There is going to be a lot of portal entries in the next week. The kids need to enter early so their name is out there and all schools are aware that they are available. If they wait till after they play in a bowl game it might mean some schools that they would have liked to consider will have filled their spots. It does seem like Freeman is focused on keeping the staff together, as Sid noted there is already a meltdown of some note on keeping Parker. Will Howard of KState is in the portal as is Riely Leonard of Duke. Neither of them have the resume that Sam Hartman had when he entered. So we will have to wait and see. On the upside the Mens Soccer has moved on to the NCAA Quarterfinals, round of 16 with the penalty kicks win over Western Michigan. They played a man down for a significant portion of the game.
I'm a bit surprised at this, I really thought Sam would opt out of the bowl, But apparently Freeman thinks Sam is going to play. On if Sam Hartman will play in the bowl game: “I plan for Sam to play in the bowl game. Obviously, when he said that, I think that's where his head is, too. We'll have to have a meeting to make sure it's still there. But again, that's what these conversations are for. Unless I hear otherwise through a conversation, my plan is for Sam Hartman to be our quarterback for the bowl game.
Three Notre Dame veterans enter transfer portal | WSBT This is the transfer list..... so far. There will likely be more. Who will sit out for the draft? There is a lot of buzz that Joe Alt could be done. If that happens will Hartman sit to protect himself? This is the game, as it is. Personally speaking, it has really taken a lot of the joy out of it for me.
Color me shocked Tim. I thought he was supposedly doing a good job given the shape of the WR room when he took over. He's certainly brought in a upgrade in young talent. I wonder what happened, after all it was just yesterday that Freeman said he hoped to keep the staff together. Notre Dame will be in the market for a new receivers coach as Chansi Stuckey and the program have parted ways after just two seasons according to multiple sources. FootballScoop.com was the first to report. Marcus Freeman had plucked Stuckey from Baylor to join the makeover at Notre Dame entering the 2022 season.
I think he probably has a good offer somewhere. He was a good WR recruiter but I'm not sure how well he developed players.
None of these are critical and likely because they don't see themselves starting or getting a lot of playing time. I wonder when the opt outs will start coming. The only one that was a big surprise it Chris Tyree, but I imagine that even he could see that the young guys behind him were going to cut into his playing time. I'll be very interested in where he ends up, he of course must be looking for a team with a returning QB who throws the ball a lot. All the discussion about Gerad Parker and whether Freeman's comments about wanting to keep the staff together applied to Parker. A lot of people feel like the fact that the next day Stuckey is gone proves that he's not going to do status quo on the offensive staff. But then today in his statement about the Stuckey firing he said this.. SOUTH BEND, Indiana — Notre Dame’s Dick Corbett Head Football Coach Marcus Freeman announced Tuesday that wide receivers coach Chansi Stuckey is no longer on the Irish football staff. “First of all, I want to thank Chansi for all of the work he put into our program,” said Freeman. “ I wish Chansi and his family all the best. Over the past few days, we had continued discussions on the overall performance of our wide receiver group and my expectations for the development of that position. I decided it was in the program’s best interest to part ways.” As the Irish prepare for their upcoming bowl game, John and Bobbie Arlotta Family Offensive Coordinator Gerad Parker will coach the Notre Dame wide receivers in the interim until a permanent replacement is in place. That to me sounds like Parker will be here in 2024
This young man's, Aidan Keanaaina , story is the typical of those hitting the portal. The 6-3, 309-pound reserve nose guard played 40 snaps over the course of six games this fall, registering seven tackles, 1.5 TFLs and 0.5 sacks. After four years in South Bend, he recorded 11 tackles, 1.5 TFLs and 0.5 sacks. There’s a good chance Keanaaina would’ve remained buried on the depth chart in 2024. He’s currently behind second-string junior tackles Jason Onye and Gabriel Rubio, as well as sophomore Donovan Hinish. Plus, freshman Devan Houstan is started to show signs that he’ll be a productive player in the near future.
Pete Sampson on the WR situation and who replaces Stuckey. At this point it’s difficult to project where Freeman could take this hire, after apparently chasing course midweek with Stuckey. Regardless, Notre Dame’s passing game must improve if the Irish want to win games of consequence in the expanding College Football Playoff — or even make the 12-team field. Notre Dame’s pass game failed to push forward with Hartman, whose final stat line looks closer to Drew Pyne than anyone would have expected in September.
Joe Alt is a Finalist for the Lombardi Award, I hope he wins it. Alt joins Kansas State guard Cooper Beebe and Texas defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat as finalists for the award.
Tobias Merriweather hit the portal. He's been a disappointment, has size and speed but never seemed to be able to get it together. A lot of people were critical of his seeming lack of effort. He was considered a great pickup when we recruited him. I'm sure we are not done either.
Is the new ND QB Riley Leonard? Tom Loy thinks so... A new Crystal Ball prediction went in on Wednesday for Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish are pursuing a quarterback ahead of the 2024 season, and Irish Illustrated and 247Sports have a pick in for Notre Dame to land a graduate transfer signal-caller. My latest prediction has Notre Dame eventually landing Duke quarterback Riley Leonard, who entered the Transfer Portal on Wednesday. He just wrapped up his third season with the Blue Devils before deciding to take his talents elsewhere.