notre Dame motions into the I-Formation (I could just stop there and smile!!) to gain five yards over left tackle on first down. As God intended… 15 — 3rd-and-4 again, Tremble again, crossing right to left from the slot for 14 yards. 16 — Rolling left, Book zings a 14-yard comeback to Lake Dawson—I mean Javon McKinley, I meant McKinley. Book is 10-for-10 after this throw. 17 — Williams for 15 yards as Hainsey, Kraemer, and Brock Wright absolutely cave in the left side of Clemson’s line. Wright even escaped looking for more action downfield and ended up pancaking Nolan Turner just because he felt like it. I say bring back Brock Wright for next year’s 3TE offense, too. 18 — 3rd-and-9 and Book, on the run, scrambling for his life, throws against the grain to a flashing Mayer (expert use of short space by the rookie, I might add)…who drops the ball. There’s nothing real in the world anymore… 19 — My GOODNESS that’s some fine quarterbacking by Book! Catch the ball! 20 — I added an adjective in my basement, FYI… Doerer again, 13-7 Irish and the word you’re looking for is ‘ominous’ 21 — I don’t know if you’ve noticed this, but Jack Lamb is BALLING on kickoff coverage of late. That is a textbook (that is, a picture that literally appears in a 1970s textbook on how to tackle) by Jack Ham. I mean Lamb, I meant Lamb. 22 — What a strange development that Notre Dame has a three-man Buck rotation through seven games and Lamb’s not a part of it. Hopefully he sticks it out… 23 — Amari Rodgers for 27 yards. Amari Rodgers for 35 yards. The kid just glides. Effortlessly chewing up yardage. Like Salerno only maybe a little quicker. 24 — Kyle Hamilton with an All-American stop of Etienne in the backfield. The Condor covers more ground than any safety I’ve seen in Notre Dame history. (By the way, Daelin Hayes had set the boundary edge, anyway. 1/11th is what this defense is all about.) 25 — Amari Rodgers for 16 yards on 3rd-and-12. He has 78 yards on this drive alone. That was a FROZEN ROPE by Uiagalelei. Wow. 26 — 3rd-and-5 and there’s our 2020 Nickel linebacker, Bo Bauer, with the Stonebreaker-esque timing on his blitz to force Uiagalelei incomplete. Had Bauer not shot through, it was an easy-pickings slant-route touchdown pass to Powell who beat Clarence Lewis if not for the pressure. 27 — Asmar Bilal, Drew White, Bo Bauer, Shayne Simon, Jack Lamb, Jack Kiser… Clark Lea is one heckuva teacher of footballing, eh? Clemson settles for a field goal and it’s a touch-too-close, 13-10 Irish lead midway through the second quarter. 28 — Ben Skowronek out here making plays after the catch. That’s four would-be tacklers for 10 extra yards. 29 — Ouch. Book is hammered to the ground by KJ Henry trying to hit Wilkins on a SLOW-Developing double move. That play needed a designed half-roll by Book to allow him time because Clemson will always collapse a pocket eventually. 30 — You’ve likely seen this on Twitter, but that was no doubt set up to be a double-pass on the pitch to Etienne…intercepted by Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah for a SEISMIC switch in this game and a 23-yard Irish rumble recovery touchdown. Holy Cow the O’Malley basement came alive when JOK struck gold on his run blitz! 31 — Owusu-Koramoah noted post-game that he’d seen that play on film and Crawford alerted him to it just before the snap. (Etienne double pass on an X receiver stop-and-go while the #2 and #3 fake a double slant to block down) Of note: Clarence Lewis bit on that stop-and-go but Crawford was his play side safety. 32 — If you have this game on DVR (or Youtube) I want you to go watch Jordan Botelho (#17) on the ensuing kickoff. 5:47 remaining in the half. There is a screw loose, and I’m all about it… 33 — JOK strikes again. Strips Rodgers after a 10-yard slant route and Nick McCloud is there for the scoop. Clemson WR Frank Ladson, Jr., likely saves another defensive touchdown with his alert diving ankle tackle of McCloud who had blockers in front. 34 — Unfortunately, Clemson becomes Clemson again defensively in response: Stuff (plus a 15-yard penalty), then pressure on Book, followed by a wise check-down 10-yarder on 3rd-and-27 to set up Doerer with a 45-yard field goal for the 23-10 lead. Huge Stand by the Tigers because 27-10 would’ve been a much different feeling with 2:40 remaining in the half. 35 — Doerer. What a weapon! Remember, Brian Polian HAD TO HAVE him upon arrival to the program in January 2017. The Irish carried two scholarships with Yoon and Doerer for two seasons. Impressive foresight by the special teams coordinator. 36 — Uiagalelei for 27 yards to Galloway as Simon played his assignment to the flat…only with no one in the flat. That’s not a great feel for the passing game. and now again to Etienne for 22 yards on a full-speed wheel route. How do you cover that?! This is the play I want to see Notre Dame run vs. UNC on fake QB draw with Book. As an aside, Clemson just gobbles up yardage in the passing game. 37 — Daelin Hayes with the timely TFL on Etienne. Just too quick off the edge. He looks like a new man over these last three games. 38 — Dropped pass by Powell on a finger-breaker from Uiagalelei. Imagine catching that kid’s rocket shots on a cold night instead a perfect November evening? 39 — BT Potter from 45 yards out for his second field goal of the night. Are Potter and Nick McCloud friends? That was a very cordial exchange after splitting the uprights. 40 — Google tells me BT Potter and Nick McCloud are both from Rock Hill (I knew about the latter) and South Pointe, High School. Well that’s a nice thing. Good job, BT !! Anyway, 23-13 Irish with 1:09 41 — Notre Dame chews up 36 yards in 1:06 to set up Doerer for a career-long (would-be Irish record) 57-yard field goal attempt. Short and OH CRAP that’s Travis Etienne catching it….holds breath…Tirico gets excited…but it’s Jay Bramblett with the third notable athletic play of the punter/holder’s first 20 career games, as he tackles a leaping Etienne on the sidelines. 42 — Mental Note: All 57-yard field goal attempts in the future should include Kyle Hamilton and Kyren Williams rather than tight ends on the edge as blockers. Yikes. 23-13 at the break 43 — Doerer with a kickoff out of bounds to start the second half followed by a Howitzer from Uiagalelei to Powell for 10 yards to the far field. What an impressive passer. #QBU has found a new home since 2015 and it’s in Clemson, South Carolina. 44 — Nick McCloud’s friend bangs home another 46-yard field goal and this Potter kid is starting to annoy me. Also annoying: that field goal can’t happen if a CLEAR grounding call is made on second down prior. 23-16 ND. 45 — Three-and-out by ND in response, but Book’s shot on 3rd-and-7 to Avery Davis down the right side just misses. Davis got a half-step despite his stutter-go not working vs. OLB Trenton Simpson. Not all that happy with Bramblett’s punting today. His tackling on Etienne, on the other hand, was exceptional. 46 — Did you know that DJ Uiagalelei’s father was at the game? 47 — Man Etienne is at FULL speed two steps after a stationary catch. It’s unnatural. 48 — BK looked more nervous this game than in any other from my vantage point. Just the knowledge that one strike can happen so quickly vs. a defense hell-bent on keep the running back in check… 49 — 3rd-and-5 and Uiagalelei throws a laser, on the move, backing up to his right, for first down yardage past the outstretched arm of Isaiah Foskey, who dropped into coverage in the flat. My Goodness Clemson has both the first and what, third best QB in the nation? Fourth? Fifth? Can you name four you’d rather have than Uiagalelei? He just flicked his wrist under pressure falling backwards and it traveled 18 yards. 50 — Let’s see, Uiagalelei can’t go pro until after the 2022 season…checks 2022 schedule…Well Bloody Hell! 51 — Drew White just POPS Uiagalelei. That dude brought it all night, easily his best game of the season. These dudes HIT. The violence with which the Irish defense operates is admirable from snap-to-snap. If that manifests in Boston Saturday Notre Dame will win 38-16. 52 — From the files of “I know this has been happening for two decades” but it’s always crazy to me when I see a running back without knee pads. 53 — Uiagalelei absorbs Kyle Hamilton’s best shot and falls forward for a yard on 4th-and-inches. That’s just one dude making a play on another. Unlike what follows… 54 — 2nd-and-Goal and Clemson just fools the Irish, sneaking tight end Davis Allen across the field—looks like they got Shaun Crawford peaking into the field flat and at the Jet Sweep to his side—for the easy score. 23-23 and that all-too-familiar feeling is back for Irish fans. 55a — 1st Down Shot from Book down the deep post and Derrick Mayes makes a remarkable…wait, that’s McKinley again! Javon McKinley with a full-fledged lay-out for the ball and 45-yard gain. 55b — Replay official Terry McCauley’s insolence is rewarded by being proven wrong on national television. First Down Irish. 56 — Let me just say, I find it particularly vexing that Jordan Johnson can’t get on the field when it only took all-time great California high school receiver Javon McKinley four seasons to catch his first pass AND 4.5 seasons to break out as a championship level football player. 57 — (I don’t actually find it vexing.) 58 — Kyren Williams explodes over right guard (behind Tommy Tremble!) and looks like he might score from the Tigers 14-yard line but is just tripped up by the foot of tackle Robert Hainsey. I promise you, and this is not hindsight: I felt at that moment that ND might not get in. 59 — Oh my gosh I’m sick to my stomach for Ian Book. (And for myself, but more for Book I suppose.) The captain fumbles into the end zone for a touchback and the double whammy is that he had already converted a 3rd-and-short keeper into 1st-and-Goal. Pain. The pain is real. 60 — Hainsey did everything he could to murder Baylon Spector who had already recovered the football. I appreciate that, Rob. 61 — Drew White hangs on to Etienne for his fourth Stuff (there will be four more). That’s the third time an ND player (Justin Ademilola and Isaiah Foskey as well) have dragged down momentum ball carriers tonight. 62 — Shayne Simon is there for the 3rd Down pass breakup. What a night to show up! By the way, there was an impressive QB hurry by Kurt Hinish on the bull rush. I owe Hinish an MVP award of some type. Something. He was outstanding all night. (JOK was clearly the defensive MVP with those two turnovers, but still…) 63 — Book is ridiculously elusive tonight…And there’s that man that never went into the tank. MICHAEL SAY HIS NAME MAYER. 29 yards on 3rd-and-11 from Book, almost all of it after initial contact on the crossing route. 64 — Should we let other teams know that ND likes to utilize the drag and short cross on 3rd-and-long? They have DVRs, right? 65 — There is no better stadium usage of the sound system then the Halloween Michael Myers theme song when Mayer makes a big play. I love it. 66 — Chris Tyree loses four yards on a blown-up Jet sweep when he should’ve lost 11. Great fight from the freshman! (who has to be a bit frustrated that he hasn’t really detonated since Florida State.) 67 — Book with a 3rd-and-7 down the pipes to Avery Davis in the back of the end zone but it’s expertly ripped out by Nolan Turner. Tip your cap, man. Heckuva play by the safety who was briefly beaten. Reminiscent of Jalen Elliott circa 2018 vs. Vanderbilt to save the game. “Play through ground contact” is how they’re taught. Jonathan Doerer bails them out again, this time from 44 yards and it is a Clark Lea MIRACLE that Notre Dame had four threatening offensive possessions, got just 9 points out of them, but still lead the nation’s No. 1 ranked team 26-23 68 — Cornell Powell is a problem out here in man coverage, but that’s the Etienne effect—you can’t take away everything. This time its 53 yards down the post and a nice adjustment by the senior on the under-throw vs. McCloud. 69 — Irish defense holds as Uiagalelei is a little off the mark to Rodgers, and now its the far-too-successful BT Potter for another triple. 26-26 with just under 10 minutes remaining and we’ve reached classic-game range… 70 — Three consecutive incomplete passes forces a Irish three-and-out (Clemson was bringing the heat!) and in the world of second-guessing play-callers, here you go: That felt like 2013 with Rees quarterbacking rather than calling plays. Thankfully, Bramblett unleashes his first beauty—54 yards to flip the field. What a tandem he and Doerer have become over these last 20 contests! 71 — Kurt Hinish. Run-Stuffer. Scrimmage mover. Pocket Pusher. Kind of a jerk out there, and I love that about him. Here he makes sure Etienne has no room to move on 3rd-and-1 from the Tigers own 35 yard line… MTA jumps offsides on 4th-and-1 and it’s all for naught. (JOK moved too.) Come on! I’m with Brian Kelly who briefly took his mask down to talk about that Baloney Sandwich of a play. 72 — Amari Rodgers for 13 yards as Uiagalelei scrambles out of trouble. Drew White can’t hang with Rodgers on the cut-back and its a first down. 73 — Pass interference on Owusu-Koramoah. According to Pro Football Focus, Notre Dame’s starting trio of linebackers was targeted 16 times and Uiagalelei was 13-16 on those throws. (Though it likely includes the strip fumble by Owusu-Koramoah vs. Rodgers.) 74 — Uiagalelei to Powell on a tunnel screen and the latter either breaks or spins through Owusu-Koramoah, Bauer, Hamilton, and McCloud. Holy Smokes that’s how you run a screen at wide receiver! 1st and Goal at the 3-yard line and Etienne scores easily. Powell waves goodbye to the Irish fans as he runs out of the back of the end zone. Clemson 33 Notre Dame 26 with 3:33 to play 75 — Man, it sounds like Tirico has put this one in the books already… 76 — Book beats the blitz, eludes, slides, and finds Mayer for 13 yards. Kyren Williams again with the valuable blitz pickup. 77 — You know what would make this game better? Another booth review. Oh look! 78 — 3rd-and-7 now and Ben Skowronek is interfered with, over the top and through the shoulders by cornerback Sheridan Jones. The flag is inexplicably picked up, however, and it’s fourth down for the ball game. Are you kidding me? And all because it happens to occur on Swinney’s sideline? That’s some dirty pool, friends. 79 — Skowronek with the fourth down drop. Oh. My God. 80 — Irish defense with the JOK run stuff and a quick timeout…JOK again along with White and company for a loss of 6 yards…Now a third down swing pass to Etienne who goes out of bounds. Out of bounds? What in the world is going on? Just don’t do that, Clemson!! But I’ll take it… 81 — A minute 22 seconds and 89 yards to go with two time outs. Book it. 82 — Look at Book run! Seriously, he’s an all-time Notre Dame playmaker when he tucks and runs escaping the pocket… Now 13 yards by Williams on a great 3rd-and-1 call to the boundary which allowed Williams to do his thing before diving out of bounds. This is a well-coached offense. 83 — Book to HOLY COW DAVIS SPLIT THE SAFETIES ON THE SEAM!!! 53 yards to the Clemson 4-yard line!! 84 — Just let me begin by saying how proud I am of Notre Dame for not running wide on first down. (If they ran inside, I’d’ve been okay with it.) It’s incomplete instead as McKinley was open for the game-tying drag route, but Book just got flushed as his receiver cleared traffic… 85 — After Clemson brings all the smoke on a second down inside blitz, Books zips a 3rd-and-goal strike to Davis who expertly sits down inside for the score. That’s a veteran move by the senior who’s career has run the gamut: Quarterback. Ineffective Running Back/Slot. Failed Nickel. Slot Again. Game Hero in the biggest matchup of the last quarter century. There’s a lesson there. 33-33 as Doerer makes good on the most heart-wrenching extra point since 1993. OVERTIME 86 — Apparently “Uaigalelei” is Samoan for “Ridiculous Rocket Launcher and Killer of Dreams.” The freshman (!!) Unleashes an inhuman RPO skinny post on a line to Powell for the score—one overturned, of course, because these officials are clueless—but Uaigalelei finishes it off one snap later for the 40-33 lead. 87 — I for one am hoping for a few more replays the next time these teams meet… 88 — Well that wasn’t a very nice thing to say, Cornell. Do you kiss your mother with that mouth? 89 — Book buys time (what else is knew!?) and benefits from Mayer coming back to help his quarterback (get used to it) for the 15-yard first down. What a rookie! 90 — Touchdown Kyren Williams behind three tight ends. Get some Clemson. This is Grown Man Football!! We’re tied at 40 thanks to Doerer. 91 — Irish ball again—and I cannot stress how important I think this was—that the offense had confidence and momentum AND the Irish defense received an extended rest. 92 — 2nd-and-15 after a pair of penalties and Book escapes for 12 yards. He’s just too quick for Clemson’s front seven and I never thought I’d say that. 93 - 3rd-and-3 and Book fails to see a WIDE OPEN TREMBLE for the touchdown but Skowronek gets a chance to shake off his regulation drop, converting for 10 yards to set up Goal-to-Go at the 3-yard line. That is literally the most open a Notre Dame player has been this season. Wow. 94 — Kyren Again. Tight ends again. Wright, Hainsey, Mayer, Tremble again.They are just straight up bullies out there! “Built Different" Indeed… 47-40 and someone just plugged in The House That Rockne Built!! 95 — I don’t know what Clemson was looking for on first down on this fake screen to Etienne, I suppose the tight end wheel? But NO one on Notre Dame was out of position, most notably Nick McCloud who stays home in Quarters Coverage and Ogundeji and JOK plow through for a first down sack with Hinish again beating his man in the middle. 96 — 2nd-and-17 as Daelin Hayes lowers the boom and it sounds like 80,000 are back inside The House That Rockne Built!!! Remember how loud it was in 2005 when Trevor Laws sacked Matt Leinart on Third Down? 97 — Old Man Crawford lowers a 185-pound boom on 3rd Down to dislodge the pass to Davis Allen who has him by 9 inches and 65 pounds. Where would they be without his position switch this season?!! 98 — I can’t tell if Book is ready to storm the field or throw up waiting, but Clemson takes a timeout to add to the pending celebration. For once, you really didn’t feel like the outstanding opponent was going to pull it out. 99 — I gotta tell ya: with the arm Uiagalelei possesses, I’d’ve dialed up more of an aggressive shot on 4th-and-24 from the 39-yard line. Instead, it’s a hopeless check down with a He’s completely capable of just powering it in anywhere from field to boundary in the 49 yards of field at his disposal. The Irish win. “Built Different” Indeed. 26COMMENTS 100 — A sea of green takes over the field. It’s been more than a quarter-century since that felt so appropriate. Irish 47-40 in an all-time classic
that's pretty interesting, i hadn't heard that anywhere until now about Chip Long being on probation and being fired so early. It's clear the team was completely different after the Mich game (in a better way) just makes you wonder what the team would have been like if BK had just fired him outright prior to the season
if you listen to the Athletic podcast with Sampson, they had a former Clemson OL on there this week gushing about the game and how surprised he was by ND's team speed. He also said ND's Oline should win the Joe Moore award and he called Daelin Hayes a "War Daddy" after his sack
I get the spirit of this would be with some great recruits. The program is so far off from sustainability.
The next coach has to be a home run. They could be Florida St just as much as they could become Clemson.
Omg. We all were screaming to fire Kelly after that game lol. I honestly thought he was so overbearing and arrogant that he insisted book get the passing game going....in a fucking monsoon.
Article Spoiler Perhaps the only thing more jaw-dropping thing than seeing Notre Dame take down the nation’s No. 1 team last Saturday night was the fact that Clemson played a game where All-American Travis Etienne wasn’t actually the best running back on the field. It was Kyren Williams, a 5-9, 193-pound redshirt freshman, who had a breakout game in Notre Dame’s 47-40 double-overtime thriller. His 65-yard touchdown sprint on the first play from scrimmage set quite a tone for the Irish. Williams burst through a hole on the left side, froze a Clemson safety and then ran away from the Tigers defense. The Missouri native ran for 140 yards and three touchdowns against a program that was allowing an average of less than 100 rushing yards entering the game. Meanwhile, the Irish defense bottled up Etienne to just 28 yards on 18 carries. But the real “wow” stuff actually is reflected in a number that won’t show up in any box score. 19-for-19. Those are the numbers that show just how Williams stepped up and stuffed Clemson blitzers in pass protection, a detail that was vital in Notre Dame knocking off the Tigers, arguably the most aggressive defense in college football. Williams graded out perfect, stopping the Tigers on 19 of 19 pass rush attempts. “That was really incredible,” Notre Dame co-offensive coordinator/running backs coach Lance Taylor told The Athletic. “That is a lot of pass protection opportunities for a running back. You could go a span of five games and maybe only have 19 real pass protection opportunities and big collisions like that. It was impressive to see.” Notre Dame offensive line great Aaron Taylor, the co-founder of the Joe Moore Award honoring the nation’s top offensive line, described Williams’ performance as “likely unprecedented,” given that Venables’ system is designed to break rules and tendencies of blocking schemes and often presents looks an offense hasn’t seen, he says. “The offense of line did a tremendous job of sorting out the trash as well,” Taylor said. “They were very good. Kyren was elite. “I put Venables on the level of the schemes I saw in the NFL. Scouts say that when a player is smart and can sort out stuff like Kyren does, that he has the ability to un-fuck things up.” Lance Taylor said there are a couple of keys to Williams’ performance that really stood out. For one, Tigers defensive coordinator Brent Venables sends every kind of blitz imaginable at an offense and from all over the field and from all sorts of looks. “The difficulty for a running back,” Taylor says, “is you have a true full-field scan from boundary to the field, and it’s hard not to miss one of those guys because you get caught looking into the boundary or something flashes, but Kyren did a great job of recognizing who they were bringing in and being able to get to it sorted out. Also, his physicality showed up over and over again. He kept getting it done.” Notre Dame ran 79 offensive plays in the game. Clemson sent five rushers on 16 of those snaps and sent six on 17 more. The Tigers sent more than six rushers on two other plays. Quarterback Ian Book, who went 22-of-39 for 310 yards, was only sacked twice by a team that was No. 2 in the nation in sacks and has more sacks than any program in the country over the past six years. “Coming into the game, I didn’t think they’d blitz us that much,” Williams told The Athletic. “But as soon as the first drive was over, after they sent two corner-cats (cornerback blitzes) at us on the next drive, I knew that it was gonna be a long game for blitz pickup. “The was definitely the most blitzes I’ve ever seen.” The really vexing part wasn’t just the number of rushers coming at the Irish, but the types of pressure. One particularly interesting situation occurred late in the fourth quarter. The Irish trailed 33-26 with 3:33 remaining. Venables sent five rushers, but he dropped a defensive end back into coverage and blitzed three linebackers. One of those linebackers flew in from the right side, looking like he’d beaten the Irish’s right tackle and appeared to flash first. But Williams, who initially had dropped back and looked like he was going to pick up that Tigers defender, instead stayed true to his assignment and stepped up to meet linebacker Baylon Spector. That allowed Book an opportunity to maneuver up into the pocket and find tight end Michael Mayer along the right sideline for a 13-yard gain and avert a likely sack which would have put that potential tying drive into a second-and-17 hole. Taylor said that is a great example of Williams staying disciplined in sort protection and trusting the offensive line to do its job even if the back does spot a little color (the term for a rusher who has seemingly come free) and trusting that the quarterback is going to step up and make that part of protection right. “Once Kyren comes over, he sees how the tackle goes to him,” Taylor says. “He says, ‘Okay, he’s got him. Now I gotta sort back.’ And even though the tackle doesn’t truly block him, he gets enough punch on him to know, and this is a really good job by Kyren. It’s a good feel. A lot of guys would want to pick that color right there, but I think he feels No. 10 (Spector). He knows that he’s taking him, and I’ve gotta get back here and take this other. That’s absolutely good discipline by him. “I don’t know if I would have been as disciplined as he was. Honestly, for running backs, that part can get tricky. I don’t know that I could’ve faulted him if he would have taken that color there. It would have absolutely left our man in the hole and unblocked, and probably become a sack. But at the end of the day, if you see immediate color, and it’s there before your blitzer gets there, you wouldn’t be wrong to take it. The tackle got just enough punch on him to run the guy by, and Ian does a nice job stepping up.” The running back’s responsibility is strongly tied to what the offensive line is attempting to thwart a defense’s varied attack that often isn’t what it appears to be pre-snap. Most running backs aren’t asked to pass protect much in high school, so when they get into college they have no idea what they’re doing, says Taylor, who coached Christian McCaffrey and Bryce Love at Stanford and also has coached the position with the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers. “I’ve coached in the NFL, and we would draft guys that don’t know anything about pass protection,” he says. “Their college systems didn’t teach them anything about pass protection. I’ve learned the value of teaching pass pro, and spending as much, if not more, time on that than I do running or actually running routes. “I think one of the things people don’t understand is how difficult protections are, especially for running running backs. Who the offensive line is blocking assignment-wise can change from week to week depending on who they’re playing and the structure of their defense.” The Irish had seven protection calls against Clemson, but within those calls were actually two or three different calls for each depending on a certain look. “There are multiple things within each protection that are nuanced,” Taylor says, “and I think that’s what people don’t realize. They think it’s pretty simple for the running backs to know who they’re going to, ‘Oh, that was the running back’s guy.’ But, in our system, protections are pretty involved, pretty complex.” Taylor says running backs who are really great in protection “have the ability to sort everything out and make it right on the field, and not panic and go to the wrong guy, but stay in the pocket and clean up the trash and let it sort itself out.” Notre Dame’s faith in Williams was reflected in the fact that he was on the field for 70 snaps while the Irish’s other two tailbacks, C’Bo Flemister and Chris Tyree, combined for 15. Usually, they have more of a 50-25-25 balance. Book makes the protection call before the snap based on the defense’s front. “I’m listening to him,” Williams says. “So whatever number he calls, that’s when I start scanning for ’backers. “We’ll have a protection call every single play. It’s either right or left. We’re making a call every single play, but there was times that we would have to audible out of calls to get into different calls so that we could pick up their blitz. For example, when they’re in five-down double-mug, we slid the line to the left for them. That picks up the two guys, and we’ve got the edge. There’s just a lot a lot of technicalities that go into it just based off the front of the defense.” When Williams arrived in South Bend, he weighed about 15 pounds more than he does now. He had bulked up thinking it would help him in college but said it wasn’t good muscle. “It was a lot of fat,” he says. Yet early on Williams did turn the coaches’ heads. Taylor said they thought he flashed some great playmaking ability, looking very natural and instinctive, but then about five days into spring ball, the freshman fizzled out. “It was like he had a cart tied to him,” Taylor says. “He just looked slow and sluggish.” Williams worked diligently both in the classroom and the weight room while redshirting in 2019 to get himself ready for this season. His re-shaped body now enables him to make quicker cuts and be more sudden. Williams admits he was nervous as a young freshman those first days of spring ball with all of the talk about pass protection and going one-on-one with big linebackers in college football. “I’ve definitely came a long way in my blitz pickup mentally and in the game physically,” he says. It does help, he adds, that he views himself as a defensive player at heart. “That’s how my mom and dad raised me and how my dad (a former Northern Illinois linebacker) taught me to play football. He told me to stick your nose in everything. He’s the one giving me that toughness and that grittiness that you can see on the field. He was always the person to push me to be more aggressive and to be more downhill.” Williams is eighth in the country in rushing with 740 yards and fifth in rushing touchdowns with 10. He’s emerging as Notre Dame’s best running back in more than a decade. But he doesn’t hesitate when asked which he’s more proud of, his 65-yard touchdown run or the 19-for-19 performance in blitz pickup. “It’s hard to lose a game when you’re able to pick up a lot of blitzes like that and quarterback’s able to get the ball off,” he said. The physical toll of slamming into Clemson linebackers who weigh 35 to 40 pounds more than him was something Williams really felt Sunday and Monday. “I was pretty sore,” he said. That meant a lot more time in cold tub and the treatment room. But he’ll gladly trade that for the sting he still feels from the one time he allowed a sack this season, against Pitt linebacker Phil Campbell two weeks before the Clemson game. “I didn’t attack his toes, and I let him come to me,” he said. “You gotta just bully him. So that’s exactly what he did to me. It hurt my ego as a pass pro blocker. After that, I didn’t let him get get anywhere close to Ian.” Taylor said that was a great teaching moment for the young back. “That really defines who Kyren is, and why he is a really special player,” Taylor says. “When you coach him on something, if he makes a mistake once and you show it to him once and you show him where he went wrong, he’s one of those guys who takes the teachings and applies it to the field and doesn’t make the same mistake twice. He wants to know what he did wrong or what he could do better, and then he applies it.” After the Clemson game Taylor was blown away by how many friends and coaching buddies reached out to him to talk about Williams’ blocking. “That amazed me that people saw that just from the TV copy, and it showed up that much,” he says. “I couldn’t have been more proud of him, because pass protection really comes down to desire and determination. Pass pro is usually the dirty work that nobody sees. But, on that long ball to (wide receiver) Avery Davis that helped set us up for the touchdown to tie it in regulation, his block was critical there, and people don’t see that. It’s kind of the same thing in the run game. People don’t see the blocks the guys up front make. They just see Kyren’s 65-yard touchdown. But we weren’t touched. Yeah, it was a great run, but the O-line and tight ends and the receivers down the field did the dirty work.” Kyren and ND's Oline getting some serious pub after last week
Interesting quote from Eichenberg this week. Apparently Venables was able to “figure out” our pass pro package, which is why our offense sputtered in the 2nd and 3rd quarters. They were able to get it figured out later in the game and adjust.
recruiting scoop from Loy Spoiler Notre Dame recruiting is starting to heat up and the Fighting Irish could be in store for a big finish within the class of 2021 ahead of National Signing Day. What’s the latest? Irish Illustrated has you covered. SLIDE1 of 11 Honolulu (Hawaii) Punahou three-star linebacker Kahanu Kia has wrapped up his four visits to his top schools, which include Utah, Notre Dame, UCLA and Stanford. He returns home to Hawaii on Friday and will talk with his parents about his upcoming decision. From what we’re told, he will come a decision by the end of the weekend and then inform the coaching staff of the school he’s choosing next week, with a public commitment following at that time. The 247Sports Crystal Ball is essentially split between Utah and Notre Dame at this time. He has ties to Utah, but has a few connections to Notre Dame as well. We’ll see what happens, but the latest intel suggests that he’ll end up in South Bend with Notre Dame. The Irish believe they lead. It’s definitely close though. SLIDE2 of 11 The recruitment surrounding Highland Springs (Va.) high school four-star defensive lineman Kelvin Gilliam, who has been committed to Oklahoma since August. In talking with sources connected to both programs, each of reasons for optimism. Simply put, Notre Dame expects to land him, while the Sooners expect to keep him committed. It’ll be interesting to watch how this one plays out, but if projecting a final class prediction, I think I’d have him in the ND class. Again though, it’s really close. SLIDE3 of 11 Notre Dame is after another recruit committed elsewhere and that is Valrico (Fla.) Bloomingdale four-star cornerback Philip Riley, who made a pledge to USC. I fully expect Notre Dame to land the talented defensive back, who is going to enroll early in January at the school of his choice. I expect the Irish to get some good news on this front in the near future. This would be huge for ND to get him back in the fold. SLIDE4 of 11 Los Angeles (Calif.) Loyola four-star cornerback Ceyair Wright, one of the top players at his position, will return to Notre Dame in December. He was last on campus in Dec. 2019 for the first time. That’s a great thing for the Fighting Irish. The latest pulse has this recruitment down to two schools, although that may not be completely true, as a few others are definitely in play. Perception is that this is a USC - Notre Dame battle. If he stays close to home, he’ll be a Trojan. If he leaves California, it’ll be to play at Notre Dame. My gut says he’ll pick USC, but we’ll see if that Notre Dame trip changes things. SLIDE5 of 11 Notre Dame is making a move for yet another prospect committed elsewhere and that is Auburn offensive tackle commit Caleb Johnson. The Irish finished No. 2 for the Ocala (Fla.) Trinity Catholic four-star recruit when he first committed to the Tigers back in May and we reported then that the staff wasn’t going to stop recruiting him unless he asked them not to. Since then, dialogue with the Notre Dame staff has remained strong and consistent. As 247Sports National Director of Recruiting Steve Wiltfong reported, Notre Dame will be on a very important Zoom call with him next week and that could make or break this recruitment. From what I’ve gathered, Johnson’s family is completely on board with Notre Dame. Now it’s about getting him on the same page. The Irish were a little late to the party on this one, so they had some ground to make up. If all goes well next week, Johnson could make his way back to campus on his own just to check things out again before flipping or shutting things down. SLIDE6 of 11 In full transparency, we are closer to removing Ewa Beach (Hawaii) James Campbell four-star athlete Titus Mokiao-Atimalala from the target board than putting him in Notre Dame’s class. The Irish seem to be trailing USC and UCLA in this one, mainly due to distance, and the fact that he has been unable to make it to campus has greatly hurt Notre Dame on this front. Plus, we’re told he prefers to play receiver at the next level and Notre Dame would love to see him playing in the secondary. Unless things change quickly, we expect him to end up somewhere on the west coast. SLIDE7 of 11 Notre Dame is trending up for West Bloomfield (Mich.) high school four-star running back Donovan Edwards. However, not enough for Irish fans to get their hopes up quite yet. He has been in constant communication with Notre Dame, which included a talk before the Clemson game, immediately after, and then a few since the big win over the then-No. 1 Tigers. In a perfect scenario for the staff, Edwards returns to campus in early December and gets around a few commits on their own to potentially get him feeling better about the Fighting Irish, but there is nothing set on that front. We’ll keep monitoring that recruitment closely. SLIDE8 of 11 Notre Dame really likes San Diego (Calif.) Morse four-star running back Byron Cardwell. The staff sees a tremendous fit academically, athletically and personality-wise. The Irish were late to the party on this recruitment, so a few programs elsewhere have a leg-up including Cal, but Cardwell is considering a visit to Notre Dame in December, which could be a game-changer. If he steps on campus, ND’s chances greatly increase. He’s expected to decide in January, so the Irish have plenty of time to make a move. SLIDE9 of 11 Notre Dame is still doing the behind the scenes work regarding Montvale (N.J.) St. Joseph Regional three-star running back Audric Estime, who is currently committed to Michigan State. The Irish haven’t offered yet, as they continue to do their due diligence and get to know him better, but he’s clearly a recruit to keep an eye on. SLIDE10 of 11 Another young man they have stayed in touch with is Oxnard (Calif.) Pacifica four-star linebacker / defensive end Devin Aupiu. The long, athletic pass-rusher, who is currently committed to UCLA, says he’s been in touch with defensive line coach Mike Elston recently. This is very early and in the getting-to-know phase. The two followed each other on Twitter recently and then started an open line of communication. SLIDE11 of 11 110COMMENTS Irish Illustrated informed its readers a while ago that Notre Dame was heavily recruiting Chatsworth (Calif.) Sierra Canyon kicker Josh Bryan, a recruit currently committed to Colorado. We told readers that this is a recruitment that may take a while to truly play out because Notre Dame was still looking at numbers and trying to figure out if they were going to have room for a kicker in this class. From what I’ve gathered, the Irish have decided that if Bryan wants in the class, they will have a spot for him. With that said, and as I first reported before the Irish slowed things down, I expect Bryan in Notre Dame’s class.
That update sounds a lot like “NDs class could really be amazing if we get some December visits”, which is not great considering all the lockdowns happening against across the country.
Actually an outside chance at a class that finishes around 8, more likely 11 but pretty big improvement from what ND was looking at in February. Where is ND going to find room for 25 scholarship players?
ND attracting a top flight RB late shouldn't be a surprise with the OL shinning and a real recruiter at RB coach