JotCast | Notre Dame Football Chat September 26, 2019

Notre Dame Football Chat September 26, 2019

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Ken - South Bend

2:18

Ever since my first experience with fans wanting a coaching change and hearing chants of Oust Faust, I've been intrigued by the demands for change. Right now, there appears to be four, maybe five, elite coaches out there and one or two are not active. I don't think ND has a chance at pulling any of them here if a decision to change was implemented. So, I've arrived at the best chance we have of getting over the next hump is for Brian Kelly to grow into being an elite coach. That said, what do you think he has to do to improve to the next level?

Eric Hansen

2:18

I think you'll see less of it. Maybe against a team that runs 80 plays or more. Shayne Simon is a great athlete who hasn't yet been able to translate that into consistent playing time. Don't give up on him for down the road, but right now, ND is playing its best options.

Matt in Augusta Nj

2:16

Will we ever see a rotation at linebacker again? I would like Simon to see the field. Jersey guy

Eric Hansen

2:16

Tom, as you know, it's not just about height or else there would be tons of 6-3 and 6-4 corners who can't necessarily run with elite speed or cut and move like a corner needs to. And not all red zone situations call for man coverage. I think that's one reason ND toyed with the idea of using 6-3 Donte Vaughn situationally. It hasn't happened yet, because of the strong play of Crawford/Bracy/Pride and because injuries put Vaughn behind again.

Tom Kennesaw, GA

2:14

Eric, with more teams going to bigger receivers in the red zone and with fade routes into the end zone do you think Lea may put Hamilton man-to-man on some of the bigger guys down in those areas? It's tough to expect Troy Pride to cover a 6'4" guy on that kind of play. Thanks.

Eric Hansen

2:13

Brian, I understand your point, and it's a really good question and very fair with the way you presented it. I don't think those examples all have the same answer, but let's address the larger question of whether Kelly is putting the best players on the field. Based on what I saw from Chris Finke in practice, both in the spring and in August, he would also have been my choice. That doesn't mean someone can't or won't leapfrog him in October. Michael Young is back, and Chris can go back to playing slot. I think that will help his performance. If it doesn't I think Kelly/Chip Long would make a change. I truly believe that.

Brian A, from Osceola

Ooops, sorry about that! Better just get to my question. I have always been a big fan of Brian Kelly. I really feel he is the best man for the job, and I think he has done a great job building a top notch program. With that said, I have one concern. For as long as I can remember, there always seems to be a player or two in a prominent role when there are arguably more talented players on the bench (I.e. Tommy Rees, Cam McDaniel, Joe Schmidt, and now Chris Finke as examples). They are great stories and should be commended for maximizing their God given talent, but I have a hard time believing we wouldn’t be better off going with a player with more talent and less experience/smarts. Is Kelly too committed to these types of players or am I underestimating their talent in comparison to younger, more highly recruited players who seemingly aren’t given a chance. I was wanting to see Lenzy last week in place of Finke - I heard he was hurt but somehow I don’t think it would have mattered.

2:10

Hi Eric! First of all, thank you for all your insightful coverage of the team, I enjoy listening to your sports talk on my drive home from work!

Eric Hansen

2:09

Gil, thank you. I agree with you on the running game, and there needs to be some strides in that direction even before Jafar Armstrong returns in mid-October. I can assure you that any deficiencies in blocking are being addressed.

Gil San Juan

2:08

I really enjoy the Chats an the Pod of Gold, thank you and continue your thorough reporting. For ND to run the table and reinsert itself in the conversation a reasonable running game has to be developed. I notice that none of the tight ends and only Chase of the wide outs are doing an acceptable job of blocking, is this recognized and being addressed?

Eric Hansen

2:07

I was extremely impressed with this kid at Georgia. He has come light years since spring and even since the early days of fall camp. He is the son of a high school coach, and played quarterback as well as punting for his high school team (Hillcrest) in Tuscaloosa, Ala. He was also a really good baseball player (C, P, 3B, CF). He was a highly rated punting prospect nationally. I'm impressed with his hang time and his ability to direct his punts so that they don't all end up rolling into the end zone.

Jonathan in Hideaway, TX

2:02

Jay Bramblett had as good a night last week as I can remember from a Notre Dame punter. 4 punts, 190 yards, 3 inside the 20, 2 inside the 10 (including the muff). And I thought punting was supposed to be a weakness this year. Can you get me up to date on this kid, expectations of him, and whether the Irish have a special-teams star in the making?

Eric Hansen

2:02

Between Cager being really good and being 6-5 and Fromm being as good as he is, it's pretty hard to do. I'm not sure if Troy Pride could have stopped it either.

Megat Muzaffar, Malaysia

2:00

Hybrid linebackers are part an integral part of Clark Lea’s defense. How do you defend that TD pass from Fromm to Cager though? Hybrid corners maybe? Didn’t we have an “ideal” corner in Pride covering him on that play?

Eric Hansen

2:00

Jeff, I don't have time to double-check your math, so I'm going to trust you on both that and the details around it. I'll wish you a Happy Birthday before Facebook asks others to do so. And good news for you. Notre Dame doesn't have to overcome the odds this time. The Irish are favored by 12 points.

Jeff from Wellington

1:57

Eric, September 28th is an important date in Notre Dame football history, this coming Saturday will be the 101st anniversary of Knute Rockne's first game as a ND's head coach. ND was 0-0-1 on September 28th prior to Rockne and including the 26-6 win in his opener, the Irish were 4-0-1 on that date until 60 years ago when I was born. Since then the Irish are 1-6 on my birthday. Hugh Devore was 0-1, Ara was 0-2, Faust was 0-1, Kelly is 0-1, only Lou managed a win in his two attempts. No coach has more than one win on September 28th and no coach has coached more than two games on that date. Having a game on September 28th coincided with Devore's, Ara's and Lou's last year at Notre Dame. Without a running game I am concerned I will shed tears once again on my birthday. Right now the Irish have to win every September 28th until I am 88 to get to .500 on my birthday, a loss will mean I have to hang in until 99 to break even. How will ND overcome the odds and win?

Eric Hansen

1:56

The corner did blitz. I'd have to rewatch it to see what the running lanes looked like, but the corner definitely blitzed.

louie Delaware

1:55

Hard to tell on TV but looked like the blown flea flicker could have resulted in a modest gain if QB had run - I think the Corner back had blitzed.

Eric Hansen

Q: Some of the advancements in sports science that the Notre Dame football program is using today are impressive, but I remember when the agreement with Under Armour was announced, there was a thought that they would be contributing to that in some form or fashion. Has that ended up being the case?

Swarbrick: “A little bit, but not perhaps the way either of us might have hoped. I think there’s still that potential, and we need to work on it. What I’ve been pleased with is how much they’ve used us in product development.

“So they had a new soccer shoe they brought out to our team. Had them test it, give them feedback. We wound up having a significant impact on the design. So I love the partnership. I can’t point to a lot of sport-science innovation that’s come out of it, but we haven’t given up on it.”

1:55

When I did a Q and A last November with Jack, I asked that very question. Here was the exchange:

Ron from Raleigh

1:52

I have asked this in the past but I am still wondering if there is any information on what specific technologies UA and ND have worked on regarding player improvement. When the contract was first announced I was hoping that over time ND would gain some sport science advantages working with UA over say a Nike, etc. but have never seen any data if this agreement isnt anything more than just sports equipment. I also hope ND is taking money and not stock because the stock has been dropping since July, guess I have to work past age 65.... sad face

Eric Hansen

1:50

I think they're closer than they've been since the Holtz Era. I've written about this a lot and did so right after the Clemson game. The next step is improving overall team depth and recruiting elite speed at running back and wide receiver. They did both in 2020. Now they need it in volume.

Brandon, Goshen, IN

1:49

ND has been on the verge of joining college football's elites since 2012, but seven years later and they're still not over the hump. And yes, I know there have been some good wins in that time too, but they never do it against the biggest & best teams (2012 Alabama, 2014 FSU, 2015 Clemson, 2018 Clemson, 2019 Georgia). Is there more BK can do to bring this team to the next level, or has ND climbed as high as it can with him?

Eric Hansen

1:48

Still projected as a first-round pick. The NFL scouts love Julian Okwara, and so does Brian Kelly.

johngipp Lititz, PA

1:48

I am looking at a missing person report. Male 6' 41/2in supposedly plays DE. Missing since being touted as a first round draft pick. Do you have any information?

Eric Hansen

1:47

Thanks, Jacob. If the defense holds opponents to under 60 plays and to 23 points or fewer, I would love ND's chances of finishing 11-1. ... Not sure about what the punishment is. Not sure if it was their fault most of the time.

Jacob from Versailles, OH

1:42

I will keep it short and sweet this week; do you think ND will lose another game this season if the defense plays like it did at Georgia last weekend? Does the team have some sort of punishment system for false start penalties? (In my high school football days, the whole offense had to run down and back, 200 yds, for each false start the following Monday) Like always, keep up the good work.

Eric Hansen

1:42

Hi Chuck, touched on it earlier. It's going to be very difficult to do so. They'll need a lot of help.

Chuck Perkins

1:41

Hi,nice to b able to text a Question,my Question is IF the Irish Win out the balance of the schedule would they have to have Mich and USC except the Nd games win out too to have any chance to make the playoff,thanks Chuck from New Hampshire!

Eric Hansen

1:41

In very general terms, I think playing outside receiver as much as he has, with Michael Young out, hasn't been an ideal fit. With Young back, I expect him to spend most of the time back in the slot. As far as the Georgia game, I think Chris would tell you it was not a good day at the office.

Ken - Pensacola, Fla.

1:40

Eric...What's happen to Chris Finke? For someone so sure-handed, why hasn't Book targeted him more often or have teams tried to take him out of the game?

Eric Hansen

1:39

Bill, even though I wrote a piece this week on NBC's SkyCam, that kind of technical broadcasting question encompassing multiple networks is a bit out of my lane. Maybe the solution is watching the game with the volume down and listening to the radio broadcast, which would tend to give you that kind of information?

Bill from St Joe, MI

1:37

Eric, is it just me, but not only NBC but other networks very often pull away from the tackle so you can't see who actually made the tackle or was in on the tackle. It wouldn't be so bad but the play by play announcer and color guy often do not advise the viewer who made the tackle. Often the "truck" chooses to move back to the quarterback or one of the head coaches. It is quite frustrating.

Eric Hansen

1:36

Erik, Virginia has faced only one team that has a pass efficiency ranking in the top 100, and Florida State's James Blackman had some success moving the ball, particularly late in a very close game. That's even with Virginia's blitzing and having the best cornerback in the country, Bryce Hall, on their team. They're still very good overall on defense. I think Notre Dame is going to have to be more balanced this week than it was against Georgia. And Book has got to be very good at the line of scrimmage pre-snap in terms of getting out of a bad play and changing it to a good one.

Erik (Granger, IN)

1:33

Your discussions on Sportsbeat about the Virginia defense has me a little worried. What, if anything, is their biggest weakness, and what do you expect the offensive gameplan to look like this week?

Eric Hansen

1:28

Early in his time here, Kelly was blasted with regularity for being too candid about players' faults, so this is what is has evolved to. For a lot of the fan base, this is what they prefer. In some cases, the coaches do need to coach better.

Tim - Pleasant Prairie WI

1:25

Hi Eric....Not sure about everyone else, but I'm tired of hearing "We have to coach better." I understand Kelly does that so as not to be overly critical of the players and their execution, but what does it really mean? Does it mean that they as a staff have to explain things better? I mean, these players were admitted to ND. I would assume they have little trouble understanding what they have been taught. What's the real problem or meaning behind this hackneyed phrase Kelly keeps using?

Eric Hansen

1:24

JL. I think it's way too early to write an epitaph on what Phil Jurkovec's career turned out to be. And if you're going to criticize him for Wimbush and Jurkovec, shouldn't he be lauded for Rees, Kizer and Book? The fact that Wimbush got beaten out by a freshman at UCF suggests maybe it's not a BK problem in his case.

JL from Saratoga Springs

1:19

Brian Kelly has had 2 top 10 quarterback recruits in the past 4 years and by the time Brandon Wimbush left after 4 yrs he was unable to consistantly complete a 10 yd out pass and supposedly Phil Jurkovic is nowhere near being a starter. Is this a case where the quarterbacks have been grossly overrated or is it Brian Kelly's inability to develop or work with young quarterback, it's just not adding up. Thank you for your time.

Eric Hansen

1:15

Jim from Florida, try your question again, it got cut off..

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