Beating Rutgers by our normal "NFL" margin of victory will yield no benefits. If we pound them hard it will help in the near term regarding recruiting in New Jersey. If we god forbid lose to these mutts it would be a PR disaster and would have the reverse effect on recruiting. We would be "Munsoned" .
The last couple of coaches were done by the end of their 3rd years and to me it looked like those teams just quit on them. I'll never forget some of the terrible efforts that were made in Nov. Ty's loss to Syracuse, blowouts to USC. Charlies losses to Syracuse, UConn, etc all teams far less talented than the Irish. This year even with all our injuries we gutted it up and were in all of our losses and could have won. Those losses were frustrating because you could see that we were close but for whatever the reason, coaching, game plan, bad luck, etc we are what we are an 8-4 team. I think though that we are on the cusp of a good run, Kelly finally has the QB's lined up that are good fits for his offense, our OL recruiting has been outstanding, we have some potentially really great WR's/TE and a group of RB's who I think will be better than average. On defense we have a lot of young talent, we are thin and young in the middle of the linebacker group but should be solid in the CB/S position and if Tuitt were to decide to come back and guys like Tony Springman come back 100% we should be solid on the DL. We should be in a position to win 10 games or more next year, the schedule will be tough with MSU, Michigan, Stanford, USC, Arizona State along with 4 ACC foes including FSU, North Carolina,Louisville,....its a very demanding schedule. It'll be tough to win 10 games against that slate but I think we'll have a shot at it. Recruiting is in a good position and if we finish well the roster will be stocked very well to be competitive with the top programs. I wonder who will be our next OCoord, I thought it would be Denbrock for sure but there are rumors now that Kelly has somebody from outside the program who he is talking with. Dicaco is interviewing for the UConn job, while he's come under a lot of criticism for the defense this year, it's tough to lose both coordinators in the same season. We'll see.
Point taken, Gip. I could have expressed myself in a different way. I was trying to disagree respectfully with your assertion that it was a bad season. IMO bad things happened throughout the season, some within our control, some not. We clearly lost 3 games we could have won. That statement alone shows how far we've come from the dark ages of Weis, Willingham, and Davie. Under them there were countless games in which we never were competitive. Bottom line: It was not a "bad" season. Disappointing? Yes. What was lacking? IMO leadership, ability (in some positions), effort (re: tackling on defense), experience (youth in some positions), all of which are correctable with coaching and maturity. Terry, that's a good analysis.
Sid, I think your point about leadership is good. The effort against Stanford was admirable. Half of that effort would probably have been enough to beat Pitt. Next year's schedule looks daunting.
For those interested, here is a capsule summary of ND's bowl options for the next six seasons beginning in 2014 (taken from SB Tribune article written by Eric Hansen):
The Pitt game was esp frustrating because we are the better team. Sure we lost Tuitt early to a BS call, but even with that you had to figure we should have beaten them. Kelly and Diaco have gotten a lot of criticism for their game plans this year, esp the Pitt game. Sure Kelly and Diaco didn't play a snap but a lot of people thought the game plan just absolutely stunk. Diaco's inability to deal with the Navy option was very frustrating, that was a loss in the making till the Navy coach gave it back to us. I don't know what to think about the Mich game, Devin Gardner was an All American that day and Tommy made some critical mistakes. Mostly people were frustrated by Kelly's lack of running the football when we had a good OL and some backs with talent. Why he insisted on so many deep fades in short yardage, why didn't he have Folston and Bryant ready to go for the Temple game, I know Bryant got injured somewhere along the way but those guys were invisible in the early going when they were healthy and we kept playing GAIII. Everybody was frustrated with the inabilty to stop 2 QB's, the Purdue kid who by midseason wasn't even a QB anymore, and the Temple kid who had never taken a snap in college. They both looked like AA's. Lot's of frustration in a lot of those games. I think everybody was thrilled with the effort of the defense in the USC and BYU games, esp the USC game. That was an offense that went on to score a lot of points on some Pac12 teams after we stoned them. This team needs to close out the season with a solid win over Rutgers. I don't care if RU is a bad team, we need to beat them badly not allow them to keep it close. We need another win like the Sun Bowl win. Give us some good karma to go into the off season.
ND <t>Terry,<br/> <br/> I don't see MSU on the schedule for next year. Michigan is a home game, Stanford losses a ton of people, Louisville does too including Bridgewater. We get Golson back, maybe Tuitt....10 Games is doable.</t>
You're right Tim, I forgot they are off the schedule for a couple of years. I think back on in 2016/2017 then off again for a couple of years. Still we have a difficult schedule next year.
Well the other football team on campus is heading to the final 4. Mens Soccer beat Mich State yesterday and will make their first trip to the college cup where they will play New Mexico who beat the Washington Huskies yesterday in Seattle. The ACC will have 3 of the 4 teams in the Final 4. It'll be in Philly next weekend.
From kelly presser today.. @ISDUpdate: Kelly: I wouldn't hesitate to have Denbock call plays @ISDUpdate: Kelly: Four QBs on scholarship is "heavy". Three and a preferred walk-on will suit me fine. @ISDUpdate: Kelly: Lo Wood & Alex Welch have been granted release, but will practice & be here through bowl. @ISDUpdate: Kelly: Schwenke & Ishaq both practiced today. Shumate and Hardy have been reinstated. @ISDUpdate: Kelly will see Golson on Monday in Myrtle Beach. Says he took full responsibility for actions. Comments in SI article were forthright. @ISDUpdate: Kelly: Chris Watt is out with MCL grade of 2-3. He won't need surgery, but can't play in bowl. @ISDUpdate: Kelly: Haven't talked with Stephon Tuitt yet about future. My opinion is one he'll have to ask for. I think you come to ND to get a degree. @ISDUpdate: Kelly: Louis Nix has signed with an agent, so he can't be with team during bowl. @ISDUpdate: Kelly: Plan to meet in NY on Monday, Dec. 23. We'll all go together. @ISDUpdate: Kelly: We worked 11 on 11 today - 20 reps of really good work with Zaire today. Young guys get a lot of work. Redfield playd 7on7. More at the link: Kelly Presser Tweets by ISD Staff
Whoa...Dalton Schultz the #2 TE on the Rivals TE list tweeted that he wished that he could have stayed a week at ND that it was a special place. Tyler Lautua the Calif TE who is not nearly as highly rated but who has been considered a near lock for ND for a long time but who has also not made a commitment is on the clock. If Schultz was offered and commits then Lautua will be out for the Irish. We already have another TE in Nic Weishier who is also rated higher than Lautua.
COACH KELLY: Had our first bowl practice. Liked the energy out there. Got some good work in today, about an hour and a half's worth. We're off and running. We'll take some time off. We'll go Friday and Saturday, which is also our awards banquet. We'll have a number of recruits up. We'll have a pretty good weekend for our recruits here where we'll have our awards banquet, practice, get a couple of days, Friday and Saturday, with our team as well. Good day today. Good to get them back out there. Got some good work, 11‑on‑11, good action today. I was pleased with today's practice. Questions. Q. Pinstripe Bowl, initial reaction? COACH KELLY: It's been a great place for us. I remember us being at Yankee Stadium, the way we were treated there. New York is certainly a great place for Notre Dame. We have great support in that area, subway alums. It's a home away from home. Chicago, New York, the West Coast has been great. We'll be well‑received there. The Pinstripe Bowl has been terrific to work with. They've done everything to make it a great event for our players. So I'm really pleased with how they have really initiated and have followed up with making this a great event for our players. Excited about the opportunity for our team. Q. What do you hope to get out of this bowl experience? Sometimes it's getting a jump on 2014. Sometimes it's a reward. COACH KELLY: Well, we want to win the football game first. I want to send out our football team and build momentum into 2014 with a win. In particular, our seniors going out with a win, I think that's very important. They've meant so much to the program. I think that's first and foremost, getting a win for our seniors, and the momentum it builds going into 2014. It's not a catapult into an undefeated season by any means. I don't want to overstate that. But it does leave a good feeling going into the off‑season when you win that football game. Then secondly, like today, I was able to work I think in the 11‑on‑11 today, which is our ones and twos working. I was able to get 20 reps of really good work with Malik today. The young guys get a lot of work. Torii Hunter and Malik working together today. Max Redfield played virtually all of seven‑on‑seven. Those kind of guys getting out there today. That would probably be equally as important. Q. How would you respond to those who say you have everything to lose and nothing to gain in this matchup? COACH KELLY: I don't see how that's the case when they're a BCS team. They beat Arkansas this year. They played Louisville, Fresno. They're going in the Big Ten. This team is going to be in the Big Ten this year. If we don't play well, they'll beat us. We have everything to lose. We want to win the football game. I don't know what goes into that kind of thinking. I'm a football coach, so I don't think in those terms. We have to prepare our football team. We want to win for our program to get to nine wins. We want to win for our seniors. In that preparation, if we can get some of our younger players some work during this bowl practice, this is a worthwhile time for us, and very helpful for our program. Q. I don't know if you were joking about a warm‑weather site initially, then some of the players talked about that. How did you get to a consensus on New York? COACH KELLY: There were three or four bowls that were certainly vying for Notre Dame as we were going through this process. The Poinsettia Bowl was certainly one those we were interested in. One of the things is we were going to be tied into some of these bowls, particularly the Pinstripe, once we entered our new agreement. We were trying to look to getting into a bowl that we wouldn't have any alliances moving forward. San Diego, being in the west, let's take a shot at that one. Once Northern Illinois lost that football game, that kind of evaporated any opportunity for us in that game. The other one was the Hawaii Bowl. But because of our exam schedule, which took us through the 20th, we would have had to have gone out there on 21, 22, 23. It would have been practice, practice, practice, play the game. They don't hold the hotel rooms after the game for you. You have to leave or find other accommodations, right? The guys go for three days, practice, play the game, then it's like, All right, you got to go home. Didn't make a lot of sense to go there three days, practice, play the game, then, Sorry guys. If we could have stayed for two, three days after, have some things organized, maybe we could have done something with the Hawaii Bowl. It didn't make sense for us to do that. Q. When will you meet as a team out there for this bowl? COACH KELLY: I think we're planning on Monday, the 23rd. Q. Players go on break after the bowl or will you send them home? COACH KELLY: They'll stay here. We'll all go down together. They'll stay here. They'll finish up on the 20th with their exams. We'll stay here right through, then head out together, be in New York beginning on the 23rd. Q. Will they have a chance to go home after the bowl? COACH KELLY: Certainly. What we do is we fly them home, then it's on them to get back to Notre Dame. Q. Condensed schedule, finals, how many practices can you get in? COACH KELLY: Total practices, we'll get 10 total practices in. Q. Almost the allotment you were looking for? COACH KELLY: Yeah. It's not too bad. Works out okay. Q. (No microphone.) COACH KELLY: Louis has signed with an agent, so he's not allowed to be part of the bowl in terms of bowl gifts, bowl travel, all of those things. Q. Conversation there about possibly delaying that so he could join you? COACH KELLY: I was not involved in that conversation. Q. Stephon Tuitt? COACH KELLY: Going to class, doing the deal. All we've done is put in his paperwork to get an evaluation from the NFL. I've had some preliminary conversations about his academic work. He still has some work to do academically. We haven't really delved into the depth of that yet. Q. What do you think about Stephon? If he asked your opinion, what would you tell him? COACH KELLY: I think you have to measure out a lot of things in this process. My personal opinion is one that they'll have to ask for. I think you come to Notre Dame to get a degree. I think getting your degree is very important in this whole process. But I think you look at Michael Floyd, Manti Te'o, Tyler Eifert, all those guys came back, got their degrees, went on and are having great careers in the NFL. Louis has his degree, so I think his situation is a little bit different. I personally think you come to Notre Dame, you want to get your degree. That wouldn't just be for Stephon Tuitt, I think it would be for everybody. Q. Do you think it was the right choice? COACH KELLY: There's a lot of factors that are involved there. I think the most important choice he made was coming to Notre Dame and getting his degree. The rest of those, you know what I mean, they're splitting hairs. We'll find out, right? You're taking a gamble no matter what. But the most important decisions he had to make, I thought he got them right. That was coming to Notre Dame, getting his degree. I think he hit a home run on those. Q. Even if Louis delayed the decision, would he have been able to be on the sidelines, given his knee? COACH KELLY: Oh, absolutely. He's at the point now where he can move around. He's able to do that. Q. Were you expecting to have conversations with him about the NFL? COACH KELLY: We've had conversations about it. I didn't know about the signing with the agent until it was too late to inform him that by doing so, you know, you don't get your bowl hat, and you can't fly with us to New York. Louis in New York would be cool, especially around Christmastime, so that was unfortunate. I'm sure he'll be fine. Q. Where are you with Watt and (indiscernible), some of the other guys? COACH KELLY: Well, those guys have got opportunities that will present themselves. Q. I meant injury‑wise. COACH KELLY: Watt is out. He's not going to need surgery, but he's not going to be able to play in the bowl game with the MCL. It's a two, three on a grade. It's going to require immobilization. He's immobilized right now. He won't be able to play. Q. Everybody else in pretty good shape? COACH KELLY: Quiz me on guys and I can help you. Q. Ishaq. COACH KELLY: He practiced today. He looked pretty good. In terms of the game itself, we had an ankle with Corey Robinson. He's a little ginger today. I think he's going to be fine. I think guys that won't play that are significant would be Chris Watt was significant, and I think that's it from the game. Q. How is the mechanics of play‑calling going to work in the bowl game? Does that revert back to you? Do you want Mike to tale the reins there? COACH KELLY: I'm going to coach the quarterbacks. Mike will coordinate the offense. He'll take lead in terms of the organization of our practices. But I'll be very involved in things. Haven't really made a decision on how the plays will come in yet. Still kind of thinking about that. Q. You're going to put off hiring another coach, whether it be a coordinator... COACH KELLY: Yeah. It will be after the bowl game. But I don't know what direction I'm going to go yet. I could elevate somebody from within certainly or hire somebody as a coordinator, hire a quarterback coach, hire a position coach. All those are on the table for me right now. Q. (No microphone.) COACH KELLY: No. I think the opportunity was a great opportunity at Miami of Ohio. I think it's a great program that can be quickly elevated back to its tradition‑rich successes that it's had. I just think the timing was really right. I don't think Chuck was walking around here looking for a job. Our guys don't do that. But if presented with an opportunity like that, to run a program that has such great tradition like Miami of Ohio, I thought it was the right decision and I endorsed it. Q. Chuck said he was out of a job when you hired him at Grand Valley. What do you remember initially? COACH KELLY: He just had gotten fired at Eastern Michigan. He was on the staff at Eastern. I knew his football acumen. He's a very smart football coach. Just remember having a conversation with him, very short conversation, and knowing that he was going to be somebody that I wanted to hire. It didn't take me very long to know that he was a very good fit for me and what I was looking for. He'll do a great job at Miami. I think they made a great hire. Q. Any advice you gave him when you were outgoing at Grand Valley? COACH KELLY: No. He was pretty sharp. He kind of just continued to do a lot of the things that were in place. His personality came out. But ran the same systems. Really didn't try to reinvent the wheel. But his personality came out. No, he's a pretty sharp guy. He didn't need a lot of advice from me. Q. The rest of your staff will remain intact? COACH KELLY: You know, you never know. I know that my coaches won't leave for lateral moves. They'll have to be leadership positions. So I'm certain of that. But if there's a head job out there that makes sense for one of the assistant coaches, I'd look at them. I have really good football coaches. You never know. But, as I said, my guys aren't out sending résumés looking for jobs. If the right situation comes along, all these guys, especially the ones that have been with me a long time, they know what it looks like. They'd be great at running programs. Q. The Pinstripe was great about making this event great for your players. What are some of the things they're willing to do? COACH KELLY: When you're dealing with our guys, it's bowl packages, right? It's just been a very attractive bowl package for our guys. I don't want to get into the details because I think we'd like to probably keep that amongst ourselves. But when I was standing here in front of this big screen, I put up the Power Point, I went from talking about the Pinstripe Bowl, had my guys' attention. They came out of their chairs when I showed them the bowl package. I didn't get that popular in a very short period of time. They were very excited about the things they were going to get from the bowl package. And it's New York. It's New York at Christmastime. Just the ability to do a lot of things. A lot of these guys haven't been to New York at that time. They were pretty excited about it. Q. Did the bowl actively recruit Notre Dame? Would it characterize it that way? COACH KELLY: I would say that (laughter). John Mosley would not leave me alone. Quite honestly, I think I told him to get out of my office a couple of times. He was here for the weekend against BYU. I know John very well. My relationship goes back to Culver Academy with him. John is a great guy. But they were here, and he wouldn't leave. He wouldn't take no for an answer. We're excited about it. It's fresh in our memory about how we were treated by the Yankees, and they're going to make sure that happens again. Q. (No microphone.) COACH KELLY: No. We're not going to practice on the 21st. He won't get here. He's going up to New York to see his girlfriend. We're just not going to have the time and place to get him in to practice. He may join us in New York for a few days, but we're not going to have a chance to get him in here to practice, assuming he's readmitted into school. Q. He'll be there on his own? COACH KELLY: Yeah, we'll make sure we get that vetted through our compliance before I'm quoted as saying without question. We're assuming that he's readmitted. He can't do anything until the semester ends, which it ends on the 20th. So once exams end, now he's free to be part of what we do. Q. So it would be the 21st? COACH KELLY: Exactly. It didn't make any sense to do anything. He's heading up to New York. He had plans. I'm going to go down and see him on Monday. I'll have a lot more information in terms of his plans. I'm going to shoot down to Myrtle Beach on Monday. Q. How do you feel he's handled that whole process from start to finish being away from the team? COACH KELLY: Well, I thought he initially handled it very well. His comments were right on, in my estimation. I think he took full responsibility for his actions, didn't back away from them. I think his follow‑up, which I had no idea he was going to be doing an interview with Sports Illustrated, I think that's who it was with. I thought his comments were forthright. Quite frankly, I thought maybe a little bit too revealing. He talked about some things that I probably wouldn't have talked about. But I think he took it straight on and never backed away from coming back to Notre Dame, wanting to be back here. I think he's been a stand‑up guy in this whole process. Q. Do you feel like you will get a better quarterback than when he left, given his time with George Whitfield, or do you not know what you're getting? COACH KELLY: No, I think we're going to get a young man that is going to be a better quarterback, not because of necessarily what George did, though certainly George is very accomplished. I don't want to diminish what he can do, how he can help. I think we're going to get a better person and someone that's even more committed. He's going to be so much more committed to being a better student, more committed to everything that he does. I think that's going to be a better quarterback at Notre Dame. I can't see a scenario for him not being better at the quarterback position because of that. Q. Have you been able to have more conversations on the fifth‑year status of some guys, especially with Lo and Alex? COACH KELLY: Yeah. You guys know the situation quicker than I do most of the time. Lo, we gave him a release. Now, these guys will practice and play for me through the bowl game. That's their responsibility. They have to do that. So they'll be here through the bowl game. That's Lo and Alex right now. Q. Anybody else who has looked for options fifth‑year? COACH KELLY: There's some other guys that I'll have to sit down with, but I don't want to get into that right now. Q. Quarterback‑wise, would you have a preference of having four on scholarship for next season or do you think you can get by with three? I'm specifically asking, do you bring back an Andrew or Luke Massa for that emergency option, or does somebody like Rashad serve in that capacity? COACH KELLY: I think four quarterbacks on scholarship is heavy. But circumstances sometimes put you in that position, and the circumstances might be that you've inherited quarterbacks that have scholarships already. But if you're working through a natural progression, three and a preferred walk‑on would suit me just fine. Q. Do you plan on keeping Rashad or is he going to be a cornerback? COACH KELLY: No, he's going to play defense. Q. (No microphone.) COACH KELLY: Defensive coordinator. Q. He hasn't coordinated the offense? COACH KELLY: Not that I remember. Could have. It's been a long time ago. Q. Does his longevity with you help his ability to call plays and jump right into that role? COACH KELLY: In terms of play calling itself? No, it doesn't cause me a concern relative to the game itself because he's called plays before, whether you're calling on offense or defense. I'm not that concerned about it. You have to have a feel and flow for the game. You have to be organized. You have to know down and distance on situations. He's been on offense long enough with this system, I wouldn't be that concerned. He's got a long period of being in this offense and he's got a great deal of experience being around it. I would not hesitate to have him call plays in it at all.
ND <r><QUOTE><s> </e></QUOTE> I wish he could stay a week, then a month, then about 4 years if he wants!</r>
Lot of Angst over the Pinstripe Bowl, esp since it's vs Rutgers. In the old days we probably would have stayed home rather than play in anything less than a major bowl. But that was then and in todays world you really can't turn down even a low level bowl bid. I think if you do that will be used against you in recruiting, it also gives the team some extra practice time, which the conventional wisdom of coaches seems to indicate that it is important. I'm not really so sure that it is but what do I know. Also, esp for ND, it would lead to negative PR as in we think we're better than everybody else. Supposedly the kids like these trips, they do get some free gear (NCAA limits the value) but a trip to NYC at Christmas time is probably an attractive trip. So I'm good with it, I'll watch and I hope we win. We need to win and it will be a good win even if it is Rutgers...after all RU is a Big 10 program.
ND <r><QUOTE><s> </e></QUOTE> Honestly Terry, I don't think it would matter what bowl the Irish were in, if it's not the NC game the so-called "fans" would find something they didn't like about it. <br/> <br/> Personally, I'm ready to watch the boys beat the crap out of this Rutgers team, then turn the page on what has been one of the least "lucky" for the Irish in a long time. Everything from the NC game, the Teo scandal, recruits transferring after the signed LOI's. losing our starting QB for academics, injuries on defense, etc., etc. <br/> <br/> We've had a run of bad luck this season. Hopefully that means we are do for some good luck the next one. Let's move on.</r>
You're right about NYC at Christmas time. I could be a really fun trip for the team. I see where Malik is getting lots of practice time which is good. It makes it a better atmosphere for the recruits coming in for the football banquet over the weekend. So often we've been matched against teams with superior talent in bowls. The last 2 BCS games we were in before last years NC game were against 2 teams who would play in the NC game the following year. It's time we played a Rutgers. Maybe we can start a bowl winning streak for a change.
Would certainly create some good vibes going into the off season, even though the wins in the Hawaii Bowl and Sun Bowl were not against great teams...everybody felt pretty good about the wins and created a lot of good will amongst the fans that next year was going to be great!