With a women's basketball game on Monday night, @Eric Hansen and I will go live on YouTube on TUESDAY at 7 p.m. EST for the next weekly edition of "Football Never Sleeps."

We'll discuss Notre Dame signing defensive coordinator Al Golden to a four-year contract extension, a promotion to linebackers coach for Max Bullough, if the coaching carousel has finally stopped for the Irish and more recruiting news while answering questions from viewers.

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Having the same name as his father is already a lot and having to play at the same university as his legendary father excelled at may be too much pressure for the kid to live up to. But then again, fellas, he could already be a silent commit. Let's just wish him the best and let Jerome Bettis Jr be.

Live Stats: LINK

Story from @Tyler James:


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PLEASE include your name and hometown with your question(s). You CAN submit questions early ... here's the link to do so: https://live.jotcast.com/chat/notre-dame-football-live-chat-feb-21-2024-17689.html

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Notre Dame football added a 17th commitment to its top-ranked 2025 recruiting class on Tuesday with the addition of 2025 offensive tackle Matty Augustine.

The Irish beat out finalists Penn State, Ohio State, Wisconsin and Michigan for Augustine's verbal pledge.

Inside ND Sports has the story with quotes from Rivals national recruiting analyst Adam Friedman and Greenwich (Conn.) Brunswick head coach Wayne McGillicuddy.

"Augustine is full of potential and could play a variety of positions on the offensive line," Friedman said. "At 6-foot-7 and nearly 300-pounds, Augustine has the size to compete at the highest levels of college football."

Full story below:




Junior season film:

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From Notre Dame 2025 OT commit Matty Augustine's notable offers last June to his decision to make certain visits last season, Inside ND Sports breaks down the most pivotal moments of Augustine's recruitment through a timeline dating back to when his relationship with the Irish began.

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Notre Dame 2025 offensive tackle target Matty Augustine released his top five schools on Wednesday evening via X/Twitter.

The Irish join Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State and Wisconsin as final contenders for Augustine.

Augustine has visited ND five times in his recruitment including for last month's junior day. @Tyler James placed a FutureCast in for Augustine last Wednesday.

The 6-foot-7, 285-pound Augustine reported 31 total offers in the recruitment process. He attends Greenwich (Conn.) Brunswick and stars on the Brunswick football and basketball varsity teams with 2025 four-star safety commit Ethan Long.

Per Rivals, Augustine is rated as a three-star recruit and ranked as the No. 40 offensive tackle in the 2025 class. He holds a 5.7 rating, which makes him an All-Region Candidate with potential All-Conference ability according to the Rivals recruiting rankings formula.

“It’s an amazing feeling," Augustine told Inside ND Sports last summer after his offer. "The coaches obviously care about the development of each and every single player. [Offensive line] Coach [Joe] Rudolph, I worked with him all day today. He really cares about the development of the player and he coached me through every single drill. He gave me amazing feedback on what I could do better. I took it and improved it in the next rep."

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Right here:

Right here:

Inside ND Sports offers takeaways on what defensive coordinator Al Golden’s contract extension, Deland McCullough‘s added title of associate head coach and Max Bullough’s expected move to linebackers coach mean for Irish recruiting.

Newcomers continued to make their presence felt on Sunday, as the Notre Dame baseball team rallied for a 13-10 victory over host Rice in Houston to complete the season-opening three-game series sweep.

Freshman catcher Carson Tinney’s first collegiate hit — a solo home run on a a full count — broke an 8-8 tie in the top of the ninth, and Michigan grad transfer Tito Flores made it stand up later in the inning with a grand slam in a game in which the Irish (3-0) trailed 7-3 after six innings.

Notre Dame connected for five home runs in the game, the first time the Irish had hit five or more in a game since an NCAA Tournament rout of Central Michigan in 2021. St. John’s transfer David Glancy, Tulane transfer Simon Baumgardt and senior infielder Connor Hincks also homered for ND.

Irish linebacker Drayk Bowen made his Irish baseball debut Sunday after seeing no game action last spring as an early enrolled freshman. He entered the game against Rice as a pinch-runner and capped a five-run seventh by scoring from second base on TJ Williams’ RBI single.

That put the Irish ahead for the first time in the game, at 8-7, though Rice (0-3) tied the game in the bottom of the eighth. Ryan Lynch limited the damage, though, with ⅔ of an inning of work without allowing a hit or run, and he was credited with the win.

Williams, ND’s No. 9 hitter, went 3-for-3 with a run scored, two RBIs and a stolen base. Shortstop Jack Penney drew four of Notre Dame’s 14 walks and scored two runs. Flores, Baumgardt and Hincks also scored two runs each.

The Irish visit Florida International (3-0) next weekend for a four-game series that includes a Saturday doubleheader. Game 1 of the series is set for Friday at 6:30 p.m. EDT (streaming on ESPN+) in Miami.


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NOTRE DAME 13, RICE 10: Box Score

Irish (4-0) next take on No. 7 Syracuse Saturday at noon at the Loftus Center in South Bend. ... ND knocked Northwestern from the No. 1 spot with a 14-10 upset on Friday, then took out Butler, 25-3 on Sunday.

Right here:

A couple of Notre Dame mentions from @John Garcia Jr. after Sunday's Under Armour's Atlanta camp.

2025 QB commit Deuce Knight

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"The longtime Notre Dame verbal commitment says he remains solid to the Fighting Irish and he has no plans to visit any other campus at this time. Communication is another thing, though, as many programs continue to inquire about the lefty’s college prospects. In-state Ole Miss has been mentioned consistently, but it appears as if Alabama could emerge as the top threat to Marcus Freeman’s program as the new staff in Tuscaloosa continues to push for its first traditional quarterback recruiting win."

2025 WR target Jerome Bettis Jr.

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"The Notre Dame legacy recruit is so familiar with South Bend that he could probably end up there without another visit, but he’ll return for the spring game most likely. As some programs have bowed out assuming the son of the legendary Irish running back is headed there for college, others like Texas A&M, Duke and Cal continue to prioritize Bettis. The big wide receiver wants to come off the board fairly early in the off-season if he can take enough trips to solidify the pick."

Link to full story:

The Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team looked every bit the part of the nation’s No. 1 team in Sunday’s 21-8 road victory over Marquette.

And they may have an echo in that regard.

The eighth-ranked Irish women’s lacrosse team — less than 48 hours after taking down a No. 1 team for the first time in program history, 14-10 over Northwestern — overwhelmed Butler at the Loftus Center on the Notre Dame campus, 25-3, on Sunday.

In the men’s game, the Kavanagh brothers, junior Chris and grad student Pat, dominated, accounting for seven points each. Chris’ came in the form of four goals and three assists, while Pat — the career assist leader for the Irish — had five of those Sunday to go along with two goals.

Jake Taylor added four goals and an assist, while Devon McLane had three goals for a hat trick in ND’s 12th straight win in the series with the Golden Eagles (3-1). Liam Entenmann recorded four saves and Alex Zepf three in relief for Notre Dame.

Ten different Notre Dame players scored a goal, while 11 registered at least one point as the Irish reached the 20 goals or more in back-to-back games for the first time in program history.

The game was played inside Marquette’s seasonal dome at Valley Fields in Milwaukee, Wis.

Among Notre Dame’s contributors with ties to the football program, freshman Jordan Faison scored two more goals Sunday after netting three in his collegiate debut Wednesday night in a 25-3 season-opening rout of Cleveland State at home.

That was the most goals for an ND midfielder in a career debut since at least 2000.

Former Notre Dame/Alabama quarterback Tyler Buchner made his second cameo of the season Sunday in his first competitive lacrosse season in five years, and was credited with forcing a Marquette turnover.

Next up for the ND men’s team is a home game next Sunday against Georgetown (2 p.m. EDT, ESPNU). The first matchup of many against a ranked opponent follows on March 3, when Notre Dame hosts No. 4 Maryland.

Meanwhile in the women’s game on Sunday, Mary Kelly Doherty, Madison Ahern and Kate Timarky all had hat tricks as the Irish are off to a 4-0 start for the first time since the 2000 season.

Goalies Izzie Pithie and Lily Callahan combined for five saves.

Notre Dame next hosts fifth-ranked Syracuse, Saturday at noon EDT.

NOTRE DAME MEN'S LAX 21, MARQUETTE 8: Box Score

NOTRE DAME WOMEN'S LAX 25, BUTLER 3: Box Score

MLAX on youtube irish 4-3 after 1 period

Freshman tight ends haven't had to wait long to find roles in Notre Dame's offense in recent years. Jack Larsen should have ample opportunity to prove he can play with reps this spring.

The Notre Dame baseball team flashed its new portal power Friday night in its 2024 season opener at Rice.

Six of the team’s nine grad transfers figured in prominently, with four cracking the starting lineup and two combining to pitch shutout ball over the final three innings of ND’s 3-1 victory in Houston in the opening game of a three-game series with the Owls (0-1).

The Irish (1-0) scratched out just three hits against coach Jose Cruz Jr.’s Rice squad but made the most of seven walks and three hit batsmen to win the first of 18 road games in a 19-game stretch to start the season.

Michigan transfer outfielder Tito Flores collected two of the Irish hits. Former St. John’s outfielder David Glancy drove in ND’s first run of the season on a bases-loaded walk to tie the game at 1-1 in the top of the second inning. Notre Dame then took the lead for good with a two-run fifth.

UCLA transfer first baseman Josh Hahn put the Irish ahead when he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Tulane transfer third baseman Simon Baumgardt scored Jack Penney on a ground ball for a 3-1 Irish lead.

Penney has moved to shortstop this season.

Evansville transfer Nate Hardman, a 6-2 right-hander, pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to earn the save. He was preceded by Davidson transfer righty Bennett Flynn, a two-time All-Atlantic 10 selection and former Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American.

Flynn gave up a hit and a walk while striking out three.

Junior Radek Birkholz picked up the win, with three hitless innings in the fourth, fifth and sixth. He also walked one and struck out three.

Sophomore Caden Spviey made the start for the Irish after making all but one of his 15 appearances last season out of the bullpen.

Senior right-hander Jackson Dennies (0-4, 3.11 ERA in 2023) draws the start in game 2 on Saturday (3 p.m. EST; ESPN+) against Rice lefty J.D. McCracken (1-5, 5.53)

In addition to the nine grad transfers, the Irish roster features 10 freshmen. Notre Dame linebacker Drayk Bowen, who worked out with the team last year but did not play in a game or travel as a freshman early enrollee, did make the road trip this weekend but didn’t play Friday night against Rice. The 6-foot-2, 244 former Butkus Award winner, is listed as an infielder but could play outfield as well.

The Irish, under second-year head coach Shawn Stiffler, are coming off a 30-24 season in which eight ACC teams made the NCAA Tournament, but the Irish (15-15 in ACC play) found themselves on the wrong side of the bubble.

Six ACC teams are ranked in the top 15 of D1 Baseball’s preseason poll, including Wake Forest at No. 1.

Staff ace Jack Findlay, a junior lefty, is still recovering from 2023 Tommy John surgery but is expected to rejoin the Irish at some point this season. He was 4-2 in 10 games last season before suffering the arm injury that led to surgery.

Findlay was a freshman All-American as a reliever in 2022 and a key figure in ND’s run to the College World Series that season.

NOTRE DAME 3, RICE 1: Box Score

Vinny Freeman, son of Notre Dame head football coach Marcus Freeman, is making another postseason run as a wrester at Mishawaka (Ind.) Penn High School.

Last year, he made it all the way to Indiana's state finals as a freshman in the 182-pound weight class. The weight classes changed in Indiana this year, but Vinny is once again a regional champion. He won the 190-pound class in Saturday's regional meet at Penn.

Our friends over at WSBT did a feature on Vinny earlier in the week. Check it out here:

Went an amazing 91-66 at ND. By far the worst ERROR in ND football. 1 and 6 in bowl games.

Last 7 seasons ND is 73-17.


What an awful 3 hires.


Go Irish.

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On Friday night, Notre Dame 2025 OT target Jack Lange released his top six schools.

The Irish made Lange's cut along with Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Ole Miss and Wisconsin. Lange, who was unranked at the time ND made initial contact last fall, reported 21 total offers in his recruitment.

Per Rivals, Lange is a four-star recruit and the No. 164 overall player in the 2025 recruiting class. He is ranked as the No. 19 offensive tackle in the 2025 class.

The Eureka (Mo.) High recruit has visited ND twice in his recruitment, including last month for junior day. He recapped his visit with Inside ND Sports.

Lange is listed at 6-foot-8, 275-pounds. In comparison, ND's two current OT commits, Owen Strebig and Will Black, stand at 6-8 and 6-7, respectively. Strebig and Black both weigh 295 pounds.

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