JotCast | Notre Dame Football Live Chat Sept. 10, 2025

Notre Dame Football Live Chat Sept. 10, 2025

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Eric Hansen

3:09

OK, I am over my limit here, so I have to move on to my next assignment. Thanks for all the great questions, compliments and exclamation points. Thanks for not making me regret rescinding the "no drinking" rule. We'll be back again next Wednesday at noon ET to run it back again. See you then.

3:07

Film review, having him ask questions. The bye week was a perfect time for that.

JDub

3:07

Every QB has a learning curve. Carr’s seems to be “when to hand the ball vs when to pull and throw.” How do the coaches help him balance the game to get the most out of the offense?

Eric Hansen

3:06

Alex, I don't think it was that. Maybe Miami was better than they thought, but this didn't impress me as a team that was too full of themselves.

Alex from Cincinnati

3:06

Hi Eric. Do you think ND was just flying too high heading into the Miami game? They didn't have the same swagger that they had last year. I know they were in NYC doing all of those TV interviews and promotional spots. Maybe they needed to be knocked down a peg to get right. Wanted to get your thoughts on this. Thanks for all you do!

Eric Hansen

3:05

Some of it's been changing his body. Some injuries. And some just the people ahead of him are better. I said spring was a defining time for him to make a move ... and it didn't happen.

Dave from DC

3:05

Any insight into why Brenan Vernon has been unable to emerge as a contributor on the interior defensive line?

Eric Hansen

3:04

I think he wanted to be a blind date for Miami. And he was to an extent, just not the scary kind he needed to be,

Dave from DC

3:04

Over the offseason, we heard Chris Ash say on multiple occasions that he wasn't here to reinvent the wheel and that he had no reason to fix what wasn't broken, in light of the personnel and what Al Golden had accomplished the previous two seasons. And yet, in is very first game as DC, Notre Dame played zone coverage in half of Miami's drop backs. What gives?!

Eric Hansen

3:03

J Buck, save the weather bragging when it's icky here. It's really nice here still at this time of year LOL. JBuck, if you want him to play under center more, tell me what you hope to accomplish with that. Against Miami's pass rush, I would argue shotgun made the most sense in MOST instances, but not all. Play-action, sure but ND has to have its running game going to sell it. And I think they will on Saturday night. I love the Will Black concept in small doses, because he's also athletic enough to catch a pass if need be, as Joe Alt was early before he moved into the LT spot forever. Thanks for the compliments!

J Buck San DIego

3:00

Good Morning, were having a heat wave here, its getting into the mid to high 80's. I know its ridiculous, no worries I'll make it. Question , can we hope to see CJ Carr play under center more? A little play action? I belive he ran it in HS, so its not foriegn to him, but the O-line needs to show up. One more, thanks.. Can we get a little meat at the tightend position near the goal line? Lets throw out Will Black to play tight end down there and/ or some other beefy O lineman. Did any of the caoches address this? Thanks for all you do, and getting answers to the questions we all ask/ yell during the game. Your the best.

Eric Hansen

3:00

Hi Mike, I don't think tempo change is a bad idea at all under normal circumstances. With a QB making his first start and challenging communication, I'd be less inclined to mess with that. Now this week, maybe we'll see a bit of it.

MikeMcFadden, Williamsport, PA

2:58

Unless I missed it, I did not see any change of pace of the our offense vs Miami. I love the no huddle offense with a 15-20 seconds remaining on the play clock. Why or why not?

Eric Hansen

2:58

Hi Andy. While they're fun for the fans, it's difficult winning games if you have to lean too heavily on fooling someone. And often those plays come with a high risk factor as well. The plus could be big yardage, but flub one, and it's a drive killer. I think when you are equal or better in the talent column, you want to find mismatches on defense that work in your favor, You want to keep on schedule, so that you have third-and-short rather than third-and-forever. And you want your players running plays they work on all the time and are good at. Do that, and the defense has to guess run/pass a lot and you move the chains and score points. Again, I love seeing that stuff, but think of it as really sweet dessert. You can only handle so much of that in one sitting.

Andy Ziker

2:53

Notre Dame recruits smart and versatile players. Last year, special teams performed several tricks plays, but not so much on offensive. Why don't we see more end-arounds, reverses, double reverses, wildcat formation, running back options, and wide receiver options?

Eric Hansen

2:52

That was like having a bye week. I didn't have to use my brain on that one.

The Ghost of Irish past

Ghost. Denver, CO by way of Hershey, PA

2:52

No question. Pound the rock with JLove and JPrice. Play action down field with the kid. The Ara championship formula. Blitz and man cover via Golden. Would have won v. The U. Will win v. the Aggies. Both co-ordinators blew. So did Marcus because we came out flat. Still, a work in progress tho' I love the guy.

Eric Hansen

2:52

Jim, I'm used to seeing both approaches from Notre Dame's edge players. And keep in mind sometimes those guys want to appear to be in a pass rush mode, then drop into coverage, especially the left end or what used to be the Vyper. Let me ask around and get you a better answer, because it was not something that struck me as odd. I'll try to have that answer next week. Thanks for it.

Jim from Wheaton

2:48

Eric! I was down in Miami at the game, and watching live, I was frustrated to see that both Traore and Young were rarely coming off the edge in a three point stance. Rather, they were standing up, and thus forfeiting some of their quickness and leverage getting out of their stances to beat blockers. This seems very different from last year. Do you know if this is coaching, or is there some other reason? Even though Traore made some plays, neither of these two talented edge rushers seemed as explosive, and I attribute some of that to how they were coming off the ball at the snap. Thoughts? Thanks as always for the most practical and thoughtful analysis on the ND beat!!

Eric Hansen

2:47

You plan no getting Minchey ready in case he needs to be the starter during the regular season at some point. And I asked Marcus Freeman two weeks ago about the plan for Blake Hebert, and the coaching staff is very intentional about bringing him along .. in case he's needed this year or in 2026.

2:46

There were players who entered the portal last December from every playoff team, but very few were similar to Beau Pribula's situation. ND has Jaden Mickey, who wanted to redshirt and tow others who had been medically retired. So, they weren't going to play whether ND was in the playoff or not. There were others on other teams in similar situations. Kenny Minchey has already redshirted, so him pulling the plug on this season, as Mickey did last year, doesn't make sense. And even if he did want to leave in the middle of the playoff, you don't plan for that now. (more)

2:42

Hi Dave. That's a well-worded short question that packs a lot in it, so let's unpack it piece by piece. First, this has not been finalized, but the proposed transfer portal change for this season is one window — 10 days, from Jan. 2-11. Last offseason, there were two ... Dec. 9-28 and April 16-25. And teams in the playoff had a special window beyond Dec. 28. That one opened for ND and Ohio State right after the title game. So very different dynamic. (more)

Dave

Sorry, to continue… Beau Pribula left Penn State prior to playoffs. What’s to keep Kenny from a similar, million dollar decision? And should Tyler get some game reps as insurance?

2:36

No one seems to be thinking ahead to late December (or whenever they might move Portal Days to)

Eric Hansen

2:36

Hi Tom. I mean, Jonathan. I think you are asking me how to do this on a pass play? If so, it's more advantageous to get a linebacker or a safety on him, because of the speed factor. if a team plays a lot of man, you can isolate players with motion, formation and play call, less so in zone. I hope that makes sense.

Jonathan in Addison, TX

2:33

A lot of Tom’s today!!! Tom Toronto, Tom Evanston, Tom Kennesaw. Must be some kind of omen, no? Is there an offensive scheme designed to isolate RBs on corners? I KD so, what is it? I would Love (pun intended) to see ND force the A&M corners to make multiple tackles. Did not do that at the U.

Eric Hansen

2:32

Hi Mike. I've had that conversation with Marcus at some point this offseason and I think he's also been asked in press conferences, and the answer is pretty consistent. He shows up where he feels he's needed the most. So his voice is in the game plan on both sides of the ball. I think he feels he's hired good enough coaches around him that he doesn't need to micromanage, and yet he has the confidence to import his vision into the formula. My sense is during the bye week, he spent more time with the defense than the offense. Just because a scheme might look simple on TV doesn't mean it is. We don't know what the players are being asked to do, and if there's confusion about where they're supposed to be lined up and how they do their job when surprises pop up, it slows them down. Think of it trying to find your turn at night when your GPS is malfunctioning. If you know where you're going, you move at a normal speed. If you have no idea of when that turn is coming up, you slow way down.

Mike from Rockville, MD

2:23

Hi, Eric!! When MF became a head coach, I remember hearing that he needed to spend more time with the offense because that was a weakness of his. Now, how much time do you think he spends with each unit? How much influence does he have on creating the gameplan and making adjustments within the game? Also, you mentioned that the defense was playing slow because of the scheme. I don't know a lot about schemes in football, but honestly the defensive scheme seemed very basic and vanilla to me. Thoughts?

Eric Hansen

2:23

Mike Elko, A&M's head coach, and not coordinator Jay Bateman, is calling this defense this season, and my sense is he might have a couple of wrinkles in store that the Aggies didn't have to use against UTSA or Utah State. Still, it has not been an impressive defensive to date. So how does CJ Carr fit into that? Denbrock's not going to have to need as much time to probe and test and figure out A&M's inventory as he did last week, so he can get into how he really wants to attack earlier in the game. I do think it will include more vertical passing. Not Air Raid stuff, but more of it mixed in. Probably fewer Carr planned runs and more use of the running backs in both the run and pass games. So Carr throwing to them.

Jeremy From Goshen, IN

2:19

What is the game plan for Carr this week? I know Freem said he is special and can run the whole playbook. But how do you think ND would like to use him?

Eric Hansen

2:19

Hi Scott. Thanks for your question. I did not notice the J-Love mouthpiece thing, so I will keep an eye out for that this game. There are sometimes very subtle tells sometimes. I remember when my oldest son played high school football as a linebacker, he'd notice an offensive guard's hand placement might be a tell to whether a run or pass was coming, so it's worth digging into. ... As far as sophomore linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, he was by far ND's most effective defensive player in the Miami game and played 37 of 71 possible snaps. I too think he should play more vs. A&M.

Scott, Bossier City, LA

2:14

Hey Eric. Just curious if I saw something and am over thinking it or not. I noticed mainly in the second half of week one vs Miami that J-love had a tendency to not were his mouthpiece on plays he wasn't featured or getting the ball. Is that a normal thing for him in general or was that maybe a tell the defense picked up on that allowed for a better pass rush due to knowing the play type? Also do you think we see more of KVA in the lineup as he was our best LB week 1? Finally, Go Irish!!!!! Need to get our MOJO back. And one more thing, Thanks for hosting these!

Eric Hansen

2:10

Hi Matt. I might have missed your question last week, and that's because I think it might have been similar to another one that I had already answered that was similar. So thanks for reloading for this week. Let's go O-line first. I think the only personnel change there is whether you're going to timeshare at right guard or pick one. I think they'll settle on Guerby Lambert. On the D-line maybe alter the rotations a bit ... like more Botelho, more Dawson and maybe even getting a bit deeper with the rotations, maybe putting KVA and/or Sneed up on the line of scrimmage in some packages. At least that's what I would like to see if I'm in charge (and I'm not). Schematically, simplifying on defense and just sounder play, better chemistry on offense. On your numbers game. I'll guess 14 carries for Love and 4 catches for Greathouse.

Matt from Austin

2:05

Hello Eric. Thanks as always for these chats. From a schematic standpoint, what changes do you envision for our OL and DL to improve their effectiveness? Maybe even personnel changes? Secondly, looking into your crystal ball, how many carries for Love and catches for Greathouse? Thanks, Matt

Eric Hansen

2:05

Ced if you snuck a question in there, I apologize I didn't see it, but you kept it under 17 parts, so we're good.

Guest

2:04

ced walker Saginaw Michigan aka sagnasty Saginaw pride Notre Dame must get off to a fast start on offense I really see our defense ( d-boyz) playing less zone more man coverage prediction ND 27 tex a&m 24 God Bless This football team here come the irish trust the process the golden standard rally we are nd god country go irish love thee notre dame our mother pray for us

Eric Hansen

2:04

Think of it as a rookie who comes up to the Majors and they find out he struggled with curveballs. Guess what he's going to see a steady diet of until he fixes that? As far as rematching with Miami, they'd actually play them in the same venue and I do think ND could be the better team in December and January. Miami has some big tests coming up too, including USF this Saturday.

2:02

Hi Kevin, well since you actually rose to the occasion of asking an elite-level question, that puts me on the spot to match your energy. So, here goes, I hope. Let's talk first about overcoming deficiencies just to get into the playoff. Yes, I think Notre Dame has the talent and growth potential to do that. With hard work and a little luck along the way. Sometimes playing a tough game early, win or lose, can really help you. Because it gets your flaws exposed right away and you can go to work getting them fixed. But if you don't fix them effectively and quickly, you will see other teams use that as a template until you show you can overcome them. (more)

Kevin from Calgary

1:56

Eric, I missed the chats the last couple weeks (mostly because I couldn’t think of anything intelligent to ask you). Of course that doesn’t mean things will change this week, but here goes. If the Irish win this week and march on into the playoffs later this season (fingers crossed) and they end up with a rematch with the Hurricanes, preferably in the NC game, do you think the Irish will overcome the obvious deficiencies they showed in game one against “the U,” especially in the trenches, or are they doomed to let Carson Beck get the better of them again? As always, thanks for doing these chats!

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