JotCast | Notre Dame Football Live Chat Aug. 11, 2021

Notre Dame Football Live Chat Aug. 11, 2021

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Eric Hansen

4:24

OK that looks like we've reached the end of the chat this week. Thanks for all the great questions. Remember next week's chat won't be on Wednesday but rather Friday, Aug. 20 at noon EDT.

4:23

Hehe. Thanks.

Jeff from Phoenix

4:22

Sorry I blew up your internet earlier with my question, great recovery though!

Eric Hansen

4:21

Since I missed some time with the power outage, I pledged to get to every question today that wasn't a repeat. So last call for questions.

4:20

To be determined. My sense is ND will stick with that.

Lawrence from San Diego

4:19

Do you think that outside zone will be our primary blocking scheme again or was that a one-year tendency due to the experience up front?

Eric Hansen

4:19

Ken you are the best. This is a difficult answer and one in which I need to exercise some diplomacy. Last year, we had to adjust our annual magazine to a special section in large part because of the pandemic. It was named one of the top five special sections nationally in Classes C and D in the APSE annual section contest. It was also profitable for our parent company Gannett. As part of a big corporation now, we don't have as much control as we previously did. Gannett didn't want us to publish a mag or special section this year. They relented and let us publish a hybrid online/print section. So all the articles we did appeared online and are still available. I am proud of the work we did, even though the format was not my first choice.

Ken- Pensacola

4:13

Eric - You are the BEST. How soon can we expect the ND Insider Magazine and what will it cost? Thanks & GO IRISH!

Eric Hansen

4:13

Not yet, but I like his potential to impact the 2022 season. I wouldn't rule out 2021, especially if Kevin Austin's comeback suffers a setback.

Joey G. Philadelphia,Pa

4:12

Hi Eric, I hope all is well with you! Last week I asked about the Jordan Bothelo rumor and man am I happy coach Kelly put an end to that. I was also glad to hear Kelly’s comments about Wilkins and Lenzy. Last year the RB’s were a pleasant surprise and this year I think it will be the WR’s. Any news out of early practices on Deon Colzie?

Eric Hansen

4:10

Notre Dame needs a lot of ifs to become absolutes to get back to the playoff, and Jack Coan being a top 10-15 QB would be one of those things on that checklist. I think North Carolina will be ND's toughest opponent in 2021.

RK from Sartell, Minnesota

4:07

Eric, who will be the toughest opponent this year? Do we have what it takes to be special in ‘21?

Eric Hansen

4:07

I consulted my magic 8-ball and it said, "ask again later." Look, the defections of Oklahoma and Texas shook up the college sports snow globe again. I don't see how having a football-only structure makes sense for anyone. Football already dictates conference alignments and revenue decisions. As long as Notre Dame has access to play for the national title, has a TV contract and has a place to house its basketball team and its Olympic sports teams, there's very little incentive -- even financially -- for it to give up its independence.

Tom from Georgia

4:04

Five years from now, will the power football programs still be associated with conferences that we know today, or will there be a break away for football only, or a total collapse of the conferences? If the former, will ND be in one, or remain independent?

Eric Hansen

4:03

Notre Dame will get to explore that question when its latest extension with NBC expires after the 2025 season. TV/media rights may look very different then. I will say Notre Dame has a lot of control of kick times and other things with NBC that it wouldn't have as a member of a conference. And there's value in that. I know Jack Swarbrick thinks NBC has been an excellent partner.

Matt in Augusta NJ

4:00

Is ND underpaid by NBC for the right to air home football games. Hearing the amount of money SEC and Big 10 teams receive makes me think yes. When you add in Peacock using ND football to increase subscriptions and viewers I really think ND could be paid more yearly. Thoughts?

Eric Hansen

3:59

Yes, that might be something fun to do next summer.

Lawrence from San Diego

3:59

Hey Eric. Not a question, really, but I would love to see a series of articles on the various positions within the ND offensive and defensive structure. You know, how the coaches utilize them, what traits make someone a good fit, who has played that position well or differently in the past. Like how we use a vyper and what kind of drops he’ll do. What makes a good X or Z receiver. What does a nickel corner need to be able to do differently. How will freeman use a rover differently from Lea. Could be a fun series to do when the news cycle is slow (sorry for the bad timing).

Eric Hansen

3:59

Megat, I wish I had time to research that in this fast-moving chat format. What I can tell you is he had a slightly better pass-efficiency ranking than Ian Book in 2019, the last season both were starters.

Megat Muzaffar, KL, Malaysia

3:58

Hi Erc, QB1 Coan was 10-4 at Wisconsin. Did he play well in those 4 losses? Vice versa, how good was his play in wins versus Michigan and Minnesota.

Eric Hansen

3:57

Great recruiting and great player development at that position group. The two All-America candidates are a former 3-star (Jarrett Patterson) and a former 0-star (Cain Madden). There are seven former top 250 players in the roster (per Rivals rankings), five of them top 150. Those seven are Blake Fisher, Rocco Spindler, Tosh Baker, Michael Carmody, Quinn Carroll, Zeke Correll and Josh Lugg. I wouldn't give up an Andrew, He does have talent. Is working a little bit at center right now.

Ben from GB

3:43

What do you think is holding back Kristofic from the OL rotation? IIRC, he was one recruit who folks thought had first-round-pick upside

Eric Hansen

3:43

There's really nothing to prevent that, but keep in mind elite recruits can make pretty good money without doing anything shady. So why would you risk it when the money is similar?

Doug from Sunny Florida

3:42

Eric, I'm still up in the air about the NIL ruling by the NCAA. My biggest issue is what is keeping boosters from offering a NIL contract to a potential recruit like in the old days when money was offered in secret? What's to keep a deep pocketed fan from telling a recruit that he has a big NIL contract ready for him if he signs with the school? Is there anything in place to keep this from happening?

Eric Hansen

3:38

Academics limit the pool, but not overwhelmingly so. The five-stars tend not to be in ND's geographical region, so that's a challenge. But I think the biggest problem is ND didn't get those kids to even visit until recently. If you can't get them to visit, you're not going to sign them. They've also offered elite kids earlier and that's helping. So I think ND is on its way toward maximizing the top 50 kids in especially the 2023 class. But even looking at 2022, Ohio State has four Rivals top 50 commits, LSU and Georgia three each, and Notre Dame one of six schools with two so far. In 2023, ND already has one top 10 commit, and it leads with two others in the top 25. So that's progress.

John from Champaign

3:32

I have been so impressed by Marcus Freeman and the whole recruiting effort of Notre Dame ... offering early, the organization, every position this year seems to be recruited well. My only "concern" is the lack of top 50 prospects, an area that seems to be "weak" over the years. Is the reason not many top 50 recruits are signed due to the academic restrictions? That the majority of top 50 recruits are in the south or in areas traditionally harder to recruit? Thanks.

Eric Hansen

3:27

This Thursday and next Thursday are the full practices. The people who stood out in the small window are kind of random, given they were doing more drill stuff than anything related to actual football. Given that caveat, I'll say DE Isaiah Foskey.

Alex from Jackson, MO

3:25

Greetings, Eric. Let’s hope the ND season is better than the Cardinals! My questions are what/who stood out to you in practice the other day? Also, when do you get to watch the entire practices so you can get a good sense of who this team is going to be?

Eric Hansen

3:25

Not going to waver here from the last chat: from LT to RT: Josh Lugg, Zeke Correll/Rocco Spindler tag team, Jarrett Patterson, Cain Madden, Blake Fisher.

Cowboy Mike

3:23

Who are your five starting lineman against FSU? THANKS!

Eric Hansen

3:23

The freshman who's going to play the most among the three WRs is Lorenzo Styles Jr., in my opinion. He is the most advanced and has the least-impeded path. But I hear Jayden Thomas came in more polished than expected. I'll get to see Styles, Thomas and Deion Colzie in person on Thursday. Can't wait. But keep in mind, Brian Kelly deemed the summers of seniors Braden Lenzy and Joe Wilkins as "transformational." so that's going to be the prevailing story line for at least a while. Not the freshmen.

cederickwalker

3:19

ced walker saginaw michigan home of tory jackson I see freshmen wr jayden thomas getting reps with 3 teams how many freshmen you see playing this year go irish

Eric Hansen

3:19

Well Idrese, you certainly have the right last name to talk about the passing game. I think you want the ability to do both well (run and pass). Remember, Alabama ran whenever it wanted and with efficiency with Najee Harris last season, but there's no doubt ND's passing game needs to be more dynamic. And Brian Kelly and Tommy Rees have acknowledged that. Notre Dame is recruiting for that (successfully) and pushing for that in the way it builds its scheme. I think we will see some progress in that direction this season but not to the level of where it eventually needs to be.

Idrese Manning

3:13

Hey there from Bremerton, WA What's your thoughts about the passing game? I love to see the rock get pounded no doubt. I would also like to see a legitimate passing attack that keeps the Clemson's and Alabama's honestly. We just haven't seen it enough in big games.

Eric Hansen

3:12

Athletic directors are going to follow science and not politics. So expect decisions made that way, Because vaccination rates, positivity rates, hospitalizations and attitudes toward all those things vary by region, there's not a blanket, one-size-fits-all answer here. Keep in mind, things could look a lot different in a month. There are models that predict a retreat of the Delta variant by that time. We'll see. I still think ADs will try to find a way to make full houses work, whether that be limiting tailgating, masking, or some other strategy.

Tom from Georgia

3:08

There is a 180 degree turnaround at this point in the thinking of the football schools with their optimistic plans for a "normal" season with full stadia. Will they continue to look for reasons to stay this course, or will the coming mandates lead to a reversal back to 2020-esque restrictions? When will the call be made, before the first games, or will it simply be a matter of not deciding being the decision? I believe a very rude awakening is about to occur and fans will not like it.

Eric Hansen

3:07

Andy, you do realize that it doesn't matter what you or I think -- just what need thinks, right? For the record, as much as I enjoyed the one-year run in the ACC, I think ND in the current landscape is better off being an independent. And the No. 1 reason is the need and ability to recruit nationally as an independent.

Andy From Ponte Vedra

3:06

How do you feel about Notre Dame and it’s independence vs being a full time member of ACC and being able to compete in championship game? The Championship game is so much more exciting than a regular season game imho. I personally would love to start the season against Michigan, play USC like we normally do, and play whoever we want in a Shamrock game. I don’t think it would be a big deal to go from 5 games to 8 as required by its member. You stull

Eric Hansen

3:05

Hi Dwight. It would not alter ND's pursuit of Dante Moore or any of the other 2023 QBs they've offered. You want as much talent in that QB room as you can get. Transfers are going to happen. You want to recruit guys who want to compete, not expect the job handed to them. And let me tell you, there's not a five-star QB who doesn't think he's better than QBs already on the roster of the schools recruiting him.

Dwight from Arkansas

3:02

Buchner is perceived as a star of the future and they are pursuing Moore in the '23 class. In between they have a commit from Angelli. He seems to be just looked at as a backup or safety net between the first 2. If Angelli should have a huge senior year and raise his 'ceiling' significantly, does this alter ND's pursuit of Moore? It would be hard to see potential 5* qbs willing to sit the bench.

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