We have basically no scholarships left for 2020, any news on this front would likely be bad news 2021 now is all about getting kids to campus, I'm sure as we get closer to Virginia, USC, and Va Tech we will hear about a lot of Junior visitors
well ND is expected to take 20-21 and we are on 17. Who should fill those 3 spots, or at least who might, should be becoming gradually more clear and it isnt. To boot, the last few commits were also kinda meh. Not saying its all dramatic but I think its not weird to say things are deafeningly quiet right now, more quiet than it should probably be. That can be said fully knowing the SC game is the first visitor worthy game of the season and the roster constraints
if their methodology has bilal as anything but the worst player on the defense their methodology is wrong, very wrong
I guess you don't miss tackles if you aren't in a position to even make a play. It's like judging defense in baseball based on errors
They are quiet every year during August. I'm not sure if there's an official dead period or anything, but high schools and colleges are deep into fall camp at that point. Coaches can't travel and for that matter shouldn't have much time for calls. Likewise for recruits who have been in two a days and scrimmages and now games. Now that the regular season is here, OVs will start up and we'll start getting more news.
Coach D is a machine. There’s two and a half hours of BGI podcasts doing game analysis if anyone wants to listen.
I wish he’d join 247 and they gave him his own podcast. Then I’d have no reason for an Bgi subscription
87 things to say Spoiler 1 - Kirk Herbstreit on what he wanted to see from Ian Book just prior to kickoff: ‘He’s undersized so he has to work in the pocket. Show athletic ability, not get out but stay in the pocket, find those throwing lanes, continuing to understand in their RPO game—run-pass-option—where to go with the ball…I think you’ll see quick decisions tonight and a veteran quarterback with great poise.” If we don’t see that against New Mexico, you’re instead going to see a very angry Chip Long on the Irish sideline. 2 — Book runs for 37 yards untouched to the Louisville 40-yard line. That is some seriously bad spying by the Cardinals Mike LB. Yeesh… 3 — Aaron Banks and Tommy Kraemer bulldoze inside and Tony Jones gains a quick 9 up the gut… 4 — Jafar Armstrong grabs his groin/upper thigh area as he runs a crossing route prior to catching the ball for a 16-yard gain. The football gods don’t like us very much… 5 — Touchdown Jahmir Smith. 7-0 Irish and this is easy pickings. Great series by the offensive line, the Drive MVPs. Huge wins by Kraemer and Robert Hainsey on that particular snap. Smith’s my short-yardage back for the next two months, FYI. No doubt. 6 — Chris Fowler refers to Jawon Pass as a ‘Blue Chip’ recruit. Do people still use that term? My 91-year-old mom does. She often refers to 1979 when Tim Andree was a ‘blue-chip’ recruit. Turns out, the recruiting services were wrong. Probably Rivals… 7 — Bo Bauer tackle on kickoff return. Pssst. 8 — What a catch! Louisville’s Seth Dawkins makes a beautiful one-handed back-shoulder grab against Troy Pride on the boundary. Pride got used to that in August camp trying to contend with Chase Claypool.. 9 — Bilal runs himself out of a potential tackle. Gain of 13… 10 — Full line change (Ade, Hayes, Ademilola, Lacey) after Gilman records a run Stuff 11 — Owusu-Koramoah will hit a guy, eh? Misses a potential sack on the next play against a very good athlete in Pass… 12 — Okwara offsides on 3rd-and-12 which leads to an easy 3rd-and-7 conversion as Pass takes 12 easy yards over the right side. Of note, Notre Dame kept its Dime package (6 DB, Jack Lamb) on the field for the 3rd-and-7 after they entered for the 3rd-and-12. Not sure if that was on Hayes (who seemingly had to go with the option pitch) or Kareem not getting off his block quick enough, but that’s a tough assignment for Kareem. Sometimes the other team makes a good call and beats yours… 13 — I’ve noticed a difference between Kurt Hinish’s burst in space and say, that of Jerry Tillery, as said individuals shed blocks… 14 — 2nd-and-Goal from the 8-yard line and Pass scores easily. Pride engulfed by a block and Bilal is caught inside spying as Pass skates untouched over the right side. Pretty sure that was man coverage and Bilal had Pass… 15 — Jack Kiser has his ‘Welcome to College Football’ moment as he’s de-cleated on the kickoff return team… 16 — Book and Claypool with miscommunication on a field-side out route. (Claypool at X receiver on this snap). Book throws deeper and closer to the sideline while Claypool cut sharply out. Now 3rd-and-long and Book abandons a 3-man rush pocket in 1.81 seconds. (I timed it.) Good effort on the run but short of the sticks. 17 — Jayson Ademilola with a pressure, then a shared sack with Khalid Kareem but on the ensuing 3rd-and-Long, Kareem jumps offsides. We’re less than 10 minutes in and the three players I ranked 1-2-3 as Notre Dame’s best in the off-season have all committed mental mistakes. 18 — 44-yard gain on boundary option pitch with Ademilola Bilal successfully blocked and Gilman missing in space. That’s the player I rated 4th. Hey, at least his was a physical mistake! Shaun Crawford saves a touchdown. 19 — Louisville slot receiver Tutu Atwell would start at Notre Dame. And probably Georgia, if that’s any consolation. He bobbles a would-be touchdown catch here beating Owusu-Koramoah down the seam. Heckuva throw by Pass who’s not normally good at passing footballs… 20 — Pass takes a 3rd-and-1 draw for an untouched 17-yard touchdown. That’s two QB chunk run touchdowns, untouched on both, to start the season. WTH? Satterfield is starting to bother me… 21 — Good news, this is as good as it gets for the hosts. (Maybe all year, that’s my guess). 22 — Fowler seems kinda excited about the proceedings… 23 — Back-to-back outside zone runs by Tony Jones. Kudos to Jarrett Patterson (twice), Tommy Kraemer (twice), Robert Hainsey, Aaron Banks, and Liam Eichenberg for blowing open holes for 18 combined yards… 24 — Irish try to take a shot downfield on play-action but it’s not there and Book throws away after a half-roll right. 25 — Jones for another 12: Hainsey, Kraemer (yikes!), Wright and Finke clear a path. 26 — Two snaps later Book is sacked for an 8-yard loss. Jahmir Smith missed his blitz pickup but Book missed a never covered Brock Wright and Lawrence Keys pre-snap. Fairly easy read since I saw it from the press box… 27 — Best call of the half by Chip Long, draw play on 3rd-and-13 to Tony Jones for a 35-yard gain. Jones said post-game he saw the three-man front and deep ‘backers and knew it would be ‘Money.’ The most important block was registered by Claypool in space. 28 — 11-yard TD by Jones who ran for 77 yards on that 75-yard Notre Dame scoring drive. Hainsey, Kraemer, and Wright dominate to the right side for an easy score. 14-14 near the end of the first quarter. 29 — I remember that watching live, I was more annoyed by the poor second quarter offense than the horrid first quarter defense, which admittedly makes little sense, but I had figured pre-game that the Cardinals would have one such drive. Instead, they had two. 30 — Holy WU! Owusu-Koramoah (JOK in every instance hereafter) with a pop on kickoff coverage. That’s the best ND hit I’ve seen that didn’t receive a flag (in error) in a long time… 31 — Defensive Series No. 3, Shayne Simon moves to Buck in place of Bilal and White remains. (Psst. It furnishes the first 3-and-out. Just sayin.) 32 — Crawford solo take down of Pass on a keeper to the field side. Man that Crawford guy sure 33 — I’m a big fan of the Dime package personnel with Jack Lamb the lone linebacker and the Hamilton, Crawford, Elliott, Gilman, Pride + Bracy DB collection. Hopefully they’ll have a few third-and-longs in Athens to utilize it… 34 — Can a football coach explain to me why, after more than 15 years, teams still don’t know how to block against the spread punt coverage? 35 — Kyren Williams drops a pass and we’ll see him in 12 days… 36 — Man I like Jahmir Smith. He’d have been an ideal No. 3 runner this year. 37 — Javon McKinley catches his first career pass and the first prediction of the Summer Monday Musings comes to fruition. I’m going to guess the one about Jafar Armstrong does not… 38 — Sack #2 vs. Book but I think this one’s on Eichenberg. Book got pressure on the outside and moved, but then the blitz through Eichenberg’s inside shoulder, plus outside containment over left tackle was too much to contend with. 39 - What a catch by Claypool on a slant pass well-behind him. Chris Fowler echoes practice reports that Claypool ‘could not be contained’ by the secondary in August Camp. 40 — Consecutive short-yardage fails, first on 3rd-and-2, Patterson is blown up (Banks lost too) to drop Jones for a loss of two yards, then on 4th-and-4, Book throws wide and low to an open Finke for a two-yard gain and turnover on downs. Perfect throws by Book in that situation are his calling card. He really aimed that one. Almost pulled the string. When it’s a pressure free throw, they call that… 41 — Good shot of Brian Kelly wondering what might’ve been had Jimmy Clausen just returned for his senior season…. 42 — Simon at Mike, Genmark Heath at Buck…Late pressure by Jayson Ademilola and Pass misses to the corner. But: Jake Fromm. We tend to pile on Bilal for his lack of instincts at Buck. It would appear he’s not alone. 43 — Subbing for Alohi Gilman, Kyle Hamilton misses his first tackle attempt as Hassan Hall cuts past the run-blitzing freshman for a 15-yard gain (chased by Okwara). Hamilton will make that play sooner rather than later. If you have the means, watch Genmark Heath on this snap…(Simon does his job). 44 — Speaking of Hamilton: closes for a pass breakup. One snap later, TaRiq Bracy on 3rd-and-7 records another: that’s route and situation knowledge by Bracy…instincts and raw athleticism by Hamilton. Inside pressure by MTA on third down…(Dime) 45 — First two series Defensive Drive MVPs: None, None. Next two: Crawford, Hamilton/Bracy. That’s more like it 46 — “Daddy what are you watching?” “The Notre Dame game” “Oh, on tape?” Proud to say I have three kids under 9 that refer to QuickTime Player, DVRs, and Youtube as ‘On Tape.’ 47 — Book fumble pops into the air. Looked like he got caught between sliding/diving and getting out of bounds. He made the wrong choice. 48 — Jahmir Smith is dropped for a loss on 3rd-and-2. Meanwhile, to the field side, Louisville has one cornerback against Chris Finke and Joe Wilkins, and a Nickel, that immediately crashes, somewhat near Chase Claypool who’d have had ALL SORTS of room on a bubble screen. Book misses this easy read. Chip Long is displeased…probably still. 49 — If trades were allowed, I’d trade a Buck or two for a Tutu Jet Sweep gains 14 50 — Wow that is a dirty chop block against Hinish. It’s not even mid-November yet… White and MTA combined for a Stuff, anyway. 51 — Sack Drew White. That was a coverage sack/scheme that cause Pass to move in the pocket, but the impressive aspect of the play was that White drove the 240-pounder backwards on full contact. 52 — White with the pass breakup. That’s TFL, Sack, PD on consecutive snaps. Drew White was BURIED on the depth chart at this time last season. He’s now showing he can play at this level. 53 — Gain of 1 by Smith (Patterson beaten). Gain of 1 by Smith (He had a hole to his left but ran into the unblocked man) and then a gain of 2 by Book who looks as if he’s fleeing a fire in the pocket on 3rd-and-7. Two defenders were blocked four yards behind Book. One was on the ground. One was double-teamed. This is just weird. 54 — Great series by the Irish, with Ogundeji recording a Stuff, Gilman following suit (Daelin Hayesright there, too), then the latter forcing (along with Okwara) and recovering a Pass fumble at the Louisville 26-yard line. 55 — Ade Ogundeji. #20 in the Irish Illustrated summer countdown. #18 in the late July submission to NBC. #12 after training camp. (No Kmet, no Young, to be fair.) 56 — Hendrix, I mean, Book, I meant Book, fumbles off of Brock Wright’s arm while escaping the pocket. Probably not the right time to point out that no one was pressuring him. 57 — Pass fumbles it back and Jack Lamb recovers it. Better on replay than live, by the way, that was nice hustle by the redshirt-freshman. No. 31 is a weird number for an inside linebacker. I need Jack Lamb to change that next spring. 58 — Had I not watched the Miami/Florida opener with an, ahem ‘rooting interest’, this 2nd Quarter would’ve offended my delicate sensibilities as a football purist…. 59 — Quick sideline shot of Brian Kelly telling Book that double chocolate fudge ice cream is clearly superior to whatever Book happens to favor at the present time. Brian Kelly is all of us right now. 60 — Raise your hand if you thought Tony Jones and Kyle Hamilton would be offering Book encouragement near the end of the first half against Louisville… (Don’t get me wrong, it’s good that they are, considering the circumstances—but I don’t like the circumstances.) 61 — Book runs for 12 yards to the right side down to the 6-yard line…a false start penalty on Eichenberg (apparently only SWAT Leaders can commit penalties and dumb mistakes in this first half), and the Irish face 3rd-and-Goal from the Louisville 11-yard line. Man that was a good call by Chip Long. Four targets right, only Claypool left and he clears to the fade. 21-14 just before the Break. That was a long first half. And a long first half review. This is my third watching of this crap-fest, which is what happens when Notre Dame has a Week 2 bye. 62 — Before we start the second half, ESPN shows a replay of Julian Okwara putting a Reggie White club move on the Cardinals right tackle. My goodness! Missed that live. 63 — Shaun Crawford forces a fumble on Atwell after a 22-yard gain. Does anyone make more plays per snap than Shaun Crawford? 64 — “In the Hawaiian Islands, they HIT.” Great line by Fowler as MTA, Gilman, and Bilal lay some wood for a run Stuff. 65 — Another 3rd-and-1 for Notre Dame, another Stuff. Now I know why all of you were so frustrated. By the way, that was mostly on Tommy Tremble. A lot goes into this ‘Playing Time’ thing, ehh? 66 — Irish respond with a 3-and-out: Kareem Stuff, Simon blitz pressure despite being held, and a 3rd Down pass breakup by Hamilton out of the Dime package as Daelin Hayes pressures the pocket on a twist stunt. There’s nothing about that sentence that’s not enticing. 67 — Book to Claypool for a 31-yard catch-and-run. Two tight ends to the field with Claypool running a crossing route from the boundary. As Mike Brey would muse: “He’s a Man.” 68 — Book! Book to Tremble!! Touchdown! All of this is exactly what we wanted and only had to wait thirty-six minutes and 50 seconds! First career touch is a touchdown for Tremble. Just like Derrick Mayes! And also George West, but whatever… 28-14 Irish midway through the third quarter 69 — Irish get the ball back after the requisite Louisville inefficiencies: (As an aside, I’d like to reiterate…they are not good offensively) and Notre Dame dials up one of the least threatening play-action passes I’ve ever witnessed: RB stays in to block TE stays in to block TE stays in to block Javon McKinley runs a slant into zone coverage. Chris Finke runs a curl. What is the goal of this particular snap? Book scrambles and throws it away. 70 — Tremble with the crossing route for 13 yards. I’m a pretty big fan of this emergence. 71 — Book behind Finke on 3rd-and-4. Was that on Finke as Herbstreit pointed out? That’s my guess. Finke adds to the SWAT leader woes in the opener. 72 — Drew White and JOK handle Atwell on a sweep for a 6-yard loss. Outstanding anticipation and attack by White to force the play. That was promising. 73 — Pride got blocked a lot Monday night on running plays. And I’m not sure Gilman had that great of a day in coverage. This nondescript opener is going to get a third rewatch, isn’t it…? 74 — Time to rank the openers in terms of excitement/relevance: 2018 (Michigan): Heh, heh, heh… 2012 (Navy in Dublin): Yeah, I’m selfish. 2016 (at Texas): The beginning of the end and thus, a new beginning. Like ripping off a band-aid…A band-aid that was covering leprosy. 2015 (Texas): We knew it was coming…but fun nonetheless 2014 (Rice): Golson returns! 2017 (Temple): Three 100-yard rushers! Accurate Brandon Wimbush. Hope springs eternal… 2010 (Purdue): BK’s first game. And someone from the local news asked him following the victory if he felt like he was a ‘White Knight, riding in on his steed, to save the program.’ So there’s that… 2019 (Louisville): Because no one asked BK if he thought of himself as a ‘White Knight’ 2013 (Temple): Nothing happened for the final 55 minutes. We should’ve known… 2011 (South Florida): Kind of looked like BK put the game plan together in the parking lot right after he introduced 80 players to each other and said, ‘Now go get ‘em!’ 75 — You know…Bilal was around the ball a bit more in the final 20 minutes. Now to be fair to the term ‘a lot’ he wasn’t around it ‘at all’ early. But still… 76 — 37 yards on third down with 30 after the catch. White has to make that play in space. (He saw it, but didn’t get there.) 77 — Reverse pass…great call. Not a great throw, and Shaun Crawford is there to deliver a shot but the tight end wasn’t catching it anyway. 78 — Louisville has eight penalties and five fumbles. And now a field goal. 28-17 Irish with too much time remaining for me to enjoy myself 79 — Third-and-3. Tommy Tremble. Get used to it, world. 80 — Book fires deep… 81 — Book to Claypool and the star target does the rest, taking a 14-yard comeback across the field for a eventual 34 yard gain to the Cardinals 1-yard line. He just ATTACKS after the catch! 82 — Jahmir Smith, touchdown No. 2 on the day. Physical dude. Do not run Tony Jones wide on 3rd and 1 when you can hammer with Smith. In fact, let’s get a little more downhill in the attack with Smith in the game. 83 — Jarrett Patterson was better on film review than he was live (I noted deficiencies in the podcast). 84 — Fowler divulges the location of Brian Kelly’s new home under construction. So there’s that. 85 — Hinish with the sack! That young man has a challenging Saturday night on the horizon down south… 86 — Hayes with a sack…Okwara with a sack. These are some cheap stats accrued as the teams play out the string. 87 — Need and expect more from: Okwara. Kareem. Book. Elliott. Finke. Game Balls: Ade Ogundeji, Tony Jones, Drew White, Chase Claypool, Shaun Crawford. 7COMMENTS Irish 35 Cardinals 17 1-0
He quit because ND wasn’t dramatic enough for his personality (his words). I guess the same dude runs the Nd and mich site and the mich site lost their reporter so it was an easy switch. New guy is doing a good job of not giving 3 paragraphs on Ramon Henderson every day
He really lost favor with the masses saying 28 is old and 35 is ancient in some chart he put out. Kinda funny to watch all the gray hairs get butthurt.
Note an exact quote but he made a big to do on the mich board that Texas and much were more his style and from the fans to the school to the recruiting Nd was boring and schools like mich and Texas for more his style
yeah there's no way covering Michigan is that much different than covering ND, at least as far as his job is concerned.
lol clearly some ppl butthurt over here just cuz my boy EJ moved onto a much more stylish place like...Ann Arbor...to follow the lives of...16 year olds. stay mad y'all
Man this bye week sucks. Interesting that Kelly and co has decide to not travel to recruit this weekend and focus on the season. Probably trying to figure out a way to keep the Georgia game within two scores.
And the GF is out of town and work may cooperate. Just got the second tv out to the living room for tomorrow.
Called an old classmate I am planning to meet up with to tailgate at UGA. As luck would have it, one of his pals has an extra after a recent cancelation. I became the next man in. It's happening my friends.
This is true, but army is really good and we know better than anyone that these service academy triple option teams can be really tough. This is probably the best service academy team in 20+ years
Really? I thought navy from a few years ago was a lot better and army lost a lot from their team last year. They were better las year