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HAPPY CAMPERS Tony Jones Jr. and Notre Dame dominate in 33-9 rout of Iowa State in Camping World Bowl to finish 11-2

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Californian Ian Book tosses four touchdowns to lead Notre Dame to a 45-24 victory at Stanford

Defensive back Houston Griffith is one of several highly skilled sophomores poised to assume bigger roles

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Wide receiver Chase Claypool earns Team MVP honors for head coach Brian Kelly’s squad following stellar senior campaign

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FEBRUARY 2020 ✦ VOLUME 39, ISSUE 14 MANAGING EDITOR Steve Downey SENIOR EDITOR Lou Somogyi CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Ryan Tice Mark Panus FOOTBALL ANALYST Vince DeDario RECRUITING REPORTER Mike Singer CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Todd D. Burlage Andrew Mentock PHOTOGRAPHY James Gilbert, Mike Miller, Bill Panzica, Andris Visockis COVER PHOTO James Gilbert DESIGN Jeanette Blankenship Chris Miller ✦ ✦ ✦ PUBLISHER Stu Coman BUSINESS MANAGER Linda Autry ADVERTISING SALES Michelle DeLee-Hamilton 877-630-8768

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Memories Of 2010-19 Cheers and tears from the recently completed decade ✦ PAGE 27

Upon Further Review ✦ Todd D. Burlage................ 4 Fan Forum................................................................ 5 Under The Dome...................................................... 6 Ian Book Returning................................................. 26 Early Signing Period................................................ 30 Notre Dame Fit....................................................... 32 Early Signee Capsules............................................. 34 Football Recruiting Roundup & Master List...........37 Men’s Basketball....................................................38 Women’s Basketball..............................................40 ND Sports..............................................................42 Irish In The Pros.....................................................43 History: Top Irish Decades.....................................44 Blue & Gold Marketplace......................................45 The Fifth Quarter ✦ Lou Somogyi.........................46

THE NEXT ISSUE OF BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED WILL BE MAILED ON FEB. 14 FEBRUARY 2020 3

UPON FURTHER REVIEW TODD D. BURLAGE

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Notre Dame Recruiters Casting A Wide Net

otre Dame assistant With a continually increascoaches Brian Polian ing influx of Hawaiian playand Mike Elston had a ers on the Irish roster, ever bit of a friendly wager during since star linebacker Manti this recent recruiting season Te’o enjoyed his brilliant as to which one took the loncareer at Notre Dame from ger trip to make a home visit.

2009-12, the long flight to HoPolian’s went from Chinolulu for Polian has become cago to Honolulu to visit rather routine and lucrative defensive lineman Jordan in attracting talented players.

Botelho. Elston’s was from “I’m just the guy who Chicago to Dusseldorf, Gerdrives everybody around in many, to meet defensive end Hawai’i,” he said. “Because I Alexander Ehrensberger. know where I’m going!”

Both players ended up at In addition to a growing Notre Dame. number of Polynesian play“The big deal for [Coach ers coming to the mainland Elston] was, ‘Boy that was a to play college football, long flight,’” Polian joked. “I Polian sees another internastill think Chicago to Honotional trend unfolding with lulu is a bit longer. We might Australian players showing have to settle the bet with an increased interest in the that one.”

American game.

For the record, Google inBen Griffiths, a Melbourne dicates that Polian is correct, Notre Dame’s 18-man 2020 recruiting haul in December was comprised of native, is a 28-year-old redbut just barely. Polian’s flight players from 15 different states, and also included defensive end Alexander shirt freshman punter for Ehrensberger from Dusseldorf, Germany. to Hawai’i was 4,243 miles, USC whose official website PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM 13 miles longer than Elston’s bio reads in part, “one of the Germany journey.

“The cross-section of the playoldest Trojan players ever.”

Both coaches were on an airplane ers that we have in the program, Griffiths, who feels jilted by that for more than 10 hours, but that’s it’s pretty amazing in terms of the description, is getting such a late just part of the recruiting gig at diversity of the group,” head coach start on his college football career Notre Dame.

Brian Kelly said. “But they all have because he spent eight seasons from “We used to say in recruiting that one common thread, and that is, 2010-17 as a 6-5, 250-pound forward we’re a national brand,” Polian said. they want to be challenged in the in the Australian Football League.

“But in reality, we have actually classroom and they want to be chal“I want to know who the oldest become an international brand and lenged on the football field. is,” Griffiths joked in a story for The that offers a unique opportunity “So that is the common denomiAthletic. “Because I want to try and for us to literally recruit ocean to nator that keeps them coming from beat them if I can.” ocean.” all over the country, from the West Two incoming Irish players from The 18 players from the 2020 Coast to the East Coast.”

New Jersey in this 2020 class, and recruiting class who signed their For comparison sake, only 18 another from Hawai’i, and everyNational Letter of Intent to play at players on Alabama’s 120-man roswhere in between, and beyond, help Notre Dame on Dec. 18 come from ter — walk-ons included — come to illustrate the widening net Notre one foreign country and 15 different from states north of the MasonDame recruiters continually cast. states.

Dixon Line, and only 31 of that “The reach of Notre Dame, the The 2019 Notre Dame team feagroup hail from states other than brand of Notre Dame, how many tured players from 29 different Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and other places could do that?” Polian states — all the way from VancouTexas. rhetorically asked. “There aren’t ver, Wash., and San Diego on the And as Polian explained, with very many schools in the country West Coast to Jamestown, R.I., and representation from all 50 states and that can make that reach and do so Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on the East more than 70 foreign countries, the successfully. It’s a powerful brand; Coast. And that’s only on the U.S. Notre Dame student body is even it’s one that makes recruiting here a mainland. more diverse than its football team. lot of fun.” ✦ Alohi Gilman, Marist Liufau and “Our students come from everyTodd D. Burlage has been a writer Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa all came where and our team comes from for Blue & Gold Illustrated since from Hawai’i, and wide receiver/ everywhere,” Polian said. “The one July 2005. He can be reached Team MVP Chase Claypool was thing that binds us all together is the at tburlage@blueandgold.com from British Columbia, Canada. love for Our Lady’s University.”

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FEBRUARY 2020

BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED

FAN FORUM Both Zack Martin and Quenton Nelson will be seriously considered for our 150th all-time team in 2037 (if we’re still around), as would Te’o, but the next issue then is, who do you take off?

UPON FURTHER REVIEW …

I was wondering since your article on Notre Dame’s All-Time Team in Sports Illustrated back in 2006, what players would you now name to that team and who would they replace?

Manti Te’o I would think is worthy to be one of the linebackers.

Is Michael Floyd one of the two wide receivers? Justin Yoon over John Carney at placekicker?

John Baranowski Via the Internet Mr. Baranowski, we’re flattered that you remembered that piece from 13 years ago. Six years later, prior to the 2012 campaign — which was the 125th anniversary of Notre Dame football — we assembled an updated version of our alltime 25-man team.

Please note the three criteria we had: • Achievements in both college and the NFL that made him a revered football icon.

• Production in multiple years, fame as a player and esteem as a leader.

• Impact he had in the program’s fortunes — especially aiding a national title — and in Irish lore: Quarterback: Joe Montana Running back: George Gipp Wide receivers: Raghib “Rocket” Ismail and Tim Brown Tight Ends: Dave Casper and Ken MacAfee Offensive Line: George Connor (LT), Aaron Taylor (LG), Adam Walsh (C), Bill Fischer (RG) and Jim Martin (RT) Defensive Line: Ross Browner and Leon Hart at end, and Alan Page and Chris Zorich at tackle Linebacker: Jim Lynch, Bob Golic and Bob Crable Cornerback: Johnny Lattner and Todd Lyght Safety: John Lujack and Luther Bradley Utility Man on Offense or Defense: Paul Hornung Kicker: John Carney Punter: Bill Shakespeare This is not just about raw stats in col-

BE HEARD! Send your letters to: Letters Blue & Gold Illustrated P. O. Box 1007, Notre Dame, IN 46556 or e-mail to: lsomogyi@blueandgold.com www.BLUEANDGOLD.com

A SLOW BURN?

Linebacker Manti Te’o would be a candidate for a spot on an updated Notre Dame all-time team, but the competition would be fierce.

PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA

lege, because it’s a different game today.

For example, with all due respect, Floyd caught more passes than Brown and Ismail combined in college, but Ismail (in the College Football Hall of Fame) had greater impact on the program, whereas with Floyd the team was 7-6, 6-6, 8-5 and 8-5. That’s not Floyd’s fault — but the next year without him the Irish were 12-1.

Meanwhile, Brown was only 7-5, 5-6, 5-6 and 8-4 at Notre Dame — but he was a nine-time Pro Bowl pick (Floyd did not pan out in the NFL) and is in both the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame.

Mike Brey’s current career reminds me of the last days of Rollie Massimino at Villanova (1973-92).

They both had terrific runs. Rollie burned out after the long run. I feel Brey is now burning out. Twenty years is a long time.

At the end, recruiting gets harder and harder, and it has to tire you out.

The prime example is Hunter Dickinson, who recently committed to the University of Michigan. A skilled big man from DeMatha who Brey has been recruiting since he was in 10th grade should have ended up at Notre Dame.

Speaking of Michigan, Juwan Howard hired longtime St. Joe’s head coach Phil Martelli (1995-2019) as his assistant. St Joe’s recruiting had also gone down during Phil’s last few years.

Very few coaches are able to go strong at the same school for 20 years or more. There are not many Coach Ks, Bob Knights or John Woodens.

Notre Dame got their money’s worth from Brey.

Charles Pitale Philadelphia

FROM THE WEBSITE

.com One of the most discussed subjects on our BlueandGold.com website in December was who should Brian Kelly hire as the offensive coordinator to replace Chip Long, who handled the play-calling duties.

Should he promote from within someone like Tom Rees, Lance Taylor or Jeff Quinn, or bring in someone from the outside such as Long? Here’s a small sample: Jgradoath: We have to remember, Kelly is the offensive scheme mind. He is not going to bring someone in with a completely different outlook, especially with a fifth-year QB. Like any job in the world, would you want your company to invest in internal talent and grow, or constantly see top jobs at your company go to outside hires? Kelly has made some poor outside hires before. Brian VanGorder was a “proven” guy. Every great coach was once a lower-level assistant. Let’s not disregard what we already may have. That’s just poor management.

FightingVac: Nick Saban promotes from within all the time, and so does Dabo Swinney. If he wants to promote Tommy or Lance, or both, I don’t understand why anyone would have a problem with that.

They know the system; they have relationships with the players. Someone new would have to come in, learn the system and learn the players. If they hire an experienced tight ends coach with a strong recruiting background, I think it would all work out in the long run.

PreTill1: I am a lot more (can’t stress enough) concerned with OL play vs. who will be the new OC. If we can’t run the ball any better, it doesn’t matter who the OC is. Long led a team that scored a lot of points, even with a team that couldn’t run the ball.

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UNDER THE DOME ward an outstanding coaching career, plus the hope that he would soon return to Notre Dame after his graduation.

Rees finished his Fighting Irish career with 7,670 career passing yards (third most), 61 touchdown passes (second most) and also 37 interceptions (third most).

“It’s pretty obvious that Tom is going to call the plays,” Kelly said. “I don’t know that there’s any secrets out there. There will be certainly collaboration as there has been.

“Tom will be in the box. He’ll send the plays down through me — not that I’m going to be micro-managing what he’s doing.”

In the 10 full practices prior to the bowl game Kelly indicated that throughout every session 15- to 20-minute windows were set aside where Rees would call unscripted plays.

Unlike Long, who was on the sideline throughout his career, the 27-year-old Rees remained in the press box to make the calls.

COACHING IN HIS BLOOD

The 27-year-old Rees received what amounts to an audition for the vacant offensive coordinator position at Notre Dame thanks in large part to his “great background” in college football.

PHOTO BY MIKE MILLER

SNEAK PREVIEW? Quarterbacks coach Tommy Rees named play caller for Camping World Bowl

BY LOU SOMOGYI

I

n a move that caught no one by surprise, Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly confirmed two days before the Camping World Bowl that third-year Fighting Irish quarterbacks coach Tom Rees would call the plays — filtered through Kelly— versus Iowa State Dec. 28.

Former offensive coordinator Chip Long (2017-19) and Kelly parted ways earlier during the month, leav6

FEBRUARY 2020

ing the play-caller role vacant. Kelly had indicated in the week thereafter that Rees would coordinate the passing efforts and second-year running backs coach Lance Taylor the ground attack, but ultimately play-calling duties had to be handled by a singular figure.

Rees started 31 games at quarterback under Kelly from 2010-13 and earned immense praise from the head coach for his football IQ — and a projection that he was headed to-

To Kelly, Rees’ background as the son of a longtime football coach — his father, Bill, has been the director of scouting at Notre Dame since 2017 — and as a quarterback at this level provides an amount of knowledge with which he is comfortable.

More and more the pattern in college football, or even the NFL, has been to go with the 30- and even 20-somethings as an offensive coordinator, from 26-year-old Charlie Weis Jr. — yes, the son — getting hired in that role at the University of South Florida after a successful stint with head coach Lane Kiffin (now at Ole Miss) in that same capacity at Florida Atlantic, to then 29-year-old LSU passing game coordinator Joe Brady getting entrusted in that role prior to this season with the Tigers.

“Everybody gets a first time. …We all had first times,” Kelly said regarding Rees’ inexperience in the playcalling capacity. “So what do you need to be prepared for that first time?

BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED

UNDER THE DOME “You’ve got to have, first of all, a great background. [Rees] had a great background leading up to this. He’s been in this arena before. He grew up in this arena of college football and he’ll be well supported.”

The coach’s main advice is to not be afraid to stay with what is working rather than overthink and feel like he needs to call every play in the book.

“Dialing up plays — we’ve got plenty of plays,” he said. “We’ve got to execute them.”

Kelly has maintained that he will still have a national search to get the best possible coach — whether it’s at coordinator or a specific position group — to fill out the staff on offense, but it won’t begin in earnest until after the New Year.

“I could hire an offensive line coach, I could hire a tight end coach, I could hire a quarterback coach,” Kelly said. “I’m going to hire the best coach that I believe fits what we have currently.”

GROUP EFFORT

Collaboration often includes cocoordinators as well.

Each of the four College Football Playoff participants this year (Clemson, LSU, Ohio State and Oklahoma) either had co-coordinators on offense, or one with the title of offense coordinator such as LSU’s Steven Ensminger while giving the title “passing game coordinator” to Brady.

Minus Long, Kelly inserted himself into the offense more in December and was better able to evaluate the strengths of his staff, including Taylor working more with offensive line coach Jeff Quinn on the running game.

“More than anything else, [Taylor] is a louder voice in the room,” Kelly said. “Everybody has a voice right now. Giving him that opportunity, you get to see another side that you hadn’t seen. … I’ve loved the collaboration, guys working together without ego.”

Kelly also contended there would be no “reinventing the wheel” after averaging 37.1 points per game during the regular season and having much success under Long, but a stronger consistency with a conventional ground attack does need to be addressed. www.BLUEANDGOLD.com

While Notre Dame did finish November strong with a five-game winning streak, the ground game had to rely heavily on senior quarterback Ian Book’s ad-lib scrambling or jet sweeps from sophomore wideout Braden Lenzy for some creativity.

Top rusher, senior running back Tony Jones Jr., in his final five regular season games had 165 yards on 53 attempts, or 3.1 yards per carry.

In the game that Jones was sidelined with an injury, the 21-20 win versus Virginia Tech on Nov. 2, Jafar Armstrong carried 19 times for only 37 yards.

“We ran the ball at times effectively, and at other times we weren’t effective,” Kelly said. “We want to be moving forward much more effective, so that requires complete collaboration and everybody on the same page, and that’s what I’m looking to accomplish. “… It’s not for the untrained eye. I think you’re not going to see a whole lot of difference. But for those that really study our offense, I think you’ll see some improvements that will help us from the start of the game to the end of the game. That’s what we’re looking for.” ✦

Clark Lea: Future Head Coach In The Making While replacing Chip Long as the offensive coordinator and tight ends coach garnered much of the attention inside Notre Dame’s football offices throughout the month of December, another upheaval nearly took place on defense as well.

Second-year defensive coordinator Clark Lea reportedly was a finalist for the vacated head coaching position at Boston College after the Eagles fired seventh-year head coach Steve Addazio, whose seven-year run from 2013-19 ended with a 44-44 record. Addazio, an assistant at Notre Dame from 1999-2001, was hired a little later as Colorado State’s head coach.

Selected for the Boston College head coaching position was Ohio State’s Jeff Hafley, who had coached secondaries in the NFL from 2012-18 before doing the same at Ohio State this season in a co-coordinator role.

Lea’s rapid ascent in his profession and as an appealing head coach candidate hardly is a surprise. In his two seasons as Notre Dame’s defensive coordinator, the Irish have ranked in the top 10 defensively in both the Fremeau Efficiency Index and ESPN Football Power Index, placing eighth this year in the former and sixth in the latter prior to Lea was a finalist for the vacated head coaching position at Boston College. the bowl game.

PHOTO BY MIKE MILLER “We’ve had great conversations about where he is right now, where he believes he needs to grow,” head coach Brian Kelly said of Lea. “Some of the insight that I’ve been able to give him to where he needs to continue to grow as it relates to head coaching.

“He’s an outstanding defensive coordinator, but there are other things that you have to begin to develop philosophically as a head coach. Those are off to the side, but those are exercises that he’ll put together now in the offseason as he builds his résumé. “… A successful defensive coordinator at Notre Dame can put himself in a position to be a Power Five head coach.”

Whereas Long reportedly had become overbearing and even too personal to the point a change was needed, Lea’s demeanor hits the right chords with the troops.

“He’s great with his players,” junior Mike linebacker Drew White said of Lea, who also is his position coach. “He’s not a screamer, and I think that’s a good thing because a lot of players benefit from just being taught and sat down. You can have the tough conversations for sure, but he’s not going to just scream and yell at you where you just really stop listening at that point.

“He’s a great teacher, he’s got great schemes, and I think he cares about his players just on an overall perspective — and really cares about what kind of guys are coming here and what kind of guys he wants leaving here. He does a great job of preparing us.”

— Lou Somogyi FEBRUARY 2020 7

UNDER THE DOME Point ✦ Counterpoint:

WHICH POSITION GROUP WILL HAVE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE IN 2020?

Offensive Line Will Be Expected To Set The Tone

By Lou Somogyi The offense graduates its top two wideouts in Team MVP Chase Claypool plus Chris Finke, and junior tight Cole Kmet (as of Dec. 31) was weighing his option to turn pro.

Defensively, the secondary will be in a state of flux, although standout freshman safety Kyle Hamilton does provide AllAmerica-level talent.

Thus, it might come as a shock that my selection is the offensive line — projected to be the most seasoned unit on the 2020 team. All five starters from the beginning of this season return, along with top reserve Josh Lugg, and they have combined for 114 career starts, a figure one seldom sees.

Under Jeff Quinn, the offensive line has earned high marks and plaudits in pass blocking, but often OL LIAM EICHENBERG been cited for poor technique and lack of push and physicality in the ground game — specifically against top opponents. In the three losses the past two years to Clemson, Georgia and Michigan, the ground game outputs were 88, 47 and 46 yards, respectively, whereas the opposition accumulated 211, 152 and 303.

Notre Dame has morphed into a consistent top-seven to top-15 program the past three seasons, especially on defense with coordinator Clark Lea, while special teams also became a more consistent asset in 2019.

Notre Dame’s offense has demonstrated it can put up points and yardage against decent (Iowa State, USC, Virginia and Virginia Tech) or badly outmatched defenses, but it repeatedly disappoints, especially on the ground, against the better ones.

To evolve into that tier-one group in the upcoming decade, the veteran 2020 offensive line must take the lead and assert itself — by land and by air.

Cornerbacks The Easy Choice For Top Concern

By Todd D. Burlage With all due respect to my colleague, at least the Irish offensive line returns intact, experienced and with minimal plug-and-play uncertainty.

As for the Notre Dame cornerbacks, just the prospect of replacing graduated standout Troy Pride Jr. brings more anxiety to this unit than the offensive line will face through the entire preseason and beyond.

Add to Pride’s absence the group’s inexperience, the health of Shaun Crawford (expected to return), some looming coaching uncertainty on whether CB coach Todd Lyght will be back, and some elite quarterback-receiving tandems on the 2020 Irish schedule, and this becomes the area of greatest concern for Notre Dame.

Junior-to-be and returning starter TaRiq Bracy provides someone the Irish coaches can build CB TARIQ BRACY around within this position group. And if Crawford returns and stays healthy all season — seemingly a big if — that helps, too.

Beyond that, it’s dicey, especially after the experiment with sophomore Houston Griffith last spring resulted in him moving back to safety.

The three-man incoming freshman class of three-star players is considered more of a project group than an impactful one.

And, lest we forget, the Irish face Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence and star wide receiver Justin Ross in early November, and then get the challenge of stopping a lethal USC passing attack led by either Kedon Slovis or JT Daniels throwing to star-studded receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown, Tyler Vaughns and Drake Condon in the season finale.

Improved play along the offensive line certainly will be worth tracking next season. But finding stability among the cornerbacks is a bigger challenge, and a greater priority.

FIVE QUESTIONS WITH … Notre Dame Basketball Development And Recruiting Coordinator Scott Martin Former Notre Dame men’s basketball captain Scott Martin recently found himself ready to leave behind the game he loves to start a finance career in the real work world.

The Irish team MVP in 2011-12, Martin battled injuries during his time as a player at Notre Dame (2008-13) but still managed to parlay a solid 84game college career into a successful five-year professional career in Europe. Upon his return to the U.S. in 2018, Martin took a job at investment firm Merrill Lynch, where he lasted about eight months before making his return to the sport as the development and recruiting coordinator for the Notre Dame men’s basketball program.

Martin’s responsibilities include supporting the program’s recruiting strategy during the offseason and assisting with day-to-day team operations during the season. Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey hired Martin for the job last July when another former Irish player, Eric Atkins, left the position open to take an assistant coaching job at Howard University.

BGI: What’s a day in the life like on your new job?

Martin: “It varies between in season and out of season. I handle all the film work, coordinating that, and getting the coaches what they need, cutting up game film and cutting practice film up, so 8

FEBRUARY 2020

that’s a big portion of the job right now.

“In the offseason, it’s obviously a lot more recruiting heavy.”

BGI: Where do you hope this position can lead you someday?

Martin: “I want to definitely coach, that’s kind of where the trajectory I’d like to take with this. But right now, I have a lot of great guys and current coaches who I get to learn from and teach me things. Right now, I’m just enjoying it, and taking every day, and getting through the first season for me.”

BGI: How did this opportunity come about?

Martin: “I was at a former teammate’s wedding [Zach Hillesland], I ran into Coach Brey and that’s how we started talking about this position. I was working at BGI: Since this was an unMerrill Lynch when this opfamiliar position for you, was portunity came up. Coach there much of an adjustment Brey really didn’t have to Martin’s responsibilities include learning how Coach Brey wants twist my arm too hard to supporting Notre Dame’s recruiting the job done? come here; I jumped on it.” strategy during the offseason and Martin: “Lucky for me is havBGI: What was the appeal assisting with day-to-day team opera- ing played for Coach I kind of to coming back to Notre tions during the season. knew stuff that he looked for, PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND stuff that he liked and it was an Dame?

Martin: “I’m from Valparaiso, [which is] not too easy transition in that aspect, being familiar with far away from Notre Dame, so it was nice to get the program helps a lot. I know what he likes and a job that is close to home. And Notre Dame will I know what he looks for and that has helped always be like home to me. This really is like a ease the transition for me.” second go-around; it’s great to be home.”

— Todd D. Burlage BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED

UNDER THE DOME ✦ BY

2

THE NUMBERS

144-107

Former Notre Dame players named to ESPN’s 50-man all-time college football roster to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the sport: all-purpose player Tim Brown and offensive guard AARON TAYLOR were both selected to the second team.

There were two 25-man teams comprised of 11 on offense, 11 on defense, and then a punter, kicker and all-purpose player.

Brown was the 1987 Heisman Trophy recipient as a wide receiver and return man, and later became a nine-time Pro Bowl pick. Taylor is one of 16 Irish players ever to earn two-time consensus All-America recognition, first as a guard in 1992 and then as a tackle in 1993, and he also earned the Lombardi Award as a senior.

Two former Notre Dame players also made the all-time 100-man NFL Network team to commemorate the 100th year of the NFL: quarterback Joe Montana (1979-94) and defensive tackle Alan Page (1967-82).

Career record posted by Louis Leo “Skip” Holtz Jr., a 1987 Notre Dame alumnus, as a major college head coach at Connecticut (1994-98), East Carolina (2005-09), South Florida (2010‑12) — highlighted by defeating his alma mater in the 2011 season opener — and now Louisiana Tech (2013-19). He concluded this season with a 14-0 victory over Miami in the Independence Bowl to run his record at Louisiana Tech to 56-36 after leading the Bulldogs to a 10-3 mark in 2019.

He now has the third-most wins among Notre Dame alumni as a college head coach, this year surpassing College Football Hall of Fame members Charlie Bachman (137-83-24), James Phelan (137-87-14) and Frank Thomas (141-33-9). The two Notre Dame alumni with more victories than Holtz are Eddie Anderson (201-128-15) and Gus Dorais (150-70-12).

Holtz’s father, Lou Sr., was 249-132-7, highlighted by a 100-30-2 mark at Notre Dame from 1986-96 that featured the 1988 national title.

5

188

Quarterbacks in the Football Bowl Subdivision since 2017 who passed for more than 2,500 yards and 30 touchdowns in the same regular season, plus totaled more than 500 yards rushing: Ohio State’s JT Barrett in 2017, Oklahoma Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray and Houston’s D’Eriq King in 2018, and Oklahoma’s Jalen Hurts and Notre Dame’s Ian Book in 2019.

7

Power Five schools among the 64 in the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC that Notre Dame has yet to play after facing first-time foe Iowa State in the Camping World Bowl Dec. 28.

The Fighting Irish have played every current foe in the ACC and Big Ten — 14 in each conference — and all 12 in the Pac-12. There are three teams it has yet to play in the 10-team Big 12: Kansas State, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech. There are still four teams to be played in the 14-team SEC: Arkansas (which will play at Notre Dame next Sept. 12), Auburn, Kentucky and Mississippi State.

Point differential (296-108) during Notre Dame’s 7-0 finish at home this season, the most since 1932, when second-year head coach Hunk Anderson’s Fighting Irish were plus-198 that year in the four home games that were all shutouts against Haskell (73-0), Drake (62-0), Carnegie Tech (42-0) and Northwestern (21-0).

This year seven home wins were New Mexico (66-14), Virginia (35-20), Bowling Green (52-0), USC (30-27), Virginia Tech (21-20), Navy (52-20) and Boston College (40-7).

$550

Limit the NCAA has on how much a bowl game can offer in gifts to each player on a team invited to its site. For Notre Dame players in the Camping World Bowl, the gift package included a $400 Best Buy gift card, a watch and a Herschel backpack with a luggage tag.

27

Age of current Notre Dame quarterbacks coach Tom Rees, who could become the youngest coordinator ever for the Fighting Irish — although Terry Brennan was 25 when hired as head coach in 1954. The previous youngest of recent vintage was Mike Sanford Jr., who was 33 when hired in 2015 and is currently at Utah State.

PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME MEDIA RELATIONS

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FEBRUARY 2020 9

UNDER THE DOME ALOHI GILMAN AND TONY JONES JR. WILL ENTER THE NFL DRAFT

After senior quarterback Ian Book announced on Dec. 29 that he will return for his fifth season of eligibility in 2020 (see page 26), safety Alohi Gilman on Dec. 30 and then running back Tony Jones Jr. on Dec. 31 both revealed they will pursue their NFL dreams, even though they had one more year of college eligibility remaining.

Gilman attended the Naval Prep School in 2015 before enrolling at the Naval Academy in 2016 as a freshman. He sat out the 2017 season following his transfer to Notre Dame, but then became one of the team's most prominent leaders, vocally and through performance, during the 23-3 run the past two seasons that included an appearance in the College Football Playoff in 2018.

Pro Football Focus graded out Gilman as the top safety in 2018 when he finished second on the team in tackles with 95 to go with seven passes broken up, three forced fumbles and two interceptions. This year as a team captain Gilman finished fourth in tackles with 74 and forced three more fumbles, the last setting up Notre Dame’s first score in the 33-9 Camping World Bowl victory versus Iowa State.

Jones also starred in the bowl victory with 135 rushing yards, highlighted by a career-long 84-yard scoring jaunt on Notre Dame’s first play on offense in the second half. Redshirted as a freshman in 2016, Jones’ rushing output increased each season from 232 to 392 and ultimately a team-high 857 this year. He romped for a career-high 176 yards in the 30-27 victory versus USC Oct. 12 and was also a valued blocker in pass protection.

Meanwhile, fifth-year senior cornerback Shaun Crawford has indicated an interest in returning for a sixth season of eligibility in 2020. He was sidelined all of 2015 and 2018 with a torn ACL, and missed all but one full game in 2016 with a torn Achilles.

Back in September, Crawford declared he had no plans to apply for a sixth season because five was plenty. However, upon further review and a campaign in which he played 11 games and nearly 400 snaps …

“Throughout the season, just the memories we’ve created, the opportunities that were presented — it’s something you just can’t move on from,” said Crawford, who is working on his master’s in the Mendoza College of Business. “I love this university, I love everything they have to offer. Just the opportunity to further my education here … If there’s an opportunity for me to get back on the field, or if there’s opportunity for me to help and impact this team any way, then I’m going to take full advantage of it.”

In addition to Book, the core group of players expected to return for a fifth season in 2020 are two offensive linemen — left tackle Liam Eichenberg and right guard Tommy Kraemer — and two defensive Safety Alohi Gilman had one more year of college linemen: ends Daelin Hayes and Ade Ogundeji.

Also having until Jan. 20 to make a decision on whether to return for his senior season in 2020 is junior eligibility remaining in 2020, but after two productive years with the Irish he opted to pursue tight end Cole Kmet, who reportedly received a second-round draft grade and could conceivably be the top tight end in the 2020 NFL Draft. his dream of playing in the NFL. PHOTO BY ANDRIS VISOCKIS — Lou Somogyi

WALK-ONS MICK ASSAF AND COLIN GRUNHARD REWARDED WITH SCHOLARSHIPS

During the Notre Dame football team’s gift-giving on Christmas Eve in Orlando, Fla., while preparing for the Camping World Bowl, senior running back and special teams regular Mick Assaf and junior center Colin Grunhard were the last two called up.

Both were rewarded with scholarships to pay their tuition through at least the 2020 summer.

“Two guys that have worked really hard in our program,” Fighting Irish head coach Brian Kelly said of the duo. “We have a period here where we have a couple of scholarships for the semester and the summer, so we’ll put them on aid for the rest of the academic year.”

A roommate of starting senior quarterback Ian Book, Assaf has been on the kick return and punt return units while playing all 12 regular-season games, and added nine carries for 37 yards.

Highly popular with his own comedy-themed “Mick’s MixTape” videos on social media, which has included Notre Dame president Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., as a guest, Assaf is likely to move on to other endeavors, although he could return for a fifth season in 2020. “[Assaf] is going to be very successful,” Kelly said. “He has his own start-up company right now, and he can do some other things. But he’s very valuable to us too.

“He performs a lot of roles for us, from special teams to scout [team] … [to] Ian Book’s private Uber driver.”

Grunhard, the son of 1986-89 Notre Dame guard and 10-year NFL veteran Tim Grunhard, has established him as the No. 2 center behind Jarrett Patterson, and has two more years of eligibility in 2020-21. Both were celebrated loudly by teammates after the announcement.

“The response that we got from their teammates was obviously appropriate, that they in fact have the respect of their teammates,” Kelly said. “If you just do this to do it, to get a rise out of the team, then you’re just doing it for social media hits. This was really about two players that have earned their opportunity, and because we had some flexibility in this period of time, it just worked the right way.

“And then when you throw Christmas in there, they’re all kind of timed up the right way.”

— Lou Somogyi 10

FEBRUARY 2020

Grunhard, the son of 1986-89 Irish guard and 10-year NFL veteran Tim Grunhard, has established himself as Notre Dame’s No. 2 center and has two years of eligibility remaining.

PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA

BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED

UNDER THE DOME

THEY SAID IT

PHOTO BY JAMES GILBERT

“These Irish really did like playing together. These Irish really did play for each other.

It wasn’t just lip service on those sometimes painfully awkward Tuesday media sessions during the regular season. The adversity that arrived following that October no-show at Michigan never did crack this group. It did the opposite. It was the ultimate pressure release. From that rainy night on, the Irish just played.”

Tom Noie of The South Bend Tribune “Here’s how close — or perceived to be close — Brian Kelly was to replacing Iowa State football coach Dan McCarney: It was so [erroneously] rumored that Kelly’s bolting from Central Michigan to Ames was such a done deal that a well-placed official in Iowa State’s athletic department alerted The Register that it probably wouldn’t be the greatest idea to run with fiction against fact. Go ahead and do it, but you might look silly, she or he told us. So we held tight.” — Randy Peterson of The Des Moines Register on the Notre Dame head coach almost taking the same position at Iowa State following the 2006 campaign “On one hand, rising fifth-year Notre Dame senior Ian Book is not an elite passer. On the other, he helped lead the Fighting Irish to the College Football Playoff last year and guided them to another strong season this year. What is not up for debate is what Notre Dame head coach Kelly wants. … Book may not have as high of a ceiling as some of the players featured here, but he is an exceptional college quarterback. The NFL should wait as he returns and continues to polish his game.” — Brad Shepard of Bleacher Report on the possibility of senior quarterback Ian Book returning for a fifth year in 2020

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“But for everyone he inspires, there are also the people and headlines attempting to tear him down. They are the ones who told Rudy he would never attend Notre Dame. Then, they told him he would never survive there as a football walk-on, or that a 5-foot-6 tackling dummy would ever actually dress for a game, let alone play. After his 27 seconds of glory against Georgia Tech in 1975, they said he was insane for thinking all of the above would ever make it to the silver screen. And now, a quarter-century after ‘Rudy’ was in theaters, they are still here.

They question his true role in Notre Dame’s unparalleled college football history, and constantly challenge him to defend the truthfulness of the film that bears his name.” — ESPN’s Ryan McGee on the real-life Rudy Ruettiger “Yes, because they’ve done well in the trenches especially along the offensive line and that will be key moving forward. The balance of the classes is excellent and they are hitting a ton of needs. The only thing lacking is a difference-maker as a pass rusher.” — Rivals.com national recruiting director Mike Farrell on if Notre Dame is recruiting at a national championship level “Wednesday, two schools went in entirely different directions and took Signing Day videos to the next level.

And it may be years before anyone tops them. Notre Dame made a lot of rooms dusty Wednesday morning when the Fighting Irish social media team began posting videos narrated by each signee’s parents. Try and watch [them] without tearing up.” — The Athletic’s Andy Staples on Notre Dame’s National Signing Day social media campaign

OF THE MONTH ➤“God has blessed me to finish my ND degree in economics! All glory to him for pushing me through it all! I am blessed beyond measure! My greatest accomplishment to this date!”

Senior safety Alohi Gilman (@alohigilman) on finishing up classes at Notre Dame Dec. 20 www.BLUEANDGOLD.com

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UNDER THE DOME CHARTING THE IRISH PULLING RANK

Team recruiting rankings aren’t perfect. They often don’t account for when a program does or doesn’t meet its position needs, and teams that sign fewer than 20 recruits are at a disadvantage. Still, they can be a valuable tool in determining how much talent a program has.

With 18 signees in the class of 2020 heading into January, Notre Dame had the No. 15 recruiting class nationally according to Rivals. The Fighting Irish signed one five-star prospect and three others in the top 50, all of whom play on offense.

While it is a good class, it significantly trails 2020 Fighting Irish opponent Clemson, which boasted the No. 1 haul. The Tigers have six five-star signees and seven in the top 50.

The only other 2020 opponents with top-25 classes are No. 23 Georgia Tech and No. 24 Stanford. Wisconsin, which should be the second-toughest team Notre Dame plays next season, had the No. 32 class.

USC is traditionally a recruiting powerhouse, but given the uncertain future of head coach Clay Helton it managed only an 11-man group that was rated No. 83, behind even Navy (No. 72). Only Arkansas (No. 85) rated lower among Power Five opponents on Notre Dame’s 2020 schedule.

2020 RIVALS TEAM RECRUITING RANKINGS Rk. School Total 1. Clemson* 23 2. Alabama 26 3. Ohio State 25 4. LSU 20 5. Georgia 19 15. Notre Dame 18 23. Georgia Tech* 24 24. Stanford* 18 32. Wisconsin* 19 36. Louisville* 25 47. Pittsburgh* 17 57. Duke* 16 T60. Wake Forest* 18 72. Navy* 77 T83. USC* 11 85. Arkansas* 11 * 2020 Notre Dame opponent

As of Dec. 31 5 Stars 4 Stars 6 13 3 19 3 13 2 13 3 13 1 9 0 4 1 7 0 4 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1

✦ GIMME FIVE

For the sixth consecutive year in as many football seasons, former Notre Dame offensive lineman Zack Martin (2010-13) made the NFL Pro Bowl based on his regular-season performance.

Meanwhile, former Fighting Irish safety Harrison Smith (2007-11) achieved that distinction for the fifth straight season, while 2014-17 guard Quenton Nelson has been in the Pro Bowl in each of his first two campaigns. A third Notre Dame offensive lineman from this decade, Ronnie Stanley (2012-15), made it into the postseason affair for the first time.

All four were first-round selections, which is the NFL’s version of a five-star high school recruit getting signed by a school.

Martin already has tied the late guard Bob Kuechenberg (1966-68) and running back Jerome 12

FEBRUARY 2020

Avg. 4.09 3.96 3.76 3.85 4.00 3.56 3.08 3.50 3.11 2.88 3.06 2.94 2.56 1.88 3.00 3.00

Points 3,100 2,941 2,841 2,795 2,588 2,115 1,798 1,778 1,516 1,455 1,275 1,065 1,035 915 825 810

Bettis (1990-92) for the sixth-most Pro Bowl appearances by a Notre Dame alumnus, and is four more Pro Bowl seasons away from becoming the first Fighting Irish alumnus to reach 10.

Here are the top five to hold that distinction since the first Pro Bowl game was played on Jan. 14, 1951: Rk. Name, Pos. Pro Bowls 1.

Alan Page, DT 9

Tim Brown, WR 9 3.

Joe Montana, QB 8

George Kunz, OT 8 5.

Dave Casper, TE 7 Note: Page was named first-team All-Pro six times, also the most among Notre Dame alumni.

Casper is second with four, while Montana and Martin have three apiece.

TOP

OF THE CLASS

Irish student-athletes — past, present and future — excelling on and off the field Rocky Bleier — Football The 1965-67 Irish running back will be honored with a 2020 NCAA Inspiration Award Jan. 22 in Anaheim, Calif. It is reserved for people who used perseverance, dedication and determination to overcome a lifealtering situation and, most importantly, are role models giving hope and inspiration to others.

Bleier suffered severe injuries in combat during the Vietnam War, but fought his way back to a professional football career that spanned more than a decade. He has since donated time and energy to helping veterans like himself re-acclimate to the different lives they faced when they returned home.

Sam Brunelle — Basketball The rookie from Ruckersville, Va., was named the ACC Freshman of the Week Dec. 18. She was honored after pouring in a career-high 31 points in Notre Dame’s 105-94 loss to DePaul Dec. 11. She had 17 points at halftime, just two shy of her previous career best. She was 13 of 18 from the floor for the game, and also grabbed seven rebounds with two assists and a block.

Heading into the New Year, Brunelle ranked third on the team in scoring (13.8 points per game) and second in rebounding (6.3).

Michael Mayer — Football The 2020 Fighting Irish tight end signee from Independence, Ky., had a big month of December. He helped Covington Catholic to the 5A state championship and was named MVP of the title game, received the 2019 Gatorade Kentucky Player of the Year award, and was tabbed as the Bluegrass State’s Mr. Football by the Kentucky Football Coaches Association.

Mayer, the nation’s No. 3 tight end and No. 37 overall player per Rivals, hauled in 49 receptions for 970 yards and 15 touchdowns, added two rushing scores, and compiled 102.5 tackles, 1.5 sacks and four interceptions this fall.

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UNDER THE DOME Anniversaries In Notre Dame Football History: February 40 Years Ago: Feb. 27, 1980 For the fifth time in 10 years, Notre Dame’s men’s basketball squad defeats the nation’s No. 1-ranked team in the Athletic & Convocation Center (ACC, now known as Purcell Pavilion), a 76-74 victory versus DePaul, which entered the contest 25-0 and coming off a Final Four berth.

In perhaps the greatest back-and-forth game played in the ACC that featured 10 future NBA Draft choices — six of them in the first round — the Irish win in double overtime. Two Tracy Jackson free throws force the first OT, a Rich Branning jumper sends it into a second and Orlando Woolridge’s two free throws with 19 seconds left give the Irish the final margin of victory. Kelly Tripucka leads the Notre Dame effort with 28 points.

Invited to say the pregame mass and sit on the Notre Dame bench, school president Father Theodore Hesburgh would post a 7-0 record in that role.

30 Years Ago: Feb. 5-14 On the heels of a two-year, 24-1 run in football that is highlighted by the 1988 national title and a school-record 23-game winning streak, Notre Dame’s marketability in football achieves a crescendo.

First, on Feb. 5 an unprecedented agreement is reached between Notre Dame and the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) that will televise all Fighting Irish football home games from 1991-95, with an option to extend.

Notre Dame going solo on this endeavor immediately draws the wrath, and envy, of other universities, including the University of Kansas cancelling a home-and-home men’s basketball series with the Irish.

“Surprise. Shock. Greed. And ultimate greed, that’s the reaction I’m getting from people,” said University of Georgia athletics director Vince Dooley.

Meanwhile, Sports Illustrated summarized the move with the headline, “We’re Notre Dame, And You’re Not.” A little more than a week later, the union between Notre Dame and NBC is validated with a fourth consecutive No. 1-rated recruiting class under Lou Holtz, spearheaded by recruiting coordinator Vinny Cerrato. The 23-man haul, where only two would transfer, is considered the best among the quartet because of the combination of star power, balance and depth.

“There are just certain things about this group that excite you that I’ve never said before,” Holtz said on National Signing Day. In time, the group would include a Notre Dame single-class record of five first-round NFL Draft picks: fullback Jerome Bettis and cornerback Tom Carter following their junior seasons, plus defensive lineman Bryant Young, offensive lineman Aaron Taylor and defensive back Jeff Burris a year later.

In all, 14 of the 21 who remained would play in the NFL — and not among them is quarterback Kevin McDougal, who remains the current career pass efficiency leader at the school.

25 Years Ago: Feb. 9, 1995 For the first time in five years, Notre Dame signs a No. 1-ranked recruiting class following some downturns after the move of former recruiting coordinator Cerrato to the NFL in 1991.

It showed on the field to when the 1994 regular season ends with a 6-5-1 record.

Buoyed by the 1994 hiring of both new recruiting coordinator Bob Chmiel and offensive coordinator Dave Roberts, renowned as one of the top recruiters in the South, Notre Dame’s 25-man class is headlined by USA Today Defensive Player of the Year Kory Minor from California and West Virginia playmaker supreme Randy Moss at wide receiver.

Four other USA Today first-team All-Americans — that era’s version of “five-star recruits” — sign with the Irish: offensive linemen Mike Rosenthal and Tim Ridder, defensive lineman Jerry Wisne, and defensive end/linebacker Jimmy Friday. Aug- Autry Denson was part of a recruitmenting the harvest is dual-threat quarterback Jarious Jackson ing class that included five USA from Tupelo, Miss., and the Florida running back tandem of Today first-team All-Americans and James Jackson and Autry Denson, although the latter is slated was ranked No. 1 nationally in 1995.

PHOTO BY MIKE MILLER to begin his career at cornerback.

“The last couple of years have not been as successful as what we would like, but this year has really been a solid one,” said 10th-year head coach Holtz.

Alas, in the forthcoming months, Moss and James Jackson would be denied admission.

— Lou Somogyi www.BLUEANDGOLD.com

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INSPIRATION S POINT

Notre Dame asserts supremacy, motivation during 33-9 victory versus Iowa State in the Camping World Bowl 14

FEBRUARY 2020

BY LOU SOMOGYI

o much for Notre Dame’s lack of interest in playing at a bowl many pundits and Fighting Irish faithful thought was be‑ neath them and would result in a letdown.

That was a central talking point prior to the Dec. 28 Camping World Bowl in which Notre Dame (11‑2) dominated from start to finish against Iowa State (7‑6) during its 33-9 victory.

Despite the disparity in records, head coach Brian Kelly’s team was BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED

Kelly said. “You just read this team wrong, and it’s just so satisfying that this group has been rewarded with 11 wins because they have thought only about their teammates and how they can work to get better each and every day.”

Two Iowa State turnovers and a Notre Dame fourth-down stop in Cyclones territory set up three scores for a 20-6 Fighting Irish halftime lead.

Then on Notre Dame’s first play on offense in the second half, an 84-yard touchdown romp by senior running back Tony Jones Jr. (11 carries for 135 yards) continued the assertive performance from start to finish.

Earning Player of the Game honors was senior wideout Chase Claypool, who nabbed seven passes for 146 yards and the game’s first touchdown on a leaping 24-yard touchdown catch on third-and-12.

Junior rover Jeremiah OwusuKoramoah paced a superb overall defensive effort that limited the Cyclones to 272 total yards. He recorded a team-high nine stops, four tackles for loss and three sacks, plus forced and recovered a fumble, and had a quarterback hurry.

Senior safety Alohi Gilman received the game ball from Kelly, as his forced fumble on a punt set up the game’s first score.

Junior kicker Jonathan Doerer converted all four of his field goal attempts — from 39, 51, 19 and 39 yards — to aid the performance.

“All three phases were outstanding today,” Kelly said of the offense, defense and special teams.

For the first time since 1988-89, Notre Dame finished with at least 11 victories in back-to-back seasons.

Senior wide receiver Chase Claypool reeled in seven receptions for 146 yards and scored the game’s first touchdown on a leaping 24-yard catch on third-and-12.

PHOTO BY JAMES GILBERT

installed as merely a 3.5-point favorite against a scrappy Cyclones team that lost its five games by a total of only 21 points.

Reports also surfaced in Florida of the Notre Dame players staying out too late on the first day in order to “sow their oats,” as Kelly put it, and some sluggish workouts thereafter.

“They used that as another form of motivation to show people wrong,” www.BLUEANDGOLD.com

FIRST QUARTER: NOTRE DAME, 10-0

Top Moment: With 3:20 left in the quarter and facing third-and-12 at the Iowa State 24-yard line, senior quarterback Ian Book found a leaping Claypool down the right sideline and in the end zone for a touchdown and a 10-0 advantage.

The 58-yard drive was set up by Owusu-Koramoah forcing and recovering a fumble by Iowa State quarterback Brock Purdy, and the march began with Jones scampering for a 26-yard gain.

Feature Performer: Claypool set up Notre Dame’s first score, a field goal, by recovering a fumbled punt and

made the crucial grab on third-and-12 for the game’s initial touchdown.

Stats: Notre Dame’s 18 plays netted 101 yards, with 12 rushes for 56 yards and 4-of-6 passing for 45 yards. Iowa State totaled 69 yards on 11 plays. Purdy was 4-of-5 passing for 49 yards, and the Cyclones had six carries for 20 yards.

Notes: After a three-and-out on the game’s opening series by Notre Dame, Gilman stripped the ball from Iowa State punt return man Tarique Milton that Claypool pounced on at the Cyclones’ 42-yard line … The drive ended with a 39-yard field goal

by Doerer with 9:34 left.

SECOND QUARTER: NOTRE DAME, 20-6

Top Moment: Trailing 13-3, Iowa State opted to go for it on fourth-andinches at its 45-yard line. Junior defensive tackle Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa knifed through to throw running back Breece Hall down for no gain.

On the next play, a 43-yard pass from Book to Claypool took the ball down to the 1-yard line, leading to a touchdown sweep by junior running back Jafar Armstrong to build the cushion to 20-3 with 2:25 left.

Feature Performer: Notre Dame’s defense, led by fifth-year senior Buck linebacker Asmar Bilal (five tackles, three solo), forced Purdy into 1-of-6 passing at one point and made the crucial stop on fourth down to set up a touchdown.

Then, when Iowa State drove to first-and-goal at the Irish 3-yard line late in the half, it could only produce a field goal.

Stats: Notre Dame’s 33 plays in the first half netted 207 yards (132 passing and 75 rushing), while Iowa State’s 32 plays totaled 204 yards.

The crucial difference was the Cyclones had two turnovers to zero for the Irish, and Iowa State also turned the ball over on downs, setting up 17 of Notre Dame’s 20 points.

Notes: Iowa State cut its deficit to 10-3 on a 41-yard field goal by Connor Assalley at the 9:27 mark … The 43-yard drive was sparked by a 29yard screen pass to Hall on the first play … Notre Dame answered with a 32-yard completion from Book to Claypool on its ensuing initial play after the ISU score, and it set up a 51-yard field goal by Doerer at 7:23 for a 13-3 advantage … Assalley’s second field goal, from 25 yards out, FEBRUARY 2020 15

NOTRE DAME 33, IOWA STATE 9 Dec. 28, 2019 ✦ Attendance: 46,948 Camping World Stadium ✦ Orlando, Fla.

Quarter 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final Notre Dame 10 10 10 3 33 Iowa State 0 6 3 0 9

ND ISU

ND ISU FIRST QUARTER Total First Downs 17 14 ND Doerer 39-yard field goal Rushing 7 4 9:29 3 0 Passing 10 9

Drive: 8 plays, 21 yards, 4:10 Penalty 0 1 ND Claypool 24-yard pass from Book Rushing Attempts 37 27

(Doerer kick) 3:20 10 0 Yards Gained Rushing 227 80

Drive: 8 plays, 58 yards, 3:43 Yards Lost Rushing 19 35 Net Yards Rushing 208 45 SECOND QUARTER Net Yards Passing 247 227 ISU Assalley 41-yard field goal

Passes Attempted 28 32 9:27 10 3 Passes Completed 20 18

Drive: 7 plays, 43 yards, 2:46 Had Intercepted 0 0 ND Doerer 51-yard field goal Percent Completion 71.4% 56.2% 7:23 13 3 Yards Per Attempt 8.8 7.1

Drive: 5 plays, 32 yards, 2:04 Yards Per Completion 12.3 12.6 ND Armstrong 1-yard run Total Offensive Plays 65 59

(Doerer kick) 2:25 20 3 Total Net Yards 455 272

Drive: 4 plays, 45 yards, 1:30 Average Gain Per Play 7.0 4.6 ISU Assalley 26-yard field goal Fumbles: No.-Lost 0-0 2-2 0:50 20 6 Penalties: No.-Yards 3-30 1-5

Drive: 8 plays, 67 yards, 1:35 Punts: No.-Yards 4-151 5-236 THIRD QUARTER Average Per Punt 37.8 47.2 ND T. Jones 84-yard run Average Net Punt 31.2 47.4

(Doerer kick) 13:14 27 6 Punt Returns: No.-Yards 2--1 2-6

Drive: 1 play, 84 yards, 0:15 Kickoff Returns: No.-Yards 3-71 2-42 ISU Assalley 42-yard field goal Interception Returns: No.-Yards 0-0 0-0 4:58 27 9 Fumble Returns: No.-Yards 0-0 0-0

Drive: 10 plays, 55 yards, 4:33 Miscellaneous Yards 0 0 ND Doerer 19-yard field goal Possession Time 32:48 27:12 0:15 30 9 Third-Down Conversions 3-13 5-15

Drive: 13 plays, 74 yards, 4:43 Percentage 23.1% 33.3% Fourth-Down Conversions 2-2 0-2 FOURTH QUARTER Percentage 100.0% 0.0% ND Doerer 39-yard field goal Sacks By: No.-Yards 4-26 1-5 3:53 33 9

Drive: 9 plays, 28 yards, 4:51

cut Iowa State’s deficit to 20-6 with 50 seconds left until halftime … The 67-yard drive took eight plays.

THIRD QUARTER: NOTRE DAME, 30-9

Top Moment: After Notre Dame’s defense opened the half forcing a three-and-out, Jones burst through the left side on first down and, with excellent downfield blocking, raced untouched down the left sideline for an 84-yard score and a 27-6 cushion.

Feature Performer: Senior defensive end Ade Ogundeji, who ended an Iowa State drive with a sack that resulted in a field goal, was one of many figures who led the stout defense, which forced three-and-outs on Iowa State’s first two series in the second half.

Stats: Notre Dame outgained the Cyclones 190-63 during the third quarter.

Notes: Trailing 27-6, Iowa State drove to a first down at Notre Dame’s 19-yard line, but the Irish defense again stiffened and forced a 42-yard field goal by Assalley with 4:58 left … Notre Dame answered with a 73-yard drive, highlighted by 21- and 20-yard catches by Claypool and fifth-year senior wideout Chris Finke, respectively, for a 19-yard field goal by Doerer with 15 seconds left.

FOURTH QUARTER: NOTRE DAME, 33-9

Top Moment: Doerer rounded out the scoring and the lone tally in the quarter with his fourth field goal in as many attempts, this one from 39 yards with 3:53 remaining.

Feature Performer: Owusu-Koramoah recorded his fourth tackle for loss with a sack of Purdy on fourthand-one with about nine minutes remaining.

Stats: Notre Dame outgained Iowa State in total yardage 455-272, with the Cyclones finishing 187 yards under their average.

Notes: In quarterback coach Tommy Rees’ first game calling plays, the Fighting Irish offense saw Book finish 20-of-28 passing for 247 yards while the ground attack added 208 yards, and there were no turnovers. ✦ Junior rover Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (No. 6) led a strong defensive effort for the Fighting Irish, recording a team-high nine stops with four tackles for loss, three sacks, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.

PHOTO BY JAMES GILBERT

16

FEBRUARY 2020

BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED

ON PAPER REVISITED

BY LOU SOMOGYI

IOWA STATE RUNNING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME RUN DEFENSE

Standout freshman running back Breece Hall burst through for a 23-yard gain on Iowa State’s first play — and thereafter totaled 32 yards on 16 carries.

The Cyclones finished with 45 rushing yards, 95 under their season average entering the contest.

Notre Dame played about as clean a game as possible at filling gaps after the first play, with senior safety Alohi Gilman often stationed in the box, allowing fifth-year senior cornerback Shaun Crawford to play nickel in coverage and freshman safety Kyle Hamilton to patrol center field. The Irish controlled the line of scrimmage, especially with All-Big 12 left tackle Julian Good-Jones ruled out with an injury, which forced some switches up front.

ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame

IOWA STATE PASSING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME PASS DEFENSE

There was not a better player on the field — versus the run or pass — than junior rover Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, who recorded four stops for loss (three sacks) and also forced a fumble that set up Notre Dame’s initial touchdown.

Rushing only four remained effective and allowed the Irish to drop more into coverage and limit Iowa State quarterback Brock Purdy to 17-of-30 passing (56.7 percent) for 222 yards — 10 percentage points under his season-long pass completion mark and 91 yards below his yardage output per game that ranked fifth nationally.

Particularly notable was ISU tight ends entered the contest averaging six catches for 79 yards per contest. They finished with three for 22 yards, all by Associated Press second-team All-American Charlie Kolar, while Irish defensive coordinator Clark Lea aligned his troops to take away the crossing routes in particular. Hamilton was highly valuable in that realm.

ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame

NOTRE DAME RUNNING GAME VS. IOWA STATE RUN DEFENSE

Conspicuous from the outset is newly assigned play caller and quarterbacks coach Tom Rees appeared mandated and committed to stay with the ground attack. Tony Jones Jr.’s 84-yard run on Notre Dame’s first play of the second half significantly boosted the yards per carry from 3.4 yards to 5.6.

Other than that one play, the run game remained okay at best, final stats (208 yards on 37 carries) notwithstanding.

ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame

NOTRE DAME PASSING GAME VS. IOWA STATE PASS DEFENSE

Utilizing multiple tight ends much of the game in an effort to remain committed to the run, senior quarterback Ian Book smartly emphasized classmate Chase Claypool (seven catches for 146 yards and one touchdown), who accounted for 59 percent of the receiving yards, highlighted by his typically acrobatic 24-yard touchdown catch.

Book (20-of-28 passing for 247 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions) remained poised in the pocket, yet also elusive on several occasions. Pass protection remains the forte of the Irish line.

ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame

SPECIAL TEAMS

Because Notre Dame won handily, maybe the most overshadowed play of the contest was after the Irish went three-and-out on the game’s opening series, Gilman stripped punt return man Tarique Milton from the football that Claypool recovered. Instead of Iowa State starting its first possession near midfield, the turnover set up Notre Dame’s first score.

Junior kicker Jonathan Doerer was outstanding, converting all four of his field goal tries, including a 51-yard knuckleball that still had at least 10 yards to spare. Coverage units for the Irish remained stellar.

ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame

THIRD-DOWN CONVERSIONS

Neither team excelled, with Notre Dame finishing 3 of 13 (23.1 percent) and Iowa State 5 of 15 (33.3 percent), but the Irish converted both of their fourthdown attempts while the Cyclones failed on both of theirs. www.BLUEANDGOLD.com

Senior quarterback Ian Book had an efficient day, connecting on 20 of 28 throws for 247 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions.

PHOTO BY JAMES GILBERT

Two of the top game-changing plays favored Notre Dame in this area: Claypool’s leaping 24-yard scoring grab on third-and-12 to make it 10-0, and then the Irish stuffing ISU on fourth-and-one from the Cyclones’ 45-yard line that set up a Notre Dame touchdown three plays later and made it 20-3.

ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame

TURNOVERS

Iowa State lost fumbles on its first two series, the first on a punt return and the second on a quarterback scramble, that helped spot Notre Dame a quick 10-0 advantage.

Those were the game’s lone two turnovers, but they instantly turned the tide in Notre Dame’s favor. A case can be made that stopping Iowa State on fourth-and-inches at its own 45-yard line with the Irish ahead 13-3 was akin to a turnover.

ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame

ANALYSIS

Much was made about Iowa State being a much better team than the 7-5 record indicated, but Notre Dame also might have been underrated at 10-2 while winning each of its last four regular-season games by an average of 29 points (never less than 21).

The Irish asserted dominance from the outset, with the defense specifically setting the tone while not permitting a touchdown against a high-powered Big 12 offense. Particularly noteworthy is after Iowa State fumbled away the first series on an Irish punt, nine of its 11 series began at or inside its 25-yard line, and a 10th at its 33.

That made the Cyclones’ uphill climb even more taxing.

FEBRUARY 2020 17

BY THE NUMBERS

BY LOU SOMOGYI

2

Bowls out of the 38 played in its history that Notre Dame did not permit a touchdown, after limiting Iowa State to three field goals. The first was the 28-3 victory over 12-0 Texas A&M in the 1993 Cotton Bowl.

5-4

19-19

All-time bowl record for the Fighting Irish after defeating Iowa State. Notre Dame hasn’t been above .500 since 2004 (13‑12). At the end of 1993, the Irish were 13-6 in bowls, the highest postseason winning percentage (.684) in college football among teams with at least 15 appearances.

Record of head coach Brian Kelly in bowl games, tying Lou Holtz — who also was 5-4 in his 11-year run from 1986-96 — for most wins by a Notre Dame coach in the postseason. A significant distinction is all nine of Holtz’s appearances were in major bowls, where the five teams that were defeated had a combined record of 54-2 entering the contest. Kelly has not yet won a major or College Football Playoff game, which is the next step on the checklist.

Consecutive victories by Notre Dame against an unranked opponent, joining Alabama as the lone teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision not to lose such a game since the start of the 2017 season. The school record since the advent of the Associated Press poll in 1936 is 29 straight from 1990-94, ending with a 30-11 loss at Boston College.

6

84

Consecutive victories by Notre Dame to end the 2019 season — the longest winning streak to cap a campaign since the seven straight by the 1992 unit that finished No. 4 in the country.

10

Iowa State was the 10th different school Notre Dame met for the first time ever on the football field in a bowl setting. The Irish are now 6-4 in such outings after the win.

Notre Dame also defeated Stanford (1925 Rose), Alabama (1973 Sugar), Houston (1979 Cotton), West Virginia (1989 Fiesta) and Florida (1992 Sugar), with the victories against Stanford, Alabama and West Virginia clinching national titles. It lost to Georgia (1981 Sugar), Texas A&M (1988 Cotton), Oregon State (2001 Fiesta) and North Carolina State (2003 Gator).

Notre Dame now is 123-22-3 overall against first-time opponents.

11-2

This marks the first time ever Notre Dame finished with this record while playing a 13-game season. The Fighting Irish have been 7-6, 8-5, 9-4, 12-1 (2012 and 2018) since 2008, and 10-3 five times (1991, 2002, 2006, 2015 and 2017).

24

Yards on senior running back Tony Jones Jr.’s touchdown run on Notre Dame’s first play on offense in the second half that expanded the lead to 27-6. It is the longest play from scrimmage in Notre Dame’s 38-game bowl history, eclipsing the 81-yard touchdown pass from DeShone Kizer to Will Fuller in the 44-28 loss to Ohio State in the 2016 Fiesta Bowl. The longest previous postseason scoring run was 50 yards by C.J. Prosise during the 31-28 triumph against LSU in the 2014 Music City Bowl.

85.0

Percent of field goals converted (17 of 20) by junior Jonathan Doerer this season after drilling all four of his attempts against the Cyclones. That is the sixth-best single-season percentage by a Fighting Irish kicker who attempted at least 15 field goals.

116

Points scored by Notre Dame this year off turnovers after scoring 10 more versus Iowa State in the first quarter by recovering two fumbles. Only Clemson had more (113) entering the game. The 28 turnovers generated by Notre Dame this year were the most in the 10-year Kelly era, and the Fighting Irish paced the nation in fumbles recovered this year with 19.

80

Sack yards allowed by Notre Dame’s pass blocking this season, with five coming against Iowa State. The total is the fewest among the 65 Power Five teams in the nation. Over the final nine games, Book was sacked only once on a third-down pass attempt on just more than 80 pass attempts.

PHOTO BY JAMES GILBERT

18

FEBRUARY 2020

BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED

TOP PLAYERS OF THE GAME

BY ANDREW MENTOCK

OFFENSE: WR CHASE CLAYPOOL

Notre Dame’s regular-season MVP put an exclamation point on an excellent 2019. In the 33-9 blowout win over the Cyclones, the senior wideout had seven receptions for 146 yards and one touchdown. He accounted for 59 percent of the team’s yards through the air, and his leaping scoring grab from 24 yards out on a third-and-12 play staked the Fighting Irish to a 10-0 lead.

Claypool averaged 20.9 yards per reception, with his longest catch of the day going for 43 yards. He finished the season with 1,037 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns.

DEFENSE: LB JEREMIAH OWUSU-KORAMOAH

The junior rover started off the day by stripping the ball from Iowa State sophomore quarterback Brock Purdy and recovering it.

By the end of the day, he finished with a game-high nine stops, four tackles for a loss, three sacks and a quarterback hurry.

On several occasions, Owusu-Koramoah’s elite closing speed also prevented Iowa State’s skill players from getting outside of the Notre Dame defense.

SPECIAL TEAMS: K JONATHAN DOERER

The junior kicker went 4 of 4 on field goals against Iowa State and made all three of his extra points. He made two field goals from 39 yards out, a chip shot from 19 yards and a knuckleball from 51 yards — the fourthlongest field goal in Notre Dame history.

Doerer finished the season 17 of 20 (85.0 Junior kicker Jonathan Doerer split the uprights on all four of his field goal attempts, including percent) on field goal attempts and converted a 51-yarder that is the fourth longest in school history. all 57 of his point after tries.

PHOTO BY JAMES GILBERT

THREE OBSERVATIONS TURNING POINT

Trailing 13-3 with about four minutes remaining in the first half, Iowa State opted to roll the dice and go for it on fourth-and-inches at its 45-yard line instead of punting and maybe pinning the Fighting Irish back inside their 20-yard line.

Junior defensive tackle Myron TagovailoaAmosa knifed through to nail running back Breece Hall for no gain to provide the Irish with excellent field position.

On the next play, a 43-yard pass from senior quarterback Ian Book to classmate Chase Claypool took the ball down to the 1-yard line, leading to a touchdown sweep by junior running back Jafar Armstrong to build the cushion to 20-3 with 2:25 left until halftime.

The Cyclones were still within striking distance at 13-3, but decided to gamble in their own territory. It backfired, and they never seriously threatened Notre Dame thereafter. www.BLUEANDGOLD.com

BY LOU SOMOGYI

STAT(S) OF THE GAME

Take your pick from a number of different areas on defense: • Iowa State entered the game averaging 458.7 yards per game and finished with just 272.

• Sophomore quarterback Brock Purdy was fifth nationally in passing yards per game with 313.3. He was limited to 222 while completing only 17 of 30 throws for 56.7 percent, well behind his 66.3 figure entering the contest.

• Iowa State was averaging 34.1 points per game, but failed to score a single touchdown.

• The Cyclones specialized in exploding in the second half and especially fourth quarter. This year they were the first team since Tennessee in 2016 to score 20 or more points at least four times in the fourth quarter (139 in all).

Yet after totaling 204 total yards in the first half, Iowa State managed a paltry 68 yards and three points in the second.

IS BEST STILL TO COME?

Over the past three years, Notre Dame is 33-6 — the fifth-best record among the 65 Power Five teams — while establishing itself as a top-10 program.

This is the first time the Irish have won 33 games over a three-year span since the 33-4 run from 1988-90. The significant difference is those Irish teams defeated 10 teams that finished in the Associated Press top 10, whereas the current three-year run has no such victories. That is why the Irish are considered just a strong tier-two, top-10 operation.

Still, the progress has been laudable, and sometime this new year news should be forthcoming about head coach Brian Kelly’s contract getting extended another two or three years from the present one that has him signed through the 2021 campaign.

On Nov. 7, 2020, Notre Dame hosts Clemson, and in 2022-23 it has home-and-home series with Ohio State and Clemson. Those games will answer whether the Irish can crash the tier-one party.

FEBRUARY 2020 19

IOWA STATE GAME NOTES

BY ANDREW MENTOCK AND VINCE DEDARIO

IOWA STATE RARELY GETS BLOWN OUT

Notre Dame’s 33-9 victory over Iowa State in the Camping World Bowl Dec. 28 is more impressive than it may seem on the surface.

The Cyclones finished the year with just a 7-6 record, but they were beaten by four teams that finished in the top 25 of the final College Football Playoff rankings by seven points or less, including narrow defeats against No. 4 Oklahoma (42-41) and No. 7 Baylor (23-21).

In fact, Iowa State entered its matchup with the Fighting Irish as one of just three schools (Washington and Oklahoma were the others) with one or fewer losses of 14 points or more since the start of 2017. ISU’s last defeat of 20 points or more was a 49-19 blowout at the hands of West Virginia to close out the 2016 season.

That was head coach Matt Campbell’s debut season at the helm, when the Cyclones finished 3-9.

In order to produce such a dominating performance, the Irish had to put together a complete game.

“All three phases were outstanding today,” Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly said. “When you hold an offense that put 40 points on a team that’s playing in the playoffs in Oklahoma to no touchdowns, you can’t hide from that. A team that is a prolific offense to not score a touchdown today, they had plenty of time to prepare.

“The defense is without some really good players as well. And [we] just did an outstanding job today.

I thought our special teams were outstanding.”

While the 33 points Notre Dame scored is below its season average, the Fighting Irish had such a commanding lead in the second half that they were able to burn clock by running the ball with third-string sophomore running back C’Bo Flemister.

Prior to the Camping World Bowl, Iowa State’s lowest scoring output of the season was 17 points, which the Cyclones had in losses to Iowa and Kansas State.

SENIOR SKILL PLAYERS ON OFFENSE THRIVE

In the final collegiate game for many Notre Dame players, three se20

FEBRUARY 2020

Senior running back Tony Jones Jr. racked up a team-high 135 yards on just 11 rushing attempts, including an 84-yard touchdown scamper that broke the game open early in the second half.

PHOTO BY JAMES GILBERT

nior offensive skill players — wide receiver Chase Claypool, quarterback Ian Book and running back Tony Jones Jr. — put together sterling performances.

Claypool, who has now exhausted his eligibility, set the tone early in the game, scoring the game’s first touchdown with an acrobatic 24-yard catch. He finished the contest with seven receptions for 146 yards (20.9 yards per catch) and the one score.

He ended the season as the team leader in catches (66), receiving yards (1,037) and 13 touchdown grabs (13).

“You don’t really play the game for statistics,” Claypool said after the game, “So it’s nice, but I’m not going to remember getting to 1,000 yards this game. I’m just going to remember going out with [my teammates].”

Book, who announced he will return for a fifth season the day after the bowl win, had a very efficient game, completing 71.4 percent of his 28 passes for 247 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions.

He finished the season with 3,034 passing yards and 34 touchdowns through the air.

Jones, who announced Dec. 31 that

he is entering the NFL Draft, had his first 100-yard rushing game since Notre Dame’s 30-27 win against USC Oct. 12. He concluded the Camping World Bowl with 135 yards and one touchdown on 11 carries.

A large portion of Jones’ production came on Notre Dame’s first offensive play of the second half, when he ran 84 yards for a touchdown. He also had two receptions for one yard.

Jones, who was banged up during the second half of the season with a rib injury, finished the campaign with a team-best 857 rushing yards and seven total touchdowns.

“Offensively, we ran the ball effectively, play-action pass, spread the field around,” Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly said. “And when you've got playmakers like Chase Claypool, Tony Jones ... Ian Book. It was a comprehensive game plan, and all three phases showed themselves very well today.”

JEREMIAH OWUSU-KORAMOAH SHOWS WHY HE’S AN EMERGING STAR

One Notre Dame player who has consistently improved throughout BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED

the season is junior rover Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. He was the first player that former defensive coordinator Mike Elko and current defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Clark Lea recruited to play their rover position, which is a hybrid linebacker and safety.

Owusu-Koramoah was born to play

PARTICIPATION CHART

OFFENSE

QB: IAN BOOK, Phil Jurkovec RB: TONY JONES JR., Jafar Armstrong, C’Bo Flemister WR: Braden Lenzy, Joe Wilkins WR: CHASE CLAYPOOL, Arion Shinaver WR: Chris Finke, Lawrence Keys III TE: TOMMY TREMBLE, COLE KMET, BROCK WRIGHT, George Takacs LT: AARON BANKS LG: LIAM EICHENBERG C: JARRETT PATTERSON RG: TREVOR RUHLAND RT: JOSH LUGG DEFENSE SDE: KHALID KAREEM, Ade Ogundeji DT: MYRON TAGOVAILOA-AMOSA, Jayson Ademilola NT: KURT HINISH, Jacob Lacey Drop: JAMIR JONES, Ovie Oghoufo, Justin Ademilola Mike: DREW WHITE Buck: ASMAR BILAL Rover: JEREMIAH OWUSU-KORAMOAH Stud: ALOHI GILMAN, Kyle Hamilton Whip: JALEN ELLIOTT, Kyle Hamilton Field CB: SHAUN CRAWFORD, Donte Vaughn, TaRiq Bracy Boundary CB: TROY PRIDE JR. SPECIAL TEAMS

Kickoff Coverage: Bo Bauer, Jahmir Smith, Jordan Genmark Heath, Paul Moala, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Alohi Gilman, Chase Claypool, Jalen Elliott, Troy Pride Jr., Asmar Bilal Kick Return: Tommy Tremble, Bo Bauer, Jahmir Smith, Brock Wright, Paul Moala, Jonathan Jones, Mick Assaf, Jordan Genmark Heath, Colin Grunhard, Jamir Jones Punt Coverage: Jalen Elliott, Bo Bauer, Alohi Gilman, Brock Wright, Kyle Hamilton, Dillan Gibbons, Asmar Bilal, Chase Claypool, John Dirksen Punt Return: Houston Griffith, Jonathan Jones, Avery Davis, Mick Assaf, TaRiq Bracy, Paul Moala, Bo Bauer, Temitope Agoro, Osita Ekwonu, Jordan Genmark Heath Kickoff: Jonathan Doerer Placekicker: Jonathan Doerer Punter: Jay Bramblett Long/Short Snapper: John Shannon Holder: Jay Bramblett Kick Returner: Braden Lenzy Punt Returner: Chris Finke Others: None www.BLUEANDGOLD.com

rover in this defense. During the 33-9 win over Iowa State, he led all players in total tackles (nine), tackles for a loss (four) and sacks (three). The junior also had a quarterback hurry and a forced fumble that he recovered.

“He’s just an explosive football player,” Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly said of Owusu-Koramoah.

The Notre Dame head coach also

IOWA STATE INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing Att. Gain Lost Net Avg. TD Long Hall 17 63 8 55 3.2 0 23 Croney 1 3 0 3 3.0 0 3 Jones 1 3 0 3 3.0 0 3 Mitchell 1 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Purdy 7 11 27 -16 -2.3 0 4 Total 27 80 35 45 1.7 0 23 Passing Att. Com. Pct. Int. Yards TD Long Purdy 30 17 56.7 0 222 0 29 Mitchell 2 1 50.0 0 5 0 5 Hall 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 Total 32 18 56.2 0 227 0 29

knows that Owusu-Koramoah is a vital cog in Lea’s defense and that the best football is still ahead of him.

“You can see his physical ability is real, his suddenness,” Kelly noted.

“You’ve got to factor him in when you’re game planning. He’s loved by all of our players.

NOTRE DAME INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing Att. Gain Lost Net Avg. TD Long T. Jones 11 135 0 135 12.3 1 84 Flemister 6 30 0 30 5.0 0 14 Book 7 30 0 30 4.3 0 10 Lenzy 3 12 0 12 4.0 0 8 Armstrong 8 20 12 8 1.0 1 9 Team 1 0 2 -2 -2.0 0 0 Finke 1 0 5 -5 -5.0 0 0 Total 37 227 19 208 5.6 2 84 Passing Att. Com. Pct. Int. Yards TD Long Book 28 20 71.4 0 247 1 43 Finke 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 Total 28 20 71.4 0 247 1 43

Receiving Rec. Yards TD Long Pettway 4 54 0 18 Hall 4 45 0 29 Jones 4 45 0 15 Kolar 3 22 0 10 Milton 2 33 0 28 Shaw 1 28 0 28 Total 18 227 0 29

Receiving Rec. Yards TD Long Claypool 7 146 1 43 Finke 6 46 0 20 Kmet 2 33 0 23 T. Jones 2 1 0 2 Tremble 1 9 0 9 Lenzy 1 7 0 7 Armstrong 1 5 0 5 Total 20 247 1 43

Punt Returns No. Yards TD Long Milton 2 6 0 4 Total 2 6 0 4

Punt Returns No. Yards TD Long Finke 2 -1 0 1 Total 2 -1 0 1

Kick Returns No. Yards TD Long Nwangwu 2 42 0 24 Total 2 42 0 24

Kick Returns No. Yards TD Long Lenzy 3 71 0 29 Total 3 71 0 29

Punting No. Avg. Long Blk. TB FC 50+ In 20 Rivera 5 47.2 53 0 0 1 3 4 Total 5 47.2 53 0 0 1 3 4

Punting No. Avg. Long Blk. TB FC 50+ In 20 Bramblett 4 37.8 46 0 1 1 0 0 Total 4 37.8 46 0 1 1 0 0

Field Goals Made Att. Long Blk. Assalley 3 3 42 0 Total 3 3 42 0

Field Goals Made Att. Long Blk. Doerer 4 4 51 0 Total 4 4 51 0

Defense Solo Ast. Total TFL Sacks PD FF FR Rose 5 3 8 1-5 1-5 0 0 0 Kyle 4 3 7 0.5-1 0-0 0 0 0 Lewis 4 3 7 0.5-0 0-0 0 0 0 Spears 2 5 7 0-0 0-0 2 0 0 Hummel 4 2 6 0.5-2 0-0 0 0 0 Uwazurike 3 2 5 1.5-6 0-0 0 0 0 Eisworth 2 3 5 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Vance 2 3 5 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 A. Johnson 3 0 3 1-4 0-0 0 0 0 Azunna 2 1 3 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 McMillen 1 2 3 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Grant 2 0 2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 White 1 1 2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Young 1 1 2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Akers 1 0 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Bickham 1 0 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Sutton 1 0 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Walker 1 0 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 J. Johnson 0 1 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Lima 0 1 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 McDonald 0 1 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Defense

Solo Ast. Total TFL Sacks PD FF FR 2 9 4-26 3-20 0 1 1 Elliott 2 6 8 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Gilman 2 6 8 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 Bilal 4 3 7 1-1 0-0 1 0 0 White 3 2 5 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Pride 3 0 3 0-0 0-0 1 0 0 Crawford 0 3 3 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Hamilton 2 0 2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Bracy 1 1 2 0-0 0-0 1 0 0 Ja. Jones 1 1 2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Ogundeji 1 1 2 1-6 1-6 0 0 0 Vaughn 0 2 2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Oghoufo 0 2 2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Franklin 1 0 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 T. Jones 1 0 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Bauer 0 1 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Ademilola 0 1 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Hinish 0 1 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Kareem 0 1 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Tagovailoa-Amosa 0 1 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Claypool 0 0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0 1

Int. Returns No. Yards TD Long None

Int. Returns No. Yards TD Long None

Owusu-Koramoah 7

FEBRUARY 2020 21

“And the ceiling is [high] for him as he continues to learn our defense and continues to grow.”

Unless something unforeseen happens, Owusu-Koramoah will be back with the Irish in 2020, creating havoc in opposing backfields and using his speed and agility to be a menace in pass coverage.

nected on just completed 56.6 percent of his passes for 222 yards with no touchdowns.

IRISH SHUT DOWN CYCLONES’ KEY OFFENSIVE WEAPONS

A specialty of Notre Dame defensive coordinator Clark Lea is to take away what an opponent does well offensively, while also making adjustments early in the game.

So it’s no surprise that Lea clearly placed an emphasis on shutting down three of Iowa State’s most impactful offensive players: sophomore quarterback Brock Purdy, junior tight end Charlie Kolar and freshman running back Breece Hall.

All three struggled against the Fighting Irish defense, producing well below expectations.

Coming into the Camping World Bowl, Purdy was completing 66.3 percent of his passes while averaging 313.3 passing yards and just more than two passing touchdowns per game. Against Notre Dame, he con-

Freshman safety Kyle Hamilton was a key figure in the Irish shutting down second-team AllAmerican tight end Charlie Kolar (just three receptions for 22 yards and no scores).

PHOTO BY JAMES GILBERT

IOWA STATE VS. NOTRE DAME QUARTER-BY-QUARTER COMPARISON

Iowa State 1st Qtr. 2nd Qtr. 3rd Qtr. 4th Qtr. 1st Half 2nd Half Total Time of Possession 5:46 8:10 7:35 5:41 13:56 13:16 27:12 Third-Down Conversions 2-2 1-5 2-5 0-3 3-7 2-8 5-15 Fourth-Down Conversions 0-0 0-1 0-0 0-1 0-1 0-1 0-2 Average Field Position ISU-23 ISU-27 ISU-23 ISU-39 ISU-26 ISU-28 ISU-27 Notre Dame 1st Qtr. 2nd Qtr. 3rd Qtr. 4th Qtr. 1st Half 2nd Half Final Time of Possession 9:14 6:50 7:25 9:19 16:04 16:44 32:48 Third-Down Conversions 1-5 0-2 1-3 1-3 1-7 2-6 3-13 Fourth-Down Conversions 2-2 0-0 0-0 0-0 2-2 0-0 2-2 Average Field Position ND-40 ND-30 ND-21 ND-25 ND-34 ND-23 ND-29

BIG PLAYS (25 YARDS OR MORE)

Iowa State • 1-10 ISU33 Purdy pass complete to Hall for 29 yards to the ND38 • 1-10 ISU25 Purdy pass complete to Milton for 28 yards to the ND47 • 2-6 ND31 Purdy pass complete to Shaw for 28 yards to the ND3 Notre Dame • 1-10 ND42 T. Jones rush for 26 yards to the ISU32 • 1-10 ND35 Book pass complete to Claypool for 32 yards to the ISU33 • 2-9 ISU44 Book pass complete to Claypool for 43 yards to the ISU1 • 1-10 ND16 T. Jones rush for 84 yards and a touchdown

22

FEBRUARY 2020

RED ZONE EFFICIENCY

(INSIDE 20-YARD LINE) No

Poss. TD FG Score Iowa State 2 0 2 0 Notre Dame 4 2 2 0

PLAY CHART (NO. OF PLAYS) Yards Negative 0-5 6-9 10-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50 or more

ISU ND 5 6 37 35 6 10 7 6 4 5 0 1 0 1 0 1

“All year we have been stingy in passing defense efficiency,” Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly said.

“And we felt like we were going to be in a good position, as long as we rerouted and did some good things.

“And we did. Clark did a good job with the linebackers, getting in passing lanes and making it difficult.”

Kolar, who was a named a secondteam All-American by the Associated Press, was averaging 56.2 receiving yards per game and had seven touchdown catches during the regular season, but the Fighting Irish held him to three catches for 22 yards and he never sniffed the end zone. This was accomplished in large part thanks to freshman safety Kyle Hamilton, who covered him throughout much of the game.

Unlike the other two, Hall didn’t become a feature offensive player until six games into the season, but once he was given the opportunity he ran with it and averaged 137.9 yards from scrimmage per contest while scoring a total of 10 touchdowns in the final seven games of the regular season.

Hall got off to a hot start against the Irish, producing 71 total yards in the first 20 minutes, but after that Notre Dame adjusted. He was held to 30 yards the rest of the game. ✦

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

• With the 33-9 win over Iowa State in the Camping World Bowl, Notre Dame improved to 11-2 on the season. It marked the program’s second consecutive 11-win season — the first time the Fighting Irish accomplished that feat since 1988-89.

• The 33-9 triumph over the Cyclones was Notre Dame’s biggest margin of victory in a bowl game (24 points) under head coach Brian Kelly, and the largest since the Irish topped Hawai’i by 28 in 2008.

• The Irish recovered two fumbles against the Cyclones, giving them a Football Bowl Subdivision-leading 19 for the season.

• After blanking the Cyclones in the first quarter — the seventh time the Irish achieved that feat in 2019 — Notre Dame finished allowing just 3.38 points per first quarter this season.

• The Fighting Irish were 4 of 4 in the red zone against Iowa State, and finished the season 51 of 55 (92.7 percent) in red-zone opportunities.

Notre Dame, which had 42 touchdowns and nine field goals, ranked 11th in the country in red zone offense as of Dec. 31.

• The second-quarter touchdown scored by junior running back Jafar Armstrong was his first of the season and the eighth of his career.

BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED

FROM THE LOCKER ROOM NOTRE DAME HEAD COACH BRIAN KELLY …

On playing in the Camping World Bowl after a 10win regular season: “Those are things that are out of our control. All we try to do is [play] the games that are in front of us. “… All we can control is how we prepare, how we play, and then others make those decisions.”

On the mentality of this team: “We knew that the way they played against Virginia Tech after the Michigan game what the identity was of this group and who their character was and truly who they were as a football team. That was the case each and every week. They didn’t complain about what they didn’t have.

“They knew what they had, and that was they had each other and a chance to play another game together. It wasn’t we had our fan base complaining about where we were going. We were happy.

“We love Orlando. Every time we come back here, we have a great experience.”

On his takeaway from the season: “Anytime you win 11 games, that’s an outstanding football season. … There’s only one team that can win a national championship. I can measure it by what our kids did at the end of the season, and that is, they got back up, they went out and competed and overcame adversity.

“As a football coach, you hope that they are able to take away life lessons. And all these kids that are sitting here and in that locker room are going to be able to take away what it’s like to overcome adversity.”

On how the offense performed under quarterbacks coach Tommy Rees, who called plays during the game: “I thought it was well orchestrated. Anytime you can go direct snap, play-action and hit a wide-open tight end, I think that’s a unicorn today in college football. The ability to run the football downhill, synced up with play action, then the ability to spread the field, take shots down the field, get the ball into the right guy’s hands, [No.] 83’s hands [Chase Claypool], and find matchups that worked for us.

“I thought the ball was spread evenly and then run effectively. We rushed for over 200 yards as well, so that’s an efficient offensive performance. Everybody on the offensive side of the ball did a really good job, including Tommy.”

Brian Kelly improved to 5-4 in bowl games during his Notre Dame tenure, tying Lou Holtz — who also went 5-4 from 1986-96 — for most postseason wins by a Fighting Irish head coach.

PHOTO BY JAMES GILBERT

were able to put something on the board right after that turnover and then continue that.

“The defense kept giving us good field position, good confidence, because once we get a lead we can start opening up our playbook a little bit.”

NOTRE DAME SENIOR DEFENSIVE END KHALID KAREEM …

NOTRE DAME SENIOR WIDE RECEIVER CHASE CLAYPOOL …

On how important his teammates are: “Football, it’s a very trying sport. You have to really lean on your brothers and your coaches and just your circle, because everyone’s story is not the same.

“I struggled early, and I just leaned on my brothers and they really pulled me through. And those are some relationships that I literally will not forget. I feel like that’s the biggest thing taking away, just the friendships and all the relationships that I’ve made over the four years here.”

On how the defense performed against Iowa State: “We feed off each other, us and the defense. They tell us they’re going to get us a stop, and then we have to go score for them. So it’s a give and take. I was happy we

On what he will remember from the Camping World Bowl experience: “I would say just the fun that we had throughout the week. Practice is a little tough. I will say that. But just the fun and, like I said, the relationships that we’ve made this whole week, going to Universal Studios, just having fun with the guys — because, at the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about.

“I haven’t had fun like this since high school. This is what it felt like, just out there, playing on Friday nights.

That’s legit what it felt like, so that’s what I’m taking away from it.”

— Andrew Mentock and Vince DeDario

On his Notre Dame career: “I appreciate everyone, speaking to my family, my friends, everyone who supported me throughout the years to get me to this point.

For a long time, something like this was a dream, and it’s something that was a dream that couldn’t be reached.

“But I hope I’m an example and live an example of someone where if you just keep on dreaming, then that dream will come true.”

www.BLUEANDGOLD.com

FEBRUARY 2020 23

THOUGHTS FROM THE PRESS BOX VINCE DEDARIO

H

Irish Dominate Cyclones In All Three Phases

ere are several observations from Notre Dame’s 33-9 romp over Iowa State in the Camping World Bowl.

over the top, and the action was to the opposite side of the field. However, he continued to work his way across the field and eventually found himself wide open, and senior DEFENSE: DOMINANT quarterback Ian Book made a nice throw to find him for the PERFORMANCE Coordinator Clark Lea’s debig pick up. fense once again led the way Book played a solid game for the Fighting Irish in the all day. He escaped presprogram’s 11th victory of the sure when he needed to and season. Keeping Iowa State kept his eyes down the field, out of the end zone all day looking to make plays with was extremely impressive. his arm. He did not leave the This is the same team that pocket too early and did not scored 41 points against Oklahave the happy feet he has homa, which earned a spot been prone to in the past. in the College Football PlayThe signal-caller used his off. The Cyclones boasted the athleticism to keep plays alive 25th-ranked scoring offense and made decisive throws.

(34.1 points per game) in Chase Claypool was named the Camping World Bowl MVP after another The pass he made for the the country coming into this great all-around performance by the hard-working senior wideout. touchdown was perfectly PHOTO BY JAMES GILBERT placed to Claypool, where matchup and were held to just ground and 247 through the air. three field goals. only his receiver could catch it. That There was a concerted effort to run There are two sets of numbers to has evolved from experience. The the football the entire game even keep in mind from this game that stretch and athleticism from Claywhen it seemed like they were gettell why Notre Dame was successful. pool was unbelievable, and Book ting nowhere with it. Finishing the Sophomore quarterback Brock Purdy knew it. Overall, it was another qualgame with a 5.6-yard rushing averwas held 91 yards below his averity performance from Book. age is a testament to the offensive age through the air (313.3 yards per line as well as the commitment to the SPECIAL TEAMS: ANOTHER game) even though he threw the ball ground attack.

30 times, and Iowa State averaged 1.7 CONSISTENT EFFORT Credit quarterbacks coach and Once again, the most vital element yards per carry even with the 23-yard play caller Tom Rees for keeping that from special teams was their consisrun by freshman Breece Hall on the commitment and calling a very good tency throughout the game. first play from scrimmage. That is game throughout. When you have Junior Jonathan Doerer was perwhat a dominant defensive perfora weapon like senior wide receiver fect on the day, hitting all four of his mance looks like.

Chase Claypool and you are a rookie field goal attempts with the longest Junior rover Jeremiah Owusuplay caller, you get him involved — coming from 51 yards out. That one Koramoah was in rare form and his and that’s exactly what he did. Kuwas not the prettiest of kicks, but it stat line was extremely impressive. dos to Rees for understanding that demonstrated how strong his leg is He led the team in tackles (nine), and not outsmarting himself. because even on a mishit it had the tackles for loss (four) and sacks Claypool walked away with power to go 51 yards with room to (three), and added one quarterback Camping World Bowl MVP honors spare. That was one of the most imhurry, one forced fumble and one and rightfully so. He dominated pressive mishits you will ever see. fumble recovery. not only with his route running and Doerer just continues to impress.

There was certainly a case to be catch ability, but his body control He finished the season 17 of 20 (85.0 made for him to be the MVP of the was very effective. percent) on three-pointers and beCamping World Bowl. He was all Elite players can at times take plays came one of the team's most imover the field and just continues to off when the ball is not coming their proved figures. He has gone from a impress. His coverage skills have way, but Claypool would work to concern last spring due to past ingotten so much better throughout get open regardless of how the play consistency to one of the strengths the course of the season and he just started. That is how he was able to returning in 2020. ✦ has a nose for the football, which is get free on his 43-yard reception that something you cannot teach.

Vince DeDario has been a writer set up Notre Dame’s second touchfor Blue & Gold Illustrated since down of the game.

OFFENSE: BALANCED ATTACK August 2019. He can be reached He was bracketed at the beginning Notre Dame was able to rack at vdedario@blueandgold.com of the play with a corner and a safety up 455 total yards with 208 on the 24

FEBRUARY 2020

BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED

Final 2019 Notre Dame Cumulative Football Statistics Scoring by Quarters Notre Dame Opponents

1st 2nd 3rd 4th OT Total 111 154 103 110 — 478 44 75 36 78 — 233

Rushing.........................G No. Gain Lost Net Avg. TD Long Yds./G Jones Jr., Tony....................12 144 878 21 857 6.0 6 84 71.4 Book, Ian..............................13 112 640 94 546 4.9 4 53 42.0 Lenzy, Braden......................9 13 200 0 200 15.4 2 61 22.2 Smith, Jahmir.....................10 42 191 11 180 4.3 2 40 18.0 Flemister, C’Bo....................9 48 175 13 162 3.4 5 14 18.0 Jurkovec, Phil......................6 22 156 26 130 5.9 0 27 21.7 Armstrong, Jafar................9 46 155 33 122 2.7 1 28 13.6 Keys III, Lawrence.............12 6 46 1 45 7.5 0 15 3.8 Assaf, Mick...........................13 9 37 3 34 3.8 0 13 2.6 Clark, Brendon....................3 5 33 0 33 6.6 0 14 11.0 Williams, Kyren...................4 4 28 2 26 6.5 0 14 6.5 Davis, Avery........................11 6 19 9 10 1.7 0 7 0.9 Finke, Chris..........................13 2 7 5 2 1.0 0 7 0.2 Young, Michael...................3 1 2 0 2 2.0 0 2 0.7 Henry, Nolan.......................2 1 1 0 1 1.0 0 1 0.5 Team.......................................7 12 0 23 -23 -1.9 0 0 -3.3 Total..............................13 473 2,568 241 2,327 4.9 20 84 179.0 Opponent.....................13 517 2,393 421 1,972 3.8 12 49 151.7 Passing............................. G Att. Com. Pct. Int. Yards TD Long Yds./G Book, Ian............................13 399 240 60.2 6 3,034 34 70 233.4 Jurkovec, Phil......................6 16 12 75.0 0 222 2 52 37.0 Clark, Brendon....................3 1 1 100.0 0 22 1 22 7.3 Finke, Chris.........................13 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0.0 Total................................. 13 416 253 60.8 6 3,278 37 70 252.2 Opponent........................ 13 374 203 54.3 9 2,191 13 50 168.5 Receiving.......................... G No. Yards Avg. TD Long Yds./G Claypool, Chase..................13 66 1,037 15.7 13 47 79.8 Kmet, Cole..........................11 43 515 12.0 6 37 46.8 Finke, Chris.........................13 41 456 11.1 4 54 35.1 Tremble, Tommy................13 16 183 11.4 4 29 14.1 Jones Jr., Tony.....................12 15 104 6.9 1 24 8.7 Keys III, Lawrence...............12 13 134 10.3 0 28 11.2 Armstrong, Jafar..................9 13 97 7.5 0 26 10.8 McKinley, Javon...................9 11 268 24.4 4 65 29.8 Lenzy, Braden......................9 11 254 23.1 2 70 28.2 Davis, Avery........................11 10 124 12.4 2 59 11.3 Young, Michael....................3 6 21 3.5 0 8 7.0 Wright, Brock.....................13 2 45 22.5 0 40 3.5 Smith, Jahmir.....................10 2 12 6.0 0 6 1.2 Takacs, George....................6 2 12 6.0 1 10 2.0 Flemister, C’Bo....................9 1 13 13.0 0 13 1.4 Williams, Kyren...................4 1 3 3.0 0 3 0.8 Total................................. 13 253 3,278 13.0 37 70 252.2 Opponent........................ 13 203 2,191 10.8 13 50 168.5 Total Offense.................... G Rush Pass Total Yds./G Book, Ian............................13 546 3,034 3,580 275.4 Jones Jr., Tony.....................12 857 0 857 71.4 Jurkovec, Phil......................6 130 222 352 58.7 Lenzy, Braden......................9 200 0 200 22.2 Smith, Jahmir.....................10 180 0 180 18.0 Flemister, C’Bo....................9 162 0 162 18.0 Armstrong, Jafar..................9 122 0 122 13.6 Clark, Brendon....................3 33 22 55 18.3 Keys III, Lawrence...............12 45 0 45 3.8 Assaf, Mick.........................13 34 0 34 2.6 Williams, Kyren...................4 26 0 26 6.5 Davis, Avery........................11 10 0 10 0.9 Finke, Chris.........................13 2 0 2 0.2 Young, Michael....................3 2 0 2 0.7 Henry, Nolan.......................2 1 0 1 0.5 Team....................................7 -23 0 -23 -3.3 Total................................. 13 2,327 3,278 5,605 431.2 Opponent........................ 13 1,972 2,191 4,163 320.2 All-Purpose....................... G Rush Rec. PR KR IR Total Yds./G Claypool, Chase..................13 0 1037 0 0 0 1037 79.8 Jones Jr., Tony.....................12 857 104 0 0 0 961 80.1 Finke, Chris.........................13 2 456 180 0 0 638 49.1 Book, Ian............................13 546 0 0 0 0 546 42.0 Lenzy, Braden......................9 200 254 0 71 0 525 58.3 Kmet, Cole..........................11 0 515 0 0 0 515 46.8 Keys III, Lawrence...............12 45 134 6 194 0 379 31.6 McKinley, Javon...................9 0 268 0 0 0 268 29.8 Armstrong, Jafar..................9 122 97 0 46 0 265 29.4 Smith, Jahmir.....................10 180 12 0 0 0 192 19.2 Tremble, Tommy................13 0 183 0 0 0 183 14.1 Flemister, C’Bo....................9 162 13 0 0 0 175 19.4 Davis, Avery........................11 10 124 0 0 0 134 12.2 Jurkovec, Phil......................6 130 0 0 0 0 130 21.7 Young, Michael....................3 2 21 0 48 0 71 23.7 Hamilton, Kyle....................13 0 0 0 0 66 66 5.1 Williams, Kyren...................4 26 3 0 35 0 64 16.0 Wright, Brock.....................13 0 45 0 0 0 45 3.5 Assaf, Mick.........................13 34 0 0 0 0 34 2.6 Clark, Brendon....................3 33 0 0 0 0 33 11.0 Foskey, Isaiah......................4 0 0 23 0 0 23 5.8 Pride Jr., Troy......................13 0 0 0 0 19 19 1.5

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Takacs, George....................6 0 12 0 0 0 12 2.0 Simon, Shayne....................10 0 0 0 9 0 9 0.9 Elliott, Jalen........................13 0 0 0 0 2 2 0.2 Wilkins, Joe.........................6 0 0 2 0 0 2 0.3 Henry, Nolan.......................2 1 0 0 0 0 1 0.5 Team....................................7 -23 0 0 0 0 -23 -3.3 Total................................. 13 2,327 3,278 211 403 87 6,306 485.1 Opponent........................ 13 1,972 2,191 70 626 23 4,882 375.5 Punt Returns.................... G No. Yards Avg. TD Long Yds./G Finke, Chris.........................13 20 180 9.0 0 46 13.8 Foskey, Isaiah......................4 1 23 23.0 0 0 5.8 Keys III, Lawrence...............12 1 6 6.0 0 6 0.5 Wilkins, Joe.........................6 2 2 1.0 0 2 0.3 Team....................................7 1 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 Total................................. 13 25 211 8.4 0 46 16.2 Opponent........................ 13 18 70 3.9 0 16 5.4 Kick Returns..................... G No. Yards Avg. TD Long Yds./G Keys III, Lawrence...............12 10 194 19.4 0 45 16.2 Lenzy, Braden......................9 3 71 23.7 0 29 7.9 Young, Michael....................3 2 48 24.0 0 32 16.0 Armstrong, Jafar..................9 3 46 15.3 0 20 5.1 Williams, Kyren...................4 2 35 17.5 0 19 8.8 Simon, Shayne....................10 1 9 9.0 0 9 0.9 Total................................. 13 21 403 19.2 0 45 31.0 Opponent........................ 13 35 626 17.9 0 36 48.2 Punting............................. G No. Avg. Long Blk. TB FC 50+ In 20 Bramblett, Jay....................13 63 39.4 61 0 2 24 5 18 Total................................. 13 63 39.4 61 0 2 24 5 18 Opponent........................ 13 80 42.7 63 2 7 19 23 23 Field Goals........................ G Att. Made Long Blk. Doerer, Jonathan................13 20 17 52 0 Total................................. 13 20 17 52 0 Opponent........................ 13 19 17 44 1 Defense............................ G Solo Assist Total TFL-Yds. Sack-Yds. PD FF FR Owusu-Koramoah, J...........13 54 26 80 13.5-59 5.5-34 4 2 2 White, Drew.......................13 48 32 80 8-17 2-3 1 0 2 Bilal, Asmar........................13 48 31 79 10-22 0-0 2 0 1 Gilman, Alohi......................13 32 42 74 3-10 1-6 2 3 1 Elliott, Jalen........................13 29 20 49 0-0 0-0 2 0 0 Kareem, Khalid...................13 23 23 46 10-44 5.5-33 1 3 1 Hamilton, Kyle....................13 27 14 41 1-1 0-0 6 0 0 Pride Jr., Troy......................13 27 13 40 0-0 0-0 6 0 0 Bracy, TaRiq........................12 25 9 34 0-0 0-0 7 1 2 Ogundeji, Adetokunbo.......13 17 17 34 7-31 4.5-24 0 3 1 Crawford, Shaun................11 19 9 28 1-9 0-0 2 0 0 Bauer, Bo............................13 18 10 28 2-4 0-0 0 0 0 Jones, Jamir........................11 14 12 26 6.5-32 4.5-28 1 2 1 Ademilola, Jayson..............11 9 16 25 4-12 0-0 1 0 0 Tagovailoa-Amosa, M.........12 13 9 22 2.5-5 0.5-1 1 0 1 Okwara, Julian.....................9 8 10 18 6-52 4-48 0 2 1 Vaughn, Donte...................10 5 11 16 0-0 0-0 5 0 0 Hinish, Kurt.........................13 7 8 15 4.5-12 2-9 0 1 0 Lacey, Jacob........................11 7 7 14 1.5-3 0.5-2 0 0 0 Moala, Paul........................12 6 8 14 1-6 0-0 0 1 1 Oghoufo, Ovie.....................9 1 11 12 1-4 1-4 1 0 0 Genmark Heath, Jordan.....13 6 4 10 1-6 0-0 0 0 0 Ademilola, Justin.................8 6 3 9 1-2 0-0 0 0 0 Simon, Shayne....................10 2 7 9 1.5-2 0-0 0 0 0 Lamb, Jack...........................8 4 3 7 2-11 1-7 0 1 1 Brown, DJ............................9 3 4 7 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Cross III, Howard.................4 3 4 7 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Hayes, Daelin......................4 5 1 6 3-11 1-7 0 0 1 Claypool, Chase..................13 3 2 5 0-0 0-0 0 0 2 Griffith, Houston................13 3 2 5 0-0 0-0 1 0 0 Foskey, Isaiah......................4 1 4 5 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Franklin, Ja’Mion.................9 3 1 4 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Agoro, Temitope.................13 3 0 3 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Shannon, John....................12 1 2 3 0-0 0-0 0 0 1 Spears, Hunter....................3 1 2 3 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Jones Jr., Tony.....................12 2 0 2 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 Kmet, Cole..........................11 2 0 2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Pelini, Patrick.......................3 2 0 2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Ekwonu, Osita.....................3 1 0 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Flemister, C’Bo....................9 1 0 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Wardlow, Kofi......................2 1 0 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Wright, Brock.....................13 1 0 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Jones, Jonathan..................13 0 1 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Wallace, KJ..........................4 0 1 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Osafo-Mensah, Nana..........2 0 1 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Interception Returns........ G No. Yards Avg. TD Long Yds./G Hamilton, Kyle....................13 4 66 16.5 1 34 5.1 Elliott, Jalen........................13 2 2 1.0 0 2 0.2 Pride Jr., Troy......................13 1 19 19.0 0 19 1.5 Crawford, Shaun................11 1 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 Gilman, Alohi......................13 1 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 Total................................. 13 9 87 9.7 1 34 6.7 Opponent........................ 13 6 23 3.8 0 12 1.8

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25

‘SEE YOU IN 2020’

Quarterback Ian Book confirms he will return for a fifth year at Notre Dame the only other FBS quarterback to achieve that during the 2019 he day after Notre regular season.

Dame’s 33-9 rout of Book will be the first fifthIowa State in the Campyear senior quarterback returning World Bowl Dec. 28, ing as a starter for the team senior quarterback Ian Book since Jarious Jackson in 1999. announced on his Instagram Under Kelly, all previous sigpage that he will return to nal-callers eligible for a fifth Notre Dame for his fifth season season became graduate transof eligibility in 2020. fers at other schools: Dayne The message with his action Crist at Kansas, Andrew Henphoto was succinct: “See You drix at Miami (Ohio), Everett In 2020. Go Irish.”

Golson at Florida State, Malik The first Fighting Irish quarZaire at Florida and Wimbush terback to serve as a captain at Central Florida. since Jimmy Clausen in 2009, The offense, which needs to Book is now in line to become add one more coach, also is the first three-year starter at projected to return all five starthis position since Clausen did Book is in line to become the first three-year starter at quarterback for ers along the line, although it it from 2007-09. will lose Team MVP Chase the Fighting Irish since Jimmy Clausen (2007-09).

PHOTO BY JAMES GLIBERT Claypool and Chris Finke from With a performance that The current record of 29 wins as a saw him complete 20 of 28 passes its receiving corps. In addition, leadstarter is shared by Clements (29-5 for 247 yards and one touchdown ing rusher Tony Jones Jr. has opted to from 1972-74), Ron Powlus (29-16-1 versus the Cyclones, Book moved bypass his fifth season of eligibility to from 1994-97) and Brady Quinn up to 28th nationally in passing effienter the 2020 NFL Draft.

(29‑17 from 2003-06). ciency (149.1 rating). He finished the The wild card in the 2020 equation This season Book became the first season with 240 completions among on offense is junior tight end Cole Notre Dame quarterback to pass for his 399 passes (60.2 percent) for 3,034 Kmet. He has one more year of eligimore than 3,000 yards and 30 touchyards with 34 touchdowns and six bility remaining, but as of Dec. 31 was downs, and rush for more than 500 interceptions. still weighing his options regarding yards. Oklahoma’s Jalen Hurts was He also was second on the team in an early move to the NFL. ✦ rushing with 546 yards, and paced the Irish in that department during four straight wins in November.

Entering 2020, Ian Book will have a legitimate chance to finish first or second on the Notre Dame A year earlier as a junior in 2018, career charts in numerous categories.

Book finished 17th nationally in passCompletions: Book has 500 ing efficiency with a 154.0 rating, the He won’t catch Brady Quinn’s standard of 929, but is within in reach of No. 2 Jimmy Clausen’s 695 highest in head coach Brian Kelly’s and current Irish quarterbacks coach Tom Rees, who is third with 627.

10 seasons at Notre Dame.

If Book matches his 240 completions from this season, he would be at 740.

Passing Yards: Book has 6,118 Furthermore, Book joins FightQuinn’s 11,762 won’t be reached, but No. 2 Clausen with 8,148 and Rees at No. 3 with 7,670 can ing Irish luminaries Tony Rice, Tom easily be surpassed with a healthy season and continued effectiveness.

Clements and Joe Theismann, along Touchdown Passes: Book has 57 with Brandon Wimbush, whom Book He had 34 this year, and if he tosses 39 next season he will eclipse Quinn’s mark of 95. The next-in-line supplanted as the starter in game totals of 61 (Rees) and 60 (Clausen) could be broken in the 2020 opener versus Navy. four of the 2018 season, as the only Completion Percentage: Book is at 63.45 Notre Dame quarterbacks to eclipse He holds the current mark, ahead of Clausen (62.6), Kevin McDougal (62.2) and DeShone Kizer (60.8).

1,000 rushing yards in their careers.

Pass Efficiency Rating: Book is at 148.28 With a 20-3 career record as a This ranks No. 2, behind McDougal’s 156.7, and just ahead of No. 3 Kizer (147.7) and No. 4 Jarious starter (not including coming off the Jackson (145.7). bench to rally the Irish to victory Rushing Yards By A QB: Book has 1,033 over LSU in the 2018 Citrus Bowl), He should move past Nos. 2-4, which feature Brandon Wimbush (1,155), Tom Clements (1,148) and Book realistically could be the first Joe Theismann (1,091) — bowl games also included for the latter two — but would need 1,017 to move Notre Dame quarterback to win 30 past Tony Rice’s 2,049. games in that role.

T

BY LOU SOMOGYI

For The Record(s)

26

FEBRUARY 2020

BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED

I

BY LOU SOMOGYI

n the January 2020 edition of Blue & Gold Illustrated, we assembled our Notre Dame All-Decade Team for 2010-19, comprised of an 11man starting offense, 11-man starting defense, kicker, punter and utility player.

This month, we review some of the topics strictly on the field that defined a decade which had its share of elation and misery.

WHICH TEAM WAS THE BEST?

If you could have only one Notre Dame team to represent the school in a 2010-19 College Football Playoff, which would it be?

• The 2012 edition that played in the BCS National Championship Game had the best defense, led by linebacker Manti Te’o. The 12.77 points allowed per game was the best at Notre Dame since 1980 (10.7, including the bowl).

However, the offense was only 78th while producing the lowest scoring output of the decade at 25.77.

• The 2017 unit became the first at Notre Dame since 2002 to defeat four teams that finished in the Associated Press top 25: No. 12 USC, No. 15 Michigan State, No. 18 LSU and No. 23 NC State. It was so dominant with its 8-1 start that it rose to No. 3 in the CFP rankings.

But then it lost 41-8 at Miami and fell in two of its last three regularseason games.

• The 2018 squad that finished the regular season 12-0 was more prolific on offense than in 2012 with a 31.3 scoring average, and defeated three teams that finished in the top 25 (No. 14 Michigan, No. 15 Syracuse and No. 21 Northwestern), but wasn’t quite as dominant while struggling to home wins versus lesser foes such as Ball State (24-16), Vanderbilt (22-17) and Pitt (19-14).

If we were to engage in “fantasy football,” however, the single most talented team might have been the 2015 outfit that finished 10-3.

The two regular-season losses were last-second heartbreakers on the road to the teams that finished No. 2 (24‑22 at Clemson) and No. 3 (38‑36 at Stanford), plus in the Fiesta Bowl to No. 4 Ohio State (44-28).

That 2015 offense featured a line with three first-round picks (Ronnie Stanley, Mike McGlinchey and www.BLUEANDGOLD.com

Linebacker Manti Te’o led the best Irish defense of the decade to a 30-13 win at Oklahoma in 2012, earning BGI recognition as the Top Win of the Decade.

REMEMBERING 2010-19

PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA

The decade had its share of drama on both ends of the spectrum

Quenton Nelson) and one in the second (Nick Martin), a first-round game breaker at wide receiver (Will Fuller), a second-round quarterback (DeShone Kizer) and three running backs (C.J. Prosise, Josh Adams and Dexter Williams) who stepped in for an injured Tarean Folston and later played in the NFL, as did tight ends Durham Smythe and Alizé Mack.

The defense was headlined by

Butkus Award winner Jaylon Smith at linebacker to go with eight other starters who would play in the NFL, including currently the entire line with Sheldon Day, Isaac Rochell, Romeo Okwara and first-round pick Jerry Tillery.

Our ”fantasy league” would include 2018-19 defensive coordinator Clark Lea instructing the 2015 defense, a best of both worlds.

FEBRUARY 2020

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Top Five Wins There was no colossal “one for the ages” victory this decade for the Fighting Irish — and hasn’t been since defeating No. 1 Florida State on Nov. 13, 1993.

However, we believe these wins were the most impactful when combining surprise with value against a quality foe.

And there was one in hindsight that turned out more remarkable than perceived at the time.

1. Oklahoma, 2012 Although the 7-0 Irish were ranked No. 5 and the 7-1 Sooners No. 8, Notre Dame was a 10.5-point underdog because it had a recent history of collapse in night games against ranked opposition on the road.

Plus, Oklahoma was 79-4 at home under head coach Bob Stoops.

The score was knotted at 13 in the fourth quarter before 17 straight Fighting Irish points resulted in a surprising 30-13 triumph — and a sudden realization nationally that Notre Dame was rising from the dead again after a school-record five straight seasons with at least five losses from 2007-11 (32-31 overall).

A month later, Notre Dame elevated to No. 1 in the AP poll for the first time in 19 years.

2. Stanford, 2012 Two weeks before the showdown in Norman, the Irish had to battle the ghosts of a physical Stanford outfit that had defeated Notre Dame three straight times and had an odor of having their number.

A late Irish rally led by backup quarterback Tommy Rees put the game into overtime, and a dramatic goal-line stand preserved a 20-13 conquest over the No. 17 Cardinal.

By earning the victory, a feeling enveloped the Irish unit that they could vanquish everyone else on the slate.

Stanford finished the season ranked No. 7 with a 12-2 mark after winning the Rose Bowl for the first time in 41 years.

3. Michigan, 2018 Our feeling was that if Notre Dame could win this opener at home while rebuilding on offense, it could run the regular-season table.

Indeed, the Irish quickly raced to a 21-3 lead and held on at the end for a 24-17 triumph against a Wolverines team that would start the year 10-1.

And yes, it propelled a second 12-0 regular season in seven years to earn Notre Dame its first invite to the four-team College Football Playoff.

4. USC, 2017 An evening where just about everything went right during a 49-14 slaughter of a Trojans outfit led by quarterback Sam Darnold that won the Pac-12 — and might have snuck into the CFP had it not been for this game.

It was the first of three straight defeats of the Irish archrival, which hadn’t occurred since 1999-2001, and part of a 7-3 record this decade against USC. 5. Michigan State, 2013 Maybe the most impressive ”hindsight victory” in school history.

At the time on Sept. 21, the Spartans were unranked, and the No. 22 Fighting Irish rallied in the fourth quarter for an old-school 17-13 victory.

When the college football dust cleared four months later, it was the lone defeat for 13-1 Michigan State, which won the Rose Bowl and finished No. 3 in the country. Not since 1993, when Florida State finished No. 1, had Notre Dame defeated an opponent that finished that high in the AP poll.

Overall, Notre Dame was 2-12 from 2010-18 against opponents that finished in the AP top 10, with the victories coming against Stanford in 2012 and Michigan State in 2013 (Georgia this year could make the total 2-13).

Honorable mention: Although USC finished only 7-6 in 2012 and 5-7 in 2018, we would be remiss not to include the 22-13 Irish triumph in 2012 and the 24-17 conquest in 2018.

Both were at the Los Angeles Coliseum — a past House of Horrors for the Irish — and both clinched an opportunity for the Irish to compete for the national title after finishing the regular season 12-0.

The former put them in the 2013 BCS National Championship Game versus Alabama, and the latter in the four-team CFP against Clemson.

Notre Dame was outscored 72-17 in those two outings, but the opportunity to be there demonstrated much progress after the worst decade (2000-09) in school history that produced five finishes of 6-6 or less and only one top-10 showing (No. 9 in 2005).

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FEBRUARY 2020

Top Five Plays On the 125th anniversary of Notre Dame football in 2012, our Football Preview that year featured a countdown of the 50 most famous and impactful plays in the program’s history.

At least a few of these five from 2010-19 could make the cut some day.

1. Hail Mary In Hoos-ville — Virginia (2015) Following a phenomenal season-opening performance in a 38-3 victory over Texas, Irish quarterback Malik Zaire suffered a season-ending injury the next week in the second half at Virginia. Without him, the Irish went from a 26-14 lead to falling behind 27-26 with 1:54 left.

Sophomore quarterback DeShone Kizer and the offense had a final chance at victory when they took possession at their 20-yard line.

Kizer kept the drive alive with a scramble for a four-yard gain on fourth-and-two. Later, on second-and-nine from the Virginia 39-yard line, Kizer scrambled around in the pocket before selling the farm, launching a pass 50 yards in the air that speedy junior wide receiver Will Fuller caught over his shoulder near the goal line and scored with 12 seconds remaining.

That dramatic victory made possible a 10-1 start and a chance at the College Football Playoff entering the final regular-season contest.

2. Making The Stand — Stanford (2012) After rallying in the closing seconds to send the game into overtime, the 5-0 and No. 7 Irish tallied first on a seven-yard pass from quarterback Tommy Rees to wideout TJ Jones to take a 20-13 edge.

On its turn, Stanford drove to a first-and-goal at the Notre Dame 4-yard line, and sent running back Stefan Taylor into the line for gains of one and two yards on the first two plays, and one foot on the third.

On fourth-and-goal, the Irish defense converged around Taylor again, stopping him short of the goal line as the whistle blew … but several minutes needed to be taken by the officials to review the play.

When it was announced the call stood, elation overtook Notre BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED

The Agony Of Defeat

Will Fuller’s 39-yard, over-the-shoulder touchdown catch with 12 seconds remaining capped the 34-27 Irish comeback victory at Virginia in 2015.

PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA

Dame Stadium on a rainy, dank afternoon as the Irish improved to 6-0 for the first time in 10 years.

3. Oh Boy(kin)! — LSU (2018 Citrus Bowl) Trailing LSU 17-14 and with time running out, sophomore reserve quarterback Ian Book from his 45-yard line flung a pass down the right sideline, where wideout Miles Boykin made a spectacular, leaping one-handed stab, kept his balance and evaded two defenders for what turned into a 55-yard touchdown with 1:28 remaining.

The No. 14-ranked Irish came limping into the game after losing two of their last three, and a third loss in four contests would have put a severe damper on a rebound from the previous year’s 4-8 mark.

Instead, this victory over the No. 17 Tigers began the New Year with rejuvenation that carried over into the next season.

4. Season Saver — Virginia Tech (2019) A 45-14 debacle at Michigan a week earlier had the once CFPcontending Irish reeling when they trailed Virginia Tech 20-14 at home and took possession at their own 13-yard line with 3:22 remaining.

Twice the Irish converted fourth-down plays — with the second coming on fourth-and-10 from the Virginia Tech 33-yard line in which Book rifled a 26-yard pass to wide receiver Chase Claypool downfield that he snared after running an ideal route.

Three plays later, Book’s seven-yard run with 29 seconds left and the extra point by Jonathan Doerer off a saved hold by Jay Bramblett enabled the Irish to post a 21-20 victory — and begin the longest winning streak to end a season (six) in 27 years.

5. Ben There, Done That — Stanford (2014) Trailing 14-10 with just more than a minute to play and facing fourth-and-11 at the Stanford 23-yard line, quarterback Everett Golson scrambled to his left away from pressure and fired a missile into the end zone to tight end Ben Koyack, who held on just inside the sideline with 1:01 remaining.

That 17-14 victory over the No. 14 Cardinal improved Notre Dame to 5-0 and made the hiring of new defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder seem like an act of genius. The Irish had allowed only 12.0 points per game, highlighted by a 31-0 shutout of Michigan. www.BLUEANDGOLD.com

Head coach Brian Kelly has indicated that he does not own a “stink-o-meter” to rate losses.

We didn’t put the 2013 BCS National Championship Game fiasco versus Alabama (4214) and the CFP loss to Clemson (30-3) on the list because the opportunity to be there against a vastly superior team was at least a plus.

But these setbacks especially elicited anything from incredulity to rage.

1. USF/Michigan, 2011 Surreal setbacks to begin the campaign 0-2, the Irish committed five turnovers in each while finding a way to lose to alumnus Skip Holtz’s 5-7 South Florida team (23-20). This game also had two in-game lightning delays that totaled two hours and 53 minutes.

A week later, the Irish blew a 24-7 fourth-quarter lead at Michigan when the Wolverines drove 80 yards for a touchdown in the final 30 seconds to notch a 35-31 win.

2. Florida State, 2014 A two-yard touchdown pass from Everett Golson to wideout Corey Robinson with 13 seconds left gave 6-0 and No. 5 Notre Dame a 33-31 lead over No. 2 and reigning national champ Florida State — until a highly controversial call that it was a “pick play” rubbed it out to help preserve the victory for the Seminoles.

3. Michigan, 2019 Nothing put a greater damper on an otherwise quality 11-2 campaign than this baffling no-show, a 45-14 loss to a Michigan team that had been reeling.

4. Miami, 2017 The No. 3-ranked and 8-1 Irish looked like a CFP lock after steamrolling the opposition and averaging nearly 42 points per game — before running into a buzz saw in South Florida during a 41-8 disintegration.

5. Duke, 2016 Rock bottom was achieved during the wretched 4-8 campaign when the Irish lost 3835 at home to a struggling Blue Devils outfit that also would finish 4-8.

The 1-3 start led to the ouster of third-year defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder less than 24 hours later, the first known in-season firing of an assistant at Notre Dame.

Notre Dame squandered a 24-7 fourth-quarter lead at Michigan in 2011, dropping a 35-31 heartbreaker after surrendering the go-ahead score in the final 30 seconds.

PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL

FEBRUARY 2020

29

FOOTBALL RECRUITING

T

Pyne and Watts, Shrewsbury (Mass.)

Saint John’s three-star wide receiver Jay Brunelle, Dusseldorf (Germany) Theodor-Fliedner Gymnasium threestar defensive end Alexander Ehrens‑ berger and Southaven (Miss.) High three-star cornerback Caleb Offord.

Also enrolling in January will be Ohio State graduate transfer safety Isaiah Pryor.

BY LOU SOMOGYI

he early signing period (Dec. 18‑20) for the class of 2020 in college football saw 18 high school seniors sign their let‑ ters of intent for Notre Dame — the last from Bakersfield (Calif.) Liberty three-star cornerback Ramon Hen‑ derson, who had remained uncom‑ mitted until Dec. 18.

Outside of Henderson, this group had long been assembled, with Ne‑ braska wide receiver Xavier Watts giving the Fighting Irish their 17th pledge in this cycle way back on July 5 to virtually complete the class.

Irish head coach Brian Kelly indi‑ cated how the early signing period is actually “the signing period” for Notre Dame. He elaborated that if any player joins in the February process for 2020, it would be on offense (last year the lone late addition in February was Cal‑ ifornia defensive end Isaiah Foskey).

In terms of re‑ cruiting rankings, it remains status quo. The usual suspects — Clem‑ son, Alabama and Ohio State — are at the top, along with Georgia and LSU. Since 2014, Notre Dame generally ranks in the No. 10 to No. 15 range, and this year was no exception with 247Sports placing the Irish No. 11, ESPN No. 13 and Rivals No. 15.

One of the reasons why the Irish didn’t crack the top 10 again is be‑ cause of the lower amount of recruits that could be signed after bringing in 22 last year and 27 the year prior (of which 24 remain). Per NCAA limits, a team cannot have more than 85 on scholarship entering a season.

Whereas class strengths in recent recruiting cycles concentrated on both lines, linebacker, tight end and safety, this year’s haul centers on the glamour positions on offense and at cornerback on defense.

Headlining the harvest are four of Rivals’ top-50 players: St. Louis De Smet Jesuit five-star wide re‑ ceiver Jordan Johnson (No. 25), and four-star figures in Park Hills (Ky.) Covington Catholic tight end Mi‑ chael Mayer (No. 37), Chester (Va.) Thomas Dale running back Chris

St. Louis De Smet Jesuit five-star wide receiver Jordan Johnson — Rivals’ No. 25 overall player in the country — headlines a top-15 Irish class that focused on the glamour positions on offense and cornerback on defense.

PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM

2. Speed And Corner Coverage Prior to the 2019 season, Kelly indi‑ cated the areas that most separated top10 Notre Dame from the first-tier group led by Clemson and Alabama is the speed and game-breaking explosive‑ ness at the skill positions and corner‑ back, although graduating senior Troy Pride Jr. could match anyone in speed.

But in Tyree at running back and Johnson at receiver, they found such players and that caliber of skill. Tyree ran the fastest 55 meters (6.30) in the nation last February among high school athletes, and defended his title as the Fastest Man at the prestigious The Opening camp during the summer with a 4.37 in the 40-yard dash.

Recruiting coor‑ dinator Brian Po‑ lian said landing speed particularly was important at cornerback, a top position of need in the 2020 where the Irish signed four.

All are considered “developmental” three-stars, but Polian said the home‑ work on them was thorough among the defensive staff.

“We watched these young men work out at track, in spring football,” Polian said. “… We have verified times on every one of them, whether it be a track time, a 40 time at a camp, we know more about this group than we probably do any group the last couple of years.”

EARLY RESULTS Among 18 Notre Dame players signed in the 2020 recruiting cycle, 17 had committed by July 5

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FEBRUARY 2020

Tyree (No. 43) and Phoenix Pinnacle offensive tackle Tosh Baker (No. 48).

Tyree joined Johnson as a five-star prospect on 247Sports.

Four others were classified among the Rivals250: New Canaan (Conn.)

High quarterback Drew Pyne (No. 118), Red Bank (N.J.) Catholic tight end Kevin Bauman (No. 130), Lake Forest (Ill.) High defensive tackle Rylie Mills (No. 161) and Honolulu St. Louis de‑ fensive end Jordan Botelho (No. 198).

Here were primary talking points from head coach Brian Kelly: 1. Early Enrollees Since its first admission of early enrollees in 2006, Notre Dame has had 62 in those 14 years from 2006‑19 — with a record 10 last year.

When the spring term begins on Jan. 13, 2020, eight will begin their academic work, along with winter conditioning and then spring drills, which usually commence in early March: Botelho, Henderson, Mills,

3. Overcoming Chip Long’s Departure On Dec. 11, third-year offensive co‑ ordinator Chip Long and the Fighting Irish parted ways. That can be unnerv‑ ing one week prior to the early signing period, especially because Long was recognized as a stellar recruiter.

However, Kelly said that deep, longstanding relationships with the entire BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED

FOOTBALL RECRUITING Position Breakdown

Quarterback Drew Pyne, 6-0, 181, New Canaan, Conn., New Canaan H.S.* Running Back Chris Tyree, 5-9½, 179, Chester, Va., Thomas Dale H.S. Wide Receivers Jay Brunelle, 6-1½, 201, Paxton, Mass., Saint John’s H.S.* Jordan Johnson, 6-2, 180, St. Louis, De Smet Jesuit H.S. Xavier Watts, 5-11, 185, Omaha, Neb., Burke H.S.* Tight End Kevin Bauman, 6-4, 226, Red Bank, N.J., Catholic H.S. Michael Mayer, 6-5, 234, Independence, Ky., Covington Catholic H.S. Offensive Line Tosh Baker, 6-7, 283, Scottsdale, Ariz., Pinnacle H.S. Michael Carmody 6-6, 292, Mars, Pa., Mars Area H.S. Defensive End Jordan Botelho, 6-2, 229, Honolulu, St. Louis School* Alexander Ehrensberger, 6-6½, 239, Dusseldorf, Germany, Theodor-Fliedner Gymnasium* staff — not just one coach — and the intrinsic attractions of Notre Dame trump any one assistant. Part of being the “right fit” at the school is understanding and accepting this, which is why the class remained intact.

“Not one guy recruits here at Notre Dame,” said Kelly, referring to a constant collaborative effort. “It’s not ‘your guy.’ It’s ‘our guy.’ I recruit them, Coach [Brian] Polian recruits them, we team recruit … Notre Dame recruits to Notre Dame. So no one person is stronger than the university.

“For those guys that decide to go to schools based upon one individual, then you’re left up to those kinds of decommitments based upon singular relationships. That’s never how we have recruited here at Notre Dame, and that’s not how we’ll ever recruit.”

4. Keeping The Cupboard Stocked The 2019 cycle last year was a rarity because it was a full, complete class at virtually every position, including kicker (preferred walk-on Harrison Leonard) and punter (Jay Bramblett).

Usually, one or two areas come up short, so schools will compensate for those holes the following cycle.

This year, the three areas where the numbers were low with incoming freshmen were offensive line (two), linebacker/rover (zero) and safety (zero). Part of it was that there were more limits on how many scholarships to give this season because 24 sophomores and 22 freshmen remain from the last two classes. www.BLUEANDGOLD.com

Rylie Mills, 6-4½, 250, Lake Bluff, Ill., Lake Forest H.S.* Defensive Tackle Aidan Keanaaina, 6-2¾, 302, Englewood, Colo., J.K. Mullen H.S. Linebacker/Rover None because eight were signed in the past two classes Cornerback Landen Bartleson, 5-11½, 181, Harrodsburg, Ky., Boyle County H.S. Ramon Henderson, 6-3, 180, Bakersfield, Calif., Liberty H.S.* Clarence Lewis, 6-0, 180, Edison, N.J., Mater Dei H.S. Caleb Offord, 6-1, 170, Southaven, Miss., Southaven H.S.* Safety None from the 2020 recruiting class, but Ohio State graduate transfer safety Isaiah Pryor (6-2, 202) will enroll in January and has two years of eligibility remaining.

Long Snapper Alex Peitsch, 6-1, 205, Ellicott City, Md., St. John’s College H.S. * Will enroll in January

• As it stands, the Irish will have 15 scholarship offensive linemen in 2020, including incoming freshmen Mike Carmody and Tosh Baker, plus No. 2 center and junior Colin Grunhard, who has been at least temporarily placed on scholarship.

• At linebacker, eight players were signed the previous two cycles.

The current sophomores include Bo Bauer, Jack Lamb, Paul Moala (rover) and Shayne Simon, while last year the Irish reeled in four with JD Bertrand, Osita Ekwonu, Jack Kiser (rover) and Marist Liufau.

Chris Tyree — a four-star running back from Chester (Va.) Thomas Dale who has twice earned the title of Fastest Man at the prestigious The Opening camp — will bring an element of speed the Notre Dame offense has lacked in the past.

PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM

• Although no freshman was signed at safety this year, Pryor — who enrolls in January — has two years of eligibility remaining. He will join Freshman All-American Kyle Hamilton and his classmate Litchfield Ajavon, plus current sophomores Houston Griffith and D.J. Brown, to comprise a nucleus through at least the 2021 season.

5. Proving Results On The Field For all the talk about “Notre Dame sells itself,” the reality is results also must be demonstrated on the field.

Landing prospects such as Johnson and Tyree are enhanced when over the past three seasons a team has posted a 33-6 record — fifth best among the 65 Power Five schools — and been in the four-team College Football Playoff.

“You didn’t get in the door if you weren’t [33-6],” Kelly admitted.

Still, there are plenty of sales that remain, and what Notre Dame will always market to players such as Tyree, who was in advancement placement classes, is the overall value provided by the school.

“The reality is that you get in the door, but you’ve got to sell it,” Kelly said. “And I think we did a great job of selling who we are and why it was right for him … all those things lined up. If those things don’t line up, he’s not buying. So [33-6] only gets you so far. All those other things have to line up, too.”

The next edition of Blue & Gold Illustrated will have full bios and features on all 18 freshman newcomers. ✦ FEBRUARY 2020

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FOOTBALL RECRUITING

F

BY ANDREW MENTOCK

or the Notre Dame coaching staff, it takes a lot more than a high Rivals recruiting ranking for a prospect to receive a scholarship offer.

A high school player — or graduate transfer — must meet a high standard throughout the evaluation process, which will determine if he is a program fit as it pertains to his athletic prowess on the field, aptitude in the classroom, and personality in the locker room and on campus.

A lot goes into that process. Take Omaha (Neb.) Burke wide receiver Xavier Watts, widely considered a three-star recruit by Rivals and other services. Yet he was one of the most sought-after prospects in the 2020 class by the Notre Dame staff.

The Fighting Irish coaches determined he met the academic and athletic profile, but it was another trait that put him over the edge. “[He is] a serious, focused competitor, just everything about his de-

Recruiting coordinator Brian Polian and the Irish staff take the necessary steps to verify a recruit’s athleticism on the field, aptitude in the classroom, and personality in the locker room and on campus.

PHOTO BY MIKE MILLER

Notre Dame Fit

How the Irish determine if a recruit meets the program’s standards athletically, academically and culturally meanor,” Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly said. “You’ve got to read into ballplayers a little bit more when it comes to their demeanor and how they can impact others. This is a serious individual that takes his craft, that takes being a competitor and a winner to the next level. He’s going to influence others around him.”

But what goes into actually discovering why Watts and the 17 other 2020 signees will fit into life as a Notre Dame scholarship athlete?

ATHLETIC PROFILE

A priority on the recruiting trail for the Fighting Irish on both sides of the ball is length and speed.

Unfortunately, an inordinate amount of high school football prospects claim to have 4.4-second 40yard dash times, especially compared to what is reality in the NFL. That 32 FEBRUARY 2020

is why Notre Dame went through extraordinary efforts to verify a recruit’s speed by flying all over the country to see them in person.

“God bless the high school coaches,” recruiting coordinator Brian Polian said. “We love them and they’re always trying to help their kids. I always point this out, my experience with my dad in the NFL. “If you look at how many guys go to the combine and can actually run in the low 4.4s, there’s not very many of them. But when we talk to high school coaches, there’s millions across the country.”

Polian and the Irish staff did their due diligence and know more about this current crop of recruits than they did in the past few cycles. For instance, Notre Dame offered 2020 cornerback recruit Lovie Jenkins but later slowed on him because the staff

was unable to verify certain information, including his speed.

Another vital part of this process was evaluating track times, even if the prospect didn’t run the 60- or 100-meter dash.

“What if a guy runs only a 200 meter? What if he’s a distance guy? How do we translate a split in a 4 x 100 to a verified speed?” Polian said. “We literally did some research on that in the winter into the spring in terms of, is he really fast? What if does a really good 110 high hurdle? How does that equate to football speed?

“You know it when you see it on film, but [we had] the discipline to walk away if we did not have a verified speed.”

Length is a little easier to evaluate in person, but that doesn’t make it any less coveted. To understand this, look no further than a certain 6-4 safety who was able to make a significant contribution to the Irish in 2019 as a true freshman.

“From a football point of view, a great reminder of the power of length was Kyle Hamilton this year,” Polian said. “If you can get a really good athlete who has got length, that’s better than just a really good athlete who doesn’t.”

In addition to verifiable speed, Notre Dame targeted length for the defensive backfield in the 2020 recruiting class. Southaven (Miss.) High’s Caleb Offord (6-1) and Bakersfield (Calif.) Liberty’s Ramon Henderson (6-3) are both rangy athletes, even if they are "only" three-star recruits.

While cornerback recruits Landen Bartleson of Danville (Ky.) Boyle County and Clarence Lewis of Middletown (N.J.) Mater Dei may be listed at around 6-0, both still have long arms and also fit the athletic profile the staff is looking for.

“There was a concerted effort this year to, if we have two equal grades on a guy, let’s go with the guy that’s got a little bit more length,” Polian said. “I know there was some consternation earlier in the year about the defensive back board and defensive back situation.”

SCHOLASTIC APTITUDE

Determining which prospect will be excited to face the academic demands at Notre Dame is about much more than looking at a recruit’s GPA BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED

FOOTBALL RECRUITING and the number of advanced placement classes he’s taken.

“We have serious conversations,” Polian said. “The biggest thing here is the ability to communicate. There are guys here who succeed because they can have a conversation and communicate with a professor.

“If a guy will come here and may have good grades, but we’ve got to work really hard to communicate with us, there’s a hunch that, hey, that guy might have a hard time.”

There may not be a specific 2020 recruit who comes to mind, but 2021 Rivals100 player Gabriel Rubio earned his Notre Dame offer by showing a commitment to the classroom.

His GPA was below a 3.0 in the middle of his sophomore year, so defensive line coach Mike Elston made a deal with him. If he raised his GPA, then the Irish would offer. In that last semester of his sophomore year, he earned a 3.7 GPA, and Elston knew Rubio had the scholastic aptitude necessary to thrive at Notre Dame.

It wasn’t merely that his GPA was higher. Rubio showed he was willing to accept a difficult academic challenge and exceed expectations.

“Dave Peloquin [Notre Dame’s director of player personnel], specifically, on our staff working in conjunction with our admissions office, they do a really good job of where there might be a concern, let’s address it now, let’s have some honest conversations,” Polian said. “I would tell you eight and a half to nine times out of 10 we get the answer we’re looking for.”

CULTURAL FIT

In addition to athletics and academics, the Notre Dame coaching staff must assess if a recruit is a cultural fit. That’s why, when a prospect visits campus, the staff seeks input from Notre Dame’s current roster.

“That’s invaluable feedback,” Polian said. “If there’s ever a doubt in our mind about whether a guy fits, we will immediately go to the host.”

Other bits of information could come from the recruiting staff, including student ambassadors from Notre Dame, Saint Mary’s and Holy Cross, who spend time with the recruit and help set up events for unofficial and official visitors.

“Our ambassadors will give us www.BLUEANDGOLD.com

FIVE TAKEAWAYS FROM THE EARLY SIGNING PERIOD

The Fighting Irish signed all 17 of their committed prospects and added one new recruit on the first day of the early signing period (Dec. 18-20). Here are five takeaways from that eventful yet drama-free day: 1. The Class Stuck Together It was expected that Notre Dame would sign all 17 of its verbal commitments on the first day of the early signing period, but it can’t be overlooked how important it is that it actually happened.

There were attempts by other coaching staffs to get in with Notre Dame’s top recruits on offense in light of coordinator Chip Long’s departure, but they stuck true to their word. Notre Dame was a perfect 17 for 17 in terms of its commitments putting pen to paper with the Irish.

Park Hills (Ky.) Covington Catholic’s Michael Mayer, Rivals’ No. 3 tight end and No. 37 overall recruit in the country, was probably the most shaken up about Long leaving the program, because they were very close and Long had an in-home visit just a week before the news broke. But the Irish were able to keep Mayer and all of their 2020 commits locked into the class.

2. Notre Dame Finally Lands Ramon Henderson The recruitment of Bakersfield (Calif.)

Liberty defensive back Ramon Henderson ended. The 6-3, 180-pounder added a lot of suspense by waiting until Dec. 18 to announce his school of choice, and it came down to Notre Dame and Utah.

Henderson, a three-star recruit and the No. 63 prospect in the Golden State per Rivals, had been a longtime Notre Dame lean who was very valued by the coaching staff.

It was expected he would pick Notre Dame — but you just never know until the recruit’s letter of intent officially arrives.

3. Surprise Last-Minute Visitor During the weekend before the early signing period, Notre Dame had a surprise official visitor on campus, which was kept under wraps.

Moorpark (Calif.) High offensive lineman Jonah Monheim, a four-star recruit who was committed to USC, made his way out The Irish landed Bakersfield (Calif.) Liberty defensive to South Bend for a visit. Notre Dame was back Ramon Henderson, a three-star prospect and the involved in his recruitment back in the No. 63 player in the Golden State, on the first day of spring and made an offer to him during the early signing period Dec. 18.

PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM that time, but the Irish decided against taking a true interior offensive line prospect and moved on to other recruits.

After evaluating his senior tape, the Fighting Irish got back into the mix with Monheim, but their efforts fell short. Despite turmoil at USC, Monheim stuck with the Trojans and is currently their lone four-star signee.

4. Possible February Addition?

In his press conference Dec. 18, head coach Brian Kelly mentioned that there could be an addition to the 2020 class in February.

“Probably just be on the offensive side of the ball,” Kelly said on the topic.

Considering that Notre Dame nearly added Monheim to its 2020 class, it would be plausible to think the Irish may look to add an offensive lineman on National Signing Day in February.

5. Notre Dame’s Class Ranks No. 15 Nationally Notre Dame’s 18-man class sat at No. 15 in the Rivals national team rankings heading into the final two months of the 2020 recruiting cycle. In sorting by average star ranking per recruit, Notre Dame’s class was 10th best (3.56).

— Mike Singer feedback in terms of when they’re with a prospect and the family, say, for a home game and spend a great deal of time with them, more than we will, for an unofficial or official visit and come back and say, ‘Hey, I

don’t know. There’s some things that they were talking about that don’t necessarily jibe,’” Polian said. “It’s not the decider, but it’s a big piece of information as we’re trying to put the puzzle together.” ✦ FEBRUARY 2020

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FOOTBALL RECRUITING

RATING THE RECRUITS Blue & Gold Illustrated’s insights on Notre Dame’s early signees

N

BY MIKE SINGER

otre Dame signed 18 scholarship players during the early signing period for the 2020 class Dec. 18-20.

The Rivals class rankings formula lists Notre Dame’s group of recruits No. 15 in the nation. Ten of the 18 signees are regarded as four-star recruits and four are included in the Rivals100.

Below is a breakdown of each Notre Dame class of 2020 signee, listed in order based on their Rivals ranking:

1. JORDAN JOHNSON WR • 6-2, 180

St. Louis • De Smet Jesuit H.S.

Johnson is Notre Dame’s bona fide five-star who is ranked as the No. 3 wideout and No. 25 overall prospect in the nation by Rivals. His high school team has had a strong stable of ball carriers and is a run-first offense, but Johnson got a few balls thrown his way each game and makes the most of his opportunities.

During his senior season, Johnson caught 29 passes for 587 yards and nine touchdowns. This is a complete receiver who has the ability to play as a freshman and can do anything on the route tree. He will have the chance to get into the rotation at receiver with Chase Claypool and Chris Finke exhausting their eligibility.

Programs such as Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State and Oregon also offered Johnson before he pledged to the Irish.

2. MICHAEL MAYER

over the past year in the Rivals rankings, and it’s easy to see why. The nation’s No. 3 tight end dominates in any setting, whether it’s at a shorts and t-shirts camp, a seven-on-seven tournament or on Friday nights.

The Bluegrass State product will continue Notre Dame’s great tradition of tight ends. He may not play a lot as a freshman due to Notre Dame’s depth at the position, but this is an All-American Bowl recruit who was named MVP of the Kentucky 5A state title game and is the Gatorade Kentucky Player of the Year.

3. CHRIS TYREE RB • 5-9½, 179

Chester, Va. • Thomas Dale H.S.

Tyree — the country’s No. 2 allpurpose back and No. 43 overall player per Rivals — is one of the most exciting and explosive players in the land. He has battled bumps and bruises during his high school career, but he totaled 458 carries for 3,930 yards (8.6 yards per carry) and 18 touchdowns.

A lot of young men are fast on the track, but their speed doesn’t necessarily translate to the football field. That isn’t the case with Tyree, though. He is blazing fast and can run between the tackles as well.

He may be used as a gadget runner early in his career, but Tyree can absolutely develop into an everydown back with some more bulk and experience.

TE • 6-5, 234

4. TOSH BAKER

Mayer climbed from the No. 205 overall prospect nationally to No. 37

Scottsdale, Ariz. • Pinnacle H.S.

Independence, Ky. • Covington Catholic H.S.

34

FEBRUARY 2020

OT • 6-7, 283

Notre Dame has an elite offensive

tackle in its 2020 class, and Baker may just be the next great Fighting Irish lineman. With his size, length and athleticism, he has traits that has the Fighting Irish fan base and coaches alike fired up.

Baker, who is Rivals’ No. 5 offensive tackle and No. 48 overall prospect nationally, picked Notre Dame over Alabama, LSU, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, USC, Washington and many others. He is an All-American Bowl participant and has all of the tools to excel in college.

5. DREW PYNE QB • 6-0, 181

New Canaan, Conn. • New Canaan H.S.

Pyne gets overlooked at times because so much attention is on Notre Dame’s quarterback commit in the 2021 class, four-star Tyler Buchner.

But the Connecticut native is a great prospect in his own right — Rivals ranks him as the No. 7 pro-style passer and No. 118 overall player in the land — and is one of the most polished passers coming into major Division I football.

Pyne’s mechanics and footwork are excellent because he has received extensive offseason training from quarterback gurus. He isn’t the biggest quarterback, but he throws a very accurate ball, has above average arm strength, moves well, shows superb leadership qualities and shines during crunch time.

6. KEVIN BAUMAN TE • 6-4, 226

Red Bank, N.J. • Red Bank Catholic H.S.

Similar to Pyne being a bit overlooked, Bauman is a forgotten man at times because of all the attention the aforementioned Mayer receives.

The New Jersey product didn’t have a monster senior stat line, catching 15 passes for 251 yards and three touchdowns for a run-dominant team, but he was a force defensively, and Irish defensive line coach Mike Elston mentioned on National Signing Day that he’d “take him over at defensive end to sack the quarterback as well.”

BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED

FOOTBALL RECRUITING Rivals ranks Bauman as the No. 5 tight end and No. 130 overall player in the land.

7. RYLIE MILLS DE • 6-4½, 250

Lake Bluff, Ill. • Lake Forest H.S.

Mills — the country’s No. 9 strongside defensive end and No. 161 overall player per Rivals — was named the 2019 Pioneer Press All-Area Football Defensive Player of the Year.

He missed a few games in 2019 due to injury, but he had a strong season, recording 32 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, four sacks and seven quarterback hurries. Mills made a bigger impact than the numbers indicate, though, as the forceful defensive lineman consistently ate up double teams and freed up his teammates to make stops in the backfield.

He has the versatility to play end or tackle for the Fighting Irish and is a key recruit for Notre Dame in the 2020 class.

8. JORDAN BOTELHO DE • 6-2, 229

Honolulu • St. Louis H.S.

Rivals ranks Botelho as the No. 12 inside linebacker nationally and No. 198 overall prospect in the land, but the Irish prefer him to play on the defensive line at the “vyper” position, formerly known as the “drop end.”

Botelho was a four-time state champion at Honolulu St. Louis and had an extremely productive high school career as a linebacker, leading to being picked to play in the All-American Bowl. He will enroll early at Notre Dame and has the chance to break into the rotation as a true freshman.

9. MICHAEL CARMODY OL • 6-6, 292

Mars, Pa. • Mars Area H.S.

Carmody, the younger brother of Notre Dame basketball guard Robby Carmody, is not just a powerful offensive lineman. He’s an athletic big man on the hardwood and was named to the Pennsylwww.BLUEANDGOLD.com

vania Interscholastic Athletic Association Class 5A All-State basketball second team in 2018.

With Carmody’s strength and mobility, he can be a great guard for the Fighting Irish, but he offers the skills to play tackle as well. Rivals lists him as just a four-star prospect and the No. 35 offensive tackle nationally, but the 6-6, 292-pounder will play in both the All-American Bowl and the Polynesian Bowl.

10. AIDAN KEANAAINA DT • 6-2¾, 302

Englewood, Colo. • J.K. Mullen H.S.

Keanaaina’s recruitment came down to Florida, Notre Dame and Ohio State, and the Polynesian Bowl selection sided with the Irish, giving Brian Kelly’s program a big-time nose tackle.

He is a force on the interior and consistently stuffs run plays. During his team’s six-game losing streak this past fall, he still was dominant individually. As a nationally unranked four-star prospect, Keanaaina also is very underrated.

He is listed by Rivals as the No. 30 defensive tackle in the land and has over a 4.0 grade-point average.

11. XAVIER WATTS WR • 5-11, 185

Omaha, Neb. • Harry A. Burke H.S.

Watts can be summed up in one word: productive. Whether he’s splitting out at receiver or playing defensive back, he has put up huge numbers during his decorated high school career and helped lead Burke to a Class A Nebraska state championship in 2018.

He totaled 163 career receptions for 2,978 yards, while adding 136 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, nine interceptions (one returned for TD), 13 passes broken up and 40 career touchdowns. He is Burke’s career leader in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns and has also performed at a high level on the track, winning the all-class gold medal at the 2019 Nebraska state track meet in the 4x100 with a time of 42.41.

The nation’s No. 89 wide receiver according to Rivals will enroll early and has the ability to be a big-time

playmaker on either side of the ball.

12. LANDEN BARTLESON CB • 5-11½, 181

Harrodsburg, Ky. • Boyle County H.S.

Bartleson needs work, but with his speed and athleticism, the ceiling for this young man is very high.

There’s not much disputing that Notre Dame struck out with many of its top defensive back targets in the 2020 class, but that isn’t the case with Bartleson.

The staff offered him during the fall of 2018 and worked on him throughout the spring. He officially visited Notre Dame in June, and he picked the Fighting Irish over the likes of Kentucky, Louisville, Michigan, Ohio State and others.

Rivals’ No. 39 cornerback in the country was a four-year starter and helped lead Boyle County to a 3A Kentucky state title in 2017.

13. CALEB OFFORD CB • 6-1, 170

Southaven, Miss. • Southaven H.S.

Offord is the first recruit from the state of Mississippi to sign with Notre Dame during the Brian Kelly era, although his town is just about 10 minutes south of the Tennessee border.

His best traits are his length and speed. His long arms help him at multiple positions in the secondary, and college coaches have gushed about how well he runs.

Offord, who is rated as a three-star recruit and the No. 43 cornerback in the nation by Rivals, has the versatility to play safety for Notre Dame.

He also held offers from Arkansas, Memphis and Oklahoma, among many others.

14. CLARENCE LEWIS CB • 6-0, 180

Edison, N.J. • Mater Dei H.S.

Lewis, the No. 82 cornerback in the country per Rivals, has the ability to be a real sleeper in Notre Dame’s 2020 class. He has shown to be a great athlete

FEBRUARY 2020

35

FOOTBALL RECRUITING on both sides of the ball and makes plays whether he’s playing receiver or cornerback.

Notre Dame extended an offer to Lewis during the spring and hosted him for an official visit in June. He became Notre Dame’s first defensive back pledge in the class following his visit, and his commitment was very welcomed to the Irish staff.

He doesn’t have the highest ceiling, but his floor as a prospect isn’t very low either. Lewis will be able to contribute for Notre Dame and could move over to safety with his range as an athlete.

15. JAY BRUNELLE WR • 6-1½, 201

Paxton, Mass. • Saint John’s H.S.

Brunelle simply dominated during his prep years, setting the Central Massachusetts record for career receiving yards with 2,666.

He had to work hard for his Notre Dame offer, though. The Irish staff liked his film a lot, but wanted to see him at their Irish Invasion camp in June before offering him a scholarship.

Brunelle ran in the 4.48 to 4.50 range for his 40-yard dash and torched defensive backs all day long. He earned the offer at the camp and committed to the Fighting Irish a couple weeks later.

Brunelle, a three-star recruit and

the No. 7 player in Massachusetts, does about everything well and could be a dark horse to break into the receiver rotation as a true freshman because he will enroll early.

16. RAMON HENDERSON CB • 6-3, 180

Bakersfield, Calif. • Liberty H.S.

Henderson was Notre Dame’s final piece of the puzzle at defensive back to finish the 2020 class, and he left Irish fans on the edge of their seat as he waited until the first day of the early signing period to announce his decision.

Notre Dame offered him as a scholarship in May and he was an important target throughout the fall.

The Irish staff loves Henderson’s length as a cornerback and his speed is excellent.

Henderson — a three-star prospect and the No. 63 player in California per Rivals — is a raw prospect, but with some teaching he can be a great player for Notre Dame. Like the other defensive backs in the 2020 class, he has the length to play safety.

17. ALEXANDER EHRENSBERGER DE • 6-6½, 239

Dusseldorf, Germany • Theodor-Fliedner Gymnasium

Notre Dame went overseas to find Ehrensberger, an unranked three-star prospect by Rivals that could be an absolute steal. He will play strong-

side defensive end for the Irish and enrolls in January.

Ehrensberger was a member of 2017 and 2018 German National Team, and ESPN ranks him as the No. 1 player in Europe in the 2020 class. It will take him some time to adjust to college football in the United States, but those close to him rave about his work ethic and motor.

He has the potential to be a real star in the making for Notre Dame.

18. ALEX PEITSCH LS • 6-1, 205

Ellicott City, Md. • St. John’s College H.S.

Rivals ranks Peitsch as a two-star prospect, but Kohl’s Professional Camps, which is the premier service for high school specialists, has him listed as a five-star recruit and the top long snapper in the country.

Not a lot of schools offer long snappers, so despite Peitsch being the nation’s best at his position he only landed one offer during the recruiting process, and it was from the Irish.

Peitsch quickly committed to Notre Dame, and the Irish are adding an Under Armour All-American and three-time Washington Catholic Athletic Conference All-Conference firstteam performer. ✦

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FOOTBALL RECRUITING ROUNDUP Class Of 2021 Scholarship Offer Master List Quarterback Tyler Buchner, 6-2, 210, La Jolla, Calif. (The Bishop’s School) Running Back Donovan Edwards, 5-11, 193, West Bloomfield, Mich. (West Bloomfield) TreVeyon Henderson, 5-11, 185, Hopewell, Va. (Hopewell) Corey Kiner, 5-9, 209, Cincinnati (Roger Bacon) Will Shipley, 5-11, 200, Matthews, N.C. (Weddington) Camar Wheaton, 6-1, 190, Garland, Texas (Lakeview Centennial) Wide Receiver Andrel Anthony, 6-2, 165, East Lansing, Mich. (East Lansing) Beaux Collins, 6-4, 195, Bellflower, Calif. (St. John Bosco) Deion Colzie, 6-4, 180, Athens, Ga. (Athens Academy) Cristian Dixon, 6-2, 185, Santa Ana, Calif. (Mater Dei) Emeka Egbuka, 6-1, 180, Steilacoom, Wash. (Steilacoom) Lorenzo Styles Jr., 6-1, 170, Pickerington, Ohio (Pickerington Central) Jayden Thomas, 6-2, 188, Atlanta (Pace Academy) Dont’e Thornton Jr., 6-4, 180, Baltimore (Mount St. Joseph) Tight End Cane Berrong, 6-4, 225, Hartwell, Ga. (Hart County) Offensive Line Tommy Brockermeyer, 6-6, 270, Fort Worth, Texas (All Saints Episcopal) Greg Crippen, 6-4, 270, Bradenton, Fla. (IMG Academy) Garrett Dellinger, 6-6, 265, Clarkston, Mich. (Clarkston) Reuben Fatheree, 6-8, 275, Richmond, Texas (Foster) Blake Fisher, 6-6, 330, Avon, Ind. (Avon) Donovan Jackson, 6-4, 295, Houston (Episcopal) Wyatt Milum, 6-6, 250, Huntington, W.Va. (Spring Valley) Nolan Rucci, 6-8, 271, Lititz, Pa. (Warwick) Kingsley Suamataia, 6-5, 285, Orem, Utah (Orem)* Rocco Spindler, 6-5, 290, Clarkston, Mich. (Clarkston) Landon Tengwall, 6-6, 315, Olney, Md. (Good Counsel) Trey Zuhn, 6-7, 276, Fort Collins, Colo. (Fossil Ridge) Defensive End Aaron Armitage, 6-5, 250, Blairstown, N.J. (Blair Academy) KeChuan Bennett, 6-4, 210, Suffield, Conn. (Suffield Academy) Cade Denhoff, 6-5, 225, Lakeland, Fla. (Lakeland Christian) Monkell Goodwine, 6-4, 264, Fort Washington, Md. (National Christian Academy) Landon Jackson, 6-5, 195, Texarkana, Texas (Pleasant Grove) Keanu Koht, 6-5, 225, Vero Beach, Fla. (Vero Beach) Jason Onye, 6-4, 250, Warwick, R.I. (Bishop Hendricken School)* George Rooks, 6-5, 250, Jersey City, N.J. (St. Peter’s Prep) Najee Story, 6-3, 230, Solon, Ohio (Solon) J.T. Tuimoloau, 6-4, 275, Bellevue, Wash. (Eastside Catholic) Keanu Williams, 6-5, 250, Clovis, Calif. (Clovis) Defensive Tackle Elliot Donald, 6-3, 255, Pittsburgh (Central Catholic) Tywone Malone, 6-4, 290, Oradell, N.J. (Bergen Catholic) Damon Payne, 6-4, 295, Belleville, Mich. (Belleville) Gabriel Rubio, 6-5, 280, St. Peters, Mo. (Lutheran of St. Charles)

RIVALS 2021 TEAM RECRUITING RANKINGS Rk. School 1. Ohio State 2. Notre Dame 3. Texas 4. Florida 5. Wisconsin www.BLUEANDGOLD.com

As of Dec. 31 Commits Rk. School 7 6. Clemson 7 7. Miami 7 8. Oregon 8 9. Iowa 8 10. Auburn

Commits 5 8 5 6 4

Orem (Utah) High’s Kingsley Suamataia — who is rated as a four-star talent, the top player in his home state, and the No. 13 offensive tackle and No. 94 overall prospect in the country by Rivals — picked up a Notre Dame offer in December.

PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM

Linebacker Barrett Carter, 6-1, 205, Suwanee, Ga. (North Gwinnett) Chaz Chambliss, 6-3, 225, Carrollton, Ga. (Carrollton) Branden Jennings, 6-3, 225, Jacksonville, Fla. (Sandalwood) Yanni Karlaftis, 6-3, 205, West Lafayette, Ind. (West Lafayette) Jeremiah Williams, 6-4, 215, Birmingham, Ala. (Ramsay) Cornerback Tony Grimes, 6-1, 180, Virginia Beach, Va. (Princess Anne) Jordan Hancock, 6-1, 165, Suwannee, Ga. (North Gwinnett) Jakailin Johnson, 6-1, 170, St. Louis (De Smet Jesuit) Dyson McCutcheon, 5-10, 160, La Puente, Calif. (Bishop Amat) Ceyair Wright, 6-0, 173, Los Angeles (Loyola) Safety JD Coffey, 6-0, 175, Kennedale, Texas (Kennedale) Derrick Davis, 6-0, 193, Monroeville, Pa. (Gateway) Xamarion Gordon, 6-2, 190, Downey, Calif. (Warren) AJ Kirk Jr., 6-1, 197, Dublin, Ohio (Coffman) Andre Turrentine, 6-0, 180, Nashville, Tenn. (Ensworth) Justin Walters, 6-1, 170, Bolingbrook, Ill. (Bolingbrook) Athlete Brock Bowers, 6-4, 220, Napa, Calif. (Napa) Daylan Carnell, 6-1, 185, Indianapolis (Ben Davis) Walter Clayton, 6-3, 185, Lake Wales, Fla. (Lake Wales) Jamareeh Jones, 6-1, 190, Highland Springs, Va. (Highland Springs) Devin Kirkwood, 6-4, 175, Gardena, Calif. (Serra) Titus Mokiao-Atimalala, 6-1, 165, Ewa Beach, Hawai’i (Campbell) Commitments in bold italics * Received an offer from Notre Dame between Dec. 14 and Dec. 30 2021 Master List Changes Prospects Removed: TE Sam Hart of Aurora, Calif. (committed to Ohio State), CB Corey Collier of Miami (no longer considering Notre Dame), S Bryce Steele of Alexandria, Va. (no longer considering Notre Dame), S Hunter Wohler of Muskego, Wis. (committed to Wisconsin) and ATH GaQuincy McKinstry of Pinson, Ala. (no longer considering Notre Dame).

FEBRUARY 2020

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MEN’S BASKETBALL

After compiling a 9-2 mark in non-conference play, senior guard T.J. Gibbs and the Irish headed into ACC play confident they can improve upon their 0-2 league record.

Sink Or Swim

PHOTO COURTESY FIGHTING IRISH MEDIA

Fighting Irish dive into ACC play

S

BY TODD D. BURLAGE

atisfied with his team’s 8256 home win over Alabama A&M Dec. 29, Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey left the court, entered the Irish locker room, sunk into his big black leather chair and dutifully explained how efficient passing and second-half shooting sparked the rout.

“I love how we pass the ball, man,” Brey said of his team’s 23 assists in 38

FEBRUARY 2020

the win and the No. 1 national ranking in assist-to-turnover ratio it has held all of this season. “We really move the ball, and that’s going to give us a chance.”

And with that, Brey’s celebratory mood took a sharp turn as he switched gears and evaluated the daunting task ahead.

The win over Alabama A&M completed the non-conference portion of the Irish schedule. The New Year brings 18 straight Atlantic Coast Con-

ference games, and with those, the legitimate question of how well the seven-man Notre Dame rotation will hold up during the next two months with essentially no down time.

“We’ve got 18 league games, it’s one of the great challenges maybe any of us has ever signed up for,” Brey said matter of factly.

Already winless in two early ACC games against North Carolina and Boston College, the Irish must go 10-8 over these next 18 just to finish at 10-10 in league play and earn some NCAA Tournament consideration.

Making coaching and life even more difficult, ACC officials added two more league games this season, bringing the total to 20 games in arguably the toughest and deepest conference in the country.

Notre Dame went only 3-15 in league play last season, which included a seven-game losing streak to finish the 18-game conference slate.

And of those 15 ACC losses, seven came at Purcell Pavilion.

In fact, the eight total home losses last season —the Irish were also upset by Radford in November — were the most at home since 1992-93 when head coach John MacLeod’s squad also dropped eight games at the old Athletic and Convocation Center.

“We’re going to have to come back here and hold serve,” Brey said of finding drastic improvement at home this season. “And then try to pick off some on the road to make it interesting.”

While each of the remaining 18 ACC games will be a difficult challenge for Notre Dame, two specific stretches might best define the league season.

The first comes immediately with three ACC tilts in eight days: Jan. 4 at Syracuse, followed by a game Jan. 8 at North Carolina State, then back to Purcell Pavilion Jan. 11 to play No. 3 Louisville.

The second difficult stretch comes during seven days in February when the Irish play Feb. 11 at No. 16 Virginia, Feb. 15 at No. 4 Duke, then come back home for a rematch with North Carolina Feb. 18.

“You gotta play smarter, you gotta play tougher,” Irish senior guard T.J. Gibbs said of the survival message Brey delivered to the team. “Each game is a fight and when we have BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED

MEN’S BASKETBALL that attitude, we’re going to be okay.”

GOODWIN BETTER THAN GOOD

About a month now has passed since Notre Dame was coming off consecutive losses to Maryland and Boston College, and Brey summoned sophomore guard Dane Goodwin into his office for a chat.

Goodwin had two miserable performances in the defeats, scoring just 10 points total on 3-of-17 shooting, and Brey wanted to know how to find improvement.

Goodwin’s answer was simple, “work and ride me harder in practice.”

The message and adjustments took.

In the four games following the player-coach meeting, Goodwin averaged 17.5 points, including a career-high 27 points against Detroit Mercy Dec. 10.

“I think the light bulb is on,” Brey said of Goodwin. “I really believe he is in it, he gets it, he’s aggressive.”

Also in those four games, Goodwin shot 54.2 percent (26 of 48) from the field and 50.0 percent (13 of 26) from three-point range.

“Right now, I love his frame of mind,” Brey added. “He is going after it and he is going to have to continue to do it.”

Goodwin’s surge has made him one of the best bench players in the country.

With a 12.0 scoring average this

season (through Jan. 3), Goodwin trailed only Vanderbilt’s Saben Lee among reserve scorers from power conference teams. Lee, a junior guard, averages 17.0 points a game for the Commodores.

FINISH THE JOB

Three times in the closing minutes through the first 14 games this season Notre Dame clawed back from seemingly impossible circumstances and gave itself a legitimate chance to win each of the three.

It won one and lost two.

• The Irish erased a seven-point second-half deficit to Toledo at home Nov. 21, hit a buzzer-beating threepointer to send the game to overtime and escaped with a 64-62 win.

• Against Boston College at home Dec. 7, Notre Dame cut an 11-point second-half deficit to just one point in the closing seconds, only to see the ferocious comeback fall one point short in a 73-72 loss.

• And most recently, and perhaps most painfully, Notre Dame used a 32-10 scoring run in the second half against Indiana in Indianapolis to turn a 17-point deficit into a fivepoint lead, only to be outscored 8-1 down the stretch in a 62-60 loss.

“Love how we came back, but we couldn’t finish, that’s what we’re in search of,” Brey said. “That is an area we’re going to have to be better in because we are going to be in that situation a bunch.” ✦

2019-20 NOTRE DAME MEN’S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE

Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Nov. 6 at North Carolina* L, 76-65 Nov. 9 Robert Morris^ W, 92-57 Nov. 12 Howard^ W, 79-50 Nov. 15 Marshall^ W, 74-64 Nov. 18 Presbyterian W, 63-53 Nov. 21 Toledo^ W, 64-62 (OT) Nov. 26 Fairleigh Dickinson W, 91-66 Dec. 4 at Maryland# L, 72-51 Dec. 7 Boston College* L, 73-72 Dec. 10 Detroit Mercy W, 110-71 Dec. 14 UCLA W, 75-61 Dec. 21 vs. Indiana& L, 62-60 Dec. 29 Alabama A&M W, 82-56 Jan. 4 at Syracuse* (ESPN2/U) 4 p.m.

Jan. 8 at NC State* (ESPN2/U) 7 p.m.

Jan. 11 Louisville* (ESPN) 2 p.m.

Jan. 15 at Georgia Tech* (ACCN) 8:30 p.m.

Jan. 22 Syracuse* (ESPN/2/U) 7 p.m.

Jan. 25 at Florida State* (TBA) 12 p.m.

Jan. 29 Wake Forest* (ACCN) 9 p.m.

Feb. 1 Georgia Tech* (RSN) 12 p.m.

Feb. 5 Pittsburgh* (ACCN) 6:30 p.m.

Feb. 9 at Clemson* (ACCN) 6 p.m.

Feb. 11 at Virginia* (ESPN2/U) 9 p.m.

Feb. 15 at Duke* (TBA) 4 p.m.

Feb. 17 North Carolina* (ESPN) 7 p.m.

Feb. 23 Miami* (ACCN) 6 p.m.

Feb. 26 at Boston College* (ACCN) 9 p.m.

Feb. 29 at Wake Forest* (RSN) 4 p.m.

Mar. 4 Florida State* (ESPN2/U) 9 p.m.

Mar. 7 Virginia Tech* (ACCN) TBA Mar. 10-14 ACC Tournament$ (ACCN/ESPN) TBA

* ACC game; ^ Men Against Breast Cancer Invitational; # ACC/Big Ten Challenge; & Crossroads Classic at Indianapolis; $ at Greensboro, N.C.; ACCN — ACC Network

Three-Point Play

1. Dodging A Bullet Senior forward Juwan Durham had a scare against Alabama A&M Dec. 29, when he fell to the court and headed straight to the locker room with an apparent knee injury. Durham later returned to the Irish bench with ice on his left knee.

Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey said afterward the injury was a “slight strain” and was not expected to impact Durham’s prep or playing time.

2. Playing At A High Level Irish senior forward John Mooney continues his push for ACC Player of the Year and first-team All-America honors. Through games as of Dec. 29, Mooney was tied for first in the country in both rebounding (13.5 boards per game) and double-doubles (10).

3. On The Road Again The Irish welcomed the New Year with four of six ACC games to be played on the road, and hoping not to get buried early in league play during this stretch. If Notre Dame survives, it gets a three-game homestand against seemingly lower-tier conference teams — Wake Senior forward Juwan Durham suffered an apparent knee injury against Alabama Forest, Georgia Tech and Pittsburgh.

A&M Dec. 29, but it was just a slight strain and was not expected to sideline him.

PHOTO COURTESY FIGHTING IRISH MEDIA — Todd D. Burlage www.BLUEANDGOLD.com

FEBRUARY 2020

39

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

T

BY LOU SOMOGYI

here were the sounds of a concession speech from Notre Dame’s Naismith Hall of Fame head coach Muffet McGraw following Notre Dame’s 71-55 loss to Clemson Dec. 29 to open the ACC season.

Not only did the demoralizing setback to a 4-8 unit that had lost at home to North Carolina A&T the previous game drop Notre Dame’s record to 5-8, it ended a 58-game winning streak at home against conference opponents that dated back to 2012 and its days in the Big East.

Rock bottom seemed like it was several flights up.

The Irish fell behind by as much as 28 points (53-25 in the third quarter) and finished a woeful 20 of 64 from the field (31.3 percent). They also committed 20 turnovers against the Tigers’ zone that had them flummoxed.

Notre Dame didn’t convert a threepointer until the fourth quarter and finished 2 of 17 behind the arc (11.8 percent).

The inability to play a full lineup again while trying to rotate six players who originally enrolled on scholarship exacerbated the immense frustration.

Just when junior center Mikki Vaughn returned to the lineup for the first time since suffering a knee sprain in the season opener at Fordham Nov. 5, fifth-year senior point guard Marta Sniezek, the glue of the team on offense and defense, was sidelined with plantar fasciitis.

“I think it’s going to take another year,” admitted McGraw in what came across as a concession speech of a lost 2019-20 season while looking ahead to enrolling five scholarship players who signed for the 2020-21 campaign. “We’ve got to have a goto player and we don’t have one. …

We just stood around and shot threes and didn’t make any of them. Every time out we talked about [in the huddle], ‘We’re not shooting threes, we’re trying to run the offense’ — we forgot the offense.

“We were in the wrong place the entire first half, we were paralyzed and couldn’t run the offense … it’s really getting discouraging that we’re just not making that next step. We’re going to struggle through the rest of the year.”

40

FEBRUARY 2020

Paradise Lost

Notre Dame drops to 5-8 after falling in league opener to Clemson

Junior center Mikki Vaughn returned to the lineup for the first time since suffering a knee sprain in the season opener at Fordham Nov. 5 in a 71-55 home loss to Clemson Dec. 29, and contributed eight points, four steals and two rebounds.

PHOTO BY MIKE MILLER/FIGHTING IRISH MEDIA

The graduation of four senior starters, the early departure of junior Jackie Young to the WNBA as the No. 1 overall pick, the transfer of four players since 2017, a medical setback to sophomore guard Abby Prohaska (pulmonary embolism) and injuries this year to Vaughn and now Sniezek have ravaged the roster.

Still, McGraw said the absence of Sniezek is not what hurt the Irish most against the Tigers.

“It would have been good to have an extra sub because a couple of people didn’t come to play … Clemson just played really well,” McGraw said. “We hung our heads and didn’t do anything else. Instead of saying, ‘I can rebound or I can defend or I can get assists,’ we just hung our heads.

And that’s incredibly disappointing and unacceptable.

“Normally we have a little bit of fight. We didn’t have the fight today. … We got the ball and we panicked.

We didn’t throw it where it was supposed to go. And they were aggressive and big.”

It had been McGraw’s opinion that to have a shot at making the NCAA Tournament this year, the Irish needed to finish at least 12-6 in the ACC, and win a game in the ACC Tournament to get to 18-14 overall.

The devastating loss to Clemson, experiencing its own struggles, made such aspirations look like a pipe dream.

“We’ve got to win more games,” McGraw summarized of picking up the pieces. “That’s all. There are no moral victories. There are no, ‘We played well and lost.’ We’ve got to win games.”

BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL THE RETURN OF VAUGHN

As the Irish prepared to embark on the remaining 17 games in the ACC, Vaughn’s presence against Clemson was at least uplifting.

In 23 minutes of action the 6-3 and lone true post player on the roster converted 4 of 5 shots from the field and recorded four steals, but was disappointed she could add only two rebounds.

“She did a nice job defensively,” McGraw said. “She’s going to work, she’s going to talk and she’s going to lead — all the things that we need.

She gave a tremendous effort today.”

With Vaughn in the post, 6-2 freshman Sam Brunelle can now be freed up more to roam the three-point area, where the Irish desperately need some production, instead of having

2019-20 NOTRE DAME WOMEN’S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE

Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Nov. 5 at Fordham W, 60-55 Nov. 8 Loyola Maryland W, 84-60 Nov. 11 Tennessee L, 74-63 Nov. 14 Michigan State L, 72-69 Nov. 20 Toledo W, 54-51 Nov. 23 at Michigan W, 76-72 Nov. 28 vs. Florida Gulf Coast^ L, 69-60 Nov. 29 vs. South Dakota State^ L, 65-59 Nov. 30 vs. South Florida^ W, 67-51 Dec. 4 Minnesota% L, 75-67 Dec. 8 at Connecticut L, 81-57 Dec. 11 DePaul L, 105-94 Dec. 29 Clemson* L, 71-55 Jan. 2 at Pittsburgh* (ACCNE) 7 p.m.

Jan. 5 at Syracuse* (ACCN) 4 p.m.

Jan. 9 Boston College* (ACCNE) 7 p.m.

Jan. 12 NC State* (ACCN) 4 p.m.

Jan. 16 at Duke* (ACCN) 8 p.m.

Jan. 19 Miami* (ESPN2/ACCN) 1 p.m.

Jan. 26 at Virginia* (ACCNE) 12:30 p.m.

Jan. 30 Louisville* (ESPN/2) 7 p.m.

Feb. 2 at Georgia Tech* (ACCN) 2 p.m.

Feb. 6 at Wake Forest* (ACCNE) 7 p.m.

Feb. 9 Pittsburgh* (ACCN) 4 p.m.

Feb. 13 at Boston College* (ACCNE) 7 p.m.

Feb. 16 at Louisville* (ACCN) 3 p.m.

Feb. 20 Virginia Tech* (RSN) 8 p.m.

Feb. 23 Syracuse* (ACCN) 12 p.m.

Feb. 27 North Carolina* (ACCNE) 7 p.m.

Mar. 1 at Florida State* (ESPN2/ACCN) 2 p.m.

Mar. 4-8 ACC Tournament$ (ACCN) TBA ^ Cancun Challenge at Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya in Cancun, Mexico; % ACC/Big Ten Challenge; * ACC game; $ at Greensboro, N.C; ACCN — ACC Network; BTN — Big Ten Network; RSN — Regional Sports Networks; ACCNE — ACC Network Extra

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to be situated down low. Ideally, the rotation would be rounded out with freshman Anaya Peoples and sophomore Katlyn Gilbert along the wings, Sniezek running the point and fifthyear senior Destinee Walker — who has had extremely hot and cold spells — helping off the bench with sophomore Danielle Cosgrove and senior Kaitlin Cole, a former walk-on.

“I was happy to be able to try to help my team,” Vaughn said after the loss to Clemson. “I didn’t play nearly as well as I wanted to. I didn’t get as many rebounds as I know I needed to. I get three more rebounds, we’re not down by as many points.

“I know it’s the first game back, but no one else cares. … I didn’t feel nearly out of shape as I thought I was going to feel.”

The Irish were 70-7 in Vaughn’s first two seasons, with a national title and a national runner-up finish.

Thus, a 5-8 start to this season has hit home a little more for her.

“I’m tired of losing,” she said. “I don’t think I’ve lost this many games

ever. A lot of us can attest to that. I’m not quite sure what it’s going to take for us to move forward.

“I think my being back on the court helps, but I have to help more, I have to figure out a way to do more in every aspect of the game.”

Brunelle picked up her second foul in the first 3:15 of the game, which sidelined her the rest of the first quarter.

When Vaughn picked up her second foul nine seconds into the start of the second quarter, McGraw had little choice but to reinsert Brunelle in order to not let the game get out of hand.

Outscored 23-6 in the second quarter, Notre Dame trailed 35-17 at halftime while converting 7 of 31 shots from the field (0 of 8 from three).

Meanwhile, Clemson sharpshooter Kendall Spray was 5 of 7 by herself from three-point range in the first half and 8 of 13 after three quarters while the Irish still failed to convert a single shot from long range. ✦

Three-Point Play

1. Crisis In Confidence The loss to Clemson at home revealed a shaken basketball team that truly has plummeted from the penthouse suite to a dilapidated shack within months.

A fierce competitor whose accolades have made her a Notre Dame legend, head coach Muffet McGraw especially is visibly stunned at just how steep the fall has been. In numerous press conferences after defeats, she has ripped into her team for its repeated lack of execution.

There’s a point now where she might need to back off, because a tightness seems to be setting in overall.

There is a lot of gifted young talent on this roster that can get the program back toward top-10 level in maybe two years, but it will have to be nurtured with some positive reinforcement through some challenging circumstances currently. She cannot afford to lose them mentally or physically.

2. Three-Point Disparity For all the woes about the lack of an inside game, Notre Dame also has converted only 41 of 186 three-pointers (22.0 percent) during its 5-8 start. The opposition has drained 108 of them at 31.0 percent.

Even before the 2-of-17 performance against Clemson, among 348 Division 1 teams Notre Dame ranked 337th in three-pointers made per game and 340th in shooting percentage.

In its last seven defeats, Notre Dame was outscored 198-54 beyond the arc, or an average of about 28-8.

A lack of awareness defensively by the Irish of where the shooters are has plagued them through the first two months.

3. Freshmen Reliance At the turn into the New Year, Notre Dame and the University of Texas San Antonio were the only two teams with two true freshmen who were averaging at least 13 points per game.

Guard Anaya Peoples was second in scoring with a 14.5 average and first in rebounding at 8.2 per game. Forward Sam Brunelle was third in scoring with a 13.8 average (31 on 13-of-18 shooting in a loss to No. 16 DePaul) and second to Peoples in rebounding at 6.3 per contest.

Sophomore guard Katlyn Gilbert, medically redshirted last season to still give her three years of eligibility after this season, is the top scorer with a 15.1 average, and tallied double figures in each of the first 13 contests.

— Lou Somogyi FEBRUARY 2020

41

ND SPORTS

Former Irish Walk-On Is Breaking School Records

BY TODD D. BURLAGE

A

s a third-generation Notre Dame legacy, coming to study at Our Lady’s University was almost a rite of passage for current junior Rachel Tanczos. Becoming one of the best track and field athletes in the school’s history … not so much.

Tanczos, whose grandfather and both parents graduated from Notre Dame — her father, Daniel Tanczos, played football for the Fighting Irish in the mid-1980s — almost surprised herself last month after earning Atlantic Coast Conference Field Performer of the Week honors Dec. 11 after shattering her own school record in the weight throw.

In the first meet of the 2019‑20 Notre Dame indoor track and field season, Tanczos’ throw of 22.10 meters traveled more than a meter farther than her previous school-record toss of 21.08 she made at last season’s ACC Championships.

As of Dec. 31, Tanczos’ mark stood as the second-best weight throw in the country so far this season and would have been good enough to earn her a place in the NCAA Championships last year.

“Yeah, that’s starting the season out on a pretty high note,” said Tanczos, a double major in psychology and theology.

The path for Tanczos to Notre Dame track and field history is equally interesting as it was unlikely.

She didn’t even start throwing competitively until her junior year at Bethlehem High School near Allentown, Pa. “As a junior, I was decent when I started. I went to state in discus,” said Tanczos, who never even considered collegiate completion until shortly before her high school graduation. “But I really wasn’t good enough to go anywhere for it, so that wasn’t on my mind. I just always wanted to go to Notre Dame for the academics.”

But rapid improvement as a high school senior inspired Tanczos to treat her sport less as a pastime and more as an opportunity.

“I reached out to the Notre Dame coaches here, and I was offered a

42

FEBRUARY 2020

Junior Rachel Tanczos’ weight throw toss of 22.10 meters at Notre Dame’s season-opening indoor meet in early December broke her own school record and ranked second in the nation as of Dec. 31.

PHOTO COURTESY FIGHTING IRISH MEDIA

spot,” she said. “Sometimes it’s still surprising to me the progress I have made from being a walk-on, kind of like testing out if there was going to be a place for me on the team, to where I’m at now.”

Also surprising to Tanczos is that her school-record throw came in the opening indoor meet, which suggests that her current record will likely fall multiple times the rest of this track and field season, and when she’s a senior next year.

“That was pretty exciting to get a big throw like that out of the way in the first meet,” said Tanczos, who upon graduation wants to work in sports psychology. “It makes me really excited for what else is going to come this season.”

All this after so much already

came last season for Tanczos, who stuffed her trophy case as an Irish sophomore in 2019, earning All-ACC honors in the indoor weight throw, as well as the outdoor shot put and hammer throw.

“This has all been very exciting,” Tanczos said. “I never expected to be where I have ended up on our team.”

After a couple of weeks at home for winter break, Tanczos and the Irish return to indoor competition Jan. 17 with the Bill Clinger Invitational at Grand Valley State University, and she is savoring every moment of it.

“My time here has been incredible, everything I thought it would be and more,” she said. “The people I have met inside and outside of track, all the opportunities I have had, it’s been great.” ✦ BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED

IRISH IN THE PROS

Four Former Irish Players Named NFL Pro Bowl Starters Three players are part of this NFC wild card matchup: he NFL Pro Bowl may not safety Harrison Smith and be the most popular alltight end Kyle Rudolph of star event among fans, but the Vikings and linebacker it still is a valuable way to Manti Te’o of the Saints. recognize the best players • San Francisco 49ers, the sport has to offer. first-round bye — With This season, four former the No. 1 seed in the NFC, Notre Dame players were the 49ers get to kick their named starters in the Pro feet up during the opening Bowl, notably three who play round of playoffs. Two foralong the offensive line. They mer Notre Dame players are are Minnesota Vikings safety on their roster: starting right Harrison Smith, Indianapotackle Mike McGlinchey lis Colts left guard Quenton and backup defensive tackle Nelson, Dallas Cowboys Sheldon Day. right guard Zack Martin and • Green Bay Packers, Baltimore Ravens left tackle first-round bye — The Ronnie Stanley.

Packers are the No. 2 seed While this accolade means in the NFC and feature a lot to the players, they all one recent Notre Dame expressed an appreciation for player on their roster: their current teammates. running back Dexter Wil“It’s cool to get recog- Indianapolis Colts left guard Quenton Nelson has now made the Pro Bowl in liams, though he has been a nized by players and fans each of his first two seasons in the league. healthy scratch for the maPHOTO COURTESY INDIANAPOLIS COLTS jority of the season. and coaches, but it’s a team game, so you’ve got to have a lot of • Baltimore Ravens, first-round tal tackles with 141. Rookie linebacker good guys around you in order to play bye — With the No. 1 seed in the Drue Tranquill also was one of the fawell,” Smith told TwinCities.com. “It’s AFC, the Ravens get a weekend to vorites to earn the nod as the AFC’s all about winning ball games here. … rest up for the divisional round. They special teamer, but that spot was given If the coaches are happy with my play, feature two former Notre Dame playto veteran wide receiver Matthew that’s all that matters.” ers: starting left tackle Ronnie StanSlater of the New England Patriots.

Smith and Martin have been Pro ley, who just may be the best player at Minnesota Vikings tight end Kyle Bowl mainstays over the last half-dehis position in the NFL, and backup Rudolph also had another strong cade. This is Smith’s fifth consecutive wide receiver Miles Boykin. ✦ season, finishing fourth in the NFL appearance, while Martin has now in total touchdowns at his position made it in all six of his NFL seasons.

NOTRE DAME IN THE NFL: with six.

When it comes to total Pro Bowl WEEK 17 HIGHLIGHTS All is not lost, however, as each appearances among former Fighting • Jaylon Smith (Played at Notre Dame from one of that trio could still be added 2013-15), LB, Dallas Cowboys: Notched eight Irish players, both are not far off from to the Pro Bowl roster as an altertackles (two solo) and his first career interthe all-time record. Only five players nate. Players on teams that make the ception in the 8-8 Cowboys’ 47-16 win over have more than Martin: Alan Page Super Bowl are not eligible to play in the Redskins … Finished the season with 141 and Tim Brown (nine); Joe Montana the Pro Bowl, since the NFL’s all-star tackles, 2.5 sacks and two forced fumbles … and George Kunz (eight); and Dave game takes place the weekend beRanked seventh in the NFL in tackles.

Casper (seven). fore. If a player misses the Pro Bowl • Julian Love (2015-18), CB, New York GiIn each of his first two NFL seasons for this reason, they are still given ants: Recorded eight tackles (seven solo), with the Colts, Nelson also has been the designation as an NFL Pro Bowl two tackles for loss and one pass defended a participant. player. in the 4-12 Giants’ 34-17 loss to the Eagles …

This is the first Pro Bowl selecNotched 36 tackles, three passes defended, tion for Stanley, who will start on IRISH IN THE NFL PLAYOFFS one interception and one forced fumble durthe same side of the offensive line • Buffalo Bills at Houston Texing his rookie campaign. as Nelson — the same guard-tackle ans, Saturday, Jan. 4, 4:35 p.m. ET — • Golden Tate (2007-09), WR, New York tandem that started on Notre Dame’s Two former Notre Dame players are Giants: Targeted eight times and made five left side in 2015. on the Texans roster: starting center catches for 68 yards and a touchdown in the The most prominent former Notre Nick Martin and wide receiver Will Giants’ loss to the Eagles … Hauled in 49 reDame player to be snubbed from the Fuller. ceptions for 676 yards and six touchdowns in Pro Bowl was linebacker Jaylon Smith, • Minnesota Viking at New Or10 games played. who finished seventh in the NFL in toleans Saints, Jan. 5, 1:05 p.m. ET —

BY ANDREW MENTOCK

T

www.BLUEANDGOLD.com

FEBRUARY 2020

43

1970-79

The 1970-79 decade with head coaches Ara Parseghian and Dan Devine, who each won a national title in that span, had the best winning percentage among the seven decades since 1950-59, while the recent one completed from 2010-19 was second.

EBBS & FLOWS

PHOTOS COURTESY NOTRE DAME MEDIA RELATIONS

The 10-year period from 2010-19 had a little of both

I

BY LOU SOMOGYI

t is probably safe to assume that the Notre Dame football program will never have another decade like the 1940s.

In that 10-year span from 1940-49 — with four different coaches, two of them interim for one season — the Fighting Irish were 82-9-6 (.876 winning percentage) and won four national titles.

That compares favorably with Alabama’s reign of dominance from 2010‑19 (bowl game still to come) with a 123-15 ledger (.891 winning percentage) and also four national titles.

What might be a surprise is that in the seven completed decades from 1950-59 through 2010-19, the one that was finished this month ranks second in best winning percentage. That is a reflection of the challenge that comes with sustaining consistency over a 10-year span.

Here are the records for Notre Dame in each decade since the conclusion of the Golden Years in the 1940s:

1950-59 Record: 64-31-4 — .667 AP Top-10 Finishes: 5 Best Season(s): Head coach Frank Leahy’s final team in 1953 finished 9-0-1 and No. 2. There were three 44 FEBRUARY 2020

straight top-five final rankings from 1952-54, the latter coming under firstyear head coach Terry Brennan.

Worst Season: In 1956, Notre Dame finished 2-8, its worst record ever and first losing season in 23 years.

Epic Moment: On Nov. 16, 1957, the Fighting Irish ended Oklahoma’s NCAA-record 47-game winning streak with a 7-0 win. One year after losing at home to the Sooners 40-0 — still the worst Irish defeat in Notre Dame Stadium — this win propelled a No. 10 finish in the Associated Press poll.

1960-69 Record: 62-34-4 — .640 AP Top-10 Finishes: 6 Best Seasons: Under first-year head coach Ara Parseghian, Notre Dame won a share of the 1964 national title while getting awarded the MacArthur Bowl, and then the Irish were consensus national champs in 1966 (9-0-1).

Worst Seasons: In the four years (1960-63) prior to Parseghian’s arrival, Notre Dame was 14-25, beginning with a 2-8 ledger in 1960 under head coach Joe Kuharich, and 2-7 in 1963 with interim coach Huge Devore.

Epic Moment: The week after the 10-10 tie at No. 2 Michigan State, the Irish crushed No. 10 and Pac-8 champion USC 51-0 in Los Angeles to clinch the national championship.

Record: 91-22 — .805 AP Top-10 Finishes: 5 Best Seasons: The Fighting Irish captured consensus national titles in both 1973 and 1977 by defeating No. 1-ranked teams in bowl showdowns. The first was versus Alabama in the Sugar Bowl (24-23), and the second versus Texas in the Cotton Bowl (38-10), thereby vaulting Notre Dame all the way from No. 5 to No. 1.

This was easily the top overall decade since the 1940s, with Parseghian producing a 47-8 mark in his five years from 1970-74, highlighted by the 1973 national title, and Dan Devine following with a 44-14 output the next five, notably the 1977 championship.

Notre Dame also was a remarkable 5-1 in the major bowls — and four of the wins were versus unbeaten and No. 1-ranked teams.

Worst Season: A 7-4 record in 1979 marked the only time in this 10-year stretch Notre Dame had more than three defeats and did not finish in the top 20 of either the AP or UPI polls.

Epic Moment: In addition to the two bowl wins to capture national titles, the lone two victories from 1967‑82 versus archrival USC — 23-14 in 1973 and 49-19 in the 1977 — were the impetus behind the title marches.

1980-89 Record: 76-39-2 — .658 AP Top-10 Finishes: 3 Best Seasons: Notre Dame posted a school-record 23-game winning streak in 1988-89, winning the national title in 1988 (12-0) and finishing No. 2 in 1989 (12-1) while defeating seven teams that finished in the top 10.

Worst Seasons: For the first time, Notre Dame had a sub-.500 finish three times in a decade — 5-6 in 1981, 1985 and 1986.

When Lou Holtz (1986-96) succeeded Gerry Faust (1981-85) as head coach, the 1980s were similar to the 1960s in that the Fighting Irish sputtered early in the decade before the hiring of a premier coach turned around the fortunes.

Epic Moment: The 1988 national title was spearheaded by a 31-30 victory over No. 1 and reigning national champ Miami on Oct. 15, ending the Hurricanes’ 36-game regular season winning streak.

1990-99 Record: 84-35-2 — .703 AP Top-10 Finishes: 3 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED

Best Season: In 1993, Notre Dame finished 11-1 and No. 2 — despite defeating No. 1 Florida State (31-24) Nov. 13.

Worst Season: The decade closed with a 5-7 mark in 1999. It was the opposite of the 1980s, in that this time the decade started off strong, notably a 17-game winning streak in 1992‑93. Then it began to descend, leading to Holtz stepping down, and at the end in 1999 it was 5-7.

Epic Moment: The aforementioned win over then No. 1 FSU in 1993 — the last truly watershed victory for the program.

2000-09 Record: 70-52 — .574 AP Top-10 Finishes: 1 Best Season: The highlight was the first top-10 finish (No. 9) in 12 years in 2005 under first-year head coach Charlie Weis — and it would take another seven seasons to do it again.

Plain and simple, it was the worst decade for the Notre Dame football operation since the start of the 20th century.

Worst Seasons: Each of the three coaches had a losing campaign: Bob Davie in 2001 (5-6), Tyrone Willingham in 2003 (5-7) and Weis in 2007 (3-9), the latter the most brutal with the most losses in a season.

Epic Moment: None. The closest were pulsating losses to No. 1 Nebraska in 2000 (27-24 in overtime) and No. 1 USC in 2005 (34-31).

2010-19 Record: 92-37 — .713 AP Top 10 Finishes: 2 Best Seasons: The 12-0 regular seasons in 2012 and 2018 resulted in playing the BCS National Championship Game in the former (a 42-14 loss to Alabama) and an invite to the four-team College Football Playoff in the latter, a 30-3 semifinal loss to eventual champ Clemson.

Worst Season: The 4-8 outcome in 2016 prompted massive changes within the infrastructure, including six new assistant coaches plus a new strength and conditioning staff.

Epic Moment: There were no onefor-the-ages victories, but winning regular-season finales versus so-so USC programs in 2012 and 2018 provided Notre Dame the chance to compete for the national title in the postseason. ✦ www.BLUEANDGOLD.com

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There are none that can withstand your power. Oh, Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee. (3 times). Holy Mary, I place this prayer in your hands. (3 times). Sweet Mother I place this cause in your hands.

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You who give me the Divine gift to forgive and to forget all evil against me and that in all instances of my life, you are with me. I want in this short prayer to thank You for all things and to confirm that I never want to be separated from You, even and in spite of all material illusions. I wish to be with You in eternal glory. Thank You for your mercy toward

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There are none that can withstand your power. Oh, Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee. (3 times). Holy Mary, I place this prayer in your hands. (3 times). Sweet Mother I place this cause in your hands.

(3 times). Thank you for your mercy to me and mine. Amen. This prayer must be said for 3 days and after 3 days your request will be granted and the prayer must be published. Thank you.

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There are none that can withstand your power. Oh, Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee. (3 times). Holy Mary, I place this prayer in your hands. (3 times). Sweet Mother I place this cause in your hands.

(3 times). Thank you for your mercy to me and mine. Amen. This prayer must be said for 3 days and after 3 days your request will be granted and the prayer must be published. Thank you.

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THE FIFTH QUARTER LOU SOMOGYI

Drawing A New Line On The Recruiting Front “Since I’ve been here, if you look at the average [recruiting] rankings, we’re anywhere from [No.] 5 to 15. We’re going to fall somewhere in that range because there’s a line there we can’t get over based upon what are distinctions are here.

“That line is going to keep us between [No.] 5 and 15. We know where we’re going to fall. We’re going to continue to recruit the right kind of kids here.”

— Brian Kelly on 2017 National Signing Day

O

f all the hundreds of meetings Kelly has had with the media through his 10 years as Notre Dame’s head coach, few comments struck the chord — and ire — of Fighting Irish faithful more than that one.

Psychologists probably would refer to the defeatist tone as “learned helplessness.”

Given that Notre Dame was coming off a 4-8 season just two months earlier when Kelly made the statement, it poured fuel on the raging inferno that had become the football office.

If you are what you think you are, then Notre Dame’s recruiting became a self-fulfilling prophecy over the past seven cycles.

From 2014 (the start of the College Football Playoff era) through 2020, Rivals ranked the Fighting Irish recruiting hauls, chronologically, No. 11, No. 11, No. 13, No. 13, No. 11, No. 14 and No. 15 this year.

That’s remarkable consistency while confined to that “No. 5 to No. 15” shopping aisle in recruiting — an area where about 90 percent of the Football Bowl Subdivision would deem as prosperity. Problem is the “5” part has been absent.

For Notre Dame to have a chance to be among the tier one instead of the solid top-eight to top-15 tier-two operations, it needs to be in the recruiting top five at least a couple of times over a five-year cycle — and the top 10 probably two other times.

Here’s a chronological review of the first tier since 2014 with regard to recruiting rankings by Rivals: Clemson: No. 13, No. 4, No. 6, No. 22, No. 8, No. 9 — and No. 1 this year, featuring six five-star figures (Notre Dame has signed three over the past seven years).

46

FEBRUARY 2020

The Fighting Irish are off to a great start in their 2021 recruiting, with a seven-man group led

by La Jolla (Calif.) The Bishop’s School quarterback Tyler Buchner that was ranked No. 2 in the nation as of Dec. 31.

PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM

The No. 22 effort in 2017 is an outlier because the Tigers could sign only 14 that year, yet three of them were five-star players.

Alabama: No. 1, No. 2, No. 1, No. 1, No. 7, No. 2 and No. 2 this year.

Ohio State: No. 3, No. 9, No. 3, No. 2, No. 2, No. 21 and No. 3 this year.

The Buckeyes’ No. 21 ranking in 2019 stands out, but when surrounded by four top-three hauls, one can compensate.

The “knocking on the first-tier door” group for now is comprised of Georgia, Oklahoma and LSU. The Bulldogs have ranked in the top 10 of recruiting every year since 2014, notably No. 3, No. 1, No. 1 and No. 5 the past four.

The Sooners have gone from tiertwo recruiting from 2014-16 when it was No. 15, No. 14 and No. 16, to placements of No. 7, No. 8, No. 5 and No. 12 the past four cycles, not including landing a game-changing transfer in quarterback Kyler Murray.

Recruiting has not been an issue at LSU most of this decade. It's been more about leadership and development, especially at quarterback — until transfer Joe Burrow this year.

In 2019 it fell into place for LSU after landing classes the past seven years ranked No. 2, No. 8, No. 5, No. 8, No. 14, No. 3 and No. 4. But nothing changes a program’s trajec-

tory more than a premier talent at signal-caller.

Be that as it may, one does not need to engage in advanced mathematics or logic to grasp that remaining in the No. 10 to No. 15 range will keep Notre Dame as a quality No. 8 to No. 15 type of program, but not realistically vying for a national title, unless the regularseason schedule falls as favorably as 2018 when it was favored in each contest prior to the postseason.

So here we are three years later after Kelly’s relatively controversial comment, and his tone has altered.

About 48 hours before the Camping World Bowl kickoff versus Iowa State, Kelly was ready to “cross the line.”

“We want to break out of the 15th ranked or the 10th ranked, and we want to get into that next echelon,” he said. “Philosophically we have to do some things to get to that level … break through that recruiting threshold, that I publicly talked about that we couldn’t, but we need to.

“I think we have some things that we’re going to implement that will allow us to do that.”

The specifics might be delved into later by him, but when asked if he believes it is realistic for Notre Dame to finish in the top five in recruiting again, Kelly replied, “I do now.”

“I’ve changed,” he continued.

“We’re going to change the way we do some things that I think will allow us to do that.”

The seven verbal commits for 2021, led by quarterback Tyler Buchner, had Notre Dame No. 2 in this cycle as of Dec. 31, although it is still extremely early.

Back in 2013, the Irish had a No. 3 haul, and in 2008 under Charlie Weis it was No. 2, so it shouldn’t be a pipe dream, no matter how much the college football landscape has changed.

After a certain time span of not achieving a desired result, acceptance and maybe even complacency can subtly infiltrate the infrastructure.

Maybe, just maybe, it no longer might. ✦ Senior Editor Lou Somogyi has been at Blue & Gold Illustrated since July 1985. He can be reached at lsomogyi@blueandgold.com BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED

Notre Dame FaN Favorites Make It Personal!

Personalized ND Mats • Made-to-order and shipped direct from manufacturer • Please allow up to 3 weeks processing • Maximum 16 characters/spaces • Available in 5 styles

Item # 6502-PER

Personalized Auto Mats

Item # 6623-P

Personalized Grill Mat $57.95 w/FREE S&H

$54.95 + $20 S&H Size: 22” x 35”

Size: 26” x 42”

Item # 6525-P

Item # 6513-P

Personalized Starter Mat

Personalized Roundel Mat

$39.95 + $9.99 S&H Size: 27”

$37.95 + $9.99 S&H Size: 19” x 30”

Item # 6505-P

Personalized Football Rug $39.95 + $9.99 S&H

Embossed Leather Duffels

Size: 22” x 35”

Premium Quality Westbridge Leather With Hand Embossed ND logo

Custom items ship direct from manufacturer.

Please allow time for processing and delivery.

Item # 6556 Duffel $259 + $20 S&H Size: 17” L x 10” W x 10” H

Item # 6557

Large Duffel $319 + $20 S&H Size: 23” L x 8.5” W x 12” H

Blue & Gold Magazine Binders (Item #6099)

$22.95 + $6.50 S&H

SPECIAL NOTE: Duffels appear darker in ad to show detail and embossed logo position.

Leather varies from piece to piece and will age to a rich patina.

Duffels are custom made and shipped direct from manufacturer.

Please allow up to 10 business days for processing.

Please add sales tax if shipping to NC (7.5%), IN (7%), MI (6%) (Shipping limited to continental U.S.)



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www.BlueGoldOnline.com/store

1-800-421-7751 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED PO BOX 2331 • DURHAM, NC 27702

NOTRE DAME PANORAMIC PRINTS

ND Renovated Stadium

(Item #6664)

PRINTS ARE AVAILABLE FRAMED OR UNFRAMED Each print is 13.5” x 40” on Grade “A”, pH neutral heavy art stock.

Examples shown above and left are unframed.

UNFRAMED $29.95* +$11.50 S&H = $41.45 plus tax

STANDARD FRAMED

niversary

h An ND 125t

6652) (Item #

$99.95* +$16.00 S&H = $115.95 plus tax Standard framed print is mounted and backed by foam core in a black aluminum frame with tempered glass.

SELECT FRAMED $149.95* +$18.00 S&H = $167.95 plus tax Select framed print is single-matted in team’s primary color, mounted and backed by foam core in a black wood composite frame with tempered glass.

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Ice Are n Family

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ND Inau

6653) (Item #

DELUXE FRAMED $209.95* (FREE S&H!) = $209.95 plus tax Deluxe framed print (pictured below) is double-matted in team colors, mounted and backed by foam core in a 1” wide textured aluminum frame with tempered glass.

6655) (Item #

ND Aerial View

el

l Pavilion

ND Purc

6654) (Item #

(Item #6665)

Special Note: The manufacturer has alerted us there will be a 20% price increase effective March 1, 2020.

Get your favorite panoramic prints now and save!

—— *PLEASE ADD SALES TAX IF YOU LIVE IN MI (6%), NC (7.5%), IN (7%) ——

BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED • P.O. BOX 2331 • DURHAM, NC 27702 1-800-421-7751 • www.BlueGoldOnline.com/Store