JotCast | Notre Dame Football Live Chat July 5, 2023

Notre Dame Football Live Chat July 5, 2023

Eric Hansen

3:01

That's going to do it for today. Thanks for all the great questions. I may do one more chat before training camp starts later this month, then we will be in weekly mode once it does for the duration of camp and the regular season.

2:59

Eamonn from Oswego, couldn't get to your very deep dive, multi-part question today (and several from others). Maybe I can work on that in advance for next time.

2:57

Hi Rich. I love the chats, too, especially today's. Thanks for loving them too. I have written extensively on it fairly recently. I am including the link.

Rich. Melbourne fl

2:55

Eric, love the chats. One Q given all the talk surrounding ND’s participation in it via FUND…exactly or approximately how does it work? If you’ve written on this before attach the link. and as always thanks

Eric Hansen

2:53

Bob, not sure if you're reading bad info elsewhere or just missing the stuff we're putting out, but Al Washington was and is very involved in that recruitment. At various times each of his five finalists led, but when he made his announcement, I'd say it was OSU, Michigan and ND ... all ahead of Georgia and Miami.

Bob Loganville, GA

2:51

From following the Justin Scott recruitment rarely did I hear Al Washington and Al Golden's name pop up in the recruitment. Initially in January I heard TR went over to watch a basketball game or 2, then I was hearing MF and CB was visiting. But nothing from the DL and DC coaches. Was this a situation where the DL and DC coach wasn't recruiting him as hard as the competition? Based off the ranking ND was not in his top 3 (Miami, GA and MI)

Eric Hansen

2:50

You said "please tell me I'm wrong." Wish granted. ... 2) The collectives and market drives the ceiling of NIL money and if the player wants to talk about it, they will. We didn't talk money, but in a 1-on-1 with Audric Estimé, that I plan to turn around for a story later this month, we had fun talking about the different ventures in which he's involved. ... ND and Freeman haven't given up the Northeast. They had two Mass. kids and one NJ kid in the 2023 freshman class and are trying to reel in Mass. OL Guerby Lambert for 2024. Lots of offers in both the 2024 and 2025 classes for kids in the Northeast.

2:46

Hi Norris, thank you. Let's get to these one at a time. 1) You will never get accurate full disclosure from ND or any other school -- not consistently. There is a recruiting service that purports to estimate NIL value. I have seen criticisms of it that those numbers are WAY off and that it actually builds false expectations with some prospects. 2) No I don't agree that the absence of a price tag makes all the other evaluations meaningless. I think you're WAY underestimating ND's competitiveness in the NIL space (and for good reason, because they don't care to correct that perception to anyone but recruits and their parents). And NIL isn't prioritized the same by every recruit. (more)

Norris. Singer island, FL

2:35

Thank you for your candid appraisal of Notre Dame sports. Three questions. You and your staff are very detailed in providing the abilities and their thought process of each Notre Dame football recruit. However, one key ingredient seems to be missing: the NIL (recruiting) money, that is being offered by each college, including ND, to the particular individual. Perhaps that is never knowable. But. for most prominent recruits, doesn’t the absence of that factor skew, compromise, and make irrelevant all your other evaluations ;;; please tell me I’m wrong? Second, does ND Itself have a policy regarding how much recruiting money they will pay to a recruit and should that policy be made public? Third, why has ND and MF seemingly given up recruiting football prospects from the north east, particularly the Catholic high schools ofNew Jersey, from which many of their recent starters have been recruited?

Eric Hansen

2:34

Thanks, Dave. I think your doubts are shared by many others. What I can tell you for sure is if NIL as an acquisition fee is the driving forced in a player's recruitment, Marcus Freeman does not believe they will be a fit at ND and they won't pursue him. Now if they are looking for other things and want ND to be competitive in the NIL space, that's realistic, and I think CJ Carr is an example of that. There are others in the 2025 class as well. One thing to keep in mind, Miami and Texas A&M are two of the programs most associated with the corrupted version of NIL. And how did they do last year? NIL is a significant piece. But it's not the only piece.

Dave, Ponte Vedra, FL

2:29

Great to have these chats back. In light of Scott joining last year’s 5 star defections, is it even reasonable to expect ND to land one of these elite players without payment up front? These 5 star players know their value on the open market and I question whether the NIL system employed by the Irish will entice them to South Bend. I like how we do it, but have my doubts about its effectiveness.

Eric Hansen

2:28

Len, that news came out around a week ago, and I'm not sure I have been able to fully wrap my head around it. ... I would not equate this as a step toward bringing sanity back to college football. I think the best, maybe only way, to do it is through an act of Congress, although I do think there is some "self-correction" going on.

Len from the Jersey

2:23

Hello Eric, And a Happy Independence Day to you, the staff and their families. May we celebrate this great country in peace and harmony. Well we lost another 5 star D lineman. I am sure you will cover the reasons for this particular case. What have you heard about NIL collectives losing non-profit status per the IRS decision (contributions will no longer be tax deductible) and the expected affect on NIL in the future? Will these collective just be rebranded in a way that meets IRS guidelines? Or will sanity return to college football?

Eric Hansen

2:23

From everything I've heard, that is his plan, but my plan is to talk to him directly this summer and catch up with him. Yes, he would rejoin the team in January of 2024 in time to enroll for spring semester.

Matt from Santa Rosa Beach, FL

2:22

Any idea if Kahanu Kia is planning to come back to ND after his mission? Would that be for the '24 season if so? His addition would basically be like adding another DL/edge piece in the current recruiting class

Eric Hansen

2:21

Both scenarios are possible. They'll have to earn that in training camp, which opens in roughly three weeks. If they don't start, they will both play a lot if healthy.

Todd from Medford NJ

2:20

Just a quick 1 for you. Will either Thomas Harper start at nickel or Carter at safety?

Eric Hansen

2:20

It's a bad look, Frank. But they did recruit Cam Williams from their back yard and Brauntae Johnson, took CJ Carr's from Michigan's backyard and its coaching tree. They will continue to recruit Scott. I do think Chicago is an important hotbed for the Irish, and I expect a resurgence in that area in the coming cycles, at least in effort if not in results.

Frank from Royse City, Texas

2:16

How can ND compete with the National Powers when they can’t recruit in their backyard?

Eric Hansen

2:16

Thanks. Guest, please do the name/hometown thing next time? Let me preface this that I had a very good relationship with Brian and enjoyed covering him, but I think that narrative from BK is misleading. I've already litigated this several times, so I'm not going to go into great detail again today about why I think he left. What I will say it was a fight for BK constantly to get what he thought was best for the program and he was up to the task. He deserves credit for that. ND was better off for him being here. But the way he left was sloppy at best and the narrative about resources being the reason not only isn't entirely true in my opinion, it puts Marcus Freeman in the awkward place of picking up those pieces.

Guest

2:11

Greetings Eric, hope you've had a nice summer so far. In a recent article, Brian Kelly was quoted as saying that the fundamental reason that he left Notre Dame was because the administration wasn't providing his student athletes with the necessary resources they needed to compete at the highest level. In your opinion, does Kelly's claim have any validity whatsoever? Thanks much.

Eric Hansen

2:10

If they can't get sophomores and juniors with 4.0 GPAs through the doors from four-year schools, JUCOs are out of the question. But ND can peruse the regular transfer market next December/January.

Rick from the OC

2:09

Any chance ND looks at the junior college ranks for DL recruits? How would they figure into ND recruiting/transfer portal picture?

Eric Hansen

2:08

Edward, in Rivals' latest rankings, CJ Carr was the No. 21 player in the 2024 class, the highest ranked player with four stars. In other words, the top 20 at this point are all five-star prospects. At the end of the cycle, there will be 32. So as long as Carr plays well this season, it's reasonable to assume he'd end up in the top 32 and get a fifth star.

Guest

2:04

Edward from GA. What happend to all the talk about C.J. earning his fifth star?, he is without a doubt one of the best Q.B.s in the 24 recruitment, and in my opinion, better then some of the five stars, that have received thier fith star.

Eric Hansen

2:04

Hey Dave. I've tracked decommits both ways from the start of the Brian Kelly Era (2010) and ND is way ahead on both quantity and quality over the years. Yes, the staff continues to recruit top-of-the-board prospects that it likes provided they are open to the contact and there's still room on the class for them. Justin Scott (OSU) and Kaleb Beasley (Tenn.) would be the two who qualify in this class.

Dave from DC

2:01

Hi Eric, keeping with the recruiting theme of today's chat, fans are disappointed whenever a Notre Dame commit decommits and moves on to another school. But ND is no stranger to flipping recruits on their behalf. Does the staff maintain contact with recruits who are committed elsewhere (assuming the recruit is open to it)? Do they keep a list of players/potential flips that they may want to reestablish contact with, in the event the Irish board doesn't shake out the way they hoped?

Eric Hansen

2:00

Kevin!!!!!! Let me preface my answer with some context. The modern school records for points and yards per game are: 37.6 (1968) and 510.5 (1970), respectively. And ND took dips in both last season, falling from 45th to 59th nationally in total offense and 19th to 41st in scoring offense. So ... no, I do not think they will be over 40 points a game and 470 yards for a few reasons, one of which they play an inordinate number of good defenses in 2023 -- or at least teams that were good defensively in 2022. They play six teams in 2023 that finished 31st or better in total defense and four that were top 12 in rushing defense. In 2022, they played four teams with total defenses ranked 31st or better and five that finished the regular season 93rd or worse. I DO think ND will be improved offensively with Sam Hartman at QB, an elite O-line, deep RBs and an exciting young WR corps.

Kevin-Sleepy Eye

1:47

Eric!!!! Let’s talk team offense. I looked at last year’s stats. I’m trying to get some realistic expectations for this fall. How much better should we be? We averaged 31pt/game and 396yd/game last year. The Georgia-OSU-AL teams are all over 40pt/game and over 470yd per game. Can we come near that?

Eric Hansen

1:47

Oh so you're going to one-up me on the heat index, Jeff? We're at 87 going up to 90 ... then I looked at your weather ... 101 going up to 106. I can't even count that high. Yikes. ... I just traded messages with Owen before the chat. He's coming back for a visit on July 30, which is the date of Notre Dame's cookout recruiting event. Impressive young man, who's No, 78 overall and ascending fast. I think you might be parsing his comments too closely. He's looking for positive things to say about ALL his contenders. Notre Dame could tout continuity as well after this season with a first-year offensive coordinator and a first-year offensive line coach. Long way to go, but follow the visits. They're more telling than soundbites.

Jeff from Phoenix

1:39

Good morning Eric from the blistering Southwest. The impetus for my question is a recent Rivals article on the recruiting situation of 2025 OL target Owen Strebig. When he was asked about his impressions of each of his top schools, he said that USC coach Lincoln Riley pitched that Owen would have the advantage at USC of playing in the same offense and for the same head coach for his four years. I was frankly stunned to read this. So my question – Is ND considered an unstable coaching environment and is this a general tactic that other schools are using against Notre Dame for 2024 and 2025? Am I missing any important context of this coach/recruit interaction or is "all fair in love/war/recruiting"? Thanks much-

Eric Hansen

1:38

Hi Andrew, and thanks for being here. ... In the 2023 cycle, I would have ordered them as follows 1) NIL, 2) Transfer Requirements, 3) Undergrad admissions standards. ... In the 2024 cycle, I would put the transfer requirements way out in front by a sizeable margin, 2) NIL, 3) Undergrad admissions standards.

Andrew from Cincinnati

1:33

Hi Eric, thanks as always for taking the time here. It's been discussed at length by you all and fans alike, but it seems the three major hinderances with Notre Dame recruiting that keep them from top-five(ish) classes are: NIL, transfer requirements and undergrad admissions standards. For the Irish to be semi-consistent title contenders in the future, how would you rank those three items from most to least important to fix/amend, and how likely would you say the university and athletic department are to give way on some of those aspects of recruiting? Thanks!

Eric Hansen

1:33

With Tyler James and Charleston Bowles on some much-needed vacation, my long weekend was short, but it's all good. The new apparel contract decision is supposed to be announced this month, is apparently down to Under Arnour and Nike with UA the perceived leaders. NBC would be the favorite to retain the media rights to ND football broadcasts, but that's not as imminent as the apparel deal.

Frankie from Virginia

1:30

Hello Eric!! How are you doing and how was your long weekend?? Curious I ask you question do you have heard about new contract of uniform under armour, nike , Adidas , Jordan?? About national TV right ?? I hope they should stay with NBC need more money own brand notre dame football?? Thank you

Eric Hansen

1:30

Hi KJ. The coaching staff loves Donovan Hinish and he's off to a promising start. He's not yet in the heavy rotational kind of reps yet, but is pushing to get in that mix.

KJ from near the Channel Islands

1:28

Is Donovan Hinish going to be as big a contributor as his brother ? Kurt surpassed all expectations, and given our inability to recruit top talent, we need some of our guys to out perform their profile? Is this a realistic hope for Donovan? (Or others on our D line for that matter.) Thanks for all your insights!

Eric Hansen

1:27

Thanks, James. I'll have more details as we get closer, but when I'm on during the week, it will be in the 5 p.m. ET hour with shows available to download in a podcast format.

James from Columbus

1:26

Hi Eric, just a quick note to say I’m very glad to hear that you will be back on SportsBeat with Darin. Looking forward to listening again.

Eric Hansen

1:26

I think people take CJ Carr and WR Cam Williams for granted. Carr could end up a five-star QB (and should be). Williams has that kind of potential as well. The RBs are outstanding. So the rating for offense is definitely higher at this point. I think ND's performance on the field in 2023 will have a significant effect on the 2025 class and perhaps how the 2024 cycle finishes. ... Ideally, it'd be great if ND could get another elite QB target to campus this summer, but getting Knight and being in his top two at the moment is significant. ... If I were picking the apparel group, I'd pick Nike. I don't think Under Armour lived up to its promises in the last contract of sport science innovation that would benefit Notre Dame.

Load More Messages

Connecting…

Message History

On Off

Your current subscriptions

None

E-mail Address	Chat Owner	Status	Remove

Enter your email address to be notified when Eric Hansen hosts a chat