Tim O Malley at II already said that Tremble got a "Go To Draft" grade which means he is expected to go on Day 1 or Day 2 (top 3 rounds). If so, I completely understand why he's having trouble deciding.
Would miss Tremble, but the silver lining becomes we need to revamp our offense without him. I don’t hate that idea.
I trust that if we had better receivers the offense would feature them more. Tremble and Mayer were obviously two of the best players on the team so I am confused about why people want worse players to play.
this is going to be very interesting. Parsons is clearly a beast of an athlete and was always projected as the #1 LB. It’ll be interesting to see if Wu played himself above Parsons because he sat the year out. I wouldn’t be surprised if Wu puts up some crazy combine numbers (is there even one) and if he can even match Parsons there might be a good argument to take him as the #1 LB.
There’s plenty of advanced analytics to suggest that throwing to our not great WRs still had way more success than the style of offense we deployed in the final two games of the season. For as much as Kelly tried to push how logical it was for us to try to control the ball, it went entirely against the analytics.
He's consistently crept up mock drafts all season. McShay put out a mock that had him at 9 today. I didn't notice if he was above Parsons. That same mock also had Fields getting drafted at 15 though, so take it for what its worth...
I wonder where Elston fits in on this clear pecking order. And where the beat writers will try to convince us he fit in once he gets the job.
I think it'll be impossible to spin that Freeman wasn't our first choice if he chooses LSU/staying, but they'll convince us Elston was always a "close second and ahead of all other options" if that's how it plays out.
The 4HL board on 247 is unreadable these days. Seriously, the same people complaining about the exact same thing in EVERY thread. I'm just there for information but it's maddening to read the same people complaining over and over again. Those people need to get a life, or at least a new team.
If its the one I saw they didn't allow trades. Less than zero perfect chance Fields drops that far. I think the Falcons take him over Wilson.
If the powers that be at ND were open to the idea of trying to get Elko back (and that is starting to sound more and more like a baseless rumor), they were going to have to go that high to get him. So hopefully those aren't total sticker shock numbers for the university and kill our chances. At least that's my optimistic view... we all know how this ends.
since it's slow right now, here is Sampson's mailbag on the Athletic Spoiler SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Goodness, we really should get together more often. It was another record turnout for the Notre Dame mailbag, following the College Football Playoff, the incoming transfer of Jack Coan, the outgoing of a half-dozen transfers and the continued chase for a defensive coordinator. We’re going to get into all that. Let’s get started. I’ve been a big fan of Tommy Rees all season, and I love how much tight end and power running game he used. But in this game, I can’t help but feel like he choked. Almost like he was trying to prove that we could beat Bama with the opposite style than they play. Do you think he can adapt to the modern high-flying offense we need to compete with the top tier teams these days? Michael R. Hold up. Choked? Come on, now. Notre Dame’s offensive game plan looked almost exactly how Brian Kelly wanted to it to look in terms of ball control: leaning on the run game and playing keep-away from Alabama. Did it work? Obviously not, but understanding the theory behind it doesn’t require any leap of faith. Notre Dame banked on the defense being able to hold up (it didn’t) and the offense doing enough early to score out of the gate (it didn’t). But it’s not hard to understand why Notre Dame played the game close to the vest offensively. The Irish couldn’t get into a track meet with Alabama on either side of the ball. So they controlled the pace of play the one way that they could, through Rees’ play calling. Were there play calls Rees would like back? Sure. That third-and-7 run by Ian Book on Notre Dame’s second drive didn’t do enough to put Notre Dame in a go-for-it situation on fourth down. Book’s interception wasn’t a bad play call as much as it was a physical mistake by the quarterback. But I loved how Book used Kyren Williams in the pass game, and how Michael Mayer was used as both a target and a decoy. The 10-yard completion to George Takacs with Alabama focused on Mayer was great scheme. What probably bothered Rees postgame is Notre Dame didn’t get in enough go-for-it situations on fourth down, with an air of conservatism hanging over the game plan. Rees doesn’t get to decide whether Notre Dame goes for it on fourth down. That’s on Kelly. When Notre Dame planned to punt in the fourth quarter with the game already decided, that was a Kelly decision, not a Rees decision. Ultimately, Notre Dame called timeout and rethought the punt. Book hit Avery Davis for 15 yards on fourth-and-8, and the Irish drove for a touchdown that covered the spread. But you’ve got a second question in there, and it’s more interesting because it spins things forward with Rees. The idea he can’t or won’t play more up-tempo offense is all a bit ridiculous. He played to Notre Dame’s strengths and away from its weaknesses this season. Notre Dame had a great offensive line, good running backs, good tight ends and poor receivers. There’s nothing about the personnel mix that would suggest playing fast or pushing the passing game made sense. Next year those strengths and weaknesses change. The receivers should be better. The tight ends and running backs should be better. The offensive line will be worse. That changes the season-long approach. And Rees will adjust to that. There’s a subtext to your second question, too. And it gets to something Kelly said postgame against Alabama, this idea that Notre Dame was just a few plays away on the perimeter. At some point there has to be an acknowledgement that Notre Dame’s players weren’t good enough to make plays on the perimeter to match Alabama. That’s a recruiting issue, one Rees can help solve. Notre Dame can’t play a “modern high-flying offense” without material to make it go. The Irish didn’t have that this year. They will be closer to that in 2021. Why Jack Coan? Are Brendon Clark and Drew Pyne so unable that they feel totally unprepared with Ian Book moving on? I get that Tyler Buchner is going to be a long shot to start in ‘21 given that he didn’t have a senior season. But Wisconsin QBs (and I live in Milwaukee) are typically not-dynamic game managers who are almost always beneficiaries of stud offensive lines, stud running backs and a stout defense. I think he’s just a guy. Why go do this, in your view? Ryan C. Fair question. And I’ll have something on Jack Coan on Friday. There’s no question Notre Dame taking Coan says something about both Coan and how Notre Dame has recruited the quarterback position over the past few years. Frankly, it’s more a commentary on the latter than the former, meaning Notre Dame needs Coan more than Coan needs Notre Dame. Let’s compare this to Ben Skowronek transferring in from Northwestern last winter. Did Notre Dame have Kevin Austin, Jordan Johnson, Braden Lenzy, Javon McKinley, Xavier Watts and Joe Wilkins available? Sure. Skowronek was brought in to both challenge those players and beat them out, if he could. If Johnson had been the exception to the rule, bucking trends under Brian Kelly and winning a job as a freshman, Notre Dame would have welcomed that surprise. But Skowronek was a sure thing as a college receiver because he’d already been a college receiver. Was the ceiling lower on Skowronek than those other receivers? Yes. But the floor was also much higher. And that’s where Coan comes into play, as a low-ceiling and high-floor player. Notre Dame didn’t bring Coan into the program to take a national championship roster and get it over the top against Alabama or Clemson. It added Coan to make sure Notre Dame can make the New Year’s Six next season if things go well and make sure the Irish end up in the Holiday Bowl if things go sideways. In case you missed it, the Irish are rebuilding next season, with four starters gone from the offensive line, a three-year starting quarterback out the door, the secondary needing a rework and the defensive end position short on bodies. Coan can help paper over some of that considering he’s led Wisconsin to the Big Ten championship game and the Rose Bowl. That’s a heck of a lot more experience than Clark, Pyne or Buchner. It’s worth remembering that Clark has a bad knee, Pyne is undersized and Buchner is underexperienced. Here’s another way to look at it. Everyone knows what Coan is as a quarterback. He’s got the game tape to back that up. And let’s say Buchner or Pyne beat out Coan. If that happens, you should feel much more confident about their skill sets because of the competition they had to beat to get there. That means Coan can make you feel better about Notre Dame’s offensive direction, not worse. I hesitate to use “perfect fit” with Coan to Notre Dame, but it’s close. We know Marcus Freeman is interviewing for the LSU defensive coordinator job. We also know he wants to be a head coach. How would you project him weighing the LSU offer, to be a defensive coordinator, an offer from Notre Dame, and a head coach offer from a G5 program? Will H. Just to back up a second, Freeman did a Zoom call with Notre Dame on Monday, and it went well enough that he’s perceived to be the favorite for the defensive coordinator job before getting to LSU and whichever other programs jump into the mix. Right now, I’m optimistic that Marcus Freeman will be Notre Dame’s next defensive coordinator, but there are miles to go. Right now is Thursday morning. Right now might not be Thursday night. Your question is how Freeman would view comparable offers from Notre Dame and LSU against a Group of 5 head coaching job. For starters, that depends on the Group of 5 job we’re talking about. If Luke Fickell had left for Michigan State last offseason, the hunch is Freeman would be Cincinnati’s head coach today (Mike Mickens might be the defensive coordinator) and this would all be a moot point. Yes, Freeman wants to be a head coach. That doesn’t mean he wants a Group of 5 job, though. And a move to Notre Dame could mean he’d skip right over the Group of 5 and go straight to the Big Ten, ACC, SEC, etc. This is why the decision to move to Notre Dame or stay put isn’t as obvious as it might seem on paper. Notre Dame can make it very hard to say no to replacing Clark Lea. But Notre Dame can’t offer an inside track to move up to the head coach role at Freeman’s place of employment. Cincinnati can. So, does Freeman believe Cincinnati is about to open? If the Bearcats need a new head coach a year from now, sticking at Cincinnati probably makes sense. If the Bearcats don’t open, moving up may be the play. Your question to Brian Kelly after the game was fair and spot on. Once he cools off and has a chance to reflect on the season, what changes do you think he will make, or do you think it will be status quo? Anthony T. My question about the “first next step” was probably better asked in February than right after the College Football Playoff. But when you have Notre Dame’s head coach in a press conference with no clarity on the next media opportunity, you shoot your shot. Obviously, the answer said more about his state of mind in that moment than his thinking through what was actually asked. And that’s fine. I didn’t have a problem with his answer. Or his bluster. As for how Kelly would answer that question with more time to reflect, I think he actually did hint at it Friday when he mentioned recruiting four times after the game. My hunch is he believes the talent gap between Notre Dame and Alabama/Clemson/Ohio State is real and spectacular after coaching through the ACC championship game and a College Football Playoff semifinal. So that’s where it starts, doing a better job bringing in talent on national signing day, then developing it during the next three years. Notre Dame needs five Kyle Hamilton/Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah types on the defense, not just two. It needs the offensive line to be at full strength, not going down to a backup center. Notre Dame needs a healthy Kevin Austin and the next Will Fuller. The Irish just didn’t haven’t enough in the chamber against the Crimson Tide. That’s something Kelly knows, even if he didn’t state it explicitly last week. Why do you think Notre Dame is better at playing big-time teams during the regular season — Clemson in 2015 and 2020, Georgia in 2017 and 2019 — but falter in the ACC championship game or the College Football Playoff? Kevin T. I’ve thought about this a little bit since the ACC championship game loss to Clemson, but I think the answer is obvious once you take a step back from the moment. When it comes to win-or-go-home moments, we’re talking about getting Alabama, Clemson or Ohio State at full strength and/or full attention. That’s just not possible during the regular season. There’s just too much other stuff to manage. Once you get into the specifics of those games, one was in a monsoon, two had an opponent with a freshman quarterback making his first road start. Compare that to this year’s losses to Clemson and Alabama. Instead of a freshman quarterback, we’re talking about one of the greatest quarterbacks in college football history for Clemson and a team with three Heisman Trophy candidates in Alabama. We’re talking about Dabo Swinney having two weeks to prepare and a game of experience against Notre Dame. We’re talking about Nick Saban being Nick Saban. And really, we’re talking about great teams playing great football, which is something Notre Dame could not match. I just need to hear the story of Jafar Armstrong. One of the most hyped players that I can remember. Somehow, he never materialized in any way. I don’t believe for one second that his lack of production was related to injuries or even the development of other players. He totally disappeared! How?! Nathan W. I’m including this question not because Jafar Armstrong deserves criticism on his way out the door with a Notre Dame degree. He doesn’t. But we’re getting carried away with “one of the most hyped players I can remember” considering he was a three-star prospect in the 247Sports Composite (the 247Sports Network had him as a four-star, while Rivals had him as a three-star). In the composite, Armstrong rated as the nation’s No. 69 wide receiver and No. 471 prospect overall. In a 21-man class, Armstrong was the 13th-highest-rated prospect. He was always a recruit that might click or might not. That’s usually the case with three-star prospects. And that’s fine. On top of all that, Armstrong’s abdominal injury two years ago was career-altering, as he never seemed to get back to his old self. Remember, this is a guy about whom a former Notre Dame coach once told me, “You can win a national championship with 99 Jafar Armstrongs.” The football program loved everything about Armstrong in practice. It thought he was going to be the No. 1 back in 2019 before the abdominal injury. From there, it just never worked out. On the topic of transfers, it’s worth noting that short of Isaiah Rutherford, the outgoing talent should all depart with a degree. Notre Dame’s point of view is that once a player picks up his diploma, he’s fulfilled his end of the bargain. In the cases of Houston Griffith, Jack Lamb, etc., that will be the case. What are the actual academic limitations on Notre Dame in recruiting? Andrew M. This is a complicated question and one I’d like to answer in full this offseason with the admissions department. About 15 years ago, I did a similar story with Dan Saracino, the former assistant provost for enrollment (i.e. admissions director) at Notre Dame, who was famously (or infamously) photographed by Sports Illustrated in the admissions building with his arms crossed and quoted through the father of former Michigan State running back and five-star prospect T.J. Duckett as stating Notre Dame did not offer “basket weaving,” something Saracino denied saying. Although the story — published in Blue & Gold Illustrated — has been lost in my personal archives, it was reported out around the time Notre Dame began to admit early enrollees in the recruiting class of 2006. I remember Saracino being less than thrilled about the idea but willing to go along with it, noting that Tyrone Willingham attempted to get early enrollment moving but without candidates who were denied. But what I really remember is Saracino’s emphasis on admission to Notre Dame hinging more on high school courses than grades or test scores. Basically, if a prospect showed a willingness to challenge himself in high school, Notre Dame saw a likelihood that he could challenge himself at Notre Dame. Intent mattered. Grades and tests scores mattered too, but not so much that there was a hard minimum for prospects to get in. I’ve covered prospects who were admitted with SAT scores hovering around 800. ACT scores in the high teens are not uncommon. Yes, two credits for foreign language is a must. And sign language doesn’t count. Core courses matter a lot. If you’re looking to sum up admissions around Notre Dame, the best understanding I can offer is that it’s easier to get into Notre Dame than it is to graduate from here. In other words, the barriers to entry to Notre Dame for top football prospects are not onerously high. But making it through Notre Dame? That’s very difficult, even with all the academic support offered from the university. And then there’s the question of how many top 100 prospects Notre Dame can get into school. My estimate, having talked to coaches and administrators over the years, is that number is about one-third of the top 100. Interested to know what you think Nick Saban’s coaching record would be if he were at Notre Dame for the past 10 years? Brian W. For starters, I’m not sure he would have lasted 10 years here. I don’t have a hypothetical Saban-at-ND record for you. But my hunch is Notre Dame’s record under Saban would be better than Brian Kelly’s, but not by very much. I think Saban would have won a national championship in a decade here. Maybe two. And not to go down a rabbit hole, but if Kansas State had beaten Baylor in 2012, Kelly would have a national title to his name, too. But I digress. Saban is 126-13 over the past decade. He wouldn’t be averaging a 12-1 record at Notre Dame. For the record, Kelly is 94-34 during the past decade. So there’s decent daylight between Saban at Alabama and Kelly at Notre Dame in terms of records. The question about recruiting was particularly interesting I thought. This was Pete's answer: And then there’s the question of how many top 100 prospects Notre Dame can get into school. My estimate, having talked to coaches and administrators over the years, is that number is about one-third of the top 100. That's a frighteningly small number, but let's say Pete was shooting a little low and it's really 40 of the top 100. Out of those 40, ND is competing against Bama and all the rest for them, most of them are not in the midwest, you have to convince them that going to school IS going to matter, you will have to play in the cold, at a Catholic school, in the middle of nowhere. That's a tall tall order going against all of that. I do think BK and company have done a MUCH better job of landing top 100 caliber kids the last 2 cycles. Guys I think are top100 level kids from 2020 (almost 7): Mayer Jordan Johnson Tyree Tosh Botehlho Mills Watts is borderline from 2021 (7): Blake Rocco Buchner Colzie Styles Rubio Kollie That's 14 top 100 recruits in the last 2 cycle which is a ton more the previous cycles. Jordan Johnson, Styles, Watts, Colzie all play WR where we need the biggest upgrade and I think we finally have the talent at WR to start competing at the top levels hopefully starting next year (with a healthy Austin who was also a clear top 100 guy). They don't all need to pan out, just 2 or 3 to go along with elite level TE and Oline play and high end (maybe even elite) RB play with Kyren and Tyree next year. So the future is brighter now than it was last year IMO.
from Loy just now: If Notre Dame misses on Marcus Freeman, it's very possible Mike Elston is the next Defensive Coordinator for the Fighting Irish. One source believes he's next in line, even ahead of Jay Bateman and Zach Arnett. There is a belief Brad White wants to stay at Kentucky as well. There is also a feeling, which is what I mentioned a few weeks ago, that Terry Joseph could be in line to take a job in the secondary with LSU depending on how things shake out with that staff, as well as Notre Dame's. Another name I'm watching in the Notre Dame secondary is Kerry Cooks. He was brought on ahead of this season in an analyst role, but if Joseph were to leave, he could potentially fill the role of safeties coach at Notre Dame. Obviously the other wild card here to watch is if Freeman does head to LSU, will he make a run at Mike Mickens? There are rumblings that Corey Raymond could be leaving LSU to coach cornerbacks at Texas. If Freeman gets that job, Mickens could be the guy there, which could also open up a spot for Cooks to coach corners at Notre Dame. Just some things worth keeping an eye on after spending time today talking to mulitple sources.
Kelly is about to find out that the Nd media will blow smoke for 10 win seasons for only so long....seems like that is the level of achievement he wants to maintain
Losing him to LSU or Michigan would be embarrassing. Most likely outcome - and a tough one to beat - would be Cinci throws him a massive raise and Fickell convinces him this is too much of a lateral move and he can look at a couple low-level P5 head coaching jobs next year if he wants them and he stays. And then he shuts down Rees in October.
What’s the count of ND TEs and WRs in the NFL. Sadly if Wright and Tremble get drafted I feel like it’s more TEs.
They actually made a comment on the podcast that he may have held off on surgery with the hope of getting some more game tape to transfer
https://www.si.com/college/notredam...all-tommy-tremble-declares-for-2021-nfl-draft From Coach D in the comments... So here's some more to the Tremble to the NFL decision from talking to sources. Tremble was obviously frustrated with his role this season. The feeling was that he and Michael Mayer could have been a potent one-two punch in the pass game, but after the first two games in which Tremble caught 8 passes for 94 yards, Tremble caught just 11 passes for 114 yards in the final 10 games, mostly being used on quick throws and crossing routes. He was essentially a blocker in the final 10 games of the season. According to a source close to the situation, Tremble was open to coming back next season, but after talking with the staff after the season his desire to go pro became strong. Instead of using him as a tight end that is a pass game weapon and a run game weapon, I'm told the staff started talking to him about being a wide receiver. A different source didn't mention the wide receiver aspect, but did confirm that after talking with coaches about his role next season it became a no brainer for Tremble to either transfer or go pro. Based on the positive feedback he received from NFL contacts, the decision to go pro was the obvious choice for him.
I'm all for dogging on the staff, but I can't imagine they wanted to move him to WR after making him a glorified fullback in the back half of the year and the fact he's the best blocking tight end we've had in the Kelly era. That's gotta be wrong. I imagine he wanted them to commit that he'd be the primary weapon in the passing game and the staff couldn't commit to that and he left. The dude caught 35 passes in 3 years, they weren't moving him to WR.