Max Redfield’s three years at Notre Dame has been an absolute rollercoaster ride.

The highly treasured 5 star 247 sports composite ranked recruit from sexy recruiting hotbed Mission Viejo, Calif. was originally committed to play football at the University of Spoiled Children U$C.  He rescinded this commitment fairly late in the recruiting cycle in November, and committed to Notre Dame in early January of 2013. Sporting an impressive offer list (LSU, Oklahoma, USC, Ole Miss, Tennessee, UCLA, and Ohio State among others), the 30^th ranked recruit in the country had many choices, but chose to sign with the Irish and be a member of #IrishMob13 (the clever hashtag/nickname characterizing the 2013 recruiting class).

Redfield saw action as a true freshman, registering 12 total tackles in former defensive coordinator Bob Diaco’s defense. The controversial decision to start Redfield against Rutgers in the Pinstripe Bowl prevented the chance to preserve a year of eligibility. Hindsight is always 20/20, but preserving a year of eligibility may have been a more conservative and beneficial approach.

Enter 2014, and with it a new defensive coordinator in Brian Van Gorder. Redfield worked his way into a starting role, starting 11 games and playing in all 13 games – contributing 68 total tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss, and 1 interception.

Redfield, however, didn’t mince words about the difficulties within the new defensive system, as he told Lou Somogyi of Blue and Gold Illustrated:

An eloquent and confident speaker, Redfield has carried 18-credit academic course loads at Notre Dame per semester, most notably learning Mandarin Chinese. When asked whether VanGorder’s defense or Chinese was more difficult, he paused. “That’s a pretty good question,” he responded. “I would say consistently being successful in that scheme is harder than learning Chinese.”

Redfield rode the rollercoaster throughout 2014, with a low point coming during the Arizona State loss when he was criticized for his overall lack of effort. Consequently, he found himself benched and in the Brian Kelly doghouse the next two games, which were incredibly frustrating losses to Northwestern and Louisville.

Season ending injuries to Austin Collinsworth (shoulder) and Drue Tranquill (1^st of 2 ACL injuries) forced Redfield into a starting role once again during the impressive Music City Bowl victory against LSU. The bowl win was indisputably Redfield’s most productive individual performance, recording 14 tackles. Many believed the former five-star safety had turned the corner and was destined for a monster 2015 season – including college football pundit Phil Steele who named Redfield a 2015 First Team Preseason All-American.

Unfortunately, this prediction did not come to fruition. 2015 was not a monster season, nor was it an epic failure of a season. It was every bit of luke-warm mediocrity.  Redfield failed to surpass his sophomore totals in tackles, making 64 total tackles in 2015, 2.5 tackles for loss, 1 sack, and notching another interception (much in thanks to a tip drill executed by KeiVarae Russell, now of the Kansas City Chiefs). Redfield ended the season on a low point when he was sent home from the Fiesta Bowl for allegedly missing curfew repeatedly. Redfield took to Instagram to post a (backhanded?) apology leaving many to wonder if he had played his last down with #NDFB. Thankfully, Redfield is still enrolled at Notre Dame and participated in the 2016 spring practices.

Moving into the summer and eventually into fall camp, this is undoubtedly a do or die season for the senior.  There isn’t a coach or fan that would claim Redfield is lacking in the department of athleticism. The criticisms often come from mental breakdowns and lapses that consequently result in big plays for the offense. These errors in judgement and off the field issues must be put to bed.

If there is a proverbial switch to be flipped, then it better happen quickly because true freshman (early enrollee) Devin Studstill was one of the most highly praised defensive players of the spring and reportedly took first team reps – relegating Redfield to some second team reps. Perhaps this is a motivational ploy instrumented by the coaching staff, or maybe Studstill is simply that good. With that being said, don’t count out Redfield just yet. The Irish have a history of producing high performing safeties late in their collegiate career. It took former #NDFB safety Harrison Smith, current Minnesota Viking and recent Pro Bowl performer, years of growing pains before the light eventually turned on and he recorded an astonishing and team leading 7 interceptions his senior year (most since Shane Walton also picked off 7 passes back in 2002).

Max Redfield has obviously had his fair share of highs and lows aboard the #NDFB rollercoaster.  Here’s to hoping he can learn from his past hardships and develop a mature outlook on his upcoming senior year.  With all of the intangible pieces in place, he needs to add and maintain a mental consistency to allow his five-star athletic frame fly around and make plays.  I’m well aware that this is an overly simplistic solution, but the truth is that Redfield has one final season to answer the questions: Did the recruiting analysts whiff on this five-star? Or, like Harrison Smith, did Redfield need to endure a few years of growing pains to develop into the game-changing and potential NFL safety we all thought he could be?

I believe the light will turn on for Redfield and he will become the commanding leader of the defense’s back end. I won’t give up on him just yet because of his sheer athleticism. Redfield has been his own worst enemy. But if he can put as much effort in the film room as it looks like he does in the weight room, then this upcoming season will be the one where we consistently see what recruiting analysts saw in this five-star talent in 2013.

Cheers and go Irish!

Previous “5 Questions” Posts

• Will The Irish Defense Improve Its Pass Rush?
• Will Another Star Receiver Emerge in ’16?

The post Will Redfield Prove Five-Star Talent? 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.

The NCAA sanctions imposed on USC football, men's basketball and women's tennis in 2010 are officially over. #FightOn pic.twitter.com/CAiOZiHsrw

— USC Trojans (@USC_Athletics) June 10, 2014

Sure, be happy that you are out of the NCAA doghouse; however, you can never erase the memories that this guy gave us:

Thanks for the memories, Lane! Photo Credit: Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times

Earlier this week, Spencer Hall detailed the best memories that Lane gave all of college football. However, simply stating that Lane lost to Tommy Rees just doesn’t sum up the joy that Kiffin gave Irish fans.

Allow me to fill in the blanks as we walk down memory lane…

November 27, 2010: Notre Dame 20 – Southern Cal 16

• Yes, it does bear repeating that you lost to Tommy freakin’ Rees.
• Remember, 2010 was a season in which ND lost to Tulsa and Navy in consecutive weeks and this was the first true road game after those disasters.
• Rees was the only QB to throw any TDs in this game and he did it twice.
• Rees also threw 3 INTs and had a fumble. USC had only one turnover all game. That’s a 4 to 1 advantage and you blew it, Lane.
• Robert Hughes still gives Lane nightmares, doesn’t he?
• Or maybe Harrison Smith picking off Mitch Mustain on the one yard line.
• Or maybe watching the game winning TD get dropped:
  [youtube id=”LuTn-9Fk85w”]

November 24, 2012: Notre Dame 22 – Southern Cal 13

• Chin up, Trojans, at least you lost to an Everett Golson led Irish team.
• It was, however, the first time Southern Cal dropped two straight home games to the Irish since 1992.
• Southern Cal never led.
• Theo Riddick ran for 146 yards and had 7.3 yards/carry. Nice defense.
• Lane called a timeout that negated a TD.
• Everything about the goal line stand. It starts with a penalty, Lane kept trying a fade that wasn’t going to work, tried a Bush Push, and then went for the TD on fourth down when Southern Cal needed two scores anyways:
  [youtube id=”bc5MPrEC_2g”]

October 19, 2013: Notre Dame 14 – Southern Cal 10

• Lane were canned two weeks before this game
• Still, he constructed this disaster and Orgeron couldn’t save it.
• This was the first Irish win against Southern Cal at home since 2001.
• The Trojan defense did manage to stop the Irish…when Tommy Rees went down with an injury
• This was a loss to the dynamic duo of Tommy Rees and Andrew Hendrix. Be proud.
  [youtube id=”smCwwgmeYjA”]

The post Southern Cal’s Sanctions Are Over, but Lane Kiffin Memories Are Forever appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

It started back in January when I was committed to being a better head coach in the sense that I needed to spend more time with my players. This job has a tendency to distract you a little bit, and I took it because I wanted to coach and I wanted to be around the guys. So, back in January we started every monday, our A-team, and I would meet just myself with our players. So I just think my emphasis on spending more time with the players and getting to know them better and letting them get to know me better than just sitting up in an office and well, ‘there’s where the head coach of Notre Dame sits.’ I’ve never been that kind of coach, and I felt myself sliding towards that in my first couple years. So I don’t think its anything on their part, it’s probably more on my part – being more accessible and being around the guys a lot more.

It is at least comforting to know that Kelly is willing to look in the mirror and analyze his own approach to leading the team in aiming towards a breakout third season in South Bend. We know there are plenty of challenges in being the head coach at Notre Dame that you may not find, or may not find in such significant scale, at other schools, but it is a bit telling to learn that Kelly hasn’t been able to be as actively involved with his players as he was at Cincy, Central Michigan, and Grand Valley State:

I think when there’s not the kind of results that you’re looking for you gotta look at yourself first, and that’s where I looked.

I need to coach, I need to be in the trenches, I need to be around our guys, I need to be the effective leader. Some are better from sitting up on the tower, and some are better being hands on, and I’m better [hands on]. I need to be a better head coach, and that’s what my strengths are so I’m going to them.

Kelly’s winning track record is the main reason that Jack Swarbrick and Notre Dame chose to hire Kelly to replace Charlie Weis, and there is no question that Notre Dame fans have been disappointed by two 8-win seasons following Kelly’s BCS-caliber teams at Cincinnati that were arguably stocked with less talent than he has been able to work with at ND. We all may have our own opinions on what the Irish have been missing over the past two seasons, but Kelly is clearly the one in the best position to diagnose the true issues and, more importantly, to fix them going forward. Let’s hope that more hands on approach from Kelly translates into the execution that was missing at key points during the 2011 campaign.

You can follow Twibby on Twitter: @HLS_Twibby

The post Brian Kelly 2.0 appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

Jamoris Slaughter

Position: S
Year: 5th Year Senior
Height/Weight: 6’0″/200 lbs.

Fifth-year senior Jamoris Slaughter will be charged with leading the Irish secondary in 2012 following former captain Harrison Smith’s first round selection by the Minnesota Vikings in the NFL Draft. Slaughter played in all 13 games for the Irish last year, registering 45 tackles (25 solo, 20 assisted), 1 interception, and 2 pass breakups. Slaughter also forced a fumble and picked off a pass in a 59-33 win over Air Force. With the Irish graduating the majority of their secondary from last year, and with Austin Collinsworth out for the season with an injury, Slaughter will be called on to be the anchor of a relatively untested unit.

Following the injury to Collinsworth, discussions of Slaughter filling in at corner have slowed though the coaching staff insists it is still a possibility. Along with cornerback, many Irish fans (like myself) would like to see Jamoris spend more time at the hybrid safety-outside linebacker role that he excelled in late in the season, including in the Champs Sports Bowl against Florida State in which he registered two huge sacks (unfortunately he did not sack Tommy before those red zone interceptions).  With Smith and his 181 tackles over the past two seasons out of the picture, we will likely see Slaughter’s statistical production increase drastically in 2012. Possibly more important than the stat line, though, will be his ability to lead an inexperienced secondary and to make sure Bennett Jackson and the Lo Wood/Josh Atkinson/maybe-Davonte-Neal combo know where they’re supposed to be.

I’m also hoping we see a loooooot more of this:

T.J. McDonald

Position: S
Year: Senior
Height/Weight: 6’3″/205 lbs.

All-American T.J. McDonald of USC will be the best safety that the Irish offense will have the task of working against in 2012. McDonald, who is the younger half of USC’s first father/son All-American pair and first father/son captain pair (…….excuse me, needed to go vomit a little bit), returns to the Trojans as a third year starter at free safety. His father, Tim McDonald, played 13 NFL seasons at safety for the Cardinals and 49ers, winning a Super Bowl ring (XXIX) and earning his way into 6 Pro Bowls.

The younger McDonald recorded 67 tackles, 3 interceptions, 2 pass breakups, a fumble recovery and a blocked punt in 2011. He registered 5 tackles when the Trojans visited South Bend, but otherwise had a statistically quiet game. Coming off an excellent past season, McDonald has received some pre-season love in being named to the watch lists for the Thorpe, Bednarik and Nagurski awards. He was also named a 1^st-team preseason All-American by Phil Steele, and we will likely see him on numerous more preseason lists as we get closer to the start of the season (44 days till Dublin!).

Analysis: Among the seniors returning for their fifth season in South Bend, none are as critical to the team’s success in 2012 as Jamoris Slaughter. While you could argue that Kapron Lewis-Moore and Braxston Cave are stronger overall players, the importance of Slaughter’s position as leader in the depleted secondary cannot be understated.  With games against Heisman contenders Matt Barkley and Landry Jones, the ability of Slaughter and the defensive backfield to be competitive will be an essential element to a strong third season for Brian Kelly. Also, while this series of position previews at HLS is focused on the top player at each position, Zeke Motta (who has a knack for being in perfect position to make a play and then whiffing) will need to step in his final season as well if the Irish hope to effectively defend their opponents’ aerial attacks.

Follow Twibby on Twitter: @HLS_Twibby

Previous Entries

Punter & Kicker
Offensive Line
Defensive Line

The post Know Thyself, Know Thy Enemy: Safety appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.