General team info

[IRISHDODGER]

I'm not worried about Raridon's ability whatsoever. He's shown flashes of his athleticism, his only problem has been staying healthy. If he can get over that hurdle that's plagued him, I think he can have a big year.

That’s it. As Vin Scully once said, “He’s day-to-day. And aren’t we all?”

 

[Veritate Duce Progredi]

There is a lot of reason to be excited if the rumblings turn out to be true about Cam Williams. I pulled up the roster to review.

Expected starters:
Malachi Fields 6'4 - 223
Jaden Greathouse 6'1 - 212
Jordan Faison 5'10 - 183

Challenging for snaps/disruptors:
Will Pauling 5'10 - 190
Cam Williams 6'2 - 198
Micah Gilbert 6'2 - 201
Elijah Burress 6'0 - 184

Unknowns:
KK Smith, Saldate, Scrap Richardson - I know we heard some rumblings that Scrap was impressing late spring/summer workouts.

That is such a healthy split. Had too much coffee and found myself getting really anxious for the start of the season!

 

[Some Irish Bloke]

There is a lot of reason to be excited if the rumblings turn out to be true about Cam Williams. I pulled up the roster to review.

What are the rumblings? I thought I heard merck or somebody else say he's progressing but not quite there yet, though I could be misremembering. Long offseason, after all...Either way, definitely think the WR room has the most upside we've seen around here in a long time. Hope they stay healthy and meet/exceed expectations, it's been a long time since that's happened.

 

[Veritate Duce Progredi]

What are the rumblings? I thought I heard merck or somebody else say he's progressing but not quite there yet, though I could be misremembering. Long offseason, after all...Either way, definitely think the WR has the most upside we've seen around here in a long time. Hope they stay healthy and meet/exceed expectations, it's been a long time since that's happened.

Nothing stated outright. It's just that his name had no traction/mentions for most of spring and then by the end of summer, it seems like the podcasts/reporters/etc are all mentioning him and that it'd be so great if we could get some snaps from him this year.

That is not nothing. I think people also want to be cautious about putting too much on him. Let him grow into it and develop at the appropriate pace rather than supercharging the hype machine.

 

[SDIrishFan]

@Merckxe525 I'm curious, with fall camp set to start next week and with the summer session wrapping up, what if anything you're willing/able to share on individual players who may have taken a leap forward? There's a few rumblings about individuals, but wondering if you'd be willing to share anything as a resident insider?

 

[irishu]

When are game threads being created?

 

[zelezo vlk]

When are game threads being created?

for real

 

[Domina Nostra]

I think Weis just came at the wrong time in history. Notre Dame was very slow to adapt to the changes in college football occurring into the 2000’s. Had Weis taken the Notre Dame job today after BK (who we can all agree help modernize Notre Dame) then it might have been a different story because the strength and conditioning is so much more evolved at Notre Dame today and it’s even more evident Notre Dame would help him get a top 5 highest paid DC to balance his weakness. I think 2005 Notre Dame was still too much of the Monk era.

I tend to agree. Weis seemed like the kind of coach who could help very good players win, but not the kind of coach that could develop players. High ceiling, low floor. Recruiting was good in at the top, terrible at the botttom. He would have been a good bridge coach between two great coaches.

Kelly seemed like almost the opposite. He's been able to make mediocre programs good, but not great. High floor, lower ceiling. Recruiting was good, not great. Seems to lack the drive to be truly elite.

It's too early to tell with Freeman. But so far he seems like he's able to develop and coach, plus recruiting is very good. I will say, though, that it seems to me that HCs are more managerial than they used to be, and the current situation with the Univeristy and NIL help with recruiting a good bit.

 

[Pete]

 

[Irish#1]

If CJ is who we think he is and the WR's step up, oh boy. This offense is going to be hard to stop.

 

[IA4irish]

When does fall camp actually start? Irish illustrated made it sound on the podcast like it’ll be this next week

 

[SDIrishFan]

When does fall camp actually start? Irish illustrated made it sound on the podcast like it’ll be this next week

I believe it’s the 31st? Which generally means we should get MMFF presser on the 30th.

 

[allenm5333]

I believe it’s the 31st? Which generally means we should get MMFF presser on the 30th.

Heard Thursday on ib breakdown pod

 

[Valpodoc85]

Question:
How durable do we think both CJ and Love are? Both have had injuries.
How deep (really) is our DL? Getting out of third down in September is different than November

 

[Some Irish Bloke]

Question:
How durable do we think both CJ and Love are? Both have had injuries.
How deep (really) is our DL? Getting out of third down in September is different than November

I think CJ and Love are in completely different categories. CJ hasn't really played live, but his elbow issue is supposedly 100% resolved and it sure looked good in the Spring. Love played through his knee injury like a bad man. I hope they can be effective with the RB rotation so he can be healthier in Nov and hopefully December. Seemed more like a workload issue than a fragility problem.

 

[rtrn2glory]

Way too much time on my hand today since every place is booked to golf.

I really am feeling like we need to dominate Miami to send a message to the entire country that last year was no fluke. There hasn't been enough previews out for me to read on Miami but honestly what do they possibly have that presents a problem for us other than the advantage of it being a home night game?

 

[greyhammer90]

Way too much time on my hand today since every place is booked to golf.

I really am feeling like we need to dominate Miami to send a message to the entire country that last year was no fluke. There hasn't been enough previews out for me to read on Miami but honestly what do they possibly have that presents a problem for us other than the advantage of it being a home night game?

Good offensive line, good DL, Carson Beck (assuming health) might be the best arm we'll see all year. We should win but this is a team that kicked the shit out of Florida in the swamp last year. Definitely can be a dangerous group. Biggest questions to me is how Carr does in his first start in a viper nest and does the defense take a step back under Ash. If those two questions are answered positively I think we roll.

 

[NDBoiler]

Good offensive line, good DL, Carson Beck (assuming health) might be the best arm we'll see all year. We should win but this is a team that kicked the shit out of Florida in the swamp last year. Definitely can be a dangerous group. Biggest questions to me is how Carr does in his first start in a viper nest and does the defense take a step back under Ash. If those two questions are answered positively I think we roll.

Agreed, I think if we stay healthy leading up to this game, Miami could be in for a surprise. Or, as Charles Barkley once said, “I don’t know much about Angola, but Angola is in trouble.”

 

[Valpodoc85]

I think we have the depth on them. On a hot humid night that should be the difference

 

[IRISHDODGER]

Way too much time on my hand today since every place is booked to golf.

I really am feeling like we need to dominate Miami to send a message to the entire country that last year was no fluke. There hasn't been enough previews out for me to read on Miami but honestly what do they possibly have that presents a problem for us other than the advantage of it being a home night game?

Along w/ ND, Miami’s OL is rated one of the best in the nation. Crazily, Beck will have better receivers than he had a UGA which seemed to hamstring him last season. If the ND front 7 can get to Beck, ND should have the overall advantage.

 

[stlnd01]

Agreed, I think if we stay healthy leading up to this game, Miami could be in for a surprise. Or, as Charles Barkley once said, “I don’t know much about Angola, but Angola is in trouble.”

A surprise? My friend, the last game we played was for the national championship, I'm not sure we're surprising anyone.
But, yes, we are the better, deeper, team and unless Carr is out of his depth in his first game, we should prevail. Our d line/pass rush will be key.

 

[Irish#1]

Carr traveled to the A&M game so he knows what the atmosphere is going to be. I have to believe the coaches probably pointed out a few things during that game to help him. I’ll be surprised if he isn’t comfortable.

 

[ND87]

Good offensive line, good DL, Carson Beck (assuming health) might be the best arm we'll see all year. We should win but this is a team that kicked the shit out of Florida in the swamp last year. Definitely can be a dangerous group. Biggest questions to me is how Carr does in his first start in a viper nest and does the defense take a step back under Ash. If those two questions are answered positively I think we roll.

Re: Ash ...

Notre Dame Revamps Pass Rush After Chris Ash Spots One Overlooked Flaw | Fanrecap.com

Chris Ash didn’t spend the summer burning up the recruiting trail - he spent it in the film room. The Notre Dame defensive coordinator zeroed in on his own personnel,...

v2.fanrecap.com

 

[Crazy Balki]

Good offensive line, good DL, Carson Beck (assuming health) might be the best arm we'll see all year. We should win but this is a team that kicked the shit out of Florida in the swamp last year. Definitely can be a dangerous group. Biggest questions to me is how Carr does in his first start in a viper nest and does the defense take a step back under Ash. If those two questions are answered positively I think we roll.

I put zero stock in their win over Florida. The Florida team at the start of the year was nowhere near the same team as they were at the end of it. They also got slapped around by A&M at home. They were a steaming dumpster fire until later in the year when Lagway took over.

 

[LifelongFan]

It's not ideal to have a redshirt freshman start on the road at night against a top 20 team on week 1, but having Jeremiyah Love, Jadarian Price, Anthony Knapp, Aamil Wagner, Billy Scrauth, Jaden Greathouse, and Jordan Faison around will make it as easy as possible on him.

 

[Katzenboyer]

Way too much time on my hand today since every place is booked to golf.

I really am feeling like we need to dominate Miami to send a message to the entire country that last year was no fluke. There hasn't been enough previews out for me to read on Miami but honestly what do they possibly have that presents a problem for us other than the advantage of it being a home night game?

Miami will probably be the best OL we face this year. Tons of returning snaps, headlined by Francis Mauigoa, a projected first rounder.

They also have some talented backs, so that'll be the battle that wins/loses us the game.

 

[Crazy Balki]

Miami will probably be the best OL we face this year. Tons of returning snaps, headlined by Francis Mauigoa, a projected first rounder.

They also have some talented backs, so that'll be the battle that wins/loses us the game.

I agree that this will be the battle that wins/loses us the game, which is why I'm very confident.

ND's DL has faced plenty of teams with similar talent to Miami up front. The same can't be said for the reverse. Miami's experience is primarily against some really porous defenses.

Nobody on the Cane's OL has faced defensive talent this good in their career except Brockermeyer, when he was at Bama, but...that experience wasn't exactly good experience given how guys like Mason Graham tossed him around like a ragdoll.

I'm intrigued how the battle between Mauigoa and Bell and ND's edge rushers pans out. I think this is the game where people familiarize themselves with the name Bryce Young...well, besides that other Bryce Young of course...

 

[stlnd01]

I agree that this will be the battle that wins/loses us the game, which is why I'm very confident.

ND's DL has faced plenty of teams with similar talent to Miami up front. The same can't be said for the reverse. Miami's experience is primarily against some really porous defenses.

Nobody on the Cane's OL has faced defensive talent this good in their career except Brockermeyer, when he was at Bama, but...that experience wasn't exactly good experience given how guys like Mason Graham tossed him around like a ragdoll.

I'm intrigued how the battle between Mauigoa and Bell and ND's edge rushers pans out. I think this is the game where people familiarize themselves with the name Bryce Young...well, besides that other Bryce Young of course...

What's the word on Traore's health? I've been daydreaming of him and Young coming at a QB from either side for months now.

 

[stpeteirish]

What's the word on Traore's health? I've been daydreaming of him and Young coming at a QB from either side for months now.

No word but Freeman will get questioned this week and they always ask for the injury report

 

[Crazy Balki]

Everything I've read was that he was full go for summer workouts, as was Botelho prior to his recent injury.