Photo by James D. Smith/Dallas Cowboys

CHRIS BROWN: There are actually two players named Chris Brown on the Dallas Cowboys roster as of right now. The first is the Notre Dame graduate who was a great complement to Will Fuller in the 2015 Irish receiving corps. The second is a former Cal Poly QB who was invited to a minicamp to prove himself as a wide receiver. In a Tuesday post, SB Nation’s Ryan Ratty wonders aloud if Notre Dame’s former standout could push fellow Cowboys WR Devin Street off the roster.

Obviously, Brown will have a tougher road, as Street has the advantage of knowing the offense and being more familiar with the rest of the roster. But Brown will be given the opportunity to jump right in and prove himself. Brown’s workout numbers were impressive. It’s worth mentioning that he was a stud track jumper and sprinter in high school. If Brown can put on weight to match his speed, which he likely will with an NFL weight room and conditioning program, the Cowboys will be getting a unique player that can do a lot for this offense.

Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

AMIR CARLISLE: Carlisle, who is sporting #81 in camp, has survived the first round of cuts with the Arizona Cardinals. SB Nation’s Jess Root, who profiled the former Irish receiver Wednesday for the Revenge of the Birds blog, said Carlisle’s long-term viability with the Cardinals is in doubt: “Carlisle will have a very hard time even sticking on the practice squad. The receiver room is stacked right now. However, his versatility could prove valuable. Nonetheless, he is likely just a camp body.”

MATTHIAS FARLEY: Like Carlisle, Farley signed with the Arizona Cardinals after going undrafted. I haven’t been able to find any news about Farley since his May 1 signing.

EVERETT GOLSON: Golson transferred to Florida State after graduating from Notre Dame in 2015. He started the season for the Seminoles, but was benched by season’s end and skipped the Peach Bowl for personal reasons. He returned to Notre Dame for Pro Day. After the draft, Golson accepted an invitation to tryout with the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts are low on quarterbacks, so they invited Golson and former Irish adversary, UMass’ Blake Frohnapfel, to throw and “to help the practices function.” I haven’t seen official word on how the event went. But the Colts claimed former Liberty QB Josh Woodrum off waivers on Tuesday, so it’s safe to assume that the Golson/Indianapolis relationship may soon be at an end.

JARRETT GRACE: Grace, who started for the Irish at middle linebacker in 2013 before a devestating leg injury, participated in Notre Dame’s March 31 Pro Day. While his performance was not enough to be drafted, the Chicago Bears have extended a mini-camp tryout invitation. The mini-camp begins this weekend.

Eilar Hardy

EILAR HARDY: Hardy, a former Irish safety perhaps best known for his inclusion in the “Frozen Five” academic scandal, was invited to tryout with the Cincinnati Bengals. That happened May 6. On Tuesday, the Tampa Bay Times’ Greg Auman tweeted that Hardy has been offered a second tryout with the Buccaneers. Hardy returned for the final five games of the 2015 season, then spent his senior season at Bowling Green. He returned to Notre Dame for its Pro Day.

MATT HEGARTY: The former Irish center, who finished his career at Oregon, was invited to the San Francisco 49ers’ rookie minicamp, which took place last weekend. The 49ers start organized team activities in two weeks. To my knowledge, they haven’t announced any signings or cuts.

ROMEO OKWARA: Okwara signed as an undrafted free agent with the New York Giants. There’s not much news coming out of camp about him. The Twitter account of Big Blue United, a popular Giants-related site, said Okwara was an “extreme long shot to make it past the first cut at training camp.”

ELIJAH SHUMATE: Undrafted, the former Notre Dame safety signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the conclusion of the draft. Shumate, wearing #41 for the Bucs, had an interception – one of at least three on the day – off former Alabama and Toledo QB Philip Ely during the Saturday session. Shumate, a film, television and theatre major, graduates this weekend from Notre Dame!

Rookie Mini-Camp Check In ?

Elijah Shumate is already making plays in Tampa Bay.#NDinTheNFL
pic.twitter.com/Pl5XVY3KTv

— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) May 8, 2016

Shumate told the Essex (N.J.) News Daily that he plans on a career in the NFL.

“That been a dream of mine since I was 6, but I also want to work with inner-city kids and help change the environment to not only a comfortable environment but also a confident one, too. I want kids to feel they have the sources to put them in good standing with kids that are more fortunate. Some of my fondest memories growing up in East Orange was having everything I needed, within a matter of a few steps from my house; a park that I not only had fun in, but also help make me become the person I am today. Stemming from either competing on the court or even as little as talking to a girl, (I) just did not want to lose and that is one of the biggest character traits that I carried.”

New York Giants defensive end Ishaq Williams runs through a drill during NFL football rookie camp, Friday, May 6, 2016, in, East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

ISHAQ WILLIAMS: Williams, whose last competitive game was in December 2013, impressed New York Giants personnel enough to earn a contract at the conclusion of his tryout. In a Giants.com video, the WFAN’s Paul Dottino said Williams may have gotten a look due to a recommendation of new Giants strength and conditioning coach, Aaron Wellman, who worked in a similar capacity for Notre Dame. The only problem with that thought: I’m not sure how much interaction Wellman would have had with Williams, who the NCAA ruled ineligible for the 2015 season. It may have been because Williams was New York State’s 2010 Gatorade Player of the Year and a standout in nearby Brooklyn, N.Y. Regardless of why the Giants invited him, Williams is providing much needed depth for Big Blue at the defensive end position. Williams is currently three classes short of graduation.

The post Checking In On The Undrafted Irish appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

Kansas quarterback Dayne Crist throws as fullback Nick Sizemore fends off Oklahoma State defensive end Nigel Nicholas during the second quarter on Saturday, Oct. 13, 2012 at Memorial Stadium. (Nick Krug / Lawrence Journal-World)

Dayne Crist’s dream since childhood was to play in the NFL, so the former Notre Dame quarterback wrestled with balancing reality with ambition during the lead-up to the 2013 draft.

“I was a late-round projection at best,” Crist said Tuesday from his Los Angeles office. “You kind of cynically play the game like, ‘Oh, you know. It’s not going to happen. It’s not going to happen,’ to not get your hopes up. But at the same time, I mean, you’re really hoping your name gets called, and that’s everybody’s dream.”

Crist knew so many variables outside his control would ultimately decide his fate.

So from Dec. 1 – the day of his final collegiate game – to draft day in late April, Crist’s focus was on readying himself for any opportunity.

“Your agent is the number one guy that you need to secure. Because without him, none of the other stuff is an even important conversation,” said Crist. “Get into OTAs (off-season training sessions for NFL teams), get into camp. Sign your contract and then kind of get a sense of where you are.”

Crist picked Joe Linta, but not because he negotiated the richest contract in NFL history for Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco. Instead, the former five-star standout from Sherman Oaks chose Linta because of his pedigree as a former coach and a student of the game.

“He wouldn’t sign a guy unless he had kind of watched film on them personally, which I thought was kind of cool, because it was very much kind of that player/coach relationship,” said Crist. “I loved that and (that) he was a straight shooter.”

USA Today Sports

Crist wasn’t invited to the NFL Combine, but he didn’t lack opportunity to attract attention.

The quarterback, who played his final season at Kansas, impressed scouts enough at the Casino Del Sol Senior Bowl practices to earn an invitation to a second game, the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl in Los Angeles.

“It’s high stress, right? Because everyone’s trying to put on the best possible showing for all the scouts and teams that are there and GMs that are there,” he said. “But, at the same time, it was just so fun.”

Crist earned MVP honors in the NFLPA bowl after running for a touchdown and throwing for another in a 34-0 victory.

“I didn’t know if I was going to have another opportunity to put on pads and go play,” he said. “So, for me, I really treated this as my last opportunity to play football. It’s a really liberating feeling, just going out there and just enjoying that experience.”

Notre Dame’s Romeo Okwara (45) and Ishaq Williams run a drill during Notre Dame’s NFL football Pro Day in South Bend, Ind., Thursday, March 31, 2016. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Notre Dame had 10 players invited to the NFL Combine, but at least 17 former players with higher aspirations who participated in the school’s recent Pro Day evaluation. Players such as linebacker Jarrett Grace, wide receiver Amir Carlisle, safety Eilar Hardy, defensive end Ishaq Williams and quarterback Everett Golson are expected to be either taken late or go entirely undrafted during the three-day NFL event, April 28-30, in Chicago.

“My advice for those (late-round) guys that may never have an opportunity to play again, is absolutely enjoy every second,” he said. “There’s going to come a time when you just can’t do it anymore, and you’re going to really hope that you really had as much fun you possibly did.”

Crist added: “I can fondly look back and say, yeah, I had a blast during that period, and I was lucky that someone set parameters for me and told me to do that going in, because it would be a lot harder as far as the transition is concerned to kind of walk away without having that full closure.”

The former quarterback also suggests that late-round or undrafted guys take all feedback with a grain of salt.

“There’s just so many moving parts, so I don’t think that any of the conversations or suggestions of me being taken were done with any form of like malice or intentional deception,” he said. “A lot of teams will tell you, ‘Look, this is what we have in mind going into the draft,’ but anybody that watching the draft knows how much that changes on a pick-to-pick basis.”

This is where an aggressive, talented agent can be indispensable.

Crist estimates there was nine teams that “had really solid interest” in offering him a rookie minicamp invite and a chance at a roster spot. Within 10 minutes of the draft closing, he had accepted an offer from the Kansas City Chiefs.

While the Chiefs didn’t work out, Crist played with the Ravens on and off for about four months before the start of the 2013 NFL season.

Dayne and his fiancée, Hilary.

“Again, it’s about controlling what you can control,” he said. “I could control the reps that I got in camp, the reps that I got in OTAs, how I prepared, how I took care of my body, so for me it was just doing the same things that I had always done, and not really reading too much into, ‘Oh, I only got … I got eight reps all practice.’ You can’t think about those things, because you’ll drive yourself nuts.”

Crist had gotten his shot at the NFL. And when it didn’t result in a steady job, he held no regrets.

“I was excited about what was going on in my life personally with my fiancée, Hilary,” said Crist, who is getting married May 21 at Notre Dame’s Basilica of the Sacred Heart. “I was excited about being able to kind of walk away from the game on my own terms and pursue my professional passions, and put the Notre Dame degree to work and really kind of enjoy and experience a different side of life, that I just hadn’t had the opportunity to enjoy before.”

The post Crist’s Advice for Late Round Picks: “Enjoy Every Second” appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

David Kenyon, a Bleacher Report columnist, suggested this in “Ten College Football Trades We Wish Could Happen This Spring.” Kenyon acknowledges there’s no such thing as trading college football players (although Kyler Murray & Trevor Knight did a switcheroo that looked like one.)

Kenyon’s caveat was that his trades were “subjective” but “made as fairly as possible.”

I can’t argue with the subjective part, but this is a terrible hypothetical deal for Notre Dame.

THE IRISH PERSPECTIVE

Malik Zaire (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Malik Zaire is a talented quarterback who is returning from a season-ending ankle injury. Under Zaire’s brief leadership, the Irish offense was more productive than it was under DeShone Kizer (when comparing equal playing time). Zaire hasn’t fumbled the ball or thrown an interception. He’s also a charismatic fellow who may well become a team leader. A recent poll of Blue & Gold Illustrated readers picked Zaire as the second most-likely captain this coming year.

I don’t know who Coach Brian Kelly will tap to start the season at quarterback. Even if it’s Kizer, it’ll be nice to have Zaire if Kizer struggles or is injured. Even if Kelly decided not to redshirt sophomore Brandon Wimbush, his options for backup would be Wimbush (who has attempted five passes in his college career) and true freshman Ian Book, a three-star prospect.

Jarrad Davis is an outstanding weak-side linebacker who registered 98 tackles, 4 hurries, 11 hits & knockdowns, and 3 sacks last year. The Irish lost talented junior WILL (weak-side LB) Jaylon Smith to the NFL. Smith had 113 tackles, five pass breakups and six QB hurries last year.

Smith’s backup was Te’Von Coney, who saw limited action before replacing the injured Smith in the Fiesta Bowl. Coney then injured his shoulder in the same game and was replaced by the now-departed Jarrett Grace. Coney will likely battle redshirt freshmen Josh Barajas and/or Asmar Bilal for the WILL position, with Coney the favorite if he’s healthy.

THE GATORS’ PERSPECTIVE

Jarrad Davis / Kim Klement – USA TODAY Sports

Davis would undoubtedly start if he was Irish. But his absence would hurt the Gators tremendously. Davis’ backup at Florida is senior Daniel McMillian.

In a GatorBait.net article, writer Thomas Goldkamp writes:

Beyond those two [Davis and senior Alex Anzalone], the depth really drops off quickly. Both McMillian and Rolin have some experience now as fourth-year players, but neither has been productive at all on the field. Injuries have kept Rolin from getting up to speed, while McMillian frequently finds himself in the wrong position to make a play.

For the Gators to be good at linebacker in 2016, Anzalone must stay healthy and some of the younger players like Jackson, Reese and the other freshmen coming in this summer need to be able to play some snaps.

Joshua Hammond is a freshman wide receiver who plays the X (split end) position, where the Irish also lost a player to the NFL Draft – Will Fuller. But the Irish have the gifted Equanimeous St. Brown, senior Corey Holmes and freshman Kevin Stepherson at that position. Javon McKinley, who could also play there, was rated higher than Hammond in 247Sports’ composite rankings. Chase Claypool, another Irish signee, was rated one slot lower than Hammond.

Dre Massey plays a mixture of slot, running back and kick returner. He was Scout’s 22nd best junior college player in 2015; Notre Dame, to my knowledge, has never recruited a junior college player. Massey is expected to challenge for a starting role in the Y (slot) position at Florida; the Irish have Torii Hunter Jr. and the speedy C.J. Sanders there already.

CONCLUSION

Joshua Hammond

Thankfully, David Kenyon is not the general manager of the Notre Dame football team and there are no trades. Because this would be a lopsided one in favor of the Gators.

Zaire’s departure would leave the Irish in a tenuous position if Kizer struggled or was injured. With Kizer running the ball nearly 120 times last year, his chance of being banged up is pretty good. Add in the fact that only one QB has played a full season under Kelly (Tommy Rees in 2011), and you could see why the Irish would be reticent to deal Zaire.

What they give up – stability at the most important offensive position – would not be worth what they got back – a stud linebacker and two wide receivers with great potential (but not much else). The move would hurt the Gators at linebacker, although their wide receiver corps would function fine without Hammond or Massey. The Irish have plenty of depth at wide receiver. What they need is an explosive edge rusher or a shut down corner.

The post Don’t “Trade” Malik Zaire appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

Credit: Brian Spurlock/USA TODAY Sports

Last Friday, Notre Dame received the expected news that KeiVarae Russell was back with the Irish. Yesterday, another one of the Frozen Five had their fate become a little clearer:

Ishaq Williams has been formally re-admitted to Notre Dame by the Committee on Readmission.

— Pete Sampson (@PeteSampson_) June 1, 2015

The important thing to note here is that Ishaq is back only academically at this point. His status on the football team is up in the air.

The reason? It’s one that we’ve mentioned several times this offseason. Scholarship numbers are tight and a fifth year isn’t a guaranteed thing, even for a former five-star recruit (NB: Russell is entering his senior season. ND unofficially guarantees scholarships for athletes for four years, thus why Russell is a definite while Ishaq is up in the air).

As of right now, without Ishaq, the Irish stand at 86 scholarships, one more than the 85 maximum. Of those 86, Chase Hounshell is the likely fifth year candidate to be first on the chopping block. Hounshell swapped to TE from DE, but based on reports from spring ball, it doesn’t appear that he has done enough to solidify his spot on the roster.

The remaining fifth years (minus Williams and transfer Avery Sebastian) are the following:

• Amir Carlisle
• Nick Martin
• Jarrett Grace
• Joe Schmidt
• Matthias Farley

Yeah, have fun figuring out which one of those gents that you’d like to ask to not come back.

Of course, the one eternal truth of the Notre Dame offseason is that strange things happen to this roster. Already we’ve had Everett Golson deciding to transfer, but we’ve also seen incoming freshman Bo Wallace announcing, seemingly out of nowhere, that he wouldn’t be attending Notre Dame.

There’s a reason why Brian Kelly has mostly dodged the question about what to do about the roster until the zero hour. He’s been through this dance too many times and knows all too well that he may not even have to make such a tough decision by the time fall camp breaks.

So for now, the Irish and Ishaq will remain in a holding pattern. Remain buckled, Irish fans, the offseason ain’t over yet.

The post Ishaq’s Back (in School) appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

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 press conference (3:16)

PODCAST

• Blue & Gold Illustrated: The Irish Huddle (28:15)

RECRUITING (2016 offers / 2017 offers)

• Irish Sports Daily: Oden defines determination (Tylin Oden)
• Rivals: Rivals 100: 61-80 updates (Donnie Corley, Dwayne Haskins, Javon McKinley)
• Scout: Scout 300: Big West movers (Jack Jones, Curtis Robinson, Brandon Burton and N’Keal Harry)
• Scout: South 2016 rankings: 10 big moves (Brandon Hill, Keyshon Camp, Devin White, Patrick Bethel)
• Scout: Midwest recruiting notebook (Brandon Peters, Sean Foster and Donnie Corley)
• Scout: West moves outside the Scout 300 (Troy Warner)
• Scout: New 4-star DL in Florida (Keyshon Camp)
• Scout: Gators impress 4-star RB (Elijah Holyfield)
• Scout: Commitment analysis: WR Theo Howard
• Scout: 5-star Calif. LB wowed by Michigan (Part 1 – Caleb Kelly)
• Scout: 5-star Calif. LB wowed by Michigan (Part 2)
• Scout: No. 1 safety talks recruiting (Brandon Jones, although Notre Dame is not in his top 10)
• Scout: Lewis has special feeling in Baton Rouge (Cameron Lewis)
• Scout: Holmes takes Big 12 swing (Darnay Holmes)
• Scout: Week in review: Chicago area (Julian Love)
• Scout: Houston recruiting notebook (3/18/15 – Eric Monroe, Dontavious Jackson, Deontay Anderson and Devwah Whaley)

CURRENT TEAM

• AP: Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly unsure on starting QB
• Bleacher Report (Monaco): Notre Dame football: What to expect at the start of spring ball
• Blue & Gold Illustrated: Notebook: ND ready for spring ball (Everett Golson, Malik Zaire, Nick Martin, Matt Hegarty, Colin McGovern, Hunter Bivin, CJ Prosise, Matthias Farley, John Turner, Doug Randolph, Chase Hounshell, Jalen Brown and Ishaq Williams)
• Chicago Tribune: Notre Dame enters spring with no clear No. 1 at QB
• CSN Sportsnet Chicago: With depth up front, Notre Dame eyes physical practices (Greer Martini, James Onwualu, Jarrett Grace, Nyles Morgan, Jaylon Smith, Te’von Coney, John Turner, Max Redfield, Elijah Shumate, Nicky Baratti, C.J. Prosise, Tarean Folston, Greg Bryant, Matt Hegarty, Quenton Nelson, Alex Bars, Ronnie Stanley, Nick Martin, Sam Mustipher, Mark Harrell and Chase Hounshell)
• CSN Sportsnet Chicago: Notre Dame LB Jarrett Grace cleared for spring practice
• CSN Sportsnet Chicago: Ishaq Williams not guaranteed to return to Notre Dame
• CSN Sportsnet Chicago: Notre Dame hits the reset button on quarterback competition
• Elkhart Truth: Notre Dame football spring storylines: Wide receivers have top-tier potential; tight ends a mystery
• Elkhart Truth: Brian Kelly believes Notre Dame has great opportunity with Golson, Zaire at QB
• Goshen News: Notre Dame football: Irish start spring practice, quarterback battle between Everett Golson and Malik Zaire
• Inside the Irish: Irish open spring: Five quick updates from BK (Ben Councell, Jalen Brown, Alex Bars, Quenton Nelson, Nick Martin, Matt Hegarty, Amir Carlisle, C.J. Prosise, Tarean Folston, Greg Bryant, Josh Adams, Dexter Williams, Chase Hounshell, Durham Smythe, Tyler Luatua, Everett Golson, Malik Zaire)
• Irish247: Defensive line tandem highlights players to watch (Jonathan Bonner, Jhonny Williams, Jerry Tillery, Jaylon Smith, Max Redfield, Greg Bryant and Tarean Folston)
• Irish247: Irish247 extra points (KeiVarae Russell, Ishaq Williams, James Onwualu, Greer Martini, Joe Schmidt, Nyles Morgan, Jarrett Grace, Joe Schmidt, Josh Atkinson, Jalen Brown, Ben Councell, Anthony Rabasa, Drue Tranquill)
• Irish247: Kelly talks depth chart, position moves, QB timetable (Everett Golson, Malik Zaire, Matt Hegarty, Alex Bars, Quenton Nelson, Sam Mustipher, Tristen Hoge, John Turner, Elijah Shumate, Max Redfield, Chase Hounshell, Mike Heuerman, Durham Smythe, Nic Weishar, Tyler Luatua, Doug Randolph, C.J. Prosise and Amir Carlisle)
• Irish247: Notre Dame releases spring football roster
• Irish Illustrated: From second to first? (Jaylon Smith, Max Redfield)
• Irish Illustrated: Spring finally suits Kelly (Matt Hegarty, Mike McGlinchey, Nick Martin, Alex Bars, Quenton Nelson, Colin McGovern, Hunter Bivin, John Montelus, Jarron Jones, Sheldon Day, Isaac Rochell, Jay Hayes, Kolin Hill, Daniel Cage, Pete Mokwuah, Andrew Trumbetti, Jhonny Williams, Grant Blankenship, Doug Randolph, Jerry Tillery, Ishaq Williams and KeiVarae Russell)
• Irish Illustrated: Of graduates, nuts and realigned roles (Avery Sebastian, KeiVarae Russell, Ishaq Williams, Amir Carlisle, Connor Cavalaris, Matthias Farley, Everett Golson, Jarrett Grace, Chase Hounshell, Nick Martin, and Joe Schmidt, Montgomery VanGorder, Ben Councell, Jalen Brown, Matt Hegarty, Jarron Jones, Joe Schmidt, Drue Tranquill, Nicky Baratti, Will Fuller, James Onwualu, Nyles Morgan, Greer Martini, Te’von Coney, C.J. Prosise, John Turner, Doug Randolph, Jonathan Bonner and Jerry Tillery)
• Irish Turning Point: Brian Kelly spring presser recap (Ben Councell, Jalen Brown, KeiVarae Russell, Chase Hounshell, John Turner, Doug Randolph, Greer Martini, CJ Prosise, Jonathan Bonner, Nick Martin, Will Fuller, Drue Tranquill, Jarrett Grace, Jerry Tillery, Te’von Coney, James Onwualu, Quenton Nelson and Alex Bars)
• Journal Gazette: Brian Kelly: Need basketball team’s unselfishness
• ND Insider: No room for excuses for Notre Dame football (Everett Golson and Brian Kelly)
• ND Insider: Brian Kelly opens Notre Dame spring practice with QB questions
• ND Insider: Notebook: Jerry Tillery, Te’von Coney stir interest for Notre Dame’s spring (Charlie Weis Jr.)
• One Foot Down: CTTCS: Brian Kelly’s pre-spring update
• UHND: Return of Ishaq Williams to Notre Dame in doubt (Jarrett Grace, Ishaq Williams, KeiVarae Russell, Matt Hegarty and Ben Councell)
• UHND: Notre Dame’s Jarrett Grace cleared for spring football (Joe Schmidt, Nyles Morgan, Greer Martini and Jaylon Smith)
• UHND: CJ Prosise cross-training at RB for Notre Dame

COACHING

• AL.com: Alabama adds football staff member with a famous name (Charlie Weis Jr.)
• Irish Sports Daily: Irish begin spring practice with eye on leadership and development

SCHEDULE

• College Football Talk: Notre Dame, Ball State to meet in football for first time in 2018
• UHND: Ball State added to 2018 Notre Dame football schedule

MISC.

• One Foot Down: Crossroads construction progress 3/17/15
• Reign of Troy: USC Football: Paying homage to St. Patrick’s Day (Trojans vs. green jerseys)
• WNDU: Kelly Cares Foundation raises more than $750,000 from gala in New York City

The post Morning Roundup: March 18, 2015 appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

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:

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?

The post Matt Hegarty to Transfer, The Fifth Year Dominoes Begin to Fall appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

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.

The post Brian Kelly Presser: Michigan, Opportunities, and Silver Linings appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

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:

And now you’re moment of Nix…

What is this I don't even #MSPaintMonday pic.twitter.com/MBKxDzX8Yw

— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) August 12, 2014

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.

The post Friday Roundup: The “Notre Dame Fall Camp 2014 Catch-Up” Edition appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

via South Bend Tribune

Saturday saw The Fighting Irish put practice number eight in the books and a new name, Jarrett Grace, on the operating table. With the Blue-Gold Spring Game on April 12 and at the half-way point of the Spring season, I’m excited to see what develops over the next seven practices. I’m also pleased to see that Kelly’s staff picked up two solid commitments over the weekend, both out of talent-rich Texas. So let’s get to it.

But first, I had the pleasure of meeting Tex, our fearless co-leader and Editor-in-Chief, last weekend at the (absolutely beautiful) wedding of a (-n absolutely beautiful) mutual friend of ours here in New Orleans. My two Hot Tex Takes: 1.) the man is marrying way above the rim (I also met his fiancée) ; and 2.) his eyebrows do, in fact, look like that in person.

Back to the football, though. With eight practices under their belts, all of which have been indoors, The Irish seem to be adjusting nicely to having Everett Golson back at the reins and under center. His likely backup, Malik Zaire, though, is, by all accounts, making terrific progress of his own and looks ready to provide Notre Dame another offensive weapon instead of a serviceable play-caller to get them off the field and into the locker-room. As one example, pay attention to the zip on the ball and in the step of Number Eight at 2:07 in the video from Saturday’s session:

In fact, if you listen to Malik, he’s not backing anyone up. And, if you read the previous link all the way through, Coach Kelly isn’t exactly pooh-poohing the idea of a two quarterback system come August.

In personnel news, the most significant is Jarrett Grace’s surgery on the right leg he has been recouping since breaking it in four places last season. Over the weekend, he underwent a successful rod placement to further encourage the fusing of the JESUS CHRIST IT JUST SOUNDS PAINFUL. According to Coach and Dr. Ratigan, the orthopedic surgeon who performed the operation, Jarrett should be back to compete for his starting position at “Nerf” (middle) linebacker. In the mix for his spot are (former) walk-on Joe Schmidt and two others, one of whom is a true walk-on.

Staying with the D, Coach VanGorder gave a thirty minute press conference last Wednesday. For all the hype about The Irish turning away from Diaco’s 3-4 system, it seems that VanGorder’s philosophy is to move in-and-out of fronts depending on the package, play, and position. His watch-word is “multiple” and he’s been pinging Jaylon Smith inside and outside. KeiVarae Russell is apparently turning out one heck of a solid Spring and Ishaq Williams has done a “good job so far.” Though “struggling” in coverage, converted wide receiver James Onwalu is “a good learner.”

In recruiting news, it was two steps forwards and one step back this weekend. The gets were Prentice McKinney (DB) out of Dallas, and Jaylen Guyton (WR) from Allen, also a city in Texas, evidently. Both a solid three-stars at their positions and both represent a widening of the pipeline between The Lone Star State and South Bend. The loss was four-star LB Josh Barajas to Penn State, who verbally committed to Happy Valley on Sunday. Whatever. They’re just verbals. They’ll all wind up playing for Tulane, or something.

Here’s how Coach Kelly felt after Saturday’s session. Monday will be outside and it sounds like they’re leaving the Jugs inside. Should be fun:

To get a flavor for where Brian’s Boys are in their development, you can watch NDFIDM’s terrific video-shorts in sequence here.

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