Now that Douglas Farmer has unveiled the consensus top 25, much like last year, I was ready to defend my picks and hot ranking takes…except I don’t think I really need to.

This was perhaps the toughest year to rank the Irish roster and for the best reasons. When I looked back on the consensus rankings, I really didn’t have much of a problem with any variance and was surprised how much I was in line with this little Irish think-tank.

Top 25 Irish for 2019

Consensus Top 25, HLS Unranked

#25 Jayson Ademilola – Ademilola was in a group of five players that just missed my ballot. Really, this was more of a matter of “should I really rank another D-lineman over someone else?” than anything. Yeah, the big guys up front are indeed that good and I already felt like ranked damn near the whole two-deep and that’s just really wild to say.

#20 Jeremiah Owusu-Kormamoah – The downside to this year’s ballot is that we didn’t get the benefit of practice reports or film to watch before we submitted our ballots. Owusu-Kormamoah was absolutely on my radar being the first true rover recruited, but just didn’t have much data on him. I’m quite happy that people more plugged in where already in on him before the reports that he is progressing as hoped so far early in fall camp.

#18 Jarrett Patterson – Patterson was also in my group of five players that I just left off. At the end of the day, again, I didn’t have enough data even though internal scuttlebutt was already rather high on him. Another case of me deciding to take a shot on someone else.

HLS Top 25, Consensus Unranked

Kyle Hamilton (HLS #25) – I believe that this is the first time that I’ve ever done this exercise and only put in one freshman. This is also the first time that my “bottom” three in my ranking were the only ones that didn’t make it. This is also the first time that I believe I’ve grossly under-ranked a freshman.

Unless y’all have been living under a rock, Kyle Hamilton is the damn truth. Ryan Harris dropped by our annual ND Dallas Kickoff event, had the crowd repeat his name over and over, and then said he was going to win a Heisman.

You know what, I wouldn’t doubt it.

Kevin Austin (HLS #24) – I wasn’t the only one that had Austin, who is this year’s double-secret-probation award winner much like Kevin Stepherson and Dexter Williams before him, on their ballot. While I don’t think he’s going to make a Dex-like impact when he finally gets some touches, this kid has loads of talent.

I’m just hoping he gets out of the dog house enough to flash it. Even if he doesn’t, the crew of Chase Claypool, Michael Young, and Chris Finke (all consensus top 25) will be more than enough firepower.

Houston Griffith (HLS #23) – I only worry that Griffith is lost the Kyle Hamilton shuffle right now. There’s good talent there, but it’s a matter of figuring out where to put him and, right now, my gut is the focus is getting Hamilton on to the field first.

Don’t sleep on Griffith though, I’m still expecting a big impact from him before he leaves ND.

Closing Thoughts

How in the world was Jafar Armstrong (Consensus #11, HLS #5) rated so low?! My best guess is there is both a concern of durability from last year’s injury and the fact that he’s a converted WR.

From where I sit, Jafar is a key cog in the Irish offense not just on the ground, but in the passing game as well. Only Dexter Williams had more receptions than Jafar did last season and that kind of a reliable target is key in a spread offense to counter…let’s say a strong front seven of an SEC East favorite on the road.

The biggest variance I had with the crowd was with Shaun Crawford (Consensus #23, HLS #15) which I somewhat expected, but perhaps not with an eight-spot difference. Yes, I understand the health concerns, but that wasn’t the ask. It’s if they play, who’s got the talent.

Bottom line: Crawford makes plays.

In the two games he saw action in 2016, Crawford had a pick. In 2017, he had two INTs, a forced fumble that prevented a Sparty TD (and basically was the turning point in the game), had another fumble recovery against BC, and had 1.5 sacks and 1.5 TFLs to boot.

He’s not going to be the standout stud in the secondary, but there’s a reason why he’s cross-training at nickel and safety right now: ND wants him on the field.

I’m happy to see I’m not on an island this year in ranking Asmar Bilal (Consensus #19, HLS #14), but I’m going to keep stumping for him like I did last season. People see the shifting in positions as a downside of “hasn’t found a fit”, but I see “Bilal plays his way into the starting lineup.”

The only returning players with more TFL in 2018 than Bilal are Khalid Kareem and Julian Okwara–not too shabby for playing a position that’s a linebacker/safety hybrid that wasn’t his “natural” position.

Finally, I would like to take a victory lap from 2018 in being one of the four that had the courage to rank Ian Book (Consensus #2, HLS #3) in their top 25. The only thing I regret was not being the one that had him ranked the highest last season.

The post Notre Dame Roster Top 25 Countdown 2019 appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

Here’s a current glimpse into what we have seen/read/heard so far, along with a healthy dose of extrapolation and unrealistic expectations/hope (it’s spring after all) – with specific focus on the Irish wide receivers.

The wide receiver position group has been steadily featured in the Watch ND practice videos this spring, and invites a number of questions that will be intriguing to see answered come the fall. Fortunately, the questions are not of the “OH NOES, WHO WILL CATCH THE BALL?” but more along the lines of our typical, “Who will step up?” variety.

It almost feels like an annual tradition that we have a good spring season for our WR heir apparent(s) and a number of names surfacing both old and new to keep us guessing into the season. History tells us that BK will settle on 1-2 guys that will be feature dudes in the receiving corps – but damn if it doesn’t feel like we have a fleet of all-Americans now in April!

• Corey Holmes – So word out of camp is this guy is fast as all-get-the-heck-out-of-here. Is he Charlie Weis/Munir Prince “whoosh” fast? That remains to be seen (that was a fall camp reference, but work with me here). BK has already placed a qualifier that Holmes’ speed needs to translate onto the football field, but one has to be optimistic that this isn’t fool’s gold.
• Torii Hunter Jr. – exciting video highlights + positive feedback via BK press conference snippets + word of flexibility (i.e., we shouldn’t expect Hunter Jr. to be relegated to just the slot receiver position) gives many a Notre Dame fan heart palpitations. It sounds like a good problem to have, in that THJr can play anywhere on the field and we have the ability to mix and match guys based on what the defense is giving us. He would be the smart bet on the heir apparent as our go-to receiver for 2016 (if I wasn’t so enamored with E. St. Brown).
• Kevin Stepherson – NEW GUY ALERT! NEW GUY ALERT! Along with the trees that smell weird when they bloom in the spring, we have our annual tradition of naming a freshman who is making major noise within practice…only to never see them during the season. Again, not a bad problem to have and I’m not complaining. But Kevin Stepherson, with your acrobatic/athletic catches and your press conference praises, I hope you like the sidelines.
• Chris Finke – WALK ON ALERT! WALK ON ALERT! Chris Finke, with his speed/hustle/good looks has become the darling of the ND podcast circuit and practice report snippets – even getting video love from the FIDM team. The kid has some skills and if we are to believe the hype, he’ll earn a scholarship before his time is done. Now will he see the field?
• CJ Sanders – had to bow out early for surgery (bummer). Fans will be left wondering if he will be able to display more of the razzle dazzle he brought to the return game, in a WR capacity. Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait until fall camp for any indication.
• Equilibrium Equidistant Egregious Evangelical Equanimeous St. Brown – I personally have high hopes for this guy heading into 2016 as he showed flashes of brilliance in 2015 and was a Will Fuller away from being able to show his stuff last season. We haven’t seen much by way of glowing practice reports/video/press conference snippets that leads us to think that Elephantine is having a standout spring, but that’s not to say the dude isn’t making plays.
• Corey Robinson – Student body presidente, national anthem singing, entrepreneurial aspiring – the renaissance man that ND fans love to simultaneously brag about and to question. A minor set-back with a concussion, but reports/videos were steady in showing what Robinson was able to do before he suffered the injury (enough to keep the fans continuing to fret about his course load and its impact on his ability to run routes).

So you have a few guys banged up and not necessarily having remarkable springs, and a few names popping up that you expect (Hunter Jr.) and names you don’t (Stepherson). Sprinkle in a name you may have forgotten (Miles Boykin) and it’s a standard spring. Maybe in the B/G game, someone will make a host of plays that will introduce further questions in the mix. But the overall story on WR remains the same heading out of spring 2016. We have a lot of options and guys that can fill the void that was left behind after our featured WR and his veteran counterparts left, and that is a good thing – open questions and all.

The post Blue Gold Game Preview: The Wide Receivers appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.