If you have ever watched Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, then you have likely seen his “Late Night Superlatives” bit. This sparked an interesting idea to present further insight into a few members of the #NDFB 2016 recruiting class. While I certainly don’t believe I have quite the comedic abilities that Jimmy does, but I do think I can provide more value when talking all things Notre Dame Football. Unlike your old, dusty senior yearbook where all of the “Most likely to…” were voted on by an entire ...
Brian Kelly
Debate This: Jaylon Smith Was Right To Play In Fiesta Bowl
Debate This is a recurring series on HerLoyalSons in which two writers take opposing sides on a hot topic. Today and tomorrow, we will debate whether or not Jaylon Smith should have played in the Fiesta Bowl. Yesterday, IrishJimmy led us through the "he should have skipped it" argument. Today, andrewwinn takes the other side. Jaylon Smith was right to play in the Fiesta Bowl because it's what he wanted to do, because devastating injuries can happen at any time and because playing tentative or ...
Debate This: Jaylon Smith Should Have Skipped Fiesta Bowl
Debate This is a recurring series on HerLoyalSons in which two writers take opposing sides on a hot topic. Today and tomorrow, we will debate whether or not Jaylon Smith should have played in the Fiesta Bowl. Today, IrishJimmy leads us through the "he should have skipped it" argument. Tomorrow, andrewwinn takes the other side. Jaylon Smith should have skipped the Fiesta Bowl because it was far more important for him to stay healthy and protect his financial future than it was to win a ...
The Case for Brian Kelly…Grows Stronger
Corbett Family Head Football Coach Brian Kelly can look back on 2016 and enjoy the moment. With seven players selected in the most recent NFL draft, a solid recruiting class (ranked twelfth by Rivals, sixteenth by ESPN), and a ten-win season behind him, the case that Coach Kelly belongs in the pantheon with Lou and Ara and Knute has only gotten stronger. In addition to the seven drafted players, which included Notre Dame's highest pick since 1993, Ronnie Stanley, six players signed free agent ...
Good Fridays w/Padre: Cross Your Heart
If you attended last weekend’s Blue-Gold Game, you experienced what we on campus experience on a daily basis: The Project. Most work stopped so fans could enter the Stadium. Otherwise, the sounds, the juddering, the shouts – it’s like living next to a tramp steamer that just hit the rocks…and then backed up and hit the rocks again, and again, and again. Anyone walking around the Stadium, or sitting therein, will have realized that The Project is well on its way to completion. Anyone who ...
What Should The Yearly Expectations Be For ND Football?
What is good enough for Notre Dame? I was a child of the Lou Holtz years, when Notre Dame was in the hunt for a national title almost every season. That has not been the case at any point since Holtz left. In this article, I'm going to look at some of the stated "hurdles" and determine if they're relevant. Then, I'm going to answer: What is a reasonable expectation for Notre Dame football on an annual basis? Schedule “We won nine games two years out of the five. I think the difficulty is ...
Blue Gold Game Preview: The Quarterbacks
There is, unquestionably, no more talked about position on Notre Dame’s depth chart heading in the the Blue Gold Game than quarterback. With most of the ND faithfully divided into #TeamMalik or #TeamKizer, there is actually real potential for the QB situation to get sideways on Offensive Coordinator Mike Sanford and, ultimately, Coach Kelly. Make no mistake: Every coach in the country would gladly take on the challenge of managing two high-level players at the most important position on the ...
Notre Dame Football, The Organization – Part 2
If you haven’t read Part 1 yet, do that now. In Part 2, we’re comparing numbers. To start, how has Notre Dame compared on the recruiting trail to its direct market competitors? (In Part 1 we defined the market as Ohio State, Michigan, Stanford and USC) Using 247sports.com composite team rankings, here are the ranks for each recruiting class: * Stanford only signed 13 players in 2013. I think the rankings draw out what we all probably thought to be true: Notre Dame and Stanford are peers; ...
Brandon Wimbush As Starter: A Hypothetical
"If you dropped a red shirt freshman Brandon Wimbush into ND's QB competitions of 2010, 2011 and 2012, would he win all three?" Irish Illustrated's Pete Sampson offered this hypothetical Tuesday on Twitter. Sampson added Wednesday that he believed Wimbush would have prevailed each year, underscoring his point that this is the best depth in the Brian Kelly era. Kelly indicated Tuesday that Wimbush would be given an opportunity to compete for the starting spot, backing off comments he made ...
Good Fridays w/Padre: NDowment
A generous fellow named Murphy has just endowed the men’s basketball coachship. This goes along with previous endowments for the women’s basketball coachship, the lacrosse coachship, and of course, the football coachship. The defensive backs coachship is also endowed, and even the athletic directorship. Some people think this is crass, that only professorships should be endowed. I don’t have any problem with setting money aside to pay coaches, since it frees up funds to be used elsewhere. But I ...