Looking to 2019

[gkIrish]

We need a dynamic playmaker at QB. Appreciate what Book did this year but he has a limited ceiling. Put your most talented QB on the field and let him play.

 

[fightingirish26]

any chance we dabble into the grad transfer market (RB specifically)

would be tough, we are already searching for a scholarship to give to Bertrand, depends how much attrition occurs. that doesn't even bring up the problem of finding a quality player who's interested enough to come play here.

 

[gkIrish]

any chance we dabble into the grad transfer market (RB specifically)

Really hope we have room for a quality grad transfer at RB. I have very little confidence in our current options as a whole.

 

[irishtrooper]

USC is a mess. Kingsbury to AZ Cards....LOL

 

[zelezo vlk]

Really hope we have room for a quality grad transfer at RB. I have very little confidence in our current options as a whole.

I have a very hard time thinking of any that have worked out. Does anybody have good examples?

 

[Sea Turtle]

USC is a mess. Kingsbury to AZ Cards....LOL

This is a good thing

 

[Me2SouthBend]

USC is a mess. Kingsbury to AZ Cards....LOL

Truly? Glorious if so.

 

[irishtrooper]

Truly? Glorious if so.

Lots of reports coming out. Twitter, talk radio, etc

 

[NDMIA]

Really hope we have room for a quality grad transfer at RB. I have very little confidence in our current options as a whole.

James Gilbert - 5'9'' 200 - .8284 3* - Ball St - 603att, 2806yds, 4.7avg, 30TD's
Charlie Booker III - 5'9'' 200 - NR - Harvard - 243att, 1230yds, 5.1avg, 10TD's
Taj Griffin - 5'11'' 180 - .9751 4* - Oregon - 138att, 879yds, 6.4avg, 6TD's
Sihiem King - 5'9'' 175 - .8438 3* - Kentucky - 113att, 630yds, 5.6avg, 4TD's
Trey Smith - 6'0'' 220 - .8407 3* - Louisville - 82att, 415yds, 5.1avg, 4TD's

I'm sure there will be some guys who pop up in the coming weeks and months after spring ball, but there isn't a ton of talent out there for grad transfer runningbacks because the ones who do have talent play a lot usually because programs can run 2-3 runningbacks a lot during games. Taj Griffin is the most talented running back probably on the market, but I think he's more of a RB/WR and ND really needs a pure runningback if they are going to add one. The staff always keeps an eye on the transfer market for talented players because they are always willing to add talent, but not a ton of guys fit the parameters of what ND is looking for. I think ND should find a way to have an effective running game with 6 scholarship RB's on campus from January 13 (when Kyren arrives) - September 2 (Louisville game).

 

[IrishFanJMercy]

The kid from Harvard looks promising at least he will have the grades to get into school, Wouldn't mind Gilbert either

 

[Sherm Sticky]

Really hope we have room for a quality grad transfer at RB. I have very little confidence in our current options as a whole.

I don't think they need one. With the current group plus the addition of Williams, who is an EE, they should be fine. Not great, but fine.

 

[gkIrish]

I don't think they need one. With the current group plus the addition of Williams, who is an EE, they should be fine. Not great, but fine.

There are lots of unknowns with little to no playing time at the collegiate level. We are one training camp injury away from putting guys in really unfair positions. How many of the current guys do you trust to play at Louisville week 1? At Georgia in game 4?

Same can be said about some other positions but I really don't think we will have much success on the road if we can't run the football effectively.

 

[Sherm Sticky]

There are lots of unknowns with little to no playing time at the collegiate level. We are one training camp injury away from putting guys in really unfair positions. How many of the current guys do you trust to play at Louisville week 1? At Georgia in game 4?

Same can be said about some other positions but I really don't think we will have much success on the road if we can't run the football effectively.

@Louisville I trust every single back on the team. @Georgia I trust and have faith in every single back also.

Saying that there is no dynamic RB on the roster ala Dex Williams. If you want someone who is dependable and won't make a mistake on the road in a hostile environment, but won't break a long run then Tony Jones Jr is your man. I have high expectations for Williams, especially since he is an EE. Williams is a top 300 prospect and we all know the easiest transition from high school to college or college to the pros is RB. Let's see how it plays out in the spring.

 

[stlnd01]

He’s probably not Dex Williams but the Harvard kid might be worth a shot.
https://www.gocrimson.com/sports/fball/2018-19/releases/20181014et3z49

 

[snoopdog]

James Gilbert - 5'9'' 200 - .8284 3* - Ball St - 603att, 2806yds, 4.7avg, 30TD's
Charlie Booker III - 5'9'' 200 - NR - Harvard - 243att, 1230yds, 5.1avg, 10TD's
Taj Griffin - 5'11'' 180 - .9751 4* - Oregon - 138att, 879yds, 6.4avg, 6TD's
Sihiem King - 5'9'' 175 - .8438 3* - Kentucky - 113att, 630yds, 5.6avg, 4TD's
Trey Smith - 6'0'' 220 - .8407 3* - Louisville - 82att, 415yds, 5.1avg, 4TD's

I'm sure there will be some guys who pop up in the coming weeks and months after spring ball, but there isn't a ton of talent out there for grad transfer runningbacks because the ones who do have talent play a lot usually because programs can run 2-3 runningbacks a lot during games. Taj Griffin is the most talented running back probably on the market, but I think he's more of a RB/WR and ND really needs a pure runningback if they are going to add one. The staff always keeps an eye on the transfer market for talented players because they are always willing to add talent, but not a ton of guys fit the parameters of what ND is looking for. I think ND should find a way to have an effective running game with 6 scholarship RB's on campus from January 13 (when Kyren arrives) - September 2 (Louisville game).

Feaster from Clemson is going to be a grad transfer. I would take him in a heartbeat

 

[IrishLax]

When you look at the rankings they had for ND's line in 2017 do you consider those accurate?

EDIT: Looking it up, they rated ND's line #5 at the end of the year. I think they were #2 before the Miami debacle and late season running game woes. The lines in the top 5 ahead of ND were Louisville, Oklahoma, Clemson, and LSU. I don't think any of those lines were better than ND's on talent, but it's a pretty darn solid list besides maybe Louisville.

 

[NDMIA]

1) Dline should be elite
2) Secondary should be very good to great
3) Wrs are a bit of a wild card but I think will be very good
4) QB is at least good with potential to ge great.
5) Oline is average at worst with potential to be great.
6) LBs are unknown at this point with wide range of potential, so I put them here
7) RBs are below average unless someone emerges or Kelly finds the right mix of skill sets to augment the position as a whole.
STs/kicking complete wild card for me so I cant even try to rank.

I love how #7 QBR in the country is good. Kyler Murray was a part of one of the most historically great offenses in college football history, Trevor Lawrence has already been named a hall of fame QB and a future first pick in the draft, Tua Tagovailoa is ridiculously good and could win the heisman next year after this year's snub, Dwayne Haskins passed for more yards than anyone in college football and will be the first QB taken and Jake Fromm is so good that he forced two 5* talents to transfer (Eason & Fields). 9-1 as a starter at ND and the #7 QBR behind those legends and he's just good. You are must've been sorely disappointed in the last 20 years when no other QB got in the top 10 in QBR in college football other than Dayne Crist for two seasons. Ian Book is really really freaking good guys. Maybe Phil Jurkovec is the next Trevor Lawrence, but for now we have a really really awesome QB in Ian Book and I'm super excited about him.

 

[Pops Freshenmeyer]

EDIT: Looking it up, they rated ND's line #5 at the end of the year. I think they were #2 before the Miami debacle and late season running game woes. The lines in the top 5 ahead of ND were Louisville, Oklahoma, Clemson, and LSU. I don't think any of those lines were better than ND's on talent, but it's a pretty darn solid list besides maybe Louisville.

Am I reading it wrong? Is adjusted line yards an aggregated rating? I see:

Adj. Line Yards 5
Std Downs Line Yards 11
Pass Downs Line Yards 20
Opp Success Rate 11
Power Success Rate 38
Stuff Rate 22
Adj sack rate 65
Std Downs Sack Rate 58
Pass Downs Sack Rate 88

EDIT: and even if it is, it’s just for rushing. They were 65th in the adjusted pass blocking stat.

 

[Riddickulous]

Who are we expecting to start at LB next year?

 

[beryirish]

http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/25730175/college-football-most-anticipated-games-2019

College football's most anticipated games for 2019

1. Notre Dame at Georgia, Sept. 21

Let's be real. The trash-talk coming from Georgia players via Twitter as they watched Notre Dame get trucked by Clemson in the College Football Playoff semifinal makes this Week 4 matchup between the Irish and Bulldogs must-see TV. And considering both teams should be in the top 5 and playoff contenders again at that point, this one is already circled 50 times on the calendar, though it's eight months out. This will be Notre Dame's first trip to Athens, Georgia, and a return game after the two played in South Bend in 2017 (Georgia won 20-19). It will be hard to ignore the playoff implications in this one, especially considering the Irish must once again -- in all likelihood -- be perfect to have any shot at the top four.

3. Notre Dame at Michigan, Oct. 26

This game comes at an interesting time in both teams' schedules. The Irish will have already played Georgia and USC; Michigan will have already traveled to Wisconsin and Penn State. If both teams manage to make it to this game undefeated, they are all but certain to be top-five teams with the playoff in their sights. Both teams return their quarterbacks, but the pressure on Jim Harbaugh is much higher than what Brian Kelly faces.

 

[StPaul_Irish]

RE: OLINE

I can't remember where I read it, but somewhere it was mentioned that moving Hainsey to OC was an option. This would open RT for ex. (Lugg, Patterson, Kramer, Banks).

If that were to happen, TR would most likely transfer and open up an scolly that we need. While I think it is interesting, I am neither for or against it.

Thoughts?

 

[NDIrish88]

RE: OLINE

I can't remember where I read it, but somewhere it was mentioned that moving Hainsey to OC was an option. This would open RT for ex. (Lugg, Patterson, Kramer, Banks).

If that were to happen, TR would most likely transfer and open up an scolly that we need. While I think it is interesting, I am neither for or against it.

Thoughts?

I am for the best OL, period. If that means Hainsey to Center then so be it. I would like to see a scholarship open up from the OL. That unit is extremely deep IMO, and can afford to let a few people go.

 

[StPaul_Irish]

The other question I have (I am sure many of you do as well), but what do we think will happen with LB next year. Does Asmar move to buck? Does JGH have the chops to handle a full load at buck? I would think there will be more of a rotation then there was this year. I could see Asmar and JGH at buck, Jones/Bauer at Mike with Simon/JOK ???

Thoughts on the LB's?

 

[NDMIA]

2019 Linebackers (12 Scholarships)
RS SR Asmar Bilal
RS JR Jonathan Jones
JR Jordan Genmark-Heath
RS SO Jeremiah O-Koramoah
RS SO Drew White
SO Shayne Simon
SO Bo Bauer
RS FR Jack Lamb
FR Osita Ekwonu
FR JD Bertrand
FR Marist Liufau
FR Jack Kiser

The good thing with ND is that they've recruited to the point where they have probably 4 deep at every linebacker position which is awesome. They also have a lot of versatile athletes that can play at multiple positions based on where the needs can be. I think for Clark Lea he'll probably look for the best 3 guys out of the 12 and slot them in where they can best contribute. For me, I'd go with Asmar Bilal, Jordan Genmark-Heath, and Shayne Simon because I think that's the best 3 athletes in the linebacker corps right now with the best combination of talent as well. I think Bo Bauer & Jonathan Jones along with Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah could be in line for significant playing time as well. I don't know who has the ability other than Bo Bauer and Jon Jones to play Mike which is why the three I listed might not be the 3 starters because they might not have the tools to play the Mike spot. Either way, Lea has recruited to the point where he has loads of bodies and now he just needs to find who the best 3 will be.

 

[Me2SouthBend]

2019 Linebackers (12 Scholarships)
RS SR Asmar Bilal
RS JR Jonathan Jones
JR Jordan Genmark-Heath
RS SO Jeremiah O-Koramoah
RS SO Drew White
SO Shayne Simon
SO Bo Bauer
FR Osita Ekwonu
FR JD Bertrand
FR Marist Liufau
FR Jack Kiser

The good thing with ND is that they've recruited to the point where they have probably 4 deep at every linebacker position which is awesome. They also have a lot of versatile athletes that can play at multiple positions based on where the needs can be. I think for Clark Lea he'll probably look for the best 3 guys out of the 12 and slot them in where they can best contribute. For me, I'd go with Asmar Bilal, Jordan Genmark-Heath, and Shayne Simon because I think that's the best 3 athletes in the linebacker corps right now with the best combination of talent as well. I think Bo Bauer & Jonathan Jones along with Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah could be in line for significant playing time as well. I don't know who has the ability other than Bo Bauer and Jon Jones to play Mike which is why the three I listed might not be the 3 starters because they might not have the tools to play the Mike spot. Either way, Lea has recruited to the point where he has loads of bodies and now he just needs to find who the best 3 will be.

What about Lamb and Ju. Ademilola? Wasn't the latter recruited as an OLB?

 

[NDMIA]

What about Lamb and Ju. Ademilola? Wasn't the latter recruited as an OLB?

Lamb was a mistake. Just edited now. Justin Ademilola is at the Drop position full time and played pretty darn well for a true freshman in his limited time so I'd suspect he'd stay there. I also hear rumblings of Ovie Oghoufo settling in at Drop but I'm not sure so he could be back at Buck in the offseason as well.

 

[fightingirish26]

edit: NDMIA beat me

 

[NDIrish88]

I think Ovie should be a drop. He has the skill set for it, just needs to add weight. I am not sure if Bilal could play Mike, IMO. I like Bauer there right now. I would then add Bilal and SImon and have JGH ack up those two some how. Jones can back up Bauer.

 

[fightingirish26]

I think Ovie should be a drop. He has the skill set for it, just needs to add weight. I am not sure if Bilal could play Mike, IMO. I like Bauer there right now. I would then add Bilal and SImon and have JGH ack up those two some how. Jones can back up Bauer.

I don't think Bilal is an option at MIKE, think it's a question of Buck vs Rover.

I've gone over this in another thread (maybe even this thread), I don't really like Bilal. He improved this year, but Rover is a playmaking position in this defense and he was totally invisible. He's gotten better at tackling, but he's still below par in that area IMO. I'd be okay with leaving him at rover, but I don't want him at buck. At least he can showcase his coverage abilities at rover, I think he would be exposed as a tackler if he slid inside to buck.

This would be my two deep, having watched zero practices and having absolutely zero clue what I'm talking about.
Mike - Bauer / Jon Jones
Buck - Simon / JGH
Rover - Bilal / JOK

 

[Luckylucci]

Really hard to say at this point, I think we'll know a lot more once Spring practice starts up. But I think you're going to have to have one of Bauer or Jones at Mike. They're the only ones that have taken reps there.

I also think there is a good chance there is more situational work with the LB's this year. Maybe 3 guys stand out above the rest and take a large majority of the reps. But I don't see it right now. I could see using quite a few guys for different roles.

For example, JOK seems like a twitchy athlete that if healthy should have a role on Saturdays. Every down Rover, maybe not but a role.