Notre Dame Winter

Discussion in 'Sports Board' started by Terry O'Keefe, Jan 4, 2021.

  1. Terry O'Keefe

    Terry O'Keefe Well-Known Member Administrator

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    Louis Nix, Irish Chocolate, has died. Not much information on how he died. Sad to see him come to the end so young. He was quite the personality while he was at Notre Dame. When he was healthy he was a heck of a DL, got drafted but never really made it in the NFL. Not sure what he did after his football career was over, he did graduate though but I'm not sure if he ever found a post-football career.

    On the upside, Irish Hockey swept Mich State on the road, where they have been very successful. Irish are in 3rd place but a gulf between Minn and Wisc and the rest of the Big 10 Hockey.

    Irish men had a bad loss to a rudderless BC team who was missing players and their coach had been fired recently. Online fans continue to hope the Mike Brey hangs it up after this season. One of the board ops on ND has gone on record that he thinks the Irish should go after John Belin and see if he would give them 5 years.

    Irish Ladies have a big date with Louisville at home to I believe finish the season. I don't know if they are going to play any makeup games though. Louisville and NC State are the top ACC teams. Irish played the Cards well down in Louisville, it would be pretty sweet to pull the upset tomorrow. Would go a long way to getting them into the NCAA's.
     
  2. George Krebs

    George Krebs Well-Known Member

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    Wasn't Nix going to law school when he left ND ? Really sad to hear this. Apparently he was shot a few years ago while putting air in a tire.
     
  3. Terry O'Keefe

    Terry O'Keefe Well-Known Member Administrator

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    No Louis never went to Law school, we did have an OL named Chris Stewart who went to Law School though. In fact as a 5th year player he was in his 1st year of Law School. And it was only a few months ago that he was shot reportedly randomly shot at a service station filling his tire.

    As I said I don't think Louis ever found his life after football.

    RIP Irish Chocolate.
     
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  4. Sid

    Sid Well-Known Member

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    R.I.P. Irish Chocolate

     
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  5. Terry O'Keefe

    Terry O'Keefe Well-Known Member Administrator

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    Ah the Spring Game! I wonder if we'll have on this year?
     
  6. Terry O'Keefe

    Terry O'Keefe Well-Known Member Administrator

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    This guy has way too much time on his hands.

     
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  7. Terry O'Keefe

    Terry O'Keefe Well-Known Member Administrator

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    Irish baseball got off to a good start beating Wake Forrest in a 3 game weekend series 2 - 1.

    Irish Softball had a good weekend at the Liberty Classic, winning 4 out of 5 but truthfully Liberty and Villanova are not up to the ACC level of competition. So more like an exhibition game.

    Irish Women's Basketball finished the regular season with a loss to Louisville at home. Up next is the ACC tournament and they will take on Clemson. They probably need to win a game or 2 to get into the NCAA tourney.

    If you are interested in the Mike Brey situation the link below is to an article by long time Irish Basketball guru, Mike Coffey, about Brey. I personally think it's a fair take on the situation. As I've said I prefer that Mike Brey step aside at the end of the season. Go with some goodwill still left on the plate.

    Notes from the Geetar: There's No Way - NDNation
     
  8. Terry O'Keefe

    Terry O'Keefe Well-Known Member Administrator

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    The latest QB offer for 2022 is Ohio QB, Drew Allar. I've been reading about him on the sites and his recruiting has really blown up, everything I read about him is really positive and while I don't have any insight into who the Irish will end up with as the 2022 QB, I'd be pretty satisfied with this Ohio kid, maybe he's tne next Brady Quinn! Other QB's who have been on the radar for a longer time include a NJ kid, Steve Angeli and a kid from Kentucky named Gavin Wimsatt. Both were offered early but they have not seemed in a hurry to make a college commitment.

    As always you really want a good QB in each class, as we all know QB's are quick to hit the bricks if they aren't starters by their 2nd year. We have 5 QB's on the roster right now.

    1. Jack Coan the Wisconsin transfer who is a solid QB with experience and I think everybody expects he will be the starter. But is he Kelly Bryant?

    2. Brendon Clark ...bad knee, had surgery in Jan will miss Spring and not sure about the fall.

    3. Drew Pyne...a Ian Book like kid, had a great HS career, reportedly a hard worker and high football IQ. but at this point not that elite talent you seem to need these days if you are going to compete with the elites.

    4. Tyler Buchner ..the elite level talent that we've been looking for, big arm, mobile, etc. But he's not played a lot of football due to injury and Calif canceling football this past fall. He is an early enrollee so that's a good thing and some think that if it goes well he could end up being the starter by end of the year. But also a lot of people worry that he won't get any playing time as Kelly's MO is not to give backup QB's a lot of meaningful game reps.

    5. Ron Powlus Jr. Scout team QB who could develop into a solid backup QB if and when the QB room thins out due to transfers.

    So looking forward....2022... Coan will be gone, and many think Clark could be as well esp if Buchner rises to #2 during the year. Pyne could leave as well, nobody knows. So that's why you have to bring in a QB every year.
     
  9. Terry O'Keefe

    Terry O'Keefe Well-Known Member Administrator

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    Maddy Westbeld, has had a great freshman season for the Irish Women's basketball program and the awards are starting to come in bunches. Good article on und.com. Her sister was a F on the 2018 Nat'l Championship squad. She's from Ohio!

    Westbeld Wins ACC Rookie of the Year
     
  10. George Krebs

    George Krebs Well-Known Member

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    I went to school and played football with her uncles, Bill and Tom at Carroll High School in Dayton, Oh. Bill was a DT who went on to play for the University of Dayton and one year with the Seattle Seahawks. Tom was a TE. I was just talking with Bill via text the other day and he told me that the extended Westbeld family has had 7 College and high school All American athletes in a variety of sports. Solid family with great athletic talent.
     
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  11. Terry O'Keefe

    Terry O'Keefe Well-Known Member Administrator

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    Irish Men lost to NC State last night at home. I read that the students chanted "Fire Mike Brey" at the end of the game. I feel bad that it's ending like this for Brey, he's been a good coach and a great representative of the University. Obviously I don't know if he wants to retire or he wants to coach the current group of Jr's through their senior year and he's adding a big man from Yale to the mix next year. I don't know where they go for a new coach either. Here's a video of Brey commenting on the "Fire Mike Brey" chant.

     
  12. Terry O'Keefe

    Terry O'Keefe Well-Known Member Administrator

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    Phil Steele has the Irish at #7 in his 2021 Pre-Season. Personally I think given what we've lost that is a bit high, I think we'll have a good team next year but we'll have to rely on Jack Coan being the guy at QB and that the OL coach will have a very good even if inexperienced OL.

    7. NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH
    [​IMG]
    (Photo: Getty)
    Our thoughts: With transfer Jack Coan expected to start at quarterback at a program now accustomed to playing in big games down the stretch that help shape the Playoff picture, it's hard to imagine Notre Dame not being a factor as one of the nation's best next season. The Irish have won 43 games over the past four years, a number few programs can claim. Two of those seasons included trips to the Playoff semifinals and Notre Dame wants to get back there. Keep an eye on Kyle Hamilton at safety this fall. He's top player in the country good from his post in the secondary.
     
  13. Terry O'Keefe

    Terry O'Keefe Well-Known Member Administrator

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  14. George Krebs

    George Krebs Well-Known Member

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    I think #7 is way high based on what we know. Four new O-Linemen. New QB. Unproven deep threat. Tremble gone is going to be a loss too. He was very versatile. And the Kicker was shaky down the stretch.

    Defense lost many of its best playmakers. For the Irish to finish #7 all the new guys will have to make an impact right away. More likely a #12-16 team this year.
     
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  15. Terry O'Keefe

    Terry O'Keefe Well-Known Member Administrator

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    Irish got a verbal commitment from NJ QB Steve Angeli, he's a kid they offered early so they clearly like him. But from everything I read he's not that elite QB that the Nat'l Champ teams have had at QB. He's a good solid player, of course Mac Jones was not a highly rated 5 star QB either. So maybe Angeli will develope into that player.
     
  16. Terry O'Keefe

    Terry O'Keefe Well-Known Member Administrator

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    Irish Women lost to Clemson last night in the ACC tournament. That probably put them out of any chance for the NCAA tournament. It was a classic game for this team this year, have a good lead and then blow it in the 4th with turnovers and poor shooting. Clemson earned their win by just out hustling the Irish. On paper we were the more talented team and should have won, but this year we have lost a number of games just like this by folding in 4th qtr when the other teams turn up the defensive pressure.

    The team was young this year for sure, and this was Coach Ivey's first year as a HC...so I guess we can use that as an excuse. One of our best players, Samantha Brunelle, was never really the player we hoped for as a Soph based on her play as freshman. She was dealing with injuries and never really got into the same shape as she was during her outstanding freshman year. We also didn't have a reliable point guard, we had several players who were really shooting guards give it a go, but next year Oliva Miles who is a true PG and played the last month after enrolling early since her HS didn't play basketball due to Covid showed a lot of potential.

    Next year the team should be much better, players and coach more experienced and hopefully the off season conditioning will get players like Sam back into shape and we'll add another talented freshman in Sonia Citron one of the top players in her class into the mix.

    Coach Ivey was known for her recruiting prowess when she was Coach McGraw's top assistant. She's going to need to show us that magic hasn't gone away. Women's basketball has a high number of players who transfer every year. So we don't know now if we'll have player(s) transfer, but I would be shocked if there wasn't at least 1, it's just the way it is these days.
     
  17. Sid

    Sid Well-Known Member

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    It upset me to learn that students had chanted, "Fire Mike Brey", but nothing I'd say would make a difference. Here's a 2:47 video by Jordan Cornette, a former player, in which he makes a strong case for what Brey has meant to ND:
     
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    Last edited: Mar 5, 2021
  18. Terry O'Keefe

    Terry O'Keefe Well-Known Member Administrator

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    Another former player chimes in on Mike Brey

     
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  19. Terry O'Keefe

    Terry O'Keefe Well-Known Member Administrator

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    FWIW I hope I've been clear, I like and respect Mike Brey and I hate it that those students chanted that...he didn't deserve that disrespect. He's a guy who have given a lot to the University, he deserves the respect for all that he's done. That said I do think it's time for Mike Brey to take a long look and decide if he has it in the tank to be that same coach he has been for 20+ years.
     
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  20. Sid

    Sid Well-Known Member

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    Terry, FWIW, I've always understood you to be supportive of and respectful toward Brey. A season like this definitely gives rise to the feelings you expressed, and I agree with you. I think the central issue among fans like you and me is the lack of respect shown by the students. I'm pretty sure - No, I'm certain - that when I was their age, I did and said stupid things. A lot. Still do.
     
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