A Notre Dame Football Blog
I never liked the Brian VanGorder hire. VanGorder was hired in 2014, following the departure of Bob Diaco to become Connecticut's head coach. The criticism of Diaco was his "bend but don't break" approach made his defenses appear somewhat vanilla or "boring." So what? They were fundamentally sound, rarely beat themselves and were always in the top half of the nation in total defense. Much enthusiasm ensued when the Irish brought VanGorder and his NFL pedigree to South Bend. Many media ...
Notre Dame defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder yells from the sideline during the Notre Dame Blue-Gold Spring football game on Saturday, April 16, 2016, at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend. South Bend Tribune Photo/ROBERT FRANKLIN
"To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often." - Winston Churchill. Much has been discussed, written, and analyzed of the 50-47 loss Texas handed Notre Dame this past Sunday. Many have called for change among the defensive coaching staff as it relates to the 50 points a young Texas team hung on the Irish defense. Ironically, the change that is being clamored for is due to the inability to do just that - change. In the ever evolving landscape of today's college football, ...
Nyles Morgan (Credit: Chicago Tribune)
This preseason series highlights Notre Dame's 2016 stars by personnel grouping and identifies who to watch on opposing teams. Today's position group: the linebackers. ...
Fall camp produces the perfect mix for any college football junkie - immeasurable aspirations coupled with unlimited potential. The 2016 Fighting Irish are no exception. Many positional battles follow #NDFB into fall camp and understandably so with the solid depth at all positions. Let's do a quick rundown of what to expect. Depth, baby! Everything this fall will revolve around the exceptional depth that has slowly been built year over year. The coaching staff has recruited exceptionally well ...
Notre Dame lineman Jarron Jones, right, chases Florida State quarterback Jameis Winson during the second half. (Photo: Mark Wallheiser , Associated Press ).
Florida State and Notre Dame are on a collision course to meet at season's end in the Orange Bowl, according to SB Nation's Jason Kirk. Kirk correctly predicted that the Irish would be Fiesta Bowl bound in 2015 after narrowly missing the playoffs, although he had Boise State as the opponent. (The Broncos would finish 9-4, although they'd win the far less glamorous Poinsettia Bowl.) Kirk doesn't like the Irish this year, because their schedule "has a bump too many" - although he has USC ...
Longhorns quarterback Tyrone Swoopes (18) is tackled by Notre Dame Fighting Irish linebacker Jaylon Smith (9) in the second quarter. Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Debate This is a recurring series on HerLoyalSons in which two writers take opposing sides on a hot topic. Today and tomorrow, we will debate whether or not Jaylon Smith should have played in the Fiesta Bowl. Yesterday, IrishJimmy led us through the "he should have skipped it" argument. Today, andrewwinn takes the other side. Jaylon Smith was right to play in the Fiesta Bowl because it's what he wanted to do, because devastating injuries can happen at any time and because playing tentative or ...
Courtesy: Getty Images
Debate This is a recurring series on HerLoyalSons in which two writers take opposing sides on a hot topic. Today and tomorrow, we will debate whether or not Jaylon Smith should have played in the Fiesta Bowl. Today, IrishJimmy leads us through the "he should have skipped it" argument. Tomorrow, andrewwinn takes the other side. Jaylon Smith should have skipped the Fiesta Bowl because it was far more important for him to stay healthy and protect his financial future than it was to win a ...
Notre Dame’s Jaylon Smith (9) celebrates a sack during the Notre Dame-Texas NCAA college football game on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2015, at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend. SBT Photo/ROBERT FRANKLIN
According to several reports, specifically an interview on Irish Sports Daily, QB Malik Zaire will be changing numbers this fall from his no. 8 to Jaylon Smith’s no. 9. ...
If you were the general manager of Notre Dame, would you trade Malik Zaire for Florida Gators' linebacker Jarrad Davis and wide receivers Joshua Hammond and Dre Massey? 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 ...
UCLA linebacker Myles Jack, left, and Notre Dame linebacker Jaylon Smith watch during drills at the NFL scouting combine on Sunday in Indianapolis. (Darron Cummings / The Associated Press)
Jaylon Smith believes he's still a Top 10 pick despite his serious injury. If he falls past the first round, the former Notre Dame linebacker may be silently rooting to drop all the way to the middle of the third round. What is seemingly a perverse incentive - to diminish your draft stature - may actually be a sound financial decision for Smith, according to NFL draft expert Jason Fitzgerald. Because NFL rookie contracts are fixed according to the league's 2011 collective bargaining ...