Depending on how quickly Tyree, Mayer, and Johnson can get acclimated, don't you think there is pretty good offensive skill on the 2020 team?
Haha I was thinking coaches and I was so confused about who KH was/could possibly be. That’d be cool if that happened. I’m assuming he was a WR in high school?
No I don’t, those guys will be nice players but their ceilings are only so high as freshmen. The running back room is MAC level. The WR corps are ridiculously thin and are dependent on a guy who we’ve never seen play in a game and a transfer. We don’t know if Brock Wright is coming back. After watching the last two years of CFP games it’s obvious your skill talent must be elite and you better have NFL DBs to win a title ND has neither next year, it’s a fringe top ten team because the defense will be excellent and the OL will be excellent as well. ND has the schedule to make a run at a playoff game but I doubt they could win once in
Can’t wait to learn who we lose out to for that TE coach they were salivating over on the previous page
I dont buy this as much. I look more for upside talent than production. 3 years ago Claypool is basically what we hear about Austin, a talent we've only seen on St but hear could be an elite WR. Same with Boykin relatively known as just a depth signing turned into a really solid college player. Lenzy seems to have turned a corner and is as fast as any WR we've had in a while. Keys is a quick player, better athletically than Finke easily. Austin has a chance, we'll see. Transfer is a big possession WR. We have some we have tons of speed coming in. RB still Meh but Armstrong healthy and CBo another year bigger are gonna at least decent
lol that would be an incredibly embarrassing stat as a program Spoiler they're missing the word "consecutive". which actually makes it very impressive
If Aranda goes to Baylor, I wonder is LSU will throw that SEC money at Clark Lea? Feels like the way shit happens at ND.
It was an tweet from the acc men’s basketball account that said Mooney just tied harondgody for the most double doubles in program history with 11. They left out “consecutive”
Luckily he seems quite comfortable at ND which leads me to believe he may not want to go live in a swamp.
this is a good read Spoiler Notre Dame announced two promotions earlier this week — quarterbacks coach Tommy Rees as offensive coordinator and running backs coach Lance Taylor as the run-game coordinator. When it was announced in early December that Chip Long would not return next season, the feeling was that Rees and Taylor were the likeliest of candidates to take over the offense. That’s the move head coach Brian Kelly decided to make. At that point, it was audition time for both Rees and Taylor as they tag-teamed the game plan for the Camping World Bowl against the Iowa State Cyclones. It was a chance for both coaches to prove themselves as legitimate candidates for the offensive coordinator post and to show Kelly that it was unnecessary to look outside the program for the future leaders of the Fighting Irish offense. “I can tell you right now, whatever ‘BK’ decides to do, if he goes with either Rees or Taylor as the next offensive coordinator, it’s going to be a great move for this program,” said one source closely connected to Notre Dame. “I’m talking about two impressive young men, two bright, bright minds, and two guys that will do great things at Notre Dame as coaches and in recruiting.” Fast forward to game day. Notre Dame defeated Iowa State, 33-9, in what was essentially a dominant performance from start to finish. The team generated 455 yards of total offense — 247 through the air and another 208 on the ground — without a turnover. Quarterback Ian Book finished 20-of-28 for 247 yards and a touchdown while running back Tony Jones Jr. led the way with 11 carries for 135 yards and a score. It was a nice finish to Notre Dame’s 11-2 season. Irish Illustrated and 247Sports picked up some intel about how things played out leading up to the game and what led to the promotions of Rees and Taylor. Before the Iowa State game, both Rees and Taylor were equally involved in the game plan. They bounced ideas of one another, worked as a single unit, and discussed the run plays they liked against Iowa State’s 3-5-3 defense and the pass plays they felt would work. In Rees and Taylor, Kelly found two individuals without egos. Both possess a team-first mentality. This right here is what gives people confidence in this duo. Kelly was involved in the process leading up to the game, but according to sources, he was much less hands-on than most expected. He put the plan on the shoulders of the two assistants and after seeing how things eventually played out, it all makes sense. He wanted to see what they would come up with, the changes they’d make, and how they — as well as the team — would execute leading up to and through the bowl game. Previously, this was all on Long. While others assisted leading up to the games, Long was essentially in charge of the game plan, the play-calling and the scheme. It was his show. It was, for the most part, very successful with him running the offense. Kelly placed a ton of trust in Long, which was the plan from day one when the two began working together. With Long’s departure, instead of putting one person completely in charge this time, Kelly felt a collaborative effort was the best move. It paid off against the Cyclones. Kelly decided early in preparation for the Camping World Bowl that Rees would handle the play-calling. He was somewhat involved in the game plans while Long was still on campus, but Kelly wanted to see how Rees would handle the process while collaborating with Taylor. During the weeks leading up to the game, Rees and Taylor were essentially scripting the plays, coming up with a plan, and discussing what they wanted to call in certain situations. While it was Rees that actually called the game vs. Iowa State, he and Taylor shared the thought process throughout the win over the Cyclones. Initially, according to a few sources, there was some thought of Rees and Taylor becoming co-offensive coordinators. However, after more thought, it's understood that Kelly wanted one person to be the true offensive coordinator, both for the players and also for recruiting purposes. Rees would call the plays and handle the passing game while Taylor coordinated the run game and helped make the calls on the ground. With recruiting, from a running back's perspective, knowing that Taylor will be in charge of everything, it's a big plus. He can sell that on the trail, something that not all schools can relate to. On that same note, Rees will run the offense, the play-calling and the passing game, so if you trust him to be successful, you can expect him to be around for the long haul and create stability on that front. Once again, this will absolutely payoff on the recruiting trail. With Book returning next year, there are no concerns with the passing attack, as least as far as the triggerman is involved. The feeling inside the Gug is that 2020 will be one of the best years through the air in the Kelly regime. The collaborative team — with Kelly and offensive line coach Jeff Quinn — envision a stronger and more consistent rushing attack with the top six offensive linemen returning. Now the coordinator of the rushing attack, the feeling is that Taylor will work with Quinn to collaboratively figure out what works best for the backs. This duo can also incorporate what worked for Taylor during his time with Stanford and the Carolina Panthers. A fresh start, shaking things up a little, could be exactly what the combination of backs and linemen need to get things back to the level of play Kelly expects. Don't be surprised if these two assistants take a close look at the linemen and the scheme itself to make any necessary changes. The goal is to think outside the box while trying to bolster a veteran offensive line. While the criticism of Kelly and how he went about making the decision will undoubtedly continue, because, well, that's what happens when there are unknowns involved, there's no doubt that Kelly believes the decision to go with the Rees-Taylor pairing will pay dividends. He made the decisions he believes will benefit the program moving forward and that meant making sure Rees and Taylor knew how important they were to the future success. When Rees was brought in a few years ago, it wasn’t just because he knew how to coach quarterbacks or because he played for Kelly, but because he was one of the brightest young minds in the profession. He’s respected by head coaches and assistants across the country, as evidence by the interest he generated outside the program. 14COMMENTS When Taylor was added to the staff, Kelly saw a guy that could take the play of the backs to a new level, a coach with a creative, innovative mind, and someone that would truly get after it on the recruiting trail to make sure the nation’s best landed at Notre Dame, which is exactly what happened when five-star back Chris Tyree signed with the Fighting Irish. Could he make it two in a row with five-star running back Will Shipley in 2021? That remains to be seen. All that is known is that this level of recruiting at this position was nowhere to be found before Taylor's arrival. So, what will be the end result of these moves? The proof will come on the field this fall in the performance of Notre Dame’s offense. That said, the Rees-Taylor pairing is positioned to turn the doubters into believers.
saw that as a possibility the other day. seems like a bad decision on his part, and also sucks for us
Fair enough. I think we will see them on the field plenty. I just like the big man coming back to compete under the auspices of a single year being his make or break opportunity.
Let them earn it over McKinley We are losing our top 3 pass catchers already. There are plenty of targets to go around for the new guys. Let McKinley just be the reliable # 2.
If he wants to come back, I imagine he'd stick around through the spring and then if they want to process him he would grad transfer in the summer. It would be stupid to cut him loose now. You would have Keys tear an ACL, Austin get popped with a weed farm in his house, and find out the Northwestern guy can't play and have no one.
That's what the transfer portal is for. Mckinly has been injured or not productive. I'm not 100% opposed to it because it wont hurt anything if he is bad he just will take up a roster spot some walk on would use because doesnt look like staff is gonna sign anyone at this point in February.
Everyone will probably take this with a grain of salt because of my perpetual optimism, but I think McKinley could have a nice season. Something like 65% of Boykin's senior season.
crazy to think that both matt lafleur and robert saleh (SF DC) were on Kelly's staff at one point (twice for lafleur). most successful coaches from the kelly "coaching tree"?
Wonder if anyone bought the Charlie Weis book I donated a couple of years ago TB12 went into the trash
I listened to Sampson's latest podcast on the way to work today and I was stunned to learn that he "likes" the hire of Rees as OC and his main question was why Brian Kelly did not announce it sooner.
Also the sentiment of the OFD podcast. The reaaoning is if you like him enough to promote him to the job #justdoit (not a sponsor). If you feel the need to interview a few people and fake a national search you shouldve just made him co-oc or passing game coordinator
on Landon Tengwall Spoiler Here's the latest. Olney (Md.) Good Counsel five-star offensive lineman Landon Tengwall tells us that he has set a visit to Notre Dame for March 20-22. This will be an unofficial visit. The news of this visit getting locked in comes following a quick check-in at the school from Notre Dame offensive line coach Jeff Quinn this past Friday. The Fighting Irish assistant has been on Tengwall for well over a year now and continues to push the right buttons in this recruitment. In addition, Quinn is looking to add a few talented linemen to Top100 four-star offensive tackle Blake Fisher, a rock solid Notre Dame commit. Quinn would love to get Tengwall, Fisher and Top50 talent Rocco Spindler all playing together on the same line. “It’d be so fun to play with guys of that caliber,” said Tengwall of Fisher and Spindler. “It would be very promising for the future of Notre Dame. [Blake and I] talk multiple times a week. We just talk about how we can get Notre Dame back to the national championship.” Fisher recently told Irish Illustrated that he'd love to team up with Tengwall and Spindler as well and believes the Fighting Irish have a better shot at the trio than most fans realize. “Man, I’m so excited I can barely think straight,” said Fisher, when asked about the potential of teaming up with Spindler and Tengwall at Notre Dame. “The best want to play with the best and those guys grind and work hard, not only on the field, but in the classroom. I can’t wait to win Natty’s with both of them. Irish fans should be excited about O-Line U.” Regarding his offer list, Tengwall has all of the heavy-hitters coming after him. Notre Dame, Michigan, Penn State, Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, North Carolina, Ohio State, The 6-6, 300-pounder is an elite prospect ranked as the No. 28 overall player in the country and No. 5 offensive tackle nationally per the 247Sports Composite Rankings from the class of 2021. 247Sports also ranks Tengwall as the No. 28 overall talent nationally, No. 5 player at his position and No. 1 recruit in Maryland from the class of 2021. this is a 3 day Unofficial Visit and I'm guessing they will bring him back in either April or June (depending on his commitment timeline) to close the deal during the OV Singer is pretty optimistic on Rocco Spindler ending up at ND as well...would be 3 incredible guys in this class, all legit top 50 players and possible 5 stars
from Singer tonight Spoiler *** Notre Dame offensive line coach Jeff Quinn has been a busy man. O-line recruiting for the Irish is definitely, definitely trending up for the Irish in the 2021 class. The big news of the day is certainly that Olney (Md.) Good Counsel offensive lineman Landon Tengwall has set a visit to see Notre Dame for March 21-22. Jeff Quinn visited Tengwall's school on Friday, which led to this unofficial visit being set up. *** Tengwall's top three schools have been Michigan, Notre Dame and Penn State for about a year, and this is going to be an excellent opportunity for the Irish to catch up to the Nittany Lions, which I firmly believe holds the top spot in his recruitment at the moment. One source told me in the fall that Tengwall likes being at Notre Dame the most of the three choices, but the problem is that he hasn't been to ND as much as he has the other two schools. *** The March 21 recruiting weekend is already looking like a MASSIVE recruiting weekend for the Irish. A source close to Lititz (Pa.) Warwick offensive tackle Nolan Rucci tells me that the big time prospect is "working on the March 21 weekend to spend some time at Notre Dame and watch a spring practice. Nolan is really looking forward to getting back on campus." Penn State is probably the leader for Rucci as well, but as I've been reporting since last summer, the Irish are 100% in the mix here and I could see this one ending with an Irish commitment. *** If Tengwall and Rucci being on campus isn't enough, I'm hearing that Huntington (W. Va.) Spring Valley class of 2021 offensive tackle Wyatt Milum is also looking at visiting that weekend as well. At this point, Tengwall is the only one that has locked in a date, but Rucci is looking at locking it in, and it's unconfirmed at this point if Milum will visit but that's what I've heard from one source. Milum visited Notre Dame Nov. 2 and the Irish have looked good here really since he visited last spring. *** The positive updates here don't stop... In case you missed my update on Rocco Spindler in The Gold Standard this morning, click here to read it. I'm getting close to putting in a FutureCast pick for Notre Dame to land Spindler. I think Spindler's meeting with Brian Kelly at his school Friday answered some of his questions in a very good way. Spindler is also looking at visiting Notre Dame again this spring, potentially even for that March 21 weekend. Why I haven't put in a FutureCast is because of his interest in Michigan, and he is visiting Ann Arbor this weekend, which continues to give me pause. **** Okay, just one more good update for Jeff Quinn's OL recruiting... I reported back in November that Reuben Fatheree from Texas may be a name Irish fans may just gloss over and think Notre Dame doesn't have a shot but that's not what I've been hearing for a few months now. Someone close to the four-star tackle tells me that his family is working on scheduling a Notre Dame visit for this spring. Jeff Quinn keeps in contact regularly with Fatheree and could be a real dark horse to join Notre Dame's 2021 class if that campus visit happens. if they can land 2 of Spindler/Rucci/Milum/Tengwall/Fatheree to pair with Fischer and a developmental guy, that would be a home run. If they get 3 of them, that's a grand slam.