JotCast | Notre Dame Football Live Chat

Notre Dame Football Live Chat

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Eric Hansen

12:54

Tom. thanks. I had dinner with two of my grandsons last night and one of them actually had all his homework done. Will miracles never cease? ... IU think the knee-jerk answer is the November stretch, because it has been so often that way in the Kelly Era, but I'm going to go at Georgia/Virginia/Bowling Green/USC. Now I don't think BG is going to be an issue, but the other three games will be challenging, particularly Georgia on the road. Virginia had a pretty good defense last year.

Tom Kennesaw, GA

12:49

Hi Eric, nice to be chatting live with you again. Hope all is well with the family. There are certainly some very tough looking opponents on the schedule but many of them seem spread out. In your expert opinion what will be our toughest stretch of 3-4 games that might define the 2019 season.? Thanks for all your hard work.

Eric Hansen

12:49

Sam this is confusing to a lot of people, including me. It's part art and part science. Here's the thing to know before we dive into the numbers and ND's philosophy specifically. Not all offers are created equal. At many schools, ND included, just because you have an offer does not necessarily mean you can commit on the spot. The kids at the top of the board certainly can. In other cases, it can be as subtle as "let's get acquainted. Come to our camp and let's see if there's a fit." Those can eventually turn into more meaningful offers and eventually commits. In between are prospects you don't want to commit yet, so you kind of slow-play them. Notre Dame's philosophy is to cast a wide enough net that the Irish don't lose a top prospect because they didn't offer early enough, yet keep the numbers manageable. The thing I like about what ND does: for the most part there is very good transparency between the staff and the prospect in terms of level of interest. That's not universal at all schools.

Sam K- Hazel Park, MI

12:40

Hey Eric, I was surprised by how great of a disparity there is in the number of 2020 scholarships schools have offered at this point ranging from Nebraska (409) to Notre Dame (149) to Clemson (94). Can you give any insight into what drives these numbers and specifically what philosophy Notre Dame takes in regards to the number of scholarships they are offering in a given year? Thanks.

Eric Hansen

12:40

GB, thanks for the feedback and the question. I think linebackers as breakout players make sense, because most of them didn't play much last season. Having said that, they've got a long way to go to reach that status as breakout player. The issues they have as a group in the spring are fixable. It's not like they're too slow or not physical enough. It's to what extent you can kind of microwave them? We had Drue Tranquill on the Pod of Gold podcast a couple of weeks ago, and he said the talent is there. But he said they need to show this summer they're willing to put in the extra work, "How badly do they want to be great?"

GB from Wasilla, Alaska

12:35

Eric, I liked the last chats you had and this format better than the Live Chats because we can submit question earlier. I read somewhere recently that someone asked some current players who they thought the breakout players would be next season. 2 of the responses were linebackers. I forgot the names but 2 of 4 or 5 responses was pretty impressive to me. Do you think we will see a big leap from the linbackers next season from where those same players were this season?

Eric Hansen

12:34

Mark, thank you for your compliment and questions. Ideally, you'd like to accomplish one of two things with the new fair catch rule on kickoffs — kick it high enough and have good enough coverage that the opponent will call a fair catch or bang it through the end zone. I think Kelly initially was OK with either, but after seeing it in games and getting poor hang time on some kicks, that made them returnable, he'd just prefer to have a touchback every time. With Jonathan Doerer sometimes last year, there was an issue with direction, in that he kicked it out of bounds. Harrison Leonard arrives next month to provide some needed competition.

Mark from Benton Harbor, MI.

12:30

Eric, thank you for your great work and terrific insights on ND Football! Love these chats - whether live, not-so-live or hybrid! My question is regarding our kicking game - kickoffs specifically. It is my view that our kickoff depth has been very mediocre over recent years. Not sure how much of that is tactical versus kicker related(?) Would the coaching staff prefer to kick every ball out of the end zone if our kicker had the ability to do so? I’m of the opinion that while we might be able dominate coverage on lesser opponents and consistently pin them deep in their own territory, the game changing aspect of a kickoff return, especially in key situations, by getting cute and trying to do a “hang-time” kickoff isn’t worth the risk. While that might work great against Louisville and New Mexico, think those odds are greatly diminished against teams who are more athletically on par with us - like a Georgia or Michigan. Could you share share any insight relating to our kickoff philosophy?

Eric Hansen

12:29

This looks like a simple math question, but it's kind of algebraic. Jerry Tillery is a first-round NFL Draft choice and the first one from Notre Dame on the defensive line since 1997. So let that sink in. I do think there's really good, young players at both the interior line positions — Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa/Jayson Ademilola/Howard Cross III and possibly Hunter Spears if healthy at Tillery's old position; Kurt Hinish/Jacob Lacey/Ja'mion Franklin at NG. ... Another thing to factor in is the edge players are better and deeper, but linebacker is a quagmire of questions right now. How the linebacker positions evolve will greatly influence what kind of team ND will be versus the run. There is enough athleticism there. There needs to be schematic knowledge, better run fits, better play diagnosis in August than what we saw in the spring.

George from Atlanta

12:21

Tillery was obviously a great player and a big loss. But do you think the D line can be better than last year with the growth of the new players. I worry that Tillery's absence will be felt more due to the departure of the two middle LB as well and that we will be vulnerable vs the run.

Eric Hansen

12:21

Ken, from what our recruiting guy, Carter Karels tells me, ND has a good chance to land Phillips, which is a great start. I would not be concerned if I were you about some of the other targets choosing other schools — not in May. Now in November, that's another story. But there's plenty of time to re-calibrate the list and also find some rising seniors this fall. There's also time for some of those who committed earlier to change their minds and end up at ND. Still a long way to go.

Ken, from Morrisville, IN

12:17

Hi Eric, great to have this format back! I am hopeful we get Chris Tyree, Mills, and McGregor for the top targets left for the 2020 class. Seems we have fallen off on our top targets for CB. How concerned are you regarding the targets that we have to go to now (other than Clark Phillips) to try and fill in our needs?

Eric Hansen

12:17

Charles thanks for the kind words and please include your hometown next time, and I'll consider your strongly for the role as my (unpaid) agent. ... ND will sort out the returners in August. They didn't do much with kickoff return men in the spring, because they were inside so much. With punts we saw Chris Finke, Michael Young, Alohi Gilman, Lawrence Keys III, Joe Wilkins Jr., and I believe Braden Lenzy. Troy Pride is the fastest man on the team, and he told me he'd be open to being involved in the return game somehow if asked. But Lenzy, Keys, etc., are plenty fast. Usually on the kickoff returns one of the two deep guys also is a good blocker, so that could put Tony Jones Jr. in play there. As far as the scheme, that's a very good point. It needs some tweaking, and my sense is we will see that this fall.

Charles

12:12

Hi Eric I really look forward to these chats in the Trib and anything "Hansen" for that matter! Quick one for you. Will we finally get a burner return man in the kicking game and if so will the scheme/personal allow him to show his stuff? It's been way-way too long! Enjoy the sunny weekend!

Eric Hansen

12:12

Looks like you get cut off there, Ed, but I see where you were going with it. I don't think you can put Kelly up there with the Aras and Lous, etc., unless he wins a title, but I do think he is in a category where he deserved respect for coaxing ND back into relevance and getting them back into the title game and the CFP. It's interesting, because when I ask former players and college football analysts alike, can ND win a national title again in the next 5-10 years, I haven't got a single "no."

Ed-Palm Beach FL

12:09

The bench mark for ND always a National Championship....To be considered in the top echelon of ND coaches this accomplishment is imperative...With the fact Brian may retire within next 5 years does his tenure with no National Title lessen his

Eric Hansen

12:08

It's a really fascinating question and one that I want to ask Brian Kelly in a one-on-one setting soon. I believe Book actually had some scout team duty. Notably Tommy Rees and Malik Zaire did not. Wimbush didn't as a freshman, but then did as a sophomore as a redshirt, the year before he became the starter. You certainly want to give the No. 1 defense a realistic look in practice, but I do think there are enough examples of slowed development that there needs to be a good, hard look at the concept. Perhaps there's a better balance of some scout team work with more of learning the ND offense. Stay tuned on this one.

12:04

Ryan, if you can shoot me your hometown. I'd appreciate it. To your question ...

Ryan de Rio

12:04

Kelly consistently has good QB recruits run the scout team instead of learning the offense. Those QBs haven't panned out as well, a la Golson, Zaire, etc. It seems the less heralded QBs w hi o go into the playbook right away tend to fair better. Book, Rees, etc. Why do you think this is and do you believe it turns more elite QB recruits away?

Eric Hansen

12:03

Thanks Doug. It's overcast here, but no more frozen tundra.

Doug from Sunny Florida

12:03

Eric, no question right now but I much prefer this format than the mailbag format. Keep up the fine job of keeping us informed!

Eric Hansen

12:03

Hi Ken. It's really an educated guess. A lot of voters, both writers and coaches, look at the preseason magazines for some guidance. I am an AP voter, and try to do as much research as I can. The important thing isn't really the preseason poll as much as it is being open minded each week to jumping teams over other teams when you get more information. For instance just because, say, Notre Dame is 15th and Oregon is 10th doesn't mean you keep Oregon ahead of ND if the Ducks keep winning. ND may have more impressive wins that warrant a rearranging of your educated guesswork.

Ken - Pensacola, Fla.

11:59

How are the pre-season polls determined and were would you rank ND in them? The NCAA ranked them 9th, but most of the other polls weren't very favorable to last year's 12-1 ND team.
Thanks - Go Irish

Eric Hansen

11:58

On Defense, it's linebacker Jordan Genmark Heath/Jack Lamb at the buck position; Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah/Paul Moala at rover and Houston Griffith at a new position, boundary cornerback.

11:57

Hi Bruce. On offense, I'd go with new starting center Jarrett Patterson, and wide receivers Kevin Austin Jr. and Michael Young. You could throw WRs Braden Lenzy and Joe Wilkins Jr. in that same mix with Austin and Young. They need two or three of those guys to make a leap.

Bruce, from Dayton, Ohio

11:53

Hi Eric, thanks for doing the chats, always look forward to your insight. Give us 3 players on offense and defense that hasn't played major minutes in the past, that must step and play a key role for a successful season. Thanks.

Eric Hansen

11:53

OK on with the chat.

I'd also love to get your feedback on the new format. Email me at ehansen@sbtinfo.com.

11:52

I'll have a full transcript up later this afternoon.

Also no 17-part questions and no manifestos.

11:51

Here are the rules.