JotCast | Notre Dame Football Live Chat Feb. 21, 2025

Notre Dame Football Live Chat Feb. 21, 2025

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Marie from Atlanta

1:47

Hi Eric, I hope you’re having a fantastic week. I know everyone’s excited about the quarterback battle this spring, do you feel that people are sleeping in Minchey? Of the quarterbacks, who has the highest floor and who has the highest ceiling? Who has the strongest arm? Who’s the most accurate? who’s the best processor and who is the best runner? How close do you honestly feel ND is to winning a national championship, and what do you think they need to do next to get over the hill? How many analysts do you think ND will add in the off-season, is it possible to have too many and what do you think is about the right number to add, which position groups could stand to benefit the most from addition of analysts? As always, thanks for hosting the chat and all the great insights.

Eric Hansen

1:47

3) Ian Book. Maybe too low with this one, given he was a three-year starter, got ND to two playoffs (2018 and 2020). But he didn't have a high enough ceiling to make ND competitive in those playoff losses. 2) Riley Leonard. Got ND into the 12-team playoff and got the Irish to the national title game. Like Wimbush, a prolific runner. Great leader. Left a legacy. 1. Brady Quinn has the numbers and the context to go with them. Absolutely put Notre Dame football back on the map, even though it had a couple of slide-offs subsequently. Camouflaged a lot of ND's deficiencies. Would have been fun to put him in a time machine and see what he could do plugged into some of the Brian Kelly/Marcus Freeman teams.

1:43

So here are my top 5 from 5 to 1 and a quick reason why. Just missing the cut is the guy with some of the best numbers, and it's not his fault that he didn't have a defense to pair with him, but Jimmy Clausen's long-term impact on the program was stunted. With an early draft entry, with the coaching regime change, with no real team success during his three years on campus, with no sustained success in the NFL, what is his legacy? Again, not on him, but more the circumstances. 5. I'll go with DeShone Kizer. High draft choice, had ND in the 2015 playoff discussion. 4. Brandon Wimbush. A prolific runner, who never evolved into an elite passer, but he was a winner. He was the start of the current Irish football renaissance with his play during ND's bounce-back year in 2017 from a 4-8 showing the year before. Handled being benched in 2018 with grace and was the ultimate team player. (more)

1:37

Tom. Thanks for the early warning. Unfortunately, with my other duties, I don't get much of a head start if any on the early questions, but in this case, it did help some. ... it's hard to compare the numbers straight up, because pass efficiency numbers in this era are way, way better than even 15-20 years ago. In 2009 Jimmy Clausen was third in pass efficiency at 161.4, and Tim Tebow was first that year at 164.2. This year, Tebow would have ranked eighth with that same rating. Last year, he wouldn't have been in the top 10. So let me do five most important and I'll make the line of demarcation the first recruit of the post-Lou Holtz Era. (more)

Tom F, Kennesaw, GA

1:23

Hey Eric. Wow, you have been blessed with covering two of the best and most exciting ND teams in a long time between FB and WBB. Hope the string continues. The performances of Sam Hartman and Riley Leonard the past two years brings up some interesting discussion since they were one-and-done QB's. In your Expert Opinion!!! who are the 5 Best ND QB's and who are the 5 Most Important!!! You can start wherever you think it makes the most sense but certainly at least back to 2000. Players like Tommy Rees and Ian Book may not be in the 5 Best category, but based on their number of wins and playoff games you would probably put them in the Most Important category. Just thought this might be something a little different for this week's Chat!!!!! You'll notice I submitted this early to give you time to think about it. Go Irish!!!!

Eric Hansen

1:23

To the football part of your question, which is way more fun for me to answer, because of the length of the season and the delayed start to winter conditioning, the approach to spring practice needed to be modified as well in terms of recovery, etc. But some of the main spring priorities include installing new defensive coordinator Chris Ash's new scheme, giving the offensive playbook a refresh, given the different skill sets of the post-Riley Leonard QBs and hearing some ideas from new associate head coach/RBs coach Ja'Juan Seider. Position Battles ... starting, not necessarily finishing, figuring out whether Charles Jagusah or Anthonie Knapp is the No. 1 LT and which one is a guard. Recruiting. Recruiting. Recruiting.

1:19

Hi David. The reason why my answer is going to be imprecise is not because I'm undercaffeinated. It's because of what I just described in Ed's question. That House v NCAA settlement and all its legal entanglements affects so many things. Now that Mike Martin is hired, a new director of player personnel would likely be the next hiring priority. But new GM Mike Martin's skill set doesn't directly line up with what they had in former GM Chad Bowden. And as colleges scramble to fill GM roles and ever-expanding support staffs some of ND's strong personnel could get lured away by more money and bigger/better titles. So that process will be ongoing. (more)

David - NYC

1:10

Hi Eric! Thanks as always for the chats. Can you lay out any of the remaining off-season to-dos? Looks like we are now set on coaches, perhaps have one more key hire in the GM/scouting/recruiting department to partner with Mike Martin? We have a couple key decisions on playoff format, roster size, etc. Any key considerations for ND on that front? And last what should be the team's main goals for improvement during off-season conditioning and through Spring practice. Thanks!

Eric Hansen

1:09

Finally, will walk-ons as we know them go away in this process? Maybe. And I've got a special package of stories coming next month that I think you'll really enjoy on that very subject.

1:08

Roster/scholarship limits aren't the only thing in play that day, but it's the one you asked about. And whatever is announced or decided, count on legal challenges that may delay/cancel the departure from the 85-scholarship limit OR not. Let's say it moves to 105 on that day. The transfer portal opens up for 10 days just nine days after that court date. So the Irish would likely add. If it stays at 85, ND will have to get down to 85 by the start of fall semester classes. With NIL and coming direct payments, there is some mild wiggle room for not hitting that 85 number precisely. (more)

1:05

Hi Ed, thank you and back at ya. NOTHING has been decided, only anticipated. And Notre Dame has a plan for 85, for 105 and for something in between. Right now, the Irish have 95 scholarship players committed to playing on its 2025 roster. Now it gets complicated and I'll try to simplify this as deftly as I can. April 7 is the date to circle on your calendar. That's the date when we can START to get some clarity on the roster limits/scholarship limits. It has to do with the House v NCAA settlement. Judge Claudia Wilken granted preliminary approval of the House v NCAA settlement on Oct. 7. The final approval hearing is scheduled for Apr. 7. (more)

Ed from Sayville

12:58

Hello Eric and hope all is copacetic for you and yours. Can you tell us what we may expect with the increase in roster limits occurring next season? Have the Irish settled on how many players they will carry? My current understanding is the limit is 105 which is up from 85. What impact can be expected with walk on team members? Will some current scholarship players be impacted as well? Will every team member get some compensation? It feels like there may be a mix of impacts that will need to communicated to multiple parties. Your thoughts would be appreciated.

Eric Hansen

12:57

Len!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love short and simple, even when those terms are attached to someone describing me ... but especially like them as questions ... To the first part of your question, we shall see. It really depends on who the commissioners are of those conferences and their intentions. For me, it has the potential not to be best for college football as a whole. For part 2, for now, Notre Dame is well-positioned because of AD Pete Bevacqua's savvy, his relationships, his background. And Jack Swarbrick laid some nice groundwork. But again who the commissioners are of those two conferences matters ... now and in the future.

Len from the Jersey Shore

12:54

Hello Eric!!!!!!!!!! I have a short simple 2 part question that most likely will not have short answers. Is the alliance and controlling influence by the SEC and the BIG 10 good or bad for College football and the CFP? Same question only for Notre Dame? Thanks as always for hosting.

Eric Hansen

12:54

So retention matters. Who you add from the transfer portal matters. Fit matters, because Notre Dame showed in its playoff run "culture wins." So yes, room for improvement. No, don't make your way out onto a ledge or a bridge.

12:53

3) Recruiting rankings without context is like an asking price for a house and not knowing where it's located, how many square feet, what condition it's in. If I had time, I'd give you the exact numbers, but in 2022 Texas A&M had the No. 1 recruiting class. Those players that are coming to Notre Dame Stadium in September would be seniors ... 30 of them ... except one big problem. Retention. I believe half of them were gone after the first year and just used my Phone-a-friend lifeline to get you more specifics. Heading into spring, SIX of the 30 remain and only one of the 30 who finished his time at A&M was an early NFL Draft entry. Only one of those six is a frontline player -- RB Le'Veon Moss. (more)

12:45

Thank you for the question and the compliment. Let's boil this down to some simple concepts that (hopefully) make sense instead of getting lost in too many numbers. 1) Notre Dame played for a national title, despite losing some of its biggest stars to injury, with rankings similar to the one it received in February from Rivals (11th in recruiting). 2) In that championship game especially, but at different points in the season it's clear, wide receiver recruiting and defensive line (pass rush) recruiting are the two areas that need to continue to upgrade and where there was the biggest difference between the national champs and the Irish. (more)

Slainte, from St Pete FL

12:32

Hi Eric! Long time, first time. Our most recent recruiting class ended up ranked in the teens. Should fans be concerned that we are not recruiting at a level to keep us in the mix with the top 5 programs? Should we expect to see top 5 or at least top 10 classes given recent success? Or do you think perhaps too much emphasis is placed on class rank when development and “fit” may be more important to ultimate success on the field? Thanks for all you do.

Eric Hansen

12:31

Hi Kevin. Given that new running backs coach Ja'Juan Seider carried the titles of co-offensive coordinator AND assistant head coach in addition to his running backs designation at Penn State, it's zero surprise to me that he was given the associate head coach title at ND. That has nothing to do with Mike Mickens, and it also doesn't mean Mickens won't eventually add a similar title (and pay raise) at ND. He's currently defensive backs coach/defensive passing game coordinator.

Kevin-Sleepy Eye, Mn

12:26

Eric:):):):):) Seider named associate head coach. Were you surprised by that? I would have guessed Mickens would get that title before him.

Eric Hansen

12:25

Hi Ced. There are three of them in the freshman class and all three are intriguing, but only Cree Thomas will be on campus for spring football. The other two, Mark Zackery and Dallas Golden are June arrivals. And that later arrival won't mean beans, as we've seen with previous June arrivals Benjamin Morrison and Leonard Moore becoming freshman All-Americans. I think all three have the potential to be rotation players, but I think Golden and Zackery are the two I'd expect to play the most as freshmen among the corners.

Guest

12:22

ced walker Saginaw Michigan aka sagnasty Saginaw pride what freshmen do see getting playing time at cornerback god bless this football team here come the irish trust the process the golden standard rally we are nd god country go irish love thee notre dame our mother pray for us

Eric Hansen

12:21

Hi Mike. We're starting to warm up here, relatively speaking. ... I thought we might have a chance to chat with him before spring and I'm told that will not happen. But there are other ways to get you that info, through player and coach interviews, but yes, that would have been a valuable opportunity.

Mike D from Rochester NY

12:20

Hi, Eric!!!!! Hope you’re staying warm, our temps here have barely topped 20 all week. Any idea when the team will be making Loren Landow available for an interview? It will be interesting to get his perspective on how the extended season affected the players’ bodies and how that may change his approach to physical training.

Eric Hansen

12:19

On offense QB is obviously the center of attention. For me beyond that, it's not necessarily who starts at WR, but who moves into the WR rotation from the sophomore and freshman classes.

12:18

Some of the names you'll be hearing/reading about are Virginia Tech grad transfer Jalen Stroman, former walk-on Luke Talich, Kennedy Urlacher, Tae Johnson and 6-5 freshman JaDon Blair. who enrolled extra early (as did S Ethan Long and two other players) and practiced with the Irish during most of their playoff run. ... I think the most important battles on defense is what goes on at the interior defensive line, and it's also an interesting one. Among those in that mix are Gabe Rubio and Donovan Hinish, Jason Onye returning from a long absence, two transfer DTs and a wave of young DTs/NGs looking to move up. There's quantity for sure, but is there enough quality? (more)

12:14

Manny, the OG of exclamation points!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'll throw in offense too as a bonus, but let's start with your question about spring battles on defense. Keep in mind some of these might be diluted because either one or more of the key participants won't be on campus until June OR a key player or more won't be able to participate fully because of an injury/rehab. Having said that, for me the most interesting on defense will be safety. Who emerges in Xavier Watts' old spot opposite Adon Shuler? But beyond that, with so many young, promising safeties, how deep does that rotation get? (more)

Manny from San Pedro

12:09

Eric!!!!!! Offseason is so long. I miss the Irish so much. Defensively. What is the most interesting spring camp battle?

Eric Hansen

12:08

OK, off we go ...

Remember the "no drinking" rule has been permanently suspended for everyone but me.

12:07

Please don't ask a question that requires a level of math that would give me a headache.

Please include your name and hometown along with your questions.

As far as today's chat ...

12:06

► Finally, at WSBT Sports Radio 96.1, we’re rolling through a heavy news cycle following Notre Dame’s College Football Playoff run. Darin Pritchett is back from a battle with the flu, and we’re together this week on Wednesday and Thursday, and each week moving forward on Weekday SportsBeat (960 AM, live streaming at wsbtradio.com). The weekday shows run from 5-6 p.m. ET. You can download all episodes as podcasts.

12:05

Then Tyler and I answered questions from X/Twitter and The Insider Lounge about football, women’s basketball and men’s basketball. The traditional podcast feed can be listened to via SoundCloud or on your preferred podcast platform including: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Podbean and Pocket Casts.

► The Inside ND Sports Podcast is back and dropped on Wednesday. And we not opted to have a guest from the No. 1-ranked Notre Dame women’s basketball team, we’re offering it in a couple of different formats — our traditional podcast feed and as a video on YouTube.
Grad senior forward Maddy Westbeld joined Tyler James and me, and discussed the Irish being ranked No. 1, her decision to have foot surgery, how she handled being sidelined, the adjustment of playing with new teammates in the middle of the season, her improved 3-point shooting, ND's impressive man defense, how playing with Liatu King has helped her, the culture of ND's program, the influence of older sister Kathryn Westbeld on her career, why she ended up at Notre Dame, what she's involved in off the court, how the team has embraced fashion, why ND commits so many turnovers, the pressure of an 18-game winning streak and more.

► If you missed the last episode of our aspiring-to-be-viral Notre Dame Football YouTube show, Football Never Sleeps, the show keeps its shelf life long after the live presentation, so you can catch up now or later on YouTube. We bumped out of our normal Monday at 7 ET time slot for the past couple of weeks, but we’ll be back in the Monday night spot for the live presentation early next week.

12:04

Before we start, some quick programming notes:

12:03

Welcome to a Friday version of Notre Dame Football Live Chat!

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