Matt Hegarty Archives - Her Loyal Sons https://www.herloyalsons.com/blog A Notre Dame Football Blog Thu, 12 May 2016 03:02:38 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.8.3 https://www.herloyalsons.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/HLS-Avatar-Option-2-150x150.png Matt Hegarty Archives - Her Loyal Sons https://www.herloyalsons.com/blog 32 32 Checking In On The Undrafted Irish https://www.herloyalsons.com/blog/2016/05/12/checking-irish-rookies-nfl/ Thu, 12 May 2016 09:30:06 +0000 http://www.herloyalsons.com/blog/?p=34311 Here’s the latest on the athletes who played last year for Notre Dame, were not drafted and are now trying to make an NFL team: 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...

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]]> Here’s the latest on the athletes who played last year for Notre Dame, were not drafted and are now trying to make an NFL team:

Photo by James D. Smith/Dallas Cowboys

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

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

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!

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)

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.

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]]> Morning Roundup: March 18, 2015 https://www.herloyalsons.com/blog/2015/03/18/morning-roundup-march-18-2015/ Wed, 18 Mar 2015 12:00:31 +0000 http://www.herloyalsons.com/blog/?p=28529 Good morning! Here are your headlines: 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...

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]]> Good morning! Here are your headlines:

FROM OUR SITE

VIDEO

PODCAST

RECRUITING (2016 offers / 2017 offers)

CURRENT TEAM

COACHING

SCHEDULE

MISC.

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]]> Matt Hegarty to Transfer, The Fifth Year Dominoes Begin to Fall https://www.herloyalsons.com/blog/2015/03/05/matt-hegarty-transfer-fifth-year-dominoes-begin-fall/ https://www.herloyalsons.com/blog/2015/03/05/matt-hegarty-transfer-fifth-year-dominoes-begin-fall/#comments Thu, 05 Mar 2015 11:00:19 +0000 http://www.herloyalsons.com/blog/?p=28282 As I mentioned in my post regarding the transfer of Avery Sebastian, the Irish sat at 94 total scholarships, with 12 of those belonging to current Notre Dame players with a potential fifth year. At some point, tough decisions would need to be made in regards to these players and one has already been made....

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]]> As I mentioned in my post regarding the transfer of Avery Sebastian, the Irish sat at 94 total scholarships, with 12 of those belonging to current Notre Dame players with a potential fifth year. At some point, tough decisions would need to be made in regards to these players and one has already been made. Matt Hegarty has decided to transfer from Notre Dame citing a desire for as much playing time as possible, which he wouldn’t get in 2015 with the Irish:

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:

[table “” not found /]

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?

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]]> https://www.herloyalsons.com/blog/2015/03/05/matt-hegarty-transfer-fifth-year-dominoes-begin-fall/feed/ 2 Morning Roundup: Feb. 24, 2015 https://www.herloyalsons.com/blog/2015/02/24/morning-roundup-feb-24-2015/ Tue, 24 Feb 2015 13:00:39 +0000 http://www.herloyalsons.com/blog/?p=28144 Good morning! Here are your headlines: FROM OUR SITE Two Notre Dame sons return home VIDEO Scout: Williams bringing a lot to South Bend (Dexter Williams) (5:46) Eastbay: Kyle Brindza – Notre Dame (0:15) MGoDrone: College stadiums of the midwest! (2:14) PODCAST Irish Sports Daily: 2-23-2015 Power Hour (1:08:52) RECRUITING Scout: Mitchell updates recruitment (Shon...

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]]>

Deeyung Entertainment concept helmet

Good morning! Here are your headlines:

FROM OUR SITE

VIDEO

PODCAST

RECRUITING

CURRENT TEAM

IRISH IN THE NFL

COACHING

SCHEDULING

MISC.

The post Morning Roundup: Feb. 24, 2015 appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

]]> Questions on the Academic Investigation Dominate the Brian Kelly Presser https://www.herloyalsons.com/blog/2014/09/23/questions-academic-investigation-dominate-brian-kelly-presser/ https://www.herloyalsons.com/blog/2014/09/23/questions-academic-investigation-dominate-brian-kelly-presser/#comments Tue, 23 Sep 2014 18:10:19 +0000 http://www.herloyalsons.com/blog/?p=26391 The investigation into academic improprieties of five Notre Dame players (as well as several other non-athletes) has been nothing short of a slow, frustrating process. The updates from under the Golden Dome have been few and far between since August. As the calendar prepares to turn to October, Brian Kelly did his level best to...

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]]> The investigation into academic improprieties of five Notre Dame players (as well as several other non-athletes) has been nothing short of a slow, frustrating process. The updates from under the Golden Dome have been few and far between since August. As the calendar prepares to turn to October, Brian Kelly did his level best to update a timeline that he has very little insight into.

An academic committee has finally been formed. Should everything proceed according to plan, from what Kelly has been told, all hearings could conclude by next week. Of course, at the glacial pace this thing has progressed, “by next week” could just as easily transform into “by next month”.

You could read the frustration on Brian Kelly’s face every time a question was asked about the investigation. At one point, it forced him to make it quite clear where he stood in the grand scheme of things:

I’m not here to be the sound piece for our administration.

Kelly, however, understands that he’s also the only public figure answering questions about this topic at all. He knows part of the Notre Dame job means having to take these bullets even if it might piss him off deep down.

The frustration probably hit its peak when Pete Sampson of Irish Illustrated (aka the ND Rivals site) asked Kelly for his opinion on the process in general. You could see Kelly gather himself in restraint to let the crowd know he certainly had an opinion on the matter, but he wasn’t going to speak about it. He knows better than the try and kick that hornet’s nest.

Sampson still tried, as any good reporter should, with a followup on whether or not the length of the process, and continued suspension of his players, made him believe they were guilty. As Kelly has stated in the past, he repeated that he did not have nearly enough information to make any kind of judgement on the matter.

The entire exchange with Sampson ended with Kelly quipping with a curt “yeah, my pleasure”, indicating that he might just be more relieved than his players once this is all said and done.

Of course, immediately after those questions, Kelly found himself faced with yet another one on the same subject, this time regarding why the parents of the players were kept in the dark. This lead Kelly to go into a long, sweeping answer of every question he could think regarding the matter in hopes to kill the line of questioning for the day.

Yes, he knows the parents are in the dark. It’s consistent with any other honor code violation at Notre Dame. The privacy laws demand it. Again, he isn’t a spokesperson for the administration. He doesn’t know what’s going on either. No, he isn’t aware of any vacated wins or any kind of NCAA sanctions. Read between the lines and you’ll see that he’s just as frustrated as you are that he doesn’t have the answers, but there isn’t anything he can do about and you are getting every last piece of information possible that he has.

That answer, of course, led to yet another followup question on the investigation and I wanted to hand BK a bottle of whiskey because I felt so bad for him. I know this all comes with the territory, but Kelly certainly took a full load of bullets at this presser, more so than usual on this matter. In a week in which there were major injuries and position changes to discuss, it was incredible so see just how much this topic managed to dominate the consciousness of the entire event.

I can only hope this finally concludes last week as Kelly (now) expects. It will keep us all far saner.

Position Changes/Injuries

As mentioned above, there was quite a bit of shakeup in the depth chart this week. While, Kelly said what was handed out to the press is probably a bit “premature” in its finality, it’s clear that there is a very serious desire to change things up along the offensive line.

As of now, the new starting O-line is as follows:

  • LT Ronnie Stanley
  • LG Nick Martin
  • C Matt Hegarty
  • RG Steve Elmer
  • RT Christian Lombard

Lombard slides out to tackle and Elmer replaces him on the interior while Martin takes over the other guard position and Hegarty takes over the center job. The interior guard positions in particular appeared to be the major focus for Kelly. He mentioned on multiple occasions that he wanted the interior of the line to be far bigger and more physical, implying that he is quite unsatisfied with what the line has shown up the gut in the past few weeks.

Luckily for the Irish, of all these swaps, only Nick Martin has to learn a new position. According to Kelly, everyone else has the experience needed to take over their new roles.

Personally, I’m happy with this change because something had to be done about the poor performance of the running game. I’m hopeful that we will start seeing a bigger push up front against Syracuse.

In other depth chart news, Amir Carlisle is still out for next week which has bumped Torii Hunter Jr. up the depth chart as the backup slot WR. Hunter, who is recovering from a broken leg, will likely see his first action of his career this weekend.

Fun with 140 Character Limits

I love Twitter. It’s an amazing medium, especially for sports. It is also worse than a soundbyte as far as quotes are concerned.

While the press live-tweeted Kelly’s thoughts on night games and the unique challenges it poses to Notre Dame considering how many they have to play, his thought got broken up into the 140 character or less chunks. That lead to the national media, following only via Twitter to be quite confused and even scoff at the fact Kelly wasn’t fond of playing “nationally televised” games considering ND’s NBC contract.

Because context is important, here’s the quote in full (h/t to @anderwinn for saving me from the transcription process):

The biggest challenges for us are, quite frankly, playing on national television. Our kids get back at 3:30. I’ll just give you Purdue. Our kids get back at 3:30, got to be at study table at, you know, 4 o’clock in the afternoon and it’s, it’s a lot. We’ll have the same thing. We’re on national television. It’s wearing. You know, it gets to the point where you wonder: Maybe we shouldn’t play all these nationally televised games because it really puts a lot on these kids. We ask them to do a lot. It’s a very challenging academic environment. The ACC doesn’t do that to us. Notre Dame, by the virtue of its brand recognition, puts us in that position. The ACC has been great in terms of the scheduling because, you know, we’re not out on the west coast. The travel is pretty good for us. So I don’t think it puts any added stress on us from that perspective.

Now, if Kelly’s talking about getting back at 3:30, especially after Purdue, you know he’s talking about 3:30 AM which means he’s talking about the nationally televised night games. Should he have specified a bit better there? Probably, but anyone actually listening to Kelly’s full train of thought knew he was referencing the fact that ND has been playing an abnormally large amount of night games especially in comparison to other teams in the nation.

We are about to hit game four and three of those games have been in the primetime hour and only one of those games has been a true home game. Notre Dame will once again have another primetime affair with Florida State in a couple of weeks as well unless ESPN decides they hate ratings. That game will be followed by another primetime game against Navy. The game after that is at Arizona State and I’m sure that west coast affair will also fetch a primetime slot as will the Southern Cal game to close the season.

That means ND is looking at a potential 7 out of 12 games played in primetime. When looking at that kind of a schedule, and considering that academic issues are front of mind right now at ND, Kelly’s statement makes nothing but sense.

Context matters.

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