JotCast | Notre Dame Football Live Chat Oct. 31, 2019

Notre Dame Football Live Chat Oct. 31, 2019

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Eric Hansen

3:07

OK, I've got to cut it off there. Thanks for all the great questions and for keeping the whining to a minimum. I enjoyed this and I'll be back to do it all over again next Thursday at noon EST.

3:05

I talked to Joe Theismann about Ian's challenges with the negative chatter. It's real. And that's why I said Rees and Long can be part of the solution. As far as the players and how they're processing this, we used to get a good feel for that with BK on Thursday nights. We don't have that access anymore.

Jeff from LaPorte

3:03

With all the misguided chatter about replacing Ian with Phil do you get a sense that Ian is handling this well or do you think the negativity is going to effect him. I feel BK can shed the "bring in Urban Meyer" silliness easily. However Ian seems to be locked up in his own world mentally already this year even before the pounding @ Michigan. Additionally, how do you feel the team as a whole has responded this week in practice? BK has mentioned a good maturity level for this team, but it seems they were easily rattled last weekend. Honestly to me as a fan in the stands that night, it looked to me like most of them did not want to be on that field. No fire, no sense of urgency, just flat and going through the motions.

Eric Hansen

3:02

Marty, I think we'll find out together next year. His contract runs out after 2021, though AD Jack Swarbrick told me he plans to extend it.

Marty from Sylvania ohio

3:01

Do you think Brian Kelly can win a national championship before his contract expires? If he doesn't Do you think ND will look elsewhere for a coach? Your well respected as a logical and down to earth ND football reporter. Thanks

Eric Hansen

3:01

If the team is thinking like we (the media and fans) are, yeah it could. BK even said "No more Michigan questions" in his Monday presser.

Irwin Connelly

3:00

Hello, Mr. Hanson. This is Irwin from Flagler County, Florida. I'm a long time reader and like so many others an admirer of your insightful and informative articles. My question (and comment, I suppose) is this - it seems like this past week, most of the focus on the Irish has been on last week's game. Not, much on the upcoming, tough game against a good Virginia Tech team. Do you see this as a situation where the Irish loss last week significantly contributes to a second loss?

Eric Hansen

3:00

You are crazy, Joe. They ran for 311 yards against USC the game right before this one!

Joe from Reno

2:59

ND can’t run the football. Period. They haven’t been able to all year. Oh yeh an occasional big running play but even against BG and NEW Mexico they couldn’t convert some third and fourth and shorts. Am I crazy in thinking this?

Eric Hansen

2:59

Wait. What?

Michael from Charleston, WV

2:58

Can we get a coach who coaches on the sidelines and shows some emotion? Why does BK just stand there stone faced for three hours?

Eric Hansen

2:58

All of the above.

Matt in Augusta,NJ

2:58

As bad as book was, I’m really shocked how our defensive line got pushed around, especially in the second half. Was if effort, scheme, or was Michigan just that much tougher along both lines?

Eric Hansen

2:58

Me too. Thanks.

Henry from Stockton

2:57

Hi Eric. Hope you find your favorite Halloween food this evening.

Eric Hansen

2:57

Thank you for the Blue Hose sign. That was awesome. I did answer the injury question earlier ... but I can add it was a rib and back injury. It is something worth digging into. I know Dayne Crist's second knee injury adversely affected him.

Keith

2:55

Piedmont, SC - I'm 66 and a lifelong ND fan. I bleed Blue and Gold. When Ian took over I really thought that we had found something with the offense under Chip. The one thing I've noticed is that Ian hasn't been the same (consistent) since suffering the injury against Northwestern last year. I've heard numerous stories about what the exact injury was (broken ribs, punctured lung) but not definitely. What was the injury and do you think this might have something to do with his regression? He's tough as nails but he's still human. The biggest difference I see is his unwillingness to stay in or move up in the pocket. At the start of the season, with this personnel, I saw a 10-2 or 9-3 team. I did not want them to make the playoffs because I believe the same thing would happen as last year. Herbstreit was wrong when he said this years team is better than last years. Thanks, I listen to Sportsbeat every day. By the way, I was the one who sent you the picture of the Blue Hose sign.

Eric Hansen

2:51

I think he watches the film with his teammates, learns from it and makes the most of his second chance.

Adam Bisogno

2:51

Do you think John Jones will be sat the rest of the year after he tried to jump on the ball from the punt block ? How does he get punished for something he should know growing up playing football. If it was his job he probably would have been fired.

Eric Hansen

2:49

Once ND got behind and couldn't control the line of scrimmage, they were kind of cornered into passing ... and as you know it didn't end well.

Joe from Reno

2:49

Was at the game and it was very wet limiting passing game to some extent. What bothers me is a lack of adjustments by the offense. Same formation every series. Same same same. I haven’t watched the tape but it seems nothing was done to adjust ton Th e weather? Please explain.

Eric Hansen

2:49

Ok back to Doug. I think Kelly raised expectations beyond reason when at his National Signing Day press conference in 2017, he said this: "I think he's the best quarterback in the country. He's somebody that, you know, I could put up against any quarterback that I've ever seen," EVER, wow.

2:46

I kind of answered this earlier, there's a lot of layers to it and Julian and Klalid are still highly regarded at the next level. Julian especially needs to play at a higher level.

2:45

Bill, I'm going to answer your question first and then get back to Doug's which I missed.

Bill from Chicago

2:42

Eric, first time question. Why have Okwara and Kareem been so invisible on the edge except for the Virginia game. At the beginning of the season both were projected to be early round NFL picks.

Eric Hansen

2:41

I'm not following the USC situation that closely. It's really not in my land at this point of the season. I don't know Mrs. Meyer or what her denials might mean.

Nick from Blacklick, OH

2:39

Since I live in the burbs of Cbus and since you didn't put any restrictions on Urban Meyer questions, how do I interpret his wife, Shelley's denial that he isn't going to Notre Dame. Since she didn't do the same thing for the USC rumors, does that mean he will be coaching at USC?

Doug from Sunny Florida

2:39

Eric, Jurkovec had issues with his throwing motion when he first came to ND. He looked like he was throwing the shot put rather than a football, dropping his elbow so low that the ball released by his ear. The coaches have been working with him on it and it looks better but from the limited throws I've seen in the spring game and spotty action this fall, he still has issues with accuracy. Why do the masses think this inaccuracy is a better option than Book? What basis are people using to say Jurkovec is a better option? Do they have better knowledge than the coaches have who see him every day? Maybe the reason Book is the preferred choice of the coaches is the lack of a better option.

Eric Hansen

2:39

Trevor Ruhland knows the offense as well as anyone on the team. Great guy, too. The question, because of a strong of injuries over the years, is he physical enough to fill that role long term? That's why Josh Lugg is also an option.

Martin ..orlando

2:38

I think Trevor will do a fine job filling in...thoughts?

Eric Hansen

2:38

I wouldn't agree that Rees is on the way out. Like Chip Long, I'm not sure he is to blame for Book's regression, but both should be part of the solution.

Fred from Huntsville, AL

2:36

As half the fan base is ready to run Brian Kelly off, I would suggest maybe trying to get a high caliber QB coach first. Have we ever had one at ND? Tommy Rees is obviously not the answer, I would assume there is no way he will be around next year. Any suggestions?

Eric Hansen

2:35

I think it had very little effect. That situation has been percolating for more than a week. He was not a cornerstone player on the field or in the locker room.

Cindy

2:35

What, if any, effect did Michael Young’s sudden transfer announcement have on the team which contributed in Saturday’s poor performance?

Eric Hansen

2:35

Dan I really don't want to take a deep dive into this until we know exactly when it will go into affect and exactly what it will look like. My sense is it's not going to change the trajectory one way or another of ND's program.

Dan from Texas

2:33

Do you have initial thoughts on how the NCAA's name-and-likeness rule might impact ND?

Eric Hansen

2:33

Ray, I understand your question. Against USC, Notre Dame conceded the run to avoid giving up big plays in the passing game. Against Michigan, ND got outschemed and outplayed.

Ray (Chicago)

2:32

I was worried on the relative size of our linebackers heading into this season. They have speed and great at pursuing but when linemen get to the second level our linebackers can't shake them. USC and Michigan both ran right up the middle for tons of success. USC and Michigan had running backs the same size or bigger than our linebackers. Is this a defensive line issue or do you agree our linebackers are just not physical enough due to their size?

Eric Hansen

2:32

Not really, and Kizer did improve in leaps and bounds over the summer before he did take over. Even then, he surprised the coaching staff. To your question, that's actually an interesting thing to throw at BK here in the future.

Josh from NYC

2:27

Perhaps this is too related to Hank's question, but Kelly and Co. didn't think Deshone Kizer was capable of competently running the offense until he was forced in and he turned out to be a gamer. It seems like Kelly doesn't think that's even a possibility with Jurkovec. Has Kelly discussed Jurkovec at all in the context of what happened with Kizer?

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