JotCast | Notre Dame Football Live Chat Aug. 21, 2020

Notre Dame Football Live Chat Aug. 21, 2020

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Eric Hansen

1:17

If you're talking about 2020, what ISN'T a mess about this year in college football? I do think once college football and high school football gets back to a more normal rhythm, recruiting will settle into its normal patterns, but player movement among players already in college will increase. There still are some kinks to be worked through in that process, but eventually transferring will become a less entangled process.

Clemdog-Longmont, CO

1:12

Hi Eric, as always great job and chats. Just general question on college football and your take, do you see this sport turning into free agency so to say, decommits some entering transfer portal and etc? This could turn into a total mess if not controlled, if it’s in our favor I don’t mine, just saying,

Eric Hansen

1:12

Jack Swarbrick's perspective matters, but Father Jenkins has the first and last word. And that's the case on just about every FBS college campus. The presidents in the Big 10 and Pac-12 decided to punt fall football, not the ADs.

Guest

1:10

While it is hugely disappointing to watch the NCAA football season fade Into obscurity, reflecting at age 83, what is one season out of your life in the grand scheme of things? As a parent of 2 football players and as a child of a ND grad, class of ‘31, I feel the angst, regret, indecision, apprehension, and concern over the effect of Covid 19. Who actually determines the the future of ND football? Fr Jenkins or Swarbrick? Or both?

Guest

1:10

John Cortesio

Eric Hansen

1:09

Jim, thanks for reading and for the nice feedback. The optics of the concept of student-athletes and how that plays against COVID-19, I'll get into a little more depth in some questions I see in the queue. I should note that on today's ND coronavirus dashboard, new cases are down by more than half from yesterday and the positivity rate at ND was 8.9 percent, both good numbers if they keep trending in that direction. To answer your question, I don't think compliance is mandatory about playing through if the student experience is altered. I think it comes down to whether you think -- given the context of a pandemic -- it aligns with your school's mission and are you willing to put up with the criticism if you do play through.

Jim K., Oakwood, Ohio

12:58

Eric, Peace and blessings of good health to you and your family. And thank you for your time and expertise during the chat. I applaud you for your Analysis article on Wednesday which I found to be nuanced and strong on the science emphasizing our, and the students’, responsibility to follow the advice of medical experts if we want safety and college football. My question concerns your mention of the comments by JS & BK about “the ethical question of whether it’s right to play on without students on campus ... and their answer of “no.”” What is the ethical standard ... is compliance mandatory or is it advisory ...and which organization(s) adopted it? Secondly, we have the Indiana “rolling 7 day positivity average of 7.7%,”the declining ND campus daily rate of 15.2% and the team’s 1.1% rate since mid-June so I don’t accept the reasoning that the team should be punished (by not playing) for the sins of non-compliance by the student body. I favor the UNC decision to play even if the 9/2 data is adverse. Be safe

Eric Hansen

12:56

I do think there's a recruiting advantage for schools that will play this fall ... if the season starts and finishes. In Notre Dame's case, prospects who have questions about what a Tommy Rees offense looks like and how they might fit into it will be able to see that on Saturdays. It also keeps those schools front and center in recruits' minds.

John, Jackson, MS

12:49

Is there likely to be any positive recruiting impact for the schools still playing if they actually play football this fall? I guess do you think it likely that if ND is competing with a school from the PAC12 or the B1G that they will make a point about the conferences' decision to cancel

Eric Hansen

12:49

Jeff, if there were fabulous prizes to be given out in this chat, you would have just earned one. Thanks so much for the feedback and for being part of the chat today.

Jeff from Schererville, IN

12:48

Since I've asked about this year's ND Insider Football Preview in previous chats, I want to write this time to compliment you, Carter, Tyler, Tom and anyone else who had a hand in producing this year's issue. The only things different about this year's preview are the shape (newspaper vs. magazine) and the circumstances. Everything else is the same type of in-depth, high-quality journalism that we've come to expect from the ND Insider staff over the years, including the all-2000s team, which was a fun walk down memory lane. Keep up your good work and stay healthy!

Eric Hansen

12:48

I do think the line will be a much better run blocking team, in part because they have the talent to do so, in part because Tommy Rees will demand/coax that out of them and in part because the chemistry between the offensive coaches will be better.

12:46

James. I wrote about this recently. So if you want more depth to this answer, this link would be a great place to start.

Defining season awaits Jeff Quinn and Notre Dame's offensive line as camp kicks off
https://www.ndinsider.com/football/defining-season-awaits-jeff-quinn-a...

James from Columbus

12:43

Hi Eric. Running back looks to be somewhat of a question, do you think the offensive line can dominate to a level that will elevate the tailbacks play? I'm thinking along the lines of Josh Adams and "33 trucking" gang. Thanks for the chats, it helps restore a bit of normalcy.

Eric Hansen

12:42

Yes, I hope to do something on Alexander Ehrensberger's travel saga at some point, but the freshman defensive end from Germany finally did make it back and had been participating in training camp.

chuck-westfield, in

12:41

good morning, did the young man who was in germany did he return to campus?

Eric Hansen

12:41

Mike, thanks, and that's an astute observation on your part. McCloud has the size, experience and intelligence to be an integral part of ND's cornerback corps. The vibe I got from Brian Kelly was that NC State doesn't have the high standards in the weight room, etc., that ND does. And so McCloud needs to meet that high standard, including work ethic, to push for a larger role. So the potential for him to be in the mix is there, but apparently it's very much on him to get there.

Mike from Rochester NY

12:37

Eric, I hope you and your family are well in these challenging times. In one of your articles this week, I believe you said grad transfer Nick McCloud was not necessarily a plug-and-play cornerback. I was kind of surprised by that. Is he an insurance policy in case the younger guys don’t develop as expected? Or is he pencilled in as the starter but there’s plenty of competition that could push him back? I thought when they accepted him they saw him as a starter who could buy the coaching staff time while they developed the younger players.

Eric Hansen

12:36

Jack, thanks for the kind words. I think Notre Dame would have been able to fill around its original six ACC games with four or five other opponents and played through as an independent. I do think the ACC commitment of 10 league games is a better move in 2020, given the circumstances and knowing each week you theoretically are playing an opponent with the same high standards and protocol regarding COVID-19. ... I believe Notre Dame would have released its designs for stadium capacity and gameday experience this week had there not been the massive hiccup regarding a surge in COVID cases with the regular student population and moving classroom instruction to remote learning. Then came the pause in football practice. So if things clear up next week, the timing would be better (assuming everything moves forward) to look at making that announcement next week.

Jack Strongsville Ohio

12:30

Hi Eric. Do you think without the ACC alignment, which became vitally important after the Big 10 and Pac 12 cancelled their season and ND needing to fill out the schedule, Notre Dame as an independent would have and may still need to cancel their season. Second, has there been any announcement of the anticipated capacity of Notre Dame Stadium for the home games? You are the best source for ND football news. Thanks for the outstanding work. Hope to hear you soon again on Sportsbeat!

Eric Hansen

12:28

Ho John. I talked to our recruiting guy, Carter Karels, the other day. Since he follows this more closely, these are his thoughts: Good chance on Thomas, still in the running with Thornton (though ND is nowhere near the favorite), and Abiara still likely to end up at Oklahoma if that school continues to make a push for him.

john Walled Lake MI

12:27

Hi, What are the chances Notre dame gets Jayden Thomas or Dont'e Thornton. Also is David Abiara 100% going to decommit?

Eric Hansen

12:26

Kevin. The most honest answer continues to be "I don't know." There's no precedent from which to draw. What I can say is the 76 FBS schools still marching forward have cleared some difficult hurdles. They are at a critical juncture, though, in their push to get to the starting line — the reintroduction of students on campus. That is proving to be problematic, including at Notre Dame. If they can navigate through that successfully, I think the season starts. What happens when teams start playing and traveling is another matter. Look, they're playing contact sports in other countries — Australian Rules Football and rugby in New Zealand, to name a couple — but the infection rates in those countries is so much lower than in the USA. The plan in Charlotte is to have some fans in the stands for the Wake Forest game. Otherwise, it makes more sense to play that game on campus in Winston-Salem. If there are outbreaks in North Carolina, that circumstance could change.

Kevin conn

12:13

From Stanley, N.C. ... Do you really think we are going to have a football season? I have front row ticket to the wake forest game in charlotte do you think they will be fans in the stands? Thank you and as always GO IRISH

Eric Hansen

12:11

Jeremy, Tommy does want to run the ball more and MORE EFFECTIVELY. He should have the offensive line to do that. We'll see how the running backs and Ian Book fit into that ambition. My sense is that we will see an improved running team, but a balanced offense. I think Rees will do a good job of basing his game plans based on his personnel and not try to force his personnel into his game plans. I think you'll see a wide variety of formations and personnel groups. Beyond that, there will be a lot of familiarity to what ND has been running the past few years. Given the pandemic, almost no spring ball and training camp disruptions, there's a beauty in keeping things fairly simple.

Jeremy From Goshen, IN

12:06

I know Tommy Rees says he wants to run the ball more. What changes/adjustments do you expect to see on offense this year?

Eric Hansen

12:04

Let's dive right in.

A reminder to please include your name and hometown along with your question.

12:03

Here are the rules.