Backing up Stu is Mel Kiper... General manager Andrew Berry is off to a great start again in this draft. Why in the world did Owusu-Koramoah drop? I can't figure this one out. He's my top-ranked outside linebacker and is 23rd overall on my Big Board. He's not a pass-rusher, but he's a sideline-to-sideline linebacker who can cover tight ends. In fact, Notre Dame used him as a slot cornerback at times. And when he hits running backs, they feel it. This is a fantastic pick for Cleveland, which let B.J. Goodson walk and needed to get younger in the front seven. (I should also note that the Browns traded up for this: They gave up the Nos. 59 and 89 picks to move up to No. 52.)
Watching Blue /Gold game. Defense dominated the 1st half, both Pyne and Coan have been picked. Tyree and Williams have both looked good at RB
Neither Qb, Pyne or Coan took charge and showed that they were the starter. Both had some good throws, but also missed and the OL has allowed quite a few sacks. Of course it's a completely new group out there and they have been experiencing a lot with different combinations this spring so I am not surprised. Not to mention our front 7 is deep and pretty good
Tyler Buchner showed well when he was in there. I think he moved ahead of Drew Pyne. Coan was ok, but I can't say, wow can't wait to see him again. Defense was very good, and I think we should again have a good defense this fall. Offense needs to figure out the OL and we need the WR Corp to step up. Lawrence Keys had a good game as did Avery Davis though. No Michael Mayer though, but in his absence Mitchell Evans a Freshman TE looked good catching the ball.
Was thinking about what I said earlier. I’m not so sure we couldn’t see Buchner starting right away. It doesn’t take a genius to see the stark difference between him and the other 2 QBs. He’s a gamer and will give you both pass and run. If Coan doesn’t show he deserves it more then give the ball to Tyler and let’s roll. That defense is going to be very, very good. Good enough to overcome some mistakes especially in the first few games. Anybody who Hasn’t seen some of the video or read anything about Buchner up until now can clearly see what I’ve been saying for the last year or more. This kid is the real deal and we are in for some good times ahead for next couple of years when he is given the starter roll! Go Irish!!!
I'd be shocked if he was the starter at FSU, but if Coan falters I could see him maybe getting a chance
No, I don’t think Buchner will start against FSU because I know Kelly better than that. He will always go with what gives him the best chance fir the win and unless something unforeseen happens between now and Sept, Coan will be the starter. The one thing he seemed to have or the other 2 WBs yesterday was he just “looked “ like a starter. He seemed like poised and rightfully so. He has started and played in some pretty big games with Wisconsin before. I mentioned watching his 2019 season before but they were relying heavily on the run game and still had Taylor at the time who was always gonna give you a ton of yards so it’s hard to say. In fairness he hasn’t been at ND long enough to know the whole playbook yet but...I didn’t see the “it”’factor on Saturday I was hoping for and he got to play a lot. Again I realize he was playing against an outstanding defense and without a couple of his top weapons he will have In September but..... we’ll see.
The Detroit Lions inked 3 ND undrafted players: Brock Wright TE, Tommy Kraemer G, and Javon McKinley WR. We didn't get to see much of Wright because he played behind other skilled TEs. McKinley is in a good spot since the Lions have lost their top WRs this offseason and the only highly rated WR they drafted was Equiminious St. Brown's brother.
Irish lost another player to the Portal, Jordan Johnson. He was a 5 star WR in the 2020 class but he never got on the field to speak of, and that is at a position where we needed the speed that he has and where the guys who we have aren't highly rated or even close to the type of WR you find at Alabama, Clemson and Ohio State. Solid but not elite. Every time Kelly was asked about him the response was he was getting better, taking care of business, etc. I always read that as some sort of problem, not going to class, not working in the classroom, maybe missing practice or late to practice, maybe slacking in the weight room, etc...all leading to the Kelly Doghouse. He wasn't challenging for a starting position this spring either, and only got a couple of snaps in the Blue and Gold game. I surely wish he'd have worked out at ND, we really need some WR's who are better than good.
Reading the "gurus" on the Spring game. It seems like there is a good chance that Blake Fisher and Rocco Spindler will start on the OL this season. True freshmen starting on the OL is never a good thing, even if they are really good future AA's. Most of your top OL's are dominated by Jr's and Seniors, the key factors is the # of starts on the OL, last year had 4 SR's and a Jr. (Jarrett Patterson) They the Sr's all had more than 30 starts and Patterson had 21 before he went down. This year it'll be pretty much zero starts for everybody except Patterson when he returns. If Lugg ends up as a starter he'll have something like 8 or 9 starts on the resume'. I do believe the ND faithful (right Tim!!) will be getting behind Buchner because he is a 5 star, with good physical traits and a strong arm. Plus he did drive the team to it's only TD's in the B/G game. His B/G performance was the direct opposite of Phil Jurkovec's Spring Game in 2019. Not to mention the BackUp is always the fan favorite. Still expect Coan to be the starter on the road at FSU. I guess the question will be playing the backup, esp it Buchner gets ahead of Pyne in the Fall. Going back to 2018 when Kelly Bryant was the Clemson QB who had guided them to the Nat'l Title game the previous year and was was 15-2 as a starter but Dabo played Trevor Lawrence in each of the 1st 3 games in 2018 as the backup and it wasn't just mop up duty, he was in running the regular offense. That's when it was decided to name him the starter for game 4 and Bryant left. Nothing in Kelly's history shows that he plays the backup in anything other than garbage time and mostly they just hand the ball off and don't really run the offense. More than a few hope that changes this year, esp given that Coan is a 1 and done, and that Buchner (or Pyne) get out and are able to run the offense and gain some experience. So that in 2022 we have a QB with some experience, not a 1st time starter who's thrown 10 passes in his career.
Oh and another big weekend for Irish baseball, they swept UNC at home. They are up to #2 in the Baseball America Poll. If they continue it's not impossible that they might get a national seed and host a regional.
Terry, Yes, I’m definitely a big Buchner fan for sure. Since I’ve got a lot of time on my hands these days I re-re watched the Blue and Gold game again and concluded I might have been a little too harsh on Coan. After all it was a practice game minus a couple of our best offensive players and he had a couple of really good passes that were dropped plus one no call on a clear pass interference but all in all he looked like a starter. He’ll be fine. Buchner will be pushing hard to get in though and I think Kelly will find a way to get him into the games this year even if not as a starter. The kid is just too good to not get him in the game. Besides that, I happened to watch a replay of the FSU spring game and felt better.
This season should be interesting for sure. Total question marks include the entire OL, most of the WRs and QB. And the last time we saw the K he was pretty sketchy too. Defense looks like it could be very good and it is going to have to carry the load until the Offense develops an identity. As far as playing freshman, if they are the best option play them. If you don't, the Transfer Portal beckons.