JotCast | Notre Dame Football Live Chat April 11, 2025 | 4/11/2025

Notre Dame Football Live Chat April 11, 2025

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Eric Hansen

12:32

OK, I get lost sometimes on the multi-parts, let me go grab the first part ... surprises in the scrimmage last weekend. I'd say the two players who surprised me the most were freshman cornerback Cree Thomas and sophomore safety Tae Johnson. I wanted to think Johnson would impress me and he surpassed that. He's my new football-skills crush, so to speak. And thanks for being part of the chat.

12:30

Hi Marie, and congratulation for crushing me and just about everyone else in the Inside ND Sports NCAA men's basketball bracket contest. I'm just glad I didn't have a side bet with you this year to lose. Then again, somehow being the loser I got a great Italian dinner out of it. Hmmm. To your questions ... I don't know that my confidence needle moved a lot based on that one scrimmage, but it was way more info in one sitting than we had gotten all spring, and the defensive line, including the DTs, were on point, even against non-starters in the O-line. I mentioned earlier what I'll be watching, but I think people who have not seen this team practice can get a sense of individual speed and skills, how players compete, some sense of are they assignment correct and who has improved. It's fun to see the new players and what they can do. (more)

Marie from Atlanta

12:24

Hi Eric, happy Bluegold week. I hope it’s going great for you. Can you name a couple players that completely surprised you in the Jersey scrimmage? After watching the Jersey scrimmage and I know it’s difficult because the O line was patchwork, are you more confident or less confident in this team for the fall? What will you be watching the most this weekend during the Blue Gold game, and what do you honestly think you will be able to take away with from it given the format? Looking into your crystal ball, will all three quarterbacks be on the roster for the start of fall camp? Enjoy the weekend and thanks for hosting the chat.

Eric Hansen

12:24

Hi Bob. Hola Bob. Buenos Dias, Bob. Off the top of my head, this is going to be hard to beat ... Nose guard Louis Nix III in the 2013 game, I believe, scoring on a two-point conversion. Man, I miss him. Here's the video:

Bob (Oxnard, CA)

12:21

Eric, greetings from deep in Mexico . . . out of all the Blue Gold games you have seen, what is the single most memorable moment?

Eric Hansen

12:21

I certainly did, and figure this year will be more of that. One reason is they can show more formations, more plays, more of the top personnel, without it being on tape. The media had to shut down their cameras after period 4, though we could still watch. But that's when the scrimmage stuff started. I think we also got a higher percentage of front-line players than what will be in the Blue-Gold Game. Having said that, I still think there's value to watching the BGG, just don't extrapolate too much. If I were not working the game, I'm come anyway and take grandkids with me.

Jack, Strongsville,Ohio

12:19

Hi Eric. Not to put a damper on the Blue Gold game enthusiasm, I was there last year and loved it, but do you think more is learned from closed controlled scrimmages than the BG game?

Eric Hansen

12:18

3) With the way college football works now, it's harder to project into the future, and that's way out of Marcus Freeman's wheelhouse, so I will say his focus and eval is only on this year. I'm kind of in that boat, too. There are some interesting aspects to the 2026 team, but there's so much roster uncertainty, I'm going to chicken out on that question.

12:16

Keep in mind, the Blue-Gold game this year, the 94th edition, is not the conclusion of spring practice, so you'll be watching a less-finished product than usual. ... 2) I think sophomore offensive tackle Guerby Lambert is a future starter. The question is when does the future merge with the present? I still think we might be a year away. Barring injury, four of the top five are Jagusah, Schrauth, Wagner and Craig. So is the fifth Knapp, Lambert or someone else? And could Knapp bump Craig if he's bumped from tackle. That's what early training camp, when Lambert is healthy and presumably Craig too, should tell us. (more)

12:13

Wow Jack, love the nickname, the Junior Jabbie reference, the Guerbinator tag. Would you be interested on being my stunt double? 1) In last week's largely closed scrimmage (except to the media and scads or recruits and players' parents), I wanted to make sure I got a good sense of the depth chart, even with the missing pieces. Who flowed in where and in what order. Then I focused on individuals, especially the more unknown quantities, and watched them perform. Defensive line and safeties got a lot of my attention, beyond the QBs. In Saturday's Blue-Gold Game, I sense we'll get a larger dose of backup players, but we'll see. Obviously, the QBs bear watching, but I want to watch WRs and interior defensive linemen above everything else. This is where most of the pleasant surprises have come from (safeties) too and the two position groups the most separated ND from a national title three months ago. I want to see of those surprises continue trending. (more)

Jack from West Hollywood CA

12:07

Eric The Cred!!! Thank you for a season-plus of masterful analyses and insights, and for the gift of Chat transcripts. Three questions, please: 1) Watching this weekend’s Junior Jabbie Invitational, any changes from last Saturday’s scrimmage in how you’ll allocate your attention? 2) If The Guerbinator fully recovers from labrum repair, what’s his likely role this season and next? 3) Are the coaches more optimistic about this year’s team or next year’s? You?

Eric Hansen

We've got a full queue and a shorter window today, so let's get to it.

Remember the "no drinking" rule has been rolled back for everyone except me.

Here are the rules ...

12:05

Please include your name and hometown along with you question(s). Pretty please.

As far as this week's chat ...

12:04

► Finally, at WSBT Sports Radio 96.1, we’re rolling through a busy and newsy Notre Dame spring football practice season. Darin Pritchett and I were together this week on Wednesday and Thursday, and each week moving forward on Weekday SportsBeat (960 AM, live streaming at wsbtradio.com). The weekday shows run from 5-6 p.m. ET. You can download all episodes as podcasts. I’ll also be joining Darin on the national radio broadcast of the Blue-Gold Game. That can be heard on 960 AM, 1400 AM, 106.1 FM, SiriusXM Ch.381 and on the SiriusXM app at Ch. 971. We’ll have a pregame show beginning at 1:30 p.m. ET.

12:03

► If you missed the last episode of our aspiring-to-be-viral Notre Dame Football YouTube show, Football Never Sleeps, what are you doing with your life? Seriously, the show keeps its shelf life long after the live presentation, so you can catch up now or later on our YouTube channel. Also coming from the Inside ND Sports team this week is our Postgame Takeaways show Saturday night to wrap up the Blue-Gold Game. Then we’ll be back LIVE Monday night at 7 ET for another presentation of Football Never Sleeps.

Some quick programming notes ...

12:02

Welcome to Notre Dame Football Live Chat, the pre-Blue-Gold Game/Return of the Stableford Scoring System Edition.

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