Something like that but ND should always win 10 games, the schedule usually hands them 7. Just need to play .500 or better the rest The years ND has an elite QB they should be 11/12 win teams with Title aspirations ND needs to recruit QB better
Wimbush was a really good (or good enough) recruit. It will never not amaze me that the one thing I thought we'd never have to worry about under BK is the really one thing he's consistently never been able to have. That said #JurkStore2018
Don’t you dare speak against the legend Tom Rees. I am obviously kidding here but if we are being serious a second, that hire makes no sense. Nd’s been so bad at qb during kelly’s Tenure, they all regressed. Why would you hire a first time coach that also sucked under you as a coach? You need a guy who will fix the problem that you created as a coach. Go out and find a coach that will find the issues, do not hire a fucking 26 years old that you coached to bad habits. Seems so simple, but what do I know
Couldn't have said it better. I think I'm going to sit this out for awhile. I don't want to feel that Miami depression at least for another few years.
If y'all need some single game tickets this year, let me know since staff get first crack. I think everything but Michigan will be available. I'm sure laxjoe is happy to help as well.
Yes ND should average top ten recruiting classes and that should be ten wins Modern ND 2000-2018 has struggled in this aspect, that’s the problem that has continually caused these 7-5 type seasons Last three years should be the norm for ND recruiting min
On Tommy Rees as a coach. #1 Have any of you run a football team or ever been a coach? #2 have any of you run any organization. Tommy Rees as a player has nothing to do with Tommy the coach. In fact your going to use that point I'd say it's a positive. One he knows what being QB at ND entails. He's a guy who got more with less athletically so he understands the need for that. He understands BKs QB expectations and language. Personally with a new young OC I'm glad they didn't bring in a QB coach who was older in the tooth and would be more likely to want his own stamp on everything. Think Rees was a good hire personally.
But your first paragraph was so unnecessary, and sure I managed a lot of football. I am on year 2027 and started playing ncaa 2014 in 2014. That’s a lot of trial and tribulations to be disrespected like this.
Even bigger now.... I got no hate for Thoros of Beer the person. I simply dislike him as a poster sometimes.
Spoiler Notre Dame is hosting plenty of top targets this weekend in South Bend. (Photo: 247Sports) Here’s the latest recruiting scoop regarding a few targets for the Fighting Irish. On four-star defensive end NaNa Osafo-Mensah … — Heading into the visit, I had three people reach out to me and tell me that they were pretty sure the elite pass-rusher was leaning toward Texas heading into this trip to South Bend. Take it for what it’s worth, but as of late Saturday night, all three believed Notre Dame was actually the school on top. According to one source, Osafo-Mensah flat-out said “Notre Dame is where I’m leaning.” Now, what does that mean? We’ll see how things went late Saturday morning, early Sunday morning with the other recruits and current players, as they all went out for one more good time before the recruits leave campus on Sunday. I’m told Jordan Genmark Heath, Kurt Hinish and Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa were three of the players showing the recruits, which includes commit Hunter Spears and Jacob Lacey, around and spending time with them. Following dinner and a few hours at head coach Brian Kelly’s lake house, they parted ways and went out for the night. On four-star linebacker Osita Ekwonu … — Two sources reached out late Saturday night and said he was loving it at Notre Dame. “He already looks committed,” said one source. Notre Dame is going to be really tough to beat here. It’s not a done deal yet, but it will take an impressive effort to pull him from the Fighting Irish. On four-star linebacker Nick Henrich … — I’m told the newly-minted All-American Bowl honoree and his parents had a much better time than they even anticipated. This is a recruit that defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Clark Lea targeted early and started building that relationship. His ability to really connect with guys on a deeper level is why the Irish have a legitimate shot here. Henrich wants to take some visits still, but my sources are confident Notre Dame is in contention to land him and he’s definitely expected back for an official visit. On three-star defensive end Colt Ellison … — I’m getting mixed reviews. It's nothing bad, just not all positive. The Notre Dame staff loves this kid and the visit is going really well. However, I’m told that TCU is making this a lot harder on him than most expected. They don’t live far from campus, they have always liked that football program a lot and some even think the Horned Frogs had a slight lead heading into this trip to South Bend. One sources believes the depth chart, chance to play earlier, and distance from home is what will help TCU land Ellison. That same source believes Notre Dame already has the parents on board if he wants to be Irish. One other source noted that this is a big family and one where everyone wants to be able to watch Ellison play in person on Saturday. That would be very expensive if he ends up at Notre Dame. All of this will be discussed more in-depth on Sunday inside the Gug, I’m sure, as well as over the next few weeks. If Notre Dame can overcome the distance from home and beat the Horned Frogs, maybe the Irish will pull off the upset and land another from the Lone Star State.
Btw. to piggyback on Thoros of Beer I need a parking pass for the year in Joyce or Stadium. Walsh would work too. We are willing to pay but we got shut out again because we have "cheap" seats. If anyone hears of anything please DM me.
Good run defender, not great pass rusher. Played end for us but may fit best as a 3tech. Especially at OU in big 12 when everyone is so spread. Solid rotational player. Wish he would have stuck around and helped provide depth
I think he wanted a cahnge. Very surprised by his choice though. I fully expected him to go to a true 3-4 team as he legitimately could have a bit of an NFL future as a 5tech maybe. Given his kids I thought he transferred to optimize his chances reaching the league
in that case i applaud his choice. Its what he does best easily and if he plays as well in that system as he theoretically can he might not get drafted but hell make a camp
Pyne is tiny but he can sling it. Really good pickup And as mentioned he needs to get his 5* cousin on board too haha
Spoiler First in a continuing series examining the Power 5 and top Group of 5 teams for the 2018 college football season. It will be Year 9 for Brian Kelly in 2018, and if that seems like a long time, that’s because it has been. Only four other Notre Dame coaches have made it this far, and they are four of the five who have won national titles in South Bend: Knute Rockne (13 years), Frank Leahy (11), Ara Parseghian (11) and Lou Holtz (11). (Dan Devine is the outlier, at six years.) Expecting a national title from the Fighting Irish this season might be a bit much, but given the experience returning on defense, big things should at least be in striking distance for this group. Of course, pretty much all of that is contingent on getting the quarterback situation right (sound familiar?) and navigating what should be one of the nation’s most difficult schedules. The positives? Kelly’s staff overhaul, and personal one, paid immediate dividends last season. Notre Dame entered November in the thick of the College Football Playoff race before faltering, which in some ways may have spoken to this group’s overachieving ways in September and October. Consider: The Irish had six new assistant coaches, including three new coordinators. The defense was completely overhauled. A new quarterback was in place. And, perhaps most important, it was the team's first season after implementing a different offseason strength and conditioning program, as Matt Balis came aboard from UConn and put the roster through the ringer. Another year of conditioning, combined with enhanced depth across the board, should in theory have these players ready for another tough November slate. “For me, flying at 35,000 feet, I want to continue to test our football team and their endurance,” Kelly said at the start of spring practice. “I want to continue to test our football team and the gains that they’ve made from a physicality standpoint. Then I want to put them in positions where we can see what their skill sets are and how they can contribute, and where our issues are, and what we need to prop up as we move into the summer months and then certainly into camp.” Entering his ninth season in South Bend, Brian Kelly continues to modify the Notre Dame formula. (Matt Cashore / USA TODAY Sports) Most of those issues likely will come from the offensive side of the ball, where, in addition to the search for a quarterback, there is a ton of production to replace in the backfield, in the receiving game and on what was arguably the nation’s best offensive line in 2017. “I don’t know that we’re looking for an answer as much as we’re looking for the consistency in play,” Kelly said of quarterback play, adding that the focus “is really about how do we get our passing game up to where it needs to be.” Last year, that was the likely difference between good (Notre Dame’s 10-3 season) and great (a potential Playoff berth). The question now is how the Irish build off that when their identity was so wrapped up in so many of the players who have since left for the NFL. Change comes on the other side of the ball in new defensive coordinator Clark Lea, too, but Lea’s familiarity with the personnel, coupled with his time working with predecessor Mike Elko, should make for a relatively smooth transition. Making a turnaround from 4-8 to double-digit wins was impressive, but the Irish haven’t had back-to-back 10-win seasons since a run of three in a row from 1991-93. There is yet another level to reach, and that might be the hardest part for a Notre Dame program that has so often managed to play its way into the conversation of the elite before falling a step or two short. Biggest on-field question Notre Dame entered the final month of the 2017 season ranked as high as No. 3 by the Playoff selection committee, but the Irish were exposed in November road losses to Miami and Stanford, with subpar quarterback play leading to their undoing. What does that mean for Brandon Wimbush moving forward? The question is simple, but the answer is much more complicated, given all the factors at play. Consider: Wimbush was the nation’s No. 3 dual-threat quarterback in the class of 2015, per 247Sports’ Composite Rankings. There were important people in Notre Dame’s football complex early on who thought Wimbush possessed more natural talent than the men in front of him, Malik Zaire and DeShone Kizer. And that may still be true: At nearly 6-foot-2 and 225 pounds, Wimbush has a dynamic arm and impressive legs. He did, after all, rush for 803 yards and 14 touchdowns last season, his first as a starter. Notre Dame needs Brandon Wimbush to provide both aspects of being a dual-threat quarterback. (Matt Stamey / USA TODAY Sports) Though Wimbush benefited from playing behind an offensive line that went on to win the Joe Moore Award, his legs masked his early shortcomings as a passer, as he completed just 51.5 percent of his passes even as he helped the Irish get off to an 8-1 start. Those numbers were fine compared to the miserable four-game finish, as he completed just 33 of 75 throws down the stretch (44 percent) before getting replaced by Ian Book in the Citrus Bowl win against LSU. And yet: You will hear genuine praise behind the scenes about the high quality of his practice habits, about how smart the accounting major is, about how he is everything you could hope for in a Notre Dame quarterback in the way that he carries himself from Sunday through Friday. But the names “Chuck Knoblauch” and “Mackey Sasser” have been invoked to The Athletic by separate Irish insiders — analogies to baseball players whose perplexing battles with the yips undercut otherwise stellar careers. Never was that more evident than in the 41-8 loss to Miami, when the Irish’s playbook was essentially discarded because of Wimbush’s unexplainable inability to make accurate throws. All of which makes spring evaluations about Wimbush tough to gauge. “His hard work this offseason is paying off right now,” offensive coordinator Chip Long said this spring. “He’s doing a really good job just executing what we want to do and taking charge of the offense, and Ian is as well. And young Avery (Davis, the third-stringer) has really stepped up his game as well.” Book proved more than capable as a backup, replacing ineffective Wimbush in the bowl win and filling in for the injured starter in an earlier rout of North Carolina. But with so many new faces on the offensive line and in the receiving game in 2018, more is needed for the Irish to take the next step. Can incoming freshman Phil Jurkovec be the answer? The 6-5, 215-pound fourth-ranked dual-threat quarterback in the high school class of 2018 has all the tools, and the Irish staff is not so quietly counting on him to at the very least make a push for the starting job. Kelly is not averse to replacing a returning starter with a rookie. But Jurkovec does not arrive until the summer. And if there is anything to be learned from last season, it’s that no one can truly know anything for certain until the lights come on. Depth chart analysis Quarterbacks: Ian Book and Brandon Wimbush are duking it out this spring, though no clarity is expected to come anytime soon. Jurkovec arrives this summer. Avery Davis, a former four-star prospect who redshirted last season, seems primed for a position switch, as the Irish have tried different ways to get the 5-11, 203-pound speedster on the field with the ball in his hands this spring. All of this is a long way of saying that Notre Dame is in better shape at the position than it was last season, if only because it has more potential options. Running backs: Replacing Josh Adams and his 3,201 career rushing yards across three seasons is likely to involve a committee approach, as Tony Jones Jr.and Dexter Williams highlight a thin running back corps. Jones showed flashes as a runner and a blocker last season as a redshirt freshman, but he was often banged up and tallied 232 yards and three touchdowns. Williams, meanwhile, finished a single carry short of the minimum to qualify among the nation’s rushing leaders — a list he would have topped among running backs at 9.2 yards per carry. Dexter Williams brings breakaway ability to the field for the Irish. (Mike Carter / USA TODAY Sports) Crazy enough, Williams is entering his senior year, and with just one other scholarship back on the spring roster (early enrollee Jahmir Smith), the cards could be aligning in his favor to have a breakout year as the featured back. The last time the Irish were this thin in the backfield, in the spring of 2015, the situation boded well for their featured back that season: converted receiver C.J. Prosise. Wide receivers/tight ends: On their own, the receivers might make up the least-proven group on the Irish roster. The most consistent, established returning threat is Citrus Bowl phenom Miles Boykin, who tallied one start, 12 catches and 253 yards in 2017. The next-most proven target is Chase Claypool, who, by all indications — particularly Kelly’s news conference words — needs to get more consistent. Former walk-on Chris Finke is back, too, although his biggest contributions might come in the return game. The tight end rotation is deep, in keeping with a program that has boasted the Tight End U. moniker over the past decade. Nic Weishar is the elder statesman of a group that will feature four players, with Alize Mack, Brock Wright and Cole Kmet likely to see extended action in 2018. Offensive line: The only set positions are returning starters Sam Mustipher(center) and Alex Bars (who has started at both guard spots). Notre Dame has largely experimented with the talent it has this spring, at times trotting out a first-team line with Liam Eichenberg at left tackle, Tommy Kraemer at left guard and Robert Hainsey at right tackle; or, alternately, with Hainsey at left tackle, Josh Lugg at left guard and Kraemer at right tackle. Eichenberg’s emergence this spring seems to have been the impetus for the shuffle, and though Kraemer and Hainsey split time at right tackle during last season’s standout campaign, Long has indicated that Eichenberg and Hainsey are the frontrunners for the two tackle spots this spring. No matter how things shake out, there likely will be an adjustment period given that soon-to-be high draft picks Mike McGlinchey and Quenton Nelson are no longer holding down the fort, along with the fact that O-line coach Harry Hiestand left for the NFL. But recruiting along the line has not slowed, as the Irish have four more tackle signees on the way this fall. And, perhaps as impressive as anything else, Hainsey played his way into a part-time starting job as a true freshman on last year’s dominant line. Defensive line: Notre Dame went from a comically low 14 sacks in 2016 (118th nationally) to a much more respectable 24 last season (70th). The jump was impressive considering the personnel was largely the same and will continue that way into 2018. Jay Hayes transferring to Oklahoma leaves the Irish down an official starter from 2017, but Hayes was going to have to outplay junior Khalid Kareem to keep that job to begin with. And Kareem is coming off a pleasantly surprising season in which he tied for second on the team with three sacks. He is joined on the outside by fellow junior (and fellow Michigan native) Daelin Hayes, who also tallied three sacks (among 6.5 tackles for loss), along with four hurries and two fumble recoveries. Two seniors man the interior, as Jonathan Bonner and Jerry Tillery started every game last season, with Tillery playing his way into the NFL conversation with a breakout campaign that featured a team-best 4.5 sacks and 11 hurries. This line is not like those early Kelly-era units that were loaded with first-round potential, but it has developed nicely through coaching changes and can make up for physical shortcomings with years of playing experience together. Linebackers: Fifth-year senior and two-time captain Drue Tranquill is back again, this time in yet another position. Tranquill, who overcame ACL tears in both knees during his first two years on campus, thrived in his switch last season from safety to rover, finishing with 10.5 TFLs, one pick, one forced fumble and three fumble recoveries. But with the graduation of starters Greer Martini (Buck) and Nyles Morgan (Mike), Tranquill will slide over to the Buck position, with Asmar Bilal taking over at rover. A part-time starter (and leading tackler) last season, senior Te’von Coney will now man the Mike, after providing relief for Martini at the Buck last season. Coney showed massive improvements as the season progressed, finishing with 116 stops, including 13 behind the line of scrimmage. Now a linebacker, Drue Tranquill had the second-most tackles for loss of any Notre Dame player in 2017. (Matt Cashore / USA TODAY Sports) What’s worth noting is that last year’s three starting linebackers were captains last season, and though there is plenty of turnover at those spots — relative to the rest of the defensive roster — the new starters received plenty of snaps last season and should be in position to continue to run the defense. Defensive backs: Ask anyone who coached for or against Notre Dame last season, and each will tell you how impressive a job Elko did, considering he essentially had a nine-man defense to work with. The play at safety was substandard, and it needs to improve this season, regardless of who’s in the lineup. As for who will be there, Kelly said in plain terms recently that everything is up for grabs. So incumbents Nick Coleman and Jalen Elliott have their work cut out for them — as do Isaiah Robertson and Devin Studstill. Navy safety transfer Alohi Gilman likely would have started last season had he been eligible, and returning corners Julian Love, Nick Watkins, Troy Pride Jr. and Shaun Crawford should continue to build off their first real extended stretches of playing from last season. Special teams: Kicker Justin Yoon and punter (and captain) Tyler Newsomeare back, with each entering their fourth years as starters. It will be the second year at their respective positions for John Shannon (snapper) and Jonathan Doerer (kickoffs). Chris Finke is back to return punts, too, although there will be a new face returning kicks, as receiver C.J. Sanders has elected to become a graduate transfer. Tony Jones Jr. has the most returning experience in the kick return department, although the lack of depth at running back likely means that others will get a longer look there. With the Irish indoors pretty much all spring, those reps have been few and far between, although sophomore receivers Jafar Armstrong and Michael Young look to have the early inside track, with the potential for some freshman contributions come fall camp. Notre Dame was decidedly middle-of-the-pack across the board on special teams last season, but even that was an upgrade from the comedy of errors that preceded the Irish’s special teams in 2017. Keep in mind, too, that last year was Brian Polian’s first as special teams coordinator and that he will look for more big plays out of these groups in 2018 now that most of the adjustments have been worked out. (Also worth noting: There will be a new holder with quarterback Montgomery VanGorder off to Youngstown State. Anyone overlooking that should be pointed to the mess that was the end of the 2014 season for the Irish.) How the Irish have recruited from 2015-2018 Notre Dame pulled in the nation’s No. 10 class for the second consecutive year, following classes ranked No. 15 (2016) and No. 13 (2015). That ’15 class, in particular, has not aged particularly well: Eight of its 23 players have transferred or been dismissed, and two others, Josh Adams and Equanimeous St. Brown, declared for the draft. Helping to offset that is a roster featuring eight fifth-year seniors, as Notre Dame, like its academic brethren Stanford, has tried to master the art of getting old. The Irish shed some dead recruiting weight on their staff in recent years and have seen their recruiting rankings jump. The last two classes should provide some needed depth for a program that has fallen victim to late-season flameouts in recent years. More noteworthy: Eight D-linemen have joined the program over the past two years, adding to a core of Tillery, Daelin Hayes and Kareem. When the Irish were winning — such as in 2012 — they, like most recent Playoff participants, were getting after the quarterback. While there was a dip in the aftermath of that title-game run six seasons ago, things appear to be back on the upswing in that department. Impact of coaching changes Jeff Quinn and Terry Joseph are in, Hiestand and Elko are out. All in all, the staff turnover for Notre Dame was minimal, at least from a familiarity standpoint: Quinn, the former Buffalo head coach, had been with the program in a number of non-coaching roles the previous three seasons before being tabbed to replace Hiestand as offensive line coach — no small task, considering the left side of arguably the nation’s best line is moving on to the NFL (as is Hiestand, now with the Chicago Bears). Joseph comes from North Carolina and joins incumbent Todd Lyght as a defensive backs coach, with the former tutoring the safeties. Joseph is the lone fresh voice on this staff, which unexpectedly lost Elko, its defensive coordinator, to Texas A&M in January. Elko engineered a massive turnaround in his lone year in South Bend, and look for much of the same cosmetically with Lea running the show, especially with upward of nine starters back on that side of the ball. Lea had worked under Elko at three different stops, including serving as Notre Dame’s linebackers coach last season. (He will remain in charge of the linebackers this season.) Longtime Kelly right-hand man Mike Elston got a bump from assistant head coach to associate head coach (in addition to defensive line duties), and former Irish QB Tommy Rees became the 10th assistant after being tabbed as quarterbacks coach last year — a title he could not officially assume until 2018. Schedule analysis From opening against rival Michigan to closing at rival USC, Notre Dame should have one of the toughest schedules in the country. It’s not just that the Irish play 10 Power 5 opponents and always-strong Navy. And it’s not just that, in addition to the aforementioned opponents, the Irish also face Stanford, Virginia Tech and Florida State. On top of all that, Notre Dame only has one home game in October … and one in November. It closes its home schedule Nov. 10 against Florida State, then travels to Yankee Stadium to face Syracuse and finishes at Southern California. And that final three-game stretch overshadows the trap-heavy stretch ahead of it: an Oct. 27 trip to San Diego to face the Midshipmen, followed by a Nov. 3 visit to Northwestern. Thirty years after their last national championship, the Irish will need some luck to navigate this road relatively unscathed. Final assessment Fix the quarterback problem, and the rest will take care of itself, right? In college football today, teams might not need both a dominant quarterback and a dominant defense, but they do need at least one of those to succeed. The Irish lacked both last season, but they have the potential to do a lot more, particularly on defense, which would give them a good shot at a New Year’s Six bowl if the cards align just so.
You bet. It's not often I get to contribute anything other than making fun of Harry or our favorite intern.
Lol, everyone ND "led" for is committing or leaning elsewhere. Watson, Nana, Ellison, Mazi and Joseph Anderson trending away. Now Chez Melusi the back who had Irish in front for a year now just committed to Clemson