As we descend into the dead period and a slow month of football before players and coaches gear up for fall camp and the Iditarod that is the season, here are 6 things on my mind regarding the state of Notre Dame football… Actually, it's 5 thoughts and an announcement on my behalf. So if you're interested, read on.
1. I like the focus surrounding the football program right now. While a dismissal or two could always come over the summer, since Brian Kelly's horrible 2016 season in which he reinvented himself and reworked the program, there has been a noticeable difference in the accountability of the team and the focus on getting things accomplished and remaining eligible. The addition of Matt Balis helped this a lot, IMO. I think there exists a burning desire to learn, improve, develop and perform within the program. The SWAT teams are helping keep guys occupied and accountable and I think recruiting has been geared towards good kids, from solid families, who are serious about football. I hope to see the focus continue, because I think it's integral to programs that consistently win 10+ games. The roller coaster teams (see Florida and Miami as examples) often have a ton of turmoil surrounding the program. Notre Dame cannot out recruit that type of turnover. They need consistency and focus to be competitive on an annual basis and they're getting it.
2. This is a huge season for Ian Book and Chip Long. I'm really excited to hear the Book is heading to the Manning Camp to mentor this summer. I was wrong about what Ian Book would become and if he keeps working on cleaning up his game, he's going to be incredibly efficient and dangerous as a senior. I know that people struggle to get themselves incredibly excited about Ian's senior year because of how many times we've seen a quarterback regress under Brian Kelly in his 2nd year as a starter, but I think there are several factors that are going to help Ian. First and foremost is that there are 7 starters returning around him, including 2 of his starting 3 wide receivers, a tight end that he's become familiar with, and 4 of the 5 offensive linemen that protected him last year. Chemistry makes offenses. There are only a couple teams that have so much talent that they can overcome a lack of experience and chemistry. ND is not one of those teams. The fact that there are so many key returning starters on offense from a team that went 12-0 in the regular season last year, coupled with the fact that the replacements (Kmet, Young, Jones, Armstrong) have experience in backup roles last year, leads me to believe that Ian will be a stable performer this year. If he improves his deep ball, and Chip Long schemes up some ways to get his receivers over the top of coverage, ND could feature a top 15 offense in 2020. It's only real obstacle? 3 tough road games @Georgia, @Michigan and @ Stanford, where they will need to play poised and like the veteran group that they are.
3. It's been mentioned before, but I still don't think some people properly appreciate how good the defensive ends at Notre Dame are going to be if they stay healthy this year. The Irish have FIVE senior defensive ends with experience, and at least 3 of them are going to play in the NFL. Okwara has a top 10 NFL Draft pick type of ceiling. Hayes and Kareem have top 40 pick potential. Ogundeji and Jones are just scratching the surface as guys that have been limited in their opportunity. Mike Elston has the ability to rotate the heck out of that group of 22 year old men and create an incredibly competitive, healthy, situation between them. I'll flat out say that I'll be disappointed if it's not the most productive group I've watched in my years as a Notre Dame fan. I'm not talking about one Stephon Tuitt, Trevor Laws or Justin Tuck type performance (although Okwara could give ND that in an ideal season), rather I'm talking about 5 guys coming at you in waves, bolstered by some younger kids that are hungry, fighting for a share of the reps. There is no excuse for ND not provide routine pressure off the edges this year and I have a feeling we're in the for a special season in the hurries / sacks department for the Notre Dame defense... Especially if the interior can out perform my expectations of them and get involved in the pass rush action while being sturdy against the run.
4. Recruiting is in a good place right now. Is it in an Alabama, Georgia or Clemson place? No. If you expect it to be (consistently) anytime soon, I suggest you find a team down South to cheer for. That said, the Irish staff are grinding on the trail and that's nice to see. I think we're witnessing Brian Kelly's best collective staff of recruiters, led by two young, hungry coordinators looking to be head coaches down the road. That's exactly what you want. Two guys with lots to prove, trying to make a name for themselves in the college football world. I think you're seeing ND understand its needs on a class-by-class basis. 2020 will be the third consecutive class in which they haven't completely whiffed at a position to the point that you're asking yourself "what were they thinking?". The top end of the roster is getting incrementally better and the most importantly, the bottom 1/2 to 1/3 of the recruiting classes are yielding better prospects than they were in the past. I think a lot of that credit should go to Bill Rees and his staff, who spend their days identifying better 2nd and 3rd tier recruits that fit what Notre Dame is looking for. That's incredibly valuable. There was a time that Notre Dame was either hitting on their #1 or #2 guy at a position, or settling for a kid that left many of us wondering if he had the skill set, ability and upside to make it Notre Dame. Now when they miss, they're not stealing a kid from the MAC, or maybe a bottom feeder Big 10 school. They're taking kids that would otherwise be competing at an SEC school, or who has offers from the majority of the Big 12. 2021 recruiting is off to a great start. I'd like to see some more top end defensive recruits emerge as options for Notre Dame as the final 5-7 spots in the 2020 class become a little bit more obvious, but I certainly cannot complain about the start the staff is having on the offensive side of the ball. Props to Chip Long and his guys.
5. This will be the season that I finalize my opinion on Jeff Quinn as a coach. To this point I've been very complimentary of his ability to recruit and the fact that he's helped continue the brotherhood of ND offensive linemen that was rejuvenated under Harry Hiestand's guidance. That said, I've also been critical of him at times regarding his on field coaching. Last year he had some first year starters and was trying to replace two top 10 NFL Draft Picks. The issue was compounded by one of his starters battling a season long high ankle sprain, his best player and leader suffering a season ending knee injury 1/3 of the way through the season, and his primary backup playing through a bummed shoulder that needed surgery... What I'm saying is the man was fighting through a lot of obstacles, with an inexperienced unit. Fast forward a year. 4 starters return (presuming Aaron Banks is ok) and there should be quality competition for the #6 and #7 spots on the roster. Two of his starters have 2 full years of starting experience behind them. 4 Starters are also now upper classmen, who have spent their off season's with Matt Balis. All of that is to say that this group should be a lot better than they were a year ago. Improvement should continue to happen throughout the season and Ian Book's protection should be top notch. Anything less will leave me feeling uneasy about Quinn's coaching, despite his recruiting resume. His left tackle was a top 100 player. His right tackle was a top 100 player. His right guard was a 5 star, top 30 player. His center and left guard were both highly regarded 4 star players as well. The raw talent is there for an excellent offensive line. It's time to see it.
6. Lastly, after considerable thought, I'm starting a Podcast. While I think ND football is really well covered by the major services and their ND affiliates (along with ISD and the stuff they do), I think I've identified some holes in the ND coverage, especially as it relates to recruiting. I think something that is lacking is national perspective, comparing ND's recruiting to programs around the country. I also think (as a former recruiting coordinator) that I can help shed some light on the politics of the ranking systems. Furthermore, there is a lot of pressure among the services that rely on sources within the GUG for their inside information, to be biased in the way they cover ND recruits. IMO, that often leads to a lot of hype surrounding kids that ND recruits, in order to get the ND fan base excited and to drive subscriptions. My Podcast is going to be completely independent. It doesn't mean it will be unbiased, but there will be nobody paying the bills on a subscription basis. In fact, the Podcast is going to be free. I'm going to set up a Patreon service associated with it and allow people to donate if they feel it's worth it to hear my thoughts. If not, it won't cost them anything. I have a successful career. In no way am I trying to get rich off this endeavour and I'm not relying on it to pay my bills. That said, whether I continue it beyond the first batch of episodes will depend on the success of the Patreon donations. If it's successful and I feel it's worth my time to continue, great. If not, I'll scrap it and move on from the idea.
Final thought! Get outside this summer. Get together with friends and family and become happier, healthier people.
God bless and as always, JMO!
1. I like the focus surrounding the football program right now. While a dismissal or two could always come over the summer, since Brian Kelly's horrible 2016 season in which he reinvented himself and reworked the program, there has been a noticeable difference in the accountability of the team and the focus on getting things accomplished and remaining eligible. The addition of Matt Balis helped this a lot, IMO. I think there exists a burning desire to learn, improve, develop and perform within the program. The SWAT teams are helping keep guys occupied and accountable and I think recruiting has been geared towards good kids, from solid families, who are serious about football. I hope to see the focus continue, because I think it's integral to programs that consistently win 10+ games. The roller coaster teams (see Florida and Miami as examples) often have a ton of turmoil surrounding the program. Notre Dame cannot out recruit that type of turnover. They need consistency and focus to be competitive on an annual basis and they're getting it.
2. This is a huge season for Ian Book and Chip Long. I'm really excited to hear the Book is heading to the Manning Camp to mentor this summer. I was wrong about what Ian Book would become and if he keeps working on cleaning up his game, he's going to be incredibly efficient and dangerous as a senior. I know that people struggle to get themselves incredibly excited about Ian's senior year because of how many times we've seen a quarterback regress under Brian Kelly in his 2nd year as a starter, but I think there are several factors that are going to help Ian. First and foremost is that there are 7 starters returning around him, including 2 of his starting 3 wide receivers, a tight end that he's become familiar with, and 4 of the 5 offensive linemen that protected him last year. Chemistry makes offenses. There are only a couple teams that have so much talent that they can overcome a lack of experience and chemistry. ND is not one of those teams. The fact that there are so many key returning starters on offense from a team that went 12-0 in the regular season last year, coupled with the fact that the replacements (Kmet, Young, Jones, Armstrong) have experience in backup roles last year, leads me to believe that Ian will be a stable performer this year. If he improves his deep ball, and Chip Long schemes up some ways to get his receivers over the top of coverage, ND could feature a top 15 offense in 2020. It's only real obstacle? 3 tough road games @Georgia, @Michigan and @ Stanford, where they will need to play poised and like the veteran group that they are.
3. It's been mentioned before, but I still don't think some people properly appreciate how good the defensive ends at Notre Dame are going to be if they stay healthy this year. The Irish have FIVE senior defensive ends with experience, and at least 3 of them are going to play in the NFL. Okwara has a top 10 NFL Draft pick type of ceiling. Hayes and Kareem have top 40 pick potential. Ogundeji and Jones are just scratching the surface as guys that have been limited in their opportunity. Mike Elston has the ability to rotate the heck out of that group of 22 year old men and create an incredibly competitive, healthy, situation between them. I'll flat out say that I'll be disappointed if it's not the most productive group I've watched in my years as a Notre Dame fan. I'm not talking about one Stephon Tuitt, Trevor Laws or Justin Tuck type performance (although Okwara could give ND that in an ideal season), rather I'm talking about 5 guys coming at you in waves, bolstered by some younger kids that are hungry, fighting for a share of the reps. There is no excuse for ND not provide routine pressure off the edges this year and I have a feeling we're in the for a special season in the hurries / sacks department for the Notre Dame defense... Especially if the interior can out perform my expectations of them and get involved in the pass rush action while being sturdy against the run.
4. Recruiting is in a good place right now. Is it in an Alabama, Georgia or Clemson place? No. If you expect it to be (consistently) anytime soon, I suggest you find a team down South to cheer for. That said, the Irish staff are grinding on the trail and that's nice to see. I think we're witnessing Brian Kelly's best collective staff of recruiters, led by two young, hungry coordinators looking to be head coaches down the road. That's exactly what you want. Two guys with lots to prove, trying to make a name for themselves in the college football world. I think you're seeing ND understand its needs on a class-by-class basis. 2020 will be the third consecutive class in which they haven't completely whiffed at a position to the point that you're asking yourself "what were they thinking?". The top end of the roster is getting incrementally better and the most importantly, the bottom 1/2 to 1/3 of the recruiting classes are yielding better prospects than they were in the past. I think a lot of that credit should go to Bill Rees and his staff, who spend their days identifying better 2nd and 3rd tier recruits that fit what Notre Dame is looking for. That's incredibly valuable. There was a time that Notre Dame was either hitting on their #1 or #2 guy at a position, or settling for a kid that left many of us wondering if he had the skill set, ability and upside to make it Notre Dame. Now when they miss, they're not stealing a kid from the MAC, or maybe a bottom feeder Big 10 school. They're taking kids that would otherwise be competing at an SEC school, or who has offers from the majority of the Big 12. 2021 recruiting is off to a great start. I'd like to see some more top end defensive recruits emerge as options for Notre Dame as the final 5-7 spots in the 2020 class become a little bit more obvious, but I certainly cannot complain about the start the staff is having on the offensive side of the ball. Props to Chip Long and his guys.
5. This will be the season that I finalize my opinion on Jeff Quinn as a coach. To this point I've been very complimentary of his ability to recruit and the fact that he's helped continue the brotherhood of ND offensive linemen that was rejuvenated under Harry Hiestand's guidance. That said, I've also been critical of him at times regarding his on field coaching. Last year he had some first year starters and was trying to replace two top 10 NFL Draft Picks. The issue was compounded by one of his starters battling a season long high ankle sprain, his best player and leader suffering a season ending knee injury 1/3 of the way through the season, and his primary backup playing through a bummed shoulder that needed surgery... What I'm saying is the man was fighting through a lot of obstacles, with an inexperienced unit. Fast forward a year. 4 starters return (presuming Aaron Banks is ok) and there should be quality competition for the #6 and #7 spots on the roster. Two of his starters have 2 full years of starting experience behind them. 4 Starters are also now upper classmen, who have spent their off season's with Matt Balis. All of that is to say that this group should be a lot better than they were a year ago. Improvement should continue to happen throughout the season and Ian Book's protection should be top notch. Anything less will leave me feeling uneasy about Quinn's coaching, despite his recruiting resume. His left tackle was a top 100 player. His right tackle was a top 100 player. His right guard was a 5 star, top 30 player. His center and left guard were both highly regarded 4 star players as well. The raw talent is there for an excellent offensive line. It's time to see it.
6. Lastly, after considerable thought, I'm starting a Podcast. While I think ND football is really well covered by the major services and their ND affiliates (along with ISD and the stuff they do), I think I've identified some holes in the ND coverage, especially as it relates to recruiting. I think something that is lacking is national perspective, comparing ND's recruiting to programs around the country. I also think (as a former recruiting coordinator) that I can help shed some light on the politics of the ranking systems. Furthermore, there is a lot of pressure among the services that rely on sources within the GUG for their inside information, to be biased in the way they cover ND recruits. IMO, that often leads to a lot of hype surrounding kids that ND recruits, in order to get the ND fan base excited and to drive subscriptions. My Podcast is going to be completely independent. It doesn't mean it will be unbiased, but there will be nobody paying the bills on a subscription basis. In fact, the Podcast is going to be free. I'm going to set up a Patreon service associated with it and allow people to donate if they feel it's worth it to hear my thoughts. If not, it won't cost them anything. I have a successful career. In no way am I trying to get rich off this endeavour and I'm not relying on it to pay my bills. That said, whether I continue it beyond the first batch of episodes will depend on the success of the Patreon donations. If it's successful and I feel it's worth my time to continue, great. If not, I'll scrap it and move on from the idea.
Final thought! Get outside this summer. Get together with friends and family and become happier, healthier people.
God bless and as always, JMO!
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