JotCast | Notre Dame Football Live Chat | March 19, 2026

Notre Dame Football Live Chat | March 19, 2026

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Mike AKA "Mo" from Maumee OH

12:30

Hi Eric- vacationing in FL for the past several weeks- lurking online reading the great questions & your answers instead of asking questions. But with Charles Jagusah's injury and recovery mentioned, I thought I'd ask you this: who has the higher upside- a healthy Jagusah or Will Black, and what is your reasoning? Thanks!

Eric Hansen

12:29

Don!!!!! I wanted to reward you for the punctuation, now to your question. Authenticity of Marcus Freeman's super power in so many ways. On a scale of 1-10 in terms of being genuine, he's a 12. Not that he's incapable of spinning a word salad if he needs to, but he usually informs you that it's a work salad ahead of time. His authenticity makes my job easier for many reasons, including you can trust him. That supersedes any of the other benefits, but there are more. I think the assistant coaches might take a page from his book, but they have their own experiences with the media and their own personalities and what works for them. And sometimes what the media sees and what recruits see are different. Mike Mickens was close to the vest with the media, but very open with recruits. That's just one example.

Don in Scottsdale, AZ

12:23

Eric, Hope all is well with you and your family. We are having a crazy hot spell that is way early. I watched the press conference and CMF was his usual great self. Loved the question regarding leave no doubt and the one prior where he referred to his wife regarding friendships. You've interacted with many coaches in football and basketball. Where is CMF on the genuine scale? Does he make your job easier or harder? Do his coaches follow his lead in their interactions with media? Thanks. A little more than 5.5 months till game 1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Eric Hansen

12:22

Where I think all teams might be challenged with spring injuries is that the roster sizes are now limited to 105, including walk-ons. So you are really limited in adding those. Marcus Freeman mentioned on Wednesday he added a couple of walk-on RBs thru an open tryout. We also understand walk-on WR Xavier Southall has moved to RB. ... My favorite part of spring practice is the "jersey" scrimmage the media gets to attend the weekend before the Blue-Gold Game. It's was more informative (and entertaining) than the Blue-Gold Game, because it's real competition and real football with not a ton of things held back. I do remember who I picked to win it all, and it's Purdue. And no good reason other than I covered coach Matt Painter when he was the team's point guard 100 years ago. That's the in-depth science and research I put into my 4-minute selection process!

12:17

Hi Marie. I think Notre Dame's team development is in a lot better shape than my Final Four picks, given that I made them less than 15 minutes ago and already I don't remember who I picked. ... I think Notre Dame has a good plan in place to develop the TEAM. Now there may be some individuals playing catch-up but most of them will be cleared for full summer participation. And you can get a lot done in the summer. I also think the potential challenges of the missing pieces is largely mitigated by having the same two coordinators back for succeeding seasons for the first time since 2019. And that's you're not breaking in a new starting QB. (more)

Marie from atlanta

12:10

Hi Eric, I know you must be having a great week with the beginning of spring practice on Friday. It was a little alarming to hear about all the injuries yesterday, the running back room and the linebacker room are going to be thin. How much do you think all these injuries will affect the development of the team? I believe ND is down to two running backs, is there a space on the roster to pick up a couple of walk ons just for practice purposes? What are your three favorite parts of covering spring practice? finally , who do you have in your final four and who do you have winning it all? As always, thanks for hosting the chat and all the fantastic insights.

Eric Hansen

Of we go ...

12:07

Only the no gambling and no spitting rules will be in play today. So fight, drink and kick off your shoes if you dare.

Here are the rules.

Exclamation points are appreciated by not required!

12:06

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

As far as this week's chat ...

12:05

► 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 Notre Dame offensive lineman Trevor Ruhland. The next episode will drop late next week.

► 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.

12:04

► 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/.

Now for some quick programming notes before we start:

12:03

I warmed up for this today by filling out my men's NCAA Tourney bracket in roughly four minutes. Roughly is doing a lot of work in that sentence. It's rough.

12:01

Welcome to Notre Dame Football Live Chat on the eve -- well day before -- that spring practice kick off.

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