JotCast | Notre Dame Football Live Chat Oct. 28, 2020

Notre Dame Football Live Chat Oct. 28, 2020

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Doug from Sunny Florida

2:01

Eric, did Greg from Oakland move to Saratoga Springs?

Eric Hansen

2:01

Steve, you are inside my head. I'm not frustrated, because we're living in a time when we all need to adjust and be happy we have college football at all, but it's difficult doing the things you mentioned ... personnel rotations, coverage downfield, sideline stuff. I miss that. We do have live stats, but have those in the stadiums as well. I am glad I will be in the stadium for Clemson for a number of reasons.

Steve Grand Rapids

1:58

Eric: Now that you have spent a couple weekends covering the Irish through TV, I am wondering if you are frustrated with the experience. I find it hard on TV to assess which personnel are in (especially on defense) and to focus on anything away from the ball. I miss the broader perspective. I start and stop my game feed to the point where my wife gives up on the "film session" and moves to HGTV. Can live TV viewing give you what you need to cover the game? Guessing you have to supplement that experience with stat lines.

Eric Hansen

1:58

Thanks Jim, for listening. ... we enjoyed having him too. He delayed eating his lunch for us. As for the punting, Bramblett is actually up in both raw punting average (41.7 ypp from 39.6) and in the all-important net punting (39.4 from 37.7). He has only one touchback on 18 punts and four inside the 20. He's not yet an elite guy, so that's probably what is catching your eye. I do agree with the punt return philosophy. It is important to not turn the ball over, but you're giving away field position if all your going to do is catch it. Kevin Austin was just about to take that over when he got hurt. I think Keys will get the job back soon, but he did muff a punt earlier this year.

Jim Tal, Valley Center, CA.

1:47

Hi Eric, I really enjoyed your podcast interview with with Tyler Bucher. He seems like a sharp young man who just might have the wherewithal to possibly start next season if he gets in early as planned. That aside, my questions concern special teams. Is there any concern over punter J. Bramlett's performance to date. He doesn't seem to be nearly as long or as consistent as he was last season? And why is it that ND seems to have so much difficulty finding someone who can both catch the ball and then do something with it when it comes to punt returning? No knock on Salerno who is dependable in securing a punt but he is not a bona fide threat to pick up valuable yardage so important in creating field position. Isn't time the coaching staff finds someone who offers something more dynamic? I can't believe the Irish don't have someone who can do both.

Eric Hansen

1:46

Adam, thank you. ... OK on question 1: I wondered the same thing myself about it being a new mentality/approach. It was great to see it. Now we need to see if it's sustainable. It needs to be. 2. A healthy Tommy Tremble, maybe Avery Davis, a healthy Lenzy, Kyren Williams in the passing game, and Ben Skowronek may be able to convince me. 3. If the pass rush evolves, my answer is yes. ... Now none of that means I am predicting an ND win against Clemson or that this is a pick 'em game, but these are POSSIBLE pathways to victory for the Irish to pull an upset.

Adam, Dayton, OH

1:38

Eric, love your work and chats...for years. You the man! 3 questions. 1.)Book has always been gutsy, an, underrated athlete, and, at times, very accurate (but, with more inconsistency than you would want). He has never seemed to turn it loose down the field in ways that playoff-caliber qbs do though, but did so against Pitt. Is this a new mindset/potential for the offense, or just a one-off that we can't trust to see with any consistency? 2.) Besides Book and Mayer, who is a a realistic offensive option that can athletically challenge Clemson to give the Irish a chance? 3.) Irish D is good, and we know that #6, and #14 are truly special. But, Clemson will still roll over a merely "good" defense. Is there any reason to legitimately believe the defense can actually put pressure on/ slow down Clemson's offense? Thanks for all you do!

Eric Hansen

1:38

Thanks Joe, for the kind words.

1:37

Houston Griffith continues to be a mystery to me. Great kid. Hard worker. Always has one of the best winters in the weight room. Usually starts spring on fire. He's playing the position that I think is his best fit. Really good athlete. I am scratching my head. ... Foskey's time is coming. He had more snaps than any other defensive end for the Irish against Pitt.

Guest

1:36

Joe H Williams Bay,Wi Hi Eric Look forward to your chat each week I was wondering what your thoughts are on one why hasn’t Houston Griffith made more of and impact and two why haven’t we seen more of Isaiah Foskey on the field especially on passing situations.Thanks and Go Irish

Eric Hansen

1:35

Ohio State might not be automatic, ESPECIALLY if it wins the Big Ten title with a loss or if it misses even one game because of COVID. It's going to be a very difficult comparison for the committee even if OSU is 9-0 and the ACC teams have played 12 games. We're just going to have to let it play out.

Kevin, Fort Wayne

1:33

Eric, If ND is 11-1 (Split with Clemson after losing ACC Championship), Georgia wins out and beats Alabama in the SEC title game; GA, Bama, Clemson and ND all have 1 loss to strong opponents; who of the four is left out of CFP if undefeated OSU already is in as B1G champ?

Eric Hansen

1:32

Wait, what?

Will New York

1:32

I personally think the reason Jordan Johnson isn’t playing is because ND clearly don’t want him to play at all? Thought?

Eric Hansen

1:32

Bruce, I think Clark is in a position to be picky. He's not going to take a dead-end job where he has limited resources or commitment to winning. Boston College made sense last offseason, and he was the runner-up for that job. I don't think he's impatient, but I think he thinks he's ready for the RIGHT opportunity.

Bruce, Centralia, IL

1:30

Eric, there is a lot of fan support for Clark Lea as the next HC. Would he be looking to go somewhere else for a few years to get HC experience, and if so, what level of program would have a shot at hiring him? There is risk in going that way - he could not succeed, which would make him a less viable HC candidate when the ND job opens up. On the other hand, I understand his likely impatience to get his first crack at HC somewhere. Thanks as always.

Eric Hansen

1:30

Brendon Clark actually through three passes, up 42 points, and played 18 snaps. He gets 40 percent of the snaps in practice. The most important thing re Clemson is not Clark being ready but that Book's ready for Clemson.

Mike, King of Prussia PA

1:28

With all the playing time the second team got last week why not use that time to develop the backup QB, I believe he three 1 pass and then handed off for the balance of the game. If Book goes down how is Clark supposed to be ready for Clemson?

Eric Hansen

1:24

Happy Halloween, Harvey. I didn't see him play in high school, so I was surprised. But I shouldn't have been. Mike Mickens has a track record of getting college corners up to speed early in their careers (including his own playing career). And once I researched Clarence, it was easier to see why he rose up the depth chart so quickly and convincingly: https://www.ndinsider.com/football/ahead-of-his-time-freshman-cb-clare...

ND Harvey from South Ohilly

1:22

E, Happy Halloween. Are You surprised by the play of Clarence Lewis, I’m not, saw him play in High school and was very impressed, also will T. Bracy play this week. Be Safe. Go Irish

Eric Hansen

1:21

Jake, I guess it's not happy hour in Saratoga Springs? Based on the statements you made, none of which I agree with, I'm not sure if there's anything I can say that would even make a dent in your thinking. Let's just look at the first point. FRESHMAN Michael Mayer is the team's leading receiver. FRESHMEN Chris Tyree is the No. 2 running back. REDSHIRT FRESHMAN Kyren Williams in the starting running back. FRESHMAN cornerback Clarence Lewis has started two games. FRESHMAN Rylie Mills has played on a very, very deep and veteran defensive line. REDSHIRT FRESHMEN Marist Liufau and Jack Kiser have started games at linebacker. ... And we had Tyler Buchner as a guest on our podcast this week. He doesn't see the program through whatever distorted prism you're looking through.

Jake from Saratoga Springs, NY

1:11

Hello Eric, it's no secret that Brian Kelly will always go to a low ceiling upper classman instead of extremely talented underclassmen because he feels that secures his 9-10 win season each year and keeps his job. Have you gotten the sense at all that top rated recruits are starting to question ND on the notion that Brian Kelly will not give them an opportunity early to compete. I mean after the generational developmental gaffe with Phil Jurkovec (who I believe will end up being at top 5 NFL draft pick), if I'm Tyler Buchner's dad (and I played Div. II Basketball so I'm very familiar with all of this) we are having daily discussions about the thought of decommitting from ND who under Brian Kelly has been attrocious with QB's and get to a school who not only develops QB's but also gives younger talented skill players the opportunity to compete for playing time. Thank you for your thoughts.

Eric Hansen

1:10

Wide receivers. Wide receivers. Wide receivers.

Daniel Lamott

1:10

Indianapolis, IN. Which under the radar position group do you see having the biggest impact on the remainder of the season?

Eric Hansen

1:10

I don't think you can do that with every team. But Brian thought this team had showed the maturity to be able to handle it. Look, kids are on social media all the time. They know what's coming up in a week and a half. Why not find a way to embrace that reality? I liked the approach, mainly because it worked.

Robb from Delaplane, Va

1:08

What do you make of Brian Kelly's new approach of not worrying so much about not looking ahead to big games and coaching the team to not only win but to win in a punishing way even it means the final score gets run up? The approach of acknowledging that to win a championship we have to look good, too, when doing it, reminds of the Ara and Lou years when we simply took it to the opposition regardless of who they were or what ranking they brought into the game. And in turn, we were feared, not the other way around, in the run-up to the game and during the game itself. Or do I have it all wrong? Thanks!

Eric Hansen

1:07

He's just getting back from a concussion, and this was his first week of meaningful practice reps in a while, so over the next few weeks -- if he can stay healthy -- we should get that answer. I do think Avery Davis is playing well and was doing so at the start of the season when both were healthy.

Will New York

1:06

Any faith that Lawarence Keys will make an impact this year? Last year he flashed and I figured he was gonna have a much bigger role.

Eric Hansen

1:05

We've seen a lot of rotation in the defensive line the past few years, since Mike Elston re-took that position group over, but the deep linebacker rotation is new, and they're rotating corners more than I can ever remember (though some of that is related to players coming back from COVID). I do think the depth is a big plus, because it's quality depth.

Phil from Foster City, CA

1:04

In your opinion have we ever seen in the Kelly era an ND Defense that plays as many guys for as many high leverage, meaningful minutes as this 2020 Irish squad does? I just looked at the two deep announced for GaT and normalized it against what I saw during the PITT beat down. It seems Owusu-Koramoah, Hamilton and Crawford are on the field for most every snap. (Great idea!) But the crazy thing against Pitt - even during the first half- is there appeared to be 19 other guys cycling through the remaining 8 positions on the field. We had 10 different guys cycling through the 4 D-Line positions! No wonder we are tough to run against. Your thoughts? Thanks!

Eric Hansen

1:03

Sending you and the puppy the same.

Bill 1000 Oaks Ca

1:03

Sorry to sign off without wishing you the best and please stay safe.Shih Tzu puppy has mind of her own.GoIrish

Eric Hansen

1:02

Scott, there are three commits in the 2022 class, but only one of them is a tight end. That one, Jack Nickel is a three-star prospect who figures to get a ratings bump once evaluations aren't so limited by COVID-19. ... Don't get too caught up in early ratings. Another Georgia product, Kyle Hamilton, was a three-star prospect when he committed to ND.

Scott from Jonesborough, TN

12:55

In the 2022 class, there are three tight end verbal commits, none that appear to be stellar. What do you think the logic us

Eric Hansen

12:54

Bill, play-calling is definitely affected by your defense. In 2012, Brian Kelly rarely took chances on fourth down or even third and long, because he knew his defense would get him the ball back. It's also affected by how you want to play, and Brian Kelly mentioned Monday, ND has slowed the tempo down because it wants to be multiple in formations and personnel groups. ,,, and no, other than maybe a left-handed play here or there, ND is trying to hone what it does well, not hide it.

Bill 1000 Oaks Ca

12:52

Not looking past GT.Pitt game showed some progress.To a certain extent do you think Rees’s playing calling is conditioned by knowing he has a great defense at his back.Time of possession is nice but figure at least 30 points will be required to beat Clemson or is it a question of keeping under wraps what this offense can really do until Nov.7

Eric Hansen

12:51

So fast forward to after the Pitt game. I asked BK specifically about JJ, given Lenzy's and Austin's injuries. In the moment his team just scored 45 points on the No. 7 defense in the country. I think given time to think about it after watching the film, he decided to revisit the thought of using JJ, even if it might be in a limited capacity. So it sounds like he's getting a chance to prove himself in practice this week. My hope is to give you all an update Thursday after Brian's Zoom with the media. But keep one thing in mind, we don't know how good Jordan Johnson is. I think it's reasonable to try to find out this week.

12:48

How did he get on the outside looking in? Athletically he was impressive this summer. Off the field, he was not. At ND, both of those things need to be achieved for playing time. Once JJ made strides in those areas, other people had moved ahead of him. Because of no spring, a weird summer, condensed fall camp, a run of injuries and infections in the WR group, and the nine-day late September/early October pause in practices, Book's chemistry with the receivers wasn't as crisp as it could have been. So the reaction was to skinny down the rotation and hone in on the guys who the staff trusted the most. So back burner for Johnson. (still more to come)

12:43

Justin, I'm going to disagree with you that Brian Kelly has beaten a superior team only once. It probably seems like that at times, but I can give you a lot of other examples. Quite frankly, it takes away from the question you really wanted to ask. ... Let me start with the news that will make you less frustrated perhaps. During players interviews Tuesday night, Ian Book offered that Jordan had been elevated from the scout team and was practicing with the "varsity" Tuesday and making some "amazing catches." That doesn't mean it will translate to games or that he'll get that chance, but that's an important step. (more to come)

Justin, Home of Philly Special

12:33

Why is Jordan Johnson not on the field? Big time programs find a way to get their most talented players on the field and ours is sitting on scout team. With Lenzy and Austin out you need to find a playmaker who can stretch the field. While BK has shown the ability to beat less talented teams consistently, he has only beaten a superior opponent (OU) once.

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