JotCast | Notre Dame Football Live Chat | January 15, 2026

Notre Dame Football Live Chat | January 15, 2026

Prev Page View Full Chat

Eric Hansen

12:30

I think Nolan James Jr. starts spring at No. 2. But any one of the other four could be 2 in the opener against Wisconsin. I do see this as a deeper rotation. I'll stick with James as the opening-night starter, but don't sleep on Kedren Young coming back from ACL surgery or either of the freshmen.

12:28

Yes, there has been a SEISMIC shift in the philosophy when it comes to the pool of transfers Notre Dame can and will look at. I can't emphasize enough how much of a game-changer that is. Tyler James has the details on that one: Notre Dame football's 2026 transfer class shows important shift for program ... Already answered QB2. Here is my answer for RB2 (more)

12:25

Damon, thank you. And now you know what I am looking for an NIL deal with Keurig! Notre Dame's cadence in arranging visits closer to when they could actually enroll, when new D-line coach Charlie Partridge was in town and officially hired and able to visit with them, and when the later-elite prospects hit the portal all figured into the plan. My teammate, Tyler Horka, wrote about it here: 'We're good, we're good': How Notre Dame stayed patient and ran its race during transfer portal whirlwind (more)

Damon from Nashville

12:21

Eric, Thank you for doing these chats! You are right, football truly does not sleep! I am no transfer portal expert, but it seems like a great close. Was not having transfer player candidates the first weekend all part of the plan? I know that there was some negative press from some about the slow start. Also, it is fascinating to me the number of undergraduate transfers as well. Has there been a change in philosophy from administration on that front? If you had to pick today, who is RB2 and QB2 next season?

Eric Hansen

12:20

I think that is the eventual No. 2 guy. I would not count out the other two, and I think Grubbs starts the season as No. 2. But I think Jarrard is the highest-ceiling guy and a player who can push toward that potential efficiently and quickly.

12:19

So who is No. 2 going to be? I wrote about this on Monday if you want more depth: Four intriguing non-portal winter storylines shaping Notre Dame football’s 2026 path ... here is how I think it's going to play out. Freshman Noah Grubbs, who enrolled early, and redshirt freshman Blake Hebert will battle it out. I think Grubbs emerges, but then the real battle heats up. Reclassified QB Teddy Jarrard enrolls in June. (more)

12:15

“Yeah, it was a topic we discussed. But when you talk about, ‘Hey, we want to go find somebody that’s an older college football player that wants to come to Notre Dame and be a backup quarterback to CJ Carr. And that means he has to beat out Blake [Hebert]. And that means he has to beat out Noah [Grubbs] and whoever else in the future.
“The reality is that we didn’t find that person, and I don’t know how really we seeked that person. It was just a conversation that we had. We’re confident in our quarterback room. I’m confident saying we know who our starter’s going to be. But it’s going to be a great battle as you go through spring, as you go through fall camp, to see who our backup will be as we get ready for the season.”

12:13

Hi Robb. I asked Marcus about the decision to pass on a transfer portal QB yesterday. Let me give you his answer first, then we'll tease out your actual question about who is going to be No. 2? (more)

Robb, Edwardsburg

12:12

If no back up QB comes from the portal who is #2 this fall? Gonna be one of the freshmen, right?

Eric Hansen

OK off we go!

12:10

One thing that's not optional, and I am serious, no manifestos. There are other places you can take that. Not here.

No drinking and no bare feet are optional to follow this week.

12:09

12:08

PLEASE include your name and hometown along with your question(s).

12:07

As far as this week's chat, thanks for putting up with the schedule change so we could cover the Marcus Freeman press conference on Wednesday. We'll move this back to Wednesdays next week.

12:06

► The Third & Gold Podcast is available at all places where you find podcasts, as well as our YouTube Channel. On our most recent episode, we caught up with former Steve Wiltfong, vice president/national college football recruiting and the transfer portal for On3|Rivals. The next episode will drop on Friday.

► If you missed the last episode of our aspiring-to-be-viral Notre Dame Football YouTube show, Football Never Sleeps, what are you doing with your life? Seriously, the show keeps its shelf life long after the live presentation, so you can catch up now or later on our YouTube channel. We’ll be back next week, Monday at 7 p.m. ET, for another presentation of Football Never Sleeps with Tyler James co-hosting with me. And check out some great shows on the Blue & Gold YouTube channel as well, including the live Notre Dame Football Show, on Wednesday nights.

12:05

► On July 1, Tyler James and I made the move to the On3 network and blueandgold.com and joined some amazing teammates. It’s proven to be a great move for us and, I believe, for our subscribers as well. And if you’re a potential first-time subscriber, we have a great deal — 50% off your first year with an annual subscription. With that, you get all of our premium content, plus all the value you get from a national team of writers and content creators, as well as access to every team site in the On3 network and a full year of The Athletic. Check it out at: https://www.on3.com/teams/notre-dame-fighting-irish/join/.

12:04

First, some quick programming notes:

12:02

Welcome to Notre Dame Football Live Chat from the Arctic Circle ... well it looks and feels that way today.

Connecting…

Message History

On Off

Your current subscriptions

None

E-mail Address	Chat Owner	Status	Remove

Enter your email address to be notified when Eric Hansen hosts a chat