It was really interesting to hear Denbrock’s take on Kyle Field. Basically said the place is extremely problematic, then gave half a dozen specifics on how the team intends to address the problem.

This was good to hear, because in the past, we have appeared to be under-prepared for less intimidating road atmospheres.

Vinny Freeman, the oldest son of Marcus and Joanna Freeman, is a talented wrestler at Penn High School in nearby Mishawaka.

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Former Irish soccer player Brandon Aubrey hit a 66 yard field goal at the end of the first half of yesterday's Cowboys-Raiders preseason game. Would have tied the NFL record had it been in a regular season game.

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I know I could post a new thread on Notre Dame QB commit Deuce Knight every day and there would be interest in it, but I’m trying to be reasonable and not bombard the board with updates that don’t mean a lot.

After seeing some of the questions posed in some of our threads since the update I provided last week, I’ve tried to get some answers for you.

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Notre Dame football has named five captains for the 2024 season: linebacker Jack Kiser, quarterback Riley Leonard, defensive tackle Rylie Mills, cornerback Benjamin Morrison and safety Xavier Watts.

Story:

There's items included here about how the helmet communication system is helping the defense ... how Angeli and Minchey are processing their status and their progress ... and ND under Freeman finally leaning into a sports psychology approach, at least more prominently and overtly. ... and more.

Two pieces of news on Notre Dame's Sept. 28 home game against Louisville:

The Irish will wear green, and the game has been declared a sellout.

Reminder: This game is only available on Peacock.

“That's the most-prepared group I've been a part of on both sides of the ball,” head coach Marcus Freeman told his staff after Saturday's jersey scrimmage.

My notebook has details on the offensive improvement, defensive depth in the front seven, the plan to handle the Texas heat, injury expectations and more.

A new professional women's basketball league, Unrivaled, is set to begin in January. It's a 3 vs. 3 league that will feature six teams with five players on each team in its first season. This is designed to be a supplement to the WNBA season.

Former Notre Dame star Arike Ogunbowale is the fourth player to be announced as playing in the league. The first two were the founders, Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier. Chelsea Gray was the third.

Click here for more about Unrivaled:


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We told you in June about Notre Dame's external review of its men's swimming program. That investigation confirmed a "team culture dismissive of Notre Dame's standards for student-athletes" and numerous instances of gambling, in violation of NCAA rules.

As a result, Notre Dame announced Thursday that it has suspended the men's swimming program for at least one academic year, starting immediately. The women's swimming and diving and men's diving programs will continue to participate in the 2024-25 season.

Chris Lindauer, Notre Dame's head coach of the swimming and diving programs for men and women, will remain in place. He wasn't disciplined after the internal and external investigations found that the coaching staff wasn't aware of the ongoings in the men's swimming program.

The suspended season comes after Notre Dame's 10th-place showing in the NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships. It was the the first top-10 finish in program history.

Chris Guiliano, the ACC Swimmer of the Year, grabbed All-America honors in the 50-yard, 100-yard and 200-yard freestyle events. He finished 4th, 5th and 3rd in those races, respectively. Tommy Janton was also an All-American with his 8th-place finish in the 200-yard backstroke.

The men's 200-yard freestyle relay team of Abdelrahman Elaraby, Guiliano, Tanner Filion and Tate Bacon finished eighth at the NCAA Championships. It was the best relay finish in team history.

Guiliano and Lindauer were part of Team USA at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris earlier this summer. Lindauer served as an assistant coach. Guiliano not only won the first gold medal in ND program history, he's the first ND swimmer to make Team USA. His gold came as a member of the 400-meter freestyle relay team. He also earned a silver for his participation in the 800-meter freestyle relay heats. Guiliano also swam in the 50-meter, 100-meter and 200-meter freestyle events with a best finish of eighth in the 100.

ND's Tyler Christianson also competed in the men's 200-meter breaststroke for Panama.

The full release from Notre Dame on today's new is below.

A statement from University of Notre Dame Vice President and James E. Rohr Director of Athletics Pete Bevacqua:

“After receiving reports of possible misconduct on our men's swimming team, the University of Notre Dame engaged the law firm of Ropes & Gray LLP to conduct an in-depth review, which is now complete. The external review confirmed and expanded on our initial concerns about a deeply embedded team culture dismissive of Notre Dame’s standards for student-athletes, including our expectation that they treat one another with dignity and respect. This independent, external review also documented numerous violations of NCAA rules prohibiting gambling on intercollegiate swimming and other athletic competitions despite clear and recurrent training provided to all our student-athletes by our Athletics Compliance staff about those rules. These findings are contrary to the University's values and all that we stand for in Notre Dame Athletics. In order to ensure that this behavior ends and to rebuild a culture of dignity, respect, and exemplary conduct, we have decided to suspend the men's swimming program for at least one academic year.

While individual conduct varied, the overwhelming cultural dynamic on the team necessitates a full suspension. We profoundly regret that the small number of team members who did not participate in the conduct, and those who were planning on joining the team this fall, will also suffer the consequences of this decision. We deeply value our responsibilities as educators and our commitment to our student-athletes, and will work with other University offices as appropriate to provide support to those affected by our decision. While we are certainly disappointed by the actions that led to the decision, we recognize that our students make mistakes, and our goal is to educate and support them to the best of our ability.

The coaching staff participated in and fully cooperated with all aspects of the external review. The review found that the staff was not aware of gambling or the scope and extent of other troubling behaviors because team members effectively concealed such behaviors from the coaches and staff through concerted efforts. According to the review, when the staff became aware of certain isolated incidents of unacceptable conduct, they treated them seriously and professionally. We appreciate the continued service of the staff to our women’s swimming and diving programs and our men’s diving program during these difficult times.

As stated at the launch of the review, we take seriously our obligation to foster a community of student-athletes who not only compete and perform at the highest level academically and athletically, but whose conduct reflects the University’s values. We hope this decision sends a clear and unequivocal message reaffirming that commitment and expectation. And, as we do after any major action, we will continue to review our internal processes and reporting structures to ensure that we are doing all that we can to nurture a positive experience for all Notre Dame student-athletes. We will work even harder to provide a welcoming and safe community for all our students.”

We also received a statement from head coach Chris Lindauer:

“While it has been a difficult few months, I am confident that Notre Dame took the correct steps to ensure this misconduct does not continue. Our team culture is my utmost priority, and I am committed to improving upon the student-athlete experience both in and out of the pool. I am hopeful we will emerge from this situation stronger than ever.

"I remain committed to the women’s swimming and diving program and the men’s diving program at Notre Dame, and I am looking forward to working with them this season to accomplish our goals and reach new heights.”

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Lake Mary vs. Oviedo in Florida ... I believe kick time is 7 with the coverage starting at around 6:20 ET

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Starting at noon EDT, we'll get a chance to speak with head coach Marcus Freeman. Then defensive coordinator Al Golden and offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock will follow him in a press conference. I'll use this thread for live updates.

The YouTube video below should at least carry Freeman live.

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The expectation that Riley Leonard will be Notre Dame's starting quarterback was affirmed today by Marcus Freeman.

I'm going to include this in story form later ... but here is ND's history with freshman O-Line starters:

Ten true freshman offensive linemen have started games at Notre Dame, the first coming in 1995. Freshman eligibility was permanently restored by the NCAA in 1972.

Save for Sam Young (2006) at Georgia Tech and Blake Fisher (2021) at Florida State, none among them started the season opener.

In 52 years, there have been nine combined starts by freshmen at offensive guard. None of them at left guard. Quenton Nelson -- the gold standard -- was not one of those.

Here are the 10:

Mike Rosenthal (RT) 1995: The pioneer with three starts as a true freshman (at Ohio State, USC and at Air Force).

Brad Williams (RG) 1996: Two starts (Navy and Boston College). Rosenthal had moved to guard, and Williams started in the injured Rosenthal’s place after Williams played the first half of the season at defensive tackle. He then moved back to defense for the remainder of his career.

Ryan Harris (RT) 2003: His first start came in Game 5 at Pittsburgh as part of paving the way for Julius Jones’ school-record 262-rushing yards. Harris started the final eight games that season for the 5-7 Irish.

Sam Young (RT) 2006: The five-star prospect started 13 games as a true freshman right tackle and 50 straight by the conclusion of his Irish career, then a school record.

Trevor Robinson (RG) 2008: Robinson made three starts in November after an injury to starter Chris Stewart.

Steve Elmer (RG) 2013: Elmer, who walked away from football early, started early as well with four starts over the final six games, beginning in late October, as injuries mounted up front.

Robert Hainsey (RT) 2017: It goes down in the record books as just one start (vs. LSU in the Citrus Bowl), but Hainsey tag-teamed that season with Tommy Kraemer for the Joe Moore Award-winning offensive line.

Blake Fisher (LT, RT) 2021: Started the season opener at left tackle, but suffered a knee injury and underwent meniscus surgery. He returned to start the Fiesta Bowl against Oklahoma State at RT, with Josh Lugg out with an injury and LT Joe Alt having established himself as the No. 1 option at that position.

Joe Alt (LT) 2021: Played in all 13 games, initially as an extra tight end, technically, in power packages. Started the final eight games at LT after Michael Carmody and Tosh Baker struggled to replace Fisher.

Charles Jagusah (LT) 2024: After playing five reps all season heading into bowl season, Jagusah started at left tackle for the Irish in their 40-8 Sun Bowl victory over Oregon State, that after Joe Alt opted out of the game to prepare for the 2024 NFL Draft as an early entry.

31-13 Irish over A n M

ESPN announced Thursday its schedule for the 2024 ESPN High School Football Kickoff, which will be its 15th year of televising high school football games in August.

The schedule opens with a game featuring Notre Dame WR commit Jerome Bettis Jr. Bettis and his College Park (Ga.) Woodward Academy team will be hosting Carrollton (Ga.) High on Friday, Aug. 16 at 8 p.m. EDT. The game will be televised on ESPN2.

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Carrollton's team has some serious talent starting with No. 1 overall QB Julian Lewis, a USC commit. More importantly for Bettis, he'll be tested by some serious talent at defensive back: 2025 USC commit Shamar Arnoux, 2026 four-star safety Zelus Hicks and 2025 Alabama commit Darian Barney.

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The full schedule:

Friday, August 16
• Carrollton (Ga.) at Woodward Academy (Ga.)
8 p.m. ET on ESPN2 from Woodward Academy in College Park, Ga.

Thursday, August 22
• Grayson (Ga.) at Thompson (Ala.)
8 p.m. ET on ESPN2 from Thompson High School in Alabaster, Ala.
Friday, August 23
• Milton (Ga.) vs. American Heritage (Fla.)
7 p.m. on ESPN from St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

Saturday, August 24
• Bishop Gorman (Nev.) at St. Thomas Aquinas (Fla.)
4 p.m. on ESPN from St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
• St. John Bosco (Calif.) vs. Chaminade-Madonna (Fla.)
8 p.m. on ESPN2 from St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

Sunday, August 25
• Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School, (Ga.) at Baylor School (Tenn.)
1 p.m. on ESPN from Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tenn.

It seems like the whole Deuce Knight melodrama is just Dante Moore 2.0. Why waste time and money, move on, spend the resources to find someone honestly interested in ND who might be able to challenge CJ Carr for QB1 in the future.

I won’t name names, but it is interesting how many websites feature talking heads who don’t actually attend the available practices.

In contrast, we have Eric and Tyler, whose chief complaint is that there aren’t more practices for them to attend.

Reflecting on this a bit now that the last open practice has occurred, I think the subscribers here appreciate you guys doing what you can to extract what you can from the limited practice viewing opportunities, and as a corollary, being honest about what is known and unknown.

Now let’s go beat A&M.

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Mike Brown still sees a six-man rotation as Notre Dame's most likely outcome at the wide receiver position. Plus Brown discusses Beaux Collins, Kris Mitchell and Jordan Faison.

Our final media viewing window of Notre Dame football practice this preseason unfolded on a rainy Thursday morning, with original plans of working outside on the grass practice fields scrapped.

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Tyler/Eric: If you ever give this guy air time, for any reason other than to challenge him about his anti-ND bias, I'm canceling my subscription.