JotCast | Notre Dame Football Live Chat Sept. 23, 2020 | 9/23/2020

Notre Dame Football Live Chat Sept. 23, 2020

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Eric Hansen

3:06

Ok. That's going to have to do it for today. Even though there is no game this weekend or next, we'll do this against next Wednesday at noon. Thanks for all the great questions today.

3:03

Frank from Missouri, if you can type out your whole question, I'll sneak you in.

3:02

Well you look at the level of execution, self-imposed mistakes, rising to the occasion when the roster was reduced and I think those are all good signs.

Stancakes in Chester

snot to late. How much stock can anyone put in the team's performance after just two games, and against less than the best competition?

3:01

I have one if it

Eric Hansen

3:01

He earns high marks through two games from me and on the recruiting trail. A nice start.

Keith from Gilbert AZ

3:01

Eric, I was just wondering your opinion of the Tight End play and TE Coach J. McNulty.. I know it has only been 2 games; but I personally think TE play has greatly improved. The main reason might be we now have a Coach that can concentrate mainly on coaching the TE position. Thanks..

Eric Hansen

3:00

Well contact tracing doesn't eliminate the 14-day mandatory quarantine for those identified through contact tracing ... even if they subsequently test negative. Then there's the 10-day isolation period with no conditioning for the 13 players who have actually tested positive. If there's a run through a particular position group, and I understand there has been, that also complicates the picture.

Jake from LaPorte

2:58

Eric, I see where Wake Forest game has been rescheduled for dec 12th instead of trying for next week I'm guessing that wasn't enough time. My question is if a similar case happens later in season does game just get canceled? Also was there any talk of playing game if they were able to contact trace?

Eric Hansen

2:58

Jim, you did post it successfully. And now you may want to scroll, because I addressed this. A key recap, we don't know that the spread was caused by players living together. We don't know if it was through postgame contact through family/friends.

Jim Reagan, Baton Rouge LA

2:56

Hi Eric, Is it possible that Notre Dame could strengthen the bubble for players by inviting them to relocate residency to one building, a functional equivalent of the jock dorms that some schools have? It might not be, and it goes against the Irish even if it is. Yet the University is all in with every aspect of safely playing except this one. I hope players do not catch Covid by acting recklessly. Living in dorms poses a predictable normal risk of exposure, and off campus a higher one. Thoughts?

Eric Hansen

2:50

Hi Jim. Do you have a question?

Jim Reagan, Baton Rouge LA

2:50

Hi Eric,

Eric Hansen

2:39

Marie. thank you. I've answered a little bit about Ian and the pocket, so let me address the other parts of your question. ... Inside runs? Sure, especially if a defense is susceptible there. I'm not sure that'll be the case with Florida State. I haven't studied them in depth yet, though. I think Tommy has done a nice job of mixing in under-center snaps for Book. It's been a nice change of pace, especially in short yards/goal line but even in some of the situations you'd like to see it as well.

Marie from Atlanta

2:36

Hi Eric, Thanks for hosting the chat. The O line was much better this past weekend. Do you think we will start to see more inside runs in the upcoming weeks? Ian Book was better but still seems to lack confidence. It seems he passes better when he is outside the pocket, and also when he has less time to think. I know the pocket can not be abandoned, but can the offense be schemed so he is throwing outside of the pocket more just until he gains some confidence back? Also do you think there should be more plays run under center, especially on play- action? Thanks for you thoughts.

Eric Hansen

2:36

They had single rooms in the summer at the Morris Inn and will have single rooms at hotels on road trips. We're not sure how much of the current spread is due to roommate situations. So that may not be the problem. Remember they come in contact with each other during games and evey day in practice.

Ryan Elkhart, IN

2:35

Hi Eric - was there any possibility of ND trying to arrange a single room situation for the entire team to avoid contract tracing? I wonder if there would have been NCAA benefits concerns? Players living together certainly doesn't seem ideal given the lengths the team is going to avoid contract tracing in practice/meetings.

Eric Hansen

2:34

You have company in your opinion. We shall see,

Henry from Stockton

2:34

I love Book and he will graduate with a lot of Notre Dame QB records. However I think we’ve seen his ceiling. He still is jittery in the pocket and his down the field accuracy is inconsistent. I hope he finds his A+ game for Clemson but I’m doubtful.

Eric Hansen

2:34

I don't like to get into these conversations about which segments of society are more deserving or tests, vaccines, etc. Indiana, for instance, has had a really good state testing program from the start (and I've used it). Why haven't other states? I don't know. But should I feel bad because I live in Indiana? The point with the rapid, later-flow, point-of-care tests is that there are a lot of manufacturers bear the end of the FDA approval pipeline along with the ones that have already emerged. That should help both price and scale ... for hospitals, for sports, for elderly, for schools. The aim is to make this available and affordable for everyone. If the supply chain gets kinked, I don't think it's because there is a shortage of available tests. Not as we get into October anyway.

Tim - Pleasant Prairie WI

2:28

I mentioned to my wife, a critical care nurse of over 40 years and currently a nursing director at one of the best hospital systems in the country the fact that a lot of football programs were using or trying to get the quick tests for covid that give feedback sooner. Her surprising response was: "Shame on them, using it for football players, if that's true." (and she is a big football fan) Her reason? She said they can't even get enough of these quick-test kits at hospital to test people with actual symptoms, including the more vulnerable such as the elderly, to see if they should be hospitalized. She believes all available quick-tests (or whatever they are called) should be reserved for hospitals testing patients who show real signs of having Covid.

Eric Hansen

2:49

I'm not sure I'm ready to go that far yet. They're a little different in what they bring to the table. I think Stephon was more complete (run/pass rush) at the same age, but you mentioned ceiling, and I think Foskey will become that complete defensive end.

Sean, Portland, OR

2:27

Ceiling of Foskey as high as Stephon Tuitts?

Eric Hansen

2:27

It makes you the kind of person that people like to buy beers for. Enjoy.

Jumbo, Vero Beach, FL

2:26

Eric, in June I was telling myself I didn’t care whether we went 7-5, so long as the season got played and there were no serious health issues. Now having seen the team on the field, I have gotten greedy for a CFP appearance. Does that make me a bad person?

Eric Hansen

2:25

Well, I would say the old saying is a cliche and not a fact. However, it do think it's important to show improvement from week 1 to week 2. Look, USF isn't good. Jeff Scott will make them good in time, but they're not good now. However, ND took a lot of leaps forward in a lot of areas and with a reduced roster. It'll be interesting to see how this layoff affects that momentum. Mentally, this is a mature team with good leadership.

Matt of Bridgman, MI

2:21

I've often heard that college football teams will make the most improvement from week-1 to week-2. especially so in a season where there was no spring football and a somewhat abbreviated fall practice schedule. With that in mind, how do you evaluate last week's dominance against USF? Was it more Notre Dame taking making that jump from week-1 to week-2, was it more that USF is transitioning to a new coaching staff amidst the strange pandemic schedule, or a combination of the two? I read that USF's coach said that he felt like he was playing Clemson in Gold helmets. I'm really excited about what I saw last week but should I pump the breaks a bit?

Eric Hansen

That chart does not include the two games played in 2020.

Starts against top 10 teams in total defense
Everett Golson 21.7%
Brandon Wimbush 18.8%
DeShone Kizer 17.4%
Ian Book 13.6%
Tommy Rees 12.9%
Brady Quinn 10.9%
Dayne Crist 9.1%
Jimmy Clausen 6.1%
Starts against top 25 teams in total defense
Everett Golson 34.8%
DeShone Kizer 34.8%
Tommy Rees 29.0%
Dayne Crist 27.2%
Brandon Wimbush 25.0%
Brady Quinn 21.7%
Jimmy Clausen 18.1%
Ian Book 13.6%
Starts against top 45 teams in total defense
DeShone Kizer 69.6%
Tommy Rees 54.8%
Brady Quinn 47.8%
Dayne Crist 45.5%
Everett Golson 39.1%
Brandon Wimbush 37.5%
Jimmy Clausen 36.3%
Ian Book 27.3%
Starts against teams 85 and below in total defense
Ian Book 45.5%
Dayne Crist 36.3%
DeShone Kizer 26.1%
Jimmy Clausen 24.2%
Brady Quinn 21.7%
Brandon Wimbush 18.8%
Tommy Rees 16.1%
Everett Golson 13.0%
Note: Lists include ND quarterbacks since 2003 with 10 or more career starts.

2:20

Lawrence, some of it was the competition Book faced. Some of it was about teams needed time to identify his weaknesses and attack them. Even now, Book has not faced the competition that most of his predecessors have. That doesn't mean he can't perform well against an elite defense, but he hasn't had many exposures to them.

Lawrence from San Diego

2:18

In Ian Book’s first 8 or so games as a starter he was an incredibly efficient passer in quick throws 5-15 yards from scrimmage. His completion percentage was elite. What happed to that? Did he regress? For a while teams were definitely selling out to press and he couldn’t make them pay with the long ball. Now it just seems like that part of his game dried up. What happened?

Eric Hansen

2:14

Not everyone is doing daily testing yet. The NFL does, and it can cut the quarantine time down to eight days. It can also identify positive cases faster, which theoretically would reduce the window of how long a positive case may have exposed other people. It's on the way, and once the ACC adopts it league-wide, I'd imagine there will be modifications to the quarantine windows.

Bob Loganville, GA

2:11

Eric, Is the university, ACC or both giving more weight for return to action to a 14 day quarantine over a negative COVID test? Seems to me if you have the virus you test positive and if you don't you test negative regardless of your symptoms. I understanding the quarantine process if we were still in March. Now with regular testing it seems reasonable to believe a test result provides the info if positive or negative.

Eric Hansen

2:11

Here are the college hashmarks.

2:08

Sure. The distinctions, especially the outside receivers (boundary and field) are more pronounced because the hashmarks on the field are so much wider in college than they are in the pros. So here's an simplified version of those terms. The boundary receiver lines up to the short side of the field. If the ball is on a hashmark, he is trying to run his routes in much closer quarters. Usually, you like big, physical receivers at this position. You also like bigger, more physical cornerback to defend those receivers. The field receiver usually is a guy with elite speed. Think Will Fuller, Braden Lenzy, Kevin Stepherson. Because he might have up to 3/4 of the field to play with, he usually commands safety help and is a tougher cover. The slot receiver usually lines up on the inside part of the formation. ND occasionally will line a second tight end in the slot, but usually it's a fast receiver (Chris Finke last year) who is not necessarily a physical receiver. I hope that helps.

Jules, Joliet, il.

2:02

Eric: Thanks for hosting these great chats. I never played organized football and some of the terms are unclear to me, specifically at the receiver positions. Can you clarify “field”, “boundary” and “slot” and what type of player fits in each. It’s my perception that there’s many articles that specify that so and so is destined to be a slot receiver, or So and so will do better when he can move to boundary, etc. Thank you.

Eric Hansen

2:01

Jim, just for the record I do prefer the adjective "ole" to "old" when referring to me -- even though both would be accurate. ... Kiser did play himself into the conversation. ... Being a former safety (and quarterback), I would expect his coverage skills to be as strong as his run fits. ... and I've said since last year, this has a chance to be Brian Kelly's best team ... but there are still some boxes to check before that happens.

Jim-Oregonia OH

1:56

ugh! super bummed there is no game on Saturday. I think we may have maxed out regarding Book's overall potential...and honestly I am ok with it. I think this team can ride this o-line and RBs and when we get Austin back I think the pass game will improve. I think Tremble is a beast and when watching his post game and media interviews he looks to be just an outstanding young man. How can you not just love his attitude!!! I know it was USF but Kiser has got to be considered a strong candidate to get more involved moving forward, do you agree. Luifau still seems undersized and I like Kiser's aggressiveness more than Simon's. Love the potential of this year's defense and IF IF IF the offense progresses this could be Kelly's best team...what say you ole soothsayer!?!?

Eric Hansen

1:55

Maybe not in such predominant numbers, but when you look at the tight end talent on this team and the inability of a lot of teams to match up with it, I'd say it's not going away.

Tom from Downers Grove

1:54

Hi Eric, I'm enjoying our Stanford-esque offense more than I thought I would. Do you see ND sticking with under center/multi TE sets when our receivers come back healthy?

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