JotCast | Notre Dame Football Live Chat Dec. 12, 2019

Notre Dame Football Live Chat Dec. 12, 2019

Eric Hansen

3:02

I feel terrible about this, but I've got to cut this off here. I'll try to schedule a chat next week after national signing day. I'll keep you posted on my Twitter the day and time. Thanks for all the great questions. .. for the poll. Tommy Rees received the most votes, but there were plenty of votes for anyone but Rees for OC.

3:00

Larry, that's an interesting thought and kind of a fun one to consider. I think he does more damage as a detached tight end. He'll get better matchups. I expect Kevin Austin to be the starting boundary receiver next year and a very good one.

Larry

2:59

From: Larry from Pennsylvania. Eric – Never miss a chat; first time contributor. Thanks for being the ND football authority! The Irish have had great success recently with the boundary receiver. In trying to fill the void next year, by any chance could Tommy Tremble make the switch from tight end to wide receiver? Does his skill set translate? Happy Holidays Eric!

Eric Hansen

2:57

Thank you, Bill and Happy Birthday.

Bill 1000 Oaks CA.

2:57

False starts are killers are they in your opinion caused by lack of focus, concentration, or lack of a coaching priority!This late in the season pretty hard to justify!Bowl victory would be a nice birthday present for this Capricorn who will be 84 soon.Thanks for the GR8 insights & Merry Christmas to all.Go Irish!!

Eric Hansen

2:56

It's the helmet manufacturer.

Ed Duluth Ga

2:55

Several players had VICIS ON their helmets over the Irish What is this about??

Eric Hansen

2:54

Tom, thanks and Merry Christmas to you and your family. From a position group standpoint, these practices are good for the O=Line. They have a chance to fix things fundamentally that you don't necessarily have time to fine tune during the season. I think Jafar Armstrong benefits, Braden Lenzy, Jacob Lacey, TaRiq Bracy. As far as benefits for 2020: Kevin Austin, Avery Davis, KJ Wallace and Isaiah Rutherford, Houston Griffith, Paul Moala, Jack Kiser, Kyren Williams, Isaiah Foskey and Andrew Kristofic come to mind. It's too bad Cam Hart is injuries. He'd be near the top of that list.

Tom Kennesaw, GA

2:47

Hi ERic, first, best wishes to you and your family for a Merry and Blessed Christmas!! Who do you think stands to gain the most from the extra bowl practices? Individually and collectively? Thanks. Go Irish!!

Eric Hansen

2:47

Len, I was not making an editorial statement by retweeting the Gerrit Cole news. Just passing along breaking news I thought might be of interest to people. What better explanation are you waiting for on Long? It's not going to be a stats-based answer. That's not why he's changing jobs. ... As far as practice objectives, Brian Kelly has his hands all over those, but like most leaders, they listen and want input from their staff.

Len from the Jersey Shore

2:43

Hi Eric, hope all is well with you. I am a lifetime Yankee fan and I take it from the tweet you forwarded that you have an issue with the Cole acquisition. What is your take? On Coach Long I hope we get a better explanation at some point. His stats are mostly goos with an issue in big game scoring. A few weeks ago I was trying to suggest that in the directive to get IB to be betetr at staying in the pocket the team was regressing in areas he was good at.. That changed. He began to run, improvise and hit short passes. The rest builds on that. I thought this was for lack of emphasis in the desire to neeeded improvement in other areas. Would not be surprised if Coach Kelly made that call to go back to practice fundamentals in areas that regressed. Anyway performance after Va Tech was much improved. How much in setting practice objectives falls on the coordinators? How much on HC? From your viewpoint was Long and Kelly on same page?

Eric Hansen

2:38

Hi Bob. Thanks for your question and participation. Two points, ND has won some of these big games, but there have been enough flops on the big stage for it to resonate more emphatically. Changing that starts, but doesn't end with, recruiting. That gives you a better margin for error in those games. What happened at Michigan is still perplexing to me and something I plan to get to the bottom of this offseason. Georgia is better than Michigan. I think ND might be too .. that's why that one in particular is such a puzzler. Clemson was easy to see, but not this one.

bob

2:34

Bob from Littleton, CO, ND '67. Long time reader/1st time participant. Eric, it seems as though the Irish are always a player or 2 away from being an elite team. After hearing this for decades now I've grown a bit skeptical, especially combined with the inexplicable meltdowns ala Miami, Michigan, and the numerous recent failures against top programs. From your perspective how close are the Irish really to this year's top programs and what does this coaching staff need to do to avoid said meltdowns in the future? I'm kind of tired of settling for mediocre. Thanks for all you do for us fans, frustrated and otherwise.

Eric Hansen

2:33

Look Dave ... er Dan, I also believe Mack would have benefited from another year in school. I know these kids and their parents don't always get great info from the outside. Sometimes the advice they take is what they WANT to hear and not what they need to hear. I don't put McKinley in the same box. I don't think he's itching to go pro. He's deciding where best to spend his fifth year -- ND or somewhere else. At least if Javon does make a jagged left turn and enters the draft, he will do so with his ND degree.

Dan, Belen, NM

2:28

Hi Eric! (I got your name right this time. Last time I referred to you as Chris, for which I apologize profusely. But if your profession is like mine, 32 years in public education, you’ve probably been called a lot worse! I believe when Alize Mack left early for the NFL he made a huge mistake. I believed then, as I do now, that he would have benefited tremendously by using his final year of eligibility at ND. I can’t help buy believe that Javon McKinley would be making the same mistake by leaving early . Like Mack, he has incredible talent and ability. And not unlike Mack, he simply has not reached his full potential that another year with the Irish might finally be realized. I know these kids get a grade from the NFL, and much of their decision making is based on that grade, as well as other factors. I’d very much like to hear your take on both Mack and McKinley. Thank you so much Chris, I mean Eric!

Eric Hansen

2:26

I think they're much better than their 7-5 record indicates. I think they'd beat Virginia, for instance.

JIM,CUMBERLAND MD

2:21

Hi Eric what are Your thought concerning Iowa State ,and I hope ND doesn’t take them likely because Oklahoma and Baylor sneaked by them.( YOUR THOUGHTS )

Eric Hansen

2:21

I think Mike Elston would be an outstanding head coach someday at a school committed to winning. I don't like the concept of coach in waiting. I do think it's better that if Elston or Clark Lea want to be the next head coach at ND that they have head coaching experience elsewhere before coming back. Even just a couple of years of it.

Mike - Phoenix, AZ

2:18

Eric, love the chats and your great work! I follow regularly but have never contributed. My question is in regards to Mike Elston, especially relative to the “Matt Campbell in 3-5 years” chatter. Has Elston popped up on any rafts for other HC/Coordinator jobs, and could he be considered a “coach in-waiting” candidate for ND? I know the Holtz-Davie thing didn’t work for ND, but recently Stoops/Riley, Meyer/Day and to a certain extent even Bowden/Sweeney are all super-successful with no HC experience.

Eric Hansen

2:18

Brian Kelly said Saturday no one had approached him. I'll ask him again after Saturday's first practice. I would be very surprised if there were.

Mike in Maine

2:17

Eric, do you know if any ND players who will be eligible for the NFL draft will sit out the bowl game because they don't want to risk injury ?

Eric Hansen

2:17

James, the propane is still flowing, so I am happy, happy, and still grilling. ... I think it's not smart to take a weird, outlier season and project it as a inevitable trend, which many people are doing. Alabama didn't make the New Year's 6 either with two losses. I don't think they should join the ACC and I don't think ND should either. I think you move into next year and not get blown out by 31. If ND was in the ACC this year, they wouldn't have likely had Michigan on their non-conference schedule. I could go on and on, and I have, but trust me, it's a bad idea. ... like cooking ribs on high heat.

James

2:12

Hello, Eric. James from Alexandria, VA here. Two questions for you: (1) Are you still grilling or has the propane given out? and (2) with UVA's favorable placement in the Orange Bowl, have you heard any discussions about ND joining the ACC full-time? And do you think doing so would be a good idea? The advantages this year would have included a chance to take on Clemson in the ACC title game for a potential signature win that might have helped us reshape our national reputation after the UM debacle, as well as a soft landing in the Orange Bowl, even if we had lost to Clemson, rather than our selection (relegation?) to what I like to think of as the Junior Varsity Citrus Bowl. Thanks for your thoughts!

Eric Hansen

2:11

Pete. I wish I understood your question, but I'm afraid I don't.

Pete from CT

2:10

Erik, sobering to see 7 other 2-loss teams and 3 3-loss teams ranked ahead of us. The hype about another 10 win season aside, national regard for the program didn’t recover at all following the Michigan debacle. Having attended every home game, I saw enthusiasm dramatically fall afterwards. Sellout streak just one indicator, and the AD downplayed it. Lots of empty seats in the luxury boxes too. Do you think the administration is even attuned to, let alone concerned about, the program moving onto a slippery slope? Thanks

Eric Hansen

2:10

Well, there are no guarantees, Dave, but it's the first class that truly reflects the playoff run. As I mentioned in another question, this is Kelly's best recruiting staff per analyst Tom Lemming. So there's no reason, short of a regression on the field, to think this is going to go backwards on the recruiting trail.

Dave from SouthBend

2:06

The 2021 Class is an example of the kind of recruiting class that ND needs to rake in every year to compete for a championship on a yearly basis, is there any reason to believe Kelly and his staff can continue to recruit at that level consistently? Have there been changes that fans may not be aware of that have taken place that suggest that we can sustain this type of recruiting success every year? Thanks

Eric Hansen

2:05

I don't think that is in totality why the Irish offense wasn't more consistent/explosive, but I do think it's a factor, so we are thinking along the same lines with perhaps different degrees of detail. ND did a good job of adding difference-makers in the 2020 class and they're off to a good start in 2021. ... But remember, the parting of the ways with Long wasn't about his statistical bottom line.

2:03

Blake, it was clear after the playoff game with Clemson that was an issue, and I wrote about that here:

https://www.ndinsider.com/football/heisman-trophy-winner-tim-brown-imp...

And here:
https://www.ndinsider.com/football/analysis-here-s-what-notre-dame-s-n...

Blake C

1:58

From Springfield, IL. Here is my Q if you are kind enough to consider it:

Re: Long leaving ND - Why do you think, with all the questions about Chip's play-calling and Book's deficiencies, is there so little discussion of the lack of elite skill players this year? We have 1, repeat, 1 elite skill position athlete on offense: Claypool. And even that might be a stretch. GA, AL, OSU, LSU, OU, Clemson have multiple NFL WR's and at least 1 elite RB, more or less. We have 1 in total. Don't you think it is possible that the "regression" of Book is from going from 3 NFL skill players (Boykin, CC, Dexter - and even Dex is marginal) to 1 single guy? Javon is a decent piece. So is a healthy Jafar. But I bet big $ that you add Austin, Tyree, and Johnson into the exact same lineup next year and we have a completely different offense. Thoughts? It seems to me that maybe we should be praising Long for doing what he has with so little (when you factor in the above + all the injuries).

Eric Hansen

1:57

Brian learned about halfway though his regime (if not later) that the fan base doesn't like him throwing players and assistants under the bus in press conferences. He has conformed. So sometimes this is going to be the kind of answer you get. He's going to defend his guys publicly but maybe not in private. He knows the O-line play must improve in 2020.

Michael, Austin, TX

1:54

When Coach Kelly was questioned about the run game in the Bowl press conference, he stated that "you need to remember we played without two starters for most of the season". Weeks 7 & 8 were when the players went down. I thought the run blocking was not very good this year, but does he get defensive when you question J. Quinn. I know that is his longtime friend. Your thoughts?

Eric Hansen

1:53

Anthony, thank you. I think the players and Jeff Quinn -- and injuries -- share the blame in the run blocking area. Perhaps there needs to be more of an uncompromising emphasis on technique a la Harry Hiestand. Maybe the new TEs coach would coach that position AND help with the O-Line. You mentioned some of the reasons Lenzy didn't play early in the season. Beyond those, I'm baffled. If you listen to our Pod of Gold podcast or Weekday SportsBeat, I've been pounding the table for him. Sounds like you have been pounding the table with me.

Anthony from Florida

1:47

Hey Eric, Fantastic stuff chat you run! It's a healthy staple in my otherwise unhealthy Notre Dame football diet. Down to business: What's the deal with the offensive line? They clearly underproduced this year. Was it the coach? The players? Both? I'm interested in assigning culpability not in order to simply judge or persecute, but rather in order to truly understand what happened and then with that knowledge hopefully improvements can be made. Also, why didn't they use Lenzy more often in the first half of the season? He would have been a true difference maker with his speed, as he showed us in the last several games. I understand that he was not physically healthy sometimes in the season's first half, but when he was healthy they barely used him. Speed is the great equalizer; we had it and failed to use it. Please clarify because I don't enjoy blaming the coaches. PLEASE keep up the great work, Eric; it's a panacea for my variegated ND football illnesses! Very best to you and yours, Anthony from Florida

Eric Hansen

1:47

I think he would get a chance to vie for it if he wanted to do so.

Adam from Altoona

1:46

Hi Eric, I love your chats! My question is regarding ND's offensive coordinator vacancy. If they are going to look in-house, what are the chances Lance Taylor gets the nod? He has experience as an elite positional coach at both Stanford and the NFL (Panthers). Additionally, he is a great recruiter.

Eric Hansen

1:45

I want to be respectful to this question but please help me understand where you are hearing/reading that?

James from NYC

1:44

Is there any truth to some of the rumors that the culture is becoming toxic again?

Eric Hansen

1:44

Is your name really Brian Kelly?

Brian Kelly from Tulsa

1:44

While I fully support the promoting from within, I do believe the promotion needs to be warranted. That said, I believe Kelly should have come out with a statement that supports Tommy but leaves the door open to outside options. IMO, Kelly bringing in Tommy to run the offense is similar to Jones having Garrett coach the Cowboys

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