Houston Texans center Nick Martin (66) snaps the ball to quarterback Chuckie Keeton (6) during rookie mini camp at The Methodist Training Center on Saturday, May 7, 2016, in Houston. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle )

Nick Martin will likely be starting for the Houston Texans by season’s end, a blogger covering the team predicted Monday.

“He is as close to NFL ready that the draft class has to offer and he is already catching up to the curve with the demands of the position to help out in calling out pass protections,” wrote Patrick Starr of the State of the Texans blog. “The Texans need consistency and a long term answer at center. Martin could be just the player needed.”

Martin was a model of consistency during his tenure at Notre Dame, starting 26 consecutive games – and 36 overall – during his three years playing at both the center and left guard positions. The Texans’ second round pick is competing against Tony Bergstrom for the starting position vacated by Ben Jones, who is now with the Tennessee Titans. Bergstrom is entering his fourth year in the league, having played 25 games with the Oakland Raiders but started just four times.

Martin has so far impressed his boss, former Penn State Coach Bill O’Brien.

“So far it looks like a rookie who is mature beyond his years,” O’Brien told the Houston Chronicle. “He understands the work ethic. I’m sure his older brother has helped him with that a little bit, but he has come in here and done some good things.”

Nick Martin’s older brother is former Irish guard/center Zack Martin, who made the Pro Bowl as a rookie with the Dallas Cowboys.

Starr said former Irish wide receiver Will Fuller, the Texans’ first round pick, will be “a key rotational piece at the wide receiver position.” The blogger has been impressed with Fuller’s route running and noted his ability to catch passes has improved even since his college days. Fuller may also log time on special teams, according to the Houston Chronicle.

The  Texans are now finished with their offseason program. The AFC South representatives open training camp July 29 at the Houston Methodist Training Center, across from where they play on Sundays.

The post Nick Martin Will Likely Start For NFL’s Texans appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

South Bend Tribune Photo/GREG SWIERCZ

Harry Hiestand is arguably the most coveted assistant in the Brian Kelly coaching cabinet. One could argue that he’s certainly not the flashiest (hey there Prince Sanford), but his presence has significantly improved the ground game, offensive line recruiting and development, and #NDFB as a program. Let’s dive into an eight-year rabbit hole worth of running statistics – four “Pre-Harry” and four “Post-Harry.”

From 2008-2011, the running game ranged from mediocre to piss poor. These four years established an average of 131 rushing yards per game, 4.0 yards per rush, 15 rushing touchdowns per year, and 1,674 rushing yards per year.

The worst year came in 2008 (oh Charlie…) where the Irish ranked:

• 101^st in both yards per rush (3.3) and rush yards per game (110)
• 102^nd in rushing touchdowns (11)
• 97^th in total rush yards (1,426)
• Obligatory bullet note to apologize for even compiling these numbers and putting them on virtual paper.
• Bonus points for anyone who can guess the 2008 offensive line coach who helped orchestrate this stellar running campaign…John Latina. Latina was unsurprisingly let go following the 2008 season, and recently retired from coaching this past February after serving as the offensive line coach at Duke.

In the years following Hiestand’s hiring, the Irish have averaged 177 rushing yards per game, 4.8 yards per rush, 22 rushing touchdowns per year, and 2,299 rushing yards per year. These averages show improvements of 46 rush yards per game, 0.8 yards per rush, 7 rushing touchdowns per year, and a solid 625 rushing yards per year. This past year proved to produce possibly the most effective running game in over a decade wherein the Irish offensive line helped propel the run game to:

• 28^th in rush yards per game (208)
• 8^th in yards per rush (5.6)
• 30^th in rushing touchdowns (29)
• 27^th in total rush yards (2,699)

Hiestand was able to drastically improve these numbers by developing the talent he inherited when hired, but also by stocking the cupboard with top talent across the country.

From 2008-2011, Notre Dame recruited 14 offensive linemen (not including unranked/preferred walk-ons). Among these 14 linemen were eight athletes who were considered 4-star talent according to 247Sports composite rankings. Five were ranked 3 stars and one was a 2 star.

Hiestand has established himself as one of the most effective recruiters as it relates to his position group. As evidence, look no further than the improvements made since his arrival in South Bend.

From 2012-2015, his recruiting efforts manufactured 15 letters of intent from offensive linemen.  This haul included twelve 4 stars, three 3 stars, and no player ranked lower (again, not including unranked/preferred walk-ons). Hiestand undoubtedly has recruiting trending in the right direction.

Credit: Andrew Ivins / BGI

Let us not forget about the incoming 2016 class. A trio of offensive linemen mammoth human beings: 4 star Tommy Kraemer, 4 star Liam Eichenberg, and 3 star Parker Boudreaux will soon be joining the Irish.

Kramer was the closest offensive lineman to have the coveted 247sports composite 5 star ranking with a final grading of .9819, good enough for 27^th best player in the country. Eichenberg also graded within the top 100 players with a final ranking at 80^th.

Without getting too carried away (because college football fans never do that), it would be no surprise if Hiestand added to his list of first round draft picks with Kraemer. Kraemer is already listed at 6’6 and 309 lbs. as a high school senior. To put that into perspective, he already outweighs every starting offensive linemen from Notre Dame’s 2012 team. Hiestand has demonstrated a distinct ability to attract the country’s top talent to South Bend, which has given the Irish the luxury of formidable depth at the offensive line position that it likely hasn’t seen in decades.

The positive residual effect of Hiestand’s presence doesn’t stop at rushing stats or recruiting rankings, but also the number of penalties committed by offensive linemen.

With the aid of @andrewwinn, I analyzed every Irish offensive penalty over the past eight years (103 games total). The data suggests that an offensive line coached by Hiestand is far more technically sound than those that haven’t been blessed by his infinite wisdom.

From 2008-2011, the offense committed a total of 176 penalties, of which 80 were specifically attributed to an offensive linemen (disclaimer: not all penalties listed were directly credited to a specific player – for example these four years included 13 holding penalties where no player was specifically named).  Of these 80 penalties committed by offensive linemen, 33 were false starts, and 34 were holding calls.

Photo credit: Irish Sports Daily

From 2012-2015 the offense committed a total of 153 penalties, of which 79 were attributed to offensive linemen (throughout these more recent four years all holding calls were attributed to a specific player).  False starts were admittedly far more frequent with 59 occurrences. However, over the course of these four years the offensive line was astonishingly only credited with 10 holding calls.  The false starts may have increased since Notre Dame has had six quarterbacks under center in Hiestand’s four years. It may also be due to Hiestand’s more aggressive approach to pass blocking. The decrease in holding penalties is truly remarkable, especially when one considers a Hiestand line has averaged only 2.5 holding penalties per year.  This is a testament to the progress and development of the offensive line as a unit under Harry Hiestand.

Obviously, Hiestand is not the single determining factor in the many improvements made over the course of eight years.  One would be remiss to not shed light on how far #NDFB has come as a program: the institution of training table, the addition of analysts to the coaching staff, the facility updates, etc. Brian Kelly deserves a ton of credit for putting his assistant coaches in opportunities where they can flourish and succeed.

With all of this being said, the old adage that “it all starts up front” still holds true even in today’s spread offense era. Four years’ worth of significant and consistent progress suggests it is no fluke that Harry Hiestand continues to develop one NFL draft pick after another (Chris Watt, Zack Martin, soon to be Ronnie Stanley and Nick Martin).

Couple Hiestand’s developmental gift with his ability to draw top high school talent to South Bend, and #NDFB has one of the best in the biz. The Irish were able to quickly recover from the loss of beloved assistant coach Tony Alford this time last year, but here’s to hoping Hiestand has found his home for the long haul.

The post Harry Hiestand’s Impact Is Unmistakeable appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

Deeyung Entertainment concept helmet

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 Mitchell)
• Scout: Core 6 unites top recruits (Hunter Johnson, Jared Mayden, Byron Murphy and Julian Love)
• Irish Sports Daily: 2016 CA WR hoping to hear more (Grant Porter)
• One Foot Down: 2016 Notre Dame recruiting big board: Wide receiver & athlete (Ervin Barrett, Marquez Calloway, Jordan Fuller, Ahmir Mitchell, Julian Love, Donnie Corley, Dylan Crawford, Divine Deablo, Devin Duvernay, Josh Hammond, Brad Hawkins, Justin Layne, Austin Mack, Javon McKinley, Tre Nixon, Darian Owens, Darnell Salomon, Trevon Sidney, Dredrick Snelson, Eli Stove, Tyler Vaughns, Benjimen Victor, Cameron Chambers and Dillon Mitchell)
• Bleacher Report (Monaco): Notre Dame football recruiting offers of the week (Daniel Bituli and Julian Okwara)
• Slap the Sign: Notre Dame Junior Day visitors (Tommy Kraemer, Brad Hawkins, Josh King, Ron Johnson, Michael Jordan, Brandon Peters)
• MLive: Could Lansing Catholic QB Tony Poljan be the next Ben Roethlisberger? Some MAC schools think so

CURRENT TEAM

• Irish Illustrated: Spring questions: Offensive line (Nick Martin, Matt Hegarty, Quenton Nelson, Mike McGlinchey, Alex Bars, Steve Elmer, Hunter Bivin, Colin McGovern, John Montelus, Sam Mustipher, Mark Harrell, Jimmy Byrne, Jerry Tillery, Tristen Hoge, Trevor Ruhland)
• Inside the Irish: Spring solutions: Offensive line
• Bleacher Report (Arnold): How Brian Kelly and Notre Dame distracted attention from the QB battle
• Bleacher Report: 10 college football programs with the most compelling QB controversies (#8 Notre Dame)

IRISH IN THE NFL

• One Foot Down: A recap of the 2015 NFL Combine (DaVaris Daniels, Ben Koyack, Kyle Brindza)
• ND Insider: NFL Combine results for former Notre Dame players
• The Landry Hat: Dallas Cowboys: Zack Martin provides valuable draft lesson

COACHING

• Tampa Bay Times: USF Bulls start spring football drills (Autry Denson)
• KWCH: Wichita Sports HOF announces 2015 inductees (Kirk Doll)
• 247 Sports: Gilmore expected to leave UNC (Keith Gilmore)
• Go UTSA: UTSA hires Mike Markuson as assistant coach
• Irish Turning Point: Fresh in the Gug: Todd Lyght

SCHEDULING

• Bleacher Report: 25 biggest trap games for 2015 college football season (12. Notre Dame at Pitt)
• Inside the ACC: Top 10 non-conference games for the ACC in 2015 (Notre Dame at Clemson is #7; Notre Dame/BC at Fenway is #2)

MISC.

• ND Insider: Megan Whitt leaving Notre Dame recruiting operations
• 247 Sports: Megan Whitt leaving Notre Dame for job in the NFL
• AL.com: Notre Dame apparently sent recruiting letter to current Rutgers football player
• Yahoo Sports: Rutgers lineman receives recruiting letter from Notre Dame
• UHND: Do Notre Dame’s football facilities measure up to competition?
• Fox Sports: Photos: Awesome helmet designs for UF, Ohio State, LSU & more
• ESPN: The 2015 ACC Oscars (Best picture: The fourth down play(s) in Notre Dame at Florida State)

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

PODCASTS

• Irish Sports Daily: 2-16-15 Power Hour (1:06:27)

RECRUITING

• Irish Sports Daily: In the film room: Donnie Corley
• Irish Illustrated: Irish offer 2017 four-star (Maleik Gray)
• Bleacher Report (Monaco): Notre Dame football recruiting offers of the week (Cary Angeline, Maleik Gray and E.J. Price)
• UW Dawg Pound: 2016 UW football recruiting: The rest of the West (Devin Duvernay, Byron Murphy and Chase Lucas)
• USA Today: Nation’s No. 3 player in Class of 2016 set to commit; Ole Miss seems to be the favorite (Shea Patterson)
• Shreveport Times: Calvary QB Shea Patterson to pick college Tuesday
• WLOX: Ole Miss could make biggest catch on Fat Tuesday: Blue chip quarterback Shea Patterson
• Northeast Ohio Media Group: Gregory Little, Jaylon Jones and T.J. Vasher – looking at Ohio State’s recent scholarship offers (Little, Patrick Bethel and Khalid Kareem)
• The Patriot News: Pennsylvania’s top 2016 football recruits; Pittsburgh C.C. corner Damar Hamlin
• Victory Bell Rings: Penn State football recruiting: Top 10 2016 recruits – Pennsylvania (Damar Hamlin & Cary Angeline)
• Burnt Orange Nation: Texas offers Florida QB Xavier Gaines
• 247 Sports: Best of the Midwest Combo MVPs (Quinton Baker)
• Slap the Sign: Notre Dame football recruiting class: Defensive grades

CURRENT TEAM

• Inside the Irish: Spring solutions: Quarterbacks
• UHND: At long last, depth for Notre Dame football
• St. Paul Pioneer Press: Twinsights: Torii Hunter Jr. returns to baseball at Notre Dame

COACHING

• Irish Illustrated: Piecing together assistant coaching puzzle
• Slap the Sign: Something new for 2015, a six-year coach at Notre Dame
• Bleacher Report (Arnold): Projecting Brian Kelly’s 2015 coaching staff
• Idaho Statesmen: Boise State football coaches Harsin, Yates up for new contracts (Mike Sanford)
• Mountain West Connection: Broncos extend Bryan Harsin to a new five-year, $7.35 million deal (Mike Sanford)
• Fansided: Boise State, Bryan Harsin agree on 5-year extension (Mike Sanford)
• ESPN: Roquan Smith got it right by waiting (Charlie Weis)
• Eleven Warriors: After coaching turnover, familiarity might correlate with stability for Ohio State (Tony Alford)
• Vavel: Charlie Weis on coaching again: ‘Highly doubtful’

IRISH IN THE NFL

• St. Paul Pioneer Press: Vikings’ Rudolph eyeing a full season
• The Times-Picayune: 2015 NFL draft: Brandon Scherff could be great tackle or all-pro at guard, says Mike Mayock (Zack Martin)
• Heavy: Jess Gysin, Jimmy Clausen’s wife: 5 fast facts
• Steelers Depot: Jerome Bettis says it’s too early for Browns to give up on Johnny Football
• Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Ray Fittipaldo’s Steelers chat (Ben Koyack)
• Carolina Panthers: Panthers name Steve Wilks assistant head coach
• The Republican: Patriots NFL Draft 2015 position preview: Looking for Rob Gronkowski insurance (Ben Koyack)
• News-Sentinel: NFL Combine brings annual scrutiny to Indy (Ben Koyack, Kyle Brindza and DaVaris Daniels)

HISTORY

• Chicago Tribune: How Michigan State’s Duffy Daugherty helped integrate college football (1966 & Ara Parseghian)

MISC.

• Inside the Irish: Mailbag: What to expect from defense
• TigerNet.com: Clemson announces 2015 football game designations, spring game date (Notre Dame game is IPTAY Day)
• Addicted to Quack: Roundtable: Oregon’s out of conference football games
• USA Today: Examining college basketball’s scheduling conundrum
• Bleacher Report: Meet college football’s most inexperienced head coach (Gerry Faust)
• EDSBS: The presidents assigned to their proper schools (Abraham Lincoln assigned to ND)
• ESPN: Ultimate ESPN 300: 15 things to know

The post Morning Roundup: Feb. 17, 2015 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 Dallas Cowboys kicked off their OTAs this week and our best defender, middle linebacker, Sean Lee, when down with what will likely be a season ending ACL tear. So where’s the Notre Dame connection? First round draft pick, Zack Martin, was the one that fell on him to cause the injury.

#NDFBIsDeterminedToKillMe just took on yet another new meaning.

As if that wasn’t enough, the Texas Rangers currently have 13 people on the disabled list. Some of these players, like Profar simply slept wrong and that put them out for the season. Yes there has been more than one person on this team that had a poor night’s rest. You can’t make this up.

I’m hoping this is all just one large sacrifice to make the 2014 ND football season run smoothly. The only alternative explanation is that I am inexplicably cursed and should stop watching spots immediately.

The Roundup

When Swarbrick talks, you should listen. Savvy Jack sat down with The Observer to talk Georgia, turf, Under Armour, media, and much more.

Notre Dame trying to head to Georgia early? Reports state that ND is trying to swing a summer camp sponsored by Georgia State in 2015. It’s quite a little loop-hole that ND is trying to take advantage of and it’s weird (and refreshing) to see the Irish not falling behind new recruiting tactics.

The ACC teased big news and all we got was a new logo. Seriously.

The only thing missing is the watermark. Your business card can’t match up:

Patrick Bateman would faint if he saw this business card, which is made of some substantial metal. pic.twitter.com/27HmOJUKbK

— Andy Staples (@Andy_Staples) May 28, 2014

FCS ADs are frantically calling Tuscaloosa. Alabama is ready to “play anybody” for a 2015 home game that they can’t fill now that everyone else is busy. There’s probably a huge payday coming for the school that bends their schedule to do so.

Hatin’ Ass Spurrier is becoming my favorite thing. This mix of insults combining the World Cup with college football is just gold.

And now your moment of Nix… Let’s let the YouTubes give you a ND Football smile:

[youtube id=”Fl7xImvsAsQ”]

The Booze

Vodka + Lemonade — kicking off summer right.

The post Friday Roundup: The “Zack Martin, You Broke My Heart” Edition appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

Coach Hiestand joined Coach Kelly’s staff in 2012, after remarkable a 2011 season in which his young charges at Tennessee (2010-2011) put up a season in which they went from 116th, nationally, in sacks-allowed, to 34th. What’s really impressive is that Tennessee ran over 400 passing plays that season. Before Tennessee, Hiestand coached the O-line at Chicago (2005-2009), where his 2005 and 2006 teams were division champs.

While the 2012 season at Notre Dame was one of superlatives for all the position-groups and many players, and while it would unfair to send all the credit his way for the performance of players he neither recruited nor developed, it nevertheless bears noting that 2012 was ND’s best rushing year since 1996 in terms of yards per carry (4.9) and number of 200+ rushing games (7). While those stats took a hit last season, Coach Hiestand’s men notched what may in fact be a more impressive statistic as they allowed only eight sacks over twelve games. Again, credit to Tommy Rees for getting rid of the ball and to Coach Martin for calling the right plays, but eight sacks of a QB as (im-)mobile as Tommy against the competition they faced is nothing short of terrific.

It’s on the recruiting trail, though, that Coach Hiestand is having a perhaps even greater impact, demonstrating as he has an ability to attract top-level talent. In the 2014 cycle, Hiestand netted four players (Bars, Mustipher, Nelson, Byrne) from four different states, to include Quenton Nelson, the 29th-ranked player by Rivals.com. In 2013, Hiestand again brought in four players (Montelus, McGlinchy, Fuller, Elmer) who have already made or will make out-sized contributions along the line.

While the chances of any one player making it to the NFL are rather small, Coach Hiestand has enjoyed considerable success in getting his guys to the next level, too. In this year’s draft, alone, Coach Hiestand has six (!) former players. Along with four Tennessee players, Coach Hiestand’s men going into the draft include Chris Watt and Zack Martin, arguably ND’s best O-lineman in the last several years. Watt calls Coach Hiestand “the best thing ever to happen” to the position-group.

Clearly, Coach Hiestand brings a lot to the table and Irish fans have every reason to expect continued excellence along the line. Last season’s mediocre rushing numbers, in fact, may turn out to have been an anomalous down-tick, so long as Harry’s at the helm.

The post Harry Hiestand: Leaving a Mark on ND and the NFL appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

Thankfully, I don’t have to justify ranking a kicker #1 (NEVER FORGET) or leaving our starting QB off the top 25 list (NEVER FORGET THIS AS WELL).

So without further ado, let’s get to the rankings.

#25 – #21

I’m splitting these into sections of five, not just because that’s how Keith did it, but because that’s how I tend to form the rankings in my head.

For the bottom five, I usually rank on pure potential. You’ll usually see most of the incoming freshmen around this area, but every now and then you’ll see a veteran in there as well. This year, that definitely happened.

#25 Chris Brown (Sophomore, WR) – Chris rounded off my top 25, mostly because I just couldn’t shake the long bombs he pulled down last year out of my head. The one against OU was one of the top plays of the entire season. The kid has some serious breakout speed and I’m hoping he can parlay this into a Golden Tate-type breakout year in 2013.

#24 Ishaq Williams (Junior, “Cat” LB) – Ishaq is one of those guys that we have also seen flashes of brilliance from. He has yet to record a sack, but did manage to rack up 3.5 TFL in 2012. I’m hoping that his junior campaign is when we see it all put together.

#23 Jaylon Smith (Freshman, “Dog” LB) – I am really excited to see Jaylon play this season. I have him slotted in the “dog” LB position, spelling Spond. He definitely has the raw talent to succeed at the coverage LB position, so I’m looking for him to make an immediate impact.

#22 Steve Elmer (Freshman, T) – The 6’5″, 300 lbs., top-rated tackle will likely see quite a bit of playing time this year on the line. Thankfully, he early-enrolled giving him a much needed jump start in experience and conditioning. Usually, I want all linemen to redshirt since it is such a physically demanding position, but with the Irish needing immediate, talented depth, a spring head-start definitely works. I think he has all the physical tools to succeed (notice a pattern yet?), so I’m looking for another immediate impact from the young lineman.

#21 Max Redfield (Freshman, S) – I can’t even remember the last time I was this excited about a safety recruit. I doubt he will start at the beginning of the season, but I could definitely see him winning a spot before the 2013 campaign comes to a close. The Irish secondary has needed a big-time recruit for quite a while. With Redfield coming into the fold, I feel he has the best chance out of this group to make an impact in 2013.

#20 – #16

This group tends to actually have some proven success. If I rate someone purely on potential here, I’m definitely high on them.

#20 Malik Zaire (Freshman, QB) – While he will likely see a redshirt this season (unless everything goes to hell like it did in my NCAA sim), Zaire is by far my favorite recruit in the 2013 class. Like Golson, he has a big arm and great mobility. There’s a reason Gunner Kiel jumped ship and my gut tells me he felt Zaire seriously breathing down his neck. It’ll be hard to project his impact, but I have no problem sticking my neck out for this kid, even with Golson’s return in 2014.

#19 Greg Bryant (Freshman, RB) – I don’t think I’ve ever considered putting this many true freshmen in the top 25 ranking, but I can’t help it. 5-star RB recruit that will have the chance to take on a backfield that has some huge holes with the departure of Cierre Wood and Theo Riddick just has to make a huge impact, right?

#18 Ronnie Stanley (Sophomore, T) – Yep, that’s two young tackles in the top 25. Much like Elmer, Stanley will be needed to fill some depth on the Irish line. He’s had a full season under his belt, so he gets a bump into this group of five.

#17 Carlo Calabrese (5th year, ILB)

#16 Dan Fox (5th year, ILB) – I’m combining the reasoning for Calabrese and Fox into one because honestly, I see them as damn near equivalent in the ranking. They have loads of experience and you know what kind of play you will get from each.

#15 – #11

This is the group that starts separating talent and potential on the roster to moving towards the elite. To put it another way, this is the true middle-ground. Players here could end up being the true difference makers or the people that I will later be embarrassed to have ranked so high.

#15 DaVaris Daniels (Junior [RS], WR) – I can’t help but feel like I’m waiting for Daniels to just break out. We’ve seen some signs of the potential before, with the huge reception on Golson’s 45 yard bomb to help send the game into OT. He was also one of the few bright spots of the Irish offense against Alabama notching a career high 115 yards on six receptions, one of which was another long strike of 31 yards. I think he should be able to nail down a starting spot so hopefully we start to see him break out in a huge way.

#14 Sheldon Day (Sophomore, DE) – We all know that Tuitt and Shembo are the two big pass rushing threats, but don’t sleep on Day. In his freshman campaign, Day notched two sacks, 3.5 TFL, and 23 tackles. With the departure of Kapron Lewis-Moore, Day will likely see quite a bit more playing time and he is my personal favorite to start along with Nix, Tuitt, and Shembo. In completely unrelated things tainting my objectivity, Day destroyed opposing offenses in my NCAA ’14 sim and seemingly had at least one sack a game. Here’s hoping reality mimics video game success.

#13 Matthias Farley (Junior [RS], S) – When Slaughter went down for the season, I was definitely terrified that the Irish secondary was beyond screwed. But then Farley stepped in and made an impact that I’m sure very few people saw coming and I don’t see that stopping this season. Fear the beard.

#12 KeiVarae Russell (Sophomore, CB) – Because of a thin secondary, Kelly was forced to move Russell from RB to CB…and did that ever work out. Now, Russell is a returning All American and looks to continue the fantastic job that he began last season. The only reason I don’t have Russell ranked higher is my fear of a sophomore slump and the overwhelming fear that gambles like this just don’t work at Notre Dame so I’m awaiting the other shoe to drop somehow.

#11 Tommy Rees (Senior, QB) – Here are the facts about Tommy Rees:

• He had an incredible run to close out his freshman year in 2010
• His 2011 was completely awful and I want to forget it forever
• He came up clutch in several situations during 2012
• With that said, his start against BYU left a lot to be desired

There is definitely potential there for greatness, but there is also the potential for great disaster because none of us are really ever going to be able to shake 2011. Rees still appears to have issues with locking-in on receivers (see: Floyd in 2011 and Eifert in 2012), but if he can kick that habit, that alone will allow him to progress by leaps and bounds in 2013.

Here’s hoping.

#10 – #6

Now we start moving into the elite parts of the roster. These are the guys I expect to be no-doubt playmakers during the season.

#10 T.J. Jones (Senior, WR) – T.J. made some great strides in 2012 and I still don’t think he’s found his ceiling yet. The WR corps needs a leader and a playmaker and I expect T.J. to fill this role.

#9 Chris Watt (5th year, G) – Watt has been one of the veteran anchors in the interior of the line and will enter his third year as a starter. With the departure of Braxon Cave, I’m looking to Watt to be the glue that holds the middle of the line together.

#8 Troy Niklas (Junior, TE) – Niklas is just a beast at 6’7″ 260 lbs. He made his biggest impact blocking in two TE sets, but with Eifert gone, it will be Niklas job to continue the amazing string of badass TEs from ND. At 6’7″, I am fully expecting Niklas to be a bit of a security blanket for a Tommy Rees jump ball and will soon be one of his favorite targets all season.

#7 George Atkinson III (Junior, RB) – GA3 still has some fundamentals to get down to truly be the best RB possible (One Foot Down has a great breakdown of this), but the bottom line is that GA3 is a straight-up playmaker. His speed on the team might just be unmatched and you can’t help but expect something special to happen when he’s in the open field. With two years under his belt, and the backfield begging for a breakout star, I’m expecting GA3 to take control.

#6 Bennett Jackson (Senior, CB) – Sure, Russell had an amazing, breakout year and Manti Te’o seemingly got all the INTs, but Jackson had a hell of a year himself. In 2012, he had 4 INTs (second only to Te’o) and broke up 4 passes (second to Nix, he led all DBs in this stat). I expect Jackson have yet another great season. With Te’o gone, the only people that can steal the spotlight from Jackson are on the defensive line — the rest of the show is all his to steal.

#5 – #1

The absolute elite on the roster and by far the easiest for me to rank.

#5 Danny Spond (Senior, “Dog” LB) – Spond was one of the best surprises for the 2012 defense and was a solid presence all year at the “dog” linebacker. He had one INT and broke up three passes, which was only second among LBs with Te’o taking top honors. I expect the arrival of Jaylon Smith to only further push Spond’s performance this season. He might not light up the stat sheet, but his presence on the defense cannot be overstated.

#4 Zack Martin (5th year, T) – Martin was my top-rated lineman last season and I see no reason to change that. Martin helped anchor a line that gave up only 13 sacks last season (T-28th in NCAA). Sack numbers (most often) speak to the strength of the exterior linemen and considering where this line used to be just a few years ago, I can’t help but give Martin all the credit in the world for that success.

#3 Prince Shembo (Senior, “Cat” LB) – Shembo was one of the people that helped us say “Aaron, who?” With 7.5 sacks and 10.5 TFL, Shembo was just an absolute beast on the line. To further blow your mind, consider that Shembo also led the team in QB hurries with 12. So that’s at least 30 plays that Shembo hung around in the opposing backfield which is just incredible. But as impressive as he was…

#2 Stephon Tuitt (Junior, DE) – 11 sacks, 11 TFL, 9 QB hurried, a blocked kick, a forced fumble, and an incredible fumble return for a TD — there’s no wonder why Bayou picked him as the Irish D-linemen to watch. Tuitt is simply incredible and the best pass rushing threat that we’ve seen in quite a long time. The only downside to Tuitt? He’s excellent play will likely make this his last year with Notre Dame. Enjoy this while it lasts.

#1 Louis Nix III (Senior, NT) – With all respect to Bayou’s selection, and to Tuitt, my pick at #1 was not hard at all. The success of the 3-4 defense starts with the nose tackle and Nix is one of the best that I have ever seen. Ideally, you just need a guy that can command and handle a double team on every snap. Nix goes well beyond that. NTs aren’t supposed to light up the stat sheet, but Nix manages to do so: 50 total tackles (7th on team), 7.5 TFL (4th on team), 2 sacks (T-4th on team), 3 QB hurries (T-5th on team), and 5 passes defended (leads the Irish). Simply put, Nix causes all kinds of havoc and opposing offenses have no choice but to respect the damage that he can cause. That opens up opportunities for the rest of the Irish defense, leading to TFLs, sacks, and turnovers. Plus, how can we ever forget this:

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Having Zack Martin at left tackle is a little like having Cal Ripken, Jr. at shortstop, given his 36 consecutive starts. That consistency is a big reason why the 2012 Fighting Irish kept the quarterback pretty clean, giving up 16 sacks all season. That consistency is a big reason, too, why the Irish were able to run the ball rather effectively, putting up 2,430 rushing yards. Simply put, having a bookend with so much experience is going to put the Irish in a very good place in 2013. As I wrote, some would say prophetically, back in August, a top flight O-line is the sina qua non of a top flight program. With Martin coming back, ND’s chances of getting back to the ‘ship just got a whole bunch better.

In LNIII, the Irish return an athlete who could be the telegenic face of the “new” Fighting Irish. Where Zack Martin, along with Tyler Eiffert and Manti Te’o, represent the best of what Charlie Weis was able to achieve, Louis Nix, a Weis-recruit, has literally taken shape under Brian Kelly as one of the game’s best point men. A behemoth from Florida, Nix had offers from LSU and the Gators when he chose Notre Dame, largely on the efforts of Coach Tony Alford. See what I did there? I gratuitously took a shot at ESSEESEE fan, who thinks ND can only recruit the cornfields. In Nix, the Irish have a beast who draws the double-team, consumes space and loves him some cereal.

RiverParkSeer must be very, very happy.

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