Well we aren’t going to get lucky and play kstate for a championship ever again so they need to do something or just admit it ain’t happening.
There is how many elite QBs each year? Maybe 3? It's hard to get them when they keep going to Bama and Clemson. Our best shot at a natty is to strike luck with a high 4* who they develop or get a 5th year grad transfer like Russell Wilson or the kid who went to UGA before backing out. Book isn't bad hes just not elite.
when was the last time we even heard ND was in it for a top 5 qb? ND isn’t trying, this is a position ND should be able to recruit. Kelly and Rees love 6ft noodle arms
Just cause I have a min. I'm doing research because honestly I don't know. 2016 QB Rankings (only going top guys 5* or high 4 and top 50ish) 1. Shea Patterson-think we offered not sure we had any traction. 2. Jacob Eason-think we offered and were in it for a bit but didn't want to leave home. 3. Brandon Peters-from Indiana. Dont think we were too interested or maybe we just ended up too late here? 4. Malik Henry- think as offered early but he was a grade A douche. Of note Book was on this class and ranked 28 and guy right after him is Newman the WF QB who has transfered to UGA. 2017 1. Davis Mills- ended up at Stanford. Dont remember him much probably didn't recruit hard or long 2. Tua-dont remember if we tried. He was to Bama pretty early. 3. Fromm-UGA all the way 4. Hunter Johnson-from Indiana and remember he was a guy we just didn't seem to jive with. Ended up with Clemson We took Avery Davis ranked #23
2018 1. Lawrence- don't remember hearing anything but UGA and Clemson for him 2. Fields- committed to Penn St early. Decommited dont remember us in it. 3. JT Daniels- we were in on him early. Chose SC 4. Tanner Mckee-Think we recruited but he wanted to take a mission I believe. We took Phil who was highly rated 4* dropped a lot in post season all star games. 2019 1. Rattler-Never had a shot 2. Jayden Daniels-Not sure we ever offered 3.Bo Nix-Not sure but don't think we were ever offered. We were in on Metz who ended up with Wisconsin who was near top 10 QBs
So basically only a couple guys I remember us having any traction with. Ohio St, Clemson, Stanford with multiple guys. A lot of other schools with one.
expecting a true freshman qb who hasn’t played since he was a jr to come in and win the qb for a playoff team is a nightmare That should let us know how bad QB recruiting has been
Two players really can make a huge difference. Y'all's center was pretty bad, and our best DT was back. And Skalski made a huge difference, too. I don't think having Lawrence back was the biggest factor.
Skalski was born too late. He'll be a fine pro, but he would have been great to watch back when the NFL had more psychotic superstar MLBs stuffing the run and terrorizing QBs down after down.
https://247sports.com/ContentGaller...scoop-Fighting-Irish-class-of-2021-157518514/ can someone post?
Spoiler The Early Signing Day wrapped up last week and Notre Dame’s 2021 class came to a close, at least until February’s National Signing Day, where the staff could potentially try to add another few pieces if the staff sees a proper fit athletically and academically. The Fighting Irish have 26 signees at this point, but that number will absolutely increase when things come to a close this cycle in a little over a month. As I do every recruiting cycle, here is a behind the scenes look at the class. We’ve touched on a lot of guys throughout the cycle and plenty of information has already been shared, not to mention the fact that it was pretty calm with the pandemic eliminating the majority of visits, but here is some additional information to put a bow on things. As always, keep this VIP info here, as posting elsewhere will result in a ban from the site. Also, feel free to post in the thread if you have any additional questions. SLIDE1 of 20 NOTRE DAME SEES A FUTURE STAR ALONG THE OFFENSIVE LINE No question Notre Dame loves what they landed in Blake Fisher, Rocco Spindler, Pat Coogan and Caleb Johnson, but they feel that in a few years, Joe Alt will be a potential first-round pick if everything plays out as expected. The staff targeted him very early in the process and was actually recruiting him back when he was roughly 225 pounds. Looking at his height/weight combination, the coaches were simply waiting to see how he filled out before making a push. He started getting into the 240-pound range and that was enough for them to make a move. Fast forward to now and he’s 283 pounds. His physical transformation has happened quicker than expected, which has them even higher on him than they were before. SLIDE2 of 20 NOTRE DAME BELIEVES IT LANDED ONE OF THE BEST IN CANE BERRONG Notre Dame did a great job early with tight end Cane Berrong and much of the credit for this addition to the program goes to former offensive coordinator and tight ends coach Chip Long. Berrong and Long hit it off really well and knowing both, it was obvious early that Notre Dame was going to be a player in this recruitment. These two are nearly identical personality-wise and come across as through they could be related. They have a laidback, casual, competitive attitude and one that allowed them to hit it off right away. Long eventually left the staff, which had Berrong a little concerned about his future with his program. However, special teams coordinator and recruiting coordinator Brian Polian made his way to Georgia to make it very clear that he was very much coveted by the staff in South Bend. That effort played a big role in keeping Berrong in the fold. Offensive coordinator Tommy Rees and tight ends coach John McNulty did a really good job of never wavering on their pursuit of him and locked him in quickly. The Irish staff is very excited about his potential at Notre Dame. SLIDE3 of 20 GETTING BACK INTO THE CHICAGO AREA WAS IMPORTANT Notre Dame made it a point early this cycle that they wanted to land a few talented players from the Chicago area. They weren’t going to force it if they didn’t feel like they could land potential difference-makers, but that’s exactly what they found in safety Justin Walters and Pat Coogan. The staff wanted to make an impact with this duo and will then try to hit the area even harder in the 2022 class as well. SLIDE4 of 20 IN THE END, DEION COLZIE PICKED NOTRE DAME FOR THE RIGHT REASONS Notre Dame landed an early commitment from four-star receiver Deion Colzie, who chose the Irish after camping in South Bend and earning the offer. However, we’re told Colzie picked Notre Dame to make everyone else happy and wasn’t all-in at the time of his pledge. Some thought it was on DelVaughn Alexander or him dropping the ball with the Georgia talent, but that couldn’t have been further from the truth. With that feeling he couldn’t shake, he took a step back from his commitment and wanted to pursue other opportunities. However, the staff, led by DelVaughn Alexander, stayed on him and made it clear that he needs to end up at Notre Dame because he’s a perfect fit. After multiple long conversations with the staff and his family, he finally felt it with Notre Dame and realized that is where he wanted to be. It took longer than expected, but he eventually picked the Irish for his reasons, not to make others happy. SLIDE5 of 20 VERSATILITY HAS THE STAFF GEEKED ABOUT OHIO NATIVE Notre Dame didn’t care where he wanted to play, but the staff told Mitchell Evans early that he was going to be a guy they targeted. There was talk about how impressive he could be at tight end, offensive tackle and even quarterback, but the one constant was that Notre Dame believes he’s far too good of an athlete not to have in this class. He’s far too tall, long, athletic and fast to not be a quality football player, at least in their mind. Pittsburgh nearly landed him and we’re told he indicated to them that they were the team to beat at one point, but it was his visit to Notre Dame that was the difference-maker. He stepped on campus and “felt it” according to Evans and that was all she wrote. SLIDE6 of 20 RELENTLESS PURSUIT PAYS OFF WITH FOUR-STAR OFFENSIVE TACKLE Notre Dame was late to the party with four-star offensive tackle Caleb Johnson. He eventually committed to Auburn, which came as no surprise, but the staff told him right then that they didn’t see his recruitment closed at that point and they would be recruiting him as along as he welcomed it. Well, he never stopped communicating with Jeff Quinn, Brian Polian and Tommy Rees, and that effort paid off. Johnson was shaky in his commitment at Auburn well before Gus Malzahn was close to losing his job and he simply saw a better fit at Notre Dame, something the staff completely agreed with. They eventually flipped him to the Irish due to that relentless pursuit. SLIDE7 of 20 NEBRASKA COMMIT WAS PATIENT WITH NOTRE DAME Notre Dame was high on three-star defensive end Will Schweitzer long before it eventually flipped him from Nebraska. Right before the pandemic started, Brian Polian and Clark Lea stopped by Schweitzer’s school to check in on the talented defensive prospect. During a phone conversation shortly after that visit, the duo told Schweitzer that he was eventually going to hold an offer from Notre Dame. The staff needed to simply see if there was room in the class and when things went south with David Abiara, the coaches felt it was the right time to offer him, and it didn’t hurt knowing that he was going to jump on the offer as soon as it came his way. He took an under-the-radar visit to Notre Dame and committed shortly thereafter. SLIDE8 of 20 HAWAII TALENT MAKES IT EASY FOR NOTRE DAME TO SAY YES TO AN OFFER The pandemic hurt the recruitment of three-star linebacker Kahanu Kia. He wasn’t able to play, lock in early visits, or even get out to camps. One night, Kia took things into his own hands and decided to do a workout at night, under street light, to show schools what he could do. Clark Lea and Brian Polian watched the footage and loved what they saw. They saw him move around, they saw the quickness and athleticism he displayed, and saw how developed his body had become. Notre Dame offered him because they saw a similar trajectory as current Irish linebacker Marist Liufau. They liked his junior film, but loved his growth just in the offseason and it was a no-brainer to offer him. SLIDE9 of 20 NEGATIVE RECRUITING MADE THE PHILIP RILEY RECRUITMENT INTERESTING This one has already been discussed at Irish Illustrated, but we will post some notes just to reiterate what took place. Philip Riley committed to Notre Dame and was locked in. He had zero questions, but did want to try and get to campus before signing at some point just to make sure he loved the campus. However, we’re told the USC staff did all they could to get in his head, make it seem like he wouldn’t fit in culturally at Notre Dame, and imply that he wouldn’t be treated all that well during his time in South Bend. It worked. Riley de-committed, bought into what the USC staff was saying, and ended up committed to the Trojans. However, Notre Dame got on the phone with him shortly after that sudden, unexpected change of heart and told him to come see South Bend on his own to make up his own mind. Riley and his stepfather visited campus when the Notre Dame team was out of town for a road game and wanted to see things up close. They quickly realized what they had been told wasn’t accurate and that Notre Dame was where he wanted to be. He committed shortly after that and eventually went public with that decision. SLIDE10 of 20 A COUPLE OF NOTES ON QUARTERBACK RECRUITING Nothing too earth-shattering on this topic. Tyler Buchner was always the top target for Notre Dame. The staff did a great job of having so many intriguing targets on campus and they were competing for the quarterback spot in the class. In the end, the pecking order was Tyler Buchner at the top and then a two-man battle between J.J. McCarthy and Drake Maye. The staff chose Buchner and never looked back. They see a future star in the west coast signal-caller and love his competitiveness, overall talent, arm strength, size, speed and agility. Notre Dame knew it could have landed McCarthy if they wanted him, but they simply liked Buchner too much during his summer camp workout and he was the guy. SLIDE11 of 20 NOTRE DAME WAS THE FAVORITE EARLY FOR A DIFFERENT TIGHT END Notre Dame targeted Colorado tight end Sam Hart very early in the process and we’re told the Irish were absolutely the team to beat. Chip Long was the lead recruiter and was close to securing his commitment. However, he eventually left the staff and that was all she wrote with this recruitment. Hart would go on to commit and sign with Ohio State. SLIDE12 of 20 A PLAYER NOTRE DAME ABSOLUTELY LOVED, BUT DIDN’T RECRUIT HARD Notre Dame eventually landed one of the nation’s top offensive line groups, but that was without one player in particular that they believe will be a tremendous talent at the next level. The staff was really high on four-star offensive guard Owen Prentice early on. Well before he blew up to a Top150-200 national prospect, the staff was itching to offer him. With others already on board and relationships already made, the staff decided not to pursue and he eventually landed at Washington. We’ll see if the staff regrets that one day, as he’s loaded with a ton of upside. SLIDE13 of 20 WITH VISITS, NOTRE DAME FELT IT COULD HAVE GREATLY BOOSTED THE SECONDARY Notre Dame was unable to get a few prospects on campus and the staff believes that heart their chances with two prospects in particular. Four-star cornerback Deuce Harmon was a guy Notre Dame was extremely high on. They were recruiting him as an elite talent very early in the process and believes he’s going to be a star cornerback in the future. Dialogue with him was really, really strong early and they had plenty of optimism. However, the pandemic hit and he was never able to visit. Texas A&M eventually landed him, but Notre Dame wishes he would have had the chance to visit because they believe that could have changed everything. In addition, the staff believes one visit would have been a game-change for the recruitment of safety Titus Mokiao-Atimalala. They planned to do everything possible to get him comfortable with the distance from home, as well as playing in the Fighting Irish secondary. The pandemic prevented the visit and it looks like he’ll stay out west. Notre Dame loved him as a player as well. SLIDE14 of 20 A COUPLE GUYS NOTRE DAME STOPPED RECRUITING Notre Dame liked a few players early on, but eventually stopped recruiting them. Despite the fact that they were the team to beat at one point, the Irish held off from pushing for defensive back Devin Kirkwood, who ended up at UCLA, Jaquez Smith, who chose Indiana, and Andrel Anthony, who ended up at Michigan. Notre Dame feels strongly that they led for all three and simply chose not to pursue after initially offering. Anthony was a different situation, as he preferred receiver, while the staff wanted him as a defensive back. From what we’ve gathered, both sides just couldn’t get on the same page about his potential position, so the recruitment died out. SLIDE15 of 20 SECOND RUNNING BACK EXPECTED THIS CYCLE Notre Dame signed four-star running back Audric Estime during the Early Signing Period and still has a commitment from three-star running back Logan Diggs. Not much else to report here other than we feel strongly that Diggs will eventually announce a signing with Notre Dame on National Signing Day in February and he’ll end up in South Bend. Lance Taylor, Tommy Rees and Terry Joseph have worked very hard to keep him in the fold despite a late charge from LSU. SLIDE16 of 20 BIG-TIME FLIP FOR NOTRE DAME DURING THE EARLY SIGNING PERIOD Notre Dame made a big splash late in the process when it flipped safety Khari Gee from his commitment to LSU. Terry Joseph led the way here. Despite announcing his commitment on Dec. 18, he actually signed with the Irish two days prior to that and committed to them earlier that week. Notre Dame offered way back on March 2, but he’d eventually commit to LSU. The staff loved him as a player and told him then that he would have a spot in the class if he ever had a change of heart. After not feeling great about his future at LSU and not loving the culture at the school or within the program, Gee and those in his camp reached out to Notre Dame and expressed some interest. After a few conversations and an “eye-opening” virtual visit to Notre Dame, this one was wrapped up in favor of the Fighting Irish. SLIDE17 of 20 ON THAT RELATIVELY-LATE OFFER TO NORTHWESTERN SIGNEE THERAN JOHNSON It seems Notre Dame received some bad intel on this front. A source close to three-star cornerback Theran Johnson reached out to Notre Dame and told the staff that he was looking around and would land with the Irish if offered. The staff spoke to Johnson, had good vibes from him, and offered. However, this recruitment didn’t last long, as he quickly shut things down and decided to stick with his pledge to Northwestern. Notre Dame was pretty surprised by that decision, as they strongly felt he would flip, but eventually chalked it up to bad intel from those in his camp. SLIDE18 of 20 NOTRE DAME NEARLY PULLED THE TRIGGER ON A FOUR-STAR WR DOWN THE STRETCH Notre Dame loves four-star Iowa receiver signee Keagan Johnson. The staff was really high on him, so it’ll be interesting to see how he eventually performs for the Hawkeyes. With more pressing needs and a three-man receiver class already locked in, Notre Dame decided not to offer. Johnson is a tremendous talent and an absolute dog on the field. I think he would have had a great career in South Bend, but he has the chance to do some great things at Iowa. SLIDE19 of 20 TWO SAFEST PLAYERS IN NOTRE DAME'S CLASS In checking with sources close to the program, four-star receiver Lorenzo Styles Jr. and four-star offensive guard Rocco Spindler are the two safest bets to have a terrific career in South Bend at Notre Dame. This duo has the talent, work ethic and drive to be great and everyone around the program expects exactly that from these guys. I will say, there is a strong belief that four-star quarterback Tyler Buchner checks these boxes as well, but it was technically Styles and Spindler that earned this honor from those I spoke with. SLIDE20 of 20 MOST UNDERRATED IN THE CLASS HEADED TO NOTRE DAME 7COMMENTS Notre Dame believes it might just have a future star in cornerback JoJo Johnson. The staff loves his aggressive nature, physicality, toughness, speed, and freaky athleticism. The words "dog," "violent," and "fierce" were used to describe this late addition to the Fighting Irish football program. Once Notre Dame saw that he was able to pack on some good weight and then watched him tape on both sides of the ball, it was a no-brainer for them to offer him.
i thought this was already dispelled? Wimbush was a top 100 guy that tons of schools wanted. Turns out he can't throw. Jurk was a big time recruit (OSU wanted him really bad) but ND landed him. A top 100 guy. He essentially transferred because of Chip Long and getting beat out by Book. Had he stayed, he'd be starting next year Pyne was a top 100 guy when he committed to ND. He's obviously small but he looked great in the all star game Buchner was a top 50 guy and had offers from literally all the big schools in the country except for Stanford. Seriously, his junior film was some of the best ever (regardless of the competition). He had a bad summer so his ranking dropped and then no games in the fall so who knows how he would have looked. ND chose him over McCarthy because they believe he is better and McCarthy is a universal top 50 recruit. this narrative you keep bringing up that ND doesn't recruit top QBs is odd and untrue
Yeah, to me it's pretty clear that the more accurate narrative is poor development of elite QB prospects and/or regression of promising QBs on the roster.
ToT Defense Spoiler “It was in the small things that we kind of got twisted up. New quarterback, not much different scheme. Clemson doesn’t really have a difficult offense. But just the small things we didn’t do right. I didn’t think it was a lot on their part that they did different(ly). It was just things that we didn’t execute. I think that was the difference.” Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah ALL RISE FOR THE GREAT TREVOR LAWRENCE In terms of comprehensive abilities as a thrower of the football, accuracy, the ability to run the football, the believability of play fakes, and then pure leadership from the quarterback position with size, strength, length and athleticism, Trevor Lawrence is the most complete college quarterback I’ve ever seen. Even coming from one who is prone to hyperbole, I don’t believe I’m overstating the brilliance of Lawrence. I doubt there will be too many arguments. Again, I’m talking about the total, all-encompassing package of a quarterback. Lawrence is the best I’ve ever seen. (If you disagree, please give your choice and why. You can’t say Peyton Manning because he didn’t have the running dimension.) Lawrence is a surgeon with the precision of a diamond-cutter. He sees everything. He sells everything, right on down to a read-option to running back Travis Etienne with Lawrence carrying out the fake perfectly. Right on down to throwing a block for Etienne. When he runs, he uses his blockers well. He has great vision to find daylight, and when he finds it, he runs like an antelope. He even calls his own plays at times with an “I’ve got it” hand signal to the sideline. When you mix in the fact that offensive coordinator Tony Elliott did a great job of mixing things up, giving the Irish a little something different to consider on a play-by-play basis, it’s actually surprising that Clemson scored just 34 points with 541 yards total offense. “We talked about it after with the coaches…It’s thee difference-maker,” said Brian Kelly of Lawrence’s ability to run the football. “His ability to run really stresses your coverage calls. It stresses a lot of things that you do in terms of your fits and where essentially you’re trying to get him to not be that kind of player. “What you try to do is bring some pressures that eliminate those runs. But it opens up some one-on-one matchups that are not favorable. So it’s a dilemma and it’s something that we struggled with a little bit tonight.” While some will naturally point to Clark Lea accepting the Vanderbilt job as a distraction, the bigger “distraction” was Lawrence. When he’s rolling, there is no stopping him unless the offensive front is overrun. There are too many facets of his game, as listed above. He has more ways to beat you than any quarterback I’ve seen on this level, and again, that encompasses play-fakes and throwing impromptu blocks in addition to all the physical skills. The best way to stop him is to keep him off the field, which is what LSU did in the national championship game last year with its own freakish quarterback, Joe Burrow. Notre Dame couldn’t do that by converting 3-of-12 third-down conversions with just 58 snaps and 263 yards total offense. Clemson had just 66 snaps themselves, but four of those were a 67-yard touchdown pass to Amari Rodgers, a 33-yard touchdown pass to E.J. Williams, a 44-yard touchdown run by Etienne and a 34-yard touchdown run by Lawrence in which he used his loping strides to burst past the second and third levels of the Irish defense. That’s four plays accounting for 178 yards and four touchdowns. For the first time this season, Notre Dame’s defense appeared frequently out of position. Why? Because everything starts with No. 16, who is the most well-rounded, complete college quarterback the college game as ever seen. PLAYING PHYSICALLY When you lose 34-10 and the opponent doubles up the total yardage figure, there’s a natural assumption that the focus was off and physicality was lacking.??I can better see now, after having watched the TV version of the game, that the Irish came to play physically and, to a large degree, emotionally. Focus? Well, a lack of execution encompasses focus, but again, the brilliance of Trevor Lawrence becomes such a dominant factor that it’s difficult to differentiate who’s responsible for what. Notre Dame played hard. Notre Dame played physically on defense. But there was a sequence of plays from the 41-second mark of the first quarter until the 21-second mark of the second quarter that got away from the Irish. A huge part of it was the Irish offense fizzling during that same segment. While the Tigers were scoring four touchdowns in a 15:12 span, the Notre Dame offense had drives of six plays for 55 yards (ending in a 4th-and-3 failure), three plays for minus-three yards, and four plays for 16 yards. The Notre Dame defense needed the offense to bail them out during a rough patch and the offense couldn’t get it done. Shaun Crawford got caught on the 67-yard touchdown pass to Amari Rodgers as Lawrence “eyeballed” Kyle Hamilton out of the play to the other side of the field. E.J. Williams cleared traffic on a well-designed play for a 33-yard score. The Tigers caught the Irish in a 4th-and-1 at the end of the first half and Travis Etienne made them pay. And Lawrence weaved his way through traffic on a 34-yard touchdown run on the Tigers’ third possession of the second half to really put the game out of reach. THE FOUR-MAN RUSH When people say that the sack numbers from last year and this season are similar, the math says yes, but I’m looking at it from a different perspective. Sacks with additional pressure and sacks with a four-man rush are two different things. (Notre Dame is averaging 2.73 sacks per 11 games this year compared to 2.62 sacks per 13 games last year.) Any competent defense should be able to get sacks sending five, six, seven defenders at the quarterback. It’s the ability to play a team straight up and keep the back end of your pass defense intact that truly determines how good of a pass-rushing defense you are. Question: How many times this season have you seen Daelin Hayes, Ade Ogundeji and Isaiah Foskey almost sack the quarterback? It happens every game. It certainly happened again in trying to corral Trevor Lawrence, which is no small feat with the 6-foot-6, 220-pound phenom. For as much as Hayes has improved this season, particularly from the Georgia Tech game on, he has just three sacks and just nine in his 52 games in an Irish uniform. Ogundeji has a team-leading 6½ sacks and has had a strong season since a slow start. But over and over again, Hayes and Ogundeji can’t come up with a sack, including Ogundeji’s near sack/safety of Lawrence in a 17-3 game that would have made it 17-5 with the Irish getting the football back at the end of the first half. Imagine a 17-12 game at halftime. Instead, Lawrence led the Tigers on an 88-yard touchdown drive before the half and an impossible 24-3 halftime deficit to overcome. It’s exactly why Irish Illustrated disputed the notion that the pass rush would still be to the level of 2018-19 without Julian Okwara, Khalid Kareem and Jamir Jones. Okwara didn’t always live up to expectations and Kareem was more of an all-around defensive end than a pure pass rusher, but those guys were consistently disruptive. They had to be accounted for. Foskey didn’t progress as well as some may have expected this year, but he’s still a pup and he impacts plays when he doesn’t get sacks, of which he’s had 4½ this season. He’ll be better next season, but Ogundeji and Hayes will be gone. That means Foskey, Justin Ademilola, Ovie Oghoufo, Jordan Botelho, Alexander Ehrensberger and NaNa Osafo-Mensah – plus incoming Devin Aupiu and Will Schweitzer – must become the next wave of pass rushers. Once again, Justin Ademilola was impactful against Clemson. There really isn’t a game that goes by that No. 19 does not impact the game positively for the Irish. He broke up a pass at the line of scrimmage, pressured Lawrence and threw Lawrence to the ground. I’m looking forward to the possibility of him playing on a full-time basis and getting starter reps. He plays hard every single snap he’s on the field and consistently shows up around the football. Not sure what his long-term pass rush ability is, but it’s exciting to consider how consistently productive he has been his first three years in the program with a minimum of two more years – provided he takes a fifth -- in the program. KEEPING THE OFFENSE IN THE GAME Allowing 541 yards total offense and four explosive-play touchdowns is never a good day on any level. And yet this game really could have gotten out of hand had it not been for the defense allowing Clemson just one second half touchdown and 10 points after the intermission. It started with two series to open the third quarter when the Tigers began drives at their own 40- and 45-yard lines. A Kurt Hinish/Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa tackle for loss and a Shaun Crawford pass breakup stalled Clemson’s first drive of the second half after three plays, and then a Clemson holding penalty in the second series of the half destroyed the Tigers’ chance to really extend the lead. Lawrence snapped off a 34-yard touchdown run on the third series to make it all moot. But again, the Notre Dame defense continued to play hard and physically on a day the offense offered little-to-no help. QUICK-HITTERS: DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMS Yet another solid game for the underrated Drew White, whose tipped pass was intercepted by Kyle Hamilton. He got swallowed up by tight end Davis Allen on Lawrence’s 34-yard touchdown run, but he remains one of the main reasons the Notre Dame defense has been so fundamentally sound the last two seasons…Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah played hard and played effectively on several levels. He drilled Travis Etienne on an early swing pass and also provided great coverage on Etienne downfield. He finished with seven tackles and two tackles for loss. His physicality shows up on every play in which he can get involved…Marist Liufau got the nod at Buck linebacker over Shayne Simon. Liufau was active with six stops., although he did miss a run fit on a 17-yard run by Etienne. Simon was in the game on the Lawrence-to-E.J. Williams 33-yard touchdown pass in which it appeared that Simon got lost in space. By the way, E.J. Williams is going to be a beast. Did you see that one-handed snag?... The frustration over Shaun Crawford and his propensity for getting beaten by double moves is understandable. He has been on the receiving end of a few big plays this season. But the Irish would have been in a world of trouble without Crawford’s move to safety. It was an imperfect fit by his sheer lack of size, but at the end of a six-year run with the Irish, Crawford’s positive contributions far outweigh the negatives. What he sacrificed for his physical well-being should be applauded…What a huge PBU by Clarence Lewis inside the five on 3rd-and-8 in a 14-3 game. It forced a field goal and kept it to a two-score game, at least for the time being…D.J. Brown has had some promising moments this year. Getting blocked by Lawrence and then getting launched by freshman offensive lineman Walker Parks were not among them…Very nice open-field tackle by Houston Griffith on Lawrence… 4COMMENTS Saw how Kyle Hamilton suffered his right ankle sprain. As he was tackling Etienne, the Clemson running back’s legs scissored, and Hamilton’s right foot was caught in the buggy-whip…I’m serious when I say this: Please tell me why you don’t have Chris Tyree return the kickoff at the end of the first half with 21 seconds remaining when all you’re going to do is snap the ball and kneel down to run out the clock? Is there no possibility of Tyree taking the kickoff the distance to make it a 24-10 before halftime? How is this not an easy decision to make?...Poor Jonathan Doerer. He’s really battling himself, even after connecting on a 51-yard field goa to open the scoring. Even on the 51-yarder, I still thought he kind of “felt” for the football instead of driving it. His psyche obviously is shaken because the 24-yarder that hit the right upright was kicked in that direction from the outset. He missed it before he kicked it, which prompted a sideline session with Dr. Amber Selking… What’s the deal with Jay Bramblett this season? I didn’t give him enough credit in my post-game Snap Judgments for a directed 48-yard punt that was kicked away from Clemson’s return man. But it’s pretty astonishing how many punts Bramblett has missed the sweet spot on this season. It’s like he’s making contact with his ankle as opposed to his foot. He was a better, more consistent punter last year despite averaging about three more yards per punt this season.
Offense Spoiler “Picking up the pieces? I think that’s a bit over the top. This is a strong football team. Strong-willed. It’s an outstanding football team. It’s one of the best teams in the country. They’ll bounce back. They’re disappointed. They’ve got to play more consistent(ly). I’m quite confident that they will.” Brian Kelly FLATTENING OUT IAN BOOK The notion that because Ian Book was uncomfortable in the pocket and frequently flushed out to his left or right that Book himself was doing something wrong is always the natural fallback of critics when the Irish lose, which they did, 34-10, in the ACC championship game against Clemson. Immediately, people turn to the three-star quarterback criticism. That three-star quarterback was playing great football until it ran into a Clemson juggernaut that was playing for its playoff lives, just as Ohio State’s Justin Fields – a five-star recruit coming out of high school -- struggled against Northwestern in the Big Ten championship game. Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables had a plan that, quite frankly, is surprising he didn’t employ more in the first meeting between the two teams, although his natural penchant to be aggressive got the best of him in November. Rather than bring their defensive ends flying off the edge and circling back to Book, the Tigers refused to create that escape-route crease that Book took advantage of in the first meeting. When Book widened, Clemson widened with an eye on that path between the defensive end coming off the edge and the defensive tackle. The stat sheet had Book for minus-35 yards. He rushed for more than 100 yards laterally, but seldom could find that escape route that allowed the Irish to keep the chains moving like they did in the first matchup, even if it rarely led to a touchdown. (Note: Despite scoring just two offensive touchdowns in regulation against Clemson in the first game, the Irish were 10-of-19 on third down. They were 3-of-12 in Clemson II.) “Their ends were upfield,” said Kelly of the first matchup with Clemson. “They were not rushing quite as hard off the edge (as they did on Nov. 7). They were much more in a contain mode to keep (Book) from getting outside. They did a nice job of minimizing his ability to get big chunk runs. “Trying to keep him at bay obviously was part of the game plan by the way they rushed their front four. Then they brought a little more pressure from inside-out and flushed him (while) their ends stayed flat and level to the quarterback.” When Book had a crucial 4th-and-3 pass to a wide open Avery Davis with Clemson leading 7-3 early in the second quarter, Davis failed to slow his tempo and Book threw behind him for what would have been a first down in the red zone with a chance to take a 10-7 lead. Kirk Herbstreit called it correctly. Davis has to settle in to accept that throw from Book. He was wide open. He didn’t need to keep running at an accelerated pace. In fact, if he settles into a spot, he would have had time to catch it, turn and get upfield. No wonder Tommy Rees covered his face with his hands after that play. It was an absolutely critical miss, one that the Irish could never get back. Clemson linebacker James Skalski’s return to the lineup made a huge difference. He gummed up Notre Dame’s operation a number times, including the 3rd-and-goal at the six when he knifed through to stone Kyren Williams. Skalski also recorded a blitz sack. As the brain-trust of Clemson’s defensive operation, Skalski made sure the front maintained its discipline. There were many examples of Clemson defenders in a position to get an outside rush upfield, only to hold their ground and flatten out along the line of scrimmage to make sure that if Book escaped, he would have to use the entire width of the field to do so. The Tigers squeezed Book behind the line of scrimmage. Skalski “punked it up” on numerous occasions during the game, talking smack and letting Notre Dame know that today was not going to be like yesterday. He’s got a face you’d like to punch, but that’s because he’s really good at his job and keeps the Tiger defense in sync when chaos could supersede maintaining proper spacing and discipline. Herbstreit talked about Trevor Lawrence dealing with Notre Dame students getting in his face when they rushed the field after the victory in Notre Dame Stadium. He also said Lawrence had to hold Skalski back when the same was done to him. No wonder he was so vocal with the Notre Dame players. It was interesting to see Book throwing along the sideline between virtually every series. He tried to stay ready for the next opportunity. Book completed 20-of-28 passes for 219 yards. He was sacked six times, which is no small feat against the mobile Book. Venables won the day, just as Tommy Rees did in the first matchup. In such battles of comparable teams, the advantage generally goes to the one that came out on the short end the first time around. Venables’ experience as a coordinator showed itself. STYMYING NOTRE DAME’S OFFENSE The difference without Jarrett Patterson in the lineup in the rematch against Clemson was noticeable. Josh Lugg got the starting nod over a still-banged-up Zeke Correll. Lugg doesn’t seem nearly as mobile as he did last year in his five starts at right tackle. He doesn’t get the same push that Patterson was in his first eight games this season. In fact, it was pretty clear that Patterson was on his way to first-team all-ACC honors at center were it not for an injury. (Note: Patterson still deserves to be first-team all-ACC. His name was listed first on my ballot.) Part of the problem up front was Clemson filling the box with defenders pre-snap. Seven and eight men in the box became particularly prevalent as the Tigers extended their lead. Much like the Irish took Clemson’s rushing attack away in the first matchup, Venables was determined to a) prevent Book from beating him with his feet and b) stop Kyren Williams. Early on, the Irish took advantage against a Clemson secondary that was yielding some ground. Book completed his first five passes, including four in the opening series. But Notre Dame repeatedly got behind the chains, which allowed Venables to dial up some pressures while the secondary kept the football in front of them. Javon McKinley caught a pass for six yards in the opening drive. His next reception came in Notre Dame’s final possession of the game when he caught two more passes for 12 and 19 yards. Ben Skowronek was able to get some bigger chunk plays with Michael Mayer particularly active early. But after converting their first two third-down attempts, the Irish missed on their next eight opportunities and finished a woeful 3-of-12. There’s a reason why just nine teams in the country faced more third downs than Clemson’s defense. Clemson makes you win on third down, and the nation’s ninth best third-down percentage defense will make an offense pay if it’s behind the sticks, which the Irish were the entire game. Once again, Skalski came into play. He truly is to the Clemson defense what Trevor Lawrence is to the Clemson offense. He controls the operation. He makes the players around him better, particularly on the front seven where he has the ability to make sure all the stars are aligned properly. Defensive tackle Tyler Davis also was a returning impediment to the middle of the Clemson defense. Not having Patterson to do battle with Davis chips away at the push in the middle. FAILURE TO LAUNCH After finishing the regular season on a crescendo with a 124-yard game against North Carolina and a 110-yard output versus Syracuse to reach 1,000 yards, Kyren Williams was limited to 50 yards on 15 carries (3.3 yards per carry). Only Pittsburgh (17 carries for 38 yards, 2.2-yard average) did a better job of bottling up Williams in 2020. (Note: Williams carried just nine times against Boston College, but averaged four yards per carry.) And yet Williams’ effort, feistiness and competitive nature continue to shine through in what has been a truly spectacular season for a guy who carried just four times in his rookie season in 2019. He wasn’t going to take any crap from Skalski. In fact, when Skalski hovered over him after a big hit, Williams popped up and went facemask-to-facemask with the Clemson menace. That’s a level of competitiveness that is appreciated. Although it wasn’t visible from the TV view, Williams frequently was pacing up and down the sideline when the Irish defense was on the field, anxiously awaiting his next opportunity to carry the football or, once again, pass protect for Ian Book. He was called for a holding penalty, but he also jarred Skalski on a blitz pickup. Chris Tyree gave the Irish ground game a bump, but it came late with the Irish trailing by 31 points. Tyree made a great read on a play that was extremely well blocked by the right side of the line of scrimmage. When Robert Hainsey and Tommy Kraemer formed a curvature in blocking the edge, Tyree skip-stepped to his right, hit the hole with authority, and then widened his path to the pylon while using his speed to easily scamper for the touchdown. QUICK-HITTERS: OFFENSE I said it after the Syracuse game and I’ll say it again. It’s a shame we’ll see Ben Skowronek in a Notre Dame uniform for just one season. His 395 yards receiving is second on the team behind Javon McKinley’s 697. His five receiving touchdowns leads the team. His 25 receptions have come in the last eight games. His 15.9 yards per reception is second only to McKinley’s 17.4. His 73-yard score against Pittsburgh is the longest reception of the year by an Irish wide receiver. All was well when Skowronek’s 26-yard reception past the midway point of the first quarter had the Irish at the Clemson 36 with a 3-0 lead and the possibility of going up by 10. It slipped away shortly thereafter… 4COMMENTS The targeting penalty against Clemson safety Nolan Turner on Michael Mayer was completely justified. Dabo Swinney and Brent Venables tried to argue it, but it was clear. Their argument was grounded in the frustration of knowing that Turner will not be available for the first half against Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl…Venables is a strange, wired cat, isn’t he? I give him credit for recognizing what drives him to come to work every day. He knows he’s a defensive coordinator, not a head coach. He wants to focus on the emotions of getting his defense to play like crazed dogs, and it usually works… It wasn’t until I got back to my hotel that I thought about Notre Dame’s 16-game winning streak coming to a close… Clemson has now won eight straight payback games…Freshman tight end Michael Mayer is second on the team in receptions with 35 for an 11.1-yard average and two touchdowns. Running back Kyren Williams is third on the team in receptions with 27 catches, a 10.4-yard average and a touchdown. It appears his 75-yard screen pass in the season-opener against Duke will be Notre Dame’s longest reception of the season…Clemson and Notre Dame are tied for fourth nationally in rushing touchdowns with 31…Notre Dame’s 30 carries for 44 yards rushing dropped the Irish out of the top 20. The Irish will enter the Alabama game 21st at 217.6 yards rushing per game and 5.13 yards per carry, which places them at No. 22 in that category.
Yeah if JOK wins it that would be crazy. Prince will have a ton of pressure with Manti and Jaylon both winning HS and College. LOL.
If someone could make a gif of crawford in a wheelchair trying to catch up to rodgers it would be gold. I do not have these skills
stop sandbagging Nd got destroyed like you said would happen when Clemson would be full roster. You won and you were right, Nd is still miles away
I think if you added Will Fuller, Julian Okwara, and Julian Love to this team we'd have a shot, that's about what it would take.