JotCast | Notre Dame Football Live Chat March 27, 2024

Notre Dame Football Live Chat March 27, 2024

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Guest

1:20

Joe H from Williams Bay Wi Hi Eric Thanks again for keeping us engaged.I keep hearing that this year we will probably be running a lot less 12 personal packages What is the reason for that and do you feel that will be an improvement especially in short yardage situations Thanks

Eric Hansen

1:20

Hi Denis. Thank you. I'm sure there were some springs where Brian Kelly would have died for a QB like Kenny Minchey. He is very talented, and defensive coordinator Al Golden volunteered as much when Kenny was the scout-team QB for USC week last October and he had to emulate Caleb Williams in practice. He's a really smart kid on top of that, so I'd imagine he retains the playbook well. This realistically, though, is about him positioning himself for the 2025 competition. And if everybody stays, wow, there's a lot of talent that will be in the running for that job, including Kenny. But if I had to bet right now, with very, very limited data, I think it will be CJ Carr.

Denis from Niagara Falls

1:13

Hey Eric. Kenny Minchey always is mentioned last re. the qb position. This is everywhere that I read. He seems to have plenty of talent. With Riley Leonard out, and if he knows the play book, I could see him slipping in as a starter. Do you know what kind of grasp he has on the plays? Or a guess? Also, is he possibly the best match to fit into Denbrock's offence? If it is a closer competition than expected, and even if he is a little behind Angelli, could he get the starter job due to fit? Could denbrock surprise us? Thanks very much.

Eric Hansen

1:12

Hi Skip. Actually, you did a really nice job of phrasing it. So not all offers are created equally. Notre Dame will start a cycle by creating a board for each position, deciding how many players they want at that position, then prioritizing those players. Those are the top will have committable offers, in that if they wanted to commit upon receiving the offer, they can. The others are conditional. Some may be contingent, for example, on that player coming to an evaluation camp. Another way to prioritize offers and slow- or fast-playing recruits is when you have them in for visits. Some offers come with expiration dates, If a position fills up, you may be out of luck. There's a real art to it and Notre Dame is very good at it.

skip/Houston

1:04

You have answered this question in prior years but how about one more time? Notre Dame makes upwards of 200 football scholarship offers each year. Please help me understand how these offers are couched. How does ND focus on top recruits in making offers versus those that are a lesser priority. What keeps recruits from (immediately) accepting an offer? There must be ways to keep lesser recruits from grabbing all the limited scholarships. I have not phrased my question very well but hopefully you get the gist of what I am asking. Thank you.

Eric Hansen

1:04

Hi Dan. You and I must have had the same math teachers and the same grades in those math classes. So, ND has five three-stars at the moment. The fewest they've had going back to their highest-ranked class in the Kelly/Freeman Era (2013) is four. That happened in the 2022 and 2023 cycles. In 2021, it was 14. From 2014 to 2019 it ranged from nine to 15 per class. And keep in mind, we are so early in the cycle that some of those three-stars can change to four-stars. ND is going to do its own evals and not worry about what the recruiting services do. It's a good thing. Some of those three-stars in 2021 were swings and misses. And some turned out to be Mitchell Evans, Logan Diggs, Pat Coogan and Joe Alt.

Dan from Vernon Hill, Il

12:59

Eric, Enjoy the chats.In this last recruiting cycle it seems that Notre Dame is getting commitments from a lot of three star players. Not a big stars guy, but it seems like a lot of them compared to other years. Is there a reason(s) for this?

Eric Hansen

12:58

For you shoe-wearing bonus question, I think the labeling is a bit misleading. It's hard to find college offenses these days that don't force a defense to play in space, so the pro-style label perhaps leans into more preparing the quarterback to play at the next level. That's why Sam Hartman transferred to ND, for instance, because the slow-mesh offense at Wake didn't incorporate enough of the concepts he felt he needed to learn to have a shot at the NFL. I hope that made sense.

12:54

Franz, only the shoes are a requirement, and the rest is none of my business, including the shirt. Thank you for not giving the rest of the inventory.

I think there's more of a difference in terminology and concepts than you might think for a couple of reasons. Mike Denbrock has five seasons recently AWAY from Brian Kelly, and they were significant years in terms of his growth and him forming his own identity as a play-caller. I also think Notre Dame's current personnel is different enough that he'll want to teach different concepts. I think, though, what shouldn't be lost in this conversation is that Denbrock is an outstanding teacher. And whether the concepts/terminology are similar, that fact trumps the other concerns (more).

franz from Niles

12:48

Sorry forgot my by line on the last question!

Guest

12:48

I am hoping to scoop Marie from Atlanta with a good question (and that would be hard to do). How similar is the terminology of Denbrock's offense compared to what Reese/Parker used? I am thiniking about the lines calls, protections, routes, hot reads etc. Since they are all branches off of the Brian Kelly coaching tree I would think there would be more similarities than differences. Hopefully the degree of similarity would make the basic install easier for the returning players to grasp. Secondly (since I am wearing a shirt and shoes..) BK's offense at ND was considered more prostyle than many colleges, but didn't BK make a name for himself as an early proponent of a spread offense? What explains that?

Eric Hansen

12:47

If Notre Dame beats 3 seed Oregon State on Friday and gets to the Elite Eight, that's quite an accomplishment. I think any team will have low odds to beat South Carolina. They have everything -- size, quickness, depth, three-point shooting, elite defense. They do miss free throws. Have to play out of your minds and hope they bring their C game. That's not just ND. That's everyone who's left.

12:43

There's not a real obvious comp. Micah Gilbert probably comes to mind, and he kind of had a similar path where he was a bit of a mystery as a junior in high school who ascended dramatically as a senior ... and continues to. Bettis will probably be a boundary receiver as he builds muscle and matures. It's hard to get a sense of his ceiling yet. Again, ND doesn't take every legacy recruit, so they see something in him they really like (more).

12:35

Hi Marie, and an early Happy Easter to you. Let's start with the Ben Morrison question. In broader terms, Chad Bowden's scouting staff always has to be diligent about these things, because of something more major than this injury happened or another one, you have to be ready to move quickly when the portal opens in mid-April. Having said that, no, I don't think this is where that is headed. ND has nine scholarship cornerbacks and some pretty good quality. And if the Morrison thing was going to be real long terms, I think we would have seen Gray and Mickey split up and play different sides. They were still together and Clarence Lewis was taking Morrison's reps (more).

Marie from Atlanta

12:29

Hi Eric, thanks for hosting the chat, I I hope you’re having a great week. With the disappointing news about Ben Morrison today, and the sort of vague timeline for his return, do you think Notre Dame will peruse the portal for a cornerback this spring? Switching gears, what do you think the ceiling is for Jerome Bettis Jr. Is there a comp on the current team for him? Do you think that he might eventually switch to defense? Switching to your other area of expertise, if the women’s basketball team gets to the elite eight and plays South Carolina on a scale of 1 to 10 what do you think their chances are of winning the game? Thanks for all your great work, and for all your excellent insights. Enjoy your Easter.

Eric Hansen

12:28

Buon Giorno, Palm Beach Irish. I don't disagree with your scouting report on how I'd match up with the Milanese Lasagna. ... Now could you figure out how to bring me some? ,,,, I really can't do my assessment of Jack Swarbrick justice. He gets an A from me as well, and the part about keeping Notre Dame completely relevant on the national stage and having a strong voice in discussions about playoff formats, etc.. and the media rights deals can't be overstated.

Palm Beach Irish

12:25

Good day from Milan Italy...Eric you would love the Milanese style Lasagna....What is your opinion of Jack's tenure as AD...for me keeping us independent and having a voice in the CFB playoffs on just those merits get a A from me...What say you....Thanks

Eric Hansen

12:24

Hi Ryan. I mentioned this on Football Never Sleeps the other night. No one named Hinish who has shown up at Notre Dame has ever looked like a three-star prospect status they were branded with. He's going to play, even with a very deep interior line rotation. He's tough, productive, quick, easy to like. I like how Jordan Clark moves. Can't wait to see him in a scrimmage situation where I can see his physicality.

Ryan Mars Pa

12:22

Good afternoon Eric how Has Donovan Hinish And Jordan Clark Looked In Practice GO IRISH ☘️☘️🏈🏈

Eric Hansen

12:21

Hi Rich. Let's start with the first part of your question. There are eight scholarship transfers, six of whom are in spring practice (or injured), two of whom will be enrolling in June. Some of them, like Beaux Collins, is at a position where there is an incumbent starter (Jayden Thomas), so we'll take that out of the equation. Lining up the two parameters you gave me, I'd say Kris Mitchell at the field wide receiver is getting a strong push from KK Smith and may eventually get it from Cam Williams as well. As far as the evolution of transfers, it's not always easy to get a good depth piece through the portal. Devyn Ford last year was one, but most guys are in the portal, because they want a better opportunity to play and/or get to the NFL. They're certainly not coming for the weather.

Rich Key West

12:17

Which returning players that were back ups on last year's squad do you think have the best chance to secure a starting job at positions where players were brought in from the transfer portal? In my opinion the overall talent being recruited is improved to the point where transfer portal additions in the coming years may be more for depth than needed as starters.

Eric Hansen

12:17

I think what's reasonable for Kenny Minchey and CJ Carr to expect is to be developed and have a fair chance to compete to move up when they've earned that opportunity. I think it's reasonable for the coaching staff to expect them to have some patience with the process AND to be ready when their opportunity flashes. Well that happened today. Leonard was on a scooter or crutches during practice. Angeli was out sick. So guess who got first- and second-team reps?

12:14

So I'll try to unpack all the facets of your question while, hopefully, providing you a snapshot of what's happening. There has to be a pragmatic element to a quarterback competition. QBs understand they have to work their way up the depth chart and EARN first-team reps. It's not a given. And to do otherwise would be irresponsible. If you're not going to get a clear picture of who No. 1 is and you're not going to give them the reps they need to learn the offense and build chemistry because you don't want to hurt No. 3's or No. 4's feelings, then you are doing a huge disservice to your team (more).

12:11

Hi Bob. Based on your layering of questions, I do think you're reading too much into Marcus Freeman's comments, in a sense. First, he later said this when it comes to the entire quarterback competition picture:
“Every day, you evaluate and say, 'Hey, is there a way to put some pressure on all of them?' I don't want anybody getting comfortable. I don't want Steve to feel here, 'I'm the one, and I'm not worried about Kenny and CJ.' He shouldn't be worried about him. He should be worried about Steve, but at the same point, I don't want him comfortable. You don't want anybody comfortable in a position they're in. You want that competition, that adversity to really get those guys to thrive. So no, this is just for today. I'm sure it will probably be for the next practice, but if there are ways to create competition, we will definitely do it.” (more)

Bob - Loganville, GA

12:08

Eric, In MF presser he mentioned he wanted competition with the QBs. However part of his statement indicates the only competition with RL out is for 3rd and 4th string and only between KM and CJ. It seems to me a true competition would be to have each QB work with the 1s, 2s and 3s to see how they all do with each unit. If KM and CJ only get a shot to win the 3rd string is that interpreted that neither will even get a chance to compete for the back up. If a competition for the back is not legit why would KM stick around? Seems if they don't let him compete for the backup this season why would one think they will allow him to compete for the starting job next year? Or am I reading too much into MF response/comment.

Eric Hansen

Let the chatting commence.

12:06

Here are the rules:

12:05

Please include your NAME and HOMETOWN along with your questions. If you want to rub in how warm it is where you are located, do so at your own peril.

As far as this week's chat ...

► Finally, we’re in the thick of Notre Dame spring football coverage and discussion at WSBT radio season. And Darin Pritchett and I are together this week on Wednesday and Thursday on Weekday SportsBeat (960 AM, live streaming at wsbtradio.com). The weekday shows run from 5-6 p.m. ET. You can download episodes as podcasts.

12:04

► Tyler James and I will be back in weekly podcast mode starting next week. On our most recent Inside ND Sports Podcast, Notre Dame point guard Hannah Hidalgo joined us. Hidalgo became the first freshman in program history to be named a first-team All-American by the Associated Press. Days later, in a much less prestigious honor, she became the first Notre Dame basketball player to appear on the Inside ND Sports Podcast. Hidalgo joined Tyler James and me to discuss her All-America honor, how a loss to NC State ignited ND's late season run, what she's learned from injured junior guard Olivia Miles, where Hildago's defensive tenacity comes from, the influence of her parents, how she withstands hitting the court so much, her mindset going into the NCAA Tournament, why she's able to succeed at her size and more.The podcast can be listened to via SoundCloud or on your preferred podcast platform including: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Podbean and Pocket Casts.

► If you missed the last episode of our aspiring-to-be-viral Notre Dame Football YouTube show, Football Never Sleeps, it keeps its shelf life long after the live presentation. We’re back in our normal Monday at 7 ET time slot next week after a slight adjustment this week to accommodate my women’s basketball commitments. Remember, if you miss the live show, you can catch up anytime on YouTube.

12:03

Some quick programming notes:

12:02

Welcome to Notre Dame Football Live Chat, back from an unplanned one-week hiatus.

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