JotCast | Notre Dame Football Live Chat

Notre Dame Football Live Chat

Eric Hansen

2:25

That's going to do it for today. We'll crank this up again late week of July/first week in August and do so on a weekly basis throughout football season. Thanks again for all the great questions and be on the lookout for links to order the NDInsider 2019 Football annual.

2:19

I'm going to disagree here. I think there are plenty of examples these relationship picks did not work out, but there are instances where they did. Mike Elston is an elite recruiter and an elite position coach with head coaching potential. So he breaks the stereotype. I disagree about Quinn. He's recruited very well, and I think you have to see how this year's line plays to truly get a feel for how he fits as a position coach. My sense is he will change your opinion. As far as Denson, Kelly didn't have a pre-existing relationship with Denson, so I don't think that first either. And Denson was really good at developing his talent. He just wasn't a dynamic recruiter. I think there can be a mix of Elkos/Leas/Hiestands/Longs with coaches you have a connection with.

James, Texas

2:15

Eric, what do you think of the suggestion that Kelly's greatest weakness at ND has been his tendency to hire under qualified assistant coaches based on personal relationship or ND connection. The list of examples is long, but most have not worked out well. Denson, Lyght (hired out of a high school) and, of course, Van Gorder come to mind. The books on Quinn and Rees are still out, and I'm skeptical.

My thought is that Kelly and ND are always in a strong position to hire a top performing assistant, and Kelly continually makes these relationship hires that do not produce. Elko, Lea and Long are excellent and perhaps signal a turnaround for Kelly in this area.

Your thoughts?

Eric Hansen

2:15

For a position that hasn't produced an All-American at ND since Reggie Brooks in 1992, Tyree is a indeed a big get, particularly with his elite speed. In the Kelly Era, Jaylon Smith was the highest-rated prospect to sign with the Irish and remains so, though his talent was squandered to a degree because of who his defensive coordinator was for two years. I'd say the two players who created a ripple when they signed and impacted Notre Dame the most during the Kelly Era were DE Stephon Tuitt and OG Quenton Nelson.

Jeff, Cleveland, OH

2:11

Eric, Is Tyree the biggest get in recruiting in some time? Not just at RB, but overall? Unless I'm wrong, he seems like he has the potential to be a game changer from the moment he steps on campus. Your thoughts?

Eric Hansen

2:09

Tim, I bet St. Louis is loving the Blues the way the Cardinals are playing ... I believe she was mainly referring to the Notre Dame fan base.

Tim from St Louis

2:08

Read a comment from Braiden McGregor's mom concerning negative postings from "middle age" fans.. She wants them to get a life. As a middle age fan, do you know what fan base she was targeting with this comment ? Let's Go BLUES !

Eric Hansen

2:08

Well put. I think during the Davie-Willingham years, lost luster referred to prestige, image, recruiting clout. People did tune in, but where they doing so for the same reasons some people tune into the Indy 500 or NASCAR? The crashes? Great points, though, and thank you.

James, Texas

2:06

Another answer to your question about brand is that ND has never lost its luster. Based on viewership, ND is the #1 or #2 brand in the game. Based on Forbes annual valuation it is about #6 as I recall. ND Stadium remains a bucket list item for sports fans everywhere. The ACC deal six years ago is another testament to brand power.

I'm nut sure what "luster" means, but the fundamentals of the Notre Dame Football brand are the envy of virtually every AD in America.

Eric Hansen

2:06

I'm not sure we talk to the same people. Notre Dame is in a lot of preseason top 10s, which I think is too high. Now, my assessment may change in August. I think Notre Dame has built a foundation and formula for sustainable success. I'm not sure what your definition of "real;" is -- championships? 10-win seasons? -- but I think the program is in a really good place now with work to do to get to the highest level.

Chad from Toledo

2:03

I feel like people(nationwide)think ND was a fluke last year because the 12-0 resulted in a blowout loss to Clemson!But recruiting has been great n depth all over is better ;I’ve been telling people ND is for real for the next 2-3 years!Im I drinking the wrong kool-aid???

Eric Hansen

2:03

Chad, I'm not sure I'd say loaded at safety. Two really good starters and a couple of promising freshmen. The defense has questions to answer in August if its going to be better than just better than average. So let's see where we are in August with that. There are scenarios where an 11-1 ND team could make the playoff, but a lot depends on who the loss was too and what everyone else in college football is doing.

Guest

1:59

Chad ,Hey Eric we seem loaded at safety n upcoming LBs!Could this Defense n Special Teams be better than last year?And can we get into Playoffs with 11-1 season??

Eric Hansen

1:58

Dwight, I think there are more similarities than you might think. But Georgia has just more of everything. More speed, more depth, more margin for error, because they're recruited and developed so well. DE Robert Beal and WR Demetris Robertson were two coveted prospects that ND had big plans for. They really haven't made an impact at Georgia yet in part because of quality depth. Jay Hayes was a starter here, had seven tackles against Georgia in 2017. Last season while playing for Georgia, he didn't have that many tackles all season.

Dwight from Arkansas

1:55

I understand/agree that ND will be a decided underdog at Georgia (maybe a couple of tds?). What do you see as the difference in the programs? (Speed and SEC preparedness are my guesses).

Eric Hansen

1:54

Jeff. I think Notre Dame has positioned itself well here. The move of Jarrett Patterson to center shows plenty of promise. There's been noticeable improvement among the four returning starters. I think this can be one of the better offensive lines in the country. On the D-line, defensive end is ND's strongest position group on the team. There's star power and depth. The key is healthy on the interior of the defensive line and getting production out of two first-time starters and from their young backups/rotation players.

Jeff, Cleveland, OH

1:51

How strong of a unit do you expect the OL to be this year? How about the DL as well? As we've always heard it all begins and ends in the trenches both offensively and defensively!

Eric Hansen

1:48

The second phase of the Guglielmino Athletics complex expansion would come next. The will connect the Gug to the new indoor practice facility and also provide a new football-only weight room, academic enhancements in terms of facilities, kitchen facilities for training table (food is currently wheeled in from across campus). It's not just about creating flash for recruits. it's about functionality and helping your football team succeed.

Jack

1:45

What are the next facility/ program improvements ND can do or are planning to make to continue to stay up to date and even with the other big names in the sport? I have to assume the new complex is already helping a bit on the trail. What other types of things can they be doing they aren’t yet that other schools are?

Eric Hansen

1:40

Jeremy, I would say one of the young receivers (Austin, Young. Lenzy etc.) and center Jarrett Patterson. On defense, I would say DT Jayson Ademilola, NG Jacob Lacey as rotation players and I;ll take a stab at one of the linebackers, rover Jeremiah Owusu-Kormoah.

Jeremy from Goshen, IN

1:37

Thank you for the chat. In your opinion, who do you predict is the breakout player for the upcoming season on both sides of the ball?

Eric Hansen

1:37

James. thanks. There are a few facets here to consider. First is fit. Even if a guy does have his a degree, it doesn't mean necessarily he's an academic fit for Notre Dame graduate school. No. 2 is history. CB Cody Riggs is really the only impactful grad transfer so far that ND has taken. No. 3 is scholarship numbers. Notre Dame has not left a lot of wiggle room in regards to open scholarship sports the past three recruiting cycles. I agree, a kicker makes a lot of sense. I'm not sure there's an elite one available, though ND kicked the tires on TCU's Andrew David. It's definitely something that is considered more than the Irish actually exercise the option.

James, Texas

1:31

Eric, Is there a reason ND is not more active in recruiting out of the graduate transfer portal? I noticed Clemson's respected backup 5-star RB (and excellent student) is in the graduate transfer portal and is looking at Alabama and Texas. Quality graduate transfers seem like such an efficient use of a roster spot. They come in to plug a hole, don't interfere with underclassmen development, and occupy a roster spot for only one year.

The other obvious place for a graduate transfer opening for ND is at Kicker. A solid graduate transfer kicker -- easily identifiable -- might be the difference between winning and losing a game -- or two!!

Best wishes for the summer....

Eric Hansen

1:30

I'm torn between Ian Book and Jahmir Smith. I'll go with Book.

Michael from Chicago

1:28

3rd leading rusher on this year’s team (presuming Armstrong and Jones are 1 & 2)

Eric Hansen

1:28

There were a couple of things. One is he wasn't ready to compete at the NFL Combine, and it wasn't injury-related. That's a bad look. The other is his skill set would have been a better fit for the way the NFL games was played 10 years ago. In 2019, his pass coverage skills are still not very advanced, and that hurts. Drue Tranquill, on the other hand, 10 years ago, wouldn't be as much in demand as he is in today's football.

Jacob, Hobart, IN

1:25

I was really surprised to see Te'von Coney go undrafted. What didn't teams like about him? Could there be another issue (legal, etc) we didn't know about?

Eric Hansen

1:25

Rich, from part unknown, please include your hometown next time, buddy. That is an interesting topic I plan to take a deeper dive into before the season. There are actually seven such opponents in 2019, so it extends well beyond the ACC games. USC is among the other schools. Again, good question I need to do some poking around for.

Rich

1:20

With the ACC blatant scheduling antics of providing every ACC team a bye before playing ND: does ND have a type of fairness clause that would trigger in an obvious bad faith scheduling tactic.

Eric Hansen

1:20

I asked Tyler James, because I think he has a better feel for that question than I do. We both think the impact is very little, All teams have them and they're basically all the same. You're have normal people and lunatics on all of them.

Michael from Chicago

1:18

How much do comments on fan message boards impact recruiting?

Eric Hansen

1:17

The best two-sport athletes on this current team who are actually playing two sports are TE Cole Kmet (baseball) and CB Troy Pride Jr. (track). Braden Lenzy would be outstanding in the springs if he decides to go back to track. There are other really good multi-sport athletes who choose not ti participate in the second sport.

Jacob, Hobart, IN

1:16

Kyler Murray was drafted #1 in the NFL and #9 in MLB. Who is the best 2 sport athlete on the ND team? What about in recent history? Samardzija is the first one I think of.

Eric Hansen

1:15

The NDInsider 2019 Notre Dame Football Annual comes out June 28. If you're are an annual subscriber to ND premium, you'll get that as part of your subscription. If you are not, we'll have links to preorder it on the ndinsider.com home page next week. ... As far as strong leaders, Brian Kelly has not yet named captains yet. I think you can lead even if you're not a captain. I think two of the best leaders are the two starting safeties, Alohi Gilman and Jalen Elliott. I'd put DE Khalid Kareem up there, as well as QB Ian Book, WR Chris Finke and OT Robert Hainsey.

1:10

Manny!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!&&&$###)*shjkshdfkjfhkjsdfh

Manny San Pedro

1:10

Eric!!!!!!!!!! When does the magazine come out and who do you think will be the most vocal players in locker room. Our team is always better when we have strong leaders

Eric Hansen

1:09

We talked about this on our Pod of Gold podcast this week. Carter Karels and Tyler agreed the next commitment would come from OT Michael Carmody, while my pick was WR Xavier Watts. ... The biggest remaining needs in the class are at cornerback and safety. ... By the way if you want to listen to the podcast, with special guest Chris Tyree, you can do so here: https://www.ndinsider.com/irishstew/pod-of-gold-four-star-rb-chris-tyr...

Gregg - Anderson, IN

1:05

Who is the next big recruiting get for the 2020? Where is the biggest need in terms of roster numbers?

Eric Hansen

1:04

Dan, I am going to assume you look much younger than you purport to be. ... I don't think there's a lot of love for Bob Davie, but it's been a long time since he's been here and he doesn't have a very good team, so I'll project the reception as somewhere between indifference and the golf clap.

Dan from Vancouver WA

1:02

First time participant and 1842 alum, Eric. Bob Davie’s return to Notre Dame stadium for the New Mexico game has created some buzz. How do you think he will be received by ND fans? My guess is Charlie Weis would be booed, but Davie will get a polite but muted reception. Sound about right?

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