Rees and Kelly need to take advantage of the nd connection and get up to Green Bay this offseason. 80% red zone td rate this year???? I know the answer is going to be “find a davonte adams and give him the ball” but still...
Hubb was making shots but man that pass around the arc and the first guy open shoots a three can look awful when they aren’t making
Brey said something about how the backups out-hustled and out-played the starters in a practice scrimmage the last practice before the game, so felt like the backups earned the right to start.
Diggs signed his LOI in December with ND, now he's trying to get out of it so he can go to LSU Well... bye
https://www.bannersociety.com/2021/...es-franklin-pj-fleck-dave-doeren-billy-napier Godfrey is pretty well connected in coaching circles and makes some implications that he thinks Fickell ends up at ND down the road.
It's pretty funny, with the glasses on he looks like all the Nigerian dudes who come here to go to Andrew's University, bunch of brilliant guys but most of them are not physical freaks like he is. They are the reason Berrien Springs high school has a D1 recruit every couple years.
Sampson's article on the Tyson Ford recruitment Spoiler SOUTH BEND, Ind. — John Merritt didn’t need additional evidence about where the football career of Tyson Ford was headed. The head coach at the John Burroughs School in St. Louis had seen enough from the 6-foot-5, 240-pound defensive end the past two seasons to know Ford would play college football somewhere and perhaps reach the level beyond that, too. Still, Merritt wanted to see a little more production from Ford and a little less potential last fall, even during a shortened five-game season. He knew the four-star prospect had been pursued by Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Georgia and Missouri before choosing the Irish last week. The coach wanted to see more of the reason why. And during a game against Pacific in early November, Merritt got it. So did everybody else. Lined up at left defensive end, Ford crashed between the tight end and right tackle into the C-gap, bullying his way toward the quarterback. But that’s exactly where Pacific wanted Ford to go, with the run play designed to hit right behind him. The only way for Ford to diagnose all this was not by watching the ball but by checking that weakside guard pulling his way. This was not the type of thing Ford did in his first two years of high school football. As a freshman, Ford was a ball-watcher who missed the start of fall camp. As a sophomore, Ford went where he wanted to go on the football field. Sometimes it was the right place to be, sometimes it wasn’t. He was good enough to earn all-state honors, but Merritt asked more of Ford, helping the defensive end learn how offenses could manipulate him and how he could counter those game plans. So, as Ford saw that pulling guard come his way, he switched from pass rusher to run stopper, flipping his hips for a spin move back into the hole he’d just vacated. He caught the running back for a one-yard gain. “Beautiful play,” Merritt said. “When I saw that play, it showed he’s taking things, taking concepts and turning them into reality. The more he can do that, the more he’s going to excel.” Ford understands the difference between making a play and fitting into a defense. It’s why Notre Dame and Oklahoma engaged in a back-and-forth for the defensive end last week, with both programs believing they had Ford’s commitment at different moments before he ultimately announced for Notre Dame on Jan. 18. “I think I’ve improved a lot, watching the film, seeing the tendencies of the offensive linemen, seeing certain plays, which way they block, how they use their hands, how they use their feet, which way do they lean the most,” Ford said. “You’re not looking for that at all (when you’re younger). My sophomore year I was just running around.” Even though Ford began asking his mother Lynn Simms about playing football at age 4 and Simms had dreams about her son growing into an NFL player before he hit elementary school, this has all come quickly for Ford. He was an aspiring college basketball player when he entered John Burroughs. The school requires students to try two sports as freshmen and sophomores, so Ford signed up for basketball and swimming. Football was out. Simms remembers his swim career lasting two days. “I’m getting a football uniform tomorrow,” Ford told his mom. “I’m not getting back in the pool. I’m not wearing a Speedo, none of that.” Ford played in John Burroughs’ first football game that fall and has barely come off the field since. Maybe Ford’s path from the O’Fallon Renegades as a first-grader to a Notre Dame verbal commitment as a high school junior sounds simple, but just like sorting through a scrum at the line of scrimmage to find a pulling guard, understanding Ford’s journey means knowing where to look and how to listen. Two months of constant contact from Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley and defensive line coach Calvin Thibodeaux had erased Notre Dame’s nine-month lead with arguably the No. 1 defensive line prospect on the Irish staff’s board, a player who had grown up in Catholic schools and in the church. Lynn Simms made it clear that she wanted her son at Notre Dame, even to Oklahoma’s coaching staff, but didn’t want to force the decision down the teenager’s throat. When Oklahoma had called, Simms and Ford had listened. Ford estimated he talked with Riley almost 10 times. Simms had virtual introductions with both the defensive line coach and head coach, plus their wives. Notre Dame, meanwhile, had dropped off between defensive coordinators, with defensive line coach Mike Elston carrying the torch but not wanting to oversell the Irish. “Maybe they had thought I was leaning toward Oklahoma,” Ford said. “Maybe they felt like they didn’t have a chance, I don’t know.” And so last week, Ford made a silent commitment to the Sooners. As much as Simms wanted to stick to her position that this decision would be Ford’s, she was going to stress-test that decision. Some of the reason for that might be because she wanted Ford at Notre Dame. But most of it was because she wanted her son to make an informed choice, which is difficult considering he is yet to visit South Bend or Norman. Of Ford’s final four schools, Missouri is the only one he’s seen. Simms reached out to Elston on Jan. 12 and told him Ford would commit to Oklahoma on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, six days later. Elston asked the family to hold off, to give Notre Dame another look. Simms connected Elston with her father, Ron Rivers. Elston tried to pitch the difference in education opportunities between Notre Dame and Oklahoma. But by that point, the Sooners had pulled ahead in relationships. Oklahoma had pitched building the defensive line around Ford. The Sooners promised he could wear No. 7 in Norman. Rivers said he’d talk to his grandson about the decision. Ford told his grandfather he was still heading to Oklahoma. “They do a hell of a job recruiting,” Simms said. “Coach Riley talked to Tyson, talked to me, talked to my family. He’s an available guy, even though he’s important. “Oklahoma had him.” But on the night of Jan. 14, that dynamic began to change when new defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman connected with Ford as he drove home from basketball practice. Freeman told Ford he’d been the first prospect he called after accepting the Notre Dame job, and the two had been in touch multiple times per week ever since. This call was different, though, with Notre Dame’s chances slipping away. Freeman talked through his decision to pick Notre Dame over LSU during his own professional recruitment. He talked about life after football and the doors Notre Dame would open, even if Freeman had barely walked through them himself. And Ford listened, as this recruiting call landed even after hundreds of texts, calls and Zoom meetings that came before it. There was something about Freeman that Ford couldn’t explain, but he knew he wanted to be a part of the defensive coordinator’s project. “The reason it stuck with me is because I could see how genuine he was about it,” Ford said. “He just talked about the opportunity Notre Dame could provide for someone like me. He called it the secret about Notre Dame. People, they come here and they get a key to life once you graduate. It’s something that you can’t pass up. It will give you a step in life after football. Even if I’m going to play in the NFL, I have to figure out what I’m gonna do after that.” “He just was keeping it real with me, we were having a real conversation. It wasn’t like all the other coaches, trying to make everything sound nice and sweet.” Ford processed the call that night, sleeping on Notre Dame’s last pitch. He didn’t tell his mom. The next morning Simms and Elston connected again, with Elston hoping the family would just hold off on any kind of commitment on Monday. Simms didn’t think that was happening, even if she wanted to it to. She hung up the phone with Elston and prayed. “I swear 10 minutes later Tyson called me,” Simms said. “’Mom, I want to change.’ ‘You want to change what? You know I like to plan. And if you don’t know what you want to do, why don’t we cancel the whole damn thing?’” Ford told his mom he wanted to choose Notre Dame. Even without a visit. Even without a conversation or a relationship with head coach Brian Kelly. Notre Dame represented a tougher path in some ways but a more comfortable option in others after Ford had spent his childhood in private schools around St. Louis. Ford told his mom Notre Dame represented a 40-year decision instead of a four-year one, a talking point from the Irish staff that doesn’t always land but can create deep roots when it does. Three days later, Ford committed to Notre Dame, giving the Irish their highest-rated defensive end according to the 247Sports Composite in nine years, going back to Isaac Rochell. Ford represents the first big recruiting win of Freeman’s tenure and another strong get for Elston. When Ford called Elston with the news over the weekend, the defensive line coach was in his car. Ford was worried Elston would get into an accident. Freeman came off a bit cooler to the news, even it was just as big for the coordinator. “I feel like he knew that our conversation had an impact on me,” Ford said. “He was excited. He was just happy to see that I was making the right decision for myself and making the decision I wanted to make.” Even if Tyson Ford’s commitment felt like it came together in the four days between his conversation with Freeman and his public announcement, this was a much longer process that began before the defensive end was on anyone’s recruiting board. It was supposed to be basketball for Tyson Ford, and almost everybody was fine with that. He began playing AAU hoops with the St. Louis Eagles in middle school, a program run by local basketball royalty Larry Hughes. When it came time to pick high schools, Ford was down to John Burroughs, St. Louis University High and Christian Brothers College High, where he was interested in playing for Justin Tatum, father of Celtics star Jayson Tatum. Even though Ford grew up in a football family, with one of his mom’s cousins in the NFL, basketball kept his interest through middle school. Ford actually played youth league football with incoming Notre Dame freshman Gabriel Rubio, and the two got close enough that Ford came to CBC’s football games on Friday nights before playing in his own on Saturdays. But Ford played left tackle back then, a position that hardly captured his athletic imagination. Those connections to Hughes and Tatum could have swayed Ford to basketball for good, but the real lessons came from understanding what it took to play college sports and beyond that. “I think it actually prepared me a little more,” Ford said. “Because having those guys around, and having them tell their stories about how they made it, how they got to where they are, it kind of made you realize at a young age what you had to do to get to that level. Putting in those countless hours of work and just working on your mentality, not just your physical body, but also your mentality as well.” Ford still plays basketball at John Burroughs, which cuts down on his football training in-season. But he seems to have most of the rest of the equation figured out, with a 3.5 grade point average that Simms said could be a 4.0 “if he did his homework on time.” When Ford scored a 29 on the practice ACT, Simms wanted him to get with a tutor to bring up that score when it counts. Ford said he’ll explore early enrollment at Notre Dame, although it will take some creativity at John Burroughs to make that happen. It’s an avenue Ford wants to explore, as he plans to graduate from Notre Dame in three years to put himself in position for the NFL. Simms said Ford could attend law school or medical school after he’s done playing football. She’s in nursing school, trying to earn a mobile degree she can take to South Bend, with plans to relocate close to Notre Dame after Ford enrolls. Simms drives her son to school and to practice as much as possible, even if those are 40-minute commutes. When Ford talks about the sacrifices made around his family for him to get where he is today, that investment is part of what he means. Simms and Ford even moved in with her parents two years ago to help create an extra layer of support for mother and son. “It’s been a long journey. I have cried and given up many a night, then woke up and started all over again,” Simms said. “It hasn’t been easy. When you have an athletic kid and he’s travelling, that’s like having five kids.” As Ford debated between Notre Dame and Oklahoma earlier this month, the stress of having too much potential hit home for both mother and son. Simms said Ford didn’t sleep well or eat well between deciding on Notre Dame and committing to the Irish three days later. “It all sounds nice when you talk about it. Everyone wants to be recruited by a whole bunch of schools, but then when you have to talk to those schools all the time and hear what they have to say, it’s just a lot,” Ford said. “You have a lot running through your mind at one time and you still have to go through your life. You have all of that on top of what you already have to do. “But it was definitely worth it. I can finally focus on what to do now to get to the next level. And that’s what’s most important.” In the end, Notre Dame will be the path that takes Ford there. Perhaps the route this four-star defensive end took from St. Louis to South Bend wasn’t a straight line. In the end, Freeman, Elston and a mother’s prayers helped deliver Ford to Notre Dame, just the same.
This is a good article and another reason to be pumped about Freeman, but Jesus Christ, Brian! Pick up a phone now and then!
hi guys it seems like Ovie Oghoufo is transferring to texas can u guys tell me if i should be happy, meh, or mad and why. thank you
Probably slightly happy. He was a bit of a surprise transfer who we thought would best case win an end spot next year and be an ok contributor on the defense and worst case be a second string contributor. He had a couple sacks in spot duty. Doubt he'll change your defense but wouldn't be shocked if he started and played ok.
better reaction than i was expecting. we are in need of an edge rusher so it sounds like he can come in and take that spot
like repoocs said, but he would’ve still played so it was a surprise. It’s also a surprise to me that he is going to texas since he is not a sure thing to start over there either. I thought he would’ve gone to a place where he was guaranteed a lot of playing time.
I honestly have no idea what UT's depth chart looks like, but he was only ever going to be depth at ND. Foskey will be the starter and I just don't think Ovie was going to be good enough to keep Bothelo off the field. Also, the recent II podcast hinted that there could be other issues at play. They talked about asking Daelin Hayes (pretty much the leader on the DL) about him during the season and DH wouldn't say a word.
We have nothing at OLB and need DE pass rushers. We hired Washington’s DC who uses a base 3-4. Sounds like a good fit. I bet he starts.
Is Brian Driskell Coach D? He was on some local sports show today and his conversation was drafting Book or Mac Jones and even though Book had a liver arm, Jones was a more posited passer. Called it similar to Manning or Leaf. I was fairly dumbfounded
Listening to II podcast today, they had an interesting take on the transfer portal basically ND is definitely active but to wait, ND needs kids to graduate first so transfers might not come until May or June even if guys are in the portal now
Yeah, they mentioned McCloud announced in May last year. Legit point. I think we'll see movement in the spring.
Smart move on his part then. I had really high hopes for him next year and expected him to play a lot and be a solid contributor.
Not being able to score is not a problem I ever thought a Brey team would have, this team especially, seems like they should score at will but also give up 1000 points and get worked on the boards.