JotCast | Notre Dame Football Live Chat Oct. 30, 2024 | 10/30/2024

Notre Dame Football Live Chat Oct. 30, 2024

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Eric Hansen

3:11

ALMOST got through the entire queue today. Thanks for all the great questions. We'll be back next Wednesday at noon ET to do it all over again.

3:10

OK, Patrick, so you are saying USC is the toughest. From there I'd say Army, Virginia and Florida State in that order. Rocket science at its best.

Patrick from Los Angeles

3:09

Thank you for the chats. Can you kindly rank the three toughest remaining games in order after USC, and give your opinions for your rankings?

Eric Hansen

3:09

Sean, thanks for the compliments and your observations. I don't think there's anything I can say that will make you feel better. Life isn't about avoiding adversity. It's about how you handle it. And I think Marcus has handled his learning curve in a pretty impressive fashion. It took Brian Kelly several years, with experience before coming to ND, to consistently win all the games ND should win. His stumbling block was handling things consistently on the big stages, which Marcus has done a better job of as a young coach. I like the trajectory Marcus Freeman is on, and I can reassess that after the USC game. But in the 12-team playoff era, losing to NIU isn't what it was on the four-team playoff era.

Sean, Schaumburg, IL

3:05

Eric, another spectacular FNS. I thought from minutes 28-33 talking about the O-line of Schrauth moving to the left side was great. Insightful. Apropos. Minutes 38-42 was great insight as well. You guys, like the team, are rounding into great form. My question is-rounding into form in late October/early November isn't cutting it. I'm from the NW Burbs of Chicago and the NIU game hangs over this team like the Sword of Damacles. How can Freeman make another evolution and eliminate those early season stumbles? OSU/Marshall in 2022. Even the Stanford loss in 2022 was foundation shaking. OSU/10-men on the field in 2023. NIU this year. The team has a narrower margin by being independent. Need TAMU to keep winning. Army in NYC and then USC in Cali. I'm like Tyler-apprehensive to believe they can win out. FSU is causing angst at 1-7. The spector of NIU is ever-present. Thank you. Go Irish!!

Eric Hansen

3:05

I thought he did a great job on the Navy game. That whole crew was really good.

Mike, phoenix

3:05

Eric, I know this is beyond your scope as you are in the press box but can I petition to have Sean McDonough be the voice for ND in future games? One of the best in the business. Thank you.

Eric Hansen

3:05

Hi Sean. I've done some updates earlier and will do them again when we get to bowl/playoff season. Deal?

Sean, Portland OR

3:04

Any update on how some of the transfers *away* from ND are doing this year? I think Rico Flores is doing fine on UCLA even though they're bad. How's Tobias at Cal? Tyree is a 5th option at Virginia?

Eric Hansen

3:04

Hi Ed, We have tried and will continue to try. He had some bad experiences with doing some media commitments a year ago and might need some time to get past that. I would love to have him on and really enjoy talking to him.

Ed, Sayville NY

3:02

Hello Eric and hope you are doing well. When I think of sustainable success for the Irish on the field and throughout the program, it becomes more and more clear how essential it is to have talented people working hand in hand with Coach Freeman and his coordinators to identify and recruit talent from multiple pools (H.S., portal etc), manage NIL, maintain relationships with players and parents, the list goes on and on. My question is would it be possible to get Chad Bowden on the podcast? I realize he isn’t the only individual supporting the myriad needs of the program, but a discussion with him would be well worth a listen. Go ☘️

Eric Hansen

3:01

JBuck. You are awesome and I love your questions, but if I had a nickel for every time I've been asked about Brenan Vernon this year, I'd be able to move to San Diego and retire. So let me start there. Short answer. Changing positions, changing his body, 2025 spring and season will be key to how that's going. He was not expected to be a factor this year. ... As far as what the team will look like in 2025, ND is going to add through recruiting and the portal. And there will be some surprise roster exits -- there always are. But the irony is we'll be talking about the surplus of offensive line talent next year and all that experience. Probably the position groups of least certainty for 2025 at this juncture -- and that can change -- are interior D-line and WR.

JBuckley, San Diego

2:56

Greetings from Sunny San Diego, Great win, and now it seems were starting to get a little respect. What did you think of Faison's Play, difference maker!!!!!!!!! . Also, how did you like the play of some of the backups, Luke Talich seemed to play well, I'm trying to look at the future of this team, and really like where we are at depth wise. What position do you see where we need to add some depth? DB's? Is the D-line going to Ok after next year? Where is Brendon Vernon? Bad practice player? What's holding him back? I heard Montana was a bad practice player, but just showed up in games. Anyways, Thanks for all you do and all your football wisdom you in part on us. ;)

Eric Hansen

2:56

HI Matt. I did an analysis earlier this week on what ND needs to do better and how it can get better. Being as good as they are now isn't going to be good enough in December and maybe not in November either. But I do think ND has dealt with the NIU loss in the most productive way possible. And yes, you can see the improvement both on paper (with stats) and with the eye test.

Matt from Austin

2:51

Hi Eric, I hope that you are able to enjoy the bye week with some rest and family time, though I'm not foolish enough to think that you won't still be super busy. After the very strong win over Navy, do you see any major hurdles to us running the table (injuries aside). We should be strong favorites in each remaining game. We also seem to be building skill, confidence, and execution each week.. Could it be that NIU was the wake up call or reality check that ND players needed to realize that Coach Freeman's emphasis on getting better every game was, in fact, very true? Thank you Eric, as always!!

Eric Hansen

That'll show up larger in the transcript, but I think you can magnify it here as well.

2:49

Hi Lorne, thanks for remembering my correct predictions. I'm sure I got a bunch wrong too. ... As far as ND guys in the NFL, we'll probably try to get one of them on the podcast down the stretch. For now, here is a complete list of who's playing where as of last Monday, courtesy of ND:

Lorne

2:45

Lorne from Reno. Hello, Eric, and thanks as always for the chats. I enjoy watching prospects from recruit to player to the draft and the pros. I have not seen anything since the beginning of the NFL season on Irish in the pros. Is there a list somewhere of who is playing where? Any chance for a bye-week follow-up on our former players? I still remember the draft "expert" who said what a bad pick Harrison Smith was for the Vikings. On the props-to-analysts side, you nailed it with your projections of Wagner starting when he got big enough and Love exploding this year.

Eric Hansen

2:43

Hi Matt. 1. Other than Gi'Bran Payne and Tae Johnson (who isn't out for the year, but hasn't yet debuted), it's hard to think of someone in that category who could come back and make an impact, and even those two would be a stretch at their impact. 2. I am too stupid for this question. I'm not sure if you're asking me to predict what someone will get wrong about ND or what they haven't gotten right at this point. The fact that the AP preseason No. 7 team is currently the No. 8 team, they didn't miss by much so far. 3. Minchey. Carr is hurt. But that means nothing when ot comes to who is No. 1 in 2025. That is WIDE open. 4. Yes, yes, yes. 5. Yes Heard and Clark can play outside corner. The preference, though, is for them to be emergency options and not rotational ones.

Matt (KC)

2:34

Quickfire Five: 1. Any chance any of the season ending injuries might actually be available if we get into playoff and make a deep run? 2. What do you think the pundits get really wrong about this Notre Dame team? 3. Is CJ Carr or Kenny Minchey the real 3rd string QB? 4. Do you expect Mitchell Evans to become a real factor in the offense over this last stretch? 5. Seems like we are now thin at CB, can our safeties play CB in a pinch or would we adjust scheme a bit?

Eric Hansen

2:33

Thanks Kelly. Marshall is a really good tight end and ND did a deep evaluation of him. He visited four times, including a couple of camps at ND. In the end, there was another legacy tight end ND preferred, and that was James Flanigan, so of former Irish standout D-lineman Jim Flanigan.

Kelly/ Calgary

2:29

Did we recruit Marshall Pritchett at any time.I seen he has landed at Alabama.If he's half as good as his dad Wes was at ND,he would be an asset to the Irish.Keep the good work going.

Eric Hansen

2:29

Based on the AP poll, it would be 4 SEC teams, 3 Big Ten teams, 2 each from the ACC and Big 12 and ND. Will the CFP perfectly align with the AP poll? Probably not. And there are games this weekend that will shuffle the rankings, but I think this is pretty close. Now in terms of the playoff field, whole different ball game. It would look like this if the season ended today: Byes and 1-4 seeds: 1. Oregon, 2. Miami, 3. Texas A&M, 4. BYU. 5. Georgia, 6. Penn State, 7, Ohio State, 8. Texas, 9. Tennessee, 10 . ND, 11. Clemson and 12, Boise State.

2:25

Len!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You win the exclamation point battle today, even defeating the OG, Manny. Congrats, your very own autographed picture of Tyler James is on the way! Let me start with the ND part of your question. Given that the Irish are 9 in the AP poll and nine in the coaches poll, being in the top 12 by the CFP committee seems pretty safe, no? I did the seeding based on a combination of conference leaders and AP poll position. I had to use the coaches poll to break the tie for the final at-large spot. But the committee won't be seeding these teams, just ranking them. And so Boise State won't likely be in the top 12, but they would be in the playoff field if the season ended today. So the math is pretty easy. (more)

Len from the Jersey Shore

2:17

Hello Eric!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for hosting. Hope you enjoy this second bye week. Next Tuesday will be the first time that CFP committee will rank the teams under the 12 team format. Based upon expectations after next week's games how many conferences will have multiple entries? It could be Sec -4 , Big 10 - 4, Big 12 - 1-2, ACC 1 - 2 plus that 5th conference champion, currently most likely Boise State. That is as many as 13. How many do you see from each conference and, If ND is in the top 12 in these first rankings, what conference will be complaining?

Eric Hansen

2:16

Hi Roger, thanks for the kudos and the well-played pun! In playing with the first part of that question, I am assuming you'd get that player at 100% and not one with physical and mental hurdles. If so, I'd still take Ben Morrison, with Boubacar or Botelho my second choice. Jagusah makes a ton of sense, but we really don't know how good he is with just one full college game and a few snaps beyond that. Someday, yes, big time. To the other question, ND can't lose another cornerback. Can't.

Roger from Peoria

2:13

Hi Eric! Certainly a big win for the Irish over Navy. How disappointed must the Navy team and its fans be, kinda like Irish fans after NIU. Maybe? The Irish have lost significant players on defense and the o-line this year. If you had the ability to enable ONE of the players lost for the 2024 season to be recovered to play the rest of the 2024 season, who would you pick and why? And, while wishing no one else to get hurt, what ONE player do you feel the Irish can least afford to lose to an injury and why? Again, thanks and kudos to you and to Tyler who are simply un-Rivaled!!

Eric Hansen

2:13

Mike, I don't know what's in your coffee beyond caffeine, but I think I want to live in your world. Very cool. I did read your essay and will pass that along to your 11th-grade English teacher. I'll handle the questions! The portal additions will be influenced, as you know, by portal departures and also how the 2025 class fills out these final weeks of that cycle. But putting those factors aside, interior d-line makes sense, maybe a defensive end depending on the recovery timelines for Botelho and Traore. For sure nickel and kicker, maybe WR, maybe punter. Cheers.

Mike, phoenix

2:07

Eric, Happy chat day my friend. My coffee is tasting better and the sun is shining brighter these days and before you ask I haven’t spiked my Kool-aid just yet. Can I just say how much I love what HC Marcus Freeman is doing?! Continues to show the NIU lowlights to the team and after winning by 37 says there’s so much more. Sure beats shopping down a different isle and hoping the other team doesn’t come out at half. Can I dream for a bit? Coach in 3rd year, loses game 2, goes on to beat Purdue, Army, Navy, USC and GT. I’m talking about 1977 of course. The last 3 teams that the 1977 team beat? Clemson, Miami and Texas. Marcus Freeman is the RKG. questions… QB, OL, LB, TE rooms set for next year. How many portal additions do you think ND adds? Nickel back, corner depth, interior DL? Sorry for the essay. Cheers! Go IRISH!

Eric Hansen

2:05

I think keeping the NIU game front and center should be enough of a reminder of what can happen if ND doesn't prepare mentally the right way. I don't think Marcus needs Lou Holtz's advice on that. I think keeping it simple is a good way to approach it.

2:03

Tom, you went down a deep rabbit hole there, and I'm going to attribute it to a post-Canadian Thanksgiving tryptophan hangover? No, there will be no banning you, but if you're going to have a Molson, at least bring me one. Let's start with the 4 a.m. flight concept. The only game away from ND Stadium before USC is Army in New York. ND will come back right after the game, so it will be late when they get back, but not 4 a.m. I don't think. That is also a light week academically (more).

Tom from Toronto

psychological guru put together a plan to deal with this possibility. And do you think that I should be banned from asking questions for future chats for the rest of the year? As usual, I look forward to your insights. Thank you.

2:00

Hi Eric. I think that the smart money says that ND will win out and make it to the playoffs. I also expect that once in the playoffs there will be a very hard fought game that will take an extreme effort to win. My concern is whether Coach Freeman has planned well for the contingency of gettng ready for this next game. Sometimes even a very good team with an excellent coach can fall prey to a next game malaise. ND and Florida State in 1993 comes to mind. No. 2 ND beats No. 1 Florida State in South Bend by a touchdown. The next week, ND loses to Boston College in South Bend by three points. Needless to say, the team was flat. As to my questions, do you know whether ND will avoid another night flight that gets the team in at 4:00 am the next day and make sure that everyone gets a chance to rest property, physically and mentally. Do you know whether Coach Freeman has spoken to Lou Holtz about this, and whether Coach Holtz would have done things differently in the prepararon for the next game? And has ND's

Eric Hansen

1:59

It's difficult to say how much Hobbs may have progressed by then. I could see ND throwing Rod Heard II into the mix more given his cornerback speed and cornerback background.

1:57

Hey MiekD. Thanks for the plug and for watching Into The eNDzone. I wish we could do it for every postgame, but the home games don't lend themselves to that this year. Our next one will be after Army. Yes USC has a lot of receivers and they can and do play four at a time at times and there is very good balance statistically in that group. They do throw the ball a lot. They do not throw it well consistently. They're 57th nationally in pass efficiency. But still, especially after playing Army's triple option the week before, they are going to be a difficult changeup. (more)

MikeD from Rochester NY

1:45

Hi, Eric!! Great postgame YouTube with Bob Morton this week, he offers great insights and isn’t afraid to share them LOL. Does USC have enough really good receivers to test our depth at CB? If they put 4 WRs on the field, I would assume Hobbs would have to cover one or, if we incur another injury back there, you or Tyler might have to suit up. I’m sure Al Golden and Mike Mickey’s will be prepared for something like that but it worries me because USC seems to always have strength at WR. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and insights in these chats, you are the best!!!!

Eric Hansen

1:45

Happy Halloween, Tom! And thanks for watching and for the feedback on the Into The eNDzone show. I really have a lot of fun doing that with Bob and learn a lot! Let me say, I do like Sam Pendleton and his potential, but I think Billy Schrauth elevates the whole unit and will be good for Anthonie Knapp. Knapp's improvements are probably more subtle than obvious. His Pro Football Focus pass blocking grades the past two games have been his best of the season, and quite dramatically so. For me, it's not having as many missed assignments. He seems to learn quickly and not repeat those mistakes. As far as leadership stuff, its more anecdotal for us than observed, given we're no longer at practice and we are so far from the sideline at games. And there are lots of positives there, including Ben Morrison "coaching" from the hospital post-surgery.

Tom F, Kennesaw, GA

1:38

Hi Eric, Happy Halloween!!! I really enjoyed your post game show with Bob Morton. His experience and insight, IMO, is similar to yours in that it seems to be very open-minded and looks at the facts as to how players are performing, With that I really like the present O-lline. I hope they can keep it the rest of the season. What is your opinion? How has Knapp improved since week #1?? From what I was able to see sitting close to the bench at the GT game I would say that Mitch Evans and Rylie Mills are two of the more "vocal" leaders on the team!!! What have you been able to learn about the players who are the key leaders for an overall pretty young team?? Thanks for all the hard work and time that you put into keeping us informed. Go Irish!!!!!

Eric Hansen

1:38

Hi Tanner. Thank you. You are on point with the chef's kiss of having fall break the week going into the Navy game. It allowed ND to get in extra film work while not having to deal with academic demands. It also allowed them to practice earlier in the day to acclimate to the noon ET start. Email me Tanner and I'll try to get you a contact name. I've had a couple of sets of friends who had NEVER been to an ND game come in for one this season. They had a long list of suggestions on what might make for a more electric atmosphere. ... So the players who might be back 100 percent in November will likely be K Mitch Jeter and S Tae Johnson and QB CJ Carr. Maybe Gi'Bran Payne for a postseason game and I can check on that on Monday.

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