Ben Councell Archives - Her Loyal Sons https://www.herloyalsons.com/blog A Notre Dame Football Blog Wed, 18 Mar 2015 11:43:51 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.8.3 https://www.herloyalsons.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/HLS-Avatar-Option-2-150x150.png Ben Councell Archives - Her Loyal Sons https://www.herloyalsons.com/blog 32 32 Morning Roundup: March 18, 2015 https://www.herloyalsons.com/blog/2015/03/18/morning-roundup-march-18-2015/ Wed, 18 Mar 2015 12:00:31 +0000 http://www.herloyalsons.com/blog/?p=28529 Good morning! Here are your headlines: FROM OUR SITE Step one: Northeastern VIDEO WatchND: Brian Kelly press conference – March 17, 2015 (42:18) Blue & Gold Illustrated: Video: Kelly previews spring ball (3:03) Irish247: Video: Kelly previews spring practice (3:08) Irish Illustrated: Video: Kelly welcomes QB battle (3:03) Irish Sports Daily: ISD video: Brian Kelly...

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]]> Good morning! Here are your headlines:

FROM OUR SITE

VIDEO

PODCAST

RECRUITING (2016 offers / 2017 offers)

CURRENT TEAM

COACHING

SCHEDULE

MISC.

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]]> Matt Hegarty to Transfer, The Fifth Year Dominoes Begin to Fall https://www.herloyalsons.com/blog/2015/03/05/matt-hegarty-transfer-fifth-year-dominoes-begin-fall/ https://www.herloyalsons.com/blog/2015/03/05/matt-hegarty-transfer-fifth-year-dominoes-begin-fall/#comments Thu, 05 Mar 2015 11:00:19 +0000 http://www.herloyalsons.com/blog/?p=28282 As I mentioned in my post regarding the transfer of Avery Sebastian, the Irish sat at 94 total scholarships, with 12 of those belonging to current Notre Dame players with a potential fifth year. At some point, tough decisions would need to be made in regards to these players and one has already been made....

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]]> As I mentioned in my post regarding the transfer of Avery Sebastian, the Irish sat at 94 total scholarships, with 12 of those belonging to current Notre Dame players with a potential fifth year. At some point, tough decisions would need to be made in regards to these players and one has already been made. Matt Hegarty has decided to transfer from Notre Dame citing a desire for as much playing time as possible, which he wouldn’t get in 2015 with the Irish:

Recently my coaches informed me that they wanted me to change positions. They also explained that with many younger players in the wings, they wanted to develop them more heavily in the rotation — a need that I understand and appreciate.

“Unfortunately, I have already had to miss a precious amount of football battling back from my stroke, and I value every rep and opportunity going into my final year of college ball that much more. My goal is to contribute this season, continue to develop my skills and pursue my dream of playing in the NFL. Because of this goal, I have asked for a transfer to play at another school where I can contribute more on the field. Notre Dame has amassed formidable depth on the O-line and have many very talented players to fill all positions.

I can’t blame Matt or Brian Kelly as this seems to be the best move for both parties. Matt will graduate from Notre Dame in May and will be able to play immediately due to the NCAA graduate transfer exception.

And that’s a very important thing to note. This isn’t a case of the Irish going full SEC and needing to cut people due to oversigning which we’ve certainly railed against here at HLS. The difference here is that players aren’t being shoved out the door or having a scholarship yanked from them before they graduate. That’s a huge distinction and, quite frankly, tough decisions on fifth years is a sign of a healthy program.

So now the number sits at 93 and the remaining fifth years on the table look like this:

[table “” not found /]

That’s eleven total and if you’re doing the math, this means that, unless there is some underclassmen attrition that we don’t yet know about, eight of those players will not receive a fifth year scholarship.

Golson and Schmidt are obvious keeps in that list, in my opinion, but after that, things get a lot rougher. While this is certainly a good problem to have, I can only imagine the headache that juggling these options will cause and I could make solid cases for at least four different guys on that list to fill the third slot. I’m honestly not even sure what direction Kelly will go here.

With spring ball about to get under way, I would wager this situation will resolve itself soon and it will certainly be interesting to see what happens. If you had the choice, which three would you keep?

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]]> https://www.herloyalsons.com/blog/2015/03/05/matt-hegarty-transfer-fifth-year-dominoes-begin-fall/feed/ 2 Brian Kelly Presser: Michigan, Opportunities, and Silver Linings https://www.herloyalsons.com/blog/2014/09/03/brian-kelly-michigan-presser-silver-linings/ https://www.herloyalsons.com/blog/2014/09/03/brian-kelly-michigan-presser-silver-linings/#comments Wed, 03 Sep 2014 11:51:07 +0000 http://www.herloyalsons.com/blog/?p=26058 Ever the politician, a plaid-suited Brian Kelly sidestepped a question ripe for opposing locker room material. Sure, the end of the Michigan series has opened the door for some very exciting future games for Notre Dame football, but he wasn’t about to proclaim it a “good thing” and provide Michigan with additional motivation. Instead, Kelly...

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]]> via @WatchND

via @WatchND

Ever the politician, a plaid-suited Brian Kelly sidestepped a question ripe for opposing locker room material. Sure, the end of the Michigan series has opened the door for some very exciting future games for Notre Dame football, but he wasn’t about to proclaim it a “good thing” and provide Michigan with additional motivation.

Instead, Kelly called future games with Texas and Georgia the “silver lining” of no longer having Michigan on the schedule. Afterward, he looked to the eager press asking how he did in delivering the political response and even jokingly praised the reporter for doing a good job in phrasing his question for the potential trap. As the press conference ended, he stated with relief that he got through the thing without getting into any trouble.

And there was plenty potential for such trouble. Earlier in the conference, he refuted the idea that he would use the final Notre Dame/Michigan matchup as additional motivation for his team. Instead, he stated that he would frame the unique situation as an opportunity for his squad, doing his best to downplay the finality of the series.

But as calm and political as Kelly appeared on the outside, I couldn’t help but wonder what was really going on inside his head. Previously, he practically admitted that he was tired of losing to Brady Hoke. He’s been on the wrong end of the scoreboard and chicken comments. Somewhere deep inside, you just know this game matters more than he’ll publicly state.

Part of me wishes this presser went scorched earth on Ann Arbor, but, for now, Kelly’s cooler head prevails. Hopefully, drunk on victory come Saturday night, we get some of what Kelly is holding inside.

Presser Highlights

On Rice: Highlighted good predictors for victory, specifically +11 in field position, +2 in turnovers, and 9.0 yards/play. Mentioned that a “great effort” on special teams helped to deliver the great field position that the Irish enjoyed all game long.

On Michigan: Called Devin Funchess a problem matchup now that he’s moved from TE to WR. Noted that Gardner has “played great” against the Irish in the past and that ND will face a veteran defense. Later in the presser, Kelly noted that Michigan will heavily press his WR and that Michigan will deploy a very aggressive defense much like Brian VanGorder does.

On the academic investigation: There is still no update, but that could all change quickly. This is definitely Al Lesar’s favorite topic.

Injuries: Torii Hunter is out for Michigan, but could be back in time for Purdue. Kelly is “hopeful” in regards to Jarrett Grace’s progress, but notes he is still a few weeks out. Once healthy, Kelly is confidence that Grace can be thrown back into the mix immediately at LB and contribute for the team. Corey Robinson’s hand was a bit sore after the Rice game, but is fine and he is still a full go for Michigan.

On secondary communication failures: Kelly very delicately stated that VanGorder more or less chewed the safeties out for their failures against Rice. He stated that he “could hear our safeties communicating” while he sat in his QB meeting. While I personally love that kind of fire, it only works if the players respond to it and, by Kelly’s account, it looks like they are.

On James Onwualu: The converted LB got tons of praise during this presser. Kelly noted that Onwualu’s toughness and demeanor lead him and his staff to believe that he should get a shot at playing defense. After spring ball, VanGorder was sold. Later in the presser, Kelly also noted that Onwualu is someone that can be on the field for practically every snap, including special teams in which Kelly the day for that unit, largely in part for sniffing out the fake punt.

Where is Ben Councell? Kelly noted that the SAM LB position was largely unused against Rice because of how they spread the field. He noted that Council would see much more playing time against more physical offenses that like to deploy 2-TE sets. Based on what I saw from Michigan this past week, don’t be surprised if Councell sees more of this playing time that Kelly refers to.

Brian Kelly, trolling hard: The first thing he credited for the improved special teams play was the Irish’s ability to “stick [their] foot in the ground” thanks to the new FieldTurf. He admitted that he knew it sounded ridiculous, but I don’t care. Kelly praising the new turf, no matter how truly genuine, will always make me laugh.

On rotating punt returners: Cody Riggs is definitely the #1 PR, but will see split time with Greg Bryant based on how long Riggs has been on the field. Kelly stated that, especially with his secondary depth hurting, he needs Riggs out on the field on defense. If he thinks he needs a blow, he’ll run Bryant out there instead.

 

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]]> https://www.herloyalsons.com/blog/2014/09/03/brian-kelly-michigan-presser-silver-linings/feed/ 1 Friday Roundup: The “Notre Dame Fall Camp 2014 Catch-Up” Edition https://www.herloyalsons.com/blog/2014/08/15/notre-dame-fall-camp-2014-catch-up/ https://www.herloyalsons.com/blog/2014/08/15/notre-dame-fall-camp-2014-catch-up/#comments Fri, 15 Aug 2014 10:00:25 +0000 http://www.herloyalsons.com/blog/?p=25622 Once WatchND started pumping out Notre Dame football fall camp practice videos, I was all in for breaking each one down. It worked great for the first two practices, but then practice #3 happened and saw the video breakdown was a position profile for the CBs. Don’t get me wrong, the feature was great, but...

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]]> Friday RoundupOnce WatchND started pumping out Notre Dame football fall camp practice videos, I was all in for breaking each one down. It worked great for the first two practices, but then practice #3 happened and saw the video breakdown was a position profile for the CBs.

Don’t get me wrong, the feature was great, but a basically started at my title of “Fall Camp Practice Report #3: CB Report” for about an hour and realized there was no way that I could even drag 100 words out of the topic.

So I passed on the post. Ten more practices are in the books (ND completed practices #12 and #13 yesterday) across the past eight days and quite a bit has happened. It’s time to play some catch-up.

So today, it’s time to enjoy a very Irish-centric special edition of the Roundup. Think of this as the quick way to catch up the past week of fall camp.

The Roundup

I will never cease to be amazed at the freaks of nature we have at TE. Koyack should not be able to move as fast for how big he is. Tyler Luata is also an absolute freak of nature. Just check out the pancake he delivers at 3:20 in the clip. Yeah, that’s a freshman.

The first day of practice in full pads is probably the real first glimpse of what we can expect this season. I think this goes double for defense. For most of the videos to this point, we’ve seen the secondary just abuse receivers with incredibly physical play. Throughout this clip though, they seem to have backed off behavior that would draw out more defensive PI flags than Sparty trying to stop Tommy Rees. Other highlights that I liked: Sheldon Day looking like a beast and Ishaq Williams putting some good rushes together:

The August 9 practice gave us a peak the Irish in the red zone. Spoiler alert: THEY RAN THE DAMN BALL! In all seriousness, the last bit of the video has Greg Bryant flat out GOING OFF on two great runs. Once the Irish got inside the 10, we saw Bryant get a blow and Cam tried to punch it in. The next play featured Bryant in a personnel package that included freshman beast Tyler Luata that got the TD. As for the rest of the practice? Probably the most physical highlights we’ve seen thus far:

The RB profile gave us no clues on the depth chart battle. The combination of Cam McDaniel, Tarean Folston, and Greg Bryant make this position one of the most exciting on the team. With their talent though, it’s hard to project who is going to come out of the gate as the starter or how all three will rotate. If I could read any of the tea leaves that Tony Alford was throwing out there, it appears that Bryant might have the most work to do out of the trio.

The profile on the safeties led me to an interesting conclusion. Kerry Cooks said a few different things that jumped out at me. Firstly, Austin Collinsworth has clearly jumped out as the QB of the defense. The mention that he can play both positions jumped out at me as well. Cooks also mentioned that Max Redfield was making noticeable improvement. Mathias Farley was listed in the video as a S/CB. Finally, Cooks touted Shumate as the most talented of the group. All of this together leads me to believe that nickel and dime packages might feature some hybrid roles that we haven’t seen before. Either that or we are going to see a crazy, constant rotation:

Here’s a shocker, Everett Golson is your starting QB for Rice. Yes, “for Rice”, much like the same language Kelly used in 2012. That’s fine, I’m good with it and I’m sure Malik Zaire is going to see the field a fair amount this season (hopefully not due to injury). Want to know what really stood out to me though? The managers got to play the pitch man for the QBs during an option drill and I’m forever sad that I didn’t get to do that:

Yesterday’s practice video focused on the defensive line. Honestly, I thought this was one of the more enlightening position profile videos to date. The D-line has to be the lead as far as question marks go considering all the talent that was lost. Listening Mike Elston break down everyone’s performance and what they expect of everyone was great. I know Andrew Trumbetti made a lot of waves this week (more on that later), but it’s good to hear that another freshman, Johnny Williams is standing out a bit as well, even if it appears he is behind a touch on the learning curve:

And here’s your main event: Brian Kelly’s August 13th presser. Loads of information in this one, including our first peak into portions of the depth chart. I had a few things that stood out to me:

  • Kelly talked a lot about rotations on defense, especially in the front seven.
  • Mentioned that VanGorder’s defense allows the young guys to just go and play on instinct.
  • In fact, for all that’s been made about how complicated the schemes on defense are, I have a feeling VanGorder is scheming to his talent.
  • Kelly seemed frustrated with questions about if ND had their base defense installed. I read that as “we won’t have a traditional base”.
  • Everett can check out of plays, but he probably won’t need to due to the way the offense is designed.
  • No major injuries on the O-line, but with various guys being out for a day, the starting five is still up in the air.
  • Kelly is taking a look at individual competitive drills before he decides who is on the special teams units.

With all that in mind, here’s the depth chart. Or rather, what Kelly confirmed explicitly thus far:

[table “” not found /]

And now you’re moment of Nix…

The Booze

Summer is nearly done and I haven’t yet had one of my favorite summer whiskey cocktails, the Lynchburg Lemonade:

1 part Jack
1 part Triple Sec
1 part Sour Mix
4 parts lemon-lime soda

You can sub in Jack with a bourbon as well (obviously it kills the Lunchburg namesake, but whatever).

Cheers.

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