JotCast | Notre Dame Football Live Chat Oct. 18, 2023

Notre Dame Football Live Chat Oct. 18, 2023

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Eric Hansen

1:29

Hi Rui. Marcus Freeman next season will be dealing with a new president and athletic director. That can be (not always) sticky if down the road there are hiccups, because they're not the people that hired you. Probably more practically, are they going to be as invested and influential in helping you make big-picture changes relative to facilities and policies, such as ND's approach to transfers?

Rui from Ossining, NY

1:27

Any pros/cons towards the program will ND football have with a new incoming president?

Eric Hansen

1:26

Time off LOL? What language are you speaking ... It's all good. Where ND goes from here is building off that defensive performance. I think there are elements of personnel usage, roles, concepts that can be translated and tweaked from week to week. But you're not going to get five takeaways every week, so the offense must improve. I don't have a blanket issue with an inexperienced offensive coordinator at a Power 5 program, but I think it's a huge risk when you have a relatively inexperienced head coach, whose expertise is defense. I think Gerad Parker is a bright guy who will get better in time, but ND needs to microwave the process a bit, and outside of bringing in a veteran consultant cold two-thirds of the way though the season, that's a pretty tall task. Not impossible, but difficult.

Tom Kennesaw, GA

1:20

Hi Eric, thanks again for your time last night. The Atlanta Club is very appreciative. Have a Happy Birthday this weekend with your kids and grandkids!!! Also, thanks for doing the Chat on a bye week. Ok, where do we go from here?? After last year's great performance against Clemson I think many of us saw that as the start of something really good for the program. I'm not sure that has happened as there are still a lot of questions, particularly on Offense. Would you agree that one of the reasons that the Defense is ahead of the Offense at this point is that the D has a veteran DC leading the way over a relatively inexperienced OC? So what did we learn from the great win over USC as we head into the final 4 games of the season? Also, following a big recruiting night Saturday have you or Tyler heard of any pending commitments?? Enjoy some time off and Go Irish!!!

Eric Hansen

1:20

Thanks Tom. Really enjoyed the Atlanta event last night. So glad you were a part of it.

Tom Kennesaw, GA

1:20

Oh, thanks for the shout out at the end of the Chat last night. I was on line for the entire show. As usual you were informative, insightful and humorous when called for.

Eric Hansen

1:19

Easiest question of the day. Phenomenal.

Ryan mars pa

1:18

Good afternoon Eric what do you think about the play Of Xavier watts vs usc he looked Good Go Irish 🏈🏈☘️☘️

Eric Hansen

1:18

Kevin!!!!!! Congrats, you are second this week on the exclamation-point meter. Notre Dame is fortunate USC has been willing to play in November, period. Not a lot of Power 5 teams outside the ACC would be eager to do that. And ND likes finishing in California, alternating between Stanford and USC. That will be one of my questions when I get a chance to AD-in-training Pete Bevacqua ... how the Big Ten version of USC and the ACC version of Stanford will handle those dates moving forward.

Kevin-Sleepy Eye,MN

1:14

Eric!!!!!!!:):) If I'm not mistaken; USC won't play us in November because its too cold. But now they joined BIGTEN, does that change things? I think they are going to regret this change:) Go Irish!

Eric Hansen

1:14

Hi Jim. Thanks, I've touched on some of those points, but let me go a little deeper with this thought. Experience and health can improve this group. Think about it, from 2010 to 2022, Notre Dame has three freshman receivers who garnered more than nine receptions their freshman year and four with more than six. None of them were Will Fuller, Miles Boykin, Chase Claypool or Equanimeous St. Brown. With Jordan Faison now in the mix, Notre Dame is relying on three of them at the same time, plus a guy switching positions in Chris Tyree. That's a lot of learning curve on the field at the same time. Getting back some true boundary receivers -- Jayden Thomas and Deion Colzie -- should help balance things. And there's more help coming in the next recruiting class, led by Cam Williams. Some good news from a matchup standpoint. Pitt is 103 out of 130 in pass-efficiency defense. Wake is 61 and Stanford is 125, but Clemson is No. 9.

Jim Tal, Valley Center CA.

1:06

Hello Eric, always appreciate these chats and having the chance to get your feedback on things. A great win for the Irish but despite the Tyree hookup, the wide receiver room remains the elephant in the room. It's hard to imagine ND running the table from here on out unless the output from the wide receivers increases substantially. So in your opinion, where does the problem reside? It is scheme, mediocre coaching, underachieving talent or something else. It's hard to understand why the wide receiver position would be in this rather unproductive state at this advanced stage of the season. If you can, help me understand what is truly going on. Thanks.

Eric Hansen

1:05

Hi Marie. Thank you and I really enjoyed my Zoom visit with the Notre Dame Club of Atlanta last night. Can't wait to meet you all in person. ... I think the biggest thing is to continue to refine the pre-snap communication methods that were so severely lacking at Duke, for instance. While the players are getting a chance to get away from football this weekend, there has been some time to refine that process. Also, Clemson will be the best defense ND has faced this season ... not the best team, but the best of several really good defenses. ... Also deciding on the best five and either sticking with who you have or making the switch now. No in-game rotations unrelated to injuries. Better play-calling, better wide receiver play will also help the O-Line play and vice versa. ... Areas I'd be most concerned with improving I just kind of listed ... O-Line play, WR play, offensive play-calling/scheme .... on defense, third-down D, rush d (Clemson has a good running game), and coverage units on special teams.

Marie from Atlanta

12:58

Hi Eric, Happy Birthday Week! !I think it’s fair to say that the offense and in particular the offensive line have played much better at home then on the road. With Clemson being an Away game and probably the hardest game left on the schedule, this situation will need to be remedied, What can be done in the next two weeks to help improve performance away from ND stadium? Also, if you are Marcus Freeman, what areas are you the most concerned about improving over the next two weeks so that Notre Dame can finish the season 10-2. As always, thanks for hosting the chat, and the great insights.

Eric Hansen

12:58

Even as you look at this recruiting cycle, the position coaches and Freeman seem to have more impact than the coordinators. And again some positions more than others. Gino Guidugli's relationship with 2025 QB Deuce Knight is huge.

12:56

I do think there's a culture that puts team first. And it's not an accident. They build it through the offseason through their SWAT teams, an innovation introduced by former Notre Dame director of football performance Matt Balis, where the team is split into smaller units and they earn points for what they do in the weightroom, classroom, etc., in the offseasons. It's also where leadership emerges. It also builds competition. ... How important is it for assistant coaches and coordinators to close on recruits? it varies from program to program, year to year, recruit to recruit and position to position. There's no stock answer. Marcus Freeman considers himself the lead recruiter on every prospect from start to finish. Brian Kelly did not. Charlie Weis did for offensive guys. Tyrone Willingham was passive. Bob Davie was it and miss. Lou Holtz was a closer. But Vinny Cerrato did the legwork. ... (more)

12:51

Hi Shane, I like that you did not hit the 17-part question violation. All interesting topics, so let's get to them. ... Xavier is such a humble guy and so driven by things that have little to do with personal gain and ego that it's hard for him to answer questions like that in the moment. His mind just doesn't work that way. I think given more time, he would have said he believed the coaching staff when they told him they thought he had a brighter future on defense. They always gave him the option to move back and he didn't take it. His transformation has been really fun to cover. (more)

Shane from White Deer,Texas

12:47

Hey Eric. What a difference a week makes. I really liked your question to Xavier Watts after the game he had at the presser. His answer seemed a little disjointed. Did you get the sense he is happy playing defense or misses offense? I really couldn’t tell from his answer. Also, during the presser, every player mentioned and talked “team effort”. From talking to coaches and players, is this their true nature and culture, or is it for image sake? I hope it is all real. Finally, how important are coordinators and assistant coaches when it comes to closing on recruits. Do most recruits come because of the Head coach or are they looking at their position coaches as well? Go Irish!!

Eric Hansen

12:46

With Thomas coming back and Deion Colzie perhaps back soon as well ... and Jaden Greathouse getting healthy and the addition of Jordan Faison, the staff needs to decide how much to prioritize Tobias over the last four regular-season games. Perhaps the fair thing is to limit his game reps and show he can be productive with limited reps, as Greathouse and Colzie did earlier this season, before recommitting to Tobias. ... As far as Jordan Botelho, USC ran 74 plays but Pro Football Focus also counts six plays called back because of penalty... so 80 plays. Botelho played 28. Josh Burnham 14, Junior Tuihalamaka 21, Boubacar Traore 2, and then Jaylen Sneed played 16 reps, often as a pass rusher than a traditional linebacker. Botelho hasn't played dynamic like the Irish need the vyper end to be, so the other guys in the rotation and Sneed are getting longer looks to upgrade the position. I think it's a smart move.

12:41

OK, let's start with Jayden Thomas, because that's the easiest. He played six snaps out of a potential 49. Still coming back carefully, slowly from the hamstring injury. A fully healthy Thomas would be a welcome re-entry into the lineup. I think to expect for that to happen after the bye week for Pitt makes sense. Tobias Merriweather is the tricky one. Notre Dame has invested in game reps to get him right, and he leads the team on the season, but has just eight receptions to show for it and just two over the last four games. The last two games he's has season lows in reps -- 25 vs. Louisville and 16 in a catchless/targetless game vs. USC. (more)

Tom from Sister Lakes MI

12:29

Hi Eric, Three veteran starters were basically MIA in the 2nd half of the USC game: Thomas, Merriweather and Bothelo. Do you know why each one didn't play much, if at all, in the last half? I'm especially curious about Bothelo and wonder if he's in a coach's dog house. I'd be interested in what your sources have to say.

Eric Hansen

12:25

I think Notre Dame has an offensive identity that it has strayed from, both in execution and innovation. This was supposed to be an offense that could toggle between opening up its run with the passing game, and opening up the passing game with the running game. It's got bogged down into doing neither particularly well. If the O-Line can replicate its performance from Saturday and build on that, and the wide receiver room gets healthy and prioritizes the right WRs moving forward, then it really will come down to game-planning and play calls.

12:23

Hi Richard, and thanks for watching and liking Football Never Sleeps. We have fun doing that show every Monday night on YouTube. ... I have never challenged, even kiddingly, another voter's poll, either when I voted in the AP poll for decades, or now in the Super 15 poll UNLESS is was egregious to the point it begged for scrutiny. And can you imagine how much fun it would be to challenge Chris Zorich about anything. You would be taking a big chance on the size of his sense of humor. I also think polls are more for fun and conversation now, since the CFP determines playoff spots, etc. Those are the ones that invite and deserve our attention. (more)

richard, rochester, ny

12:17

Eric, You ae the best and your Football Never Sleeps is top-notch. Thank you to you and Tyler. 2 questions, the first not too serious-----do you ever chat with your fellow pollsters on the Top 16? I mean, even good naturedly e.g. Chris Zorich not listing ND in his top 16 even after Sunday. I mean, Chris what's going on, ha,ha type of thing? Second, do you think Gerard Parker's real problem is that he hasn't been able to either discover or on second thought, forged an offensive identity for ND? I mean, we've used 50%, 50% running/passing until we didn't, overloading the offensive line till we didn't, two back sets until we didn't. I mean, other than repeating HCMF's rubric: run the football to open up the passing game, can you identify and/or provide a label to shat Parker is trying to accomplish?

Eric Hansen

12:17

The evolution of the offensive line, a wide receiver room that got depleted but is healing all play into the offensive regression. The bye week offers a chance for renewal. For a relatively inexperienced OC, what Gerad Parker is going through is not necessarily a rare hiccup, but Brian Kelly was a backstop for his OCs. Marcus Freeman, being a defensive coach, is not that at this point in his career. Parker has to show he's a fixer too, not just a guy with a deep catalog of ideas. He has to evolve and counterpunch. The Pitt and Clemson matchups both will provide ample testing grounds to gauge whether progress is being made.

12:14

The answer is a combination of what you mentioned and a few other things, but the way out if improving offensive play-calling/scheme ... which also points to the No. 1 problem. Without getting into deep-dive matchups and stats, the first four games ND faced the No. 68 team in total defense, an FCS team, No. 32 and No. 102. In the four games after, they've faced Nos. 7, 16, 22 and 93 in USC. So the outliers in the two sets are NC State and USC. The Irish produced a Freeman Era low of 251 total yards against a USC defense that other teams had routinely exploited. Now, there were only 49 offensive plays in the game and ND did cash in the turnovers, but there were still elements to be concerned about. (more)

12:09

Manny!!!!!!!! Thank you for the enthusiasm, and I'm going to start with you, because I think this is the No. 1 theme of the questions this week, so let's not build up the suspense and get right to it. (more)

Manny from San Pedro

12:06

Eric!!!!!!!!!!
great week!!!!!!!! Beating usc is always fun!!!!
my question is our offense did nothing unless it was coming off a turnover. Is this a scheme issue or was the first few games inflated over some bad competition???

Eric Hansen

OK off we go ...

12:06

Due to the most lopsided victory over a Top 10 team in 28 years, both the "No Bare Feet" and "No Drinking" rules have been rescinded for this week. No fighting/spitting/gambling all still in play.

12:05

12:04

PLEASE remember to include your NAME and HOMETOWN along with your question(s). If your name really is "guest", I'm going to need some ID.

OK, on to this week's chat ...

12:03

► And, finally, we’re off this week from radio duty, but thanks to all who have been listening to WSBT radio this season, as I have rejoined Darin Pritchett as a co-host on Weekday SportsBeat (960 AM, live streaming at wsbtradio.com) on Wednesdays and Thursdays during the 2023 Notre Dame Football season. I'm also co-hosting the pregame shows with Darin and Tyler Horka (which is not a clever stage name for Tyler James). The weekday shows run from 5-6 p.m. ET. We’ll be returning to regular programming next week. You can download episodes as podcasts.

► Look for this week’s Inside ND Sports Podcast to drop later today. We’ll be talking with NFL Draft analyst Mike Renner about Notre Dame’s NFL Draft prospects and the relative talent levels on the rosters of the Irish and several of their opponents. The podcast can be listened to via SoundCloud or on your preferred podcast platform including: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Podbean and Pocket Casts.

12:02

► 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’ve settled into our Monday night 7 ET time slot. Remember, if you miss the live show, you can catch up anytime on YouTube. Tyler James and I are also doing a live postgame show of our takeaways after every game. Here’s what last week’s show looked like.

Some quick programming notes:

12:01

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