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Was a member of the Notre Dame 1973 national championship team and an assistant coach on the 1977 national title squad. Has been AD at Ohio State since 2005.

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Midwest Spotlight: Five underclassmen under the microscope this fall​

From Rivals national analyst Clint Cosgrove ... Some Notre Dame targets and leans included.

Sorry for the delay on this. We were having some technical difficulties with the website.

Pepperdine transfer forward Becky Obinma scored 22 points and added 22 rebounds as the Notre Dame women's basketball team coasted to a 137-46 win over a club team from Montenegro Sunday in an exhibition game played in Dubrovnik, Croatia. It's the second and final game during ND's quick European tour that took them to Greece and Croatia. The team will be back in South Bend, Ind., on Tuesday.

Freshman guard Emma Risch added 20 points, including making four 3-pointers in seven attempts. Freshman point guard Hannah Hidalgo contributed 19 points, six rebounds and six assists. The Irish will be back on the European continent to open the season, Nov. 6 against South Carolina in Paris, France.

Ausberry, Traore flash upside during Notre Dame football’s open practice​

Notre Dame held its 12th fall practice on Tuesday. Freshmen defenders Jaiden Ausberry and Bobubacar Traore held their own during drills and scrimmage periods and showed glimpses of their potential.

As I teased in another thread, my takeaways from Tuesday night's practice ...

1. The defensive line is starting to back up its talk
2. The lack of clarity at guard is becoming concerning
3. The downfield passing game still needs some work
4. The defensive tackle depth is real
5. Freshman CB Christian Gray will be ready when called upon

Bonus takeaways:
P Bryce McFerson can boom it
DE Boubacar Traore has a bright future
WR Jaden Greathouse must play


Here's why:

Time to submit your questions for Wednesday's Notre Dame Football Live Chat​

You can submit your questions live or early ... here's a shortcut to the question queue to do so: https://live.jotcast.com/chat/notre-dame-football-live-chat-august-9-2023-16272.html

Practice just ended. Defense dominated for the most part. Offense struggled to run the ball without Audric Estime in scrimmage settings. Sam Hartman threw a couple of TDs to Mitchell Evans and Devyn Ford. And he was picked off by Ramon Henderson trying to force a pass to Matt Salerno in double coverage.

The deep passing game was pretty much a flop with Hartman unable to connect deep with Jayden Thomas and Tobias Merriweather.

The defensive line backed up all the talking they were doing. All three units were penetrating, stuffing the run and pressuring the QB - though Hartman was protected better than Steve Angeli and Kenny Minchey.

A lot more coverage to come late tonight.

Also: we were not allowed to speak to Marcus Freeman after practice. So no official injury updates.

Saw this kid on the local news. Looks pretty mobile for as big as he is. Just a junior too.

Notre Dame's preseason camp schedule keep rolling Monday morning on a cool (mid-60s), cloudy day in South Bend.

The first five periods of the 11th preseason practice were open to media members, but they weren't nearly as exciting as Saturday's viewing window. That's OK though, because Tuesday is supposed to be a full practice viewing.

The highlight Monday morning was the impressive leg of kicker Spencer Shrader, a graduate transfer from USF. He seems to have the starting spot locked down as he went 8-of-9 with crowd noised pumped into practice.

Kicking from the snap of Michael Vinson and the hold of Dylan Devezin, Shrader's only miss of 52 yards from the right hash sailed wide left. But all of Shrader's attempts had plenty of leg behind them with makes of 53, 49, 46, 42, 40, 36, 25 and 44 yards.

Walk-on kickers Zac Yoakam and Marcello Diomede alternated attempts with a different group that was kicking from different distances at the same time as Shrader. Because they were happening almost simultaneously, I wasn't tracking their attempts as closely. I did catch Yoakam missing from 52 but making from 53.

I spent the majority of the rest of the time watching the wide receivers. They were working on sideline catches with coach Chansi Stuckey. From toe drags to spins up the field to one-handed snags, Stuckey challenged them with difficult scenarios. Jayden Thomas looked the smoothest throughout. Rico Flores Jr. looked pretty sharp too. Not many of the receivers had much success with one-handed attempts.

The offensive line worked on pass sets, running backs drilled on footwork and the defense did individual drills on the other field.

The Pit for sidelined players to work out included four members: WR KK Smith (shoulder), TE Kevin Bauman, CB Chance Tucker and RB Chase Ketterer (right foot). Bauman continues to wear a knee brace on his left knee even when he's not practicing.

CB Ryan Barnes was once again in a red jersey to signal no contact. LB Nolan Ziegler remained absent due to a personal matter.

Again, I welcome your top 23 lists. And if I get enough of them, I'll do the math and post a composite top 23 among the posters on this board.

Dennis Dodd, national college football writer for CBS Sports, discusses the new departures from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten and Big 12, what comes next for the ACC, how the Pac-12 managed to crumble, the expectations for Notre Dame's media rights deal, if the Big Ten and SEC are going to have too much power in college football, how other sports could revert back to regional conferences, the most intriguing game on ND's 2023 schedule and more.

Then @Eric Hansen and I answer questions from Twitter and The Insider Lounge (21:57).

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This weekend brings two weeks until Navy August 26. I believe team Captains will and should be named . Also starters at the all important line positions as well. That will give the team two weeks to gel . It seems like most positions on D are obvious.
How many captains will be names? Alt , Hartman, Bertrand , Cortell, Kiser , Mills, Estime, Hart. These are my top 8 . Obviously fewer than that will be selected.
So I’ll go with Alt and Hartman offensively. And Bertrand , Kiser defensively. And Vinson for special teams.

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Notre Dame 2025 defensive end target CJ May released his top 10 on Tuesday.

The 6-foot-4, 225-pound recruit included the Irish alongside Auburn, Clemson, Georgia, Louisville, Ole Miss, Miami (Fla.), Troy, South Carolina and Tennessee.

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May, who is currently unranked and unrated by Rivals, attends Highland Home (Ala.) High and posted had 50 tackles and 2.5 sacks last season.

In June, May visited Notre Dame for the first time and said campus felt more unique than any other he’d seen.

The trip also served as more of an introduction after exchanging texts and calls with defensive line coach Al Washington and defensive assistant Nick Sebastian leading up to the visit.

"I definitely enjoyed my time with Coach Washington and Coach Sebastian," May told Inside ND Sports following his visit. "They really laid it out for me and showed me where I would fit into their defense. They really love my game and think I could be great in their program."

May previously said he hoped to visit for the Ohio State game on Sept. 23.

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This ranking blends the high school rank plus the final transfer portal rank into one:

We just learned that we will not be able to record any of tonight's practice. I'm still excited, because we get to watch an entire practice tonight. But I'm bummed we won't have any video from the first five periods for you all. Just wanted to give a heads up.

Just saw where Cowboys dropped Vizcaino leaving 28 year old Brandon Aubrey as sole kicker on roster. He played soccer for Irish and was drafted in MLS in 2017. Kicked in USFL last 2 years.

I know several of you were high on this guy from the start, so consider yourselves ahead of the curve.

Just got back from post-practice player/assistant coach interviews a little bit ago. Today was safety day.

And I asked Chris O’Leary about freshman walk-on safety Luke Talich, who continues to impress during the media viewing periods of practice.

Talich is listed at 6-foot-4, 198 and is from Cody, Wyo., and he turned down three Power 5 scholarship offers and several FCS and Group of 5 offers to walk on at Notre Dame.

“We had to recruit him really hard,” O’Leary said of the former Rivals three-star prospect. “We talked to him every night leading up to signing day. And he called us the night before signing day and said he’s going to bet on himself, because he wanted to be here and be a part of this culture and this program.

“He made that decision, and we’re fired up, going crazy when he told us that.”

The enthusiasm hasn’t faded.

Through the first 11 practices of preseason training camp, here’s what O’Leary said the Irish have in Talich:

“A bright future,” he said. “A really high ceiling.

“He’s a freak. He’s 6-4, and he’s about as fast as you can get back there. He’s just learning the defense and figuring it all out right now. He’s getting stronger. But what he has in his skill set, he can be how ever good he wants.”

How soon might that translate to the field?

“Definitely next year, no doubt next year, but this year potentially special teams and all that. He needs to get stronger right now. He might weigh like 200 right now. He probably needs to be like 210, but he’ll help us soon, whether it’s next year or sometime soon.”

Talich won state titles this past spring at the Wyoming state track and field meet in the 100-meter dash (10.74), 200 (21.85) and long jump (22-11). The last time he didn’t finish first in any of those events was at the Wyoming state meet his junior year, in 2022. He took second place in all three at that meet.

Both of his parents played college sports, and his older brother, Nic, is a linebacker at Wyoming.

I also asked O’Leary about freshman walk-on wide receiver Jordan Faison, whose speed freshman QB Kenny Minchey was raving about the other day.

“He’s a good player,” O’Leary said of the 5-10, 182-pounder, who also plans to play for the ND men’s lacrosse team. “He’s electric in the slot. He’s shifty. He gets around you quickly, great hands, and he’s a football player. So, we feel the same way about him — he’s going to help us at some point.”

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Notre Dame is one of several programs that seem to be prioritizing 2025 defensive end Christopher Burgess Jr. I caught up with Burgess to recap his experience at Notre Dame's Grill & Chill, prior visits to Ohio State and Wisconsin, his plans on returning this season and more.

Burgess, a four-star recruit, is ranked as the No. 9 weakside defensive end and No. 4 player in Illinois for the 2025 recruiting class.

At 6-foot-4, 241-pounds, Burgess has a strong frame and could bench press 185-pounds for 17 reps by the end of his sophomore season according to his Hudl profile. Burgess, who reports 36 total offers, visited Notre Dame for the Blue-Gold Game, Irish Invasion and Grill & Chill.

"It’s always nice seeing the staff and [defensive line] coach [Al] Washington," Burgess told Inside ND Sports. "We talk a lot so we just catch up where we left off. [Head] coach [Marcus] Freeman seems like a players coach and I like that a lot."

Burgess said his favorite part of his recent visit was the cookout, which his team won. Other than that, he enjoyed the dialogue with Washington, Freeman and other recruits. He pointed out the laid-back but also competitive environment throughout the day.

Before his trip to Notre Dame, the Chicago (Ill.) Simeon visited Ohio State and Wisconsin, two schools he hopes to visit this season.

"My Ohio State and Wisconsin visits went well," Burgess said. "Both defensive line coaches are well respected. It wasn’t my first time on either campus. My goal is to keep building relationships."

Besides Notre Dame, Ohio State and Wisconsin, other schools after Burgess include Illinois, Iowa and Michigan. He also holds offers from Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee.

Burgess, who won defensive line MVP at Rivals NextGen Five-Star Pro Day this summer, plans to visit Notre Dame for its game against Ohio State on Sept. 23. Simeon plays most of its games on Saturdays, but that date is open and Burgess said he's excited to see how both defensive lines perform under Washington and Larry Johnson.

I'll be confirming plenty of more names for Ohio State and other games as recruits set their visit plans. You can see who is already confirmed on our running visitors' list thread.

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Link to full story:

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Notre Dame 2025 four-star cornerback target Blake Woodby released his top 12 on Tuesday morning.

The 5-foot-11, 180-pound defensive back listed the Irish with Alabama, Arizona State, Boston College, Clemson, Maryland, Miami (Fla.), Rutgers, Oregon, Ohio State. Stanford and Tennessee.

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Woodby is the No. 73 overall player and No. 7 cornerback in the 2025 recruiting class. He attends Baltimore (Md.) St. Frances Academy.

The Irish offered during ND’s annual Pot of Gold Day recruiting event in March. He has not yet visited campus.

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Notre Dame redshirt junior safety Ramon Henderson on his offseason focus, becoming more physical, defensive backs coach/safeties Chris O'Leary, individual and team expectations, practicing against Sam Hartman and more.

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Notre Dame graduate student safety Antonio Carter II talks about his transition to Notre Dame, teammates he's leaned on the most, competition within the position group, defensive backs coach/safeties Chris O'Leary, learning the defensive scheme, his motivating factors and more.

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