Thanks for all the updates. I can't wait to shitpost while watching the Irish in the title game with all of you.
Mentock on the defense Spoiler On Thursday, Notre Dame invited the media to view the entirety of the football program’s first spring practice of 2024. The players wore helmets without pads. As Irish Illustrated previously indicated, Notre Dame special teams coordinator Marty Biagi spent a significant amount of time working with the safeties. Biagi’s focus has been on special teams since 2016, but he spent five seasons on the defensive side of the ball. Biagi’s Defensive Experience 2011 Arkansas-Pine Bluff Co-Defensive Coordinator 2012-14 Southern Special Teams Coordinator/Defensive Backs 2015 South Dakota Cornerbacks Biagi spent the first period standing beside Marcus Freeman, watching kickers Chase Jeter and Marcello Diomede attempt field goals. I believe Jeter made his first three attempts from 43, 41 and 40 yards (my view of the ref was obstructed on the second, but I believe the kick went in). Diomede missed kicks from 45 and 40 yards (he appeared to miss a third from about 43 yards, but once again my view was obstructed) and hit from 37 yards. Jeter then lined up two more kicks from 46 yards and missed both to the right. Once the team finished special team drills, Biagi joined coach Mike Mickens to work with the defensive backs. Biagi, Mickens, defensive coordinator Al Golden and a pair of assistants spent the first few periods instructing the defensive backs through drills. So, there shouldn’t be much concern that the defensive backs won’t get adequate attention, at least on day 1 of spring ball. Biagi also went with the safeties when they separated from the defensive backs, while Mickens stayed with the cornerbacks. DEFENSIVE UNITS Other defensive players rotated in and out of various units, so this I wouldn't take the information below as the Day 1 depth chart, but here is the initial first, second and third-team defenders I wrote down from Monday’s team period. First-Team Defenders DE: RJ Oben DT: Rylie Mills DT: Howard Cross DE: Jordan Botelho LB: Drayk Bowen LB: Jack Kiser ROVER: Jaylen Sneed CB: Ben Morrison S: Xavier Watts S: Adon Shuler CB: Jaden Mickey NB: Clarence Lewis Second-Team Defenders DE: Joshua Burnham DT: Donovan Hinish DT: Jason Onye DE: Junior Tuihalamaka LB: Drayk Bowen LB: Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa LB: Jaiden Ausberry CB: Christian Gray S: Luke Talich S: Ben Minich CB: Clarence Lewis NB: Micah Bell Third Team Defense DE: Bryce Young DT: Brenan Vernon DT: Sean Sevillano Jr. DE: Boubacar Traore LB: Kahanu Kia LB: Jaiden Ausberry CB: Christian Gray S: Kennedy Urlacher S: Marty Auer CB: Micah Bell NB: Devyn Ford NICKEL OBSERVATIONS Jordan Clark still appears to be first in line for the job, but Notre Dame kept him out of drills due to quad soreness. Clarence Lewis will continue to be the secondary’s Swiss Army Knife. He took first-team reps at Nickel, played corner on the second team and can even play safety in a pinch. He had a few solid one-on-one reps, including jumping an inside route from Deion Colzie for a PBU. Devyn Ford moved from running back to safety for his sixth season of college football. On Thursday, he took reps with the second and third teams at Nickel and even made a few plays, including a PBU while covering wide receiver Alex Whitman. Micah Bell will also get a shot at Nickel. He certainly has the speed and quickness to play there, but at 177 pounds, he’s still undersized and must show he can withstand the physical demands of playing the run as a slot defender. THE MORRISON SHOW Cornerback Ben Morrison was clearly the best player on the field on Thursday. In one-on-ones, he had multiple pass breakups on Jayden Thomas (who also beat Morrison on his last rep despite a clear jersey tug). In team, Morrison also came away with an acrobatic over-the-shoulder interception 30 or 40 yards down the left sideline. He might’ve landed out of bounds, but it remained a spectacular play. The battle between Jaden Mickey and Christian Gray for the other cornerback spot will be interesting to monitor this spring. It’s Day 1, but Mickey got beat on a few reps. Most notably, Mickey slowed down on an underthrown deep ball to Kris Mitchell and seemed to be in the ideal position directly under it, only for Mitchell to easily win the jump ball. THE OTHER SECONDARY BATTLE Currently, Luke Talich (now on scholarship) and Adon Shuler will battle it out to play safety opposite Xavier Watts, at least until Rod Heard II officially joins the team this summer. Shuler slimmed down from 208 pounds to 198 pounds. Meanwhile, Talich bulked up from 198 pounds to 210 pounds. The fact that these two effectively seemed to switch to the other’s previous weight should serve both well. Shuler got beat a few times but seemed to be in position and appeared trimmer and more agile. Talich struggled when coming up to cover a receiver in the slot, but it’s his first practice since having surgery to repair a broken collarbone in November. DEFENSIVE LINE NOTES Defensive linemen Armel Mukam, Aiden Gobaira and Loghan Thomas will not practice this spring. RJ Oben impressed during the team portion of Monday’s practice. On one rep, he beat offensive tackle Sullivan Absher off the edge so quickly that he instantly got into the backfield and ran past the quarterback for what would’ve been an easy sack. A few times in practice, Boubacar Traore lined up opposite Oben, so it seems that the talented “third-stringer” will be given opportunities this spring to show he can help the team on Saturdays in the fall. It appears Tyson Ford is permanently switching back inside to defensive tackle now that he’s back up to 290 pounds. BOWEN HOBBLED During the team position of Monday’s practice, sophomore linebacker Drayk Bowen broke up a pass on a blitz and must’ve landed awkwardly. It took him a moment to get up before he walked off the field next to athletic trainer Rob Hunt, with Bowen seemingly favoring his left leg.
The beat writers were pretty transparent that he was an instant bust. They don’t quite talk about him like Darnell Ewell but it was close. People got really riled up about his transfer for no reason.
I think it was route running, and was just super un-developed in high school. I'm pretty sure he played in the top HS division in Texas too, so that seemed like a pretty big red flag.
I think it was just the entire receiver skillset outside of athleticism. Not good at running routes or getting off coverage, wasn’t great at catching. He pretty much was just faster than everyone in high school seemingly
Man who made his entire career and legacy off the back of black men suddenly wants a world where they don’t have rules. Fucking hypocrite. I hope he gets sepsis shitting his diaper tonight.
lol Sinclair just wrote this It’s Year 2038…. The CFB Playoff is a 28-team tournament that runs through early March. Recruits sign their Letter of Intent just before 8th grade final exams. Recruiting reporters are reduced to scrounging up gossip on middle school playgrounds. No one is happy.
this is good stuff from OMalley Spoiler 1 — Brisk morning in South Bend but we’re told practice will remain indoors…and to think I packed my binoculars for the three-field practice viewing back in early February. 2 — As I said to Pete Sampson as players crossed from the Guglielmino Center to the Irish Athletics Complex, “Kris Mitchell even jogs fast.” 3 — I know. I know. Notre Dame’s players still have to cross a blocked off side street to go from locker room to practice field. This is why we’ll never win. The horror of it all… (Am I close?) 4 — It’s my first look at Sean Sevillano Jr., in an Irish uniform. He’s hard to miss… Seriously, Sevillano’s size and appearance immediately calls to mind freshman Kurt Hinish circa 2017 when he wandered onto the Culver Academies Field in August in an old ND jersey he got at a thrift store and started pounding into offensive linemen so hard they asked him if he’d like to stay. At least that’s how I assume Hinish got on the team. I never asked him. 5 — No pads for Loghan Thomas, who could use some weight (6’4” 205) nor for Armel Mukam who could probably spare some (6’3” 290). Also not in pads but expected to that end: Aiden Gobaira (August ACL), Kevin Bauman (August ACL), Mitchell Evans (famous October ACL). 6 — Me: “I can’t remember the last time we were at a practice without Michael Vinson.” — Pete and Prister simultaneously: “Well he’s right over there!” (Watching) — Me: “I can’t remember the last time we were at a practice without DJ Brown…” 7 — Clemson transfer Beaux Collins on hand to watch his teammates. Collins is living in South Bend and is set to graduate from Clemson this semester. He can’t take part in an official practice as a result. No sign of Northwestern transfer Rod Heard II who is in the same boat but pursuing a Master’s Degree. Of course, I also don’t A.) really know what Heard looks like, and B.) Didn’t verify with anyone, so I’m guessing C.) He’ll be in attendance for Practice No. 2 on March 20. 8 — At first I thought Collins was looking at a phone, but that’s a playsheet/script. Phew. In fact, I bet Collins doesn’t even OWN a phone! That’s how locked in he is! Spring Football!!! 9 — New kicker Mitch Jeter misses to the right on a bomb. I bet if that were Spencer Shrader the miss would’ve been higher and farther. Looks like walk-on Rino Monteforte is the holder right now with Andrew Kros the other. Monteforte is similar in height to Blake Grupe (5’7”) but 80 pounds heavier at 193. Kros is 6’3” 214 pounds which brings me to my next thing to say… 10 — Jaylen Sneed is 6’1” 218? He is damn fast, but holy cow he’d fit right in with the safeties out there. Sneed needs a huge spring and today was a good start. The redshirt-sophomore spent ample time alongside Jack Kiser today when the defense repped. (Not behind him in the race he lost two springs ago, but with him.) He does not, however, remind me of recent #3s… 11 — Devyn Ford has moved to safety. Here were my clues: A.) he was wearing white, not blue, B.) he was with the defensive backs, C.) Pete pointed out is reads S next to his name on the roster I’m holding… 12 — I like the move of Ford because A.) you gotta keep the six RBs somehow. B.) he was in reality moved to ‘Special Teams Demon Preparing for an NFL Free Agent Contract’ and C.) he can now work on tackling daily, as Marcus Freeman offered in his post-practice presser… 13 — Is that Jeremiyah Love in receiver drills!! Yes! Wait…that’ Price in the same drill. And Young. And Payne. Disregard… Love did speak with wide receivers coach Mike Brown after the segment. 14 — Yikes, CJ Carr can throw a football. First pass I watched with interest today. 15 — Tremendous one-on-one coverage by cornerback Jaden Mickey vs. graduate transfer Kris Mitchell as the practice hits the fun phase for those of us in attendance. Mickey to Mitchell after blanketing him and getting a PD: “Tearing Your STUFF up!” He didn’t stay ‘Stuff’ though. He never says Stuff. 16 — Jaden Greathouse just torches Xavier Watts on an over route. Remember — this is one-on-one full field. So the offense should win. Greathouse did. 17 — Benjamin Morrison lays the hammer on Jayden Thomas to break up a slant. Last spring, the player I was most impressed with—because Joe Alt didn’t count—was Audric Estime. I have an early indication on my choice this spring. Keep reading…. 18 — KK Smith shows GREAT footwork stopping on a dime to separate from Christian Gray on a deep hook. For you kids reading at home, a ‘Dime’ had a monetary value of 10 cents and was often used in the 20th century to help procure goods. The Dime is particularly small, thus ‘stoping on a dime’ signifies a difficult maneuver. KK Smith can do it. 19 — Good move by Deion Colzie to separate from Clarence Lewis who has moved back from corner, but in reality, is the backup Nickel to Jordan Clark…who sat out today with a thigh contusion. 20 — Freshman Cam Williams is absolutely blanketed on a deep post by—checks the roster,—oh yeah, Isaiah Dunn. (Cam would have his moments later). 21 — Kenny Minchey drops a dime (see how often that phrase is turned!) to Jack Polian against Kennedy Urlacher downfield. What a throw. 22 — Greathouse strong out of his break vs. Micah Bell for the completion. He didn’t use his wide catch radius on this play but you could see his wingspan prior to the catch. I remain bullish on Greathouse as a starter. 23 — There will be abut 5-6 starters among the receivers, however. And not in a 2022-2023 kinda way 24 — Cooper Flanagan separates using his size vs. Adon Shuler to the boundary. Shuler has a golden opportunity this spring with Clarence Lewis moved back to cornerback as his training ground. 25 — Bowen held freshman running back Kedren Young on that rep. Young makes a nice catch about six reps later downfield. 26 — It’s nice that 30-year-old Citadel graduate Eric Goins is on the squad this year so Young has someone to talk to his own age…. 27 — Morrison holds Thomas but the latter won’t be denied, making the catch anyway. We need to see a lot of that this off-season. 28 — I’m officially here to report that KK Smith can scoot. On this particular rep, he’s covered well by Christian Gray on a very, very deep post that nearly hits the IAC’s north wall. Christian Gray, as you already know, can also move his legs rapidly. 29 —Newly-minted running back Dylan Devezin beats PWO Tre Reader for an all hands catch. I’m thinking Devezin has to play RB until one of the QBs decides he can start somewhere else. 30 — That’s Isaiah Dunn blanketing Cam Williams on an out-route. (Don’t worry, no Braylon James vibes here.) 31 — Hey, CJ Carr is human. Bad throw, finally. 32 — Jeremiyah Love with a nice catch one-on-one vs. Kiser but Ausberry strikes back for the LB room, all over Jadarian Price on this rep. 33 — Alright, here we go! Some split field reps with 7-on-7 and also 7-on-7 running (you can’t tackle) drills… 34 — It’s Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa at Mike and Ausberry at Will to begin this drill. Message Boards everywhere spontaneously combust… 35 — Steve Angeli with an beauty to Thomas vs. Morrison on the sideline. What a throw. Message Boards imploding… 36 — That’s Junior Tuihalamaka as the No. 2 Vyper and Josh Burnham as the No. 2 SDE. No wonder KVA and Ausberry were out there together. Whoops. Sorry to get your hopes up. 37 — Jaylen Sneed with some serious speed to flat and he’s all over this slip screen to Gi'Bran Payne. We have Kiser (middle), Zinter (weak) and Sneed (strong/rover) on this rep. 38 — Lunging pass breakup by No. 29, Christian Gray. As Prister sardonically pointed out “Is the No. 29 growing only you yet?” I still think he should change his number. I wonder if Gray knows he’d be even better with a cooler number? 39 — Riley Leonard tosses a pretty back shoulder throw to Colzie to beat Lewis. 40 — This time it’s Kiser Mike and Sneed at Will. I believe that’s safety Marty Auer at Rover. (He was there a lot.) Not much Nickel today with Jordan Clark out, FYI. 41 — Minchey to Cam Williams who ran a sharp dig route. Good ball, and we can all breathe easily again. 42 — Brenan Vernon at DT as TJP reported from the Sun Bowl. (Well, the Sun Bowl flight home.) 43 — That’s Alex Whitman winning vs. new safety Devyn Ford on a deep post. He moved to special teams captain, guys, not safety. Trust me. 44 — That’s Bowen at Mike with Ausberry at Will…Seed at Mike with Kiser at Will…Another nice throw by Leonard…Bowen at Mike with Tre Reader at Will… 45 — CJ Carr to Micah Gilbert deep down the right sideline. Tremendous throw and catch by the rookie pair. Carr comes running over to Gilbert for a high five, or low five. They touched hands excitedly. Nice play. 46 — Little break in the action and Devyn Ford is over talking to the RBs before sprinting over to drink water with the Safeties. It would be really funny if he did that accidentally… 47 — Here are your four punt returners while Jordan Faison sits out to save himself for another Lacrosse victory Saturday: Jaden Greathouse, Jaden Mickey, Jadarian Price, Gi'Bran Payne. (Faison was with them) 48 — If you’re wondering, Jayden Harrison is the kick returner, not the punt returner. 49 — HOLY. WHAT? My GOODNESS Benjamin Harrison with one of the best interceptions I’ve ever seen on a practice field. Left sideline, stride for stride with Jayden Thomas. Good throw by Leonard. Leaping one-handed (right-handed/inside hand!) stab by Morrison for the interception. What hath God wrought? 50 — Jaylen Sneed at Rover. Bowen Mike and Kiser Will. It all seems so trivial after that interception though. Adon Shuler running with the 1s at safety. 51 — Jordan Botelho goes right around Tosh Baker on a live rep and spares CJ Carr his life and limbs. I don’t think Carr realizes how close he came to the sun on that rep… 52 — Jaiden Ausberry (Will), correcting KVA (Mike) on his alignment. Hey, that’s Clarence Lewis to the boundary cornerback spot. Guess he’s the No. 4 CB and No. 2 at boundary with Mickey and Gray duking it out to the field spot. 53 — Donovan Hinish is quick off the ball. That’s a TFL. At 6’2” 279 pounds, Hinish could be a disruptor inside at 15 snaps or so per game. 54 — Jayden Harrison is full speed all the time. He’s quick out of his break. Pulls away from defenders. And runs through contact at full speed. In fact, if I didn’t know Kris Mitchell was Kris Mitchell, I’d have guessed Harrison were Kris Mitchell today. 55 — As I typed that note live, Mitchell ‘Mosses’ Mickey on a desperation throw downfield by Leonard. Yikes. I cannot imagine how much I’d have to say after that catch if I were Mitchell, considering how much trash Mickey talked prior. (Mickey won more than one rep vs. Mitchell prior, I should add.) 56 — What a catch. Goodness. That deflated Mickey who took a long time to get back to his field spot to cover KK Smith. 57 — Jadarian Price is the fastest back through the holes today, and he’s the biggest and uses a stiff-arm, to boot. 58 — Here come the 3s up front: Bryce Young, Brenan Vernon, Sean Sevillano, and Boubacar Traore. A few thoughts on that quartet: Young looks like he’s 246 pounds. But at 6’7” that’s okay, because one day he’s going to look 246 and be 276… Vernon and Sevillano look like the number 10 when they stand next to each other. Looking forward to Traore’s progress this spring. Those arms go on for days. 59 — Freshman Micah Gilbert toasts a walk-on in coverage. Accurate pass by Leonard. 60 — New OL (3s) for the moment shows (left to right): Aamil Wagner, Chris Terek, Peter Jones, Ty Chan, and Anthonie Knapp. Wagner also plays No. 2 right tackle when Sullivan Absher is No. 2 left tackle. 61 — Clarence Lewis enters at Nickel with the 1st unit. (Some of us know our Musings, but I digress…) 62 — The Micah Bell vs Jayden Harrison speed-in-the-slot matchup is one I need to watch! Swing pass opposite. Well that was a letdown… Bell worked as the No. 2 Nickel, FYI.. 63 — Bowen tweaked his ankle…he has 13 days to rest. Other than Baseball, of course. 64 — Micah Bell with the PD on a slant pass by Leonard (vs. Harrison). 65 — That’s a both-feet vertical jump by Preston Zinter for the PD against CJ Carr throwing over the middle. Nice timing, good elevation by the redshirt-freshman. 66 — Hmm…Aneyas Williams with the blitz pickup against Zinter. That might be more important than an eye-opening catch or cut at this stage of his development. 67 — Colzie takes a stab at a one-handed leaping catch (thrown high by a pressured Riley Leonard) but can’t quite reel it in. One snap later, it’s Ausberry with the leaping PD blitz from the Will position (Zinter was Mike). 68 — If I had never attended a Notre Dame practice, and did not know the players’ names, my takeaways from Thursday morning would be as follows: — #20 is the best player on the team — #7 had a better day vs. #10 than #10 had against him…but #10’s remarkable catch leaping over #7—essentially taking the ball off the top of #7’s helmet had ‘too much’ of an impact on #7. Go play. — #29 is an excellent cover corner — I have no idea who the starters are, but the biggest impact at linebacker was by #4 — Fastest player in pads: #2 in blue — “Looks like a running back” Award: #24 — “Looks like a wide receiver” Award: #19 — The starting quarterback is one of the four guys wearing a red jersey. And why don’t those QBs ever run? — Not enough tight ends, but #87 looks good — #14 in blue can’t be a freshman — #41 in white is pretty quick off the ball. Those other guys sure are bigger than him though… — Why is #99 in white playing with the college kids? And why is #11 in blue allowed to play with the college kids? Just because he’s quicker than most of them? — #26 is a good cover corner. Just ask #17 — #25 can jump and #3 can run defensively — #24 in white sure is versatile — #12 in white had mercy in his soul for #12 in red See You on March 20, Irish fans…
So I could probably figure out who this is. This was parked at my daughter's school (Catholic k-8 school north of Chicago). My in-laws have older kids there and know everyone.
what the hell happened to privacy? Freedom in this country is now a foreign concept if I can’t even park my shit without being abused verbally on the internet on a different topic, I was just trying to message Peyton Bowen and a few of his close relatives and the internet was not great in that spot, can you direct me to a better place where free wifi is working Bert Handsome
ND's women beat Virginia Tech to advance to the ACC Championship but it looks like their starting center, Kylee Watson, tore her ACL. They've had really bad injury luck, second starter out for the year and fourth rotation player overall out. Plus it happening this late in the year is bad for her chances of playing next year. Bummer
Yup, beating the dog shit out of VT and she goes down on a simple cut in the lane. Really blows. They have 0 size now, probably really caps the NCAA run chances unless they get a really lucky draw of guard heavy teams. Probably an E8 team with her with an outside shot at the F4 given a good draw. Probably more like S16 now.