JotCast | Notre Dame Football Live Chat Jan. 30, 2020

Notre Dame Football Live Chat Jan. 30, 2020

Prev Page View Full Chat

Michael from Tulsa

1:12

How do you envision Rees utilizing Chris Tyree in 2020? Do you think he will attempt to scheme Tyree touches each week that try to get him out in space on the perimeter, similar to how Rondale Moore was used at Purdue his freshman year? Expecting Tyree to put up the numbers Moore did his freshman year is obviously unrealistic, but given their similar small frames, I feel like this is a reasonable comparison for Tyree despite him being a RB whereas Moore is listed as a WR. Is there another player from the last several years who you believe to be a better Tyree comparison?

Eric Hansen

1:10

Don. Javon McKinley WANTS to play at ND in 2020. Tyler James did a nice job with a story on that earlier this month. The football staff would like him back to. The hurdle is whether he can get into grad school, and the legal issue he had last winter may affect whether that actually happens. Stayed tuned. Avery Davis is too talented to rot deep on the depth chart. I hope to have an answer for you before spring (which I would write about). If it were up to me, I'd look at WR or safety.

Don Brigantine Beach NJ

1:06

Hi Eric: Is Javon McKinley going to play this year? We can certainly use his experience at the WR position. Also, where do you see Avery Davis playing this year? Thank you.

Eric Hansen

1:04

Marie, if I ever need an assistant on the beat, I think I'm going to see if you're available. Really astute questions. I think run-game efficiency is near the top of the list, red zone or elsewhere in the field. I think No. 1 is how do you get Ian Book from being a top 25 guy in pass efficiency to top 5-10? Getting young receivers to be able to contribute early (for a change) is another priority. ... I think a lot of issues with Jeff Quinn have been overblown or overstated. I don't think this is one of them. I think it's legit. I don't think it's inability to teach it. I think it's more of an emphasis issue, and I believe the emphasis needs to shift. It Rees is as serious about the running game as I think he is, it will shift. The new tight ends coaching hire could also play an integral role in all of this. It's definitely something high on my priority list to watch this spring.

Marie from Atanta

12:57

Hi Eric, Thanks for having the chat. Other than offensive line issues, and short yardage game, what else do you think OC Rees needs to focus on to improve proficiency in the the Red zone? Scoring field goals instead of TDs is not going to get it done against elite teams. Also what do you think is the underlying issue with the poor technique of the O line? Not enough focus on technique in practice? Inability to teach technique? Possibly technique is not one of Jeff Quinn's strong areas and he needs some assistance with this part of the coaching. Thanks for your thoughts.

Eric Hansen

12:56

Bill, it surprised me too, to some extent, but sometimes you trust high school coaches and contacts you have known for a long time, and they're just off. I think a couple of things coaxed the change ... one is some swings and misses in recruiting. The other was how ND looked at cornerbacks. if they couldn't wrestle the elite, plug-and-play guys away from Alabama, Clemson, etc., then they needed to develop speed guys with length. And if the speed wasn't genuine, then it was a wasted effort. Early enrolled freshman CB Ramon Henderson, a track star and more polished as a WR, it a good example of this philosophy in action.

Guest

12:53

Bill Kaufman, Windsor, CO. First, Eric, thank you for the great job that you and the test of the Tribune staff covering the Irish for fans like me. Second in a recent article it was stated that the Irish are now verifying the speed of a prospective recruit. This surprised me. I would have thought this would have been standard procedure. What caused the coaching staff to change how it evaluates a recruits speed?

Eric Hansen

12:53

Tom, thanks for the kind words. Really intriguing question, and there are several guys who kind of fit the mold of being at a critical juncture where there's still opportunity. On offense, I'm going to go with Joe Wilkins. Health has been a factor. If he's not in the top 5-6 receiver options, then I think it might make sense to look at him at cornerback, the position he was initially recruited to play. On defense, it's Shayne Simon. He'll be a junior (and he's injured for spring) and he still hasn't defined the position where he might have the best future. But if he can have a strong August, he can be a factor during the season ... somewhere.

Tom from Grand Rapids, MI

12:46

Eric, if you had to pick one player from each side of the ball that are coming up to a make it /break it point in their career this sprinf, who would it be and what do you need to see from them? Keep up the great work!

Eric Hansen

12:46

His most recent coaching staff was with the Carolina Panthers. not Stanford. I did a big piece on Lance last summer in which he goes into great detail what he found attractive about coming to ND ... here:

https://www.ndinsider.com/football/notre-dame-s-lance-taylor-on-the-fa...

Jordan from South Bend

12:44

Lance Taylor is obviously a great addition to the coaching staff especially when it comes to recruiting. What do you think the incentives were to lure him away from Palo Alto in what appears to be a lateral move?

Eric Hansen

12:43

Mike, thanks for your questions. I do like the ACC arrangement. I think the league's down cycle in football is a bigger problem for Clemson than it is for ND. What if Clemson had lost to North Carolina this season? What if the Tigers lost a game like that to an unranked team in November? Notre Dame wasn't penalized in the rankings for its ACC opponents this year. It was penalized for losing to an inferior Michigan team by 31 points. I think the bigger issue for Notre Dame from a strength of schedule standpoint is if the downturns for USC and Stanford aren't short-lived. ... To your hoops question, that's out of my lane. I don't watch enough ACC basketball to answer that. ... I think Tommy Rees will fit his play-calling and formations around his talent, and two tight-end sets would seem to be logically a part of that. Cheers.

Mike Campbell, Lemont, IL

12:34

Eric, Love the chats in the middle of winter! Do you think that ND joining the ACC in all sports plus 5 football games has been a good thing? The ACC, besides Clemson, is not very good and doesn't allow ND to build a better resume. I do know that ND wanted to expand into the Southeast for recruiting purposes. I missed the ND basketball game vs FSU unfortunately. No conspiracy theories but do you think ND gets equal amount of calls or do you feel there is a definite bias against ND? Sure seems that way at times. Also, do you think ND goes with a 2 tight end set with TT and MM for as many mismatches as possible? Thank you. Cheers!

Eric Hansen

12:33

Jeff, with the late signing day coming up next Wednesday and Michigan high school defensive back Cameron Martinez (Ohio State) off the table, holding onto that scholarship for either a cornerback or a position where there's unexpected attrition in the spring seems like the right move. Then if needed, use it for a grad transfer. There will be another wave of them hitting the portal after spring practice, so someone really attractive may emerge then.

Jeff from Phoenix

12:30

Hey Eric, with the scholarship of L Bartleson now available, what do you think ND will do? Late cycle recruit, grad transfer, walk on, other...? and is the position of need still cornerback? Thanks

Eric Hansen

12:29

Dwight, there are two openings currently, and I expect both to be filled soon.... the tight ends coaching position and the cornerbacks coaching position. I think part of the perceived slowdown in that process is that Kelly had to make a decision. Does he prioritize getting those two hirings done? Or does he take advantage of hitting the road during a evaluation period and become more involved early in the process -- something he was criticized for not doing. He chose recruiting. And although there's a big junior day on campus Saturday and it would have been nice to have those coaches in place, I think he prioritized well. ...As far as the rest of the staff, I would be surprised if there's more movement, given the NFL hiring cycle and the college cycle have pretty much played out.

Dwight from central Arkansas

12:25

Perhaps I've missed it, but has the coaching position been filled? Rees moved up to OC, and some role will be filled? Also, does the remainder of the staff look fluid for next season? (I realized that can change if the right offer comes along)

Eric Hansen

12:25

Notre Dame had lost its footing in Florida when it came to both assessing talent in that state and retention. At the time Florida was (and still is) the No. 1 state for Kelly Era recruits to ND. Also at the time, it had an alarming 41 percent transfer rate involving prospects from that state. Some of that retention rate is related to character issues. The connections with the current staff seems to be much stronger in Georgia, the No. 4 state in producing FBS talent in the last dozen years and No. 1 per capita. A lot of it's clustered in or near Atlanta, so it's an efficient use of time on a recruiting trip. I do expect ND to get back into Florida a little more moving forward, beyond just hitting IMG Academy.

12:19

I'm sure Brian Kelly appreciate the extra recruiting help ... When I asked BK about this after the 2019 cycle concluded, here is his response ... then I'll add my take:

“We felt the profile fit better in the state of Georgia,” Kelly said of the geographical/philosophical shift. “The kids that we were going to recruit from like schools had the football that we were looking for that was similar to the athlete that was in Florida. So it was an intentional decision on my part.

“(Georgia) is where we want to be right now,” he said.

Tom from Naples FL

12:15

Coach Kelly has a place in Naples and spends a lot of time down here Why does it seem that the program de-enphasized recruiting in Florida ? Ps My daughter attends St Thomas Aquinas in Ft Lauderdale and shes friends with a lot of the players tgere so at least I have her trying to recruit fir the Irish

Eric Hansen

12:14

Were a lot of the problems with the run game related to the relationship between Chip Long and Quinn? Will Tommy Rees be a better fit and will he emphasize run proficiency more? Does ND have better running back personnel now to do that? Will the new tight ends coach have a role in helping to advance the run game and O-Line play in general. Those are the things I hope to get to the bottom of in that upcoming article.

12:12

Tyler, this has to be a unit that takes a big step forward in its run blocking for Notre Dame to be relevant in the College Football Playoff discussion in November. O-Line coach Jeff Quinn has been a dynamic recruiter and yet hasn't really defined himself at Notre Dame as to what he can be as an on-field coach. The 2020 season will definitely do that, as will 2021 when he'll have to replace at least three starters. Yet there's enough of a body of work through two seasons to form an impression. One of the things I'm working on is whether there's a gap between perception and reality when it comes to Quinn.

Tyler - Cleveland Ohio

12:04

eric love your work! Im expecting big things out of the oline this year. With the whole unit back and pending Hainsey and Kraemer returning to form this unit should compete for the best nationally and be in the running for the Joe Moore award right? Quinn seems to be a solid recruiter but we still have to see the oline take that next leap. Thanks and Go irish!

Eric Hansen

Let's dive right in.

12:03

Here are the rules.