Eric Hansen: Welcome to Notre Dame Football Live Chat from tropical South Bend, Ind. (for now).
Some quick programming notes:
We stayed in weekly mode through a busy news cycle following the National Championship Game run, and we'll continue to do so through spring football, which starts next Wednesday.
However, since I'll have practice viewing and/or player/coach interviews every Wednesday during the spring, we won't do the chats on Wednesday for the next month or so. Likely on Thursdays, but we'll have to move them around from week to week based on what the women's basketball team is doing, because I cover that team as well.
► If you missed the last episode of our aspiring-to-be-viral Notre Dame Football YouTube show, Football Never Sleeps, the show keeps its shelf life long after the live presentation, so you can catch up now or later on YouTube. We’re back in our normal Monday night spot for the live presentation early this week and next.
More Content
► MBB: Game Thread | Notre Dame vs. UNC in ACC Tournament Second Round
► Updating Notre Dame's depth chart projection for upcoming spring football
► MBB: Notre Dame MBB advances with gift free throws in final second against Pitt
► Analyst Muffet McGraw sees the Notre Dame WBB team's flaws as fixable
► Notre Dame legacy Trent Mosley, a 2026 Rivals250 WR, commits to USC
► Finally, at WSBT Sports Radio 96.1, we’re rolling through a heavy news cycle in the run-up to Notre Dame spring football practice. Darin Pritchett and I are 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.
As far as this week's chat …
PLEASE include your name and hometown along with your question(s).
Here are the rules:
Eric Hansen: Because the weather is so nice, the only rule I will enforce today is the "No spitting" rule.
There are a bunch of women's basketball questions in the queue, and they are welcome. But I'll answer them later in the chat to keep the flow going for each sport.
And thanks for the great participation level. You all are the reason I kept these going weekly through the offseason, because the question portal floweth over.
OK, enough blather, off we go ...
Bob from Oxnard, Calif.: Do you expect defenses to fear our field receiver this year?
Eric Hansen: Hi Bob. I love the simplicity of the presentation of this question and the complexity of the context that needs to accompany the answer. I hope I can provide it. The short answer is maybe, but I would say more accurately ... they will, more than last year. And eventually the answer needs to be significantly more than last year. In the Denbrock offense, a receiver the caliber of, say, Will Fuller, opens up so much more of the entire offense, because it puts opposing defensive coordinators kind of in pick-your-poison mode. Last year, it was, "this is pretty non-toxic" mode.
I do like the options, but there's unknowns about all of them. Jordan Faison is the most-known quantity, but will all the mileage he puts on his tires as a front-line player for men's lacrosse, can he stay healthy in the fall? KK Smith has Will Fuller-type speed, but hasn't been able to translate that into consistent performances or playing time. Cam Williams is a freak with high recruiting pedigree. HUGE spring for him. Smart enough, athletic enough to make a move, but will he? He's my pick to surprise this spring. Elijah Burress is the best of the incoming freshman receivers and Scrap Richardson is a track-speed guy who played DB and QB in high school.
So, any intriguing prospect. ... Will Pauling, the Wisconsin transfer who will be limited in the spring as he gets healthy, can play inside or outside. My sense is he'll settle in the slot with Jaden Greathouse, but he's an option. I like the possibilities, but they have to hit on a couple of them. So better. Give me a couple of weeks or so, and let's revisit this question.
Ced Walker from Saginaw Michigan aka sagnasty Saginaw pride: who u think will be the big surprise at wr , free safety and strong safety in spring practice god bless this football team here come the irish trust the process the golden standard rally we are nd god country go irish love thee notre dame our mother pray for us
Eric Hansen: Hi Ced. I just said who my wide receiver surprise is (Cam Williams), so let me give you a couple of safeties. With Va Tech transfer Jalen Stroman out for spring, it opens up some opportunities for more of the young safeties to gain reps. As far as surprises (Luke Talich, for instance is NOT a surprise), I'll go with Tae Johnson and JaDon Blair.
Tom F from Kennesaw, Ga.: Hey Eric, thank you so much for making time in your hectic schedule to talk to us Chatters!! We really appreciate it. With so many partial participants in spring ball, for a variety of reasons, what do you really think the coaches will be able to accomplish?? I am not sure that they will be any closer to a QB decision at the end of spring than they are today. Do you really think that there is enough practice time with the key players to figure out who will be best suited to play OG or OT when fall camp starts??? What players do you think may be evaluated in spring for a potential position change in the fall? I'm thinking Bettis may have a better chance to help the team and get on the field at safety rather than WR. What do you think?? Thanks again for the Chat, have a great week and Go Irish!!!
Eric Hansen: Hi Tom. I don't think this spring is wildly different from previous springs when it comes to players completely out and limited, but it is different in having a group of players maybe missing contact periods here or there to account for their high usage in the season and playoff run. And I do think there's quite a bit that can be accomplished. Remember spring is not to form conclusions, but to get impressions ... impressions you can use to evolve your team in the summer and then draw you conclusions in fall camp. And when was the last time ND had an announced starter by the end of spring unless there was an incumbent, like Ian Book?
As far as who's the left tackle, they do have 15 games to grade Anthonie Knapp on. This spring will give them a nice gauge on where Charles Jagusah stands and Guerby Lambert. I think they'll also get to look at some of the young tackles and see if any of them fit inside and where you want Sullivan Absher to play and how much progress has Peter Jones played and is Joe Otting a viable backup center? So lots of work can get done. As far as Bettis, I think safety might be his best position, but he really has a lot of quality numbers to deal with there and there is a clearer path to playing time now at the boundary receiver. And thanks for your great questions and compliments!
Aaron from Washington, D.C.: Hey Eric, thanks for today's chat. A couple questions but definitely not 17 parts. Was there a falling out between Chad Bowden and Coach Freeman? Freeman always spoke very well of Bowden however Bowden seems to be taking repeated shots since his departure (referring to Lincoln Riley as the best coach and recruiter he's ever been around, saying that ND tried to keep him but he wanted to be at USC more, the video trolling ND yesterday, etc.). The timing, frequency, and targeting nature cannot be a coincidence. Part 2: ND's recruiting seems to be lagging right now - is the new staff inferior to the previous staff that have left? Should we be concerned that several key individuals from the personnel department are all at USC now? I appreciate your insights.
Eric Hansen: Aaron. Thank you for keeping it to 16 parts or fewer. To part 1, no I don't think there was a falling out. In my dealings with Chad Bowden, he is an ULTRA, ULTRA competitive dude. I could see one day, when he has kids, doing a celebration dance and trash talking during a game of Candyland or Hungry Hungry Hippo. I also think Chad is kind of finding his way with public speaking. He comes off maybe brasher, less polished that he eventually will be with it. But he's being paid a lot of money in his new position and maybe needs to justify that too.
So, I don't think you'll see them just pick on Notre Dame ... and if that were the case, don't you think at some point, that's going to become off-putting. Think about the Indiana coach, Curt Cignetti. Really good X's and O's guy whose act is going to get old quick if he doesn't refine it a bit. 2. There were a lot of missing pieces in this offseason, No GM for a while, director of player personnel followed Chad to USC, Caleb Davis -- director of recruiting -- gets a GM job at San Diego State. New defensive coordinator. So the new people aren't necessarily inferior or superior. They didn't exist for a while. Ohio State has had turnover with both coordinators. The Buckeyes are currently 15th, Georgia is 16th, Alabama is 37th, Michigan is 43rd in the team recruiting rankings. ND is 7th.
It's a snapshot, not a crystal ball. It's March. Signing Day is nine months away. Does ND have work to do? Yes. Does USC have momentum? Yes. Is it time to get into a fetal position? C'mon now. Notre Dame hired a new GM in Mike Martin. Unofficial visits are coming up during spring football and officials in June. Let's wait until the end of June to get a better feel on where this is headed.
Jim from Springfield, Ill.: ND has made some significant (and expensive) football administrative hires since the season ended. Can you explain who they report to and their roles and responsibilities? From the outside it feels like "Who's on First".
Eric Hansen: Jim. It's still going to look like who's on first, because they are not finished yet. The most pivotal hire was GM Mike Martin. He'll report to Marcus Freeman and not the other way around like it works mostly in the NFL. Carter Auman has been elevated to director of recruiting. Because of the anticipated changes coming to the college football revenue model, the roles will evolve a lot in the next year or so. But as soon as the carousel stops and all hires have been made, we'll do a tutorial that lays out what you asked about. Great idea.
Marie from Atlanta: Hi Eric, thanks for hosting the chat this week. I hope you’re doing great. Can you name a couple of players that you think this spring practice session will make or break? Changing topics to recruiting, I know there was a lot of staff turnover, but do you think Notre Dame could have done a better job in recruiting in the time since the National championship run? it feels like ND is currently being lapped by both USC and Clemson, I believe these teams do official visits in the spring and Notre Dame does not, do you think that ND will consider making changes to the traditional recruiting schedule? Are you concerned about this recruiting class or is it too early to be worried? Thanks for keeping these chats going during the off-season. I know everybody really appreciates it.
Eric Hansen: Hi Marie, and thank you for being here. I addressed some of your recruiting questions, but let's go first and clean that up and then go back to the question about make-or-break springs. I don't think Notre Dame needs to reshape it's recruiting calendar from an official visit standpoint. I like the unofficials in March/April and the officials in June. You can always make exceptions, but I think from a weather standpoint, from kids being able to travel longer distances and spend the time, from the attention they get from the coaching staff, I like the June officials. As far as worrying, you know more football than most of us, and you know how much things can change. And there's noting happening now that would provide a dead end to that more positive trajectory. Again, lots of work and time to catch up. And doable.
Make or break is probably more dire of a label that I'd put these guys in. But there are players who have to ask themselves, if not now, when. And there are others, I'd put in the category of huge opportunity where the window is open wider than it ever has been or will be in the future. For me, let's look at that category and the three sophomores-to-be at wide receiver have a huge opportunity to push into the rotation. That's Logan Saldate, Cam Williams and Micah Gilbert. And I would not be surprised if all three were able to do that. I would be shocked if just one did.
The tight end room has some make-or-break element to all three of the guys who are on campus and healthy this spring. Eli Raridon, Kevin Bauman and Jack Larsen, and for different reasons. But big springs for them. Big spring for DT Brenan Vernon. This is his proving time. Preston Zinter at linebacker. Is there a window for him? Does he change positions? Maybe someone like Ben Minich with all the young safety talent around him. Can he make a move or does he get jumped over by younger players?
Dan from Vernon Hills, Ill.: I enjoy the chats Eric. Thanks for doing them.Is Notre Dame’s recruiting office at full strength or do they still have to replace some people who left after the season? Also, are most of these replacements in house or from outside?
Eric Hansen: Still hiring. Some are in-house. Some will come from the outside.
Pat from Philadelphia: Thanks for the chats. Thinking about the sophomore WRs (and Larsen) and the junior DTs. 1) Do you subscribe to the theory of a "make-or-break" period in a players career where if they can't break through "now", it likely won't happen for them. 2) Since we don't have playing time or stats available for the spring, what qualitative data points, either through your own viewpoint or in talking to coaches (on or off the record), do you like to use when assessing progress over the spring.
Eric Hansen: Hi Pat. I answered the make-or-break part a little big with Marie, but let me dig deeper on that concept. I don't think it's a one-size fits all template. It varies from player to player, year to year, school to school, situation to situation. And I think sometimes people who don't change a lot in their lives at a more advanced age forget how pliable kids are at that age and how ambitious and determined they can be to grow. But I do think there are windows of opportunity, because of depth charts and numbers, and players need to be ready to take advantage of those opportunities. Teams do too.
To your second question, it's more art than science, I suppose. I count on my observations A LOT, and I trust those, But interviews with coaches and players give me a lot of valuable context. I also have four decades experience of watching spring practice, so I can rely on those experiences to help me put things in perspective. But again. And from a team/collective standpoint. I'm looking for things like ... are the deficiencies/challenges fixable or is there a dead end here? Things like that.
Joe H from Williams Bay, Wis.: Hi Eric Thanks for keeping us updated on all things Notre Dame football Although perfectly understandable it was sad to see Coach Golden leave He was so instrumental in our defensive success the past few years with his schemes and ingame adjustments.One thing that I felt he did was also improve our team tackling I hear that is also one of the strengths of our new DC Chris Ash I am hearing that Coach Ash employs the “Rugby “tackling technique Could you explain what exactly that is and do we already use it?
Eric Hansen: Hey Joe, thanks for helping to keep them going through the break between the CFP and spring with your presence and questions. Chris Ash talked about rugby tackling in his introductory press conference. I'm going to give you a link to a YouTube video of Urban Meyer explaining it, which will give you the "why" and the mechanics of it better than I can in this forum. Chris Ash worked for Urban a couple of times and recommended him to Marcus for this job, so I think it's fitting. Here's the LINK.
James from Placitias, N.M.: Not sure we have ever fully expressed our gratitude for the Season that never seemed to end, you were tireless, even tempered and patient with all of us and you made good on your Dinner with Marie!
Eric Hansen: Well James, thank you. That was the easiest post of the day so far ... and much appreciated.
Sean from Schaumburg, Ill.: Another solid FNS. I agree that the QB situation, D line creating pressure and the WRs are the three most important elements to get back to the Title game. A QBs best friend is a solid O line and running game. It is concerning that the '26 recruiting class hasn't seen the bump we all expected from the Title game appearance. You guys were great in pointing out how critical the recruiting personnel are to the whole operation of recruiting. The turnover in the personnel dept. Bowden going to our biggest rival. It was tough to swallow as fans. Tough schedule in the first two months. The O line and QB MUST be in sync by game 1. Working into form won't be acceptable this year. How does Rudolph and Guidugli expedite the process of getting them in sync? Any TEs you think may enter the portal? Go Irish!!
Eric Hansen: Hi Sean. Let me get to your questions. Let's talk about the process for QBs and O-line separately, but in both cases, getting the personnel right supersedes expediting anything, They don't have any games in May or June. For the QBs, they are at an advantage in that none of the three competing for the job is doing with a new offense, a new offensive coordinator or a new QBs coach. And in working through the competition it's important that all three are developing, and to a lesser but still important extent freshman Blake Hebert. If there are departures after spring practice, then Gino Guidugli, Marcus Freeman and Mike Denbrock will have to re-examine their options as far as backups, perhaps.
You figure by the second week of fall camp, if not sooner, the No. 1 QB will be named, and additional reps with the 1s should help bring the process along, so that QB is ready to roll Aug, 31 in Miami. For the offensive line, it's again figuring out who first the best where. Theoretically, you'll have all five starters with prior starting experience. Last year, there were six collective starts at the start of the season. Aamil Wagner had 16 last year alone. Spring is not about forming chemistry. It's seeing where people fit best and what the best combos are and working on technique.
The chemistry can and will come in fall camp. And as former ND O-lineman Bob Morton has said on Football Never Sleeps and our Into The eNDzone shows, game reps are much, much, much more valuable in fostering chemistry than practice reps. They just are. So there will be evolution throughout the season. The good news again is, they formed a lot of that LAST YEAR. And I'm not sure if you're asking me if ND will have TEs entering the portal or about TEs on other teams that might be attractive after spring. On both counts, I think it's smarter to watch some practices to see how those TEs are playing before making a prediction.
Len from the Jersey Shore: Hello Eric, What was the Billy S injury? What was the treatment? Did he have it during the CFP championship game? Thanks for hosting!!!
Eric Hansen: Len!!! You sly dog, putting the extra exclamation points at the end. Four-and-a-half gold stars for you. Bravo!!! First, here is a LINK that runs down every player who will miss spring practice or who will be limited because of injury/surgery/rehab and why. Schrauth was scheduled to have left ankle surgery, which is not the ankle he injured during the season in September and missed games because of. And I don't think he was ever close to 100 percent last season.
Dave from DC: What sort of course load to early enrollee players have? 12 credits? 15? Does it vary? I know that freshmen often have a tough time adjusting to college life while being on the football team. I imagine that's magnified with kids who should be seniors in high school.
Eric Hansen: Dave, I used my phone-a-friend lifeline to make sure I was giving you the right info, and it's a full load of classes for the freshman early enrollees.
Adam from Dayton, Ohio: Eric, are you excited for spring sessions to kick off? A few questions. 1.) Is there word of anyone "popping" in winter conditioning/who are the new names expected to break out? 2.) Am I being an overly-sensitive fan in thinking that Chad Bowden is going out of his way to take shots at ND and even Marcus Freeman? How is the restructuring of the recruiting staff going? Do we fans have a chance to see this operation hit the levels that we thought/hoped we were getting in Marcus Freeman, or is ND destined to stay in the bottom half of the top 10 as a recruiting ceiling? 3.) Thought last years' coaching staff was the best ND staff in recent memory. Does this year's keep pace overall or is it slightly worse? Where is this staff on a national level in your opinion? Happy St. Pat's Day to you as things get interesting next week!
Eric Hansen: Adam, of course I am excited for spring football to kick off. C'mon now. That's like asking me if I'm geeked about it being 73 degrees here (allegedly) on Friday. 1) On guys popping in the weight room, I am not a big proponent of reporting that stuff unless I've seen it myself. And usually it's way more bluster than anything tangible. I'll be happy to share those when I can verify them in the spring. 2) OK you realize question “2” is actually a whole bunch of questions. I think we're getting close to that 17-part threshold. I'll strike it up to how they teach math in Dayton or the rescinded "no drinking" rule.
I've explained Chad Bowden's persona earlier in the chat. I think being bombastic has a limited shelf life in that role, and even more so if the team on the field can't back up the words. 2) The "front office" is coming along well. My first impressions of the Mike Martin hire at GM are very positive. More work to do surrounding him with great people. But don't you think Marcus Freeman has a pretty good track record of that so far? answer to part 2C or question 4 ... The point you are missing is that recruiting ranking is the starting point, not the ending point. RETENTION is overlooked. The portal additions are overlooked. Does ND win the Georgia game without the transfers? All those things need to be taken together.
Eric Hansen: Here are the top 12 teams from the 2021 recruiting rankings, players who were seniors in 2024. How many of those 12 teams made the 12-team playoff? Five. The recruiting rankings for the other seven? 16. Texas, 25. Penn State, 35. Tennessee, 57. SMU, 59. Arizona State, 62. Indiana, 74. Boise State. YES, quality recruiting is important but team recruiting rankings are not the end-all, be-all.
As far as what's labeled as question 3 and is actually 5, 6 and 7. ... I like this staff, but for me to form an assessment, I need to see them do some actual coaching and talk to the players, etc. Then I'll be happy to give you my impressions. I am not a believer that "winning the press conference" is a sustainable measure of a coach, but it sure makes for an interesting first impression.
And Happy St. Patrick's Day, Adam. I do appreciate your questions even if my answers had a little bit of a "now, get off my lawn" vibe to them. No really, get off my lawn. The lawn people just sprayed stuff on it.
Eric Hansen: OK let's get into some women's hoops questions and we'll circle back to football. So if you have football questions, get them in the portal ASAP.
Jim in Anthony, Texas: An old timer trying something new and by the way I really enjoy these weekly chats. I have really enjoyed WBB for about the last 10 years and have noticed that we never seem to have big (3-4) recruiting classes. We do well with one 5* and then pffff. This year we have only one coming in, but we lose 5-6 players. Now with the covid bonus expired I think the transfer portal will be slimmed down with regard to fifth year players. Unless we strike gold in the portal, I fear we will have a very thin bench. Am I panicking prematurely?
Eric Hansen: Jim, I love old-timers, and only in part because I think technically I am one! And I am all for trying something new. I do it all the time. It's good for the soul. ... Jim. I think you are panicking prematurely, but raising some valid concerns in a timely fashion. I think the reason it creates more urgency is that incoming freshman Leah Macy, the replacement in essence for Maddy Westbeld, could very well miss a large part or all of next season with a knee injury. So let's look at who is definitely coming back (barring a portal exit). Hannah Hidalgo, Cass Prosper, KK Bransford (who is redshirting this year), Emma Risch coming off more surgery. Up front, it will be Kate Koval and likely Kylee Watson. Olivia Miles has an option I don't expect her to exercise to come back. We'll see. So you need another guard and probably three front-court players if no Macy. That's not a heavy lift in the portal these days. There are lots of very good teams that have that kind of roster construction. You bring up a point about a shallower pool eith the COVID exemption being phased out.
And you're always threading the needle a little bit more with ND's academic and "fit" preferences, but I think ND is competitive in the NIL space and is a place where players want to play. So plenty of work ahead with some unknowns, but a workable scenario. Wouldn't you want to play with Hannah Hidalgo? Who wouldn't?
Jack from Strongsville, Ohio: Hi Eric from balmy Northeast Ohio as you well know words that are seldom said in mid March. Two questions on WBB. One. Do you feel that coming off of injuries that Olivia Miles and Maddy Wesbald have hit the wall/run out of gas at least temporarily this season. Two. In watching the Duke game the announcers were saying Notre Dame had to have some urgency. Where has the intensity gone? Thanks as always for your great work.
Eric Hansen: Hi Jack. I'll start with the latter first. I think the intensity might have gotten sucked up in the 19-game winning streak and the ease at which those wins came -- 28 points, I think, on average. Then they were challenged in some close games and teams came up with some really good tactical counterpunches that I think surprised the players. A Duke team that they TKO's in mid February came up with a formula less than three weeks later to stifle the fastbreak game and ND didn't have an answer. So as my story with Muffet McGraw suggested, these are fixable problems.
That doesn't mean they WILL be fixed, but they can be. I don't think either of those players hit a wall. I'm not sure Maddy Westbeld is full healthy. And I think Olivia needed a water-in-the-face kind of moment, where teams were going to challenge her defense, and she needs to dig deep and have a counterpunch. I think this break is going to be very good for both of them. And thank you for the kind words.
Irwin from Florida: Hello Mr. Hansen. I’m amongst the many ND fans who have enjoyed your great insights into all things Irish. Your recent interview with Muffett McGraw was (not surprisingly) excellent. Now, here’s my nitpick - not of you - but of Coach McGraw (and of many other pundits.). She starts out a large number of her otherwise great opinions with “I think…” We know that’s what she thinks - she’s saying what she thinks. Is that something the reporter (you) can fix, or do journalistic ethics dictate you not to edit quotes? I think this is a crucial point of interest to all your readers.
Eric Hansen: Hi Mr. Irwin. We had an executive editor at the Tribune who had the same point of view on that. And he strongly suggested we remove every single "I think" from the quotes. And if your geographical listing had said St. Louis instead of Florida, I'd swear it was him disguising his name. Let me give you kind of a general philosophy on quotes and then drill down on the "I think" part. I feel I owe it to the person I'm interviewing to not only quote them accurately, but also use enough of the quote to put it in the proper context. So, I will err on the side of letting the quote run on too long than the other way around. I feel I owe them that.
The "I think" thing is not as automatic as you might think. Sometimes the person wants to be clear that this is an opinion and not necessarily fact, and I THINK that's an important distinction. So, I will tend to err on that side of including it. But I will clean up quotes from time to time, if they're repetitive. I will take out "um" and 'You know" unless it's used for emphasis. Marcus Freeman, for instance, likes to annotate with the word "right?" at the end of sentences. Sometimes it's just a habit, and sometimes it's meaningful, and in those cases I leave it in.
And if anyone knows of someone who is having trouble sleeping, you may want to read them my answer. I almost put myself to sleep. Good question, rambling answer ... I THINK.
Eric Hansen: OK, we're going to go back and finish up with football ...
Scott from Bossier City, La.: To keep the recruiting chats going. What is the reset for the top prospects we currently lost? Is it a total reset and reevaluation? When you lose the recruits at the top of your board do you now swing for prospects that were out of range or begin to start evaluating other recruits you may have overlooked? What's the outlook moving forward when the top of your list is now committed elsewhere at least at some positions?
Eric Hansen: Hi Scott. Again, not a one-size-fits-all solution. But let's talk in general terms. First, is it a player you would like to flip back into your class and think you can? If so, you keep recruiting them. If there are players comparable, at the same level of your mutual interest, you move on to those. That is generally the case, especially in March. And there is a constant evaluation process from spring and summer 7-on-7 competitions, from camps, from actual games in the fall. And the process works the other way too. ND got two running back commitments early in the last cycle that eventually had some buyer's remorse. So they helped those players get back on the market and find better fits. And ND ended up taking a player they liked a lot better who was committed to BC in Nolan James Jr.
Jordan from Seattle: Eric!!! - thank you for the great ND coverage always delivered with aplomb and humor. Two questions: (1) Do you get a sense that the 2024 team culture is sustainable? Was that a one off or has Marcus cultivated a perennial culture? (2) Who do you like as the leaders of this 25 squad? Realizing we don’t have all the transfers here yet … but perhaps the Captains are already on campus? Thanks for your time and commitment to keeping us involved and informed…
Eric Hansen: Jordan, thanks for at least pretending you like my dad jokes. That'll get you out of the queue and into the chat every time! 1) GREAT question, because it will be tested time and again by the changes coming to college football, which kind of work against some of those cultural principles. Here's where I feel good about it -- Marcus Freeman's commitment to the culture, the players' belief and proof that culture wins and that Marcus has embraced the changes and tried to figure out how to maximize them instead of complaining about them and fighting them.
2) Good question, and one I get a lot, but spring is when you start to see those guys emerge, and I want to see it in action to give you a better answer.
Beau Harvey from Rockwood, Tenn.: Had a big group of buddies over and we got to talking about All-Timers in all sports. We started talking about college football and how Notre Dame is considered Tight End U; some disagreed and said Iowa, but anyways. I believe ND makes a strong case for O-line U. Interested to see your "All Timers Univ" list. What teams do you have for... QB Univ? RB U? O-LINE U? D-LINE U? LB U? DB U? Even K/P U?
Eric Hansen: Oh Beau. What an absolutely cool idea but man have you miscalculated how quickly my brain works. That would take some research and also a fixed time frame ... like 2000s on .. .since 1988, since Knute Rockne had acne? And a lot of research. I only have so much bandwidth, so that's not something I could do off the top of my head. A great topic to revisit this summer. Thanks for suggesting it.
Eric Hansen: Kevin from Calgary, I left your question in the queue, because while it's a really good one, it's very similar to one I led the chat off with last week.
Eric Hansen: OK and one more WBB question ...
Bill from St Joe, Mich.: Hi Eric, thanks very much for the chats…a WBB question. Do you think that Coach Ivey has perhaps over emphasized (if that’s possible) defense the last 1/4 of the season, as it seemed to me her constant postgame comment was “we’ve got to do a better job on defense” so that the players are all tensed up and when they cross the mid court line they are still so tense that they’ve somewhat lost their shot? Perhaps a crazy thought on my part, but shooting percentages are down.
Eric Hansen: Bill, thanks for your question and let me justify your question/confusion. I really like covering Niele Ivey, but I think she is really guarded in press conferences and interviews, pretty much universally. So, it's really difficult to know how closely her messaging to her team mirrors what she says to the media. My sense is not very much at all. She is also VERY guarded about injuries, which might explain some things, but I believe she sees as a tactical advantage. And maybe it is. So let's look at your question now. I do think emphasizing defense was the right messaging to her team, but not ONLY evolving on defense. There was work to do on offense that may not have gotten done during the win streak.
And then when they faced really good teams with really good coaches who figured some things out, ND was not ready with a counterpunch. That's my take.
Eric Hansen: And that's going to do it for this week's chat. Thanks for all the great questions. As I mentioned at the top of the chat, we will do these once a week. They will NOT be on Wednesdays. I'm going to pencil it for Thursday at noon ET next week, and then we'll go week by week and fit it around spring football and WBB. Thanks again.
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