Thanks for sharing. It's crazy how important it is to have even a competent QB and how some big programs were stubborn but learn their lessons quickly and jump in. Ohio St. with anybody even slightly better than McCord is in the playoffs. Notre Dame with an experienced starter with even halfway decent talent (say another Coan- level player) in 2022 gets Marcus 10 or 11 wins in his first season. It's simply the way it's going to operate for now on.
Exactly. There is no more home grown qb room. You either have a stud or you try to get one from the portal.
Holy shit. Somebody in the NDFB discord server invited Loy for a Q&A and he asked for a PM. Given some of the commentary there, that could be high comedy.
Everyone sees that it’s a dead end, Riley isn’t going to change and he’s going to kill any dc he hires along the way.
Who'd want it? I get that it's a big program, but fixing that defense isn't as simple as hiring a great DC. It's hard to sustain a good D with an offense that doesn't control the ball at all. They also don't have the benefit of practicing against offensive players who are recruited or coached to play with any physicality. So when they get into games with physical teams, they simply aren't prepared. Sure they only really need occasional stops or turnovers to win, but DCs have egos just like any other coaches, and they aren't looking for an opportunity to just be "good enough to win." They want success so they can improve their own stock. You may be a strong and established DC, but being hamstrung by Riley's style presents the risk of you looking like a failure on the field and losing out on future opportunities. I know USC can pay, but so can the SEC and the rest of the B1G. I'm just not sure that's where I'm hitching my wagon as a DC.
I wish they actually signed someone quickly. It would mean Riley won’t actually change. This dragging out gives them a glimmer of hope that Riley might reach some level of self-awareness.
Nobody can sign or has signed anywhere until next Monday. Even then the signings won't all start right away because visits will really start in earnest the following weekend. There can be "I like school x for player z" type of reports that can be a good indicator, but even if tampering is pretty much expected and accepted, any announcements before next week would be pushing things a little too far.
Ok. Second attempt. It's funny because there have been a couple names that didn't turn out. I wonder if those names actually spoke with them, but after learning more decided it wasn't going to work.
Wow. That kid's tough. Interesting given the prospects for a Cross & Mills return. Maybe Mills could jump back out for some time at SDE? He played better at 3T, but maybe the improved consistency could pay off outside. Anyway, a deep and tough DL is great to have. We've had two DL announce they are leaving already, and I'm sure there will be at least one more. There's room.
lol Prister published an article saying staes was in the portal a few hours early and is now trying to backtrack.
I just found out that Riley Leonard is not a grad transfer...that is very interesting and a big step up in the Transfer Portal game if we can get an incoming senior into ND, even if he is from Duke
I’ve read that he may have 2 years to play? I’m sure his plan is one and done but a guy like Minchey has to start to wonder if that’s the case.
Ok, must have been Twitter speculation. That’s probably best. Locking down a guy for 2 would be cool but I could see that hurting the room more than a one year rental.
Do kids that graduate this semester not count as “Grad transfers” yet in the Portal but then actually are once they enroll next semester? And is Riley one of those kids?
It shows how tough player retention can be as well. Ohio State was supposed to have a Kyle McCord and Quinn Ewers battle this Spring, but Ewers transferred after a year and now has Texas on the playoff cusp. We picked up Devin Brown in December after Ewers entered the portal and now Brown is likely entering the portal.
There are going to be so so so many kids without a home. We need a spring league of just transfer guys with no home imo.
We'll take him if you take Parker off our hands. Just give him an assistant to the offensive coordinator title.
So what I don't get from all of this is that it was reported the WR room was going to revolt if Stuckey was kept, he's fired and 75% of them leave anyways...
This one stinks, but if 3/5 WRs out of a given class hit and contribute, that doesn't suck. It could be 4 down the line if KK Smith stays and develops. I have a feeling the portal class is going to blow this WR room up, anyway. Bring in 2 or 3 guys from Leonard's social media follows, get Thomas and Colzie healthy, keep building with the three experienced freshmen plus Smith, and add next year's talented freshmen into a situation where they won't be pressured too early, and it's actually not a bad room. We may as well get used to losing guys we and the beat hype up but never really get to see. It's going to happen a lot. And not just at ND. If we're serious buyers, it could be OK.
If we get even halfway decent portal guys on the outside, James wasn't going to play. It's time to get used to losing a handful of talented freshmen every year who don't see a clear path. It's going to happen at other positions, too. Let's see how the portal gains vs. losses shake out before worrying too much. Tyree was the only guy to leave so far who wasn't either facing an uphill climb to get his any PT, or who played regularly but who had seemingly been passed or seen his role diminished. And even he was going to split time with other slots.
Something smells off with this WR situation. Freeman needs to do something quick or it's going to continue to look (and get) worse
I'll add, if they don't have a successful portal season at WR, it's probably going to be bad. But the early tea leaves look promising.