dublinirish
Everestt Gholstonson
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feel like because ND is so deep they will go hard in fall camp and some inevitable injuries will occur
2026 Fall Camp Thread
- Thread starter Dale
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rtrn2glory
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Somebody will get hurt in the fall. Going to be unfortunate but not unexpected. Honestly I can see a RB thing down again due to that being a position that is going to have a lot of guys competing for reps. OL and DL usually has a guy or two go down as well. That's just the nature of the best
Rocketman84
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Agreed and the extent of the injury and the cleanup procedure around Xmas....Let him get the whole 8-10 months
FightingIrishLover7
All troll, no substance
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And just like that
This asshole just caused CJ to fall down some stairs at Gug/Shields
TheProspector
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CJ ain’t Tyler “Bubble Wrap” Buchner
Irish du Nord
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Only because Olfs is a single level
greyhammer90
the drunk piano player
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Players I'm most excited to learn about:
Will Black (Is he the freak that was promised?)
Ashton Craig (Health?)
Rodney Dunham (Freak alert?)
Kedren Young (Health?)
Christian Gray (Where is he working?)
Greathouse (Please be dominant)
Porter (Health?)
Flanagan (Do we have the hammer back?)
Tionne Gray (What is his body type after the summer?)
Ian Premer (Freak alert?)
Will Black (Is he the freak that was promised?)
Ashton Craig (Health?)
Rodney Dunham (Freak alert?)
Kedren Young (Health?)
Christian Gray (Where is he working?)
Greathouse (Please be dominant)
Porter (Health?)
Flanagan (Do we have the hammer back?)
Tionne Gray (What is his body type after the summer?)
Ian Premer (Freak alert?)
I feel like enough time has passed where I can share that the talk around campus was that Buchner actually fell down the stairs at Alumni House (the off-campus house for the dorm)… my personal experiences with him were funnier and more positive but yeah not his best moment there lol.
Jimmy3Putt
KooL
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I’m sensing a freak theme.
OrlaNDomer
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Can this be the year one of the promising young WRs actually make the jump and become an elite WR?
allenm5333
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Very good list. I would remove Greathouse because i am over him. I would add Walton (homerun threat?) and Bryce Young (leap?)
irish4ever
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My thoughts too based on some earlier comments from insiders since spring practice.
AlaskanIrish
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Great list! I’ve got my eye on Bubba Frazier as well.
NDhoosier
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Walton will only see garbage time this year....
As for Porter, they simply said he wasn't 100% to start fall camp, I'm sure he will still be getting in a lot of work and competing for the boundary position. Burgess sounds like he is a little ways off.
Surprised no information on K. Young and A. Craig.
Firevangorder
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You're telling me you've never fallen off the stage?
allenm5333
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If Walton shows juice in garbage time, i can see him carving a role later
allenm5333
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He was one I considered adding but i think the vets will get too many reps away from him
Some Irish Bloke
Five foot nothin', a hundred and nothin'
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This is slightly strange to me. Would you have been over him if he got hurt in Fall camp last year and didn't play a snap? Or are you over him because he seemingly tried to play through some nagging injuries and it didn't work out?
I remember the guy from 2024 and am not ready to throw in the towel on him just yet. He didn't move on from ND and ND didn't move on from him...has to be a good reason for those things, no?
allenm5333
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He has had like 3 good games in 3 years. I get that 2 of those were big games. But sometimes your best ability is your availability.
rtrn2glory
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He was hurt last year. I'm not willing to quit on a guy that's shown the ability that he has shown. Considering the shit show he came in with the last WR coach and he didn't leave like the other guys did I'm going to give him some slack. He has done everything the right way and has just had some bad luck with injuries
allenm5333
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not quitting on him. perhaps my initial wording was off-. But I am no longer depending on him at this point.
Dale
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I think the only had a few good games thing has become a shtick. He had only 2 elite games. He had plenty of good games in 2023 and 2024. He is, objectively, one of the most efficient targeted players in the country. Almost nobody in the country catches the ball as much as Jaden Greathouse when thrown to.
The idea that not having a 120 yard game means Greathouse didn’t have good games is disingenuous to his 2023 and 2024, and the type of player he is in general.
The idea that not having a 120 yard game means Greathouse didn’t have good games is disingenuous to his 2023 and 2024, and the type of player he is in general.
Irish du Nord
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My brother, I have fallen off the flat ground
Rizzophil
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Agree on all
Has it been confirmed that he just had a thigh bruise that kept him out the whole year? Just sounds...fishy. Players have aches, pains, issues every game and I figured there was more to the story.
NDVirginia19
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Standing by for what ridiculous bet 08 is going to get himself roped into this year. Maybe run it back with the same bet as last year??
pumpdog20
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I'm loving the psy-op MFMF is doing with Gray. Every time he gets in his ass, he comes up big time. This time they brought in people to challenge him for his spot(s).
So I'm calling a season's worth of great play by CC.
AlaskanIrish
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Dale
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Greathouse in the 2024 Regular Season amongst P4 WRs (191 qualified):
- 22nd in Reception %: amount of catches per target
- 3rd in Contested Catch %: amount of catches per contested target
- 1 Drop
He is with no doubt, a solid possession WR. Doesn’t have the highest upside in the room, but 100% should have an important role if healthy.
- 22nd in Reception %: amount of catches per target
- 3rd in Contested Catch %: amount of catches per contested target
- 1 Drop
He is with no doubt, a solid possession WR. Doesn’t have the highest upside in the room, but 100% should have an important role if healthy.
DONTH8
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Freeman has been asked several times what he's going to do to have a better start to the season. His answer is always to acknowledge the poor starts and then some version of "challenge everything." I love the slogan, but it's not an answer. I don't think I've heard him answer the question with a concrete diagnosis or remedy. I assume he has a plan, because he's thought about this far more than myself. But since he won't say it, here's what I think the answer actually looks like.
1. Put the right guys on the field before the season, not by Game 3.
Each year there are a couple of Game 1 starters replaced by Game 3 or 4. That's a fall camp evaluation failure. Why does it take live bullets against a ranked opponent to figure out what the staff should have sorted out in August? Settle the depth chart honestly before kickoff, not a loss or two in.
2. Take the training wheels off.
If they're good enough to be on the field, then they shouldn't need to be "protected." Simplified game plans and conservative calls to shield young players just delay the inevitable growing pains, and hand early losses to good teams in the process. Let it rip.
3. Play to win, not to not-lose.
This is my biggest one. You gotta play to win in big games. You can't play to not lose. And against OSU (22) and Miami (25), we played to not lose. That works if you start with Navy or Wisconsin. But against real teams? Nah. You gotta go out and trust that your guys are going to win the game. This is war, not chess.
4. Figure out who you are in August, then be fearless from Week 1.
Every year except maybe 2023, we improve immensely over the course of the season. The most obvious was in 2024. There was a real "coming to know who we are" that took place during the season. The NIU game was the turning point. Once that team understood who they were (and weren't), we instantly became better. Then you fit that into the fearless mindset and we went into IU, PSU, and UGA and competed at a high level. It's why we won.
The problem is we keep paying for that self-discovery with September losses. You gotta combine the two: figure out who we are in Fall camp, not just assume or guess, as best we can. Then be fearless from the start and adjust later. That's the key.
How do they actually pull that off? Well, that's why they get paid millions and I just watch and complain. But "challenge everything" isn't the answer. I think this is the outline I'd hand out and aim for.
1. Put the right guys on the field before the season, not by Game 3.
Each year there are a couple of Game 1 starters replaced by Game 3 or 4. That's a fall camp evaluation failure. Why does it take live bullets against a ranked opponent to figure out what the staff should have sorted out in August? Settle the depth chart honestly before kickoff, not a loss or two in.
2. Take the training wheels off.
If they're good enough to be on the field, then they shouldn't need to be "protected." Simplified game plans and conservative calls to shield young players just delay the inevitable growing pains, and hand early losses to good teams in the process. Let it rip.
3. Play to win, not to not-lose.
This is my biggest one. You gotta play to win in big games. You can't play to not lose. And against OSU (22) and Miami (25), we played to not lose. That works if you start with Navy or Wisconsin. But against real teams? Nah. You gotta go out and trust that your guys are going to win the game. This is war, not chess.
4. Figure out who you are in August, then be fearless from Week 1.
Every year except maybe 2023, we improve immensely over the course of the season. The most obvious was in 2024. There was a real "coming to know who we are" that took place during the season. The NIU game was the turning point. Once that team understood who they were (and weren't), we instantly became better. Then you fit that into the fearless mindset and we went into IU, PSU, and UGA and competed at a high level. It's why we won.
The problem is we keep paying for that self-discovery with September losses. You gotta combine the two: figure out who we are in Fall camp, not just assume or guess, as best we can. Then be fearless from the start and adjust later. That's the key.
How do they actually pull that off? Well, that's why they get paid millions and I just watch and complain. But "challenge everything" isn't the answer. I think this is the outline I'd hand out and aim for.