Eric Hansen: Welcome to Notre Dame Football Live Chat, Post-spring/post-portal/post-draft edition.
Some quick programming notes:
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Related Content
► Recruiting: The Heat Index: 2026 class
► Projecting the six most impactful Notre Dame football summer additions
► Trail Tracks: Notre Dame football coaches hit road for contact period, 4/30
► Four-star TE Gavin Mueller talks final four, sets commitment date
► Putting some needed context behind Notre Dame's NFL Draft numbers
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Eric Hansen: As far as this week's chat …
PLEASE include your name and hometown along with your question(s).
Here are the rules:
Eric Hansen: The amendments here are that only the no spitting and no fighting rules are in play this week …
Off we go.
Drue in Springfield, Mo.: It is my fondest hope that the severe weather and tornadoes that have eluded us here may avoid South Bend with the same dexterity!! Last offseason, I asked you if you thought the loss of Estime would deter Irish chances to compete for title...as he seemed to get whatever first down yardage was needed at any time. You were confident that Love could fill those vacant shoes, and along with Leonard's efforts, you were right!!! My question today is, though all position groups seem to have maintained their 2024 quality of talent, in spite of losing some great leadership and experience, do you see any weakness that could deter this team from challenging for it all once again? Having no contact with the team, I defer to your judgement of the talent you see returning and the quality of leadership (especially losing Watts and Leonard) that will fill that void. I hope we all soon return to great weather so you can work on your golf game as Charlie Bartlett would expect!!
Eric Hansen: HI Drue. Thanks for the good wishes and the questions. As to my golf game, the only one I hone involved windmills and one club. ... To your questions. It's not just about individual position groups, it's how they fit together. But let's deconstruct it to look at individual position groups. The big question is how quickly and effectively will the quarterback position get up to speed. The fact that the offensive line is so much more experienced that last year really gives that position a boost. The three position groups that had the most question marks about them going into thr spring -- WRs, TEs and interior defensive line -- all produced some pleasant spring surprises with the promise of more at WR and TE with some June additions.
As we get into fall camp, we'll get a better feel for this team's ceiling. But barring injury, it's hard to imagine this team has a lower floor than making the 12-team playoff.
Manny from San Pedro, Calif.: Eric!!!!! My man!!! Weather is gorgeous. Ready for BBQ season but can’t wait for the fall crisp air and to hear… Here comes the Irish!!!!!! When do the freshman and portal transfers arrive on campus? With the Fresh, does any of them have a real chance at the two deep?
Eric Hansen: Manny!!!!!!! My man(ny)!!! Weather is gorgeous here too! The 12 later-enrolling freshmen start classes on June 9. The two June-arriving transfers may come a little earlier with the returning plays ... like a week earlier. Injuries can change the two-deep picture, as we saw last year. But of those 12 June-arriving freshmen, based on talent, college readiness AND opportunity, I'd say the ones with the best chance to make the two-deeps early in 2025 are TE James Flanigan, CB Dallas Golden, and OT Will Black ... maybe CB Mark Zackery IV. DE Chris Burgess isn't likely in the two-deeps, but I think ND will play 3 at his position, and he has a good chance to be that No. 3. There are some very good players in that group that just have too many players to climb over to get into the two-deep, like LB Anthony Sacca.
Joe Howard from Williams Bay, Wis.: Hi Eric Thanks again for continuing these excellent weekly chats I am confused with what is going to happen when the judge approves the new settlement plan What I’m hearing is that each school will be allowed to have 95 scholarship players and that each school will have $20.5 million dollars available in NIL money Is that correct and how do you think it will affect Notre Dame and does that mean that other private collectives for NIL money will cease to exist?
Eric Hansen: Hi Joe. You're confused? Join the club!! First of all it's not when she approves it. It's IF she approves it. That hinges on schools backtracking and grandfathering in existing walk-ons, so that nobody loses their roster spots. Let's say it is approved. I am going to try to oversimplify this just to keep from making you all run to the medicine cabinet for Advil. Schools will have a spending cap for revenue-sharing of up to $20.5 in 2025. Football will get the majority of that. NIL money moves into more of a gray area where the NCAA is trying to get this to be in a Clearinghouse situation, where it's NIL as it was meant to be as in actual name, image, likeness compensation. That will be challenged in court. And there will be schools that try to find ways to legally or at least clandestinely circumvent those rules. Once the settlement has been approved, I can speak more clearly to how this is supposed to evolve.
Scott from Bloomington, Ind.: Eric, longtime reader and first time posting. I have enjoyed your work for a long time. In fact, I stopped reading a certain paper when it longer had you associated with it. Although we are strangers I feel you have created a community in these chats. From Marie’s insightful questions to Manny’s exclamation marks. Thank you for that. My question is about the Shamrock Series. How are those games selected? More importantly, when are they decided? It appears that there is no Shamrock Series game for 2025. I know it is a lot to sacrifice a home game but I was always a fan of the concept. Will the series return? Just not a lot of info about it that I can find. Did I miss something? Thanks again for all the great coverage.
Eric Hansen: Scott, thanks for that intro. Really cool. The Shamrock Series concept of an off-site home game was the brainchild of Kevin White, who was ND's athletic director before recently retired Jack Swarbrick, The first one was against Washington State in San Antonio in 2009. That seems kind of random and it was. White wanted to schedule a Big 12 team in Texas, but the Big 12 balked at having one of their teams play an ND home game within its footprint.
Swarbrick was able to get past the footprint issue. branded the concept Shamrock Series and refined it in trying to make the venues and opponents make sense. He at one point realized, ND might have to skip a season here and there, but he was committed to having one almost every year. Then comes Pete Bevacqua. During my one-on-one with him last spring, here is what he had to say:
“I would say I absolutely love it. We absolutely plan on continuing it. We think it’s so important to take Notre Dame, the most national/international of college football brands, and bring it to great places around the country and the world, quite frankly.“You think about where we’re going [in 2024] to play that game, Yankee Stadium — 100th anniversary of the Four Horsemen Game, against Army. It’s going to be a primetime game on NBC. It’s going to be a blast. But I don’t think it needs to be every year.“I don’t think there’s any magic in terms of how often we play it, but we’re definitely going to continue to do it. When you think back to the Knute Rockne days, you take Notre Dame on the road, you go out to LA and play Southern Cal. It’s kind of one of the many things that put Notre Dame football on the map.
“And to take the history and the tradition and the power of Notre Dame football and to go to different great venues around the country and around the world. So whether that’s Yankee Stadium, Dublin, Ireland, Lambeau Field, we are going to continue to do that. That’s important to us. Will we do it every year? Probably not.”
Eric Hansen: Notre Dame took intentional breaks in 2017 and 2019 and an unintentional one in 2020 because of COVID restrictions. 2025 will be break No. 4. The 2020 game vs. Wisconsin at Lambeau Field in Green Bay was re-slotted into the 2025 schedule. Generally, they are not scheduled way out in advance, as most non-conference games are. Maybe a year to three years ahead.
Matt from DC: Hi Eric, as someone who never played football above the level where running a route was simply “run 5 yards and turn right” I have a question about what wide receiver development looks like for ND. For example, take Cam Williams, who has tons of talent but needed time to develop. What is it that has held him back? Is it physical (ie: not being able to make the cuts at full speed without tipping of the DB to his route) or mental (are there options where he runs different routes based on coverage reads, or nuances where he cuts at different depths in different circumstances?) or is there a combination of factors? If you ever had time, a deep dive article with”good” and “bad” route examples would be a super interesting read! Thanks so much!
Eric Hansen: Hi Matt. The article sounds like a good idea. Maybe I'll get a former ND wide receiver to do that with me, and I've got a few in mind who would be great at it. But let me speak to WR development. Let's take two guys who were both fairly highly recruited (but in different classes). One played right away and had success right away. One played one snap last season, and that's Cam Williams. The other is Jaden Greathouse. A lot of it goes back to high school coaching and what kind of individual coaching you received and what you learned in terms of coverages, technique etc. Cam Williams had a higher Rivals ranking than any receiver on ND's roster. His challenge, and he'll acknowledge it, is while he is physically gifted, he did not receive the strong coaching at the HS level. And that was compounded by playing so much 7 on 7, where he could survive and even thrive in that world without doing the things you need to thrive at in 11-on-11.
So, his route-running needed to be more precise. He also needed to be able to understand coverages, so he'd know to interpret his assignment the same way the QB sees it. There was an overwhelming among of learning. The good news was he accepted that and embraced it. And that's why he could be a real wild card in 2025. He made some strides in the spring. Those need to keep coming in August. If I'm a betting man, I'm betting on him and not against him.
Ryan Frankfort illinois: Good afternoon Eric how did Aneyas williams Look during the Spring GO IRISH ☘️☘️☘️🏈🏈🏈
Eric Hansen: Hi Ryan. He looked like a guy who could eventually be a No. 1 back ... just not this year, given who's on the roster. Very impressive spring for the sophomore-to-be.
Tom F from Kennesaw, Ga.: Hi Eric!! ND has gotten terrific play out of their nickel back position the last 3 years. I always thought that Jordan Clark was underrated last season. Although not many Int's he had a LOT of big 3rd and 4th down stops. Would do you think will be the top 2 players to fill that role this season??? As always, thanks so much for being the best in the business at covering the Irish!!!! I always enjoy the little wry smile or smirk the MF gives you when you are asking him questions.
Eric Hansen: Hi Tom!! I like the multiple exclamation points and multiple question marks(???). Yes, I agree with you ... Jordan Clark had a really good season for the Irish. Alabama grad transfer Devonta Smith is fair and away the No. 1 guy there for 2025. And I expect him to have similar impact this season to what Clark did in 2024. Ben Minich moved there from safety in the spring, and Karson Hobbs played there some. One of the June arriving freshmen could get a look there, but I think Smith. Minich and Hobbs is a pretty good start. Tae Johnson, who should be in the safety rotation this season, may also take some snaps there. As far as Marcus' smile. I'm usually smiling back as I ask the question.
Bob from Oxnard, Calif.: Hi Eric, can Gi’Bran Payne redshirt this year if he plays fewer than five regular season games even though he already took a medical redshirt last year?
Eric Hansen: Hi Bob, he technically already has redshirted twice. In 2021, he played in four games and in 2024 he played zero. And in that scenario, he could have a chance to petition for a sixth year in 2026. But if he would just redshirt for non-medical reasons in 2025, I don't think he would be successful in gaining that year back without going to court ... and even then, that's not likely to be successful.
Jack from Strongsville, Ohio: Hi Eric. No question or comments this week just a big THANK YOU for all your and Tyler's great work this season. Try to have a restful summer!
Eric Hansen: Jack, thanks so much. Appreciate you!!!
Dave from DC: Now that Chad Bowden is gone and Mike Martin is leading ND's personnel and recruiting, what does that office look like? Are there any additional hires expected?
Eric Hansen: Hi Dave. Here is what the staff looks like today with one exception. Deland McCullough II has moved on and will be replaced. Will there be additions? There might be, and I would anticipate there being so in the coming years, at least. That's because the "front office" side of football is becoming larger and more influential and with more money involved. And I think once we get past the House v. NCAA settlement, we'll have clearer parameters on what's needed. And those existing roles, including Martin's, will evolve.
Len from the Jersey Shore: Hello Eric! Great coverage on the draft and how it relates to ND and it's talent level. My question is in the NiL area assuming ND's talent level continues to rise. Nico I. left Tenn over a Nil dispute. Could that happen at ND? One of the favorite NFL player comments is I am not getting enough money and I am disrespected. Will ND players feel disrespected because of their NiL deals? You have stated that CMF has accepted the challenge of roster management in the NiL environment. Let's for the sake of argument assume that the ND's roster will have more higher end players that could be enticed by NiL money in the transfer portal. Should we expect more money driven transfers? Would ND pay a QB's over 1MM to play at ND? Would they add a million to go to 2 MM to acquire a player or keep a player at ND? Who manages the numbers for CMF? Any insights are greatly appreciated.
Eric Hansen: Len!!! Thanks for the compliment on the NFL Draft analysis and how that plays into ND's big picture of player development. ... Now to your question, imagine lining up to kick the game-winning field goal and all of a sudden, the goalposts get closer together, then widen, then the uprights move back and forth rapidly across the back of the end zone. Then just as you time up that movement, it slows. Then quickens. So that's the context in which I'm mining for answers to your very good questions.
Some of these can't be answered definitively until there's clarity on the House vs. NCAA settlement. And even then, there's going to be litigation challenging it. And then we'll have to address whether players are employees and will they unionize and will there be collective bargaining? I will try to take a stab at your questions in the context of at least 2025. Could a player leave over an NIL dispute at ND? That could happen, but I don't think it's likely. ND did have Nico in for a visit, but didn't see a match and vice versa. And some of it speaks to what Nico was prioritizing in his recruitment and prioritizes now. So when you hear Marcus Freeman talk about fit, now you get it?
There are already money-driven transfers across college football, but Marcus Freeman's mantra is "choose hard" not "choose more money." And so ND tends to attract and retain players who value the entire package, including competitive financial incentives, over players who it's money first or money only. As far as money specifics, I'd be guessing, but I would think six figures is realistic for a QB. But remember, the whole system of how money is distributed and caps is about to change.
Ed from Sayville: Hello Eric. Would you say that it is surprising that the Irish lost only one transfer to USC during this portal season? Given some of the relationships he developed while in South Bend, my sense was that Chad Bowden would make a significant effort to transact more than Kennedy Urlacher to USC. Do you have any sense as to how hard he may have tried to woo others?
Eric Hansen: Hi Ed. I don't have evidence of who else might have hard-and-fast evidence about who Chad Bowden may have contacted on the ND roster. But this ties into the previous questions from Len. Marcus Freeman's relationship is stronger with his players than Chad's is/was. So is their respective position coach. And again, when you sign with ND and choose to stay at ND, you are choosing an attractive life with football and a very appealing potential life after football. And USC can't match either at the moment.
IrishRob: With the departure of Steve Angeli, and the presumption that C.J. Carr will be the starting QB, do you think that the ND offensive brain-trust will try and scheme up things for Kenny Minchey? I can't speak to Carr's ability to run but I'd wager his strength is his arm, decision making, etc but can run when needed. Maybe not as scripted as Riley Leonard was last season. I see the opposite in Minchey. He's a smooth runner, and could be problems from a gameplanning standpoint. Would the Irish scheme for Minchey or does that potentially stunt the growth of Carr? Would they consider scheming for Minchey to keep him ready to go, so to speak? Thanks for the time. Scranton PA btw. Ain't no party like a Scranton party....
Eric Hansen: Hi Irish Rob. Does this mean you are inviting me to party with you in Scranton? Because if you are ... To your question, I actually wrote about this recently ... Notebook: Teasing out what comes next for Notre Dame's remaining QBs . I think it's something Marcus Freeman is willing to look at and explore, but not ready to commit more than that.
Marie from Atlanta: hi Eric, I hope you’re having a fantastic week, thanks for hosting the chat. How surprised were you that Notre Dame didn’t lose any major players to the spring portal? There were rumors that some important players might leave, what do you think Freeman and the other coaches did to convince him to stay? The 2027 quarterback recruit will be a very important one. Are you at all concerned that because Notre Dame has yet to make any offers. They may miss out on some of the better players? With quarterbacks, it always seems to be the earlier you offer the better. Do you agree with the strategy they are employing? Although wide receiver, recruiting is getting better. It is still not at the level it needs to be, it seems like they’re visiting and trying to recruit a lot of top and players, but what do they need to do to actually land some of these players? As always, thanks for the chat and the great insights.
Eric Hansen: Hi Marie. I was surprised, given the surplus of players in certain position groups. I thought there would be up to five scholarship players leave and it ended up being two. ... I have no idea what rumors you are referring to, so I can't tell you what or who convinced them to say. In general, I'm sure there were players looking at that option, but weighed in things like the uncertainty over roster and scholarship limits, how much they appreciate ND's culture and the notion ND will probably again be in the playoff, ND's competitiveness in the NIL/revenue-share space and commitment to getting an ND degree.
The 2027 QB thing is curious. I saved your question until later, because I tried to use a phone-a-friend lifeline on this. And that lifeline is tied up. It's not as if they haven't evaluated the QBs and had some in for visits. So, there is some relationship and familiarity there. I am unsure of their strategy, but also feel like Marcus is building a pretty good track record of knowing what he's doing, so I'll lean into that.
I would be patient on wide receiver recruiting. Let's have this conversation after the June official visits. Remember when a lot of folks were panicking about the class in general and now ND is No. 3 in the Rivals team rankings and surging? As always thanks for your thoughtful questions and keeping it under 17 parts!
Pat from Bordentown, NJ: Eric!!!!! Thanks as always for doing these chats and enlightening us on all things IRISH (and NCAA)....and speaking of NCAA enlightenment - one question and answer I have yet to see anywhere is this: if the rosters are reduced to 105 and players are "cut" from the team - are those players able to transfer schools over the summer (like a non-student-athlete) and then be able to play at their new school? For example, could an ND walk-on just transfer to say Ohio U as a student and then walk-on at Ohio if there is a roster spot available? Would this differ for scholarship athletes?
Eric Hansen: Pat!!!!!!!!!!!!! Strong punctuation game, brother. And love the compliment and the segue too ... The whole roster limit thing is the hanging thread on the House v. NCAA settlement and one on which Judge Claudia Wilken will not compromise. Those affected players HAVE TO BE grandfathered in and the attorneys have one more week to come to her with a plan to make that happen. If for some reason it did not happen, yes players could leave and enroll at another school and try to walk on there, but the roster crunch would be pretty universal at the FBS level if those roster cuts would have been allowed to go through as they intended. So there would not have been much opportunity. I hope all this make sense .. .and I can't wait until Wednesday LOL.
CED walker: CED Walker Saginaw Michigan aka sag nasty Saginaw pride will Notre Dame take 3 more wr in this recruiting class God bless this football team here comes the Irish Notre Dame our mother pray for us
Eric Hansen: Hi Ced. For those who don't follow WR recruiting as close as Ced does, Notre Dame has two wide receiver commitments so far for the 2026 class. They are Dylan Faison and Bubba Frazier. Notre Dame is looking to take at least two more and possibly three.
Tom F from Kennesaw, Ga.: Hey Eric. Hope spring is being kind to SB. My question is about Gunner Rivers, Phillip Rivers’ son. I heard Riley Leonard talking about throwing with him and what a great player he is going to be. I googled Gunner and he is listed as a possible 5-star QB in the 2027 class. With Leonard as a great rep for ND, do you or Tyler know how hotly ND is pursuing him??? Also, what makes Fields such a better prospect for ND than Beaux Collins??? Many people have him rated among the top 5 portal players for this coming season. I hope they are right!!! Thanks for continuing the Chats. Go Irish!!!!!
Eric Hansen: Hi Tom. Let me take part 2 of your questions first in the Collins vs. Fields comparison. Coming out of high school, Collins (4-star) was a much bigger deal than Fields (2-star) a high school QB and CB. Now Fields is viewed as the better prospect. He's slightly bigger (6-4, 220 vs. 6-3, 206), faster and way more productive in each of his past two seasons on Virginia team not built for great passing game production than Collins ever was at Clemson or ND, Not trashing Collins, just trying to point out the differences.
As far as Gunner Rivers, my phone a friend just came through and this addresses Marie's question about 2027 QBs as well, so I'll mold them into one answer. My helper? Tyler James:
Rivers is one of the 2027 quarterbacks on ND's radar. I'd expect Guidugli to see him during his travels this spring. Notre Dame hasn't decided which quarterbacks it wants to prioritize in the 2027 class and is continuing to evaluate them. Guidugli wasn't able to get out during the winter because of the playoff, so he's doing it now to finalize the board.
It's not dumb, because Notre Dame has continued to recruit 2027 quarterbacks even if it hasn't extended an offer. Seven notable 2027 quarterbacks visited Notre Dame in March or April. As long as you're showing interest, that matters. It will result in Notre Dame not getting a commitment from someone who wants to decide early, such as Trae Taylor. But if a recruit didn't want to wait to see if Notre Dame would offer by the end of May, was that recruit going to end up at Notre Dame?
By not offering any 2027 quarterbacks yet, Notre Dame doesn't have to turn down any recruits who would be interested in committing already when it isn't certain who it wants to take.
Rick from SoCal - Hi Eric, long time no write but always read. How is the NIF dispersed to the players, a weekly paycheck, monthly or at the end of the year? Sure would make it easier to be a student athlete with more than just laundry money from the scholarship.
Eric Hansen: Hi Rick and thanks for asking a question -- and not just doing it telepathically. ... And I apologize for using the uncertainty of the House v. NCAA settlement as part of my answer. My goodness, this should be a drinking game. But everything is about to change in terms of when and from who players receive compensation. And as soon as that ruling becomes final, we'll have all kinds of content and chats to explain it.
OK, that's going to do it for today. The queue is empty. Thanks for all the great questions. We've been in weekly mode since late July last year and will finally move into intermittent mode. So keep an eye on my social media for the timing of the next chat. I'll let the news cycle kind of dictate that, but I'd anticipate a couple in May and at least one in June.
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