JotCast | Notre Dame Football Black Friday Chat

Notre Dame Football Black Friday Chat

Eric Hansen

2:37

That's going to do it for today. Thanks for all the great questions. We won't chat next week, but I'll make sure to schedule one the week after the bowl pairing is announced (Dec. 8).

2:35

Erik, I'd love to ask Lance that question, but access to him during the season is non-existent. So I will project ... It comes from who's healthy, who produces in practice ... and it can change in a game if a RB gets a hot hand.

Erik (Granger, IN)

2:33

Happy Thanksgiving! What does Lance Taylor (or generically any coach if you don’t know) look for when determining the running back (or position group) “rotation”? I’m glad Armstrong is not in the doghouse, but am surprised he got no touches last week. On the plus side, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by C’Bo this year given he was so buried on the depth chart before the season.

Eric Hansen

2:33

Ian Book.

Lou Reed - Charleston SC

2:33

Who starts at QB next year?

Eric Hansen

2:33

ND has actually lost the last five times it's played in Stanford Stadium. What the cardinal did well in their win over Washington that they've had trouble replicating is running well on offense and stopping the run. The Huskies rushed for just 88 yards, were 2-of-12 on third down and ran only 58 plays.

Jeff McGowan

2:30

This one is not in the bag by any means. ND hasn’t won out there in 4 tries for a reason. What did Stanford do against Washington to come away with a 10 point victory? Different than ND’s weaknesses? Shaw is too good of a coach to ring this one up already. Go Irish!

Eric Hansen

2:28

Jonathan Doerer and linebacker play ... and both of those are the good kind of surprises.

Roger from DHS

2:27

What has been your biggest surprise from the team this year? (Positive or negative) For me it is the disappointing performance of a consistent running game.

Eric Hansen

2:21

Really haven't followed what's going on with Franklin. There's a cultural problem at FSU and other ones as well. There's also some upside to that job.

Matt in Augusta NJ

2:20

What about the James Franklin rumors also. I know it’s not ND, but I don’t know why Kelly or Franklin would leave for FSU. Just seems like a tough fix now

Eric Hansen

2:18

The best answer I can give you is you need to consider the sources. Just because it shows up on your Facebook feed doesn't mean it's not coming from a guy writing in his mother's basement with no credentials or credibility.

John St Pete Fl

2:17

Hi Eric, who in your opinion continues to float the BK to FSU rumors, is it media types like Finnebaum, who do it to garner attention for themselves or clicks to their sites, or is it people directly or indirectly associated with FSU? I think there is zero chance BK is interested, he has this program on the cusp and he does not seem like he would jump for the money.

Eric Hansen

2:16

That's the way it is set up. ND has access to the Orange Bowl this year, but from the other side .. competing with the SEC and the Big Ten to have a shot at the No. 2 ACC team. Beyond Clemson, the ACC is way down.

Jeff from York, PA

2:15

Watching the Virginia vs. Virginia Tech game. The announcers have said the winner will go to the Orange Bowl. We beat both teams and we go to the Camping World Bowl. Something is wrong with this scenario. Especially if we beat Stanford.

Eric Hansen

2:14

I would very much doubt it. He'd have to sit out 2020 and then play in 2021, just when Tyler Buchner arrives.

Jeff from York, PA

2:13

Any chance ND goes after USC quarterback, Danielson? No doubt in my mind that he will transfer.

Eric Hansen

2:13

So if there were no restrictions and ND could play any other team in the top 25? For different reasons, my order would be Oklahoma, Minnesota, Penn State, Auburn. I'm not predicting a win or loss against any of them. But those are games I'd be interested to see.

Tom

2:09

Hi Eric! Excluding the teams tracking for the playoffs and putting aside all the bowl match up minutiae -- who would you want to see ND play after the Stanford game? I'd love for another shot at Michigan under sunny skies and no chance of rain. :)

Eric Hansen

2:08

Brian, that question looked like it was going to end with a killer pun. ... But to answer the part of your question I can see, I don't expect a letdown at all.

Brian K, South Bend

2:07

If ND doesn't "squash" Stanford now, then when? The Cardinal is decimated by injuries, although ND is not exactly at full strength. Do you think there is concern for a letdown, or are the Irish prepared to put this game away early? leaving time for fans to load up on leftovers long before the

Eric Hansen

2:07

Don at this point, I expect Book to be back at ND, in part because of the way he's playing and improving and in part because he's a fit in this offense. Kelly's comments were about recruiting him back from any NFL aspirations, not the grad transfer thing ... although I personally think the latter scenario is more realistic (but still not probable). Kelly has done it before with other players with NFL aspirations. And while he doesn't win all of those, he has won quite a few significant ones.

Don Phoenix

2:04

Eric, Hope Thanksgiving was a great family day. Cloudy here in the Phoenix area with steady rain overnight. Read on a some feed speculation that Book may be courted by Oklahoma for a grad transfer. Any drum beats you may be hearing? Is that why Kelly says he will recruit him to stick around? Wouldn't be a bad place to land. Certainly better than Golson or Wimbush's exits. Lincoln Reilly has an eye for QB talent and taking someone with experience and sticking him in a QB friendly system with a great supporting cast makes sense.

Eric Hansen

2:03

I do think it concerns Brian Kelly, but I don't think he wants to throw Jeff Quinn under the bus in front of the media. It was stunning, quite frankly, to see that many (6) in a home game where noise wasn't a factor. Criticism is warranted in this situation. It HAS to get fixed. Next season and now.... No Christmas shopping yet. Because of the nature of my job and being pretty absorbed until December, I'm never organized enough to have gathered wish lists this early in the shopping season. So Black Friday is just another day on the calendar for me.

Brian Sontchi

Sorry Eric: I hit the send button too quickly. It’s Brian from Batavia, IL per the just sent question. Thank you.

1:58

Hi Eric: Did you complete your Christmas shopping first thing this morning while shedding some stuffing pounds off the belt line? Please pass along a “thank you” to your colleague Tyler James for his article this week on the way too numerous O-line procedure penalties. This has been happening for too many years. From your reporting, do you believe this will ever be rectified to the point where we might not see one occur in a game? These penalties are drive and momentum killers. And from Tyler’s article I gathered that Kelly does not seem to be very concerned about it. Your perspective, please.

Eric Hansen

1:57

Jack, I tried to stall before answering your question to ask her ... but she's still out doing the Black Friday thing ... at age 89. Wow, I hope I got all of her genes. Notre Dame benefits greatly from the ACC package. Being an independent isn't the problem. Being ranked 16th is the problem.

Jack Strongsville, OH

1:55

Hi Eric. Hope you had a great Thanksgiving here in northern Ohio. What is the ingredient that your mom puts in her stuffing that I hear you say on Sportsbeat makes it so good? You do great work with the SBT and on Sportsbeat. To my other question. How much leverage does Notre Dame not being in a conference hurts its ability to dictate its bowl game presence? I do not anticipate a rush to buy tickets from alums and others for a trip to the Camping World Bowl even it being in Orlando on December 28th away from the snow and ice.

Eric Hansen

1:55

GB, i think Darius is correct, and ND's screen game was pretty good when Darius was on the team, especially the two seasons with Weis. The Irish in the Kelly/Long years seem to have trouble selling it and seem to have trouble blocking for it. I agree that should be an emphasis this offseason ... to rectify those flaws.

GB from Wasilla. Alaska

1:52

Eric. I hope you had a great Thanksgiving. On your podcast with Darius Walker, he said that ND should throw more screen passes. Unfortunately, Kelly's teams have never been very adept with screens. Why?

Eric Hansen

1:51

Sean, my next update on that would be my hope to talk to Michael directly -- and I have reached out to him.

Sean from Portland

1:51

Hi Eric - has there been any update on Michael Young’s transfer? Was there some sort of team drama or incident that may be correlated between his transfer and the ineptitude shown at Michigan?

Eric Hansen

1:50

TaRiq Bracy and a grad transfer perhaps. If not, a grad transfer, then Bracy and .. I'm going to roll the dice here ... Cam Hart.

Will New York

1:48

With Vaughn ending up not redshirting this year, who do you see as our starting cornerbacks next year? Do you have any faith in them?

Eric Hansen

1:48

It's not just the backup linemen. It's Armstrong's elongated recovery. It's Avery Davis swapping sides of the ball in the middle of September. it's Tony Jones Jr,'s injury. It's not having speed like Chris Tyree on the roster ... yet.

Nick from Coldwater, Oh

1:47

Eric, still very surprised as to why we can’t run the ball, even with backup lineman. Will we have to wait until next year for a running game? Considering the conditions of no running game threat, I think Book is playing incredible! Happy Thanksgiving!

Eric Hansen

1:46

I ask that question on an intermittent basis to our guests on the Pod of Gold Podcasts. Only once have I gotten some hedging instead of a yes. The playoff format makes it tougher, I think, because you have to knock off two elite teams instead of one, but I would say yes as well. It's possible, Probability? I'd say 20 percent, maybe more.

Skip from Houston

1:43

Given the high academic and moral standards at Notre Dame, especially for its players compared to most other highly rated football programs, what do you think is the probability of Notre Dame’s winning a national championship in the next ten years?

Eric Hansen

1:43

Great question. A lot of it depends who else is on the roster. I would lean toward no, but Tyler Buchner might just be the exception.

Bill 1000 Oaks CA.

1:42

Lots of buzz last week about our San Diego Commit. Despite having lost to at least two true freshman(Georgia & Clemson) do you think Kelly would ever start a true freshmanQB?Under his system it seems more often than not you spend two years learning the ropes! Hope you had a GR8 Thanksgiving.Go Irish beat Stanford!!☘️

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