JotCast | Notre Dame Football Live Chat June 29,2022

Notre Dame Football Live Chat June 29,2022

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Len from the Jersey Shore

1:22

Hi Eric, Happy summer!
Thanks for the great coverage of ND baseball. That team was a great compelling story and you brought it to life for us readers. And thanks for hosting. I have so many areas to ask about but today let’s ask about culture and leadership in relation to recruiting. Coach Kelly drew a line about recruits. He only wanted commits from future players who were truly committed to ND. How does Coach Freeman feel about this? Is he more open to defections while continues to pursue a much higher rated recruit list than Coach Kelly? And how will that affect the culture in the locker room and the program? Won’t it hurt that cohesion? And leadership? It was that culture more than anything else that created this run of consecutive wins against unranked opponents? It's hard for a verbal recuit to recruit others when he isn't 100% committed himself? And what about leadership after the recruiting season is over?

Eric Hansen

1:19

It's no longer anchored.

Antoine Cuthbertson (Charlotte, NC)

1:19

Has the ship officially sailed on Dante?

Eric Hansen

1:18

I had that conversation with Marcus Freeman on Monday, and he said there's nothing left. Lyn-J Dixon just recently put himself in the portal for the second time in less than a year. He was committed to West Virginia after starting his career at Clemson. But because he wasn't in the portal by the May 1 deadline, he's going to have a battle on his hands if he wants to play in 2022. Marcus thinks there's enough talent at those positions, but ND is going to have to stay fortunate with injuries.

Guest

1:13

Joe H Williams Bay Wi Hi Eric I was wondering if you think it’s still possible to get any help from the transfer portal at the wide receiver or running back positions and if we don’t do you think that we’ll have enough on the current roster to carry us to a successful season

Eric Hansen

1:13

At some point actions speak louder than words. Moore did not priortize ND in June and so then Carr committed. Because Carr could reclassify, it gave ND leverage that they had lost when they put all their eggs in the Moore basket. To me, taking Carr was the right move (as much as I love Moore's game). There's a sense in the recruiting community that Dante will pick a school based on NIL guarantees. That's not fair to him, but that likely will be a perception he'll have to fight. He has not ruled out Notre Dame, but it's hard to envision that happening now.

1:10

Rick, here's my best read on that situation. I believe Dante said all the right things to the coaching staff starting in Janauary and increasingly in March and April that led them to be optimistic that he'd end up being Irish. So they stopped prioritizing Jackson Arnold (Oklahoma) in January and later Christopher Vizzina (Clemson) to show Moore how much of a prioirty he was. The hope was that they could wrap it up quickly after his two-day visit in late March, which seemed realistic. The visit, by all accounts, went great. But then Dante and his family decided to elongate the process. Perhaps June now would be the decision date. I think ND was on board with that as long as he came back for an official visit in June. Meanwhile, momentum was picking up with some elite 2024 QBs, including CJ Carr. (more)

Rick Dierolf

1:00

Rick Dierolf Sinking Spring Pa. Hey Eric. I hope you are having a great summer. What happened with Dante Moore? Seems like we had a ton of momentum with him and after the commitment of CJ Carr it all changed

Eric Hansen

1:00

Joey, I think you're way off on the talent at those positions in the 2023 class (and likely 2024 too). I'd tap the brakes on that part of your complaint. There's two elite WRs in the next week (one tonight) who are likely to announce for Notre Dame and two elite cornerback who are expected to do the same. As far as pre-2023 cycle, I think your assessment is fair. And cornerbacks and wide receivers are two of the positions that have held the Irish back, along with QB play, in their playoff/BCS game years.

Joey G. Philadelphia

12:56

Hi Eric, Can’t understand why we can’t recruit and develop 1st rd NFL talent at the WR & CB positions. It seems as though Freeman who is an unbelievable recruiter is having the same problem as Kelly & his staff. Do you feel ND can win a title with their current WR’s & CB’s?

Eric Hansen

12:56

To answer the last part of the question, there have been three five-star quarterbacks who have led their teams to national titles in the past 10 years -- Jameis Winston (FSU), Deshaun Watson (Clemson) and Trevor Lawrence (Clemson). You may not need a five-star, but you need someone who plays at that level. Here are the team pass-efficiency rankings for the last 10 national champions (going backward from 2021): 4-1-2-12-10-18-34-2-1-1. Notre Dame's numbers for their two playoff teams and their BCS national title runner-up team: 43-43-74. The best mark in any Brian Kelly season at ND was 20th in 2019.

Kevin-Sleepy Eye,mn

12:46

ERIC!!!!!! Whatever happens in QB recruiting; are we suppose to believe our current QB's can't win a championship? We can't win a championship without a 5 star QB? Of the last 10 national champions I wonder how many had 5-star QB's?

Eric Hansen

12:46

Hi Jim, and thank you. Mickey currently is not in line to start, but Marcus Freeman told me Monday he'll have a significant role on the defense. What might that look like? He could be an extra DB in certain packates. He could eventually challenge Clarence Lewis for a starting spot. He'll be valuable on special teams. And he and guys like Ryan Barnes will allow the corners to roll in and out more. And yes, he could end up helping in the return game with the numbers being so low at wide receiver and running back.

JIm Tal, Valley Center, CA.

12:39

Hi Eric, hope all is well with you and thanks as always for the chance to discuss some Irish football. From all that is being reported, it seems as if freshman cornerback Jaden Mickey is making quite an impression with his play, confidence and overall vibe. That being said, what role do you foresee for Mickey in 2022? Could he possibly start somewhere down the line and might he also be used as a return man, an area where he excelled in high school? At least on the surface, this young man appears to have big-time potential. Thanks again for all that you do.

Eric Hansen

12:36

Dave, I do, because it was Matt Balis, ND's director of football performance, who introduced it to Kelly and who continues to refine it at a very high level. I think you'll eventually hear Marcus talk about it more, but he and BK definitely have different talking points as head coaches.

Dave, Washington DC

12:34

Brian Kelly appeared to embrace sports science and analytics as it relates to to player load monitoring, recovery, and physical progress. You'd hear him mention it frequently in press conferences. Do you see Freeman continuing this?

Eric Hansen

12:34

Hi Mike. I don't think he will be, but the trick to doing the depth charts when there are injured players is keeping some semblance of the actual positions when everyone returns. So for Ohio State, you're probably looking at Styles and Thomas/Colzie outside and Lenzy in the slot. Or Lenzy outside and Styles inside. Merriweather, although I have him listed as a field receiver, might play some boundary. So no I don't see Salerno as a starter, but I'm sure ND appreciates him with the low numbers and what a great teammate he is.

Mike, Lemont, IL

12:30

Eric, I saw that you dropped the depth chart the other day. IMO, it looks good, and this is a team that should challenge for a playoff spot. Ohio State is a difficult task out of the gate but after that we should see improvement going forward. ND seems to have plenty of weapons with Tyree, Mayer, Styles, Lenzy and Colzie, etc. Please tell me Salerno is not a starter with the talent this team has at WR? Hope all is well and the BBQ's are plentiful this weekend. Cheers!

Eric Hansen

12:30

He is cleared to run and he is making progress, but it may be sometime later in September when he plays his frst game of the 2022 season. Joe Wilkins Jr. is likely an October return. How concerning it might be depends on the summers that sophomores Lorenzo Styles, Jayden Thomas, Deion Colzie and freshman Tobias Merriweather have. Those four plus Braden Lenzy and Matt Salerno will be ND's WR corps for the Ohio State game. ND does have a glut of capable tight ends, which will help. Avery is actually a little bit ahead of schedule if that is your concern.

David from Grand Rapids, MI

12:23

How concerned should we be about Davis not being cleared for football activities at this point?

Eric Hansen

12:22

Jon, they would disqualify you on jeopardy for not phrasing in the form of a question, but I'll try to answer your statements.... Talked to Marcus Freeman on Monday, and their belief in the progress or both Tyler Buchner and Drew Pyne is the reason they didn't give the transfer portal a serious look. I think durability is a legit concern. I don't think arm strength and accuracy will be one in 2022.

Jon Borchers

12:19

I wish the Irish would gotten a veteran QB like the did last year with Coan. So many questions with Buchner. His durability when he runs the option, and his accuracy with passes over 30 yards. Ohio State will force him to throw the ball. Hoping for the best.

Eric Hansen

12:19

Hi Steve. It's difficult at this point to see a pathway for Dante Moore to end up at Notre Dame after feeling like a probability (but never a certainty) for months. Having 2024 five-star QB CJ Carr commit on June 9 changed that dynamic. Before ND can make a move in trying to grab a 2023 QB or pursue another in the 2024 cycle, it must resolve the reclassification question with CJ Carr. He's 17 years old and would be 19 as a freshman if he stays in the 2024 class. I think staying in that class benefits him. If he reclassifies, I think it helps Notre Dame. If the Irish are going to get a quality 2023 QB, they're going to have to poach him out of someone else's class and in a short time frame. Whereas, there sre some pretty good 2024s with ND interest who have not yet committed. When Carr committed, he didn't think reclassification was likely. It make be gaining momentum in the past few weeks. Ideally, this gets resolved by August, if not sooner.

Steve, Kenosha WI

12:10

Hi Eric. Do you see ND, or perhaps they already have, pursuing other QB options for 2023 seeing that Dante Moore has quickly faded from the picture? If so, any insights on who they be? And, any idea as to when ND may officially clear up the picture of Carr reclassifying? Thanks as always!

Eric Hansen

12:08

We'll get started with all of them momentarily.

Lots of Dante Moore questions today. I'll try to hit those which are more specfic than open-ended.

12:07

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