now that irish illustrated finally got rid of Jake Browne, i've got high hopes for the new recruiting guy - Kevin Sinclair dude used to post on IrishEnvy (NDinVancouver) and is a true recruitnik...i just hope he's not quite the same as Tom Loy in pumping sunshine anyway, he posted this on Shayne Simon Spoiler A reliable source told me that Stanford is pretty much out as Simon did not like his visit to Stanford. OSU will not be much of a factor and UM and ND are leading. Per source, Simon loved his visit to Notre Dame. His mother and his aunt are both Michigan grads. This is what has raised the most concerns. Although he doesn't have FAMILY ties to ND, he certainly has ties. When two of the other ten guys on your defense are firmly committed to ND, I'm certain he's hearing about it from them. Given that ND's new star QB is primed to represent St Peter's Prep in a big way, Simon may be intrigued by how well a St. P's kid can do in South Bend Of course, his mother's influence is a big deal as well. Not sure where she would like to see him go. We'll see what happens. I spoke with Rich Hansen recently and he said "if you can find a better defensive player, who is as good of a kid as Shayne, I wanna meet him. I doubt there is one." I can confirm that he was on campus Thursday with both parents and his brother. From what I'm hearing, he didn't enjoy his Stanford visit and Ohio State won't be a factor. So, it's down to Michigan and ND. There are strong arguments on both sides. We'll see how things develop and I'll be sure to keep my ear to the ground. Timeframe - when I spoke with coach Hansen (HC @ St. P's) he was unsure of the time frame. Michigan - One more factor I felt was worth mentioning, coach Hansen was sure to tell me that the schools he heavily promotes to his players are ND, Stanford, Boston College. He didn't mention Michigan, so I asked him about that. He didn t have the same feelings toward Michigan as he did the schools I just mentioned. He didn t bad-mouth them, but it wasn t the same, that s for sure. That said, Michigan is the alma mater of his mother and aunt and that matters, I`m sure.
Jake seemed like a good dude, but this isn't a real loss for II IMO. You could tell his heart wasn't in it and you could definitely tell he didn't care about ND at all. Sampson is the one who has the connections to the coaches so he actually had intel to covey, Brown was just the guy that called the recruits and churned out the same post-visit update story that every site does for every kid on every visit. I'm sure the new guy can replace him and I'm happy to sacrifice a little bit of writing quality if the new guy is more into it.
Jake seemed like he HATED recruiting and it showed...he's always the last to know about everything and he never broke anything news...just didn't seem like he put any effort into it the new guy was talking to recruits and writing articles FOR FUN...that's a guy who really loves ND and recruiting looking forward to seeing what he uncovers
Lol Watson pleaded guilty to the 13 counts of athlete-agent inducement for providing roughly $24,000 in cash and travel accommodations to eventual NFL players Robert Quinn, Marvin Austin and Greg Little in 2010. A felony obstruction of justice charge for not providing records sought by authorities was dismissed as part of the deal.
New guy seems way over the top to me but it's probably better that way than how it was with Jake Brown, where you could tell he loathed it
How much you think guys like this make writing for ISD? Was Jake simply not incentivized appropriately?
Thank you. Thought I was going crazy. Tom Loy ? Did you retag everyone? Or is it something fucky with the tagging system?
Anyone else going to fluff fest 2017? aka the BG game? I'm taking the little one I think. further indoctrination for her.
lax game vs. unc is at noon, so I don't think i'll make it to the actual game, but will be on campus. and i'll be heading directly to the tattoo parlor as soon as the bg game is over to get my "2017 National Champions" tattoo
I was personally thinking a mount Rushmore type thing on my back, Rockne, Ara, Lou, and Kelly's entire staff. Do a banner underneath with all of the championship years, That way I have room for '18 '19 '20, etc.
Feel free to hit me up, plan to do a little baby tailgate for baby Niles. you guys would be welcome to swing by.
So it's a few years away obviously, but the NCAA just announced that ND will be hosting quarterfinal lacrosse in the stadium in 2021. That's neat
The Gug was a respectable facility when it was built wasn't it? The arms race for facilities never ends. The next big program to build a new facility will have a leg up unless you are doing significant renovations every year.
I agree, but ND never seems to give themselves a leg up in these things, they just seem to be perpetually catching up. Whatever the issue is (early enrollment, training tables, coaches salaries, field turf, facilities), they are always a few years behind the curve, and make a move to pull themselves back to the middle of the pack just before the rest come up with something new. Texas is about to install lockers that cost over $10,000 each. I haven't seen any details about the upgrades other than adding a second field and making it so the catering doesn't have to be set up in the lounge area. Hopefully there's more than that.
That's a huge difference. ND will not advertise stuff like that. I have no idea what the new lockers at the stadium cost, but they are going in. All the facade work in stadium has no known number. People see that Tx is spending 85k on lockers and scream holy shit. For all we know ours could be 185k or 8500, ND is coy about cash.
If they were to waste tons of money on the football program I would prefer boosting the staff of "analysts". Pay a bunch of young grads that want to be NFL scouts practically nothing scout recruits. Hire more coaches to the non coaching staff to scout opponents Boost staff that studies sports science/nutrition/rest/sleep/etc
there are areas to fret about how notre dame is lacking, but i really don't think facilities is one of those. we have the 3 outdoor fields, the indoor field, a completely renovated stadium, the Gug is 10 years old, and is getting a facelift. we're adding the **second** *indoor* field (when a number of schools are either just building their first or don't have one). true, we don't have a waterfall or oregon's facilities, but a lot of that is a waste of money anyway.
Yes, somewhere in this thread there is a post where I suggest that ND should be the one to exploit that loophole before it closes, not Alabama. The NCAA announced last week they are looking into limitations on support staff because Alabama has 93. So that window is probably about to close.
Have unrealistically high expectations for the line this year. Kraemer is a future star and with him in place the line is HUGE (avg. around 6'6" 315). I also think Kraemer is more a road grader than Eichenberg so hopefully we will run the ball for the first two games before Kelly intervenes.
Consensus is the Kraemer is a monster st run blocking but fairly average at pass blocking Eichenberg is supposedly a good pass blocker but needs time to become a dominant run blocker All the podcasts have hinted that Kraemer would win out because Long wants to power run and play action teams to death
Defense practice report Spoiler Notre Dame Spring Practice Report: Defense Bryan Driskell | Football Analyst Drop end Daelin Hayes showed off his athletic talents during the team's final full practice before the Blue-Gold Game. Joseph Raymond NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Notre Dame completed its final full padded practice prior to the annual Blue-Gold Game, and it was an intense session. It has been 12 days since we last saw a full practice, and it is safe to say that both sides of the ball have a great deal more installed since then. It was really the ideal practice for Notre Dame, as neither side dominated the other. The offense won some periods and the defense won some periods, but even within each period there were wins on both sides of the ball. DEFENSIVE PRACTICE NOTES Overall, this was the defense’s most active and disruptive practice. Head coach BrianKelly noted after practice that the full defense is finally installed. Defensive coordinator Mike Elko rightly took the long view when it comes to installation, choosing to do it slowly so he could focus on fundamentals and the basics early in spring practice. With stunts and blitzes now fully integrated into the defense, Elko’s unit was able to make a lot of plays at or behind the line of scrimmage. Not only were they making tackles behind the line and getting good pressure on the quarterback, the aggressive nature of the pressures forced ball carriers to make too many early cuts, and the defense did a good job rallying to the ball. The one issue the defense had throughout practice was losing contain on the quarterback. It happened on a few bootlegs, but the biggest was during a two-minute period when the defense got a good outside pressure but quarterback Brandon Wimbush was able to get free for a long touchdown. Up front, senior end Jay Hayes had without question his best open practice of the spring. Motor has been a question for Hayes, but that was not an issue during this practice. He played hard and did so rep after rep. Hayes set the edge well and showed good physicality. He had a couple nice power moves against the pass and outside of one snap, he did a good job playing the backside. Junior defensive tackle Jerry Tillery had a consistently good practice. He got very good pressure against the run and pass. Tillery still needs work at getting off blocks and making plays himself, but his aggressiveness and penetration set up opportunities for a number of his teammates to get pressure. Sophomore drop end Daelin Hayes had an interesting practice. Hayes constantly flashes his elite athleticism and skills. He gave offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey fits at times with his speed rush, and Hayes has improved his ability to use his hands to keep blockers off his body when he’s getting by. When Hayes isn’t getting to the quarterback he is collapsing the pocket. He did a good job holding up when the offense ran at him. The issue for Hayes is he apparently isn’t assignment sound. Elko and line coach Mike Elston were constantly correcting Hayes, who had issues with containment. The problem area for Notre Dame was at the defensive tackle (three-technique) position. Starter Jonathan Bonner was solid at times, but he got knocked off the ball a couple too many times. His backup – junior Micah Dew-Treadway – is still too much of a magnet, engaging with blockers without being able to get off of blocks. Senior linebacker Nyles Morgan was highly disruptive during this afternoon's practice. Corey Bodden Senior Mike linebacker Nyles Morgan spent a lot of time in the backfield, showing how much playing in Elko’s aggressive system will benefit his playmaking ability. Morgan showed excellent downhill speed when called on to blitz and stunt. One area where Morgan must continue to work based on today’s practice is continuing to work for depth in his pass drops against vertical routes. Senior linebacker Greer Martini continued his strong spring. Martini was very active, playing all the way out to the sideline. He stepped strong into the hole against inside runs and like Morgan he was quick through the line on designed pressures. Sophomore linebacker Jamir Jones made a lot of plays during today’s practice. Jones is far behind Morgan and Martini in coverage, but he was quite productive against the run and as a pass rusher. Jones quickly shot through gaps and made strong contact in the backfield. At times it seemed Jones might have been on offense, that is how quickly he got through gaps and into the backfield. Junior rover Asmar Bilal had the hit of the day, reading a jet sweep to C.J. Sanders and quickly getting upfield. Bilal hit Sanders so hard and fast that the athletic slot receiver didn’t have time to react. Both Bilal and starter Drue Tranquill excelled on the edge against the run. They were both strong against lead blockers and set the edge very well, forcing perimeter runs back inside much quicker than the offense wanted. On the back end, senior cornerback Nick Watkins continued to be disruptive. Watkins was good in coverage throughout the day, although he got beat on a couple of snaps in the red zone. Sophomore cornerback Julian Love was a bit more up-and-down. He was okay in coverage at times, but he also got beat deep on three occasions, including once for a long touchdown by walk-on receiver Austin Webster. Sophomore Donte Vaughn had several break ups, but his technique was inconsistent and it got him in trouble at times. Sophomore Troy Pride Jr. had arguably his best practice, taking good angles to the ball and staying in step on vertical routes. Pride still needs a lot of work when it comes to technique. Sophomore safety Jalen Elliott had had some issues in coverage during one-on-one periods, but he was much better during team. He closed well on seam routes and did a good job jumping in breaking routes in his direction. Elliott closed off several windows and either forced the quarterback to go away from his direction or created an incompletion. Freshman safety Isaiah Robertson got through on several safety pressures. His timing when triggered was impressive. Robertson was a bit late making decisions at times in coverage, but he makes up for it with his athleticism.
Offense Spoiler April 19 Notre Dame Practice Report Lou Somogyi | Senior Editor Brandon Wimbush and his teammates practiced outdoors on Wednesday morning. Photo by Joe Raymond Get a FREE 30-day trial using promo code BGI30 Notre Dame’s 13th practice of this spring was held Wednesday morning outdoors at the LaBar Practice Field. The Fighting Irish will have their final practice on Friday before Saturday’s Blue-Gold Game (12:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports). In addition to the stretch work, 22 periods (five minutes each) were open to the media. Here were some of the highlights from those sessions: Period 1 The lineups in Team (11-on-0) for warmups remained status quo on offense and defense. The lone conspicuous absence was sophomore wideout Kevin Stepherson, who head coach Brian Kelly said had to take care of a personal matter this morning. He is slated to play in Saturday’s scrimmage inside Notre Dame Stadium. Sidelined but riding on a stationary bike was junior No. 2 right guard Trevor Ruhland. Inserted in his place was fifth-year senior Hunter Bivin, while early entrant freshman Aaron Banks then was used as the No. 2 left guard with Bivin shifted over to the right side. Sophomore Tommy Kraemer continued to take the reps with the ones at right tackle over classmate Liam Eichenberg. One of the rising figures this spring has been 6-4 junior receiver Miles Boykin. He came out with the top receiving corps with 6-5 Equanimeous St. Brown (working the field side while Boykin was more in the boundary) and 6-4 3/8 sophomore Chase Claypool on the inside, where his blocking skills, especially in the middle of the field, are well suited in run-pass option looks. Combine that trio with 6-5 3/8 fifth-year senior tight end Durham Smythe and 6-4 ¾ junior tight end Alize Jones, and one is looking at the rangiest set of pass-catching targets ever to line up at Notre Dame. Periods 2-5 Individual group work on the fundamentals were the focus these 20 minutes, with the emphasis on straight handoffs and running plays on offense and pursuit, tackling and footwork/balance on defense. One noticeable problem was the football hitting the ground too often during snap exchanges, both from the shotgun and with the quarterback under center. This drew much ire from offensive line coach Harry Hiestand. Periods 6-7 Three-on-three work between offensive linemen, two defensive linemen and the Mike linebacker was used for the running game, although contact was limited. The pass also was incorporated a little later. Periods 8-10 The first Team drills, 11-on-11, took place, with ones competing against the ones and twos versus the twos. The first series between the ones saw sophomore defensive end Daelin Hayes stand out, dropping junior Josh Adams for a two-yard loss on the first play and then running down and “tagging” scrambling junior quarterback Brandon Wimbsh for a sack four plays later. A Wimbush draw four plays later also gained no yardage. His top play was a perfectly placed 20-yard corner route to Alize Jones. One conspicuous formation included two backs aligned on both sides of Wimbush, an added wrinkle under new coordinator Chip Long. The second series between the twos saw junior Dexter Williams break free for about 15 yards on the first play, and the sophomore Tony Jones Jr., who has enjoyed a stellar spring, cut outside to the left side for a 50-yard gain before being pushed out-of-bounds by junior Shaun Crawford, who had to come from the other side of the field to make the play. Before going to the next series, senior end Andrew Trumbetti was untouched on a play and tagged sophomore quarterback Ian Book for a sack, and sophomore Deon McIntosh gained zero on an inside handoff. The next series between the ones saw Hayes hold the edge well again on a two-yard run by Adams. A 10-yard completion to Smythe and about 10 more yards from Adams on an inside cutback moved the chains. However, the series ended when senior Rover Drue Tranquill shot through to drop Jones Jr. for a five-yard loss, followed by Wimbush overthrowing Claypool on a deep pattern and then throwing incomplete on a slant after looking off the first receiver. The hit of the day came on the ensuing series between the twos when junior Rover Asmar Bilal brought the heat on a blitz and crushed junior CJ Sanders on a jet sweep for a five-yard loss. That set a positive tone for the defense in that series that was followed by a fumbled snap from the shotgun by senior quarterback Montgomery VanGorder, no gain by McIntosh on a play that was strung out well by the defense, and pressure on Book during a roll-out that led to an incomplete pass. The period ended with players breaking off into their individual groups again. Quarterbacks worked on back-shoulder throws to wideouts on one side, and screen passes on the other. Also incorporated later were double-move pass plays to the tight ends and wheel routes to running backs. Periods 11-12 One-on-one between receivers/tight ends versus the defensive backs were the featured course. Period 11 was around midfield, while period 12 was red-zone work. In Period 11, Wimbush began 1 of 4, with a couple of deep balls falling incomplete, but he finished by connecting on 5 of his last 6 passes, with the lone miss a drop by sophomore Javon McKinley. Wimbush's sideline passes across the field showcased his outstanding arm strength, and he also found junior Chris Finke on a deep post over sophomore walk-on cornerback Temitope Agoro. During this same period, Book was 4 of 8 and VanGorder 5 of 8. Starting cornerbacks Nick Watkins and Julian Love both displayed good cover skills in mostly less advantageous situations, although Book did complete a deep ball for a score just over Love when senior walk-on Austin Webster, a captain-elect, came down with the pass before hitting the ground hard, temporarily shaking him up. In Part II with red-zone work (mainly from the defense’s 10- and five-yard lines), Wimbush was 1 of 3, with Agoro making a nice breakup on a back-shoulder toss to Finke. Book was 2 of 3, with touchdown completions to Alize Jones (over sophomore Jalen Elliott) and McKinley (over sophomore D.J. Morgan). His third attempt, a back-shoulder to Boykin, was mishandled thanks in part to sophomore Donte Vaughn impeding his vision just enough while playing tight coverage. VanGorder also was 3 of 4, with a touchdown to senior tight end Nic Weishar, another score on a corner route to Sanders past Crawford, and a third tally to freshman tight end Brock Wright (past Coleman). His lone incomplete pass, a back shoulder to Boykin, had good coverage by the senior Watkins. Period 13 This session featured 11-on-11 tempo, which has possession starting at the offense’s 20 and the ball being automatically moved forward 10 yards after each play. It’s more about maintaining rhythm/pace/stamina and moving downfield than the actual play result. In ones versus ones, Book actually came out first at QB, with highlights including a 15-yard toss to Claypool, a 15-yard run by Adams, and Book keeping for 10 on a zone read. In twos versus twos, Wimbush was on fire with several perfectly placed passes, including a 20-yard toss to Finke, a 40-yard touchdown to Finke on a post over Agora and another 30-yard score to Alize Jones, plus a couple of big runs by Williams. Junior Chris Finke made several huge catches during Wednesday's workout. Photo by Joe Raymond Periods 14-15 Punt coverage was the focal point among individual position group work. Senior punter Tyler Newsome struck the ball well, with Alize Jones, Tranquill and Elliott serving as the three-man wall in front of him. Gunners included defensive backs Coleman and Love, receivers Claypool and McKinley, and running back Williams. Finke, Sanders and St. Brown caught the punts, with Finke the most natural in the group. Sanders dropped one while running up trying to field the ball before it bounced. Periods 16-20 Seven-on-seven work was implemented in the middle of the field in the early portions. Wimbush was 8 of 12, with two of the incompletions coming from forced passes into double coverage. Book was 6 of 7, mainly with short outs and screens, and he also had one play blown dead when he held the ball too long after missing the first read. VanGorder was 4 of 6. Later, seven-on-seven work occurred in the red zone, mainly from the defense’s 10- and five-yard lines. Wimbush ran the first six of the nine total plays in the red zone: • He found Boykin on the back-shoulder pass for a touchdown, beating Watkins on the first play. • On the second play, good coverage by Love on Webster led Wimbush to not even attempt the pass, leading the play to be blown dead. • With Tony Jones Jr. crossing all the way over to the left corner of the end zone, he dove to corral a TD from Wimbush, with Coleman in coverage. • Claypool dropped a slant at the goal line, but good inside coverage by sophomore Troy Pride helped force the miss. • On the fifth play, Wimbush did not put enough air on a corner fade to Smythe, and freshman early entrant Isaiah Robertson smelled it all the way to record the interception in the end zone. • Another pass by Wimbush to Smythe was broken up by Crawford, whose ability to partake in such drills was a plus in itself after last year’s Achilles injury. The final three plays in red zone saw VanGorder complete a scoring toss to Finke over Agoro, McKinley catch a pass from VanGorder at the five on an out (not counted as a TD), and Book overthrowing Williams, with junior linebacker Te’von Coney in good coverage. Period 21 In this situational sequence of 11-on-11 work, the goal on offense was to set up for a game-winning field goal after taking possession at your own 40 with 1:05 left and the clock running. On the first play, Wimbush felt huge pressure on the edges, so he tucked the ball, sprinted up the middle, broke to his left and displayed an excellent burst down the sideline en route to a 60-yard touchdown when it looked a few defenders might have the angle on him. On the second series, again from the offense’s 40, Wimbush lost seven this time on the pass pressure, but followed with a 30-yard strike down the right sideline to Boykin over Love. With 43 seconds left on the clock, Wimbush followed with another pass to Boykin, who made a great leaping catch but landed out of bounds. Wimbush then scrambled out of trouble and found Claypool for a 16-yard gain to the defense’s 21, followed by spiking the ball to stop the clock. A four-yard sweep by Adams then set up a 34-yard field goal that was converted by senior walk-on Sam Kohler with seven seconds left. Period 22 The practice concluded with red-zone work from the defense’s 10-yard line, with nine plays run. • From the Pistol formation, Wimbush found Alize Jones for an easy touchdown on a missed coverage. • From the eight, the play was blown dead when Bilal caught Wimbush on a scramble. • From the six, Book’s pass on what appeared to be a slant was batted back by senior lineman Jay Hayes. • From the four, the Irish lined up in the “classic” I-formation, with tight end Smythe as the fullback (it had been run earlier in practice too, along with two backs lining up with the QB). The play never got off the ground because of a fumbled snap. • From the four, Wimbush connected with Wright. • From the nine, Book found 6-6 senior Keenan Centlivre on a back-shoulder score despite good coverage from Watkins. • From the eight, Williams burst through the left side for a score against the No. 2 defense. • From the four, a Book pass was broken up. Our view was blocked, but it appeared to be Love. • On the final play from the four, a rollout by Book fell incomplete.
Holy crap at Boykin, St. Brown, Claypool and Jones potentially on the field at the same time. Defenses better hope for some height on the back end.