JotCast | Notre Dame Football Live Chat

Notre Dame Football Live Chat

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Eric Hansen

1:02

I'm going to assume your mean top five REMAINING targets. Borrowing a little bit from our recruiting guy, Carter Karels, I'd say CB Clark Phillips III (La Habra, Calif.), WR Jalen McMillan (Fresno, Calif.), S Latham,Ransom (Tucson, Ariz.), OT Michael Carmody (Mars, Pa.), and Jordan Morant (Oradell, N.J.). .. and glad to have you back as well.

Rick from the OC

12:54

Eric, Glad you are back on a regular basis. What would you say are the top 5 recruiting targets for this year?

Eric Hansen

12:54

Mike from parts unknown, I do think Bill Rees factors into that .. as do people like Dave Peloquin. I think there's been a philosophical shift to being more proactive early, and I think that really goes back to Mike Elston's time as recruiting coordinator. No question, Brian Polian has built on that and brings a lot to the Irish in terms of organization and being a really good individual recruiter.

mike

12:52

It used to be that ND was late to the party for some kids that you would think would interested in what ND has to offer. Now it seems that ND has been in early on some hidden gems before they blow up nationally like Kyle Hamilton and Tosh Baker. I would guess that Bill Rees is playing a big role in earlier athletic evaluations, but I would also guess it is much more than that. Any changes in the academic side from previous years? Any changes with Brian Polian as coordinator?

Eric Hansen

12:51

I think it's a bigger win for Notre Dame's sports beyond football. As far as football goes, it doesn't disrupt the NBC arrangement. Where is shows is with regard to road games. The ND game at Duke on Nov. 9 will be the first ACC Network game in which the Irish appear. If you don't have the ACC Network on your cable/satellite/streaming package, you won't see it on your TV.

Ken-Pensacola

12:48

Eric, Great to chat with you again. Ok, how will the new ACCN/ESPN effective Notre Dame? For Example recruiting and ND's television contract with NBC? Is it a win-win for ND?

Eric Hansen

12:45

Hi Stan. There is an allowance for the coaches to hold some OTAs (offseason training activities) in June, and ND takes full advantage of that. There are limitations in that you can't use a football. It's mostly drill work. Then you rely on your team leaders to drive the agenda once coaches can't be around. You also rely on our strength staff to set that tone ... and they do. They make every aspect of offseason training have a competitive element to it and a mental toughness component to it. As far as players-only stuff, they organize informal workouts (7-on-7s for instance) and film study. So you have to be strong in your team leadership and in the weight room.

Stan from Chester, VA

12:45

How does the team maintain an edge during the off season? Coaches are not allowed to hold formal practices, but do they get to observe individual workouts or can the team practice on its own and if so, under what structure does such a practice take place?

Eric Hansen

12:40

Damion, the Dallas recruiting kind of goes in cycles. There are two freshmen on the roster from the area -- DE NaNa Osafo-Mensah and DT Hunter Spears. ... to your question with regard to Avery. Avery has elite measurables, which give him a chance to succeed. The question is how quickly/completely he can adapt to defense. I thought he had an OK spring. It's a tough request to have him play nickel, but he definitely has the speed and athleticism to pull it off. He also appears to have the work ethic. The summer is huge for him, and so will be August training camp. Remember, he's only a sophomore eligibility-wise, so he's got a lot of football ahead of him.

Damion From Dallas, TX

12:33

Good morning. Living here in Dallas, I notice that we seldom have recruits from this area committing to Notre Dame. I was excited when Avery Davis committed. I was disappointed that he didn't pan out as a QB and shocked overall that he doesn't play a position on offense. I wanted to ask if the coaching staff thinks that he'll turn out to be a decent corner or eventually be an athlete the Irish can use.

Eric Hansen

12:32

Christ, that's what I call "good length" in making your point. I think Georgia is going to be really difficult, even if ND starts to check off boxes like linebacker play, boundary cornerback, nickel, special teams, etc. Michigan, I think at his juncture, is going to be a competitive game. Ask me again in August when each of those teams will likely have answered (or fallen short) of addressing their post-spring concerns. I think beating Georgia on the road, if it were to happen, would be the biggest road win of the post-Lou Holtz Era.

Chris-Lake of the Ozarks, MO

12:29

Hi Eric- Do you think we can beat Georgia and Michigan on the road. It’d be nice to silence the critics if we could take care of business. I know we’ve had some nice roads wins under Kelly, but since Oklahoma, I don’t remember a big game since that, where it changed the perception of ND football and our relavence on a national stage. We had it last year until we had a horridence 2nd quarter against Clemson. Sorry so long.

Eric Hansen

12:29

I think it lost its luster several times since the national title. But getting into the title game in 2012, getting to the playoff last season, putting together back-to-back double-digit-win seasons, producing All-Americans and first-round draft pick does mean something in that regard. In fact, it means a lot.

Edward 2@Palm Beach

12:27

Without a National Championship since 1988 I am surprised the ND brand has lasted this long.Going forward when does the brand begin to lose its luster....Thanks

Eric Hansen

12:26

I would wear the hat for free. Otherwise, there's not enough money in South Bend. Only Corey can make that look work.

12:25

Tyler from Mishawaka

12:24

How much would I have to pay you for you to recreate Corey Robinson's Blue-Gold Game outfit and wear it to a press conference?

Eric Hansen

12:23

Doug, I think by the time we get to the deadline (first day of fall-semester classes), this math problem will take care of itself. If for some reason it doesn't, here is how it works: The oversimplified answer is Division I athletes who are offered that loophole have to meet these criteria: Be in the top 10 percent of the high school graduating class; achieve a cumulative high school GPA of at least 3.50; score 1,200 or higher on the SAT, or ACT sum score of at least 105.

There are other layers of compliance, but those must be met to even consider it

Doug from Sunny Florida

12:20

Eric, can you expand on the scholarship level? It appears there are still 86 on scholarship with 85 being the limit. There was talk about JD Bertrand using an academic scholarship but doesn't that still count against the limit? How is this all playing out?

Eric Hansen

12:19

I have not seen it yet and plan to once my grandkids have dragged me to Detective Pikachu and Aladdin. I had the opportunity to interview him once, about 15 years ago. He makes you feel so comfortable, like you've known each other forever. Seriously. I can't wait to see the film.

Jude from Watertown, N.Y.

12:17

Good afternoon, Eric! I was wondering if you saw "Hesburgh," what you thought of the film and if you have any good Fr. Ted stories to share.

Eric Hansen

12:16

It would be difficult to lose either of the starting safeties, CB Troy Pride Jr., any of the nose guards and Jafar Armstrong at RB. Ian Book, would also be difficult to replace long term at this juncture.

Jeremy from Goshen, IN

12:15

Hi Eric, Thanks for doing this chat. In your opinion, what position can least afford an injury?

Eric Hansen

12:14

Matt, I think there are a few layers here in the answer. Let's start with the safeties. When Mike Elko took over as defensive coordinator after the Brian VanGorder ouster, there was a big disconnect in the safeties on the roster and the way Elko wanted to play defense. The skill sets didn't match up. Clark Lea shares a very similar philosophy. So a lot of the safeties moved to other positions, some quite successfully (Drue Tranquill), and some moved to the bench or off the roster. Under Lea, there is a natural evolution when recruiting some players, where the big-picture plan is to start at safety and then eventually move, or start at rover and eventually move inside. Improved recruiting has helped this process. At cornerback, there has been good development of players, but not always consistent recruiting. That has to get better, and it's too early in this cycle to say it won't.

Matt from St. Louis

12:07

It seems like we are always in need in the secondary. Is that because some of our linebackers grow into lineman, and some of our DBs grow into linebackers, or do we also need to do better consistently recruiting and developing and retaining?

Eric Hansen

12:07

One quick reminder, please include your name and hometown with your question.

Off we go.

12:05

Here are the rules