Can we start a petition to get the Dome back on the "v" of the collar? If we ran with that on our current kits, and by the grace of God got the actual gold pants back I might faint.
Depends what Under Armour does. If they stick to the original styling, they'll likely be ugly as shit but hugely awesome (see 1977 USC throwbacks we wore). Pure throwbacks are hideously amazing. If they try to modernize the styling, they're gonna be atrocious.
Completely agree, we need the bad shit people liked in the hey day. I'll love it now. Some updated thing....Ugh.
OK just saw instagram. The tease is a football with the kind of squat ND on it. I think that was a 60's logo, I'm now more curious.
Oh and Thoros of Beer Does ND wanna throw $300 at me? Starting a new broadcast company doing Niles football, and trying not to lose my ass. Hell being the official high school football broadcast company of the University of Notre Dame would likely get me a job at NBC Sports.
I thought Ara too. I don't think without a shamrock series game we would do alts. I'd be REALLY happy if we do an Ara era throwback for Temple.
Judging by the picture posted by Thoros, they look a lot like the 1962 home jerseys with the thin gold stripes on the shoulders. Which would be weird, because Ara chose to go away from those.
Yeah, not sure if that's a stripe or a seam, but You're right. That would be an odd choice. I wouldn't be shocked if that was the case though. Something they had in development for the future that they fast tracked. Design-creation-production since Ara passed would have to fast as hell.
If we get a Champion era big hole Jerome Bettis style throwback i will soil my boxer briefs. Green numbers? I'll buy the board a round.
Spoiler Intel: With the ever-changing landscape of recruiting, Notre Dame understands the need to constantly reevaluate how it does things to see what's working and what isn't. A few of the main problems Notre Dame always faces is getting into the race early enough while also making sure the people it's recruiting are the right type of kids. That doesn't mean just finding "Notre Dame Kids." There are plenty of kids who fit that bill athletically, academically and socially, but aren't the right type of personality. Identifying the right personality along with necessary character, grades, work ethic and athletic ability is quite a task, which is why Notre Dame can sometimes be a bit slower to offer. This should also explain why you may see the Irish offer a kid early only to back off later in the process. Notre Dame often needs to offer kids just to get into the race, but the more digging is done, the more becomes clear about the actual person, work habits, personality traits, etc. Some good players, just aren't good fits, so they back off them. This happens more often than some realize. A prospect could have 40 offers, but the Notre Dame staff doesn't like him on film for whatever reason. Notre Dame may go after the fourth-ranked defensive end over the top-ranked guy if he's a better fit. The Irish are fully aware of the need to get the best talent and that's a primary focus, but there are other factors that needed to be considered. There have been a number of "elite" guys who have come and didn't pan out. Notre Dame has learned from that and is focusing more heavily on the personality traits. Look for the Irish to put more emphasis on players who work hard versus measurables. A player like freshman defensive tackle Kurt Hinish is a perfect example. Many doubted he'd get big enough, which is why he wasn't offered by 50 schools. But, Notre Dame fell in love with his personality, work ethic and motor and those things have shown up immediately and been obvious every day since he's been on campus. Many expect Hinish to play considerable minutes for the Irish this season. There are a few guys currently on the roster at various positions with ideal size, but it really doesn't matter because they don't have Hinish's heart and motor. There does seem to be a realization among some of the need to get in even earlier on some kids who are obvious fits. The Irish landed Ohio offensive linemen Liam Eichenberg and Tommy Kraemer because they moved very early. Once they know a guy is a fit, they go after them as hard as anyone and they were able to steal both of those kids from Urban Meyer because of it. A guy like Kevin Austin, the 2018 Florida wideout who committed last week, is another perfect example. Notre Dame got in that race early, knew it had a great personality and academic fit with great talent. The idea here is to find a group of elite guys with grades, talent and the right personality as early as possible. Not 100 guys, but a smaller group to go after very hard and try to build the class around them. The addition of Bill Rees, Tom Rees' father, to the recruiting office was a good one as he should carry a big load in the actual evaluation of prospects. The elder Rees and a few others will handle that role, but he should take on a large part of that moving forward, which will free up others to do more investigation on the off-the-field factors. Things of note that most people don't even think about. Does X prospect have homework? Because he's going to have a ton of it at Notre Dame. A lot of these kids don't or they're not asked to. Others might be, does X prospect play other sports? If he does, is he big contributor or just a guy? Notre Dame does have the new hire for social media in Katie Meyers. She has good experience already and we think we've seen an upgrade here already. Last year was the first year Notre Dame had a full-time social media person, so it's a pretty new situation. However, it sounds like they'll have at least one or two interns who will help her this year. The Irish haven't hired their graphic arts person yet. There are a lot of graphic artists out there, but not many who have actually done what they're look for as it just started to become important the last few years. Many would-be candidates have only been in the field for a year or less, so there just isn't a large pool of established, accomplished people to draw from. Notre Dame wants to make sure it's a good hire because it's an important position with both graphic arts and social media becoming a new way of communicating with a lot of today's young players. Notre Dame already has a full-time intern involved with graphic arts and uses a lot of student help as well. DENSON GOES IN-DEPTH ON RECRUTING: Autry Denson has seen success on the recruiting trail since he his return to Notre Dame as a coach and spoke about these very issues during his meeting with the media earlier this week. "I focus on the things I can control," said Denson. "I've felt if we can get the right kid that takes academics and football in the same regard, we can get the right kid from anywhere. Now if he's a football kid, he should not come to Notre Dame because it's the wrong place for him. If he's a truly academic kid, it's the wrong place for him. We can get the right kid from anywhere. "It's not an obstacle because it's my job to figure out who those guys are and it doesn't mean we identify a kid and say he's not a Notre Dame and he's a bad kid. It just means there are certain traits and distinctions that we have to have at Notre Dame to be successful here. When we identify those kids, those are the kids we usually get." Denson takes pride in finding the right guys from his background. He was in the shoes of each recruit and made his life into a success by using Notre Dame as a stepping stone. "I am a little biased and probably a little jaded," Denson stated. "I am blessed to have been basically raised in the culture. I know what it's supposed to look like because I am a product of it. When I go out, I know what you need to be successful at this place. I was blessed to have some success academically and athletically. "I live through my experiences." The ability to find guys who will fit into all aspects of Notre Dame isn't always obvious right away. It's a process and in time, the kids who embrace Notre Dame rise to the top. "In recruiting, there is never really one thing, but it's a collection," explained Denson. "There are so many aspects that go into it. It's a bunch of crumbles that end up forming a cookie at the end. It's a process and takes time. "Every time I go out and recruit a back, I am looking for the most complete and best player I can get. It doesn't mean if there is a guy that can run the ball, but can't catch, I won't take him. I have been blessed to get very complete guys that didn't come in complete, but I saw what I could build on. They had the desire to want to get better." McINTOSH MAKING AN IMPACT: As we've reported here before, juggling dual roles as a running back and a receiver made seeing the field as a true freshman unlikely for Deon McIntosh, but the Florida athlete made the most out of his first season in South Bend with an eye on the future. McIntosh is hoping the future is now and the 5-foot-10, 193-pounder continues to show an increased decisiveness as a runner through camp. "His confidence is coming up," one source told us this week. "It took a minute to get back into the groove of things back in the running back room. He's getting more comfortable with the playbook." McIntosh is focused full time on running back right now, but that doesn't mean his time at receiver will have been in vain. The source said McIntosh could make an impact as a receiver out of the backfield. "He has some of the better hands in the group," we were told. "He's going to gain a lot from that little time he spent in the receiver room and taking it back to the running back room. I think that's going to help a lot." The Irish also plan on running more two-back sets this fall, which will create more opportunities to contribute. "That means a back will be in motion, sometimes going to the slot or going out wide," we were told. "Being creative, when you've got two backs and backs who can catch, that makes your offense that much more explosive." Still, with Josh Adams, Tony Jones Jr., Dexter Williams along with freshman CJ Holmes competing as well, McIntosh will have to compete for his chances. "There are a lot of playmakers in that room, so he's just got to be patient and keep grinding and the opportunity will come," we were told. One source told us McIntosh has shown his ability to make plays and busted out for a 60-yard touchdown during a scrimmage earlier in the week. Also, Notre Dame remains a strong option for McIntosh's younger brother, top 2019 Florida running back Kenny McIntosh, who the Irish have already offered. The younger McIntosh made his first trip to South Bend for the spring game in April and told us he would "definitely" be back this fall. Right now, it looks like the USC game in October is the most likely return date since the primetime kickoff would provide additional travel time following his own game that weekend. THE MORE THINGS CHANGE...: 40 years ago, Tom Booker went through the same recruiting process his son, 2018 Maryland defensive end Thomas Booker, is going through now. Well, it wasn't the same, but it was similar and at least one thing was the same. The elder Booker said back in his day, if an athlete was seriously interested in academics, it was up to him to properly pursue that avenue at most institutions. "Except for a few schools, Wisconsin was one of those schools," said Booker, who ended up playing linebacker and defensive end for the Badgers. "Frankly, Notre Dame always was. 40 years ago, my last two choices came down to Wisconsin and Notre Dame because those were the top two schools for graduation rates. 40 years ago!!! I don't know if Notre Dame keeps the stats, but I remember because I had a matrix I used to make this decision. That was important to me, but it's always been important to Notre Dame, so that's a legacy we brought into this." Like his son, Tom Booker always knew he'd use football as a vehicle to further his education. "The decision to me came down to going to an Ivy League school or a school like Notre Dame or Wisconsin," he said. "Wisconsin was called the Yale of the Midwest at that point in time and Notre Dame was Notre Dame as such an excellent educational opportunity." When told of this week's announcement of a series between the Irish and the Badgers to be played at Lambeau Field and Soldier Field in 2020 and 2021 respectively, Booker's father was obviously excited. "I love it," he said. "What a great idea." The younger Booker doesn't seem to be seriously considering Wisconsin at this point, but Notre Dame is one of the few schools remaining on his list and the Bookers will be in South Bend for an official visit the first weekend of the season. Not surprisingly, Stanford looms as the Irish's biggest competition. IRISH, OTHERS ID MURRAY LATE, BUT NOT TOO LATE: Sometimes one or two legit prospects help their teammates get seen by colleges when they may have gone unnoticed. But at a school like Mater Dei in Santa Ana, Calif., which is loaded year after year, sometimes a kid may not get the proper recognition just because his teammates take up some much of the attention. That seems to have been what the case with 2018 California offensive lineman Chris Murray, but that has changed in a hurry. The 6-foot-3, 300-pounder was offered by Notre Dame earlier this month and has seen an increased push from schools like Stanford as well. "We have four great offensive linemen coming back with one of them being nationally-recruited and committing to Alabama," Mater Dei head coach Bruce Rollinson told Irish Sports Daily this week. "I think everybody forgot about the other three. Maybe they were looking at the big guy, Tommy Brown, and all of a sudden, they go, 'Wait a minute, this kid is pretty good. Oh, look at this one.' Because they've all got offers now. "I think what happens is there are certain schools, us being one of them, that have a lot of D-I guys and sometimes these guys slip through the cracks if they haven't been on the radar. It's just part of the system." But Rollinson was quick to give credit to all of the coaches who did their due diligence to continue looking at his players. "I commend all of the universities for going back and saying, 'What makes this club go? OK, let's look at this offensive line because that's all their coach talked about. We know about the big tackle,'" Rollinson said. "Obviously, he was the first one because he was darn near 6-8 and weighs 310. Then, all of a sudden, you start looking around. I just think sometimes when you have a lot of guys you're featuring that sometimes it takes a while. "He's not the one pony in the horse show." As Murray told ISD's Matt Freeman earlier this week, Murray does intend to get to Notre Dame for an official visit this fall. Rollinson said the Irish are one of Murray's top choices, but that it wasn't a "done deal" at this point. AMON-RA IS AMON-RA: Rollinson's loaded squad also includes five-star California wide receiver Amon-ra St. Brown, who figures to turn in some amazing performances in his final season on the high school level. "He's Amon-ra," Rollinson said. "We're going to turn him loose here in a couple of weeks and have some fun." St. Brown's swagger and confidence was on display at The Opening last month and Rollinson said he's the kind of player who never lets up. "I've said this to one million different people, you can go to any football practice since he's been here and you will never find him giving less than 110 percent on any rep," the coach said. "Where he gets probably the most fired up is when kids don't bring their A-game in coverage. He wants to improve every play. He practices with a purpose and he doesn't tolerate kids who don't want to compete." In doing so, St. Brown is making his teammates better. "He doesn't want to hear your excuses," Rollinson continued. "He looks at every rep as a battle between him and whoever is trying to cover him or whatever the double-coverage they're trying to accomplish is. "He brings a spirit. He's so organized, he's so focused. He'll be the first one down in the locker room. He'll be half-dressed before half of them even get out of class. Everything Amon-ra does whether it's academics or athletics is done with a purpose in mind. There's no wasted time and there's no wasted motion." Even with a brother at Notre Dame in Equanimeous and another, Osiris, starting his career at Stanford this year, it's hard to say where St. Brown is leaning. In addition to the Irish and the Cardinal, who have already secured official visits based on the connections to the family, USC, UCLA and Alabama are also making strong pitches among others. His quarterback at Mater Dei, 2019 signal-caller JT Daniels, has already committed to USC, which could provide as strong of a pull as his brothers, if not stronger. But Rollinson doubts St. Brown is going to tip his hand anytime soon. "I don't think you, me, his dad, the Pope, nobody is going to know what Amon-ra will decide to do," the coach said. "He's going to hold it close to the vest. He told me he would probably announce at the Army game. It's not that he's rude or anything, he just doesn't want to talk about it." As we've heard from multiple sources and St. Brown himself, playing early will be a huge consideration in his decision. "I think Amon-ra's preference would be to go straight to the NFL, kiddingly," Rollinson laughed. "He's going to look for a place he can play earlier, stability in the coaching staff and academics are important to him." TOP 2019 DE IN FOR GEORGIA GAME: 2019 Tennessee defensive end Joseph Anderson is going to be a busy man this fall. In addition to playing his junior season at Siegel High School, the 6-foot-4, 265-pounder is going to try to hit college games every weekend. Fortunately for Notre Dame, Anderson is looking at getting to South Bend early, for the Irish's primetime game against Georgia the second week of the season. Anderson was impressed during his visit for the Irish's Sophomore Day back in April and is excited for the chance to see the game atmosphere inside Notre Dame Stadium. Irish assistants Mike Elston and Clark Lea have made it clear to Anderson that he's a priority for them in 2019 and he appreciates that. But obviously it's going to be a tough battle. Anderson is also considering visits to Alabama, Tennessee, LSU, South Carolina, Louisville, Clemson, Georgia and Vanderbilt this fall. He isn't expected to make a decision until next summer. STEPPING BACK FROM RECRUITING: 2018 Notre Dame running back commit Markese Steppis one of the main reasons the Irish have had success on the recruiting trail coming off an 4-8 season in 2016. The four-star prospect feels like the momentum is picking up again as Notre Dame closed the summer strong. "There have been positive vibes for us," stated Stepp. "It feels like we are getting another top guy after another top guy. This is going to be a crazy class. We aren't finished yet. We have a few more top guys we can get. "With the top guys coming in, I think they've attracted other top guys." But recruiting is taking a backseat as Stepp looks to finish his prep career on a high note. "I haven't been talking to any other schools to be honest," said Stepp. "I have been focused on my season and talking to Notre Dame. Football is pretty much taking up all my time. I haven't really found time to recruit much since it started." FOLLOWING UP WITH AUSTIN: As we learned in the week leading up to his announcement last week, Kevin Austin Jr. and his mother have a special bond. "It's great," Austin told Irish Sports Daily. "Me and my mom have a really great relationship. We talk about everything; in school, out of school, in football, out of football, everything I'm dealing with. When I come home, she's a resource and somebody to talk to. "It's been great having my mom in my life. It's just been a great experience." If you missed it, you can read more about the Austins here and here. Also, last week in this space we heard about why Austin had chosen that day to make the decision public. We caught up with him for his explanation as well. "That day is a day we bond as a team," he said. "We have a sleepover at night, so we really get a chance to spend time with each other. Our coach takes our phones, so we have to really bond. We just spend time with each other and stayed up all night even though we're not supposed to. "I told my team that day because that's the day we cherish the most out of every single day we spend together." Austin will stay in touch with Irish assistants Del Alexander and Autry Denson about helping the Irish continue to land talented skill guys with some prospects having already been identified even if their names haven't been released. "They said they're going to let me know some of the guys they would like to see." Spoiler Ask Jamie: Pick an ND surprise player of the year for both offense and defense. I’ll go with Jay Hayes on defense and Michael Young on offense. It’s not going to be too much of a surprise with Hayes because he has a good spring and is having a good camp, but I think he is going to be much better than people expect him to be this season. He’ll make plays and this defense will give him opportunities to make plenty. I’ve been a Michael Young fan before Notre Dame was even aware of him as a recruit. It’s a bit crowded at wide receiver with the depth chart currently, but I think we’ll see him get involved in the offense and have his role expand as the season progresses. Pick your top ND freshman for both offense and defense. Who will be the best this year, but also make your picks for best career - again for both offense and defense. Young for this year on offense, but I considered picking Cole Kmet as well. I think both Kmet and Wright are going to have good careers, but if I had to pick only one, I’ll go with Robert Hainsey. On defense I think Kurt Hinish will be one of the only freshman to make much of an impact this year. I’m going to go with Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa for best career. He looks like a future NFL player to me. What, exactly, is a Canuck? The American equivalent of a Yankee or a professional hockey player in Vancouver. What happened to the "Brunny"? Man, what did happen to the “Brunny”? (It was a bar in downtown Toronto on Bloor Street) I’m not sure why it closed down. I’m going to assume it was because their lease went up and they were paying dirt cheap rent for years and then they couldn’t afford when the rent was raised. It’s now a Rexall (a Canadian version of a Walgreens). Who will surprise more this year (in a good way) - Offense or Defense? I think it will be the defense. I know they are going to have some issues in certain spots, but I think they will get better and play very well in the second half of the year. I really like the additions of Mike Elko and Clark Lea to the staff. I think they are going to make a big difference. Who is your biggest "trap game?"I say UNC simply because of the timing (right before mid-terms and USC.) Granted, I know they lost a ton on offense, but Fedora (and his sweet hipster beard) always seem to find a way to put points on the board. That game scares the hell out of me. I’m not sure about UNC because I think they have major question marks on the O-line and I have a feeling they won’t be settled at quarterback early in the year. You’re right about Fedora, though. That hipster beard is sweet. Just playing, I meant about his team’s putting points on the board. I think they’ll have a pretty solid defense as well. My Admiral Ackbar “trap game” of 2017 for the Irish is Michigan State. No one is predicting them to be good because of everything that happened this off-season, but they’ve still got some players on the roster and it’s the same coaches who have won a ton of games there before. That game at night in East Lansing after Georgia and Boston College seems like it’s ripe to be a trap for Notre Dame. Sparty might be bad and still make it a dogfight. What do you think will be the rotation of the DL in terms of average snaps per player per game? I think it’s tough to answer at this point, but I do think we’ll see a bunch of different combinations with rotations this year. I don’t see it being anything like last season where they are running out a second unit all together. I’ll just say that I think the rotation guys will play more this year than they have recently. Wouldn’t be surprised if they ended up having 10 total guys in the rotation. I think some guys might play less than 10 plays a game, but they’ll keep trying to get everyone on the field. Also, I think it was either Elko or Denbrock who talked about ways to lineup on the interior DL that may make it easier (especially for the younger guys) to do their jobs. Could you elaborate on what you think that means - i.e. what are ways you would do it - alignments/shades/slants/twists/stunts? I looked for the example of what you are referring to and unfortunately couldn’t find it. (I also wasn’t sure with you mentioning Mike Denbrock and assumed you meant Mike Elston) I don’t want to give you a wrong answer based on what they might have or might not have said, but if you find it for me, I’d be happy to answer it for you on the board at any time. What positional group from an opponent worries you the most? NC State’s defensive line. Not even sure there is a close second. If you could take any positional group from an opponent and put them on the team, whom would you choose? (scheme fit still applies) NC State’s defensive line or USC’s defensive backs. If Notre Dame had a line as good as NC State’s, then I think they would be legitimate Playoff contenders. USC defensive backs are really, really good too. Most of their backups would start at Notre Dame. Ykili Ross would be an instant impact player if he was in South Bend. He doesn’t even start for the Trojans. Do you see the RB's being used more in the passing game this year? Yes, I do. The biggest reason is that they have two guys that can catch the ball really well in Josh Adams and Tony Jones Jr. That’s a big reason why Long was talking about having two backs on the field at the same time. The running backs might be more consistent as receivers than the guys who actually play receiver. Long said Dexter Williams has caught the ball better as well and wouldn’t he be fun to watch catch the ball and have space in the open field. Would you be surprised to see Kmet and/or Wright as the #2 TE by midseason. This is assuming Mack is #1. I wouldn’t be surprised at all. They are more talented than Nic Weishar and Durham Smythe. I think the and/or is the right way to put it as well. Think they could both be the second tight end in several situations depending on the opponent Notre Dame is facing. How much truth do you think there is to the "Absent Professor" article posted in another thread? Probably a lot since most of it are things Kelly has said in interviews earlier this off-season. There was too much said to go into specifics. The only other thing I’ll add is that Kelly needs to stop answering questions about last season. He’s answered enough. Some national guys will probably come in and ask him again on media day. He should move forward and pull a Belichick. On to Temple. These interviews and his answers are not helping him. If Coach Denson says all his RB's will get as many touches as they can handle, does that imply that we are planning to increase the number of offensive plays per game, like in the 80's instead of the 60's? (via tempo) I think it was Chip Long who said that and I do believe they are going to try and increase the number of plays they run this season through tempo. Memphis ran 5 more plays per game than Notre Dame last season, but Arizona State (Long’s previous stop) ran 17 more plays per game than the Irish in 2015. Who has championship-caliber football speed/quickness for each position group on our team? By championship-caliber I’m going to assume you mean elite. Daelin Hayes at Drop and Nyles Morgan at Mike in the front seven. On the back end it’s maybe Shaun Crawford, but he is coming off a second major injury. I think Julian Love recognizes and reacts quicker to make him potentially elite. I think Troy Pride is an elite athlete, but he doesn’t play as quick as Love. CJ Sanders are a returner, but he hasn’t shown it enough as a receiver. I think Michael Young has flashed a bit of that. All three backs have it in my opinion. Jones Jr., who some felt was too slow in high school, shows it. No doubt Brandon Wimbush has elite physical skills at the quarterback position. There aren’t many like him. If the season goes as planned, in your eyes, who do you see leaving early and jumping to the NFL? Other than Quenton Nelson who could come back for a fifth year, but is a virtual lock to leave, the only other potential candidate is Equanimeous St. Brown. It’s not a deep year at wide receiver in the Draft and I think there is a chance he would leave if he has a monster statistical year. Do you think Temple gained much of an advantage by playing against Elko's Wake Forest defense in the bowl game last year? No. It was a different staff for the most part and the new offensive coordinator (from Coastal Carolina) runs a different style of offense than the old staff ran previously. First off, I love your film breakdowns and your insight to the game as a former player and I believe I remember seeing that you have a family member(s?) that coaches. Do you have any ambitions of coaching in the future with your knowledge of the game? Thanks. For those that don’t know, my Dad was a long time high school football coach and my cousin is currently a strength coach in the NFL. I coached in college and high school as well awhile back. I love coaching, but I don’t think I’ll be getting back into it unless it’s for camps or at the high school level. I considered pursuing it as a career and I was lucky enough that I had some connections for some opportunities if I wanted to GA in the US, but I knew the sacrifices I would have to make to continue doing it. It was a tough decision to give it up at the time. I love the game and would love to coach again at some point, but don’t really have any ambitions to get back into it right now. And I love this job and working for ISD. It would probably be something I thought about more if I wasn’t still involved with football through this. First Matt did one of these, and then Mike did one. My question to you is, how does it feel to be sloppy thirds? What a way to end this...haha In all seriousness: At the end of the year, last game of the season - if everyone is healthy, who do you think is the starting running back? Josh Adams, but I think Tony Jones will have close to the same number of touches as him in that game. Who leads the team in sacks? Nyles Morgan. I think he’ll end up with around 7 and there will be others close to that number. I think the sacks will be spread out a bit. And who leads the team in INT's? I think it’s going to be Nick Watkins. He finishes better than any of the other DBs and he has very good ball skills. You didn’t ask, but I think he’ll be the comeback player of the year for the Irish. Thanks for the questions and I’ll do this again in September! Spoiler Frank Commentary: The Irish will officially be 16 practices in when they finish their morning practice today. The media has had multiple opportunities to view this team, myself included. What do I feel good about? What are my concerns? What am I just not sure about? What I Feel Good About! I don’t think we’ve seen the true Brandon Wimbush yet. What we’ve seen has been pretty good already. Wimbush has been kind of forced to be a different QB this spring and fall. He’s been forced to play a game that really isn’t his strength. That will make him a much better QB, but it also limits his effectiveness as QB when he can’t add the running dimension to his game. The other thing people don’t factor in is the situational part of the game. When ND practices, it’s often situational against a defense. So, they’ll line the ball up first and 10 from somewhere on the field. Wimbush might then throw a 14-yard out pattern for a first down. But the next time they spot the ball, it’s now 2nd-and-7 situation. Even though Wimbush already led the team to a first down on the previous play, the next rep is “what can we do on 2nd-and-7.” We don’t get to see a lot of “live scrimmage” stuff where it’s a real game situation. What matters most: can he move the chains and score touchdowns? I don’t think we’ve seen enough to say that definitively, but I also don’t think we’ve seen the real Wimbush yet. When the junior QB can put pressure on a defense with his legs, that opens up a whole new situation for the defense to handle, and that’s what makes him such a great talent to defend. I like what I see in Notre Dame’s offensive line. They had one bad ending to one practice, but overall, they’ve been very consistent. The two most important pieces have been seeing Sam Mustipher and Alex Bars rise to a new level with their game. I don’t think people understand how talented this offensive line is. It seems clear that McGlincehy and Nelson are first round talents. I think Bars could be as well, even as a guard, because he will have position flexibility to play tackle as well. I think Mustipher is going to really surprise and be a higher draft pick as well. There is no question Tommy Kraemer has that kind of ability and talent to be the next in line. Kraemer is certainly the question mark, but ND can design ways to help him out. Sending a tight end over to chip a defender if he’s struggling in pass blocking. Doing the same if they need more help in the running game on that side. I think Kraemer will struggle at times like all first-time starters, but I think he will be pretty solid in the end. Rick Kimball/ISDJosh Adams Fifth-year senior, Hunter Bivin, gives ND a lot of position flexibility and experience, and then Liam Eichenberg and Robert Hainsey give the Irish two more players who look ready to contribute if called upon. ND has depth at O-line, and it’s quality depth. All that talent means nothing. Production is everything. I’ve seen good production out this group so far. Now, it’s against ND’s defense, so who knows if it’s fools gold or not, but knowing the talent, and how well they played at times las year, this group has me excited. I love Notre Dame’s running back situation. Three very talented and healthy backs who can do all things well. That’s a true blessing, and it’s been awhile since ND has said that. This is, by far, the best group of running backs at Notre Dame in a long time. They have three very different running backs, but the good news is all three do the little things well. Put the QB, O-line and running backs together and now you have the makings of a potential dominant running game——provided the right plays are called. I think we will see the right plays called, and if this O-line can produce, this could be a fun season to watch, at least offensively. I believe special teams will finally be a strength. Justin Yoon looks to have his leg drive and power back. He gets the ball up quickly, so it won’t be blocked, and he’s been a very consistent performer when healthy. He looks to be back to his old self. Tyler Newsome should be back to normal as well. I think we’ll see better kick and punt coverage, and ND has some real talent in the return game in CJ Sanders and Chris Finke, and freshman Michael Young also has that kind of explosion needed to be a great return man. I believe this is the best group of linebackers Notre Dame has had in awhile. They have six players who I think can play good football, and that hasn’t been the case in awhile. More important, I think they’re going to play a bigger part of the defense than many realize. This is the group where your negative plays are going to come from. I expect to see a lot of tackles for loss from this group. Hopefully some forced turnovers as well. I like the athleticism of this group. They can run, and they are also physical players. I am optimistic about Notre Dame’s corners. They’re not the most athletic corners in the country, and I think speedy receivers will give them some problems, but I do like this group quite a bit. Nick Watkins is a completely different player. He’s playing with so much better technique, confidence, and making plays on the ball. Donte Vaughn is playing more physical and has become a much more consistent player. Shaun Crawford has really surprised me by how quickly he’s been able to recover. He looks very much like the player we saw as a freshman that came and surprised everyone. Julian Love has been a very consistent player. The ND coaches must have some confidence in this group because Love has been playing safety in some situations as well. They were not good early last year, but they did improve and played much better at the end of the year, and that progress has continued. Again, I do think faster receivers could give them a bit of a problem, but I do like their progress and compete level. We have to hope they tackle better, as that was a real weakness last year with this group. Finally, I really like the mental makeup of this team. While I wouldn’t say it’s 2012 mentality, I do think this is a confident group with clear, defined leaders who step up when they need to. That’s all fine in practice. What happens in a game? What if the leader isn’t playing well themselves? I do like what I see here, and I’m optimistic about it, but I’m a bit gun-shy to say they have great leadership. Talk is very much cheap in this regard, but I have seen effective leadership more than a few times in our limited viewing. What Concerns Me I have to admit, I’m still not sold on this defensive line. I do think Mike Elston has done a good job of getting this group to play harder, and I believe that’s a tougher job than many realize. I think ND is suffering from two things here, lack of talent, and at times lack of proper motivation. That’s hard to overcome, no matter who is coaching them. There is certainly talent here. Jerry Tillery, Jay Hayes, Daelin Hayes, Khalid Kareem and Julian Okwara were all four-star players coming in, and they’ve played up to that potential at times. The problem is Daelin Hayes, Kareem and Okwara are probably being asked to carry too much water due to poor recruiting previously at this position. I do think this group will play hard most of the time, especially the starters. It’s the depth that concerns me, both in consistent effort and overall talent. I do see positive signs from some of these players, but not enough to make me feel optimistic this will be a strength this year. I am also a bit concerned with wide receiver at this point. We know Equanimeous St. Brown is going to show up and play well. After him? I’m just not sure. Miles Boykin should be very solid. Cam Smith should provide some speed, maturity, and hopefully some physical blocking on the outside as well. What I find most concerning is Brian Kelly doesn’t have a lot of positive things to say about this group at this point. There is talent here. Hopefully some surprise and take a big step forward these next few weeks. Tight end is another concern for me. I think it’s only a major concern if you were banking on them being a big part of the offense. But, with the lack of knowns at wide receiver, this becomes more of a concern. With Alize` Mack banged up, and neither Durham Smythe or Nic Weishar really standing out in the limited viewing we’ve seen, who plays? I love the freshmen in Brock Wright and Cole Kmet, but can you really count on two freshmen? Smythe and Weishar won’t hurt you out there, and should be at least solid at blocking by now. I expect them to play, but I’m not sure we’ll see a great receiving threat at tight end this season. What I’m Not Sure About I like that I’ve seen progress with Notre Dame’s safeties. They have played better, and I think the scheme is a bit easier to understand. Those two things give me hope. I do worry about depth. Nick Coleman has been impressive for someone who has never really played the position. Devin Studstill has looked the best he ever has at free safety. Jalen Elliott looks to have improved as well. Having Alohi Gilman active would sure make me feel better about this situation. If he’s active, they should have plenty of talent and bodies, but I’m still a bit suspect they’ll be dependable until I see it in the game. How will this team react? When push comes to shove, and things aren’t going well, how will this team react? Has the culture really changed? How will this team show up? Brian Kelly teams have struggled at times playing sharp right out of the gate. Has the culture really changed? Has anything really changed with the offense? Will Chip Long call all the plays? Will Brian Kelly intervene? Has Chip Kelly actually called plays before? Will they ride what seems to be the obvious choice of three great backs behind a veteran, experienced, and vastly talented offensive line? Finally, nothing matters unless you score points and you limit points. Will ND finally be effective in the red zone? Will they score 7 instead of 3? Can the hold the opposition to 3 (at least some of the time) instead of 7? Final Thoughts I think two things are going to make a big difference in wins and losses this year. The first one would be Notre Dame’s ability to run the football. If they can run against the best teams on their schedule, they should have a very explosive and effective offense. Finally, and probably most important, will be ND’s ability to score touchdowns in the red zone. The Irish have not been very efficient here lately. They’re going to need to score a lot of points because I think this defense will have breakdowns, especially against the best teams. How effective the Irish are in the red zone will likely be the difference in a lot of wins and losses this year.
haha looks like pete sampson and a couple other beat writers replied to my tweet to ndtix/rob kelly about the tickets. just logged into twitter and had over 50 notifications
from that video the pants/helmet color combo looks terrible, but that's the same problem with our current uniform
This is where I'm at. They're so damn close to being sick. The helmet, the cleats, etc. And then the shoulders just throw me off. When are we wearing them?
I'd go with the cleats year round. Those are fucking great. Need stills, but I think I like the helmet.
It is tiresome that everything we do has to come with a history lesson, but it seems like these turned out fine although they played it pretty safe. A lot of people probably wouldn't immediately be able to tell that they aren't the normal uniforms.