JotCast | Notre Dame Football Live Chat April 17, 2024

Notre Dame Football Live Chat April 17, 2024

View Full Chat Next Page

Eric Hansen

2:58

https://notredame.rivals.com/sign_up?promo_code=NDSPRING24

2:56

And my time is done. Thanks for all the great questions. A reminder, if you like our coverage and want more of it, we've got a great subscription special going on this week. Please consider it. We'll be back to do the chat all over again next Wednesday at noon ET.

2:55

Adding to a part of Tom's question I accidentally skipped, Jagusah has all the tools and the right mindset to be VERY good. It's a matter of when. Remember he came back from serious knee surgery weeks ahead of schedule and played in only a handful of snaps in a reserve role in one game prior to the Sun Bowl. Before that he played with two damaged ligaments for more than half of his senior season on a winless team. His time is coming.

2:53

I would not rule out an offensive tackle addition, especially if someone leaves. But I don't think this is someone who could beat out the three guys who are ND's best tackles, even with his 10 starts at Colorado. Graded out as a pretty good pass blocker but a pretty medicore grade from Pro Football Focus.

James from Columbus

2:51

Hi Eric. Does ND have any interest in Savion Washington from Colorado? 6’8” 320lb starting LT.

Eric Hansen

2:51

Hi Tom. The spring transfer portal closes on April 30, after which time only grad transfers can enter the portal. And ND is at 88 scholarship players, so there has to be more attrition. I would say end of May is more realistic than end of this month.

Tom Kennesaw, GA

2:48

Hi Eric, a lot is happening with ND athletics with players coming and going. Would you think that by the end of the month that we will have settled into what will be in camp in the summer?? Following last weekend's scrimmage how concerned are you regarding the LT position?? I watched some of the Bowl highlights this week and Jagusah got beat pretty badly on more than one play. I understand he is young and its early but I hope the offense will be effective and efficient sooner than later this season. Let's hope for a fun and Healthy Blue-Gold game Saturday. Go Irish!!!!

Eric Hansen

2:42

Thanks, Mike!

Mike McFadden, Williamsport, PA

... IE. circumvent the rules, anecdotal evidence of tampering and worse. Great wording and I agree 100%. Thanks Eric.

2:42

... and thank you Eric. Great answer and I believe exactly what you said but could not put into words like you. Circumvent the rules,

Eric Hansen

2:42

Hi Jeff. Keep in mind the teams that are toughest on the schedule on paper in the spring aren't always the teams that are toughest when the season unfolds. But let's assume this is a weird year, and they align with that. In that case, 10-2 would be a tough sell for a playoff berth, if both of those losses came in November (to Florida State and to USC in the finale). In some years, 10-2 is going to be an easy sell to make the field.

Jeff from Canton, MI

2:39

Hi Eric, wondering if I could get your thoughts on the upcoming seasons projected strength of schedule. Compared to last year, there doesn’t seem to be any teams in the top 5 or top 10 on the schedule. Only three of the twelve make the list in FSU, USC and UL. I think a 10-2 season is very doable this year, but not sure if ND gets in the top 12 with this schedule to make the playoffs. This looks like one of those years where going 11-1 is necessary. Nice trend for ND in going 9-4, 10-3 in first two years so now an 11-2 season is up next!

Eric Hansen

2:39

Bob, I think there's reason to be excited AND as long as you keep in mind there's a lot of work ahead. Again, having coordinators the caliber of Denbrock and Golden along with some strong position coaches is good reason to feel that progress will be made. The defense will be good enough to keep them in every game. The offense will decide the ceiling.

Bob - Loganville, GA

2:33

Eric, Watching MF's press conference after the jersey scrimmage, his body language (or what I read as a bashful smile) for many questions equated to a kid in a candy store, although he seem to tamper the answers down with coach speak. Did I read the room correctly or am I overly excited about this football team?

Eric Hansen

2:33

Freshman Aneyas Williams has flashed often, and I expect 6-0, 229-pound freshman Kedren Young to do the same when he's fully healty. Which leaves Gi'Bran Payne as the guy with a wide skill set and valuable on third down. Really strong group.

2:32

Hi Bill. Maybe the sheer volume of running backs stories is lacking (or appears to be), because that's such a strong position group, they are not creating a lot of drama. It's kind of like the kid that's getting straight A's sometimes gets put on the back burner. There is a lot to like with this group. Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price will be at the top of the rotation and offer complementary skills. Love is even taking some wide receiver reps, which could pay off in two-back formations. (more)

Bill

2:29

Originally from Syracuse, NY, although I've lived in Houston for more than 40 years... I think that makes me a Texan now(?). My question is about the running backs. I have the sense that we have an extremely talented group of runners, but I haven't really seen much said or written about them lately... even after the recent scrimmage. Can you tell us how they're doing? Is there an evolving/obvious ranking among them?

Eric Hansen

2:29

Mike. There are ways to circumvent the rules without violating them and that's by involving third parties. Now the athlete is supposed to initiate that contact even under those conditions, but I've seen lot of anecdotal evidence of tampering in football and other sports, including women's basketball. What Notre Dame has done a good job of -- and this is in the legal part of it -- is scout players whether or not they've expressed an interest in the portal, so that when they do enter it, ND knows who they like, whether they're a fit, etc.

Mike McFadden, Williamsport, PA

2:25

Hi Eric, In the NIL world now, are schools/coaches/agents permitted to contact players at anytime to request they transfer to their team and what they can offer, IE. starting position, $$$, etc? I ask this as many times a player announces his transfer on X and a short time later declares for a new school, within hours. How can a valuable player review all his options from 133 teams for the best offer. My take is all that work was done previously. Go IRISH !!!

Eric Hansen

2:25

Hi Patrick. I think I might be in the minority on this one, but I do think he will. In August. I think Guerby Lambert is talented enough to push for a spot in the two-deeps, though Sullivan Absher has shown growth at tackle and has had a nice spring.

Patrick from Los Angeles

2:20

Do you think Aamil Wagner will beat out Tosh Baker at right tackle? It does not appear that Baker is doing a lot to impress this spring. Any sense that Guerby Lambert will be in the tackle competition this summer? Also, who do you project as the starter at left guard? Thank you.

Eric Hansen

2:20

Kevin, it is a rant. But I was so relieved you didn't ask me a difficult question at the end of it, I was happy to run it as is and let it stand on its own and perhaps someone with much more streaming knowledge could chime in. I am not that guy.

Kevin

(I hate that I can't try to start a new paragraph without the result being the same as if I hit send) As I was saying, you would think that our new Athletic Director having shepherded much of NBC sports for a number of years would be able to tell NBC that Notre Dame, having suffered through several streaming debacles, must insist that the streaming of any of its athletics must be of a reasonably high quality. So far, at least for me, Peacock and ND football has been a disaster. Is this a rant? Perhaps, but I think it is something that needs to be addressed. Like everyone else, I do very much appreciate what you do for Notre Dame fans. We have come along way since Joe Boland of my youth.

Notre Dame was apparently required to "telecast" one of it's "lesser games" in 2023 exclusively on Peacock. I had never turned off a Notre Dame football game in my long life. I couldn't get by the first quarter of the so-called "streaming". The picture was frozen for more time that it was freezing. I turned it off and went to radio. Now the Blue gold game this Saturday is scheduled again for Peacock and I would imagine that another regularly scheduled game this fall will again be required for Peacock. I talked with my brothers living in different states and they had the same problems I had. You would thiing that our new

2:18

Kevin from Orlando

Eric Hansen

2:17

Which position group surprised me the most? If I hadn't been expecting a wow from the linebackers, I would have said them. So, I'll say safeties. Those two sophomores are coming on ... Talich and Shuler ... to complement Watts and Rod Heard II.

2:16

Hi Ed. Don't hold back on the exclamation points for brevity's sake!!! Appreciate the concise, clear questions. Yes, they will and they have affected it. ... Here's what Marcus Freeman had to say about that very subject after last Saturday's scrimmage:
"That’s what spring’s about: being able to move your pieces around and saying, OK, how do we formulate the scheme around the pieces? It’s not the vice versa. It’s not here’s our scheme. This person has to fit into it. It’s, OK, let’s get the best players on the field and formulate the best defense around those pieces.”

Ed from Sayville NY

2:12

Hi Eric. Two questions keeping brevity in mind. How might the skill sets of the young linebackers impact Coach Golden’s approach to game planning? With respect to the jersey scrimmage which position group surprised you the most?

Eric Hansen

2:11

Sure Glenn. The protoype for the Rover position remains Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, who could stay on the field on third down and was an All-American while playing the position. The two players who are currently 1 and 2 there are Jaylen Sneed (6-1, 219) and Jaiden Ausberry (6-2, 220). It's really kind of a hybrid linebacker/safety skill set. Ideally, you'd like someone who can cover slot receivers and tight ends and also is physical enough to impact the run defense. JOK could do all of that. Usually the slot receiver part of that is why ND turns to nickel more often than not. Vyper is a big explosive player who is asked to rush the passer, play the run and occasionally drop into coverage (but not against a slot receiver). So Isiah Foskey at 6-5, 260ish was ND's last All-American there. The body types there currently are Jordan Botelho (6-3, 263), Junior Tuihalamaka (602, 250) and Boubacar Traore (6-4, 240). Botelho and Junior came to ND as linebackers.

Glenn from Santa Monica

2:04

Eric, Can you explain the difference between our vyper and rover positions and the body types needed for each?

Eric Hansen

2:04

Circling back to the Blue-Gold Game format, I just received some info that while it is expected the second half will have a running clock, head coach Marcus Freeman has the discretion to revert to traditional game clock rules in the game's final minutes if he so chooses. Also a reminder to get to the game early. Parking is going to be tight with a lacrosse game, baseball game, softball game and hockey tournament all going on Saturday.

2:02

Hi Dave. We are having Hunter Bivin, assistant athletic director/alumni engagement on our podcast Thursday. He's putting together this Legacy Weekend and did the others as well, so tune in for that to get the details.

Dave from DC

1:59

Hi Eric, do you have any insight on who among ND former players will be in attendance on Saturday? I've always felt our alums are a great recruiting tool!

Eric Hansen

1:58

The defense was a little better than I thought, and I expected it to be good. But Ben Morrison didn't play and Rod Heard II isn't here yet ... but the linebackers are really exciting and the young safeties has really surged. Boubacar Traore makes (and others) make be feel good about the pass rush. The offense is about what I expected ... a work in progress and behind the defense. As it should be. I thought Angeli and Minchey would be sharper and more consistent. On the other hand, CJ Carr wowed us. Just one practices, but apparently he's been pretty impressive. Angeli and Minchey may play very well on Saturday. The offense is still learning the plays and not adding the bells and whistles, so I think it will look much different in August.

1:55

Hi Marie. By the way, I don't know which one of us won our little side wager, so you will have to let me know. ... Thanks for your thoughtful questions. I have to be honest with you, I was pretty optimistic in the spring about what Notre Dame could turn into in the fall if the offense could be consistent, which it didn't end up being. My reasons this year for optimism don't have as many caveats. The Offensive line is the biggest question. It's not a dead end, but it is a question. But I think this is the best offensive/defense coordinator combination Notre Dame has had in the post-Lou Holtz Era. And that mitigates some personnel concerns on the field. (more)

Marie from Atlanta

1:48

Hi Eric, I hope you’re having a great week, and enjoyed the Saturday jersey scrimmage. Based on what you saw, would you describe the offense and the defense as being better, worse, or what you expected prior to beginning of spring practice. In what areas did they surprise you both positively and negatively? In the areas that were negative, do you feel like they have the pieces to improve enough to become championship level in those areas? One final question, please complete the following sentence , this is the most optimistic I have been about a Notre Dame team at the end of Spring practice since _____? Enjoy the game this weekend, as always thanks for all the great insights and for hosting the chat.

Eric Hansen

1:48

Larry thanks for the compliments, and just wait 'til I share with my two adult sons I am the voice of reason. They're probably old enough to almost agree now. I wish you had said that when they were teenagers. ... But thanks ... I'm not sure we saw anything near the full scope of what Denbrock would do on a gameday. But what I can offer is I think we'll see more of a variety in personnel groups, more versatility in running backs and receivers, more running from the QB than certainly last year, more of a vertical push (which we did NOT see on Saturday) and an offense that doesn't dip so much in production when it faces the tougher defenses on the schedule.

Guest

1:45

Larry from Topton, PA Thanks for keeping all the audio content going, which is a great supplement to yours and Tyler’s writing. I really look forward to hearing your voice, because you are the sound of ND reason. My question relates to last week’s jersey scrimmage. What 2 or 3 things did you see in that pseudo-game environment from Coach Denbrock that were different from the previous 2 offensive coordinators? Thanks for keeping us informed!!

Eric Hansen

1:45

Zero concern, especially after what I saw on Saturday. Keep in mind you didn't hear a lot about Javontae Jean-Baptiste last spring. Al Washington has a lot of depth at all four of those positions, and he uses spring to look all of it over. JJB really didn't come on until the season started and then he REALLY came on. Also, some of its player availability. We did interviews with D-line and O-line pretty early in the spring with CBs and QBs at the end. I think the defensive line is going to be deep and pretty darn good,

Kevin-Sleepy Eye,MN

1:37

Eric:) Ford unsure of his future and Oben isn't getting mentioned at all. Concerning news for defensive front? Or no concern at all from your perspective?

Connecting…

Message History

On Off

Your current subscriptions

None

E-mail Address	Chat Owner	Status	Remove

Enter your email address to be notified when Eric Hansen hosts a chat