Notre Dame football head coach Marcus Freeman is expected to address the media here shortly after the Irish' 56-3 win in their home opener against Tennessee State.

We're also expected to hear from Jason Onye, Clarence Lewis, Sam Hartman and Jadarian Price.

Inside ND Sports will have updates on all five, starting with Freeman who is expected to speak first.

I'll use this thread to update visitors that I'm adding to the running visitors list thread for Notre Dame’s game against Tennessee State on Saturday.

Two names have already been confirmed since last week.

2024 WR commit Logan Saldate (official visit)

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2025 LB prospect Grant Beerman

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As of Thursday morning have also confirmed new 2025 DE target Austin Alexander.

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Link to full visitors preview:

Halftime. I’d love to watch this game but ND is on.

@Charleston Bowles hands out his game balls.

Under Coach Prime. Seriously I want to punch Joel Klatt in the face for saying coach Prime 1000 times in the first 5 minutes. But the offensive coordinator for Colorado looks to be good to start. He was Kent states head coach previously and they had a really good offense.

Much has been made by some about Notre Dame playing its first FCS team. Much has also been made about the team being a historically black university as well. What do you think about Notre Dame playing its first FCS team?

We were one of two teams to have never played a FCS team…now USC will be the only team left to have that feather in their cap…so who thought this was a good idea?

Notre Dame football (1-0) will make history on Saturday, when it faces its first-ever FCS and HBCU opponent, Tennessee State (0-0).

Inside ND Sports identifies four players — two from each team — to keep a close eye on when the Irish and Tigers kick off at 3:30 p.m. EDT.

Link to full story:

Sorry for the third-person reference. Darin Pritchett and Tyler Horka are with me. We'll be on until 2:30. wsbtradio.com and locally AM 960.

Nate Marshall 6’4 270 DT/TE helped beat Ignatius and Justin Scott (OSU) Friday.

“The Fighting Irish held Navy to zero passing yards”
That’s the MO for the service academies regardless of who they are playing.

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It was against Navy who was 124th in Pass eff defense last year. Nice win, great job for game 1. But again, it was Navy and they arent very good and they were 4-8 last year.

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Frankly it looked like Navy was getting good pressure on Hartman, sure he scrambled well but the caliber of athletes at Navy isn’t the caliber equivalent at Ohio State…

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Notre Dame played a mid-level MAC caliber team and now everyone thinks they are world beaters.

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This is great for tOSU. An “impressive” win by Notre Dame over an overwhelmed Navy squad.
I saw what I expected from ND. Dominant Line Play, but no scary outside skill players. They don’t look equipped to beat the Buckeyes… although I admit - the QB play may have leveled up and that’s cause enough to be atleast a little cautious.

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[The addition of Hartman changes the complexion of ND as a real threat] Except when their receivers go up against a competent secondary and their offensive line faces a DL where the players don't weigh 30-50 lbs less across the board.

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Navy was still getting to Hartman just a step late or he had to move around in the pocket a lot. Hopefully with a better pass rush and everyone doing their jobs it’ll turn into sacks early and often against the rush men.

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ND has to be thinking draw/delayed handoff to Estime against OSU's aggressive D-line. The LBs will have to be on their collective game and not get caught out of position the way Navy was all day.
Sonny Styles could have a lot of tackles in this one. [Ed: Sonny Styles could spend a lot of time on his ass in this one, too.]

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why [isn't] Sam Hartman a Buckeye? Did he turn Ryan Day down?
I'm guessing Ryan Day asked his staff the old Scott Frost "Is he better than what we have?" and the answer was no.

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I said from the beginning that allowing 6th year seniors would be good for the fringe teams who rely on development and portal transfers. Notre Dame gets some talent, but he 2020 rule obviously helped them as they are not known for developing QB's, so they went the portal route and came out with an Ace.

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Ridiculous that the NCAA gave an extra year. It doesn't help Ohio State and other elite programs, but it helps the "developmental" programs greatly.

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From our Alabama site:

First time Florida has played an out of conference opponent out of state since 1991. Now that is absolutely pathetic.

With the first home game on Saturday against Tennessee State, I'm curious how many of you are planning to attend?

If not TSU, what home games do you plan to be at this season?

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Notre Dame expanded its defensive line board earlier this week by offering 2025 defensive end Austin Alexander. The 6-foot-2, 238-pound defender attends Union (Ky.) Cooper and visited the Irish twice last season for their games against California and Clemson.

Alexander, the No. 23 weakside defensive end in the 2025 recruiting class, is rated as a three-star recruit according to Rivals.

I caught up with Alexander before his visit this weekend to discuss what this offer means to him, what he's looking for on his first trip to campus with an offer, deciding factors and more.

Austin's father, Durran Alexander, graduated from Notre Dame in 1998. His uncle is former NFL running back and 2005 NFL MVP Shaun Alexander.

"I was honored to be offered ... with the rich history and excellent football at Notre Dame," Austin told Inside ND Sports. "It is really cool to know I could carry on the Notre Dame bloodline. I grew up going to games when I was young and knowing I could be on the field someday is pretty wild."

Austin's primary recruiter, defensive line coach Al Washington, has evaluated Austin since the lineman's challenge camp in the summer of 2022. Austin said Washington sees him fitting as a defensive end at the next level because of his stature and quickness. The two have built a relationship that is expected to grow this weekend.

"I like his energy when he coaches, I like how personable he is, and I like how committed he is to excellence," Austin said. "He likes my speed and weight combo and my motor."

Austin reports 17 total offers including Notre Dame, Clemson, Duke, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina Purdue and Virginia. In August, before his Irish offer, he said Clemson, Kentucky and North Carolina were prioritizing him.

The No. 3 player in Kentucky for the 2025 class told me he's focused on three things when making a decision.

"It will come down to coach, relationships and scheme," Austin said. "Those are going to set me up for my future and I am paying very close attention."

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Notre Dame men's basketball hosted 2025 small forward prospect Jack Bailey on an unofficial visit on Friday.

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Bailey, a 6-foot-10, 210-pound recruit, attends Blairstown (N.J.) Blair Academy. He is not yet rated or ranked by Rivals.

Bailey does not report an offer from Notre Dame but caught the attention of the coaching staff on the grassroots basketball scene this spring and summer with Riverside Hawks. He played on the Under Armour Association circuit, the same travel citcut that 2024 shooting guard commits Cole Certa and Sir Mohammed played on.

Heading into his junior season, Bailey reports 17 total offers including Georgia Tech, Iowa, Oklahoma State and St. John's. He's also receiving interest from the Irish and Stanford.

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I don’t like him but I think that @Okay_thanks wins it

What say you?

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One of the names mentioned in this weekend's visitors preview is Notre Dame 2025 defensive tackle prospect Carmine Orozco. He attends Mishawaka (Ind.) High and measures in at 6-foot-4, 272-pounds.

Orozco reports six total offers from Ball State, Cincinnati, Indiana, Miami (Ohio), Toledo and Western Michigan. I spoke with him to learn about how he got on Notre Dame's radar, his background visiting the Irish and more.

Orozco told me he's attended Notre Dame games in the past as a fan but got an invitation to attend Saturday's game versus Tennessee State as a recruit.

"It's very crazy because it's literally down the street," Orozco told Inside ND Sports. "I never knew that they were going to reach out to me and ask me to come to a game. I always thought Notre Dame was too big, I'm not that good, I'm just a young guy ... my dreams come true I'd say. It's gonna be a blessing."

During his visit, Orozco said he plans on seeing how players are treated and how coaches operate on a game day. He mentioned head coach Marcus Freeman and defensive line coach Al Washington as two specific coaches he's looking forward to meeting.

Once the game starts, the Irish defensive line will have Orozco's full attention.

"What do they do, how fast do they go, how are they coached, how active are they [and] how do their feet work? I'm going to look at that and learn from what they do and learn how the coaches coach," Orozco said.

Orozco is currently unrated and unranked according to Rivals. He told me no other visits have been scheduled as of now but he wants to try and see all of the schools that have offered him like Cincinnati and Indiana.

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@Eric Hansen and I make prop bets and predictions ahead of Saturday's home opener for No. 13 Notre Dame (1-0) against Tennessee State.

Submit your prop bet predictions all season long for a chance at a year-long subscription for free. Voting for ND-Tennessee State is open here.

On this week's list:

• Over/Under 262.5 rushing yards for Notre Dame

• Will Notre Dame’s Bryce McFerson punt?

• Over/Under 1.5 turnovers for ND’s defense

• Will Tennessee State score a touchdown?

• Over/Under 5.5 passes for ND QB Steve Angeli

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Click here to subscribe to Inside ND Sports on YouTube.

LB Jack Kiser just led the Irish with eight tackles against Navy. How frequently will he see the field moving forward?

"I’m going to go out there and try to show as much versatility as I can do," Kiser said. "If that means playing rover, playing mike, playing will, I wanted to be able to do it all. That way I can show that I belong on the field.”

Very happy for Gerad Parker. Yeah, it was Navy but we all know how the second half went last year with Boy Wonder and 12 total yards of offense. And this Navy D still has their defensive coacha (who is now the HC) and they returned 9 starters. They were very good against the run last year and we showed some good push and effective ground game. Also, to have like one penalty and to see things run pretty smoothly was a welcome sight.

I know there are much stiffer tests awaiting but this was a nice first step and something to build on. If we can keep Hartman upright, and keep getting better - this team could have a chance.

I took a closer look at the efforts of new starting guards Rocco Spindler and Pat Coogan against Navy.

Spindler was more even than an up-and-down Coogan. Here's what they both did well and what Coogan needs to clean up:

Did you know you can upgrade your annual or monthly subscription to include read-only access to opposing team site forums or even every forum in the Rivals Network?

Want to see what your opponents are saying ahead of a matchup with Notre Dame? Want to gauge the confidence of a rival suitor for one of the top Irish recruiting targets? Spy on your Rivals and the Rivals All-Access Pass gives you the ability to see what the other side is saying.

The All-Access Pass is available as an add-on to your current subscription for $45 for annual subscribers or $8 for monthly subscribers.

Spy on your Rivals allows you to pick individual team sites or put together a three-team bundle. The three-site bundle is available as an add-on for $30 for annual or $4 for monthly subscribers. The single read-only forum add-ons are available for $2/month for monthly subscribers or $20/year for annual subscribers.

Some team forums worth considering getting access to for team or recruiting insights: Clemson, USC, Ohio State, Georgia, Michigan, Texas and Oklahoma.

The All-Access Pass will grow to include other new features that Rivals will be releasing in the future; Read-Only Forum access is just the beginning!

Existing subscribers can add the All-Access Pass, individual forum or 3-site bundle in your account profile, under the Subscriptions tab: https://n.rivals.com/users/subscriptions

Neat video feature from former Notre Dame WR Chris Finke.

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