JotCast | Notre Dame Football Live Chat Oct. 5, 2022

Notre Dame Football Live Chat Oct. 5, 2022

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Eric Hansen

3:35

OK, that's going to do it for today. For Inside ND Sports subscribers, recruiting writer Kyle Kelly will have a recruiting chat in the Inside Lounge on Friday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. ET. As for me, thanks for all the great questions. And we'll be back to do it all over again next Wednesday at noon ET.

3:32

Hi Steve. I think they have been aggressive, and have rushed some punts. They do have one block. And only 14 schools in the 131-team FBS have more. As far as returns, there was too much fair-catching going on the first couple of weeks, but I think Brandon Joseph has found a comfort zone and is averaging 10 yards a return on eight returns. ND's opponents have only returned five punts.

Steve (Hermon, ME)

3:30

We heard during the off season about how the special teams is going to be more aggressive trying to block punts, returning punts and kickoffs but from what I've seen so far, the returners are hesitant to run (call fair catches when they've had space to run) and punt team not going hard after punts in an effort to block them. Totally against what I thought we'd been told we'd see this year. Can you speak at all to that. Thank you

Eric Hansen

3:27

The NCAA has instituted stricter guidlines, of which very few people — including me — believe they are willing and able to enforce.

Joe O'Brien ,San Diego

3:25

RECRUITING and NIL--When NIL was approved I was very sceptical unless comprehensive regulations were installed.So far this year we have seen 2 key commits choose to move on to USC and probably BAMA,We have also lost on the "shoo in" young QB from Detroit to Oregon.There could be more as ND loses its grip on a very good recruiting season.I am convinced NIL was a major contributor to these losses.Yes,ND has challenges with their very high academic requirements,and the issue of So Bend being a cold weather city.Then,I read of Texas spending $300,000 for a Manning family weekend.Of course this fails the smell test.How many more of these issues do we not hear about? I suggest many!! We know ND would never spend that kind of money to recruit.May I have your thoughts on whether the NCAA,etc is doing anything about this issue.

Eric Hansen

3:25

If Notre Dame's defense improved over the course of the season, his name will come up for some job openings, because of his head coaching experience. Whether he would entertain that would depend on which jobs.

Michael from Elkview WV

3:24

I just want to say I love Coach Freeman. Is Notre Dame going to be able to hang on to coach Golden after this season?

Eric Hansen

3:24

As far as Rees' commments, I think his offensive players deserve credit for executiing the game plan, but did you really think he'd disparage publicly the North Carolina defense? ... The defenses moving forward will be better, but I think it's reasonable to assume the ND offense is improving.

3:21

Adam,

Here's the breakdown of ND's freshman WRs since 2010.

CATCHING ON EARLY
Notre Dame freshman receivers since 2010
with at least two receptions:
Player Recs. Yds TDs Year
Kevin Stepherson 25 462 5 2016
Lorenzo Styles     24 344 1 2021
TJ Jones                 23 306 3 2010
Corey Robinson       9 157 1 2013
Will Fuller               6 160 1 2013
Chase Claypool       5 81 0 2016
Kevin Austin Jr.       5 30 0 2018
Deion Colzie           4 67 0 2021
Chris Brown           2 56 0 2012
James Onwualu*       2 34 0 2013
*Onwualu later moved to linebacker.

Adam (Dayton, OH)

3:16

Hello Eric, thank you for being the man, and for these chats! 1.) I think (and I'm not the only one) that is is a myth that ND doesn't play freshmen overall. Can point to Morrison and Mickey this year alone. But, I do think that while it is a myth overall, there is some truth that ND does seem to be particularly hard on freshman or young receivers as far as playing time. Any thought on this matter? Do other teams play young receivers simply because they are recruiting better guys? Alabama freshman Spond (can't think of his first name) comes to mind. 2.) In his press conference, Tommy gave credit to his guys for the performance against North Carolina rather than the weakness of the defense. I'm still skeptical. I don't think other teams are going to give as many easy throws to Pyne/play such soft coverage. What do you expect from the ND offense going forward against defenses that have a pulse/don't just "give" throws to Pyne?

Eric Hansen

3:16

Joey, they'd love to flip Jackson Arnold. He probably would have committed to the Irish around Jan. 1 if he had the green light to. I think he's pretty happy with his situation with Oklahoma at this point.

Joey G. Philadelphia,Pa

3:14

Hi Eric, I know that there’s been talk of Freeman looking to the portal for a QB to come in and compete for the starting QB job next season. I’ve been watching Jackson Arnold shooting up the rivals rankings. Is there any interest from Notre Dame on possibly flipping him? Or are they content with an injury prone Tyler Buchner for next season?

Eric Hansen

3:14

Kevin!!!! There must be a sale on exclamation points today!!! I think one thing Brian Kelly did well from 2017 on was identifying leaders and building a culture of leaders -- and director of football peformance Matt Balis has a lot more to do with that than one might think. I like the captiains on this team, and they'll continuelly be tested this season. So I'll defer the comparisons to the end of the season. Avery Davis is actually still serving as a captain and has a voice. They miss his play. I think Pyne's done a pretty good job of leading in Buchner's absence.

Kevin-Sleepy Eye,MN

3:11

ERIC!!!!! I've been too busy coaching high schoolers to enter questions but always following. How would you rate the leadership on this current team? How does it compare to years past? Losing Buchner's and Davis' voices on the field hurting us? Go Irish!!

Eric Hansen

3:11

Glad you did. When I was editing the transcript, I was noting all of the questions from Florida and hoping you all were safe. Thanks for letting me know.

James

3:10

James from bonita springs FL survived ian

Eric Hansen

3:09

Hi Len. Based on the matchups, I'll say most likely positive development is the evolution of the offensive line. Most likely struggle could be BYU's deep passing game.

Len from the Jersey Shore

3:07

Hi Eric from a very rainy Jersey Shore. When are you heading to Vegas? Hope you have some good food and win some money. LAst week when I asked about contested balls I was thinking Finke vs Michigan. I agree with you that the idea is to fins an open reciver and not thro up a 50:50 ball. But sometimes its needed and becomes a big part of a game. For this week ND has shown improvements in many areas. Units are playing better and more in sync with each other. Coaching hasevolved ironing out some details and fundamentals with the players. There is a long way to go to be a championship caliber team but they have recently shown the right trajectory. BYU will challenge that progress. What is most likely to happen this week from a positive and negative standpoint? An even stronger ND running game? More growth at QB and WR? A mixup on the O line as BYU comes from many angles? A mix up in the secondary for a big play? Your thoughts.

Eric Hansen

3:07

I wouldn't say "turned the corner" and Marcus Freeman wouldn't either. What I wrote after the UNC win was that ND did take a significant step forward, and that the BYU game would likely inform us as to how big a step. I think it is important to note that UNC waxed Virginia Tech this past Saturday, 41-10, amassing a 527-273 advantage in total yards. Va Tech isn't a very capable offense, but neither was ND coming into the UNC game. And Va Tech's defense has been playing at a higher level than ND's. Marcus Freeman in every press conference emphasizes how much his team needs to improve each week, and I'm in agreement.

Aaron, Washington, D.C.

2:47

Hi Eric, thank you for taking the time today and always giving us great insights. It seems that there's been a significant increase in optimism since the North Carolina game. The Irish are favored against BYU and the vibe is very positive. I'm somewhat surprised that one good game has so dramatically changed the narrative after three fairly poor performances. Do you think the Irish have truly "turned it around"? Is it warranted to be favored against BYU? I'll be the first one to say that I want to win by 30 on Saturday night but it seems that we're jumping the gun a little bit. Drew Pine and the receivers still need to improve and the defense gave up a good chunk of points to North Carolina. I would appreciate your read on how you would assess the team right now in terms of improvement and if they've "turned a corner" in the way we all hope they have.

Eric Hansen

2:45

Jeff, that remains the policy. I don't think it's unique, nor is it universal. But it fits ND's situation. If most schools lose a recruit at the 11th hour, it's easy to pick someone up from the transfer portal. For ND, the portal pickings are much slimmer because of credits often not cleanly transferring. So getting a hard count in roster management is extra critical for the Irish. Consider there are three scholarship transfers on the ND roster (and a notable walk-on transfer in Jon Sot), while there are 29 former Irish playing elsewhere.

Jeff from Phoenix

2:39

Good morning Eric. So from your knowledge, has Marcus Freeman remained consistent with the recruiting policy that a verbal commit that has an official visit to another school is no longer considered an ND commit? Is this policy unique among major programs? Do you think its a hindrance to recruiting particularly for the 'out' years (i.e. 2024)? Thank you-

Eric Hansen

2:37

Hi Sean. Hope you have a great time. My pick is Notre Dame 27, BYU 21. ... Here's some links that should be helpful.

https://experiencesandevents.nd.edu/gameday/on-campus-events/

https://und.com/shamrockseries/

Sean, Portland OR

2:36

Excited to be in Vegas this weekend for the game. Both teams seem to be talented but not consistently performing well. I'm taking the Irish though. What's your pick? And what ND related stuff is there to do in Vegas leading up to the game?

Eric Hansen

2:34

Jay, that's the preference, I think, for all parties involved and the one I think will ultimately happen. I know ND has some 2023 options. When those players confirm upcoming visits, we'll be able to share those names.

Jay, Granger

2:31

Is Carr trending towards coming next year? If not do we have anything in the works that you are hearing who could flip.

Eric Hansen

2:30

More than anything, really good offensive line play helped. When ND can run the ball, it opens up everything else in the playbook. Certainly, Pyne playing at a higher level helped as well. And North Carolina's defense cooperated.

David - NY

2:29

Seems like Tommy finally had a strong game plan with concepts that built off one another. Questions - Why did it take so long to get this right at a game plan / play-calling level? What personnel changes helped/hurt? And what do you need to see this week to feel like we've built on that UNC performance.

Eric Hansen

2:25

Hi Carl. I used my phone-a-friend lifeline to Tyler James, who studies that stuff closer than I do. Here's his answer:

That's how Notre Dame does its silent count. Josh Lugg looks back at Drew Pyne, who lifts his knee when he's ready for the snap. Then Lugg waves to let Zeke Correll know that he can snap the ball when he's ready. Here's a clip for an example.

This is very common across football, not something specific to ND.

It's not a false start because Lugg isn't simulating the start of a play. That's a generally accepted motion that's not an indicator of a player getting out of his stance.

Carl

2:24

Carl from Round Rock, Tx. I have a foolish question thats probably been explained before. Why does the ND right guard always point with his left arm just before the ball is snapped on every play. Why isn't this motion considered an illegal motion penalty?

Eric Hansen

2:23

Now back to me ... I have no concerns about Tobias long term. He's smart. He's fast. He's athletic. Very grounded kid from a family who gets it. I like his future.

2:22

Hi Jerry. Thank you. This is what Tommy Rees said when I asked him about Tobias Tuesday night:

"I think for any young player, how important it is that all parts of the game plan are prepared for, because your number could be called at any point. We’ve had plays the last two weeks that are specifically tagged for him. We didn’t get to them in Cal, because the game flow wasn’t exactly dictating what his strengths were. We didn’t get to them against Carolina, because again the game flow, we were in a rhythm, we were rolling. It just didn’t happen, right? And so, it’s not anything specific to Tobias as much as it is we’re building in opportunities each week. He’s shown to continue to build trust. He’s practicing at a higher level. All those things he needs to do as a young player to earn that time is happening. And I think he’s going to continue to progress as the season goes on and have those opportunities to make some plays for us."

Jerry from Dallas

2:19

Jerry from Dallas: Eric, what are your thoughts if Merriweather does not see much action in the BYU game? What is it that the coaches are not seeing from him in practice that is keeping him from seeing the field? Do you have any concerns that he will not eventually be the player that we were expecting? Many thanks for taking these questions and providing us with your insight.

Eric Hansen

2:18

Hi Michael. Four-star safety Peyton Bowen has pretty much treated his verbal commitment as a place-holder since he pledged to ND on Jan. 1. Nothing would surprise me, but that fact Oklahoma and Texas A&M have also had early-season issues won't hurt ND. He has committed to visiting ND for the Nov. 5 Clemson game. If he actually makes the visit and enjoys it, I think that's a very good sign for Notre Dame down the stretch. But again, I'm not sure he knows yet where he's ultimately headed.

Michael L

2:08

Hi Eric, Michael from Atlanta. What is the current status of Peyton Bowen's commitment? We keep seeing other sites saying he will go elsewhere. Thoughts?

Eric Hansen

2:07

Bob. glad you liked the transfer story. And thanks for sharing yours about your dad. ... First I'll point out Utah State played with the same amount of rest AND played with its backup QB. I do think both USU and Wyoming exposed some things in the BYU defense that Tommy Rees could exploit, especially in the run game. ... Jaren Hall, BYU's QB, is going to be a handful, but North Carolina's QB, Drake Maye, is better. I anticipate a close game that the Irish will win.

Bob - Loganville, GA

1:54

Eric,
Great article on tracking the ND transfers. Have been a ND fan since the mid to late 70’s when my brothers would bet chores on the outcome of the game. As a youngster watching the Sunday replay after church, which I thought was live, I was always a step behind until my Dad let me in on the secret.
Curious to your thoughts on the run game this weekend with BYU’s run defense around 80th in the country. Course many fans think the run game will be a cake walk since we did everything right against a horrible NC run defense that still clocks in around 120th in the nation. Seems many are pointing to the BYU/Utah State game as a precursor without taking into consideration BYU was playing on 4 days rest.

Eric Hansen

1:53

Hi John. I think it was an injury issue. Did you see any footage of Jadarian Price in the spring? He's electric. Had he been healthy, ND would almost have too much depth. I think five scholarship running backs is a pretty robust number.

John from phoenix

1:51

Hi Eric and thanks for all the insight you provide. In your opinion who is responsible for the extremely low numbers of skilled offensive players this year? You already covered lack of WR depth but ND RB depth is even worse. Was their a team in the country other than ND that had two healthy RB’s on opening day? Is this a Reis/Kelly recruiting issue? Playing time/transfer issue? Or a mix of both.

Eric Hansen

1:51

Playoff teams tend to be top 25 or 30 in four of the five if not all five.

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