JotCast | Notre Dame Football Live Chat April 27, 2023

Notre Dame Football Live Chat April 27, 2023

Prev Page View Full Chat

Jim, Boston MA

12:45

Hi Eric, I hope all is well with you and thank you for doing the chat as always. With the flurry of portal activity this week I have a mixed emotions. On the one hand I am frustrated that the current portal model makes the transfer process so easy and really encourages a kind of a soft, competition averse mentality for athletes and provides them with an escape pod to enter at the first sign of adversity. On the other hand I feel it kind of identifies the athletes with this mindset and filters them from your athletic program which I view as a net positive ultimately. The previous transfer model of having to sit for a year really separated those with legitiate transfer needs versus soft players who want to turn tail and run for perceived greener pastures rather than buckle down and grow. My question is where you fall on this ideological spectrum and if you think the portal has a material impact on the locker room and unit cohesion.

Eric Hansen

12:44

As far as WSBT, I think I can say we'll have a relationship with them this coming season. I'm not sure how much I will be on the air, but we're working on the details/schedules, etc. As soon as we figure it out. I'll pass it along. Thanks again for asking.

12:43

Not sure how that'll play in 2024 and 2025.

12:42

Larry thanks for the feedback on the podcast and Football Never Sleeps, and for listening to the Blue-Gold radio broadcast on WSBT this past Saturday. ... Let me start with your NBC question first, then circle back to your other question. I was told today there will be Notre Dame Stadium night games. I don't have much more detail than that at this point. ND's contract with NBC runs through the 2025 season and had stipulations about night games built into it. So how might that work? You suggested Ohio State ... and I suggest Ohio State and future Big Ten team USC could both be night games in 2023. In 2024, there aren't many good night game possibilities. Stanford in mid-October makes sense for timing, but not if they are mediocre. Perhaps Florida State in early November and/or Miami, which has yet to be placed on an exact date. But those don't have Big Ten tie-ins. In 2025, USC will be a Big Ten team, so put that one down, and then Texas A&M in September. Again, the 2023 schedule is an easy workaround.

Guest

12:33

Larry from Topton, PA. Hi Eric! It was great to hear you back on the WSBT airwaves!! I miss the days when I could listen to EH five days per week. It even caused me to reload the station's app for a day. Be sure to let your loyal fans know if there are any more radio hits coming. Now for my question: With NBC picking up Saturday night Big Ten games this year, does that mean no more home night games for ND going forward? (with the Ohio State game a likely exception). Love the Podcasts that you and Tyler do, and Football Never Sleeps! Thanks Eric.

Eric Hansen

12:32

Hi Ron, and thanks for tuning in. I think he moves better than Coan (and probably is a better runner than Pyne as well). I think he could develop into a thrower like Coan, but he's not there yet. He's a guy with a really solid floor and a questionable high ceiling. If you're defending ND with Angeli starting in 2023, you're back to loading the box and forcing him to win games with his arm. I don't think he can consistently do that against the better teams on ND's schedule at this point.

Ron dover de

12:27

Again hi Eric . I wasn’t able to join you and Tyler last night but listened this morning to football never sleeps. Good podcast. You talked about Steve A as the back up now for the team at QB. Would you consider him to be a clone ofJack Coan without the experience?

Eric Hansen

12:26

I've been one of Tyler Buchner's most stubborn supporters/believers, but even I admit there's risk with him. Three starts into his career, he's got tantalizing potential, but he's a risk. Hartman minimizes the risk and his production matches his potential. ... A postscript, had Buchner asked my opinion (and he did not), I would have told him I thought being around Hartman would be a great thing for him in his development and that he likely would be the starter at ND in 2024.

12:24

To me the answer is yes to Hartman being worth it, particularly with the way he conducted himself in helping Buchner feel staying was an option, even though Buchner didn't ultimately select that option. The two biggest shortfalls in Notre Dame arriving on the College Football Playoff stage and making noise there has been at quarterback and speed at wide receiver. Hartman and the young wideouts on the roster this season give Notre Dame that kind of ceiling for the first time. Should Hartman perform as expected, it shines a positive light on OC Gerad Parker and QBs coach Gino Guidugli for future QB recruits, starting with the 2025 class. (more)

12:18

Hi George. I love this question. And to be clear, because Buchner accrued a medical redshirt year in 2022, he actually will have three years with Alabama. So in taking Hartman, you could argue you lost multiple years of both Buchner and Drew Pyne. Of course, if Hartman doesn't come, it doesn't guarantee the loser of the Buchner-Pyne competition or Steve Angeli necessarily stayed. So bottom line is this. In the transfer portal era, any decision you make regarding quarterbacks is likely to have ripples. (more)

George from El Segundo

12:11

Eric, hope all is well with you and yours. Is one year of Sam Whitman worth more than two years of Tyler Buchner? Your input, please. Thank you

Eric Hansen

OK, let's get started.

12:11

I'll probably only enforce the no-spitting rule today because of recent events.

Here are the rules.