SmilingEyes

Huge, huge pick up! I know a lot of people were pulling for ND to take Wesolak, but Agu has more upside and is a vyper end, which was needed more than another power guy. This kid has a chance to be truly special.

My understanding is it was Murphy, who was their ideal pick to pair with Tyree. I think Coleman is the only "running back" they would take at this point, but that's more of a position flexibility thing.

Just a quick thought on the "as of today" comment from the committee. Could it be that the head-to-head would matter less if we lost to either Syracuse or USC? While I still think head-to-head should trump all if the records are the same, the committee may not necessarily be saying that an undefeated Notre Dame team could be beat out by a one-loss Michigan team. Rather, they may just be saying that, records being the same, resume could matter more.

Of course, it's impossible to know what's going to happen until it happens, but this year's team seems to have a different mentality than in previous years. I have a hard time seeing anyone blowing them out, honestly. Yesterday, I listened to the Blue and Gold podcast wrapping up the FSU game, and they mentioned a couple of little things I thought were really good signs for the culture of the program. First, they talked about when they arrived in the stadium and some FSU and ND DBs were on the field warming up. The FSU players were bundled up with long-sleeved everything, as one would expect. But the ND DBs, were practicing in shorts. Without shirts on. This was clearly an intimidation tactic, and I love how defensive backs, or all people, were willing to go so far just to try and gain a mental edge, even a menial one. Second, it was mentioned that last year, receivers would typically "tap out" any time they would run a route of 20 yards or more, spending a play or two on the sidelines. They noted that they noticed a particular play where Chase Claypool didn't come up with a catch on a deep route, and the coaching staff seemed as though they had another receiver ready to come in. Claypool waved them off, and continued competing for the ball on the next play. There were a lot of little things holding last year's team back. Those things don't really seem to be in the way anymore, which makes sense, since we're year two into a culture change for the program. There's plenty of reasons to be optimistic, but perhaps the biggest reason is that there is still a lot of untapped potential on this team. Freshmen like Tariq Bracy and Houston Griffith have had some bright spots already this year. Our linebacker depth is starting to come around with Genmark-Heath, White and Simon all getting some time at various points throughout the season. Some of our younger d-line players have stepped up already. Not to mention that the offensive line dominated against what had been a really good rush defense and pass rush in the Seminoles. And they are nowhere near as good as they could be. Now, take a minute and realized that this team will have a whole month or so to continue its development between the end of the regular season and the playoffs/bowl game. Yeah, everyone else has that same opportunity, but it seems like Alabama and Clemson are peaking and, as good as we've played throughout most of the year, ND still has a long way to go before this roster maxes out its potential. Oh, and also, we beat the current #4 team in the country while in much worse shape, and it wasn't even really that close. I'd say we don't have a lot to be concerned about in terms of competing with the "big boys," whatever that means.

While this is technically true, my understanding is that because he was suspended, he would have to apply for a waiver with the NCAA to gain that extra year of eligibility. I'm not sure what the odds of that waiver being approved are, though.

That was a really enlightening read. The only quibble I'd have with their analysis is that the interception was caused by Claypool stopping his route, not that he was simply two-yards behind the defender.

Here's an evaluation of how the offensive line played against Michigan on Saturday, a free article from Blue and Gold Illustrated. Not as bad as I initially thought. https://notredame.rivals.com/news/grades-notre-dame-offensive-line-vs-michigan

Was Tommy Kramer not a consensus 5-Star?

So in other words, it's a lack of focus to his game that makes you cautious? I can see that. I didn't know a whole lot about Young coming in. I thought he was supposed to be fast, but it's good to hear he's got hands as well.

I'm surprised to hear you say Stepherson is only solid. A lot of the media guys are sky high on him. What is it that makes Young stand out compared to a guy like him to you?

Just thinking outside the box here, but could the staff possibly be looking at C.J. Holmes as a defensive back to make up for some of the defections we've had there in this class? Maybe the late Jackson offer was made so that such a move was a possibility.

Thank you!!!! Someone finally had the balls to say it!

Hitler knew Malik?

So, are you saying the beat writers should just automatically side with the fans, regardless of their own thoughts and opinions? If they feel as though something is ridiculous, do you really want to pay them to ignore that feeling and just write about things with which a majority of their readership agree? I get not paying money to read something you don't like, but the way some people on here are going after these guys, you'd think it was a sin to push something outside of the fanship's narrative.

That was the "knock" most recruitniks had on Will Fuller at about this time in his recruiting cycle. I'm not saying they're as wrong on Pouncey as they were on him, but it's just something to keep in mind.