FROM OUR SITE

• Defensive “change” must come, one way or another

PODCAST

• CSN Chicago: Where does Notre Dame’s defense go from here?
• Irish Illustrated: How will Irish bounce back?
• Irish Sports Daily: Power Hour loaded

NEXT GAME: vs. Nevada (3:30 ET Saturday, NBC)

• Blue & Gold Illustrated: Notre Dame vs. Nevada: On paper
• AP: Irish looking to rebound, fix mistakes vs. Nevada
• Irish Sports Daily: Breaking down Nevada’s offense
• Irish247 ($): Tale of the tape
• Irish247: Polian prepared for Notre Dame homecoming
• NBC Sports: Notre Dame among heavy favorites in Week 2 college football odds
• ND Insider ($): Nevada’s Brian Polian returns to Notre Dame as opposing head coach
• ND Insider: More story: Nevada coach Brian Polian returns to Notre Dame
• Reno Gazette Journal: The odd link between Nevada and Notre Dame
• Slap the Sign: Throwback Thursday: Notre Dame’s lone romp over Nevada
• UHND: Nevada ’16: Notre Dame offense vs. Nevada defense
• USA Today: NBC’s Mike Tirico gets a first this weekend

2016 TEAM

• Blue & Gold Illustrated: BGI video: Brian Kelly post-practice, Sept. 8
• Blue & Gold Illustrated: Brian Kelly, post practice
• Irish Illustrated ($): Prister’s Thursday thoughts
• Irish Sports Daily: From the cheap seats
• Irish Sports Daily: Kelly post practice
• Irish Sports Daily ($): BK notebook 9/8
• Irish Sports Daily ($): Seeing the field
• Irish Sports Daily ($): Six (late night) thoughts on a Thursday

OFFENSE

• AP: St. Brown shows calm demeanor in bigger role for Notre Dame
• Blue & Gold Illlustrated: Kelly wants more from Notre Dame’s left side
• CSN Chicago: DeShone Kizer stays the same leader for new group of Notre Dame teammates
• Irish Illustrated: Open season for young Irish WR corps
• Irish247 ($): Holmes, Stepherson, McKinley propelled into significant role
• ND Insider: Video: C.J. Sanders: I’m able to be a difference maker
• ND Insider: Malik Zaire’s father cools after angry Facebook posts
• News-Sentinel: Notre Dame’s Brian Kelly was the problem, now DeShone Kizer is the solution
• SB Nation: Why DeShone Kizer is (finally) the right choice to lead Notre Dame’s offense
• Sporting News: DeShone Kizer named Notre Dame starting QB

DEFENSE

• Blue & Gold Illustrated: Notre Dame aiming to cleaning up tackling problems
• Blue & Gold Illustrated: Freshman Devin Studstill could make first at Notre Dame
• Irish Illustrated ($): Irish have hope in secondary
• Irish Illustrated: Video: Kelly keeps faith in Coleman
• Irish Sports Daily: Hopefully Nyles Morgan’s defense learns quickly
• Irish Sports Daily: Luke ready to right ship
• ND Insider ($): CB Cole Luke finds his voice with young secondary
• ND Insider: Notebook: Brian Kelly praises safety Drue Tranquill for pushing forward

RECRUITING

• Blue & Gold Illustrated: Four-star safety Chaz Ah You still weighing his options
• Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2017 Rivals150 OL Aaron Banks will return to Notre Dame for official visit
• Irish Sports Daily ($): In the film room: Salvon Ahmed
• Irish Sports Daily: 2018 TX S sets Notre Dame visit
• Irish Sports Daily: Recruiting week in review
• Irish247 ($): Tunnel vision
• Irish247 ($): Four star OL Aaron Banks sets visits to Notre Dame, Oregon
• Irish247 ($): Finn Dirstine visiting Notre Dame this weekend
• ND Insider ($): New official visit rule has Notre Dame thinking of more changes
• ND Insider ($): Notre Dame LB commit Pete Werner healthy, hungry in senior season
• ND Insider ($): Notre Dame commit recap: Jordan Pouncey takes advantage of running back opportunity

LAST GAME: Texas 50, Notre Dame 47

• Blue & Gold Illustrated: Notre Dame vs. Texas: Defensive breakdown – 3-3-5 issues
• Burt Orange Nation: Quandre Diggs talks big Texas win over Notre Dame (Golden Tate)
• CSN Chicago: Notre Dame chat: Looking back at Texas, looking forward to Nevada
• ESPN ($): Texas win does wonders for recruiting

MISC.

• CBS Sports: Our fantasy football team with Tebow and MLB players who would be good at football
• Chicago Tribune: NBC’s Mike Tirico has favorite school, but – hey Irish fans – it’s not Michigan
• Irish247: Remembering Greg Bryant’s untimely death
• ND Insider: Throwback Thursday: Notre Dame Stadium history in photos
• ND Insider: Hard work leads D.J. Harvey to Notre Dame visit (basketball)
• Slap the Sign: Is it time for Notre Dame to join the ACC?
• UND: Irish sellout streak reaches 250 mark

The post Morning Roundup: Sept. 9, 2016 appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish wide receiver William Fuller (7) catches a pass for a touchdown in front of Stanford Cardinal cornerback Terrence Alexander (11) in the second quarter at Stanford Stadium. Matt Cashore/USA TODAY Sports

Welcome to a series of posts we’re calling “Five Question Marks.” In this inaugural entry, BJ Konkle answers a question on the minds of many Notre Dame fans: Is there another star wide receiver waiting to emerge?

Notre Dame football has recruited, developed and ultimately produced extraordinary college football wide receivers. Some of these athletes – Jeff Samardzija, Michael Floyd, Golden Tate, T.J. Jones, and most recently Will Fuller – have gone on to successful (and lucrative) professional careers.

While Irish fans are proud to celebrate these “Domers,” it’s human nature to wonder: “Who’s next?”

Thankfully for the Irish fandom – and for quarterbacks Malik Zaire and DeShone Kizer – Notre Dame currently has an embarrassment of riches in regards to talented wide receivers. The position is probably the most well recruited of any in the recent past (with offensive line nipping at its heels.)

Here’s the talent currently on the roster, with their 247sports.com composite rankings:

• Recruiting class of 2013: Torii Hunter Jr., 4 stars; Corey Robinson, 3 stars
• Class of 2014: Justin Brent and Corey Holmes, both 4 stars.
• Class of 2015: Equanimeous St. Brown, Miles Boykin and C.J. Sanders, all 4 stars
• Class of 2016: Javon McKinley and Chase Claypool, both 4 stars; Kevin “K.J.” Stepherson, 3 stars

This provides 9 scholarship wide receivers to potentially pick from – 10 if you throw in talented walk-on Chris Finke, who I believe is likely to earn a scholarship.

K.J. Stepherson

As talented as this group is, they lack experience as Fuller, Chris Brown and Amir Carlisle took the lion’s share of snaps in 2015. Among those remaining, three are realistically poised and positioned to be the next potential standout wide receiver (and I’m going to throw in a dark horse candidate). It will be difficult for the incoming freshman – even one as impressive early as Stepherson – to be physically and mentally able to crack the depth chart and contribute meaningful snaps. With that being said: Purchase a nice pair of shades, because the future is bright.

Robinson’s current health concern – multiple concussions within a year – likely removes him from this conversation. Sanders introduced his slippery elusiveness in the return game last year with a punt return against UMass and a huge kickoff return against Stanford. The possibility of Sanders’ distinct threat in special teams being converted to an offensive threat makes any Irish fan grin, but he will likely remain a return specialist with the current talent that is in front of him. Brent is now fighting for carries at running back. This leaves us with a diversely talented foursome.

Torii Hunter Jr.

Here’s the case for senior Torii Hunter Jr.: He has the most game time experience and possesses the unique mental and physical ability to play all three wide receiver positions. Playing all three wide receiver positions is nothing when you consider Hunter also found himself on defense last year, contributing as a situational defensive back. He also makes time to run down fly balls in the outfield for the Notre Dame Baseball program (#NDBB). Torii’s versatility oozes out of him and is unmistakably his most attractive attribute. After graduating three seniors, Hunter finds himself in a leadership role among the wide receivers. In a candid interview on WatchND, he elaborates on this role, his ability to play multiple sports, his versatility, and his expectations entering 2016. For these many reasons, he may be the next great wide receiver to emerge from Notre Dame.

Credit: Matt Cashore

The praise that Corey Holmes has received from coaches this spring has been a pleasant surprise to many Irish faithful. The decision to redshirt Holmes last year (his sophomore season) raised questions about his ability to contribute in the future. Holmes credits his father for helping him work through the frustrations of redshirting as a sophomore. “It wasn’t until halfway during the season when I finally stopped worrying about other people and worried about my own game,” Holmes explained. This mindset paid off and the questions were answered when Holmes posted a spring 40 yard dash time of 4.39 – officially making him the fastest player on the roster. Confidence will be key for the Florida wide out as he continues to progress into fall camp. If he can translate his raw speed into football speed – similar to Will Fuller’s path to success – he may become a go-to threat and poised for a breakout junior season.

Notre Dame’s Josh Equanimeous St. Brown celebrates a touchdown during the Fighting Irish’s game against the University of Massachusetts. (SBT Photo/ Becky Malewitz)

Holmes may be the fastest player for the Irish, but Equanimeous St. Brown may be the most polished receiver on the team. “EQ” played sparingly as a freshman as a back-up to Fuller, a future first round NFL Draft pick. The sophomore is listed at 6’4 and weighs 205 lbs. Brian Kelly alluded to the California blue chip’s athleticism stating, “(He) runs like a deer!” Kelly continued his praise during the 2015 season, “I think (St. Brown) would start for a number of power five teams. He’s ready to play right now. I’m just not taking Will (Fuller) off the field unless I have to.” “EQ” has the size and athletic abilities to become a transcendent wide receiver and 2016 may be the year the country learns how to correctly pronounce “Eq-uan-i-me-ous.”

Consider Miles Boykin the dark horse candidate to break out in 2016. Boykin is listed at 6’3 and an overpowering 225 lbs. He has been linked to lapses of inconsistency, whether that is drops or mistaken routes. But the sheer girth Boykin adds to the receiving corps is apparent in his frame. Boykin referred to his size in a recent interview, saying, “Knowing how to use (size) is the difference between knowing how to use it in the high school level, and knowing how to use it in college. People are stronger and you just have to fight through that, like running through friction and going up and getting balls and being physical with them.” Stepping up to the learning curve has been a process. If the consistency can begin to shine through, Boykin could immediately become a red zone threat, utilizing his size to essentially box out defenders in the end zone. Boykin has the summer and fall camp to convince position coach Mike Denbrock and ultimately Coach Kelly that he belongs on the field come game time.

The talent, especially young talent that #NDFB has at its disposal entering the 2016 season is second to none. The question still remains: Who will Zaire or Kizer turn to when the game is on the line…?

The post Will Another Star Receiver Emerge In ’16? appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

COACHING

• 247 Sports: Notre Dame to land top coaching target Mike Sanford
• Fox Sports: Irish expected to hire Boise State’s Sanford as new OC
• Irish Sports Daily: Report: Notre Dame set to hire Sanford
• CSN Chicago: Reports: Notre Dame to hire Mike Sanford as OC/QB coach
• Irish Illustrated: Irish getting ‘bulldog’ in Sanford
• NBC Sports: Boise State’s Mike Sanford reportedly joining Notre Dame’s staff
• One Foot Down: Boise State’s Mike Sanford hired by Notre Dame as offensive coordinator
• Slap the Sign: Reports: Notre Dame to hire Boise State OC Mike Sanford
• UHND: Notre Dame coaching rumors: Mike Sanford as OC?
• CBS Sports: Reports: Notre Dame to hire Boise’s Mike Sanford Jr. to offensive staff
• Idaho Statesman: Source: Boise State OC Mike Sanford leaving for Notre Dame
• The Morning Call: Reports say Notre Dame Fightin’ Irish expected to hire Mike Sanford as new offensive coordinator
• ND Insider: Notre Dame reportedly adding Boise State’s Mike Sanford as coordinator
• Sporting News: Report: Notre Dame set to hire offensive coordinator from Boise State
• Elkhart Truth: Boise State’s Mike Sanford expected to join Notre Dame staff, sources say
• Lindy’s Sports: Report: Notre Dame hires Boise State OC
• ABC 6/Fox 9 (Idaho): An “Irish goodbye” for Mike Sanford?
• Twin Falls Times News: Reports: Boise State O.C. Sanford Jr. to Notre Dame
• Idaho Press-Tribune: Sanford likely headed for Notre Dame
• Seattle Times: Huskies morning links: Shaq Thompson would like to make one thing clear – he’s a linebacker (Mike Sanford)
• One Bronco Nation Under God: Inevitable comes early this year (Mike Sanford)
• Times-News: McCombs: Sanford’s exit to Notre Dame may be first step back to Boise
• Bleacher Report (Keith Arnold): New additions to offensive staff mean big changes
• 247 Sports: Mike Sanford’s offense: By the numbers
• Blue & Gold Illustrated: A glance at Sanford’s quarterback recruits
• SB Nation: 8 of 9 Oklahoma assistant coaching sports changed, then the co-DC left for the NFL
• ESPN: Coaching changes after National Signing Day unfair in football recruiting (Matt LaFleur)
• Cleveland Browns: How John DeFlillippo rose through the ranks to become Browns offensive coordinator

RECRUITING

• One Foot Down: 2015 football recruiting: DL review
• Scout: Spotlight: Jerry Tillery
• One Foot Down: Equanimeous St. Brown is more than a name
• Irish Sports Daily: In the film room: Austin Mack
• Scout: New York: Top 10 2016 prospects (Jamir Jones, Noah Dehond)
• Scout: Vols next for Jones (Tony Jones)
• Scout: East notes: Commitments, offers, etc. (Kyree Campbell)
• Fox Sports: East recruiting notes (Kyree Campbell)
• Irish Sports Daily: Top 2016 CA ATH nearing ND offer (Damian Alloway)
• Irish Sports Daily: Cupp earning offers this offseason (Notre Dame hasn’t offered yet)
• Bleacher Report: Ohio State football recruiting: Blue-chip Ohio prospects will fuel 2016 class (Tommy Kraemer)
• Bleacher Report: Who has the best 2015 college football roster based on past recruiting cycles? (Notre Dame is #10)
• BC Interruption: Boston College football recruiting: 2015 class offer breakdown (“Another 0-for year vs. Notre Dame.”)
• Sports NOLA: Scouting notes on Top 30 in New Orleans area for Class of 2016 (Kristian Fulton & Willie Allen)
• Testudo Times: 4-star RB Robert Washington: “I love the University of Maryland”
• The Football Brainiacs – University of Oklahoma Edition: Open post (Kerry Cooks, Jared Mayden)
• Cardinal Authority: U of L football: Junior Day notebook (Connor Foos & Quinton Baker)

CURRENT TEAM

• UHND: Notre Dame 2015 offense: An early glimpse
• Bleacher Report (Mike Monaco): Biggest question marks before spring practice
• Bleacher Report (Adam Kramer): Welcome to the unprecedented new era of college football free agency (Everett Golson)
• Bleacher Report: Who will be No. 1 weapon of each Top 25 college football team in 2015? (Malik Zaire)
• Bleacher Report: 2015 college football season will be the year of the running back (Greg Bryant)

IRISH IN THE NFL

• Colts Blitz: Safety LaRon Landry released (Sergio Brown)
• Fox Sports: Fifth-year option decisions looming for Minnesota Vikings on Matt Kalil, Harrison Smith
• NFL: 2015 NFL scouting combine: Wide receivers, tight ends to watch (Ben Koyack, Michael Floyd, Golden Tate, Tyler Eifert)
• Pro Football Talk: Twenty-three years ago Wednesday, the Packers traded for Brett Favre (Rick Mirer)
• The Morning Sun: Detroit Lions – Depth at wide receiver an issue (T.J. Jones)
• SportDFW: Dallas Cowboys – Regrading the 2014 first-round pick (Zack Martin)

MISC.

• Inside the Irish: Mailbag: Now open
• NBC News: Is football nearing a cultural crossroads as concussions grow? (Michael Oriard)
• Atlanta Journal Constitution: ESPN’s Brad Edwards: Georgia Tech will return to the New Year’s Six (Alabama vs. ND in Fiesta Bowl)
• Subway Domer: Poll perception deception
• Bleacher Report: Top 25 non-conference showdowns we wish we could schedule for 2015 (#3: Ohio State vs. Notre Dame)

The post Morning Roundup: Feb. 12, 2015 appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

But your Luck has run out and is now an Indianapolis Colt. Now you face a buzzsaw that is the Irish defense.

Spoiler alert: Trees lose to saws. Every. Damn. Time.

Before Andrew Luck became your personal touchdown Jesus, Stanford, we owned you. We beat you seven straight times as a matter of fact before 2009.

Ty Willingham is undefeated against you. Yes, Ty f’n Willingham — he even beat you 57-7 one season. That’s all kinds of special.

Now, I’ll give you some credit. You pulled yourself up off the floor from a Ty beating and eventually built up a good time a few years later. Nice work. I tip my hat to you.

However, you now have to face the fact that without your Heisman caliber QB, your offense is now ranked 85th in the nation. Even your once powerful running game has taken quite the step back, now ranking only 70th in the nation.

Your Haubaugh-led defense was once rather feared to, but he’s gone and you are ranked 55th in the nation right now after you let Rich Rod tear you a new one. “But wait”, you say, “our rushing defense is 6th in the nation“, well, that’s great, but your passing defense is 113th in the nation.

Now, Everett Golson hasn’t quite set the world on fire yet at QB, but then again he hasn’t faced a secondary quite as bad as yours. The Irish defense has to simply be licking their chops at facing an offense that is nothing like what it was last season.

I hope you enjoyed the past three years. I really hope you did.

Tomorrow afternoon, we break you.

Your destruction will be heralded by Lee Corso wearing a Leprechaun hat furiously hacking away at a tree…probably.

The Roundup

Trick Shot Monday continues to hit the big time. First, the Sportscenter Top Ten and now, it’ll be a feature on tomorrow’s ESPN College Gameday.

Decided schematic surrender! I think Weis has waved the white flag this season.

Speaking of Weis, the student newspaper he ripped last week (apparently for this cartoon) fired back. However, Weis couldn’t help himself and had his SID deliver a face-to-face warning to make everything better.

Golden Tate, please tell me you were hacked. I don’t want to believe that this is real:

So mad I didn’t get Justin beiber tickets to the concert tonight. #losing #beiberfever anyone else going?

— Golden Tate (@ShowtimeTate) October 9, 2012

 

I’m sure Kiffin will be more than happy to answer questions on this. So Robert Woods may have failed concussion tests and still played? Oh that’ll go over well. Tweet has since been deleted, but considering the hit and the aftermath this seems plausible.

South Carolina had more surprises than just an upset of Georgia. And this one was a lot bigger.

LSU doesn’t have the chest for warm weather. Even if said weather is the exact same thing they have in Baton Rouge.

Apparently, no one learned our hard lesson from Freekbass. Oklahoma has stepped up to the plate of horribly embarrassing music videos.

I never thought MS Paint could bring me such joy. However, every week, I am proven wrong.

This is what the NCAA has become. They actually had to clarify using Instagram filters is within the rules after a previous release said otherwise.

RIP Beano Cook.

Put These Games on Your Radar

#3 South Carolina @ #9 LSU, 8pm EST, ESPN/WatchESPN – Twibby’s Marquee Matchup of the Week

#15 Texas vs #13 Oklahoma @ Dallas, TX, 12 pm EST, ABC – The Red River Shootout — ’nuff said.

#5 West Virginia @ Texas Tech, 3:30 pm, ABC/ESPN/WatchESPN – I put this game on here because the spread is just so interesting. West Virginia is favored by less than a touchdown and Texas Tech has yet to really beat anyone. Last week, Tech lost to OU and West Virginia won a shootout with Texas. I’m wondering Vegas knows something the rest of us don’t. I don’t want to say upset alert here, but who knows.

#11 USC @ Washington, 7pm EST, FOX – USC heads out on the road again against a team that managed to pull a nice upset of their own against Stanford, and, yes, Stanford beat USC. Will the transitive property of football hold?

Predictions

Tex: Clearly, I am going wrong in my predictions by assuming opposing TDs. 24 – 9 ND

Biscuit: 14-10 ND, Via

Bayou: 24 -9 Irish (Note: No, Bayou and I had no idea what each other’s predictions would be, promise)

Twibby: Irish 31, Trees 17

Grantland-X: 27-17 Irish

Closest to the Pin Week 5: Bayou was the only one to predict a true blowout, giving him victories two weeks in a row. Leaderboard:

The Beer

We will be taking a different direction with the beer selection this week and it isn’t just to troll MQ.

This week, the Subway Domer seriously contemplated retirement from the blogging world. Thankfully, his wife vetoed the decision and Subway will continue to grace the ND blogging world in the only way he can.

I’m thrilled the godfather of the Irish Blogger Gathering is sticking with us. So in celebration, this one’s for you, Subway:

The post Friday Roundup: The “Luck Has Run Out” Edition appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

GO IRISH! BEAT SPARTANS!

The post The Golden Tate Band Dive Memorial Open Thread appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.