JotCast | Notre Dame Football Live Chat Nov. 9, 2022

Notre Dame Football Live Chat Nov. 9, 2022

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Eric Hansen

1:32

Hey Tom. Thanks for the feedback. I really enjoyed having Terry on the podcast. Lots of great info there. ... As far as why ND went to more of a quick huddle game, here's what Rees said about that Tuesday night ... then I'll get to your other questions:

Tom Kennesaw, GA

1:26

Hi Eric, great show Monday night. Really enjoyed listening to my classmate/teammate Terry Hanratty and his insight on ND football. I was very impressed with the changes the OC and DC made in how they communicated their signals. Shows that they are working on all phases of game day prep. With the success of the huddle offense do you think that we will see a lot less of the Scan offense? I sure hope so. With our OL dominance it just seems to make sense to get to the line and attack. I was very impressed with the game that Jayden Thomas had. Great blocks and a tough key 3rd down catch. Also kudos to Liufau not only for his play but a KEY block on the pick six return. Your thoughts??? Finally, you asked the best questions to MF on Monday. Batted passes are finally being addresses. Please tell me why they don't call more rollout plays? I have been yelling for this even when TB was QB. Thanks and Go Irish!!!

Eric Hansen

1:25

Sorry for the pause. I had to fire up the Keuring machine.

1:17

Aaron, thanks for the question and for your politeness. Navy really sells out to stop the run and takes its chances in the passing game. Thus, the Mids are 7th nationally in rush defense and 122nd in pass-efficiency defense. That's the worst PED on the ND schedule (BYU was 114th). So there will be some good matchup opportunities, both for TE Michael Mayer and for the wide receivers. I don't think ND goes away from its strength and just wings it 50 times. I think there's a happy medium, because if ND can get up two scores, it's going to want to start controlling clock. It also should have the edge in the run game, because that's how good it's getting. So look at the BYU game plan maybe in terms of the kind of what's possible.

Aaron, Washington D.C.

1:09

Hi Eric, hope your week is going well and you're ready for some snow. How much of a matchup challenge do you think Navy poses? The spread for this game is about the same as Stanford yet if Navy can challenge the run like Stanford did, which Navy is very good at, this could be another very difficult situation for the Notre Dame offense. While Notre Dame overcame Clemson's run defense, you have to think Navy will have a good game plan. Do you see any avenue for Notre Dame to deploy a better passing attack? If I remember correctly, Jack Coan had a big day passing against the Navy defense last year. It seems that Notre Dame might need to be able to mix it up on Saturday. Thank you for your time.

Eric Hansen

1:08

Hi Jayquan. Here's the wide receiver math. The Irish would like to have 10 total. Wilkins and Davis won't return. Lenzy and Salerno aren't likely to use a COVID year to return either. So that gives you four: Merriweather, Colzie, Styles and Thomas. There are three receivers in the 2023 class .. so that give you seven. Let's say the Irish get one more ... that's eight (though they could take two more). There's going to be a glut of running backs -- eight if everybody sticks. So Tyree, if he's open to it, could move full time to the slot. That gives you nine. I think you then need a veteran receiver from the transfer portal for No. 10.

Jayquan, Queens NY

1:03

Hey Eric, when it comes to recruiting this cycle how many WRs do you envision signing Irish when it's all said and done? How many would be ideal and how many do you feel is realistic? Freeman Era officially on and poppin', look out!

Eric Hansen

12:59

Hi Jeff. That's a great question for me to put to Marcus Freeman on Thursday's Zoom. Thanks for the reminder. At the start of the season, the clear No. 2 option on punt returns was Matt Salerno. Tobias Merriweather and Gi'Bran Payne were also in that mix. So it bears revisiting, because it's been a while and the "official" ND depth chart can sometimes be stagnant. If this were a normal week, with a conventional offense on the other side, I'd say a blend of Ramon Henderson and Xavier Watts stepping into the safety void. With it being triple option, I give the nod to Watts.

Jeff from Phoenix

12:55

Hey Eric! With Joseph questionable for this week, who do you expect to field punts if he cannot play? And at his safety spot, who would get the extra snaps? It feels like a significant case of ‘opportunity knocking’ for another player that wants to make a statement for the rest of the season and gain momentum into 2023. Thanks-

Eric Hansen

12:51

John, I said Mike from Arizona could break the no-drinking rule, not EVERYBODY. Recruiting is a funny thing and I've seen some interesting and unlikely U-turns, but as it stands, I think I have a better chance of winning Dancing with the Stars than Notre Dame has of reeling Keeley back in. As far as transfer numbers coming in, it depends on the outgoing numbers and how this recruiting class finishes up. QB and WR are in play not matter what, but defensive end could be if your Keeley prediction doesn't come true and if Justin Ademilola opts to head to the NFL Draft. Maybe a nickel corner, but there is a lot of young talent at CB. As far as outgoing transfers, that's business as usual these days, and a certain amount of roster churn is healthy for both the players and the program.

John -Palmyra, PA

12:46

Keon Keeley will come back to the class. Where do you expect the transfers to come from this off-season, and in what numbers? Joe Wilkins is just the beginning in my opinion. Many have to see a diminished path to playing time, and with the incoming classes it’s only going to get worse for some.

Eric Hansen

12:45

Chip Long at Ga Tech: 115th in total offense. And Mike Denbrock at LSU 33rd in total offense. ... I'd imagine I'll get pushback on this, but Denbrock is the most underrated assistant coach I've covered in my career.

12:43

The two from last year's staff who moved on to be coordinators are tight ends coach John McNulty, who will be back at Notre Dame Stadium in about a week and a half with Boston College, and running backs coach Lance Taylor, now the OC at Louisville. McNulty's Eagles are 117th out of 131 FBS teams in total offense, 131st in rush offense, 59th in passing offense and 120th in scoring offense. ... Louisville under Taylor in those same respective categories is: 45/25/89/56. ... And just for the fun of it .. the last two ND offensive coordinators ... (more)

Tony, Lake Mary, FL

12:39

Hey Eric. Happy triple option week. I was a WR on a high school that ran the triple option. Learned some bad acting skills. Anyway, the confidence in Audric Estime and Logan Diggs was awesome to see. Photo of the year to Matt Cashore of Estime on players shoulders after the game. On to question: how are former assistants who are now coordinators doing at their respective places? I know BC is having a rough year, but what about the others?

Eric Hansen

12:38

Hi Mike. Drink away. ... Audric Estimé actually did change numbers this offseason, from 24 to 7. Abd 6 on offense was available (Clarence Lewis has it on defense). ... By the way, the original bus, Jerome Bettis, actually was in town and at the game. He told me on our podcast last week that if the students stormed the field, he would do it too. His son, Jerome Jr., was also at the game. The 2025 WR prospect from Atlanta was on an unofficial recruiting visit.

Mike, Gilbert,AZ

12:31

Eric!!, Don’t know if you have rescinded the no drinking rule for today but I’m drinking the IRISH cool-aid, non-alcoholic version for today. What a win! In the 4th Quarter I started looking to see if Coach Holtz was back on the sideline! No question for today, just a request. Can someone ask Estime to change to #6? The bus is back in town! ND win 2 top 15 wins this year. Beat SC! Cheers!

Eric Hansen

12:29

Most of the uncommitted prospects at the game are 2024s (juniors), so with many of them it was a chance to establish the Irish as their leader. It was also about playing defense. There are a lot of schools that would like to flip some of ND's best prospects into their classes. There couldn't have been a better scenario for Notre Dame to make a strong impression on those players.

12:26

Hi Tanker. If you're a subscriber, I recommend Kyle Kelly's Friday recruiting chat. He can give you much more nuanced answers with regard to recruiting than I can, because he's talking to those prospects and sources daily. As you probably know by now, 2024 CB Karson Hobbs decommitted from South Carolina Tuesday and committed to the Irish Wednesday morning. There are some Rivals FutureCasts out there regarding Kaleb Smith. I think ND feels good about where they are with Khalil Barnes. The Irish aren't going to put all their eggs in one basket. But from talking to Kyle, I don't think Lyons is expected to end up at ND. (more)

Tanker Lutz, Dulce NM

12:16

Hi Eric, great win by the Irish and a huge momentum builder for recruiting and the program as a whole. Curious what the recruiting rumblings are following such a dominant and electric win. Any positive surprises brewing? And with the former Texas Tech wr commit Kaleb Smith on campus for the game along with Khalil Barnes, does that mean that Taeshaun Lyons is drifting away or could all 3 be potentially in play?

Eric Hansen

12:16

Tom, there were no magic words. And it wasn't about following the process blah, blah, blah. Or trusting it. It was about questioning the process and finding ways to make it better every week. After wins. After losses. To Freeman's credit, I've seen a lot of young coaches dig their heels in and get defensive when things don't go right. He channeled the adversity into better practices, better gameday operations, better game plans. And the leaders among the players set great examples in terms of resiliency, in setting a standard when it comes to work ethic and unselfishness. This team is not a finished product, but now it's got momentum to go along with everything else.

Tom from Sister Lakes, MI

12:12

Hi Eric, After the Stanford game I challenged your assertion that “this one’s on Freeman” and said it’s on the players as well. The players were the ones who weren’t executing and said that the leaders on the team needed to get it fixed. Of course Freeman now deserves credit for the change in how they’ve played since then—but the players do too. I’m just curious if you have any sources who can tell you what, if anything, transpired inside the locker room to ignite this change in attitude, passion and performance? This turnaround didn’t just happen because they “followed the process”, blah, blah, blah.

Eric Hansen

12:12

“There’s some footwork stuff that’s technical that we really need to improve on. The pre-snap recognition of ‘Hey, we got the look, We know where we want this ball. Let’s find a way to get it done.’

“There have been some plays this year where maybe he’s late on it with his eyes or he doesn’t see it with his eyes. It’s, ‘Hey, this is the look we want. This is what it looks like.’ I have to make sure we see it during the week. ‘This is why we like it. Let’s find a way to get it done.’

“If we do some of those things, we’ll continue to evolve offensively. He’s taking those steps. Just have to continue to get him those looks to make sure he can.”

12:10

The coaching staff's mission is to maximize what Drew Pyne can give you THIS season. His growth in the Clemson game was taking a step forward in being a better game manager. The Irish will need more than a game manager in 2023, so either Pyne must evolve beyond that or he will not be a viable option to be QB1. But again, this is about 2022 right now. So, I asked offensive coordinator Tommy Rees Tuesday night about what Pyne's next steps should look like. Here is his response:

Chet, Chicago

12:07

Drew Pyne, gotta give the kid some credit as far as continuing to battle despite heavy national criticism and general adversity. Now that the offensive line is a cohesive, physically dominant unit and the run game has hit its stride, do we see Pyne possibly being the next flower to bloom? He shows "traits" (wink, wink @ BK) as a resilient competitor and I wonder just how much he can grow and accomplish now that he's not being asked to do the most offensively. I'd love to see wind continue to fill the kid's sails and wonder what your expectations are (if any) regarding his continued development and growth as a player. I still believe in the heart and moxy but maybe I'm just high off this win! Thoughts?

Eric Hansen

All right, let's get started.

12:05

And ...

12:04

As far as the chat goes, PLEASE remember to include your name and hometown along with your question.

Tyler James and I were back with our YouTube show, Monday Night Live, this week with the week’s headlines, a full review of the upset of Clemson, viewer questions and a Navy preview — all with minimal glitches. The show will run every Monday night at 7 ET the rest of the football season. If you can’t catch us live, you can watch anytime during the week, as the show keeps its shelf life going through the entire week leading up to the next game.
Finally, recruiting writer Kyle Kelly will host a subscribers-only recruiting chat in the Insider Lounge on Friday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. EDT.

12:02

Some quick programming notes:
If you haven’t already, check out this week’s Inside ND Sports podcast presented by Dead Soxy with our special guest Terry Hanratty. Lots of great insight from the former Notre Dame All-American and two-time Super Bowl champ with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Among the topics discussed are his thoughts on coach Marcus Freeman’s career trajectory, on current QB Drew Pyne (who he has known since Pyne’s high school days), his two bouts with COVID — including one life-threatening episode, offensive line coach Harry Hiestand's impact and what made coach Ara Parseghian great.

12:01

Welcome to Notre Dame Football Live Chat, Navy Edition.

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