2026 Spring Practice Thread

[Dale]

I still don’t know a name exists out there besides Isaac Brown that makes sense at RB.

 

[EvilleIrish]

Wouldn't ND be Smothers third school? Started at Oklahoma.

 

[IRISHDODGER]

The ND beat seems to think there will be a high number of transfers out of the program. Of course, the same beat has been wrong on a lot of stuff this season so I take it w/ a grain of salt while still tending to agree. I think the following transfer out or declare for the draft (not including the obvious ones):

Sneed
Burnham
Schrauth (draft)
Wagner
Talich
Gray
Payne
Greathouse
Cam Williams
Minchey
Chance Tucker

I’m sure there’s others that rarely saw the field this year who want a fresh start somewhere else or have been dogged by injuries/depth chart

 

[arrowryan]

The ND beat seems to think there will be a high number of transfers out of the program. Of course, the same beat has been wrong on a lot of stuff this season so I take it w/ a grain of salt while still tending to agree. I think the following transfer out or declare for the draft (not including the obvious ones):

Sneed
Burnham
Schrauth (draft)
Wagner
Talich
Gray
Payne
Greathouse
Cam Williams
Minchey
Chance Tucker

I’m sure there’s others that rarely saw the field this year who want a fresh start somewhere else or have been dogged by injuries/depth chart

7 front line guys? I’d be shocked.

 

[IRISHDODGER]

3 of the 4 ESPN analysts have Price as the second RB off the board and given his Achilles history, he should absolutely go if that’s where he’s guaranteed to drop. I’d love to see him back but I think a better story for ND long term is having the first two RBs off the board in the draft.

No doubt Price made the right decision but it seems ND always has a kid who goes lower than the “experts” project. I think that will be the case w/ Price. Not that I think he’s damaged goods or unworthy of a high pick but there’s a lot of time between now & the draft to pick apart his injury & his fumbling issues. Not a doctor but he seems to have come back from that Achilles better than ever which was impressive but it’ll still get mentioned along w/ his fumbles. Hope I’m wrong.

 

[IRISHDODGER]

7 front line guys? I’d be shocked.

After the CFP snub, nothing shocks me.

Schrauth would be risking an NFL future coming back based on his injury history. He hasn’t been able to stay healthy so one more serious injury & he’s an UDFA. That’s why I think he jumps to the NFL regardless of draft grade.

I think Sneed & Wagner will get offered more money from other programs. ND will go w/ Faraimo until KVA gets back mid-to-late season. I think if ND went all in on Sneed b/c of loss of KVA, it’d still be too late.

Burnham probably has his ND degree. Now he may want to be a full-time starter somewhere else

Will ND pay Gray what he wants to return? He’d likely get higher offers elsewhere

Greathouse could surprise me and stay but I don’t see ND paying him what he got paid last season. Wasn’t his fault, per se; but hard to demand equal or more $ coming off a wasted season.

If Talich has his ND degree, he would transfer and start somewhere. At ND, he gets lost in the shuffle amidst a lot of great talent.

All this is JMO so I can respect the fact that most will disagree with it.

 

[arrowryan]

After the CFP snub, nothing shocks me.

Schrauth would be risking an NFL future coming back based on his injury history. He hasn’t been able to stay healthy so one more serious injury & he’s an UDFA. That’s why I think he jumps to the NFL regardless of draft grade.

I think Sneed & Wagner will get offered more money from other programs. ND will go w/ Faraimo until KVA gets back mid-to-late season. I think if ND went all in on Sneed b/c of loss of KVA, it’d still be too late.

Burnham probably has his ND degree. Now he may want to be a full-time starter somewhere else

Will ND pay Gray what he wants to return? He’d likely get higher offers elsewhere

Greathouse could surprise me and stay but I don’t see ND paying him what he got paid last season. Wasn’t his fault, per se; but hard to demand equal or more $ coming off a wasted season.

If Talich has his ND degree, he would transfer and start somewhere. At ND, he gets lost in the shuffle amidst a lot of great talent.

All this is JMO so I can respect the fact that most will disagree with it.

You’re right in the fact that the portal is anything but predictable. Notre Dame is really good at retaining talent. Like, really good. A perfect example is Jadarian Price. He could’ve transferred to about 98% of CFB teams and would’ve been the starter. Mills is another good example.

Bottom line is if Notre Dame wants you here, money probably isn’t going to be an issue.

Guys that I think/hope will pay to keep: Sneed, Burnham, the entire secondary, Schrauth, Greathouse.

 

[GoIrish41]

I think Dale everybody with eligibility who hasn’t announced yet

I think a verb would help. 😉

 

[NDFAN4LIFE2008]

I think Scrauth will be on the team, maybe even Wagner. The staff probally learned their lesson from last offseason this team coulda used Coogan. He is the one guy who I wouldn't have let walk.

 

[slick7410]

Burnham probably has his ND degree. Now he may want to be a full-time starter somewhere else

With the way he finished and took back the starting job, I hope healthy Burnham would have enough snaps to stay.

He would be my #1 pick to make a jump into impact player on defense.

 

[arrowryan]

Just from a numbers perspective, it doesn’t appear to be wise to let Burnham portal. Right now their edge defenders are Traore, Burnham, Thomas, and Young. Numbers are approaching the thin category. Dunham should be ready to contribute, but I doubt Ewetade will be ready.

 

[IRISHbluehen]

I think Scrauth will be on the team, maybe even Wagner. The staff probally learned their lesson from last offseason this team coulda used Coogan. He is the one guy who I wouldn't have let walk.

I'm not picking on you 08 because I actually genuinely like you but I hate the narrative that they let Coogan walk. He wanted more money and guaranteed playing time. In no way, shape, or form could ND promise those things without being dishonest. Would have been great to have him as a back up but he is not better than Craig, Jagusah, or Schrauth. Same with Spindler last year. No way you were going to keep either on the roster if they wanted to start. Same with Absher this year if Schrauth comes back along with Wagner. (I think Wagner will be gone though)

 

[IRISHDODGER]

You’re right in the fact that the portal is anything but predictable. Notre Dame is really good at retaining talent. Like, really good. A perfect example is Jadarian Price. He could’ve transferred to about 98% of CFB teams and would’ve been the starter. Mills is another good example.

Bottom line is if Notre Dame wants you here, money probably isn’t going to be an issue.

Guys that I think/hope will pay to keep: Sneed, Burnham, the entire secondary, Schrauth, Greathouse.

I agree with you. And I think ND is going to be smart w/ their money if they have what they believe someone comparable to a Wagner or Gray or Sneed that is going to demand a big raise. If they believe in Madden Faraimo, for instance; will continue to improve to the point where he’s a better value than Sneed…they’ll let Sneed walk. Same w/ one of the back up CB vs Gray or one of the underclassmen OL (like Black) vs Wagner.

 

[NDFAN4LIFE2008]

I'm not picking on you 08 because I actually genuinely like you but I hate the narrative that they let Coogan walk. He wanted more money and guaranteed playing time. In no way, shape, or form could ND promise those things without being dishonest. Would have been great to have him as a back up but he is not better than Craig, Jagusah, or Schrauth. Same with Spindler last year. No way you were going to keep either on the roster if they wanted to start. Same with Absher this year if Schrauth comes back along with Wagner. (I think Wagner will be gone though)

Coogan had 25+ games of starting experience you don't let guys like that walk, I'm sure he wasn't asking for millions, he also let us to the title game. I get it the staff wasn't planning on having jagusah come down with an injury but I honestly think if Coogan was on this team we most likely win the first two games.

 

[arrowryan]

I agree with you. And I think ND is going to be smart w/ their money if they have what they believe someone comparable to a Wagner or Gray or Sneed that is going to demand a big raise. If they believe in Madden Faraimo, for instance; will continue to improve to the point where he’s a better value than Sneed…they’ll let Sneed walk. Same w/ one of the back up CB vs Gray or one of the underclassmen OL (like Black) vs Wagner.

I’d overpay for Sneed and Gray. Sneed will get passed up by Faraimo, but his experience and situational skills are invaluable.

 

[IRISHbluehen]

Coogan had 25+ games of starting experience you don't let guys like that walk, I'm sure he wasn't asking for millions, he also let us to the title game. I get it the staff wasn't planning on having jagusah come down with an injury but I honestly think if Coogan was on this team we most likely win the first two games.

Yeah but how would you convince him to come back to be a back up? You giving him 1 million+ to ride the bench when other guys deserve/require that money?

 

[Wild Bill]

I think Scrauth will be on the team, maybe even Wagner. The staff probally learned their lesson from last offseason this team coulda used Coogan. He is the one guy who I wouldn't have let walk.

It's going to be tough to convince Wagner to stay. If he doesn’t believe he can hold onto the starting job, he’s as good as gone - that would crush his draft stock next year. There's really nothign to even discuss at that point - he's not sticking around to help out if someone gets hurt.

Even if he does think he can keep Will Black on the bench, he knows he has to compete for the starting spot while making less money than he’d get by transferring to a school where he’s guaranteed to start and get paid a shit load of money per Brice.

 

[InKellyWeTrust]

I'd be dissapointed if Sneed and/or Burnham left. I think those are the type of guys that elevate the squad depth to championship level. They got snaps this year and are in line for more next year.

 

[stpeteirish]

I think a verb would help. 😉

Fixed

 

[notredomer23]

O’Malley alluded to the fact Wagner is on a $700K deal and they’d have no problem going up to a million. The problem is a desperate team will blow through that probably. It is smart roster construction given the depth to let him walk in that scenario. It frees up funds to retain Schrauth and maybe a couple other antsy roster members

 

[EvilleIrish]

I'm stunned at the conversation around Gray. Can't imagine who is giving him advice that the NFL is an actual option at this point.

 

[InKellyWeTrust]

I'm stunned at the conversation around Gray. Can't imagine who is giving him advice that the NFL is an actual option at this point.

Hes been graded as mid to late round in NFL mocks for over a year now.

 

[IRISHDODGER]

I'd be dissapointed if Sneed and/or Burnham left. I think those are the type of guys that elevate the squad depth to championship level. They got snaps this year and are in line for more next year.

Me too but they’ve been saying that about Sneed for the past 2 years. Does he FINALLY get everything to click and become a 3-down LB or does a younger Faraimo showing signs of getting there sooner and at less expense?

 

[Wild Bill]

Just from a numbers perspective, it doesn’t appear to be wise to let Burnham portal. Right now their edge defenders are Traore, Burnham, Thomas, and Young. Numbers are approaching the thin category. Dunham should be ready to contribute, but I doubt Ewetade will be ready.

If Burnham stays healthy and plays like he did towards the end of the year, he could get more snaps than anyone else outside of Traore. I would pay him, especially if he's a good locker room guy.

 

[irishfan]

It’s buried in the comment section of his latest article, but Sampson has two sources telling him Greathouse is coming back.

 

[Dale]

So this is the vibe being put out, no?

Carr
Williams
Transfer - Faison - Greathouse
Flanagan/Flanigan
Knapp - Schrauth - Craig - Lambert - Jagusah

 

[ab2cmiller]

Coogan had 25+ games of starting experience you don't let guys like that walk, I'm sure he wasn't asking for millions, he also let us to the title game. I get it the staff wasn't planning on having jagusah come down with an injury but I honestly think if Coogan was on this team we most likely win the first two games.

Why do you continue to post despite losing your bet? I would like a direct answer.

 

[arrowryan]

So this is the vibe being put out, no?

Carr
Williams
Transfer - Faison - Greathouse
Flanagan/Flanigan
Knapp - Schrauth - Craig - Lambert - Jagusah

I think Premer pushes hard for snaps but, yeah, looks about right.

 

[IRISHbluehen]

So this is the vibe being put out, no?

Carr
Williams
Transfer - Faison - Greathouse
Flanagan/Flanigan
Knapp - Schrauth - Craig - Lambert - Jagusah

Agree with this, could also see Lambert and Jags flip

 

[317Irish]

No inside info here, but fuck no

You don’t have to preface opinions anymore. Just state it as if it’s a fact and ignore any follow up questions regarding your source.