'21 TN OLB Prince Kollie (Notre Dame Signee)

[fightingirish26]

You’re thinking of Jarron.

Jamir was a straight up DE on the field, Elston product

 

[PutuporShutup]

I don't give a shit who stays or leaves as long as the overall LB play is more impactful. The only thing they seemed to really excel at last year is getting absolutely swallowed by blocks.

And whiffing when untouched blitzing

 

[CanadalovesND]

We would have no 5th yr or 4th yr Srs at LB next year … we’re losing 3 lbs, 3 starting lbs after this year. would be nice to return a starter. The way the lbs played last year none should have been penciled in, yet it sounds like all 3 were

Bertrand, Kiser both have two years of eligibility remaining. Marist technically has three more.

 

[stlnd01]

Bertrand, Kiser both have two years of eligibility remaining. Marist technically has three more.

Make it stop!

 

[PANDFAN]

Prister said he has heard several different stories about why he isn't there, class etc then went to the vandy answer which O'Malley said as well would be a fit plus home state... they noted he has had difficulty knowing where to be, assignment wise

 

[T-Boone]

Make it stop!

Marist will be the big improver this year

 

[PutuporShutup]

Bertrand, Kiser both have two years of eligibility remaining. Marist technically has three more.

They would each have 1… it went from 5 to play 4 to now 6 to play 4.

 

[Irish#1]

Wouldn’t be a spring practice without some drama.

 

[CanadalovesND]

They would each have 1… it went from 5 to play 4 to now 6 to play 4.

I was not counting this upcoming season towards their eligibility, but yes you are right.

Bertrand and Kiser have one but, but Marist would have two.

Marist redshirted as a true freshman in ‘19, took the COVID year in 2020, and medically redshirted in 2021. He was just a redshirt freshman last year lol

If he so chooses, Marist could be a seven year college football player.

 

[Luckylucci]

Marist has flashed way too much to write him off. Prior to his injury he was blowing up camp. Maybe that player can’t make it back but I sure hope they keep trying because he’s an exciting dude if he can.

 

[Crazy Balki]

I was not counting this upcoming season towards their eligibility, but yes you are right.

Bertrand and Kiser have one but, but Marist would have two.

Marist redshirted as a true freshman in ‘19, took the COVID year in 2020, and medically redshirted in 2021. He was just a redshirt freshman last year lol

If he so chooses, Marist could be a seven year college football player.

You can only get a medical redshirt if you miss a majority of 2 seasons to injury, not 1.

 

[CanadalovesND]

You can only get a medical redshirt if you miss a majority of 2 seasons to injury, not 1.

I believe that that was the old ruling for a medical redshirt.

 

[PutuporShutup]

I was not counting this upcoming season towards their eligibility, but yes you are right.

Bertrand and Kiser have one but, but Marist would have two.

Marist redshirted as a true freshman in ‘19, took the COVID year in 2020, and medically redshirted in 2021. He was just a redshirt freshman last year lol

If he so chooses, Marist could be a seven year college football player.

He would have to apply for 7th year… it’s 6 to play 4, you need special exemption for 7th

 

[PutuporShutup]

Marist has flashed way too much to write him off. Prior to his injury he was blowing up camp. Maybe that player can’t make it back but I sure hope they keep trying because he’s an exciting dude if he can.

I was crazy high on him for last year and he disappointed (understatement). Media has viewed 2 full sessions and he’s underwhelmed in those. To me it shows how good of a coach Lea was because
Marist played well in 2020. Too bad he couldn’t recruit great.

 

[allenm5333]

I was crazy high on him for last year and he disappointed (understatement). Media has viewed 2 full sessions and he’s underwhelmed in those. To me it shows how good of a coach Lea was because
Marist played well in 2020. Too bad he couldn’t recruit great.

BD was once VERY high on him. But he has reported being underwhelmed. When he turns on you…

 

[PutuporShutup]

BD was once VERY high on him. But he has reported being underwhelmed. When he turns on you…

They the coaches held his reps back in fall 2022 practice to the point people weren’t sure he would start…. Then he ends up leading the defense in snaps while having by all accounts a bad season. Players believe in themselves, if I’m kollie of course I think I’m getting screwed because I’m not playing despite the person playing over me having bad games over and over. Kollie may not be that good, but Marist was bad in 2022 and there’s no signs yet that will change.

 

[IrishSpartan]

This is stupid. Marist is comparable to a chicken with it head cut off on the football field. The fact that someone incredibly talented like Kollie was being held off the field because of Marist potential is dumb. Many people would agree that Kollies potential is way higher.

 

[Sherm Sticky]

This is stupid. Marist is comparable to a chicken with it head cut off on the football field. The fact that someone incredibly talented like Kollie was being held off the field because of Marist potential is dumb. Many people would agree that Kollies potential is way higher.

Yes sir! Like you said Marist runs around not knowing what to do. There is zero football feel for him.

 

[Veritate Duce Progredi]

This is stupid. Marist is comparable to a chicken with it head cut off on the football field. The fact that someone incredibly talented like Kollie was being held off the field because of Marist potential is dumb. Many people would agree that Kollies potential is way higher.

Marist was one of the most effective defenders we had in 2020 against UNC. Fall Camp of 2021, every one of the beat reporters were saying Marist was going to be a force/known name/gamewrecker, then he broke his ankle. 2022 was not a very good year for Marist while he worked his way back. His potential is TBD.

As to Kollie - I love his athleticism/build but the coaches keep giving him every opportunity to earn more snaps. The coaches don't have "favorites" because they are all coaching for their own security. I really want to see the lightbulb go on for Kollie but if he's looking to bounce midway through spring ball then it's not meant to be.

The coaches can't make him the favorite and just give him the position if he's not showing them enough. That's a good way to have a massively disappointing season.

 

[IAIrish]

Marist was one of the most effective defenders we had in 2020 against UNC. Fall Camp of 2021, every one of the beat reporters were saying Marist was going to be a force/known name/gamewrecker, then he broke his ankle. 2022 was not a very good year for Marist while he worked his way back. His potential is TBD.

As to Kollie - I love his athleticism/build but the coaches keep giving him every opportunity to earn more snaps. The coaches don't have "favorites" because they are all coaching for their own security. I really want to see the lightbulb go on for Kollie but if he's looking to bounce midway through spring ball then it's not meant to be.

The coaches can't make him the favorite and just give him the position if he's not showing them enough. That's a good way to have a massively disappointing season.

This.
I distinctly remember one play in the bowl game that seemed pretty telling. PK was in the game and SC ran to his side. PK looked misaligned at the snap and then got caught in the wash and the back ran through the gap he appeared to be responsible for.

Freeman pulled him right after and was as demonstrative in correcting him as I've seen him in a game.

That scenario seemed fairly indicative of Kollie's career to date. Physically talented player who was a dominant see ball, get ball backer in hs. His instincts/ understanding is behind the others and as a result, sho is his position on the depth chart.

 

[ColinKSU]

I was crazy high on him for last year and he disappointed (understatement). Media has viewed 2 full sessions and he’s underwhelmed in those. To me it shows how good of a coach Lea was because
Marist played well in 2020. Too bad he couldn’t recruit great.

I, for one, look forward to another year of Marist running into the back of a defensive lineman at 100 MPH 15-20 times a game.

 

[PutuporShutup]

Marist was one of the most effective defenders we had in 2020 against UNC. Fall Camp of 2021, every one of the beat reporters were saying Marist was going to be a force/known name/gamewrecker, then he broke his ankle. 2022 was not a very good year for Marist while he worked his way back. His potential is TBD.

As to Kollie - I love his athleticism/build but the coaches keep giving him every opportunity to earn more snaps. The coaches don't have "favorites" because they are all coaching for their own security. I really want to see the lightbulb go on for Kollie but if he's looking to bounce midway through spring ball then it's not meant to be.

The coaches can't make him the favorite and just give him the position if he's not showing them enough. That's a good way to have a massively disappointing season.

I either disagree with some of this or feel like we don't know some.

Example - Are we sure the coaches are giving Kollie every opportunity to earn reps? Marist was terrible last year and they did absolutely nothing different the entire season with him (at least during games). He led the defense in snaps. I do agree though he showed high potential in 2020 and was awesome vs unc. Coaches at times will absolutely play a favorite because they trust them vs someone who potentially could be better if given more game opportunity. Look at Joe Alt, he was 4th string LT to start the 2021 season. He didn't "earn" his opportunity, it was given to him after our 3rd injury at LT and then he ran with it. How did the coaches not see how good he was?

Justin Ademilola played significantly more and over Botelho. Justin did not have a good year in 2022, despite this botelho hardly played. Foskey declares, botelho forced into PT and has a better game than Justin has ever had at ND.

Coaches will play favorites at times. You can't say they didn't play alt due to being a frosh because fisher was our starting LT as a frosh. Did botelho not do what he needed to in practice, despite him playing well in games? Que Allen Iverson. I do believe in practice being critical, but I also believe that there are people that the lights are too big for, and others that give that extra focus/effort when the lights are on.

 

[PutuporShutup]

This.
I distinctly remember one play in the bowl game that seemed pretty telling. PK was in the game and SC ran to his side. PK looked misaligned at the snap and then got caught in the wash and the back ran through the gap he appeared to be responsible for.

Freeman pulled him right after and was as demonstrative in correcting him as I've seen him in a game.

That scenario seemed fairly indicative of Kollie's career to date. Physically talented player who was a dominant see ball, get ball backer in hs. His instincts/ understanding is behind the others and as a result, sho is his position on the depth chart.

I don't know if you can have worse instincts than Marist. Lea had marist in places where he didn't need to use his instincts, he could use his size ,athleticism, and power. Example was vs UNC in 2020. He didn't have to react or read, he played downhill.

 

[stlnd01]

I want Marist to get passed over, too but if Kollie isn’t doing it, that is, at some level, on him and how well he is or isnt playing.
The coaches couldn’t like Marist enough to let Kollie leave the program over it just by paying favorites. Kollie’s a talented player.

 

[PutuporShutup]

I want Marist to get passed over, too but if Kollie isn’t doing it, that is, at some level, on him and how well he is or isnt playing.
The coaches couldn’t like Marist enough to let Kollie leave the program over it just by paying favorites. Kollie’s a talented player.

Yep. I don't really think it's smart for the program to have 6th year LBs returning with all our young talent, but we may need it if Kollie leaves.

 

[Veritate Duce Progredi]

I either disagree with some of this or feel like we don't know some.

Example - Are we sure the coaches are giving Kollie every opportunity to earn reps? Marist was terrible last year and they did absolutely nothing different the entire season with him (at least during games). He led the defense in snaps. I do agree though he showed high potential in 2020 and was awesome vs unc. Coaches at times will absolutely play a favorite because they trust them vs someone who potentially could be better if given more game opportunity. Look at Joe Alt, he was 4th string LT to start the 2021 season. He didn't "earn" his opportunity, it was given to him after our 3rd injury at LT and then he ran with it. How did the coaches not see how good he was?

Justin Ademilola played significantly more and over Botelho. Justin did not have a good year in 2022, despite this botelho hardly played. Foskey declares, botelho forced into PT and has a better game than Justin has ever had at ND.

Coaches will play favorites at times. You can't say they didn't play alt due to being a frosh because fisher was our starting LT as a frosh. Did botelho not do what he needed to in practice, despite him playing well in games? Que Allen Iverson. I do believe in practice being critical, but I also believe that there are people that the lights are too big for, and others that give that extra focus/effort when the lights are on.

I posited that the coaches want the best players to play because their jobs depend on it.

Your position is to throw skepticism at this with some half-thought examples. Joe Alt wasn't ready to be a starter when he first went in, he HAD to play and he seasoned quickly. I think most believe, retrospectively, he would've earned a starting spot as a RS freshman after he had enough time to develop. His development was redlined out of need and he grew into the position. Justin A. was probably the more consistently sound player last year. Botelho would've probably given us more splash plays and more gaps unaccounted for. This is what all of the coaches have been saying for 2+ years.

I'm rooting hard for Botelho, seems like a guy who has worked his tail off to get better and play under control but they are still talking about this 3 years after matriculation. That means he's still learning.

Of course there are players whose games elevate under the bright lights but there aren't players who miss their assignments who all of a sudden become assignment sound.

Retrospective analysis is always so easy, it's predictive analysis applied to the human element that's difficult. The coaches are taking in far more data points than we are. They are charting wins/losses/assignment correctness and then applying their own assessment and making a determination on who gives them the best chance to win. No one gets to learn on the job unless there are no better options.

How many busted assignments would you give up per sack? How many per QB pressure? Are they an even trade? Does one potentially have a bigger determination on the game? What about when the game is close? 3rd quarter? 4th quarter? These are the equations constantly being run through spring/summer/fall and the season.

 

[Luckylucci]

There was a problem in early 2021 with how much Bertrand was playing. We talked about it then and he essentially just ran him into the ground throughout the season. To this day, this really hasn't been addressed. Last season, Bertrand missed the Navy game, if he doesn't then Liufau and Bertrand would have been #1 and #2, respectively, in snaps on defense. For a position group that left a lot to be desired, that seems odd. 3rd year in and we should start to see improvement at the position or changes, one would think.

However, I thought about this back during the 2021 season and now seems even more prudent to the discussion. What LB's did Freeman develop at Cincy? Those were very good defenses that must've had guys contributing but where is the upside development? We can come up with names of the very good players that were developed at other positions but what LB's of his are in the NFL? I believe (maybe I'm missing some here) there is one guy, Darrian Beavers who was drafted last year, 182nd by the NY Giants.

How many has he had drafted since being at ND? I believe that's a 6 year history between the two schools and Darrian Beavers is what he has to show for it? Is it the system? Is it the coaching? I don't know the answer but it's kind of wild to think about. Notre Dame had substantially more success putting LB's in the NFL over the 6 years before Marcus Freeman came to ND than he did in the 6 years he has combined at both Cincy and ND. Hopefully this changes. It seems like it should with the recruits they brought in but seems noteworthy.

 

[INLaw]

There was a problem in early 2021 with how much Bertrand was playing. We talked about it then and he essentially just ran him into the ground throughout the season. To this day, this really hasn't been addressed. Last season, Bertrand missed the Navy game, if he doesn't then Liufau and Bertrand would have been #1 and #2, respectively, in snaps on defense. For a position group that left a lot to be desired, that seems odd. 3rd year in and we should start to see improvement at the position or changes, one would think.

However, I thought about this back during the 2021 season and now seems even more prudent to the discussion. What LB's did Freeman develop at Cincy? Those were very good defenses that must've had guys contributing but where is the upside development? We can name some names of the very good players that were developed at other positions but what LB's of his are in the NFL? I believe (maybe I'm missing some here) there is one guy, Darrian Beavers who was drafted last year, 182nd by the NY Giants.

How many has he had drafted since being at ND? I believe that's a 6 year history between the two schools and Darrian Beavers is what he has to show for it? Is it the system? Is it the coaching? I don't know the answer but it's kind of wild to think about. Notre Dame had substantially more success putting LB's in the NFL over the 6 years before Marcus Freeman came to ND than he did in the 6 years he has combined at both Cincy and ND. Hopefully this changes. It seems like it should with the recruits they brought in but seems noteworthy.

JD and Marist were the bottom of the linebacker list in that recruiting class for us. Both on signing day or thereabout did not have guaranteed scholarships but were recruited players with the understanding of scholarships would be found and made first available as annual attrition occurred. Marist was always high ceiling low floor raw athlete. JD was a four star but processed by Georgia and seen as a low ceiling high floor wysiwig guy. If on that signing day I was told those two would be the multi year starting interior linebackers I would have been surprised.

 

[stlnd01]

JD and Marist were the bottom of the linebacker list in that recruiting class for us. Both on signing day or thereabout did not have guaranteed scholarships but were recruited players with the understanding of scholarships would be found and made first available as annual attrition occurred. Marist was always high ceiling low floor raw athlete. JD was a four star but processed by Georgia and seen as a low ceiling high floor wysiwig guy. If on that signing day I was told those two would be the multi year starting interior linebackers I would have been surprised.

To be fair, Bertrand and Kyren Williams were literally tied in the 247 rankings - as the #358 player nationally - Kiser was tucked right in between Bertrand and Liufau, and Cam Hart was rated below all of them. The "best" LB in our class that year was Osita Ekwonu. So who knows.

 

[ulukinatme]

To be fair, Bertrand and Kyren Williams were literally tied in the 247 rankings - as the #358 player nationally - Kiser was tucked right in between Bertrand and Liufau, and Cam Hart was rated below all of them. The "best" LB in our class that year was Osita Ekwonu. So who knows.

Scouts are like pirates. Their recruiting "stars" are more like guidelines than rules.