Aug 31 | Texas A&M

[condoms SUCk]

Line moved to ND +3 from a coin flip. What changed in the last few weeks? Did our camp disappoint or their camp gain some steam?

I like ND +3 and under 46.5. First game of the season with two good defenses. I don't see the over happening without some defense/ST scores.

I just think it's the A&M hype train gaining steam, it's all speculation at this point. I'm not aware of any injuries that would have shifted the line.

 

[arrowryan]

I just have a hard time seeing how A&M moves the ball consistently against this defense. Media, and staff, mentioned multiple times how complex the system is and how the players have pretty much mastered it.

Offensively, I see them giving Knapp help. I think it’ll be a heavy Leonard, Love, Evans, Greathouse game.

 

[NDPhilly]

Agree with the u guys. The only biggest unknown is Weigmann, who has NFL upside. Otherwise idk how they get to 20 points.

 

[arrowryan]

Agree with the u guys. The only biggest unknown is Weigmann, who has NFL upside. Otherwise idk how they get to 20 points.

He certainly has NFL upside and is probably their best player overall. I think/hope Notre Dame has a DL that should be able to get pressure with 4, especially from the interior. That makes everything that much more difficult for opposing offenses.

 

[NDFAN2008]

I just have a hard time seeing how A&M moves the ball consistently against this defense. Media, and staff, mentioned multiple times how complex the system is and how the players have pretty much mastered it.

Offensively, I see them giving Knapp help. I think it’ll be a heavy Leonard, Love, Evans, Greathouse game.

Not too mention we are deep at the front 7. A&M has a good DL but they lost a bunch of sacks off last year's team.

 

[arrowryan]

Not too mention we are deep at the front 7. A&M has a good DL but they lost a bunch of sacks off last year's team.

In A&M’s defense, they gained a bunch of sack production in the portal as well. Will that translate to a new team/system? We’ll see.

Is Walter Nolan transferring out not as big of a deal as I think it is? He was highly sought after recruit and appears to have a future in the NFL.

 

[DONTH8]

Not great

If Rece was on our call, I would be happy with it.

But Fowler is a lot like Flutie in that you can hear him cheering against ND in his voice. Would prefer to not have to listen to him on the call.

 

[condoms SUCk]

It will have been 11 months since Weigman last played a competitive game, he was injured against Aub on 9/23. The previous competitive game he played in was against Miami and went 31/53 336 58.5% 2 TD 2 INT. Last season his most rushing yards in a game was 29 (Miami)

2023 defensive stats, Miami ended 45th in team rankings, ND ended 8th.

He will be good and will get better as the season moves along, but that's a lot for a guy who's coming off of a injury, hasn't played for almost a year AND going against what was a top 10 defense in ’23 and should be top 10 defense again in’24 in his first game back.

Yes RL is in a similar boat, but RL can RUN when things break down, CW hasn't shown that's in his skillset.

 

[CoachB]

It will have been 11 months since Weigman last played a competitive game, he was injured against Aub on 9/23. The previous competitive game he played in was against Miami and went 31/53 336 58.5% 2 TD 2 INT. Last season his most rushing yards in a game was 29 (Miami)

2023 defensive stats, Miami ended 45th in team rankings, ND ended 8th.

He will be good and will get better as the season moves along, but that's a lot for a guy who's coming off of a injury, hasn't played for almost a year AND going against what was a top 10 defense in ’23 and should be top 10 defense again in’24 in his first game back.

Yes RL is in a similar boat, but RL can RUN when things break down, CW hasn't shown that's in his skillset.

Interesting that the Texas A&M board says their QB is waaaaaaaaay more of a running threat than ours...

 

[RDU Irish]

I'm just digging into the TAMU roster and seeing they had something like 30 transfers of which 3 are listed as starting offensive players and 5 starting on defense.

Two 3-star OL transfers, RS Sophomore and true Sophomore - good luck making that gel in the first game of the season against a stout DL. Add a transfer TE and I am happy we have them for the season opener.

Defensively - they needed help in the secondary and they got it. 3 of five starters back there are new to TAMU. No way their defense hits the ground running with almost half of their starters new on campus. Denbrock should have some chances to make a difference.

Quite annoying that they also have two new DL starting when they were already laden with 5 star talent on the line. They will be fresh and unrelenting in the trenches against our unproven OL. I am happy we will not be starting a 5'11" QB, we will find out early how Riley operates under pressure. Quick strike passing game will be essential to taking the pressure off one of the most unproven starting OL we have seen in a while. On paper, our OL vs their DL makes me want to curl up in the fetal position.

 

[317Irish]

He certainly has NFL upside and is probably their best player overall. I think/hope Notre Dame has a DL that should be able to get pressure with 4, especially from the interior. That makes everything that much more difficult for opposing offenses.

This would go a long ways towards a win for the good guys if accomplished. I agree that we can and should, let’s just hope it happens!

 

[JamIrish]

Line moved to ND +3 from a coin flip. What changed in the last few weeks? Did our camp disappoint or their camp gain some steam?

I like ND +3 and under 46.5. First game of the season with two good defenses. I don't see the over happening without some defense/ST scores.

The concerning thing is because this was essentially a pick em' with ND slight underdogs, bettors hammered A&M on the spread and ND on the moneyline. Oddsmakers have decided to raise the spread instead of lowering ND's moneyline, which would indicate they are on the side of A&M. So far most of the money is on the over, and they still dropped the total.

 

[condoms SUCk]

Interesting that the Texas A&M board says their QB is waaaaaaaaay more of a running threat than ours...

In '23=63 yrds in the first 3 1/2 games. (He can definitely hurt you scampering for 1st downs).
AUB: (-)6
ULM: 18
MIA: 29
UNM: 22
Avg of 5.3

''22=97 and a long of 32 in which he had 66 yards in the game against UMASS. So 68% of his '22 yrds came against UMASS.
His other '22 yrds
#5LSU: 21 (in a win)
UMASS: 66
AUB:4
#15 Ole Piss: 4
SCar: 2
Avg of 3.6

He's only played in 9 career college games over two szns.

 

[EvilleIrish]

The concerning thing is because this was essentially a pick em' with ND slight underdogs, bettors hammered A&M on the spread and ND on the moneyline. Oddsmakers have decided to raise the spread instead of lowering ND's moneyline, which would indicate they are on the side of A&M. So far most of the money is on the over, and they still dropped the total.

Agreed. Always worries me when we are ranked higher but a dog in the eyes of Vegas.

 

[TxAg33]

No, he's not considered the same level of athlete as Leonard......

I honestly don't know what level of athlete Leonard is, but here are a few things about Conner Weigman:

He was the National Quarterback Club's QB of the year his senior year (top QB in the country).
He was the #1 rated QB recruit by ESPN (pocket passer- not dual threat)
He threw for 8,891 yds in high school, with 98 TDs, and ran for 2,062 yds.
He was a projected Top 100 MLB baseball recruit as a short stop, while also a pitcher and outfielder.

Some are projecting him a 1st round pick in draft next year, and at least one as the 1st QB taken. That's a lot of projecting though given his limited college experience to date.

He runs well when he chooses to run, and makes great decisions. but he has been limited by Jimbo's stubborn refusal to play him, and then injuries due to our horrible OL. (the same fate as befell every one of our starting QBs the last three years.)

I would guess the game plan is to protect him and get the ball out quick; I doubt we'll see many runs unless absolutely necessary.

 

[rtrn2glory]

Personally the odds of us winning big over them winning big would be in our favor right? I don't see them being able to hammer us.

 

[TxAg33]

Also, just interesting tidbit- A&M offered Weigman and Cade Klubnik and said they would take only 1 QB whoever committed. Both of Klubnik's parents were Aggies and he grew up an Aggie. It was thought that Weigman was maybe going to go pro baseball. He surprised everyone when he pulled the string on his Aggie offer very early (within 2 weeks of when A&M offered them both). Klubnik then went to Clemson, but there's a good chance he would have done that anyway. He was very close to Dabo.

 

[benneboy]

I honestly don't know what level of athlete Leonard is, but here are a few things about Conner Weigman:

He was the National Quarterback Club's QB of the year his senior year (top QB in the country).
He was the #1 rated QB recruit by ESPN (pocket passer- not dual threat)
He threw for 8,891 yds in high school, with 98 TDs, and ran for 2,062 yds.
He was a projected Top 100 MLB baseball recruit as a short stop, while also a pitcher and outfielder.

He runs well when he chooses to run, and makes great decisions. but he has been limited by Jimbo's stubborn refusal to play him, and then injuries due to our horrible OL. (the same fate as befell every one of our starting QBs the last three years.)

I would guess the game plan is to protect him and get the ball out quick; I doubt we'll see many runs unless absolutely necessary.

This kind of athlete:

 

[Veritate Duce Progredi]

I honestly don't know what level of athlete Leonard is, but here are a few things about Conner Weigman:

He was the National Quarterback Club's QB of the year his senior year (top QB in the country).
He was the #1 rated QB recruit by ESPN (pocket passer- not dual threat)
He threw for 8,891 yds in high school, with 98 TDs, and ran for 2,062 yds.
He was a projected Top 100 MLB baseball recruit as a short stop, while also a pitcher and outfielder.

He runs well when he chooses to run, and makes great decisions. but he has been limited by Jimbo's stubborn refusal to play him, and then injuries due to our horrible OL. (the same fate as befell every one of our starting QBs the last three years.)

I would guess the game plan is to protect him and get the ball out quick; I doubt we'll see many runs unless absolutely necessary.

Weigman sounds like a very good QB with prototypical size who is very capable of picking up a first down when needed but it won't be an integral part of the game plan.

Leonard, thus far, hasn't proven to be the same level of passer as Weigman but here are Leonard's basketball highlights that give a glimpse of who he is. He's a very, very good athlete but a less accomplished passer to date:



Do you think your OL situation has been rectified? We're not used to this much uncertainty on the OL, lost two starting tackles to the draft and then lost the starting LT so we're understandably nervous about how that's going to play out against your much-talked-about defensive line.

How do you think the two defenses compare? How about the offensive personnel? Appreciate you dropping in to discuss, we have 1.5 weeks to fill the time until everything is settled under the lights.

 

[TxAg33]

Weigman sounds like a very good QB with prototypical size who is very capable of picking up a first down when needed but it won't be an integral part of the game plan.

Leonard, thus far, hasn't proven to be the same level of passer as Weigman but here are Leonard's basketball highlights that give a glimpse of who he is. He's a very, very good athlete but a less accomplished passer to date:



Do you think your OL situation has been rectified? We're not used to this much uncertainty on the OL, lost two starting tackles to the draft and then lost the starting LT so we're understandably nervous about how that's going to play out against your much-talked-about defensive line.

How do you think the two defenses compare? How about the offensive personnel? Appreciate you dropping in to discuss, we have 1.5 weeks to fill the time until everything is settled under the lights.

That's impressive! I always thought great basketball players were the best all-around athletes. Our OL is a big question, but here's a little info:
The starting center that transferred to Kansas was basically "encouraged" to go. He could've been a great one but he was more interested in the shot put, spending his spring practicing THAT, and much injured during the season. Elko basically showed him the door.

OL was BEYOND bad the last couple of years because of our Assistant that Jimbo hired but refused to fire. The Aggie base was up in arms over his refusal to replace Addazio. Reportedly, when Elko came in, they did nothing but focus on "unlearning" EVERYTHING they had been taught under the previous regime. It's not that we had bad talent, just horrible coaching and schemes. We also brought in some nice pieces. No one has any idea how good or bad they will be, except our LT is supposed to be very good, and the moved of our young RT to RG was supposed to have been a great one. We will see.

Re our secondary, yes we brought in new guys, but that is a GOOD thing. We are actually much better off talent-wise there, but of course it's new guys and first game so again, a wait-and-see thing. The great thing is that we have Elko back after a DC that (common theme under Jimbo, who we are realizing was horrible) was a very questionable DC.

Our DL is by far our strength. Yes, we lost some, but we also brought in a great talent from Purdue (a local kid) who is preseason All-America to go with our very deep 4 and 5 star talent along the front. We have talent and depth there. Our LB situation is finally firming up also after years of being very thin, but we did lose a great one in Edgerrin Cooper- Green Bay 2nd round pick. Taurean York was Freshmand All-Amercan last year and will be our main piece at LB. Looking forward to what Elko does with him as he is masterful at disguising and delaying blitzes. York is very fast, a good tackler (not big), and just a very good football IQ.

In general, the 30 or so transfers out were guys that left because lack of playing time or otherwise "encouraged" to leave. We supposedly did very well in the transfer portal- partly by necessity and design as Elko was a new coach and purposely kept our HS recruiting numbers low when he came on board. I think he had a pretty good idea of what kind of players he needed NOW to go with the talent he had on hand, and with A&M's resources was able to mostly fill that out the way he wanted.

Offens WR is a big ????? though we do have one stud (Noah Thomas- very tall, lanky, good hands). Walker is sometimes very good and sometimes just drops easy passes right to him. We also have some new guys that are supposed to be good and they talk like they think they're going to be very good. By the way, that Alabama takeoff picture- that was a self-deprecating humor thing put together by our practice squad guys. Maybe like an 80 yr old granny might strike a Rocky pose at the top of those Philly steps.

RB we have two decent ball carriers, but we did lose our back-up to season-ending injury last week. Leveon Moss is a 6ft 215lb jr. 4-star from Louisiana with 10.8 speed in the 100m. Amari Daniels is a 5ft8" 200lb senior from Miami with 4.5 speed. He's pretty fast and shifty, but hasn't really knocked anyone's socks off. They should be smart given their experience and they can catch the ball.

Our TEs are question marks, but we do have one that could be pretty special. He missed all of last year with a pre-season injury. This will be his 2nd full season. 6' 4" 265 lb Donovan Green- a freshman All-America honorable mention that came on at the end of the '22 season.


How (and IF) it all comes together in Game 1 is yet to be seen. We certainly have a tough row to hoe in ND. We are most fortunate that the game will be played under the lights in the 2nd half. Kyle Field is really a special place at night. I'm hoping we keep it close enough the 1st half while we work out all the kinks of our new program, so that we have a shot in the 2nd half.

I'm thinking the final score will be in the 27-24 range, whichever team wins.

 

[Jimmy3Putt]

I honestly don't know what level of athlete Leonard is, but here are a few things about Conner Weigman:

He was the National Quarterback Club's QB of the year his senior year (top QB in the country).
He was the #1 rated QB recruit by ESPN (pocket passer- not dual threat)
He threw for 8,891 yds in high school, with 98 TDs, and ran for 2,062 yds.
He was a projected Top 100 MLB baseball recruit as a short stop, while also a pitcher and outfielder.

He runs well when he chooses to run, and makes great decisions. but he has been limited by Jimbo's stubborn refusal to play him, and then injuries due to our horrible OL. (the same fate as befell every one of our starting QBs the last three years.)

I would guess the game plan is to protect him and get the ball out quick; I doubt we'll see many runs unless absolutely necessary.

Now I have QB envy!

 

[TxAg33]

Now I have QB envy!

yeah, but will ND given him time to throw and will we have any WRs that can get open. That could be no and no.

by the way, in our 4 toughest SEC games last year- all losses:

20-26 #9 Alabama
13-20 @ #18 Tennessee
35-38 @ #11 Ole Miss
30-42 @ #14 LSU

those were all with our back-up Quarterback and horrible OL and terrible Jimbo offensive scheme

Deo Gratias, y'all!

 

[PutuporShutup]

yeah, but will ND given him time to throw and will we have any WRs that can get open. That could be no and no.

by the way, in our 4 toughest SEC games last year- all losses:

20-26 #9 Alabama
13-20 @ #18 Tennessee
35-38 @ #11 Ole Miss
30-42 @ #14 LSU

those were all with our back-up Quarterback and horrible OL and terrible Jimbo offensive scheme

Deo Gratias, y'all!

Wrs that can get open… yes (no doubt) 3 good transfers and the rest healthy that were hurt last year. 6 or 7 good wrs this year for game 1. Maybe more as season progresses

Does he have time to throw- that’s the million dollar question

I would expect defense at a&m to be improved but offense probably similar. No where near the portal Influx of talent and experience the D got

 

[InKellyWeTrust]

I see Aggie fans drink just as much preseason Kool-aid as we do. I appreciate the insight though

 

[Some Irish Bloke]

yeah, but will ND given him time to throw and will we have any WRs that can get open. That could be no and no.

by the way, in our 4 toughest SEC games last year- all losses:

20-26 #9 Alabama
13-20 @ #18 Tennessee
35-38 @ #11 Ole Miss
30-42 @ #14 LSU

those were all with our back-up Quarterback and horrible OL and terrible Jimbo offensive scheme

Deo Gratias, y'all!

I definitely appreciate the insights into your program. I think you'll find that we are pretty respectful of opposing posters when they aren't trolling/being obnoxious. Most of us on IE are really good sports about these discussions.

Welcome! Thanks again. Looking forward to the big one next Saturday night!

 

[NDTH91]

That's impressive! I always thought great basketball players were the best all-around athletes. Our OL is a big question, but here's a little info:
The starting center that transferred to Kansas was basically "encouraged" to go. He could've been a great one but he was more interested in the shot put, spending his spring practicing THAT, and much injured during the season. Elko basically showed him the door.

OL was BEYOND bad the last couple of years because of our Assistant that Jimbo hired but refused to fire. The Aggie base was up in arms over his refusal to replace Addazio. Reportedly, when Elko came in, they did nothing but focus on "unlearning" EVERYTHING they had been taught under the previous regime. It's not that we had bad talent, just horrible coaching and schemes. We also brought in some nice pieces. No one has any idea how good or bad they will be, except our LT is supposed to be very good, and the moved of our young RT to RG was supposed to have been a great one. We will see.

Re our secondary, yes we brought in new guys, but that is a GOOD thing. We are actually much better off talent-wise there, but of course it's new guys and first game so again, a wait-and-see thing. The great thing is that we have Elko back after a DC that (common theme under Jimbo, who we are realizing was horrible) was a very questionable DC.

Our DL is by far our strength. Yes, we lost some, but we also brought in a great talent from Purdue (a local kid) who is preseason All-America to go with our very deep 4 and 5 star talent along the front. We have talent and depth there. Our LB situation is finally firming up also after years of being very thin, but we did lose a great one in Edgerrin Cooper- Green Bay 2nd round pick. Taurean York was Freshmand All-Amercan last year and will be our main piece at LB. Looking forward to what Elko does with him as he is masterful at disguising and delaying blitzes. York is very fast, a good tackler (not big), and just a very good football IQ.

In general, the 30 or so transfers out were guys that left because lack of playing time or otherwise "encouraged" to leave. We supposedly did very well in the transfer portal- partly by necessity and design as Elko was a new coach and purposely kept our HS recruiting numbers low when he came on board. I think he had a pretty good idea of what kind of players he needed NOW to go with the talent he had on hand, and with A&M's resources was able to mostly fill that out the way he wanted.

Offens WR is a big ????? though we do have one stud (Noah Thomas- very tall, lanky, good hands). Walker is sometimes very good and sometimes just drops easy passes right to him. We also have some new guys that are supposed to be good and they talk like they think they're going to be very good. By the way, that Alabama takeoff picture- that was a self-deprecating humor thing put together by our practice squad guys. Maybe like an 80 yr old granny might strike a Rocky pose at the top of those Philly steps.

RB we have two decent ball carriers, but we did lose our back-up to season-ending injury last week. Leveon Moss is a 6ft 215lb jr. 4-star from Louisiana with 10.8 speed in the 100m. Amari Daniels is a 5ft8" 200lb senior from Miami with 4.5 speed. He's pretty fast and shifty, but hasn't really knocked anyone's socks off. They should be smart given their experience and they can catch the ball.

Our TEs are question marks, but we do have one that could be pretty special. He missed all of last year with a pre-season injury. This will be his 2nd full season. 6' 4" 265 lb Donovan Green- a freshman All-America honorable mention that came on at the end of the '22 season.


How (and IF) it all comes together in Game 1 is yet to be seen. We certainly have a tough row to hoe in ND. We are most fortunate that the game will be played under the lights in the 2nd half. Kyle Field is really a special place at night. I'm hoping we keep it close enough the 1st half while we work out all the kinks of our new program, so that we have a shot in the 2nd half.

I'm thinking the final score will be in the 27-24 range, whichever team wins.

I don't post often, but I just want to say how much of a breath of fresh air it is to have an opposing fan come on here and have coherent, insightful discourse. I love to talk about taco recipes, new decks, and timeshares as much as the next guy, but the actual football talk is great. Welcome to the board!

Looking forward to a slugfest under the lights. 3 days until CFB and 10 days until ND football! Let's go!!!

 

[TxAg33]

I definitely appreciate the respectful insights into your program. I think you'll find that we are pretty respectful of opposing posters when they aren't trolling/being obnoxious. Most of us on IE are really good sports about these discussions.

Welcome! Thanks again. Looking forward to the big one next Saturday night!

Thanks. Two things I love- football and my Catholic faith. Nice when those two things align! By the way, Texas A&M has the largest Catholic student body in the country. John 6: 22-59

Here's the new church (St. Marys) across the street from campus:

 

[Irish2155]

Thanks. Two things I love- football and my Catholic faith. Nice when those two things align! By the way, Texas A&M has the largest Catholic student body in the country. John 6: 22-59

Here's the new church (St. Marys) across the street from campus:

You’ll be fine here unless you jump into the politics threads. No holds barred in that neck of the IE woods

 

[texbender]

I have 2 extra tix available, if any interest PM me. Section 404 Row 12 (50 yard line upper deck).

 

[TxAg33]

You’ll be fine here unless you jump into the politics threads. No holds barred in that neck of the IE woods

Ha! just like on Texags. No, don't plan on going there, I figure my last post is probably controversial enough, even on a Notre Dame site!