Eric Hansen: Welcome to a special Saturday edition of Notre Dame Football Live Chat.
Hopefully, this will get you out of some honey-do projects or at least defer them. That's my strategy.
Some quick programming notes:
► If you missed the last episode of our aspiring-to-be-viral Notre Dame Football YouTube show, Football Never Sleeps, what are you doing with your life? Seriously, the show keeps its shelf life long after the live presentation, so you can catch up now or later on our YouTube channel. We’ll be back LIVE this week and we're again moving out of our normal Monday night time slot for the next presentation of Football Never Sleeps. So join me Tuesday night at 7 ET LIVE with special guest host and former Notre Dame offensive lineman Bob Morton. And bring your questions for us to ask during the show.
Related Content
► Notre Dame LB commit Thomas Davis Jr. to make official visit to Georgia
► Why Notre Dame football's top receivers can be more productive in 2025
► Freeman evolves from flattening the learning curve to getting ahead of it
► Recruiting: Visitors rundown: Notre Dame football summer recruiting, June 1
► Notebook: How Notre Dame's defensive end depth spawned edge changes
► At WSBT Sports Radio 960, we’re rolling through a newsy Notre Dame offseason. Darin Pritchett and I were together this week on Wednesday and Thursday, and each week moving forward on Weekday SportsBeat (960 AM, live streaming at wsbtradio.com). The weekday shows run from 5-6 p.m. ET. You can download all episodes as podcasts.
Eric Hansen: As far as this week's chat …
Please include your NAME and HOMETOWN along with your question(s). If your name shows up as "guest", I am going to fact-check you.
Here are the rules:
Eric Hansen: The no-drinking rule continues to be suspended/rescinded.
Off we go ...
Robb from Durango, Colo.: In the past ND has had highly rated recruiting classes at this time of year only to fade as signing day got closer due mostly to decommits, ie, Dante Moore. Still had top 12-15 classes but can Freeman keep them in the top 5 for the 2026 class?
Eric Hansen: Hi Robb. This is the first of a couple of recruiting questions I'm going to lead off the chat with, because there has been a philosophical recruiting shift since GM Chad Bowden became former ND GM Chad Bowden this winter and now holds down that job for USC. The core Notre Dame beat media had a chance to sit down with head coach Marcus Freeman this week, and he explained the aforementioned change in approach, which I think is significant. Then I'll add my own two cents in:
“I’ve been a little bit hesitant of saying we’ve gotta get guys to commit right now," Freeman said. "I think previously there’s been a push to how fast can we get as many as we can. Right now, it’s like let’s get the right guys. Let’s continuously recruit the right guys, stay on the right guys. That was more important than getting guys to commit just to put pressure on other guys. That’s kind of what we’ve done.
"Everybody in the program has taken on a little bit of ownership of how do we help sell this place. How do we help recruit and develop relationships? It’s just being consistent with the right guys. Not being patient — I’m not a patient person. But also understanding that sometimes the great ones take time. We want it now, but a little delayed gratification is what we’re seeing.”
Eric Hansen: OK, here's what I'll add. With the growing proliferation of agents, with changing economics, recruiting is going to evolve nationwide. There are going to be recruits/agents who play the game of committing somewhere to set the market and then go shop around for better financial packages. And I think by Freeman being more methodical/patient and also prioritizing fit, the Irish have a much better chance of ending up with a top 5 class than in some previous cycles.
Rui from Ossining, N.Y.: Marcus Freeman always stressed that if you are still taking an official recruiting visit elsewhere, you are not committed to ND. … Our “unofficial leader” of the recruiting class, linebackerThomas Davis Jr., is visiting Georgia. … We know his dad played there, etc., but personally I’m not 100% sold on his commitment to ND…thoughts?
Eric Hansen: Hi Rui. I think the changing economics/agents etc. I just mentioned created an opportunity to rethink the distinct line in the sand. I wouldn't say it's an overall policy change, but more case by case. Linebacker Thomas Davis Jr. texted Inside ND Sports' Tyler James that he was fully committed to Notre Dame when he confirmed the Georgia official visit. If this were a school other than Georgia, where his dad played, I'd be more confident about how this would end up for ND in terms of keeping him. But the fact he still has his official visit lined up in a couple of weeks to ND still is so far a good sign. Keep an eye on that visit and the aftermath of that ND visit.
Manny from San Pedro, Calif.: Eric!!!!!! Weekend chats! Getting me ready for Saturday football!!! The SEC angers me because they still believe it’s 2015. NIL has weakened their depth but they still think 8-4 SEC is better than regular conferences. Any chance SEC moves to 9 conference games or eliminate division 2 opponents
Eric Hansen: Manny!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Way to bring the strong punctuation to the weekend chat!! The SEC is strongly considering a nine-game conference schedule from its current eight-game format. The ACC is having the same discussion. Among the power conferences, the Big 12 and the Big Ten already play nine conference games. The SEC debate, as you kind of were digging at, plays into what the criteria and format will be of the presumed 16-team playoff once we get to the 2026 season. So my sense is we'll see resolution one way or the other fairly soon. As far as playing FCS opponents, that's kind of up to each individual school. It's not a mandate. But I think it hurt Ole Miss, for instance, last year with the CFP.
The Rebels had some good wins, including a great win over Georgia -- 28-10, but they lost to Kentucky (among others) and their non-conference schedule consisted of Middle Tennessee, Wake Forest, Ga. Southern and FCS school Furman.
Tom Mendoza from New York: If ND wins at Miami, what three things will have had to be true?
Eric Hansen: Thanks for the question and doing it so concisely and without a list of grievances!! Let's look at Miami's thumbnail profile first and work backwards from that. The Hurricanes were the No. 1 team on total offense with Cam Ward running it. They plug Georgia transfer Carson Beck into his spot. They leaned way more into the passing game than the run. They also were kind of a self-destructive team at times -- 52nd in turnover margin and one of the most penalized teams nationally. The Canes were 27th in total defense but 70th in scoring defense. They got beat a lot in the pass game. They tried to address that in a massive way this offseason via the transfer portal.
So, having set that stage, here are the three things that must be true. Notre Dame's offensive will need to be balanced and minimize mistakes. Remember when ND fans held their breath about the O-line in the 2024 opener. That needs to be a position people are talking and writing about after this game. That's going to help the QB play ... So, that's No. 1. No. 2 Pass rush must be effective. It was a problem in the Ohio State game and it bit the Irish. With Jordan Botelho and Boubacar Traore both expected back, with the surge from other ands and new defensive coordinator Chris Ash's penchant for pressure in his schemes, this could end up being a significant area of improvement. No. 3, some overlap here … the two position groups that needed to improve the most this offseason, WR and interior DL, need to continue that arc into the season.
Kevin from Calgary: Eric, thanks for the weekend chat! I’m curious about your opinion on the changes to the seeding rule for the playoffs. Everyone seems to think the Irish are the big winners, but to me it seems clearly designed to allow two Big 10, or two SEC teams into the top four (or perhaps two of each) and that couldn’t be done without allowing ND to qualify as well. While it saves Notre Dame a potential playoff game that would be against a low seed anyway, I felt the genius of Jack Swarbrick’s concession the Irish would never get a bye was that a number one, or two Notre Dame team might get seeded fifth, but they’d still get to play the weakest playoff team followed by a number four team which only got that seeding by winning a weaker conference. Now a #3 Irish will get a bye, but likely have to play a legitimate #6 in their first playoff game. To me a bye can be both a blessing and a curse. What do you think?
Eric Hansen: Hi Kevin and thanks for the question and for overcoming the chat software challenge. For that, feel free to ignore the "no bare feet" rule. I don't think we're going to have a large enough sample size to prove or disprove your theory. It's a one-and-done format in the 12-team setup with straight seeding. Now straight seeding will continue on in the 16-team format and we think there will be 2 byes into the quarterfinals. That isn't finalized yet, but that changes the dynamic quite a bit.
While I can agree that the motives you outlined by the Big Ten and SEC are plausible, there was unanimity required to get this passed for 2025 and I think everyone saw the flaw in having two teams ranked 9 and 12 get seeded 3 and 4 and what it did the bracket and the matchups. So, whatever the motivation was, they did get it right, I think.
The Beave. Grand Rapids: MF and the ND coaching staff referenced frank conversations with the quarterbacks after spring practice. While there is no reason for them to disclose the post Spring pecking order, it’s clear that Steve Angelli did not believe he could win the competition. Do you believe he fell behind or was even with Kenny Minchey as well? Thanks for working on a summer Saturday for our benefit. We appreciate you.
Eric Hansen: Hi The Beave. I wasn't too far from Grand Rapids earlier this morning. I appreciate you! As you probably read in our transcript and Tyler James' story, Marcus Freeman didn't drill down into too much detail, so let's first look at what he said and then I'll give you my read on the situation:
“We had a competition in the spring, and that competition wasn’t answered after 14 practices. You have to have honest conversations with those guys in that room. That’s what I did. At the end of the day, Steve made the decision to transfer where there was probably a better opportunity for him — nothing’s guaranteed, but a better opportunity for him to be the starter in the fall. There’s a more clear picture.
“That’s why he made that decision, and he’s graduated. There’s no hard feelings. It was sadness for me, because I love Steve Angeli as a person and a football player. But I support him, because it was the right decision for Steve.”
Eric Hansen: In my mind, I don't necessarily think he was behind both Minchey and Carr, but both of them made big moves/progress in the spring and that trajectory is one for both of them I believe will continue. Steve Angeli would have been the safe pick, a high-floor guy with some experience. Carr and Minchey are higher-ceiling guys but carry more risk because of lack of experience, but their play this spring really mitigated that risk. I hope I didn't give you a gigantic word salad.
Mike D from Rochester, N.Y.: Hi, Eric, happy summer!!!!!! I’ve been surprised that TE recruitment has been a little slow/disappointing. Do you think the demands of the playoffs on OC Denbrock slowed the recruiting by TE Coach Denbrock? I’m not criticizing him in any way, just wondering if this is contributing to the TE situation. Also, is there a grad assistant or analyst that assists Coach Denbrock with TE evaluation, recruiting, and coaching?
Dale from Angola, Ind.: Good afternoon Eric! Tight end recruiting has me a little concerned. How do you feel it will play out for this cycle?
Eric Hansen: Hi Dave and Mike D. I hope you don't mind that I tethered your questions together. Let's start with the part about whether Mike Denbrock has someone helping him coach tight ends. That would be offensive analyst Harris Bivin, and he helps recruit tight ends too. ... I don't think ND's national title run played into it --- not on its own anyway. Maybe layered on top of the timing of GM Chad Bowden and several key members of the front office/recruiting staff may have slowed things. But I think we need to consider a couple of things and we pull back and look at the bigger picture.
Notre Dame right now has four 2026 tight ends making official visits in June. The highest-ranked for those is Ian Premer from Kansas and he's a four-star and the No. 8 TE, so pretty, pretty good. The other three are three-stars, but let's give them a closer look. Evan Jacobson is the highest-rated of those three. He's 6-7 and 220 and has 26 reported offers, including ones from Auburn, Florida State, LSU, Ohio State, Penn State and Texas A&M. That doesn't exactly profile like a Plan B option, does it?
The second is evaluation and development. ND has had star power in TE recruiting with Michael Mayer, Cole Kmet, Alizé Mack, Kyle Rudolph, etc. during their impressive ND-to-NFL Draft run. But they've also sent 3-star prospects to the League in Evans, Tremble, Smythe and Eifert, to name a few. So, let's wait and get a clearer picture after June. Yes, ND has had some swings and misses at TE in this cycle, but I still think they could end up with a very good one.
Leo from Indy: Hi Eric, thanks for all your work! Two questions: 1) Has there been any news/rumors on unofficial summer workouts/hangouts between the two QBs and wide receivers? 2) Looking ahead to Miami, what are their projected strengths and weaknesses going into their game against ND?
Eric Hansen: Leo, thanks for the compliment!! The players are just coming back to campus this weekend from a short break between the end of spring semester/graduation and an early start to summer for the returning players, June-enrolling transfers and the 13 early enrollees among freshmen. That starts Monday. The first-time enrolling freshmen start summer school on June 9. So there will be some workouts that involve the coaching staff in June, but with strict NCAA guidelines as to what can and can't be done. But there will also be player-run workouts, where they can get into the stuff you were asking about. So maybe next chat we can explore what's happening on that front.
I hit some of Miami's thumbnail stuff in an earlier question from Tom Mendoza, and teams can change their statistical profile much more quickly with the transfer portal than they could in the past. Keep in mind this was accumulated against a schedule that did not include ACC playoff participants SMU (No. 12 in the postseason AP poll) and Clemson (14th). And the only two Top 25 teams they played — No. 15 Iowa State and No. 20 Syracuse — the lost to both of them. Here is there stat profile with rankings in 2024 among 133 FBS teams:
Marie from Atlanta: Hi Eric, I hope your summer is off to a fantastic start, thanks so much for hosting the chat. I know you don’t get to see much in the summer, but I’m sure you hear some things around campus, what kind of things would you like to hear that would make you think the team is moving in a positive direction for the fall? What things will you be most interested in looking at the during the first 2 weeks of fall practice? How soon after fall practice starts do you think they will announce the starting QB both privately and publicly? I know neither QB has the experience that either Hartman or Leonard had, however, both QBs have more experience than they did being in the Notre Dame program, how much do you think that makes a difference? As always, thanks for the fantastic insights and hosting the chat.
Hey Eric, one more quick question. Since it seems Noah Grubbs may not have progressed as much as the Irish staff anticipated, do you think they would consider taking a second quarterback in the 2026 class?
Eric Hansen: Hi Marie. It feels like the news cycle never stops anymore, which is kind of fun for people in our business (although kind of relentless), but I'll take it over the alternative. Let's start with your bonus question on Noah Grubbs and then work toward the others. Grubbs has been up and down in the Rivals recruiting rankings it seems way more than his performance in actual games would warrant. He debuted at No. 32 and now sits as the No. 106 2026 prospect overall and No. 12 QB and his latest move was actually slightly upward. The important thing is what ND thinks, I believe they are really happy to have him in that class.
I don't think taking a second QB makes sense in that class. I think one per class should be enough. ... As far as the positive things I'm hearing, I heard a lot of them out of Marcus Freeman's mouth on Thursday morning. There were a few of us that were invited to sit with the head coach in two separate sessions and we got to ask whatever we wanted within the time limit on the record and were able to get some stuff off the record that we can't share, but it gives us context that's very valuable. So I'll give you a couple of things I really thought were in line with what you asked:
All the injured/recovering/rehabbing players remain on encouraging return-to-action timelines with no setbacks to this point. No. 2. Freeman's readiness on how to marry old school college football values with the new pro-football concepts that are inundating the sport. The last one I'll keep general because the specifics are off the record, but there's some talent in the 12 June arrivals that will help this team in 2025.
On the other three questions ... (thanks for staying up the 17 limit 😎) I'll be looking at those new additions, the returning from injury, the passing game and the pass rush and interior D-line play. How soon for the No. 1 QB? But the end of the second full week of camp and certainly no later than Aug. 17. Camp starts July 31. And yes, being in the same system, with the same QBs coach and the same offensive coordinator AND with a really good O-line is going to be an advantage for Carr and/or Minchey.
Tony from Katy (Deep in the Heart of) TX: Eric the Awesome, insightful and tenacious!!! Recently retired and a first-time season ticket holder. I’m so excited my nerve endings glow in the dark and by kickoff of game 1 I will have to staple my clothes on. What are best practices for developing QB/WR chemistry during the offseason? Can you provide examples of when that period has proven very fruitful or maybe when it hasn’t?
Eric Hansen: Tony, my 6-year-old granddaughter has been angling to be my secretary/publicist until her lemonade stand business took off. So ... if you're not busy ... seriously, thank you, and love the creativity in the question-asking. You can ignore all of the rules, moving forward. To your question, a really successful example of one and one that actually happened between spring semester and summer was last May, when Riley Leonard had some QBs and WRs come home to Fairhope, Ala., to work with former NFL QB Philip Rivers. Now, that didn't pay off immediately in the passing game (later it did), but it did set the tone for RL as a leader and for team chemistry.
One summer when that did not work that comes to mind was 2007, when you had a freshman version of Jimmy Clausen with a bad elbow, Evan Sharpley and Demetrius Jones ... with Sharpley the guy who knew how to be a leader but Charlie Weis trying to secretly get a new offense installed in the summer with Jones leading it ... and then Weis pulled the plug on it before the first game was over ... in a 3-9 season.
John from Scottsdale, Aroz.: Good morning Eric, and thanks for hosting a chat this morning. Previously you indicated that you considered Al Washington as the coach that had the most to prove in terms of recruiting and player development. Do you now agree he has answered those questions? If not, what is left for him to do? If he has, which coach now has the most to prove?
Eric Hansen: Hi John. I think Al Washington is rising to the occasion in both areas and in the portal. I think ND fans would love for that to be an elongated storyline and it appears to be. I was talking to longtime recruiting analyst Tom Lemming the other day and he travels all over the country talking to prospects, and Al Washington's profile with recruits has really taken off. I got the same vibe talking to some of the top D-line talent in Chicago myself way back at the beginning of the month. As to who has something to prove to from the outside looking in, it's WRs coach Mike Brown.
Kevin from Sleepy Eye, Minn.: Eric:):):):) USC game, feel like we will keep them on the schedule? No reason to worry??
Eric Hansen: Hi Kevin &*^%%$#. There is reason to worry, but now there's pressure from their own side, their own alums. I think when it falls on the schedule might change, but it needs to continue.
Bob from Oxnard, Calif.: The early Holtz teams celebrated on the field in ways that were highly focused on the crowd or moment (not themselves). We are seeing more of that under Marcus. Do you think there is still room to grow even more team focused?
Eric Hansen: Hi Bob. One of Marcus' foundational mantras for Notre Dame's football culture is "Team Glory." And that goes way deeper than on-field celebrations. In this seismically changing world of college football, that has value both when we see it in action and when we don't. So to answer your question, given the context of where we are with college football. I think Marcus is doing a great job of maximizing the spirit of that concept.
Shaun from Prosper Texas: Eric: Long time, first time. Is it just me or does this 2025 ND team shape up eerily similar to the 1990 squad? Stacked team coming off recent season success. New/unproven/highly decorated recruit at QB. Loaded backfield. NFL O-line. Top 5 stout defense. Opening with a corker of a first game opponent. . . . BTW, that 1990 opener against #4 Michigan was the stadiums first under the (portable/temporary) lights and the first I attended in the stadium (that seated 57,000) as an ND (graduate) student. Good Times! Go Irish!! (I’m not yet worthy of a strong punctuation game.)
Eric Hansen: Shaun, thanks for taking the plunge and your punctuation is good enough already to get you some NIL money, I think. … I had to refresh my memory on some of the particulars of that season. I was in the South Bend market by that point in my career, but Big Ten football/men's basketball was my beat at the time. I do think there are some parallels, that team was REALLY let down by its defense ... No. 73 in total defense. Yikes. They did play a tough schedule, with seven ranked opponents at the time of the game, and started the year at No. 1 in the preseason poll. ND, I am convinced, will be a much better defensive team in 2025.
Mike from Rockville, Md.: Hi, Eric!! Thanks so much for these chats!! What are you hearing about Loren Landow in his ability to develop players in his 2nd year in the program? Do you have any insight into how the players might benefit from being in the 2nd year?
Eric Hansen: Hi Mike! Thanks for the question and the exclamation points. I wish I could give you a more specific answer, but I have to go general here. We did not get a chance to talk to Loren either at the bowl site or in the spring. But here's what I can share. Players and coaches really love how position-specific and how individualized the programs are. Marcus was raving about how well the lean into sports science and the work of the entire performance team was paying off. It's not just about bigger, stronger, faster ... It's about strengthening the mental side, about injury prevention, recovery, nutrition and then balancing all that with what the team actually needs to do to develop on the field.
Eric Hansen: OK, that's going to do it for today. We'll do at least a couple of these in June with us getting some access to players in mid-June and all the big-picture goings-on in college football this summer including the House v. NCAA settlement. Thanks for all the great questions, compliments and exclamation points!!!!!!!!!!
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