General team info

[koonja]

Idk. I like SVP and Russillo.

Yep. I like Mel and Dari as well. Those two are fun to listen to.

 

[Buster Bluth]

I'm telling you guys, Jesse Palmer brings the business. But yes, Kirk is easily in my top 3.

A top 3 involving ESPN is an oxymoron.

 

[IrishLion]

Does Fox Sports 1 have decent CFB non-game programming? This is the first year I've had "fancy" cable so I haven't the slightest about CFB programming outside of ESPN.

 

[JughedJones]

Idk. I like SVP and Russillo.

Me too.

They're pretty fair.. and funny.

 

[blueNDgold44]

I'm part of the Danny Kanell fan club.

 

[PANDFAN]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Miami's talented Guliver Prep program set to make summer stop at <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23NotreDame&src=hash">#NotreDame</a> (Premium) <a href="http://t.co/LqBjUD1A7g">http://t.co/LqBjUD1A7g</a></p>— Irish Sports Daily (@ISDUpdate) <a href="https://twitter.com/ISDUpdate/statuses/471702724682059777">May 28, 2014</a></blockquote>
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[PANDFAN]

stat to blow your mind

stat to blow your mind

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNCFB">@ESPNCFB</a> 87 since 2005 is nothing! Notre Dame has played an even 100 1st year freshmen since 2005, the <a href="https://twitter.com/LSUCoachMiles">@LSUCoachMiles</a> era.</p>— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) <a href="https://twitter.com/NDFootball/statuses/471737651620741121">May 28, 2014</a></blockquote>
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[irishog77]

I like the chick who calls football games.

 

[Rack Em]

Can we discuss our favorite members of the North Korean politburo next?

ESPN is the evil empire. Its interests directly conflict with ND's (and with anyone who pays a cable bill, or dislikes monopolies, etc.). We watch it when we have no other choice, but we certainly don't endorse anyone who works for it.

Won-Hung Lo

 

[Rack Em]

I like the chick who calls football games.

Doris Burke?

 

[NCND]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNCFB">@ESPNCFB</a> 87 since 2005 is nothing! Notre Dame has played an even 100 1st year freshmen since 2005, the <a href="https://twitter.com/LSUCoachMiles">@LSUCoachMiles</a> era.</p>— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) <a href="https://twitter.com/NDFootball/statuses/471737651620741121">May 28, 2014</a></blockquote>
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As I said before, it's like ND doesn't even exist. Eff em.

 

[NDdomer2]

When does LSU respond with the natty and sec tweet

 

[irishog77]

Doris Burke?

Does the actual name even matter?

 

[ResLife Hero]

Notre Dame Football Setting Up Satellite Camps

247Sports has confirmed that Notre Dame is currently working with Georgia State to host a satellite football camp in Atlanta during the summer of 2015.

Sources indicate that this camp will indeed happen.

Dallas and Los Angeles are two other cities where the Irish could post up camps, with places like Orlando, Louisiana and Ohio also possibilities.

Georgia State head coach Trent Miles is a former assistant coach at Notre Dame and is an Indiana native.

This is a brilliant move by the Notre Dame coaching staff. The Irish brand is a national one and this continues to add to the strong presence the program already has in these areas.

The NCAA permits how many camps a college program can have or attend each year.

Huge for getting more traction in the south and other recruiting hotbeds. A number of programs are doing it, and I'm glad we aren't missing out on the trend.

 

[Luckylucci]

I love this story and what it could mean long term.

 

[ResLife Hero]

Another article that has more information on how it works, why the SEC can't do it and who is doing it already:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Post: Penn State and Notre Dame are (smartly) exploiting the SEC's own rules, by <a href="https://twitter.com/TMitrosilis">@TMitrosilis</a> <a href="http://t.co/ksZCVVHPt6">http://t.co/ksZCVVHPt6</a> <a href="http://t.co/UzO5OBMoUo">pic.twitter.com/UzO5OBMoUo</a></p>— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) <a href="https://twitter.com/CFBONFOX/statuses/472065594183782400">May 29, 2014</a></blockquote>
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[PANDFAN]

Notre Dame and Georgia State to do football camp together | College recruiting blog
Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly and his football staff will be “guest coaches” at Georgia State’s football camp next summer.
“I talked to Notre Dame and it was a mutual thing – they thought it was a great idea, and they’ve been recruiting Georgia,” said Georgia State coach Trent Miles, a former Notre Dame assistant coach.
“It’s great for us getting the exposure and getting some kids on our campus that Notre Dame will bring because of their name. I think it will be great for Notre Dame because they have a national presence, and I’m very close to those guys.”

More on Miles: He was wide receivers coach at Notre Dame from 2002 to 2004. His future wife worked in Notre Dame’s athletic/academic services, and they were married by one of the team’s priests. One of Miles’ best friends — and his oldest daughter’s godfather – is Notre Dame offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock.
No date has been set from Notre Dame’s appearance in Atlanta but it will be the early part of June 2015. “We’re still working on the calendar,” Miles said

 

[ResLife Hero]

Xs and Os: Notre Dame's new defense a complicated overhaul - SBNation.com

Long, but worth the read if you're interested in the changes coming this season.

 

[IrishLion]

For you from our convo last night on CoC ACamp:

"Despite it being the spring game, VanGorder wasn't afraid to show the large role blitzes will have for Notre Dame in 2014. They even ran a delayed house blitz (eight pass rushers, three deep zone defenders)"

"They also mixed in several traditional zone blitzes."

They showed a much more aggressive scheme that was on display in the B&G game despite still being pretty vanilla.

 

[ACamp1900]

For you from our convo last night on CoC ACamp:

"Despite it being the spring game, VanGorder wasn't afraid to show the large role blitzes will have for Notre Dame in 2014. They even ran a delayed house blitz (eight pass rushers, three deep zone defenders)"

"They also mixed in several traditional zone blitzes."

They showed a much more aggressive scheme that was on display in the B&G game despite still being pretty vanilla.

cool... and to be clear... according to your last sentecne, we pretty much agreed last night.

btw, that was you???

lol... my bad.

 

[IrishLion]

Yeah, I made my gamecenter ID long before signing up on IE, so no relation to the personas lol

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Xs and Os: Notre Dame's new defense a complicated overhaul - SBNation.com

Long, but worth the read if you're interested in the changes coming this season.

This is outstanding. Best schematic analysis of the Irish I've read from someone who's not dedicated to the Irish beat. I especially enjoyed his breakdown of how our defensive personnel will likely fit into different situational packages (Schmidt as Tampa-2 MLB is brilliant). Some of the highlights:

All together, VanGorder has completely reversed the philosophy in South Bend. Instead of relying on overall simplicity and Diaco's werewolves, VanGorder has gone the more traditionally Catholic route: an intellectual approach with a different silver bullet for every beast that might rear its ugly maw. Van Helsing, you could say.

...

Teams that rely heavily on quarters coverage often don't run a great deal of anything else (cover 1 is a valuable counterpart, because it has answers for problems quarters presents and overlaps with the same blitz techniques).

The heavy usage of Tampa 2 is what makes the Irish particularly interesting. Classically, teams that ran a lot of Tampa 2 relied on it as their main strategy. Every snap that Notre Dame spends practicing a rep-intensive scheme like Tampa 2 is a practice snap that's not spent guaranteeing that everyone understands their option responsibilities in a fire zone or spent practicing quarters pattern-reads vs. the spread.

Can Notre Dame's players handle the adjustment from one scheme to another that's both wildly different and complex? It's not the NFL, where players have the time and financial incentive to watch endless film and constantly meet with coaches on their assignments.

That's my chief concern going forward. The assumption was that switching from a 3-4 to a 4-3 would simplify things for our defenders and really let them showcase their athleticism. But BvG's scheme seems even more complicated than Diaco's.

 

[ResLife Hero]

First part of a series on the defense that focuses on incoming freshmen:

Unleash the VanGorder, Part 1: Roles for the Incoming Defensive Freshman Class - One Foot Down

Everyone who has followed Notre Dame recruiting during the Brian Kelly era knows the story well.

Defensive coordinator Bob Diaco, the young Don Draper look-alike that followed Kelly over from Cincinnati, made an early mark as a recruiter by waiting outside of 5-star recruit Ishaq Williams' home all night and convinced him to commit to Notre Dame instead of taking a trip to Penn State. It's the kind of recruiting story you don't hear often these days and it gave Notre Dame fans the impression that Diaco was going to be an ace recruiter for years to come.

Unfortunately, that's the only significant Diaco recruiting story that emerged during his time at Notre Dame. The rest of his tenure as a recruiter was considered rather disappointing. He was more known for having strict restrictions in the body types of players that he wanted for certain positions than for the elite players he convinced to choose Notre Dame.

It's a different recruiting outlook under new defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder and a different defensive scheme. Notre Dame's base defense is now going to be a 4-3 and that means players who were in certain positions before now will see their roles changes within the defense. We already got a sneak preview during the spring of what position the returning players will play during the upcoming season, but it's a little less clear where some of the 2014 defensive recruits will slot in.

Most of these players committed while Diaco was still the coordinator and were projected to play in his defense. Here's how I see them fitting in as freshman into Notre Dame's new defensive scheme.

Defensive lineman - Jay Hayes

Position in high school: Defensive end

Position fit at Notre Dame: As of signing day, Jay Hayes was listed at 270 pounds and it will be interesting to see what weight he reports at when he gets to South Bend in June. I'm guessing it's likely somewhere north of that.

He would have been an end in the previous 3-4 defense, but he will definitely continue to add to his frame and move inside to play defensive tackle in the new scheme. His future is as a 3 technique, the same position Sheldon Day currently plays. He might get to play early because of a lack of depth and has a chance to develop into a very good interior pass rusher.

Linebacker - Greer Martini

Position in high school: Mike linebacker

Position fit at Notre Dame: Martini committed very early in the process and would have been a fit as a Mike linebacker in a 3-4, where he would be a player that would primarily worry about playing tackle to tackle. He's not as natural a fit as a 4-3 Mike backer in VanGorder's defense. The Mike in VanGorder's scheme is more of a sideline to sideline player.

Martini is a pretty good athlete, but he will be competing against someone in his recruiting class who is a better athlete at the same position. He also needs to improve on his play recognition, which is something Brian Kelly singled out Joe Schmidt for doing very well. Here's what Kelly had to say about Schmidt:

"Some guys can’t see it, and then it makes it hard for them to react," Kelly said. "So if you’re a guy that can’t see what’s happening, you can’t use your athletic ability effectively. Joe makes up for that in that he can see it and react. All of a sudden, he takes a 4.8 (40-yard dash) and turns it into a 4.6. So his ability to see things and react changes, maybe, what some would perceive as some physical limitations and turns them into pluses."
That's a huge reason Schmidt played as the first team Mike in the spring. Martini is not going to be at the same level as Schmidt in this area as a freshman and because of that he isn't likely to see significant action as a freshman.

Defensive lineman - Daniel Cage

Position in high school: Defensive tackle

Position fit at Notre Dame: Cage was a late addition to the recruiting class so you can classify him as a VanGorder recruit. He is a much better fit as a one-gap nose guard/one technique than the two-gap nose guard he would have been in a 3-4.

He was listed at 305 on signing day and didn't look like a sloppy 305. He's already a big, strong kid who will only get stronger over the summer at Notre Dame. I mentioned the lack of depth at defensive tackle and if Tony Springmann is unable to come back healthy this season, Cage has a chance to play a role as a rotational player as a freshman and flashes enough explosive potential that he may be able to make an impact in a limited role.

Kolin Hill - Linebacker

Position in high school: Defensive end

Position fit at Notre Dame: Hill is someone whose role is going to be drastically different than what it would have been under the previous defensive regime. He would have been a Cat linebacker and projected to be similar to Prince Shembo who was fixture at Cat. Now, his fit is a little bit more unclear.

He was a relentless edge rusher that excelled as a chase player versus the run, but considering he was listed at 6'2" and 222 pounds at signing day, I'm not sure he is going to be someone who puts his hand in the ground too often for Notre Dame.

They may try him at Sam to start and that's a position he may excel at as a blitzer. He doesn't have any experience in coverage currently so it will be a steep learning curve for him in that part of the game. Could he be an edge rusher that gets a chance to rush the passer on third down early in his career? Possibly, if Notre Dame is struggling to get to the quarterback with their front four. His best bet to see playing time as a freshman is on special teams while he develops more physically and learns a new position.

Defensive lineman - Pete Mokwuah

Position in high school: Defensive tackle

Position fit at Notre Dame: Mokwuah was another relatively late add to recruiting class that, like Daniel Cage, has a future at one technique in Notre Dame's defense. He will compete with Cage to get in the defensive line rotation as a freshman. The one thing that Mokwuah has going against him is that he is going to need to re-shape his body when gets on campus. As Mike Elston said in the UND.com signing day video about Mokwuah, "He's carrying a little bit of cargo. Coach Longo will get him to transfer that into some horse power."

Being in South Bend this summer will certainly help in that department and should allow him a good chance to compete in the fall. He's a good athlete for such a big young man. If he ends up contributing this fall, I would expect him to be a player that eats up some double teams and helps versus the run.

Linebacker - Nyles Morgan

Position in high school: Mike linebacker

Position fit at Notre Dame: If you have followed recruiting even a little bit, you probably know that Morgan is someone expected to compete for the starting Mike linebacker job as soon as he gets to campus. Thankfully, Larz did an outstanding job of breaking down what Morgan can do back in February so there is no need for me to go into further detail in that area.

Morgan is going to be a stud. It would be a surprise if he didn't at least see some time this season at Mike and may even be in the mix at Will if Schmidt or Jarrett Grace are able to lock down the Mike position and VanGorder wants to move Jaylon Smith out to Sam. It's a steep learning curve for any freshman to come in and start games at linebacker. Smith and Manti Te'o both did it, but they were exceptional and didn't have much in front of them in terms of competition.

Morgan is a better athlete than the players he will be competing with. If he can come close in the other areas of the game that Schmidt excels at, then he'll be on the field a lot this fall.

Look for Part 2 next week that will break down the rest of Notre Dame's incoming freshman defensive class

 

[ResLife Hero]

Notre Dame wants 'sizzle' in changing recruiting landscape | CSN Chicago

 

[Big23Head]

Miano Hosts Hawaii Maximum Exposure Camp

ND coaches will attend the camp along with several other schools.

 

[TheTurningPoint]

A Healthy Notre Dame | Irish Turning Point

 

[Huntr]

Xs and Os: Notre Dame's new defense a complicated overhaul - SBNation.com

Long, but worth the read if you're interested in the changes coming this season.

SB Nation's own One Foot Down covered how some of Smith's fundamentals as a linebacker were lacking in the spring game and prevent him from maxing out his abilities. This is the sort of problem that can come up when a team's energies are spent learning how to discern werewolves from huskies, rather than nailing down fundamentals

Ouch.

 

[Old Man Mike]

Smith's still VERY young. He will get it --- totally. Superstud is well and alive in South Bend.

We'd do better to worry if Everett [and even Max] will completely get it this season, because if they do, "we're gonna be beast!" as a late lamented should-have-been superman used to say.

 

[condoms SUCk]

A Healthy Notre Dame | Irish Turning Point

Well done TP!!

 

[bobbyok1]

A Healthy Notre Dame | Irish Turning Point

Hear! Hear!