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ND Football Live Chat

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Tom in Cleveland

1:58

Michigan an Georgia have lost as much or more this year than ND. Why do so many media observers look at their question marks as glass-half-full and the Irish’s as “9.5 over-under”?

Eric Hansen

1:57

jeff, Chris Tyree is indeed still a year away and so is five-star receiver Jordan Johnson. However, developing the speed players already on the roster is the first step. That would include wide receivers Braden Lenzy and Lawrence Keys III, notably. They'll certainly be in the rotation this year. Getting elite speed at the WR and RB positions, though, is a process and not an event. It won't happen overnight, but certainly the Irish can ease in that direction.

Jeff, Cleveland, OH

1:53

Eric, After the playoff loss to Clemson last year, the talk was that Kelly and the other coaches realized there was a distinct separation of team speed between the likes of Clemson/Alabama and Notre Dame. Chris Tyree is still a year away- how have we addressed this issue? Aren't the players this season essentially the same as what we had in that loss to Clemson?

Eric Hansen

1:50

Manny %^****$$$!@!! Who is making you eat stale popcorn? You deserve better. The opening spread is actually -20.5 right now, so you may want to fire your bookie. I'd expect ND to cover, but with a new coaching staff at Louisville -- and a much better one overall -- I would expect there to be a blind date element to this game for the Irish, where they'll need to make more adjustments than usual on the fly.

Manny in San Pedro

1:47

Eric!!!!!! It’s so close to the season I can taste the stale popcorn already!!!!!! Why is the opening spread against LVille so low. I would expect us to win by two touchdowns.

Eric Hansen

1:46

Neil, thanks. I truly love the chats, too. You guys make it fun. I think regardless of the state of the interior defense linemen, you would see a healthy does of Daelin Hayes inside on third downs. He's one of ND's best 10 players overall. He improves your interior pass rush and has the size and strength to deal well with running plays.

Neil (Indianapolis)

1:43

Love the weekly chats, Eric, and the perspective you bring to them. Given the positive things we've heard about Foskey, the depth at DE, and the issue of pitch count for some of the DTs coming back from injuries, will we see a healthy dose of Kareem, Hayes etc. sliding inside on passing downs?

Eric Hansen

1:43

Earlier in Kelly's career we didn't have as much access consistently. This spring and training camp is the most we've ever had in the Kelly Era. ... Having said that, the biggest difference is Kelly. He used to be a screamer, pretty consistently. Not that he can't be intense, but he picks his spots. He's also much more involved with the entire team. Previously, it was pretty much all offense, all the time and especially QBs. I think we see more 1s vs. 1s than earlier in his career. The team stretches and prepares for practice differently. Certain assistant coaches have much different approaches and/or demeanors.

Matt from St. Louis

1:39

Hi Eric, thanks for sharing your insights. I had no idea banana slugs were a school mascot. Super cool. I lived in Hawaii for a couple years, so I’d have to go with rainbow warriors. My question is about practice philosophy. What differences do you see in how the team practices now versus earlier in Kelly’s career and in comparison to other coaches? Thank you!

Eric Hansen

1:38

They are both considered that. The odd thing is Green Bay is technically ND's home game (NBC) and Chicago is technically Wisconsin's (not an NBC game). That had to be done to keep the right home/road split each season for ND. But all the other markings of a Shamrock Series game will be prevalent for both games.

Tim - Pleasant Prairie WI

1:36

Thanks Eric: Re: the WI home and home response: I understand scheduling restraints dictating available dates, by why do they dictate locations? Are both of these games considered Shamrock Series?

Eric Hansen

1:36

I have no idea who you're referencing, so let's take that out of it and just go with my thoughts. I see an improved version of the Ian Book was saw lst season. Remember Chip Long and Brian Kelly challenged him to be more daring, so as to work through some of his shortcomings. So the interceptions don't matter as much now. They will during the season,and I think we'll see Book make good decisions during the season.

Jeff Brown Oklahoma City

1:33

Eric, your friends with another outfit that cover Notre Dame have said that Book does not look like an elite QB that can lead a team to the CFP so far. More like a 9-3 QB. Still not accurate going downfield and throwing a decent amount of picks . What are your thoughts on this after seeing him as well.

Eric Hansen

1:33

I think it would be smart to get experience for younger players and not risk injury to the starters, The Irish play USC and Michigan in the two games that follow. I'm not sure what pouring it on would accomplish at any level.

Pat from Bordentown, NJ

Sorry - got cut off - do you think BK will keep his foot on the gas against his old friend BVG or ease up a bit, if the lead is safe?

1:29

Hi Eric - sorry for leaving off my state last week (I heard the SportsBeat podcast). Right here in Central NJ just miles from where Charlie Weis grew up.

Eric Hansen

1:28

Paul, thank you. I don't know that we'd know that for sure until it happened. Even the coaching staff was surprised at how well DeShone Kizer stepped in for Malik Zaire in 2015 and kept growing by leaps and bounds each week. What I have seen since an uneven spring and a bumpy first day of training camp is real progress in Jurkovec consistently since. Still has a lot of learning ahead of him, but he doesn't appear to be pressing. He's no longer his own worst ememy.

Paul - Lititz, Pa

1:23

Great job with the chats. When do you think we will realistically know if Jurkovec can step in and play at a high level. He seems a bit inconsistent and would love to see him do some mop up duty and look really sharp. Can I expect to see that early on this season?

Eric Hansen

1:23

In my opinion, I think the home-and-homes would make sense in a four-game series and I think the Shamrock Series is running its course, but I actually like these neutral-site games. When people asked me, what Shamrock Series venue I thought made the most sense, I would say Lambeau Field. I got my wish.

“The available inventory is such that you would be so far out that it was better to focus on what we could do right now,” Swarbrick said.

“We would love to do that. We think getting to Madison would be great. But when you’re trying to find these windows — we did an unusual deal recently with Arkansas, where the games are split by so many years (2020 at ND, 2025 at Arkansas).

“Most schools don’t want to do that, so you’ve got to find two windows that are right back to back, and we don’t have a lot of those.”

1:21

Notre Dame's commitment to the Shamrock Series superseded the desire to play on the campuses. When I asked ND athletic director Jack Swarbrick about the possibility of expanding the series to four games and adding home-and-homes, this was his response:

Tim - Pleasant Prairie WI

1:19

Good afternoon! Just wondering what your opinion is on scheduling both WI games in pro stadiums when both campuses are withing reasonable driving distances of each other for students and so many of their fans? I get the whole Shamrock series thing, even though I'm not a big fan of it. Personally I think the games lose something that would be nice if each fan base and student population could experience a game day and the traditions on each other's historic campuses. I for one refuse to go even though I'm smack-dab in between both places, living in Kenosha. If I wanted to see Lambeau, I'd go to a Packers game. What are your thoughts?

Eric Hansen

1:13

Shayne Simon is still in the mix. But after going from rover to buck to middle linebacker, he's working more at buck these days. My sense is there's going to be some rotation at linebacker (unlike last year) and some situational roles as well. Big guess here, but I'll go with Drew White as MLB, Asmar Bilal at buck and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah at rover .. and I may change my mind five more times before the season starts. On third down. I think White comes off the field and Jack Lamb and JOK are on the field for nickel.

Chris from Newmarket, NH

1:12

Hi Eric, thanks for the chats. I know at this point no one has an answer for this (including the coaches) but how do you see the linebacker derby shaking out this season, both in the short term (Louisville) and in the long term (by Michigan)? I had high hopes for Shayne Simon but don't hear his name much these days, is he still in the mix?

Eric Hansen

1:12

The Irish do pick up another spot in the 2020 class if they want to use it, but with 13 linebackers on the roster, 10 of whom have freshman or sophomore eligibility, linebacker is still not a priority. Safety was and is -- big time.

Dan, mackinac island

1:11

With Allen gone will ND have room to pick up a linebacker in 2020? IS there a good one still out there?

Eric Hansen

1:10

You are not imagining things, but there's one important distinction. in 2014, Notre Dame was running Brian VanGorder's scheme, which was the football equivalent of calculus. Clark Lea's scheme is much more player-friendly. It does help to have someone with deep knowledge of the entire scheme on the field at the linebacker position, which gives Asmar Bilal a boost in value. However, you have two captains at safety, two captains at defensive end who know the defense very well. The other positions don't need as much help getting lined up as they may have without all that experience. Ideally, the two starters who emerge at the two interior linebacker positions will be really good athletes who at least know the linebackers' assignments very well.

Charlie from Cabarete, DR

1:05

When Joe Schmidt go hurt in the 2014 season, the defense fell apart. To me, this was more because of what he brought in terms of leadership and getting the defense's personnel in the right position, rather than his physical talent at the position. Everyone is talking about replacing Tranquill and Coney in terms of physical production and leadership, but how much are we going to miss their ability to get the right people in the right positions? Is it important that that role comes from the linebacker position? Or am I making all of this up?

Eric Hansen

1:05

It was a glaring weakness last year, and one he and QBs coach Tommy Rees have worked to improve. I do see improvement, marked improvement in that area. he's not elite in that area, but he's certainly adequate.

JT Abilene, TX

1:03

How has Book looked throwing the deep ball? Seemed like that was a glaring weakness last year.

Eric Hansen

1:03

10-2.

David

1:03

Eric, Your predictions for the Irish record this year? David Columbus, OH

Eric Hansen

1:03

Paul thanks for being here and for the kind words. It must be supper time where you are. I think the offense has a chance to be the best of the BK Era. Again good health plays into that projection. Why it isn't the best TEAM at this point is the linebacker position, foremost. I like Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah at rover. I like the long-term potential of the linebacker group. I think if you had Te'von Coney, Dure Tranquill and CB Julian Love, you might have the best team overall. But they're not back. I thought in the spring, this was a 9-3 team. My sense is when the season starts, it'll look more like a 10-2 squad. That's why I rated ND No. 9 on my AP preseason poll ballot. That would make it either the third- or fourth-best of the Kelly Era.

Paul, Galway, Ireland

12:58

Hey Eric, great to have the live chat back (you're the best beat writer out there) and can't wait for the season to start! How does this team compare to all the others during Coach BK's tenure? Do you get the sense that this will be one of his better teams or more of a middle of the road ? Thanks again for all your great insights

Eric Hansen

12:57

We haven't had a chance to interview the players or coach Kelly since Lou Holtz spoke to the team earlier this week. I do plan to ask about that during our media access on Saturday.

Dan from the UP of Michigan

12:56

What was the teams reaction to Coach Holt's visit?

Eric Hansen

12:55

Ken, thank you, you have an open invitation to our next taco bar if you're in the area.

Ken - Pensacola, Fla

12:55

Eric - Just wanted to say that you, Darin and Tyler James do a "great' job in covering ND football. Thanks MUCHO! - Ken from Pensacola, Fla. GO IRISH!

Eric Hansen

12:55

RC, thanks. TaRiq is listed at 5-10, 170 — which is at least 16 pounds lighter than any of the other cornerbacks on the roster. I do think he's stronger than last year, but not markedly so. I like his mental toughness and confidence. He needs to continue to work on strength gains. As a whole, I'm starting to like the possibilities more than I did last spring. I still need to see more to fall "in like" with them.

RC from Albany

12:51

Hi Eric - good to be back on the chat. All in all I think Tariq Bracy has a good freshman season despite a tough outing at USC. I think that Julian Love indicated that TaRiq needed to bulk-up to help defend against more physical receivers and against the run. It doesn’t appear that happened this off-season. What are the implications for Tariq and the cornerback group as a whole? Thanks

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