JotCast | Notre Dame Football Live Chat Oct. 14, 2020

Notre Dame Football Live Chat Oct. 14, 2020

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Eric Hansen

Let me expand some in general terms to your questions.

1:13

Jules, I had our recruiting writer, Carter Karels. help me with part of this question. Here is his answer: Notre Dame offers more than 200 full-ride scholarships to players in every recruiting cycle. No school is going to land every player they offer. That is why you see schools offer 300 recruits and sign 25 of them. So it’s wise to offer more than what you can take while having a number in mind. Otherwise, you’d fall short every time. The Irish would not take both Angeli and Wimsatt. They’d like to land one of them. Offering both gives them a better chance of landing one quarterback they like. As for the classifications, 2021, 2022, 2023, etc. indicates the year they will arrive on campus. So Angeli and Wimsatt are high school juniors and will be enrolled in colleges starting in 2022, unless they reclassify.

Jules from Joliet, Il

1:10

Eric: thanks for conducting these chats. Can you clarify some of the aspects of recruiting? For example, ND has offered two 2022 QBs, Angeli and Wimsatt. Does the first one to commit get the position, or is the offer to the second person contingent on the first turning down the offer? Similarly, I see Angeli has offers from teams like LSU, Ohio St, Michigan, etc. Is there any way to know if he is the primary target for these schools or merely a back up plan? Similarly, we see blurbs such as ND has offers to X amount ( say eight) OLs but are only taking four. Are the recruits told “first come, first served” or, “ there’s a spot for you if offers 1, 2 and 3 don’t accept” ? Thank you.

Eric Hansen

1:08

I think he would look at Power 5 jobs. He was a finalist for Boston College last year. Vanderbilt, if it moves on from Derek Mason, will be knocking on his door. He can and will be selective, and there's no guarantee he'd leave after this season.

Manny Goshen

1:06

A follow up to your earlier Clark Lea question . Do you think for Coach Lea it is Power 5 or stay at ND ? Could a MAC school or Cincinnati have a shot at him? ( on a side note , I think he would be a better NFL Head Coach than College)

Eric Hansen

1:05

This is from Liam's Zoom with the media Tuesday night. He's on the mend and not expected to miss any practice or game time.

1:04

Jeff from Phoenix

1:00

Hey Eric, just a comment and question about injuries sustained vs FSU. I love the positive attitude that Paul Moala is carrying about his foot, it has parallels to the outlook that carried Drue Tranquill through his injuries and rehab. Next, any word on the eye injury to Liam Eichenberg and if he is 100% heading into saturday, it looked very swollen on tv and just hope it has no lasting impact on his vision. Thanks-

Eric Hansen

12:59

Denny, thanks. We're not around the players this year .. all on Zoom. So I will try to answer as many of these as I can. Yes, some live in the dorms, but fewer than usual. Freshmen and sophomores were allowed to and encouraged to live off campus this year because of COVID-19. Some attend in person classes. Some are on committees that meet in person. A lot of the meals are grab and go. I don't think they're prohibited from certain areas on campus, but asked to be smart about it. The SWAT team captains (some of which are regular captains) help keep everyone accountable.

denny from beaverton ormcast.net

12:55

Hi Eric . It is a Blessing to be playing football this year in mid October. I just feel an overall good vibe coming from the team this year under trying circumstances. The players have to be more disciplined this year than in any previous year. What is a typical day like for a player? Do any live in dorms? Do any attend in person classes? Are all their meals at the Gug? Are they prohibited from certain places on campus like dining areas, the bookstore or other congested areas. Are certain guys responsible for other younger guys? Sounds like they are doing a really good job but this has to require extreme dedication especially for the younger guys. I think the coaches and players deserve much credit. Thanks for being there for us.

Eric Hansen

12:55

It's all good. Night games do mess with your body clock. And after the Michigan game last year, we drove back. I think I walked in the door at 6:30 a.m. and then did my top 25 ballot for AP before going to bed. Not complaining. ... Three things. I think Banks could be a very good LT and he may play that next year. Some of that could depend on how Andrew Kristofic comes along. As far as Saturday night, Kelly said Lugg had been working on the right side all week, because Kraemer had been a little banged up. So he went with Gibbons, who had been practicing at left guard. Gibbons is interesting, if not for the present, for the future. He's come back from several injuries and is finally healthy. It will be interesting to watch how he does when he gets opportunities, because we may see some real growth with him.

Mike from Rochester NY

12:48

Hi, Eric. First, I happened to notice the publish times of the articles you and others wrote for all of us last weekend. Times like 2:45AM and 3:15AM. I never realized just how late you all had to work after a night game and want to thank you all for being so coherent and entertaining that late at night. Seriously. Now, my question: I was surprised when Liam Eichenberg went out and Aaron Banks moved out to tackle with Dillan Gibbons coming in at guard. I expected Josh Lugg would have subbed in for Eichenberg, given how high the coaches have always been on Lugg. Was Lugg unavailable? Or is Banks a better LT than Lugg and Gibbons a really good LG?

Eric Hansen

12:45

GB, Notre Dame does supply the players with vitamins/supplements throughout the year and even was able to do so last spring after everyone was sent home. I'm not sure there's a supplement regimen that's specific to COVID-19/immune response. As far as conditioning, players in quarantine can condition individually once they're through the first seven days of the 14-day quarantine. Players in isolation can not. And once they're through the 10 days, they have to ramp up incrementally. Practice at 50 percent. Practice at 75 percent, etc.

GB from Wasilla, Alaska

12:41

Eric, I am inquiring about how ND keeps it's football players healthy not just in COVID times but all the time. Does ND supply the players with certain vitamins, minerals and supplements throughout the year? Do they take special supplements to prevent getting COVID? I also saw that many players were out of practice in quarantine. Reports said they could not condition. I presume that meant that the players could not condition at the Gug or with the team. Did they have some sort of home conditionaing regimen to follow while in quarantine? Thanks

Eric Hansen

12:41

David, I don't think it's a matter of money. It's about Clark Lea having the aspirations to be a head coach and feeling that he's ready for that. Now, he's not going to take any job just to be a head coach. But if there's a great fit, I'd expect him to get involved.

David Columbus, OH

12:39

Hey Eric,

I absolutely love Clark Lea and just think he is fantastic. Why doesn’t ND go the Brent Venables route and just pay him the money to stay on as a DC?

Eric Hansen

12:39

Newt, it's wonderful to hear from you. And thank you. You be safe too.

Newt in Midlothian, VA

12:38

Whats up E? First time Ive been able to hop on this year. Covid has all of us reshuffling our schedules Im sure. Really no question....just wanted to say stay safe and thank you for work. Go Irish!

Eric Hansen

12:35

Tom, he actually was credited with one tackle against USF and two against Florida State, but your point is: Shouldn't we expect more production? I would agree. I think, though, the Louisville game is going to give us a better indication of just where everyone is individually on defense. The nine days with no practices and the COVID-19 outbreak affected the defense significantly and some individuals more than others (isolation vs. quarantine being one big factor). Foskey is coming on. There's always going to be rotation on the defensive line, but if Foskey keeps coming, it's going to be difficult to not reward him with more snaps. I wouldn't give up on Hayes, but it's a situation worth tracking.

Tom from Grand Rapids, MI

12:30

Eric, appreciate the chats and doing your due diligence with the restrictions placed upon you. Daelin Hayes hasn’t been credited with a tackle the last two games. In watching this past Saturday, He was struggling to get off his blocks and from what I saw he lost contain numerous times when he collapsed down on the running back. Are you worried by his lack of production? Is it a matter of time before Foskey surpasses him or am I way off base Go Irish!!

Eric Hansen

12:28

There's a commitment to make both of those things happen — in time and athletic director Jack Swarbrick has said as much at least with Wisconsin. BUT given everything that's on Jack Swarbrick's plate at the moment and the fact we don't know yet whether 2021 will be "normal," it's not on the front burner.

Frank from Missouri

12:26

Have future football schedules been altered due to cancellations this year? I’m thinking of any rescheduling of Wisconsin at Green Bay, Arkansas at ND etc.

Eric Hansen

12:25

I still think Armstrong occasionally catching pass as a running back, with a linebacker or safety defending him, is a better matchup than Armstrong as a receiver with a cornerback defending him. And sure you can move him to receiver, but who's he going to displace? Austin. Lenzy, McKinley? Skowronek when he gets healthy? Davis? Keys? Wilkins? Jordan Johnson?

Dave from Alpha, NJ

12:22

Hi Eric. In the preseason, I submitted the notion of moving Jafar Armstrong back to a wide receiver or slot receiver position.
I was told that that would probably not happen due to the lack of experience at the running back position. Fast forward I’m asking the same question now because it looks like Kyren Williams, Chris Tyree, and C-Bo well dominate all the calories for the rest of the year.

Eric Hansen

12:22

I had this discussion with Clark Lea at one point last year. The Mike (middle linebacker) is going to play with the most traffic/congestion. So lots of blocks to shed. The Buck (weakside linebacker) is still inside but plays a little more in space. He also needs to be more accomplished in coverage. As far as highest upside combo, the rover part is easy with Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. Bo Bauer is gaining on Drew White. I'd like to see how White plays this week. The layoff was harder on some defensive players than others. Simon confuses me, because he should be further along in his development. He's too smart and athletic to not be progressing faster. So I will go with Kiser, just because I think he'll improve in leaps and bounds and I like his run fits.

Lawrence from San Diego

12:16

How different are the physical/athletic requirements for Mike and Buck? How different are the reads and game prep? Who do you see getting the most snaps at Buck vs Clemson (seeing that as the peak end state Clark is building to)? What is the mike/buck/rover combo with the highest upside?

Eric Hansen

12:15

I asked Brian Kelly that question Monday, and he gave me a word salad. I think Simon is the best athlete of them and they're all very good athletes. Liufau has the most intriguing skill set, Kiser is the best against the run. I wonder how he'd be isolated in coverage. My sense tells me since he was a safety on defense in high school, he would be a quick study. So who do I think will come out on top? Eventually Kiser, but not this week.

Matt from Nappanee, IN

12:12

I'm curious who you think will come out on top for the buck linebacker position between Simon, Kiser and Liufau now that they are all seemingly healthy?

Eric Hansen

12:09

There is an ACC rule regarding coaches and face coverings, so that is a violation. ... As to what he might be thinking? I actually asked Brian Kelly a question that was somewhat related last week. That is: Did Brian/the team/the medical advisers consider players who already had the virus unable to spread it once they were cleared? He said per ACC rules they don't have to test for 90 days and they strategically place those individuals in the locker room next to players who have not had the virus. However, everyone has to wear masks and social distance. So I think it's more setting an example and being on the safe side than it is necessarily pragmatic. That's probably how Norvell viewed it, but I can only assume since I didn't talk to him about it.

RustyIrish CINCINNATI OH.

12:03

Thanks for the chats. In these very interesting times I’m curious why Mike Norvell, having had Covid just the week before, can be shown roaming the sidelines more than a dozen times on NBC without a mask? Isn’t there a rule requiring masks on the sideline for coaches and why can’t officials enforce it with a penalty after a warning? At the very least it sets a very poor example.

Eric Hansen

The queue is overflowing with questions, so let's get right to it.

12:01

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