JotCast | Notre Dame Football Live Chat March 2, 2021

Notre Dame Football Live Chat March 2, 2021

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Alex from Jackson, MO

1:32

No question from me. Just sending my sympathy to you Eric. I’ve always thought Nix held a special place with you. It appears through your writing, you really thought highly of him. My son and I were sad to hear of his passing. His joy was infectious through the television. I can’t imagine how much more it was in person. Unfortunately, there isn’t an answer to everything in life...*deep sigh...

Eric Hansen

1:31

Alan, I think Rylie Mills has star potential down the road. I think this spring he'll get looks both inside and at the big defensive end spot because of need (outside). I think where he can ultimately have the most impact is at defensive tackle. Think Jerry Tillery's skill set.

Alan from Whiteland, Indiana

1:29

Eric, I really liked the progress of defensive tackle Rylie Mills as last season played out. Going into 2021, what are the expectations for Mills and do you believe he will remain at defensive tackle or see more time at defensive end? Thank you for answering my question.

Eric Hansen

1:28

Thanks Pat, to review I wrote about quarterbacks, wide receivers, offensive line, safeties and linebackers. I'd say linebackers, which may be the reality.

Pat, Springfield, IL

1:20

That was a nice piece of work two weeks ago about the five position groups and how important their improvement will be to a successful season. Say that four of those five groups reach elite status; which one can afford to be only pretty good and still be good enough to get ND to the Final Four?

Eric Hansen

1:19

I've asked that question to two people who know the NIL issues much more than I do -- Sportico's Michael McCann and athletic director Jack Swarbrick. I think all three of us would say that national brand would be an asset. But just how much is impossible to say, because there's so little known at this point as to what NIL will actually look like.

Palm Beach Irish

1:17

Good day from 84 degree Palm Beach......Can the National Notre Dame presence impact the student athlete licensing of images to be a impact on recruiting?

Eric Hansen

1:17

Doing great here, thanks. I based those six on players I needed (and the coaching staff to) get to learn more about. I guess I felt very confident that Zeke is one of ND's three best linemen at this juncture and would not have a problem nailing down the starting center position.

johngipp

1:15

johngipp, Lititz,PA Holding a chat shows you are well. You noted six players to watch in spring. I feel another big one is Zeke Correll and his ability to nail down the center position. This would allow Patterson and Lugg to move to more natural positions and solidify 60% of the line which could be a major problem this year. Your take.

Eric Hansen

1:12

Jim. thank you. It's a cool idea. I'm not sure how those things are determined when so many great players have died. It's certainly something I'll look into.

Jim Tal, Valley Center, CA.

1:11

Hi Eric, great to once again be able to get in on a chat. Thanks for all your wonderful coverage. Given all that they meant to the Notre Dame program and their undeniable importance, I think it's imperative that the Irish honor both Paul Hornung and Louis Nix III during the upcoming season. Having the numbers of 5 and 9 emblazoned on either the helmets or jerseys would go all long way to paying testament to what these two standouts meant to the program and its history. Do you think the university and team will give serious consideration into this possibility? My very best to you and yours.

Eric Hansen

1:10

Thank you, Mike.

Mike McFadden, Williamsport, PA

… and lastly, the software is fine, NP at all.

1:10

TY Eric, very very well said, good commentary for sure. I love your word "modernization", it 100% applies to what you and I are thinking, I think. I just think doing the same plays yr-after-yr is not productive. Again, TY!

Eric Hansen

1:10

Todd, maybe it can evolve into that. For starters, I'll give them 4-5 questions and get their take on them. Then write it up. For example:

Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly essentially doubled down on his December 2019 notion and commitment that the Irish should be able to consistently fare better in the national recruiting ratings. Are we seeing evidence that could happen in the 2022 cycle?

Todd , South Bend

1:06

In regards to the roundtable you mentioned earlier . Will that be a live chat like this one or will you guys take questions , discuss them in private and write a piece or film a segment on it . I love the idea and would like to see it in chat form .

Eric Hansen

1:06

Because putting limits on dreams isn't what Notre Dame is about. Never has been. Notre Dame is about overcoming odds. Just like in life. Why would you direct your football team to aspire for something less than that?

Lee from Lancaster, SC

1:04

Hi Eric, ND is a prestigious University that places whose highest priority is to provide the best possible education to it's students. With that being the case, why is there such a demand that the football team win a national championship? One would think that 9 or 10 wins a year, graduate all your players, commit no violations, and make a reasonable financial profit would be enough.

Eric Hansen

1:04

Caleb, thank you. I think both are extremely important. I don't know if you can survived at a place like Notre Dame for very long if you're not great at both.

Caleb from Charlotte

1:03

Hi Eric, I hope that you and your family are doing well. When evaluating assistant coaches, is it more important that they be effective recruiters or that they demonstrate the ability to develop talent?

Eric Hansen

1:02

I believe both Kelly and Rees know this and see this and will address this. I'm not sure 2021 is the year when it will have a complete enough team for this to show up ... but 2022 may be when it comes together better.

1:00

Tyler, I don't think what Brian Kelly was doing at UC or GVSU is going to win a national title in the 2020s. Football evolves on both sides of the ball. What Kelly/Rees did this season was smart, in my opinion. They built the offense around the personnel. They played complementary football to keep their defense from being exposed. It worked well enough to get to the playoff. Then came the referendum was to whether that methodology could still work in today's football against an emerging new formula. I didn't. Notre Dame in 2020 was much more similar to Alabama in 2012 than it was to Alabama in 2020. Kelly learned some lessons from 2018 about what he needed to do in recruiting. Kyren Williams and Chris Tyree are two parts of that. Kevin Austin/Braden Lenzy etc. need to be part of that. Ian Book's successor needs to be part of that. (more)

Tyler - Cleveland OH

12:51

Eric this will be a long question but I’m from Michigan and now live in Ohio. I’ve known of BK since his dominance at DII Grand Valley and turning cmu into a mac power and success at cincy. With that being said BK success at those programs came with a high powered tempo offense that spread you out and took advantages of mismatches. So far at ND the offense has been a mixed bag and more so this year with a heavy does of run game. Do you see Kelly going back to his old philosophies and incorporating more tempo and spread concepts? our best shot to win last year was a reliance on the Oline and Kyren but ironically what Bama did in 2012 is not what wins you games in 2021. I feel the offense needs to have a revolution like our defense did when we Cannes BVG. Less thinking and more go make plays. Thanks for the time. As always go Irish ☘️

Eric Hansen

12:50

Ken. I think a lot of pieces are in place. I think Oklahoma is another program that can say the same. But there are missing pieces. ND is furthest removed from the latest national championship model when it comes to quarterback play, with speed at wide receiver also a "gap" issue. Those teams' depth of talent means they have great margin for error in those games. The one thing ND can't control in the gap discussion is whether those teams also improve/evolve. They can only control their own program.

Ken - Pensacola

12:47

Eric, GREAT to chat with you again. In your opinion, just how close is ND to beating the Ala.'s and Clemson's of the world to win a National Football Championship? Thanks Mucho - GO IRISH!!!!!

Eric Hansen

12:46

The funniest thing with Nix and Tuitt was Louis used to do a video blog called "Chocolate News." I wish I knew where to dig those up. There was one episode when Nix somehow convinced Tuitt — then a freshman — that he needed to swallow a large quantity of salt. Which Tuitt did. Their reactions were hysterical.

Ryan mars pa

12:44

Good afternoon Eric very sad about nix any stories from when Tuitt and nix played at Notre Dame just wondering go Irish

Eric Hansen

12:44

4.Our last conversation before Christmas after he got home from the hospital. After we did the interview (about 10-15 minutes), he asked me the question I wrote about the other day ... "Did I matter?" We then talked about life, his dreams, my dreams, my grandkids, his mom, Brian Kelly. lots of things for about 45 more minutes. I'll never ever forget it.

12:41

Jim, thanks. There are so many I could fill up a whole chat. ... I share four. 1) One time I was late getting over to the Gug from my radio show and Louis made sure I got everything I needed and didn't mind if I had to repeat questions that had already been asked. 2) When I spent the day with him for a magazine story I did in 2013, among the places we went was the South Dining Hall. It was amazing how many people came over and sat down with us during that conversation, one right after the other. 3) When I called Louis during his prep for the NFL Draft he'd always have a funny way of answering the phone: 'Louis' House of Beauty" was one. (more)

Jim Oakwood Ohio

12:37

Hi Eric, Such a sad, sad story about the death of "Irish Chocolate." What is your favorite memory of him? I especially liked the Pod of God with the attorney on the NIL issue. Very interesting. Stay safe and thank you for all of your excellent work covering the Irish football team.

Eric Hansen

12:36

James. I'm sorry you are having that problem. It gets me too sometimes. If you do a soft return, you can avoid it. The software for me works great. If I can help further. let me know.

James Dallas

12:35

This software is almost unusable, Eric. Among all its other issues, when we click “return” it sends the message !

Eric Hansen

12:35

Brian Kelly didn't hire someone diametrically opposed to his own philosophy. I do think the offense needs some modernization, if you will, and that's what makes this spring and the 2021 season so fascinating to me. I think trick plays are fun and effective when used judiciously, but if you have to make a living on them, then you're not very good. And they can backfire. That ball JOK took away from Travis Etienne in ND-Clemson I was apparently going to be a halfback pass. JOK turned it into a ND touchdown. WRs who can spread the field will do more for ND's offensive evolution than any trick play.

12:30

Mike. You're awesome, but I disagree with a lot of what you have submitted here. It's ironic that the very first play Kelly had Rees run as a quarterback was a flea flicker. And it ended up being the first of his 37 career interceptions. Brian Kelly certainly has input into the offense and veto power and the ability to make suggestions. But you already seem to have your mind made up, so I may be wasting my time here. Keep in mind coaching is a collaboration at its best, and if you're the head coach and you're not contributing on one side of the ball (or both), then what is your worth to the team. (more)

Mike McFadden, Williamsport, PA

12:25

Hi Eric, Until I see ND's first flea flicker or double reverse or 3 RB's in the backfield to disguise who will be receiving the ball on an obvious running down, I will always and continuously see ND's offense as Kelly's offense and not Reese's or previously Chip Long's. To me, Kelly seems to be still calling the plays regardless of what we are being told. An ND fan once said a few years ago if ND has to resort to running a flea flicker to score a TD, we have no offense. I totally disagree as I see Clemson and Ohio St run trick plays to spice up the O, keep the opponent defense honest or catch them off guard. Do you agree Eric? Thank you.

Eric Hansen

12:23

Tom, I'm going to start a new feature later this week that will be a roundtable of sorts of national recruiting savants/experts/gurus that will touch on various recruiting topics on a regular basis. That will be one of the questions I ask them. So if you want the opinion of someone smarter than me, just wait a few days. The sense I get is the Irish coaching staff likes all three, with perhaps Angeli for a while holding the edge. I think when they offered a scholarship to fast-rising Ohio prospect Drew Allar, I got the sense he's on at least even footing. Again, I'll ask the question in the roundtable and get you perhaps a different/better answer. Allar is my personal choice.

Tom from Downers Grove

12:18

Are there any clear indications with the coach's recruiting preferences between QB targets Wimsatt, Allar, and Angeli (not sure I spelled their names right)?

Eric Hansen

12:17

Gabriel, I am doing well thanks, and ready to get my second shot of Moderna tomorrow. ... The AP poll was the first one and started publishing continuously in 1936 with a top 20. For some reason, they reduced it to a top 10 from 1962 to 1967, then back to a top 20 in 1968. The switch to a top 25 came in 1989. I couldn't find an official reason in my research, but my best guess is the expansion was to anticipate a growing number of teams in the FBS division, which has been the case. I think 30 would be too many. As a voter, I find it difficult some weeks to find worth teams once you get to around No. 21 or 22.

Gabriel Weiss from North Liberty

12:09

Hello Mr. Hansen. Thanks again for taking our questions. Hope you are doing well. This is not directly related to Notre Dame, but why is there a top 25 poll and not a top 30 or some other number? I could not find it anywhere online and could only think of you to ask!

Eric Hansen

12:07

Off we go.

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