Yeah it seems like high risk/high reward. If he comes in and fits and is the back that he was in HS then it's a win, if what ever kept him off the field at Stanford keeps him off the field at ND ...then it will be a waste. That he didn't play last year bugs me, why? Shaws Doghouse? If so why? Undisclosed injury? Was he the Stanford Kevin Austin, who didn't play and nobody knew exactly why, he just didn't play. Assumptions were made but it was never revealed why he didn't play.
Spring Schedule is out. Opening Media Day is March 5th and there will be a practice, then they take off till the 17th of March (St. Patricks Day) and work till the Spring Game April 18th. A bit odd..but Spring Break for ND is March 7th through the 15th. Notre Dame 2020 Spring Football Practice Schedule
4 names to watch this spring Hunter Spears ...he's moving from the DL to OG. Too crowded and there is opportunity for him on the OL Avery Davis ...moving to Slot? No need at RB, there is need at CB but he's tried that already. He's got the slot type of body and speed. Jack Kiser ...to Buck? Paul Mola....to Buck? if both move it'll get crowded. Kelly really likes Mola and wants to get him on the field.
Good weekend. Irish Men and Women win at basketball today and Hockey swept Michigan in Ann Arbor. Softball beat #16 Arizona State and Baseball went 2-1 in the tourney in San Antonio.
NFL Combine started today and Chase Claypool has bulked up quite a bit leading to speculation that he want's teams to think of him as a future TE, not a WR. He's 6'4" and is now up to 238, he is not fast for a WR, fast enough, but not a burner. But he would be fast for a TE if he can get to around 250 and maintain his speed.
Chase Claypool had a great day yesterday. Ran a sub 4.5 40 (4.43). Only two wideouts to measure 6’4” & 235 pounds or bigger have run a sub-4.45 in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine since 2003. The other is Calvin Johnson. That's pretty good company. Chris Finke ran well also and both he and Claypool were top 10 in vertical leap. So somebody is going to draft Finke that's for sure. Quite a story from walk on to NFL draft.
This guy is a ND Man! Khalid Kareem didn’t know the damage he sustained. It wasn’t until after Notre Dame’s 45-24 win at Stanford, in which the Irish defensive end recorded five tackles and recovered a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown, that Kareem learned he had played the previous three games with a torn labrum in his left shoulder. But that wasn’t going to stop him from playing in the Camping World Bowl on Dec. 28. “I kind of wanted to finish what I started with my guys,” Kareem said Thursday at the NFL Scouting Combine. “As a team captain, I have to be there for them. I couldn’t really look at myself in the mirror knowing I had something left in the tank and didn’t play.” Kareem notched one tackle and two quarterback hurries in the 33-9 victory over Iowa State in Orlando, Fla. Even near the end of the game, he didn’t want to stay on the sideline. He consulted with fellow defensive end Daelin Hayes, who had labrum surgery himself after four games into the 2019 season. “I went to Daelin,” Kareem recalled, “and I was like, ‘Bro, do you think it’s worth it going back in?’ He’s like, ‘Bro, sit down.’ That almost brought tears to my eyes, because that was kind of the end. I really didn’t want to go out being injured, but I had a blast playing at Notre Dame.”
Here's a guy to keep an eye on! He'll be back in South Bend in March. Would look great in Blue and Gold!
Troy Pride ran a 4.4 this weekend at the combine, he had hoped to run around a 4.3 or less but still a 4.4 is very fast and shouldn't hurt him. I don't know where he's going to be drafted though, he had a good Sr. Bowl, I don't know how his combine workout went though. I think at best he'll be a 3rd round pick, he was good not great last year.
Chase Claypool, WR, Notre Dame Tipping the scales at 238 pounds at the Scouting Combine, Claypool added nearly 10 pounds since the Senior Bowl (229 pounds) in January. At least one team requested the big-bodied Notre Dame receiver to also work out at tight end. While no receiver in Indy weighed more than Claypool, he ran a blazing 4.42 official 40-yard dash (seventh-best among his position group) with a 40.5" vertical jump (fourth-best) and 19 bench press reps (fifth-best). In terms of height/weight/speed, Claypool joins Calvin Johnson as one of two receivers with a frame of at least 6'4" and 235 pounds and to run a sub-4.45, 40 at the combine since 2003. https://www.si.com/nfl/2020/03/02/d...&utm_campaign=SI Extra 030220&utm_term=SI Ext
Charlie Weis Jr on Notre Dame. From an article, and a pretty good one, on The Athletic. Not all the history between the Weis family and Notre Dame has since become water under the bridge, but enough has. Weis Jr. thinks a lot of his counterpart in South Bend, remembering new offensive coordinator Tommy Rees as a skinny quarterback prospect from Chicagoland. He’s impressed by the job Brian Kelly has done stabilizing Notre Dame football. “I love South Bend. I love Notre Dame and everything that it did for me and my life,” Weis Jr. said. “Obviously it didn’t end well, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t some great moments.”
2020 Captains? We've had them named in January, we've had them named after Spring and we've had them named in August. We haven't had 1 guy as a captain since Jarious Jackson in 1999. Jimmy Clausen was the last QB captain, in 2009. Kizer in 2017 doesn't count because he left for the NFL. We've had some QB's be captain worthy but not solid enough in their position to get the nod. Brandon Wimbush was well respected by the team and so was Malik Zaire (pre-injury). But Ian Book is reportedly well respected by the team, does he have the captain type of personality, don't know but I'll bet he's a Captain in 2020. OL is always a source of Captains, with Eichenberger, Kraemer and Hainsey they all could be Captains but I'd say pick 1 and I'd pick Tommy Kraemer Our WR's/TE's are either too young or really aren't guaranteed starters to be Captains. Brock Wright would be a guy who could be a Captain, but I don't know if he's going to be a starter, not a lock to be a starter then no Captaincy. RB's...forget about it. Defense. Well Shawn Crawford seems like a guy who should be a lock to be a Captain, he's mature, he's battled through a lot and he's going to be a starter. Beyond that it's sort of a toss up. If we have to have 2 Captains on defense I'd go with Kurt Hinish, even though I don't know enough about him to say he's a captain but watching him, he's a battler. Special Teams...we've had a few recently, but in general I don't see anybody here...maybe Bo Bauer, the dude is on fire when he runs down the field.
Kelly's Spring Press Conference will be tomorrow. There are rumors that one of our RB's is injured and will be out for the Spring. I'd expect that will be announced tomorrow. Other than that, the staff is complete with the 2 new coaches and they should be ready to go. The OL is going to be a work in progress due to Aaron Banks, Tommy Kraemer and Robert Hainsey missing the Spring. It should however be a great spring for the backups to get a lot of reps and develop their game and be ready to step in this fall if needed and be better prepared for 2021. Final game of the season for Men's basketball is this weekend v FSU, the women's team starts the ACC Tourney this weekend. The women have definitely played better the last few games and Sam Brunelle our super frosh was ESPN national player of the week. I think the men's basketball could be a NIT team. Women not likely as they will finish below .500 no matter what. Hockey goes to Minnesota for the 1st round of the Big 10 tourney. They could win, or they could be done for the season. To move on to the Frozen Four they will have to win the Big 10 tourney, not likely.
Well 2 games yesterday and 2 close losses for men's and women's basketball. Irish women lost to Pitt a team they beat both times they played this season and are now done for the season. Lots of freshmen talent coming in next year, so they'll still be young but they will have more depth. The men lost another close game to FSU and have Va. Tech next for senior day.
Irish baseball sweeps North Carolina. Six game win streak (10-2, 3-0 ACC). First ACC road sweep since 2016 (Va. Tech). From the ND website: Irish Stomp Tar Heels 14-8 to Sweep Series
Lots of good stuff reported for the Irish footballers 1st day of practice. Esp encouraging were reports that Kevin Austin, Braden Lenzy and Lawrence Keys all looked the part of starters at WR/Slot. The reports on all the big ND sites were all so positive that it's scary. Only one position didn't get much mention and that was RB, ok well TE's didn't get a lot of mention either. When asked about Ian Book, Kelly had this to say. Then Kelly cut to the chase. What does he need leadership-wise from his quarterback? “Complete a ****-load of passes,” Kelly said. “That would be great. If he keeps doing that stuff and leads in the manner of who he is, he doesn’t need to be anybody else. Just be Ian Book and I think he’ll be fine.” Irish Baseball swept UNC and Irish softball was swept by NC State. Irish Hockey lost to Minn and their season is over.
Irish Men's basketball sent their seniors out in style with a solid win over Va. Tech. They face Boston College in the 2nd round of the ACC tourney would be nice to get a win, if they do they'll face a very good UVA team who we lost to by 1 point in Feb.
Senior forward John Mooney was named All-ACC First Team after leading the conference in rebounds and double-doubles this season. John Mooney Named All-ACC First Team
A Brian Kelly Appreciation Post. Emphasizes the, in the authors opinion, the good things that Brian Kelly has done at Notre Dame. Of course many will disagree with some of the things, many are still upset over the change to field turf, and while BK was not the architect on the Crossroads project, many still hate it and blame it on Kelly, esp the Jumbotron. Many don't like that Kelly changed the pre-game mass from the Basilica to the Gug and we lost the traditional walk to the stadium. Of course the fact that his best teams always seem to get blown out on the big stage. Anyway, it's a good read if for no other reason to see the changes that have happened to ND football in the last 10 years. Notre Dame Football: A Brian Kelly Appreciation Post