the kid had 1 target in the spring game, not saying thats all that matter obviously but there were 3 walk ons, of which 2 i didnt even know getting targets as well. He was lumped in with them, that should say enough
This is shitty news but to be honest this was trending in the wrong direction so it kind of feels like just ripping the band-aid off rather than dragging it out for another year.
Del Alexander has helped create some NFL WRs when they as recruits weren't maybe NFL guys (Boykin comes to mind) but he has not seemed to be able to get the most out of top talents especially early. Why does that seem to be different at Clemson or even Ohio St who can get their talented freshman on the field?
I’ve had enough of Del Alexander. Time to find a replacement after this year (or now). He’s the biggest hole in the staff in recruiting and developing
Johnson made fun of Kelly’s hair on day one or something, he was constantly getting shit. Sucks but I’m in no way surprised.
So do we need a grad transfer WR or is the smaller lineup of Keys, Lenzy and Davis gonna cut it. With a splash of Wilkins. Obviously Mayer will be on field at all times and we will get some Tackas with him. What happens with Austin (is he real), Watts and Styles. We may need one to actually play
It just seemed like Johnson was a bad fit with ND but I think it is clear that Alexander is the weak link on the staff and should have been gone after last year
Yeah, this always felt like a matter of when, not if. When he was tweeting negative things after not flying with the team for an early road game last year, I figured this was a matter of time
Bama can get multiple top 100 WRs that’ll stay and compete, we can’t hold onto a single 5 star. Del is a problem recruiting wise and developing
I would guess ranking wise we have guys very similar to Floyd and Tate, we’re just doing an awful job with them.
I think it's clear this is a lot more about Jordan Johnson that anything else. When Lo Styles is seen making plays (in highlights) and during the spring game and Jordan Johnson is blocking when he should be catching a pass, the problem is Jordan Johnson. That said, the 2018 WR class hasn't done much of anything (mostly due to injury - Austin/Keys to an extent/Lenzy), the 2019 class is non existent, the 2020 class just lost its best player so something is clearly wrong. Colzie and Styles will have to hit and we need to take 4 guys this cycle. BTW, Colzie just ran a 10.87 in the 100m his first time ever running the event...dude is fast and big
we don't have anyone ranked as high as Floyd and only ESPN had Golden ranked highly. Styles and Colzie are top 100 talents
I also want to point out that Kevin Stepherson made some pretty big plays as a Freshman WR but I think he was the last one to do that. Kevin Austin probably would have ended up with 10-15 catches as a Freshman if he hadn't been suspended. I do believe Lo Styles is going to play a decent amount this year, he's just too good and he got all spring practice to learn which is something none of the 2020 class got because of Covid. You can also tell he's not wired the same way as Jordan Johnson.
We’ll see. Stephenson was when ND threw the ball a lot more. Now that it’s a power run game blocking is focused more.
also love the Raridon commitment...that kid can be Cole Kmet size wise and playing style once he dedicates himself to football kid is a top 5 TE in this class and the rankings people really need to re-evaluate how TE rankings are done. It's clear the ND and Iowa know what they are doing regarding TE recruiting.
Just because ND did it last year doesn't mean that's the plan going forward. It's clear they leaned on their elite oline and elite TEs last year which were the strengths of the team. That's the only year where they have been that aggressive with the run game. I don't expect that to be the case in 2021.
O'Malley said it on the podcast today - BK played Kevin Stepherson in 2016 because he was too good not to play, he could help the team win so he got to play. BK did this breaking his own rule - choosing talent over traits (he said this after the season ended). Moral of the story Part I - BK will play freshmen WRs if they can help the team win Part II - Jordan Johnson was not good enough to help in 2020 and probably not 2021 either (based on the feedback this spring). He was probably talented enough to help both years but it's clear his head wasn't in the right place to contribute at ND and the spring game summed that up pretty well. It's a miss on the recruiting trail and you just have to hope Watts/Styles/Colzie can contribute enough to supplement the seniors.
ToT Offense Spoiler “We could have made it a lot easier for Rocco (Spindler) and Blake (Fisher). But that wouldn’t have been the best thing for this football team moving forward…Having days like today will allow us to not fool ourselves (into saying), ‘We’re this finished product.’ We’ve got work to do, and today allows us to evaluate much more clearly where we need to go to be a championship football team.” -- Brian Kelly on Notre Dame’s young OL THE QUARTERBACK PLAY With swirling winds and a receiving corps still trying to find its stride, Jack Coan, Drew Pyne and Tyler Buchner took the field in the Blue-Gold Game with mostly positive, but some mixed results. • Jack Coan: After evaluating the film, Coan solidified his standing as the projected No. 1 quarterback heading into the summer, although a couple of missed opportunities and a poor decision on the interception by Shayne Simon made Coan resemble a quarterback who has been mainly sidelined since suffering a broken foot in early October, about three weeks ahead of the start of the Big Ten season. Coan completed 18-of-32 passes (.562) for 197 yards with an interception. Coan came out throwing the football well, completing a 32-yarder on the first snap. In his second series, he found tight end George Takacs for a 25-yard gain. One of Coan’s finest throws came after weaving through traffic in the pocket to his right. He deftly inserted a pass to Avery Davis for a 24-yard gain amongst a trio of defenders. Coan appears to have the ability to “throw receivers open,” which was never a strength of Ian Book’s. He threw a well-placed banana route to Matt Salerno for a 13-yard gain that required a firm throw with touch. Coan didn’t get credit for leading a touchdown drive, but he hit Joe Wilkins Jr. at the goal line. Wilkins took a blast from safety Litchfield Ajavon that jarred the football loose. Two negative plays by Coan were the overthrow of Avery Davis in the end zone after Davis created about a five-yard separation, and the interception, which was a pass that never should have been thrown. The pass intended for Kyren Williams was never open. Simon had it blanketed and easily stepped in front for the interception. That’s just a bad read. • Drew Pyne: Pyne’s performance after reviewing the film matched his 11-of-23 passes (47.8 percent) for 146 yards. Although he muscled up for a nice 41-yarder to Lawrence Keys III before halftime, he didn’t quite hit him in stride with shaded safety help over the top. Pyne also had a well-targeted 32-yarder to Mitchell Evans with a 22-yarder to Braden Lenzy. That means his other six completions totaled just 51 yards. Several of Pyne’s throws failed to hit receivers in stride. His decision to shovel the football to Keys on a jet sweep-like pass was mis-timed and probably shouldn’t have been thrown, although the result was an incomplete pass, which made it worth the risk. The interception by Justin Walters of a Pyne pass was an equally-poor decision as Coan’s pick was. Walters had the route jumped or at least defended and easily bodied Keys out of the way. • Tyler Buchner: There’s always a tendency for the chosen one to get the benefit of the doubt because the masses are pulling for him to succeed. That’s true of Buchner Saturday with some high, arcing passes in the 20 mph wind that stood no chance and fell short of the intended target, in addition to a turnover via sack. And yet Buchner’s 6-for-9 passing for 140 yards – 23.3 yards per completion and 15.5 yards per attempt – was enough to warrant optimism for the future. His seven-yard read-option keeper for a touchdown showed the explosiveness that earmarked his dual-threat capabilities coming out of high school. His throwing motion was quick and tight. He didn’t hesitate winging the football coming out of the halftime break, connecting on consecutive throws to Evans (23 yards), Keys (23 yards) and Keys (22 yards). He also hit Lenzy on back-to-back snaps for 55 yards later in the third quarter. But when NaNa Osafo-Mensah came off the edge from the backside, he easily knocked the football free from Buchner. In Buchner’s defense, his internal clock couldn’t have anticipated how quickly Osafo-Mensah reached him. WIDE RECEIVER WORRIES It’s difficult to muster a consistent passing game when you don’t have a receiver on the field taller than 5-foot-11. That’s where the Irish are without Kevin Austin Jr., who follows other bigger receivers through the program like Javon McKinley, Ben Skowronek, Chase Claypool and Miles Boykin. That’s why when Brian Kelly talks about having a football team that’s good but not great, it’s difficult to envision greatness at the wide receiver positions. Now, speed is a different matter and the Irish have plenty of that. It was good to see Lawrence Keys III, Avery Davis and Braden Lenzy make five catches apiece for a total of 287 yards (19.1-yard average). But it’s an unsuccessful pass-catch combination when it takes Keys 14 targets to make five receptions. Keys also might have been able to do something to prevent Pyne’s interception when he allowed Walters to come over the top. Lenzy caught five of his seven targets while Davis caught five of six. With the lack of size at wide receiver, the 6-foot-2 Austin is a must-hit for the fall coming off a broken foot. Joe Wilkins Jr. is 6-foot-1½, but his lack of burst and his inconsistency Saturday were pretty glaring. An area where Davis has improved is in finding holes within a coverage and settling in. He did that very nicely in the Blue-Gold Game on at least three occasions, which would have been beneficial in the Clemson ACC Championship game when the Irish were still clinging to hope late in the first half. Davis kept drifting to the sideline where a Clemson defender was stationed. Davis’ field vision looks improved. That was it from the wideout corps, other than Wilkins’ two catches for 32 yards, two grabs by Lorenzo Styles Jr. for 11 yards, and no gain by Xavier Watts on his one reception. Jordan Johnson, who has since indicated a decision to enter his name in the transfer portal, was targeted once and he never stood a chance in the end zone with Cam Hart defending. There is potential with this unit because of the speed quotient. But unless Austin hits the ground running and/or 6-foot-4, four-star freshman Deion Colzie can emerge as a true freshman, the Irish are lacking the requisite size needed at the W receiver where a post pattern can get you 40 yards simply by positioning one’s self to make the grab. A bigger grad-transfer receiver would be a welcome addition. OFFENSIVE LINE DEVELOPMENTS The offensive lines for each side were as follows: Gold – LT- Blake Fisher, LG- Quinn Carroll, C- Zeke Correll, RG- Andrew Kristofic, RT- Josh Lugg; Blue – LT- Tosh Baker, LG- Rocco Spindler, C- Dillan Gibbons, RG- John Dirksen, RT- Michael Carmody. Neither unit was equipped to handle the deep, veteran front of both defensive lines, which had Justin Ademilola, Howard Cross III, Jayson Ademilola, Isaiah Foskey and Alexander Ehrensberger with the Blue unit and Jordan Botelho, Kurt Hinish, Rylie Mills, Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa and NaNa Osafo-Mensah working with the Golds. Aidan Keanaaina played for both defensive lines. On the surface, I thought the Gold team had the best offensive line and the best defensive front. The difference between a fifth-year senior’s strength and an early-entry freshman was displayed when Hinish simply walked Spindler back into the lap of Pyne about 10 steps. Credit to Spindler, however, for helping pull walk-on running back Leo Albano into the end zone for the second touchdown of the day. On the flip side, Fisher kept Foskey at bay virtually the entire day. Osafo-Mensah beat Baker with the greatest of ease on the Buchner strip sack, which exemplifies why Baker needs to be – and will be – a right tackle. If you don’t get into the upper body of Fisher and throw him off stride, he is going to maintain perfect balance, and then it becomes a cat-and-mouse game where Fisher just bats defenders away. There were times when it looked as if Foskey stopped going 100 percent because he knew it was futile. RUNNING BACK PROWESS We already know what a great running back Kyren Williams is and can be. He was used sparingly Saturday, which is a good thing. The last thing the offense needed was Williams suffering a physical setback in a scrimmage in which there was nothing for which to prove. Williams had five touches -- three runs for 16 yards and two catches for 20 yards – and that was more than enough. Chris Tyree’s spring was a very productive one in which he obviously used the off-season to get stronger. That in turn made him a more explosive football player. We saw it on his 17-yard run late in the first quarter and regularly throughout the first 14 practices. He now truly is adding an extra dimension to the offense, which will undoubtedly employ two running backs on the field at times to take advantage of their skillset. I’d like to see C’Bo Flemister get his earned touches per game. Not eight carries one game and then four over the next three games. He is a battering ram every time he takes the field. His seven carries for nine yards in the Blue-Gold Game was not reflective of his abilities. It’s always an asset to give a warrior like that an opportunity to tenderize the defensive front, which then helps Williams and Tyree over 60 minutes. QUICK-HITTERS: OFFENSE Speaking of players that didn’t have anything to prove in the Blue-Gold Game, good for Brian Kelly for ruling tight end Michael Mayer out with an unspecified injury. Kelly said Mayer was “80 percent” and wanted to play. Nothing to be gained there…George Takacs is going to help Notre Dame win football games this fall. He had a drop, but also three catches for 25 yards on four targets. He is a long, tenacious blocker…Joe Wilkins Jr. – seven targets, two catches…Generally speaking when a player is said to be “well-liked,” as the broadcasters indicated, that means well-respected. That’s Pyne… Not a big fan of Braden Lenzy whining to the officials and showing up his quarterback for what presumably was the wrong throw. Lenzy did some really good things. He caught five passes for 88 yards. He clearly is stronger than he was last fall. But the body language doesn’t do anybody any good…Rocco Spindler may have been walked back into Pyne by Hinish, but Spindler also won a red-zone one-on-one battle with Rylie Mills, who is about as strong as a second semester freshman tackle can be…A sign of how far Avery Davis has come at receiver: His stick route against cornerback TaRiq Bracy was so seamless that his foot-in-the-ground break was imperceptible…Some defended Jordan Johnson because he was targeted once. It’s a receivers responsibility to be targeted. The one shot he had in the end zone against Cam Hart was easily won by Hart... Corey Robinson is one of the finest human beings you’re ever going to meet. But if he’s shooting for a career in broadcasting, he must get past the undergraduate-level analysis that he spewed throughout the broadcast that went from fantastic claims to out-and-out drivel…Nobody that gave it any real consideration would have thought the offense would dominate the defense in the Blue-Gold Game with a new offensive line and just two starters (Kyren Williams and Avery Davis) on the field against a big, strong, veteran defensive front seven. He said a “crazy offensive performance” was expected…It takes no savvy for Pyne to spike a ball late in the first half with the offense driving after a 42-yard completion with 18 seconds remaining. That’s quarterback common sense, not something demanding verbal cartwheels…Even as a fourth-round pick and 30-game winner, Ian Book does not know what it takes to lead an NFL offense. The entire afternoon was make-believe college football analysis with Paul Burmeister keeping it professional on his end.
that makes sense, and i hope he's OK and has a great career and yes, I did double-check it was the real adam schefter this time
All the medical stuff was so late this year too so teams didn't have time to follow up on things like that. So if a player had a medical question it hurt them more this year than most. Also less time for something like this to get out.
OMG 15. Pittsburgh Steelers — Phil Jurkovec, QB, Boston College Another quarterback who can put himself in the first round discussion with continued development, Jurkovec is a well-built competitor with better mobility than expected — similar to a current Pittsburgh quarterback. Scouts are eager to see the development of this Notre Dame transfer. From The Athletic's 2022 NFL Draft Preview
Also Cincy and Purdue both seem to have a couple of guys popping up on these threads The ND schedule is way harder that we are giving it credit for
i also think were underselling how many holes this team has. The front 7 is awesome, the RBs are more than fine, beyond that Meyer and Hamilton are only damn good guys
I think we are underselling the team- if the Oline is competent like 2018 then this team can be really fucking good
The thing is that we have a lot of unproven talent on the roster and are replacing a bunch of starters. There are going to be bumps in the road, and we could be really good. I've never been shy to be optimistic, but I think the possibilities for this team could range from 8-9 wins to 12 wins depending on how much the new starters step up.