JotCast | Notre Dame Football Live Chat | Sept. 16, 2026 | 9/16/2026

Notre Dame Football Live Chat | Sept. 16, 2026

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Eric Hansen

3:10

Out of time and my bosses won't let me put one second back on the clock! Thanks for all the great questions. We'll be back to do it all over again next Wednesday at noon ET, One change, starting next week the live portion of the chat will be for Blue & Gold subscribers only. We will continue to post the transcript, however, as a free story. And we are offering a free test drive for a week that rolls into a 50% off offer for your first year for new subscribers. Check it out at:
https://www.on3.com/teams/notre-dame-fighting-irish/join/?utm_source=p...

3:07

Hi Dave, I hit the weather question earlier and would love to help you with the restaurant question. To be honest, I eat out the least of any person I know. I cook at home, whether it's just me or my grandkids too. They demand it. But if you can tell me what kind of cuisine you like and how fancy you like to get with your wallet and dress code, email me and I'd be happy to ask people who actually go out regularly and give you some ideas.

Dave, Ponte Vedra FL

i had not finished. Do you have a good recommendation for a Friday meal?

3:05

With a rather poor weather forecast for this week, the running game may become more vital. Do you think we’ll see more of James and Walton? Separate question. With two of our favorite restaurants closed, do you have a recommendation for a good af

Eric Hansen

3:05

Hi Mkey D. We've covered some of that ground in this excellent questions, but let me get to the bottom line question at the end. I think Cam Herron is in a good spot where he is, as the backup to Knapp. Let him progress at a normal pace for his development. I'd continue to probe whether Absher or Prescod is the best option in September. If Augustine is back in October, that's a strong option to introduced into the mix.

MikeD from Rochester NY

3:02

Hi, Eric, and happy Beat-MSU week!!!!! I listened to Landon Tengwell’s YouTube video on ND OL run blocking, I always find his analysis to be very revealing. My takeaways were: 1) Williams was a victim of poor blocking on some runs (seemed like Absher was often the source of the poor blocking), and not reading the blocking well on others, overall Williams is still RB1 but James and Walton are right on his heels, 2) James and Walton generally benefited from better run blocking and to their credit took advantage of it, and 3) Walton is the most promising of the 5 RBs as a game breaker. This seems pretty consistent with what you and Tyler said except for the mentions of poor run blocking for Williams. It’s disappointing to see Absher struggle right out of the gate this week after doing so well in the second half last week. Do you think we might see Cam Herron at RG soon, who performed very well in Landon’s eyes?

Eric Hansen

3:02

Ciao Paul. Your recollection of last season is absolutely on point. I've kind of sliced and diced this pretty good already, but I can add Ja'Juan Seider is very, very confident in his group and I know the rest of the coaches agree. That doesn't mean it doesn't need solutions, and there has been plenty of effort put on that this week.

Paul from Knoxville

3:00

Ciao Eric: I'd like to ask for your initial impressions of our running attack -- I imagine you may have a few similar questions today. I think it has been decent but not remarkable. I do seem to recall that last year we were also 2-3 games in before the run game got on track. So I'm just wondering what you see as the contributing factors this year and what could be done to improve the situation -- or whether it will improve naturally as the O-line and backs acquire more experience and become more acclimated to actual game conditions. Grazie et buona giornata!

Eric Hansen

3:00

Hi Gabe, Bryce Young is on fire. But there are a lot of good vibes from that whole position group, even losing Jason Onye for a while to injury.

Gabe from Walkerton

2:59

Hey ERIC. Trying to beat the bell here, Over the offseason, especially fall camp, Coach Partridge was getting praise in development due to Mukam's rise. However as the season started, would you say B Young has been his biggest success?

Eric Hansen

2:58

Gabe!!!!!! I still think there's a chance, but that chance is dwindling by the day. 24 seems like the path of least resistance.

Gabe from Walkerton

2:58

Hey Eric!i!i! Is there any hope that cfb avoids a 24 team playoff? I feel 12 is the sweet spot

Eric Hansen

2:58

Ed, really appreciate that.

Ed from Sayville NY

2:57

Take 2 here Eric. I really enjoyed the story on Luke Talich this morning. His honesty about his level of knowledge upon his arrival as a freshman and how much he needed to learn about the game was something that stood out regarding his road to success. I really don’t have a question regarding this, but I think reading the story gives me a greater appreciation for what Luke has been able to achieve. I thank you for bringing it to us, and for giving me more to think about and appreciate just how many factors there are in the development of a player and the multiple challenges a staff faces when working to bring out the best in each one of a hundred and five athletes.

Eric Hansen

2:56

Hi Pete. I love your enthusiasm, but this week have a hard time mining the questions from your statements. So not exactly sure what I am supposed to answer. Yes, I am that dense. Let me give it a try. Under 1.5 receptions for KK Smith. He has one in two games against MAC opponents. I think ND will be over 400 yards against Michigan State. I think at season's end, Wisconsin will have the better defense and better team. I am forced to make my predictions before ND plays its previous game and before the point spread comes out. I picked ND 31-6, so that is under. If I could amend it, I probably would still be close to that score.

Pete from Erie, PA

2:55

Hey Eric, thanks for the chat! Jonaz Walton looked the RB part as well as anyone so far, no? I'm expecting a tough battle against an old rival vs the Spartans. In my 7 decades it seems like these types of games often end within one score or at least close until one side pulls away at the end. History tells us 11 of 16 meetings this century has ended within one score. The other 5 are 3-2 in favor of ND with the largest margin 3 scores ND W38-18 in 2017. A 29-point favorite, Vegas thinks this meeting will be nothing like those. Max Bullough (knowledge) and Pat Fitzgerald (knack for giving ND fits) add an intangible element in MSU favor to this contest. KK Smith too. Over/under 1.5 KK Smith receptions? Will ND get closer to the 350 tot yds they had vs the Badgers or the 478 they had vs the Owls? Do you think ND will cover 29? Thanks for your time Eric! Go Irish!

Eric Hansen

2:51

Len!! I think you are putting too much on Rudolph there, but that wasn't your question. Styles had dabbled at guard earlier, but it didn't become a real trial there until late in camp at a scrimmage after Mattu Augustine got hurt. Whether you like it or not, Joe Rudolph, and Harry Hiestand before him, are looking for the best five linemen, not necessarily who is the most experienced guard. But I am convinced Augustine would have been the starter had he remained healthy. As far as ND's starting tackles, I think both have played well and their best is yeet o come. ND is happy Guerby's injury in the Rice game did not affect his availability this week.

Len from the Jersey Shore

2:45

Hello Eric!! ND needs to run the ball better. Late pre season linemen experiments, the Rudolph way, causes slow starts in the run game. Styles Prescod in the Wisconsin game looked like a tackle who had not had enough reps at guard to be ready to play the position. At least when it was Pendleton, Spindler and Coogan they all had guard experience. Was Prescod even considered as a guard before Matty Augustine got hurt? Second question, it looked to me like Will Black is more comfortable at left tackle than Guerby Lambert is in moving outside from the guard position to right tackle. Black rates third so far this season behind Knapp and Craig IMO. What does Eric see from the tackles?

Eric Hansen

2:45

He says it's much harder to evaluate high school players, than look at proven college players. It's a gamble. Often times, there's a mental hurdle that goes along with the physical development. And the Australian punters are just so much more advanced in terms of ball placement in particular. So again, with up to 105 scholarships instead of 85, ND is able to invest in both portal and high school kids.

2:44

Hi Michael and thanks for the well-wishes on my sleep schedule. Glad six of my grandkids have outgrown the "let's pull grandpa's eyelids open" stage and the other two (1-year-old twins) haven't reached that stage yet. I remember talking to Marty Biagi about this last year. Remember, ND has both now. Spencer Porath, through the transfer portal and freshman Micah Drescher out of high school. Marty is ND's special teams coordinator, and he's also a former kicker and punter himself at the college level. (more)

Michael from Chicago

2:40

Happy hump day! My question is why do you think it has been so hard for ND (and many other schools for that matter) to get over the hump developing high school recruited kickers and punters. It's well known that ND has been using portal kickers and punters (long live the legends of Mitch Jeter and Jon Sot) for several years now despite having two elite ST Coordinators. Thank you in advance! Go Irish!! Get some sleep before Saturday!!! (re: your game day schedule reveal with Singer).

Eric Hansen

2:34

Hi Lorne. I think the way Notre Dame is recruiting, the way it is using the transfer portal -- now taking underclassmen, the way it has been able to retain key players and its player development model, I think Notre Dame is going to be a problem for other teams for a while. Now do I like this roster a lot? Heck yeah. Best one to me since the peak Holtz years and the guys who played in the peak Holtz years think so too.

Lorne

2:32

Lorne from Reno. Thanks again for sharing your insights with us. As a Reds and Jets fan, I'm used to waiting until next year, every year. I am concerned that ND is in the opposite position: it has to be this year. Virtually our entire defense can go pro next year, and most of it will. CJ will be gone. Yes, I love the talented classes stacked back-to-back, but can we be top tier with that much talent to replace with newbies?

Eric Hansen

To your running game question. game reps at full speed will do more for running game improvements than anything else.

2:32

One last word on that, I undersand why there can be skepticism, because I think some people make up sources and then just copy someone else's info and report it. Not many, but some. But I do share my source on such stories with at least one of my coworkers.

2:30

That put us at a competitive disadvantage with regard to breaking news. I think that policy has since been modified. My guidelines for sourcing is someone I can trust 100 percent that the info is accurate. There are times when I feel more comfortable with a second source. When Al Lesar and I broke the story that Brian Kelly was being hired back in December of 2009, I felt much better that we each had one and they came through within an hour of each other. I hope that helps.

2:27

Hi Mark. Fair question and one without a one-size-fits-all answer. It's also one that is difficult to answer without tipping off the identity of the sources or tipping off my methodology to people who compete against me for news. In general, the source does not want to be identified for a variety of reasons. Our preference is always to get someone on the record, but that's not always possible. When I was at the South Bend Tribune, we had a long-standing policy that we needed a minimum of two sources to go on unnamaed sources alone and that we had to idenfiy those sources to our executive editor and he had to approve them. (more)

Mark Czar /Grand Rapids mi

2:22

Eric thank you for your consistent and informed in sight. It seems you have quoted “trusted” ND insiders - why are sources kept anonymous? What are your guidelines on anonymous sources? Are o Line reps the biggest thing holding back the running game?

Eric Hansen

2:20

Hi The Beave. Yes, we use Pro Football Focus to track snaps, and they are very accurate. The reason you don't see that in Jack Soble's and Tyler James' snap count stories is because the special teams snaps aren't calculated quickly like the offense and defense are. They usually come out midweek. They are available now. There are scads of freshmen who played on special teams, including some who have not debuted yet as position players. The ones who were graded high on Saturday (and keep in mind some of these are pretty small sample sizes) were: Rodney Dunham, Ebenezer Ewetade, Ja'Kobe Clapper, Joey O'Brien and Thomas Davis Jr. All in all, every one of ND's 35 special teams participants scored at least the default 60.0 good grade.

The Beave. Grand Rapids

2:12

Eric: I love the weekly articles which track O and D snap counts. Does On3 or another site track Special Teams “snap” counts. Our family pool has a weekly pick in our pool on the ND freshman who play the most and we want to include Special Teams “snaps”. I’m sure you can rattle them off the top of your head but curious to find a source and share with the group. With multiple numbers for O and D and no names on the traditional jerseys, it’s really hard to identify who is out there! (The NBC broadcast called Jaden Greathouse (#1) returning a punt vs Rice instead of Dallas Golden (#1)). Is there a freshman or multiple freshmen who are Special Teams standouts??????

Eric Hansen

2:12

Christian Gray didn't play nicke on Saturday, nor really did anyone else in the Rice game. That's because of Rice's option-oriented offense. The Irish instead played with three linebackers. Gray did play 18 snaps, rotating at an outside cornerback position. He did not play particularly well at nickel in 41 snaps vs. Wisconsin. Marcus Freeman says he sees progress in practice. ND does have other options this year if that doesn't start to showup in games.

2:06

Hi Tom. Great to hear from you on your trip up. Thank you for getting in touch with me. ... to your questions. ... If it were up to Kynstonn Viliamu-Asa, that pitch count would be done. My sense is my mid October, if not a little sooner, he would not be limited on his reps. They are still going to rotate, even when he's fully healthy. He played 17 of the possible 47 defensive snaps in his season debut, and still managed to tie for the team lead in tackles. (more)

Tom F, Kennesaw, GA

2:02

Hey Eric. I had a great time with my '66 teammates last week. Even made the Big Board standing behind Rocky Bleier during the flag presentation. Every Reunion when they say that our defense only gave up 38 points ALL season it always gets a huge cheer that is great. OK questions: how long do you think KVA will be on a snap count as he works his way back into a bigger role?? He is so good!!!! How is Gray playing at nickel? I find it difficult to see how that position is playing. Help me??? Do you think the DL will continue to be similar in each player's snap counts or will some of them separate from the others??? As I said after touring the new facility, in addition to Leave No Doubt we should also tell the team "No Excuses"!! That place is unbelievable!!!! Go Irish!!!!!

Eric Hansen

2:02

Patrick, thanks for letting me use a prop, so that if I am wrong, I can blame the prop. IN terms of per carry? Walton, in terms of total rushing yards, I'm still going to stick with Williams and James.

Patrick from Los Angeles

2:01

If you had to gaze into your Blue & Gold crystal ball, who would you predict to be the top two Irish running backs in terms of productivity by the time of the trip to BYU? Thank you.

Eric Hansen

2:00

Well Ryan, glad to have you back. Yes, and I think you'll see them emerge in greater numbers as the season goes on. Jaden Greathouse is going to have a big year. Mylan Graham was great in the spring, hit a speed bump, and is starting to find the ingredients he needs to take his game up a level, and that's toughness and tenacity to go with his speed. Quincy Porter, when healthy, will be a handful. When you have all four at their best, it will be opposing DCs in a dilemma. I think Ian Premer at some point with be a star. Just not sure when that happens. Jonaz Walton is on my list too. But I think the other RBs will surge. And great to hear about Payne.

Ryan, Berkeley

1:55

p.s. Eric, have you noticed former ND RB3 Gi'bran Payne is having a monster season at Cincinnati so far? So happy for him...

1:54

Eric, It's been a while! (though I've been reading and enjoying the chats. Thank you as always) Outside of Carr, does ND have any offensive players that opposing DCs need to seriously plan around (like Love)? It seems Faison is our best offensive weapon, at least in terms of production and reliability, but I wouldn't say he keeps DCs up at night. Who do you think could emerge as a DC nightmare before season's end?

Eric Hansen

1:54

Hi Patrick. I saw the forecast too, and I usally don't bank on it as a certainty until the morning of, but ND has to plan for that eventuality. I don't. I keep an umbrella in the car at all times. It depends if it's a torrential downpour or a lighter rain whether it affects the passing game. And if it comes with high winds. But ND will practice to throw in the wet weather and they'll practice to get better in the run game no matter what the conditions. If I were Michigan State, I'd be doing a raindance all week.

Patrick in Boulder, CO

1:52

Eric!!!!!!! thanks as always for hosting these chats. I'm hearing that the weather may be wet on Saturday. Do you expect ND to focus on the run this weekend as a result, and do you expect that ND will be able to run the ball effectively on MSU's front seven?

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