Official Notre Dame Athletics Blog

Laura Thomas (@NDSportsBlogger)

8.24.2015

Some sure signs that summer is over in South Bend? Longer lines at Chipotle and fewer parking spots available on campus.

Yes, students are back in town and on Monday, student-athletes were officially welcomed back to campus with a BBQ hosted by Student Welfare and Development (SWD).

The inaugural Welcome Back BBQ gave student-athletes the opportunity to mingle with athletes from other teams, play some ladder toss and cornhole, and enjoy pulled pork and corn on the cob before classes start up on Tuesday.

“[The idea] came from conversations with the student-athletes about what things we can do that are just fun,” said Mike Harrity, Senior Associate Athletics Director for Student-Athlete Services. “It’s just a chance to get together and hang out, play some games, have some good food and kick off the whole semester.”

The Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC) also helped to organize the Welcome Back BBQ. In her first year as the president of the group, senior women’s lacrosse player Katherine McManus was pleased with the turnout.

“I’m happy to see everyone, meet the freshmen and welcome the teams back,” said McManus. “We have such a good turnout so I’m excited for this year.”

Women’s lacrosse player Katherine McManus is the president of SAAC and football player Corey Robinson is the vice president

The SAAC is a group of student-athlete leaders who, with SWD, work to improve communication with the administration and the student-athletes, encourage the involvement of student-athletes in campus and community service projects, and improve relationships between and among teams and individual student-athletes.

The BBQ is just one of several SAAC/SWD organized events that are meant to strengthen the relationships across teams and athletes.

“We try to create intentional opportunities for them to get together without a strict format or structure so they can really socialize and connect with groups outside their immediate sport,” said Harrity.

Through a branch of SAAC called SAAC Forums, athletes are given the opportunity to build a community with other student-athletes. So far, these forums have been pretty successful.

“[SAAC Forums] are really fun events that are basically a way for athletes to kind of let off steam,” said McManus. “Last year, we did a fencing forum. The fencing team really helped us out; they taught everyone about fencing and how to fence. Then, we did a bracket of teams versus teams, single fencing. We got to dress up in all the fencing gear and a lot of teams showed up.”

The Welcome Back BBQ was also a chance to promote the Irish on 3 campaign, a movement created by student-athletes about three years ago to encourage and reward student-athletes for supporting other student-athletes by attending their games.

When student-athletes attend a sporting event, they can take a selfie and post it on twitter with the hashtag Irishon3. An established point system based on the sizes of different teams is used throughout the year. At the end of the school year, teams and individuals with the most points are rewarded.

“The athletes have really expressed an interest in building a cross-team camaraderie, community among the athletes, and connecting with the rest of campus, as well,” said Harrity. “The Irish on 3 campaign has been strong.”

A few soccer games are in the books and the points are already racking up.

@NDCheerTeam starting off the year strong at @NDSoccer #BringTheRain #IrishOn3 @NDIrishEyes pic.twitter.com/8MW91mgxKt

— Ryan Anthony Lopez (@ryanthonylopez)

August 23, 2015

NDVB loves @NDSoccer #IrishOn3 @NDIrishEyes pic.twitter.com/VctyX2fSVB

— Rebecca Nunge (@rebeccanunge)

August 22, 2015

Guess who's back, back again. #IrishOn3 @NDIrishEyes #FirstPlace #WhereYouAtLopez pic.twitter.com/jXVxnilZAG

— FAB5 ND Tennis (@NDFabFive)

August 16, 2015

“I think it’s so important because each athlete is specific to their own sport and they train really, really hard,” said McManus. “Whether we play the same sport or not, we understand how much time goes into something. So, it’s really important to show up and support your fellow classmates and teammates. Plus, it’s also really fun to watch such a high caliber athletic program.”

In addition to the community service that all student-athletes already have the opportunity to engage in, the SAAC also spearheads a larger community service project. Last year, they partnered with Habitat for Humanity to build a new home for a local family.

With the stress of school and sports lingering in the near future, a little corn hole and barbecue is not a bad way to relax and kick off the semester.

Laura Thomas (@NDSportsBlogger)

8.17.2015

Johnathan Franklin grew up in South Central Los Angeles with his mother and sister. A star at Dorsey High School in Los Angeles, Franklin always dreamed of playing in the NFL. When he received a scholarship to play for UCLA, he was one step closer to living that dream.

While at UCLA, he set a school record with 4,369 career rushing yards. In 2013, Franklin was drafted in the fourth round by the Green Bay Packers and his dreams of playing professionally had finally come true. Then, a career-ending injury in his rookie season forced Franklin to give up the game he loved and pursue a new career path.

His LinkedIn profile landed him a job here at Notre Dame in Student Welfare and Development. While the journey to Notre Dame hasn’t been without heartbreak, Franklin has remained unbelievably positive throughout.

Johnathan shared his story with me.

Tell us about the play that caused your career-ending injury.

We were playing the Minnesota Vikings at home and I was at kick return. It was the first play of the game and they kicked me the ball. I was running with it and pretty much got hit on the crown of my helmet. I didn’t know I got hit, I mean he smacked me. I was out on the ground and then when I finally woke up, I remember the ball had come out and I saw the ball moving around but I couldn’t move at all to go and grab the ball. Eventually, when the play was over I got my feeling back and jogged to the sideline. After that, it was just a journey of seeing doctors and trying to get cleared to be able to play. Unfortunately, in June of 2014, I had to medically retire.

When you got hit, did you know it was that serious? Or did you think you would just be out for a couple of games?

I got hit and we just thought it was a concussion. We were playing the Lions the following week and they just said you won’t be able to play, you have a concussion. But I talked to the doctor a bit about how I couldn’t move or couldn’t feel anything from my neck down and he had me go get an MRI. So, I went to go get an MRI a week after the Lions game and they saw a bruise around my spinal cord. He didn’t know what it was at the time so he asked me to go get another MRI a week later. When we went to go get another MRI, they saw the same bruise so I ended up being on injured reserve. Injured reserve is when you’re still on the team but you just aren’t able to play for the rest of the season. 

So I was on IR and I was like, “Okay, probably God just put me here. It’s a learning experience and I’ll be back next year.” So, I kept getting MRIs and we kept seeing a bruise so he sent me to go see some other doctors. The first doctor told me, “You know, you probably won’t be able to play football again.” In my head I thought, “This dude is crazy, I’ll be back.” I went to go see three, four more doctors throughout the country and they all said the same thing. Then, I just had to come to the decision where I had to just retire. I wasn’t able to play due to the risk of being paralyzed and not being able to move on my own. I just had to make a life decision.

How tough was it to make that decision to stop playing?

It was tough. A couple of weeks before, we played the Cincinnati Bengals. I was playing kick return the whole season and I was about third string for running backs. The week before the Bengals game, Eddie Lacy, he was our starter, got hurt. James Starks was starting that game and he ended up getting hurt. So, at halftime, coach came in and was like, “Alright, it’s time for guys to step up.” So, I went in at the half and I was able to rush for 100 yards and score a touchdown. I thought, “Man, this is my moment. I went out, had a great game and I’m gonna be in the league forever.” 

So, to have that high and a couple weeks later, suffer that injury… It was a humbling moment. It was a life-changing moment. I started playing when I was 10 years old and it was hard to let go - emotionally, the transition financially, and just the group of people around me. Life has been the greatest teacher for me these past couple of months. We all have a purpose, which I realize. I’ve been blessed to just be drafted and to score and to play in a football game. Don’t get me wrong, I miss it and I’m in love with it but my purpose is just to be somewhere else and I’m happy I’m here.

After you made the decision to medically retire, you transitioned from being a player to working in the front office of the Green Bay Packers. How did that job at the Packers come about?

Man, we talk about a purpose. It was about two weeks after I ended up medically retiring. I went on a trip and the president of the Packers randomly e-mailed me. I looked at the e-mail and he asked me to call him. I’m like, he probably just wants to say sorry and, don’t get me wrong, I appreciate it but when you hear that so many times, the meaning just isn’t as powerful. So, I just called him, I mean it’s the president of the Packers, can’t ignore that one. So, I gave him a call and he said, “You know we’d love for you to stay around for a year.” I thought about it and was like, absolutely. The internship was absolutely amazing. I bounced around to different departments throughout the whole season. From marketing, to human resources, to PR, to community outreach, and really just seeing how the Packers organization was run. So I started there in June and left in the beginning of January of this year.

I read somewhere that during that time you took up tennis lessons and playing the saxophone. Is that true?

Absolutely! I did tennis lessons and started to learn the alto saxophone. I’m pretty good, I’ll have to play sometime.

How did you eventually end up working here at Notre Dame?

I’m so thankful. When I was interning at the Packers, I was advised to create a LinkedIn. So I created a LinkedIn in October of 2014 and I didn’t have a picture up. I just had my name, no resume or anything. Mike Harrity, the Senior Associate Athletic Director here at Notre Dame, messaged me on LinkedIn. He said, “I read about you, asked around about you, and I would love for you to come to Notre Dame and check it out.” So, I ended up coming to Notre Dame a couple weeks after. I came on a Friday and by Sunday, he offered me the job I have now.

Some things are just meant to happen. I just believe that the injury, while I would’ve loved to play football for 10,15 years or do other things, you know, I’m supposed to be here and it’s been a journey. It’s no coincidence that the Packers president just e-mailed me and created that position or that Mike Harrity reached out to me on LinkedIn. You know, we all have a journey and I’m happy where I am. It’s not the easiest thing, the 9 to 5 and not playing and learning that language and learning how to dress in this business world but I know there’s a purpose for where I am today.

What was your initial reaction when Mike Harrity reached out to you and said Notre Dame? Did you have any impressions of Notre Dame at the time?

Growing up in California, you definitely hear about Notre Dame as this prestigious school. I didn’t know what to think too much. But I definitely didn’t have any second thoughts about hopping on the airplane to come out here and visit. I was excited and it surprised me, the town and the people. It’s been great.

Let’s talk about your role here at Notre Dame, Community Relations Coordinator for Student-Athlete Welfare and Development. What does your job entail?

I plan and create community outreach programs for all of our student-athletes here on campus. That’s just pretty much getting them out into the community and breaking that barrier between the community and Notre Dame. These outreach programs could consist of getting the student-athletes to hang out at the Boys and Girls Club, visiting hospitals and sitting with the patients, going to the homeless shelter, hanging out with kids that might have disabilities, whatever it might be. The goal is to really build relationships with the community and speak life into those kids but also allow our student-athletes to grow, become better people and know their worth and take advantage of the platform they have.

What has been your favorite thing about this position so far?

I really enjoy everything. I think that it’s so powerful going out into the community and seeing people that might be less fortunate and might not have what we have. Seeing the student-athletes go out into the community, their faces just light up. It might be at the homeless shelter, where these residents might not know where the next meal will come from or where they might stay the next day. You know, we come over there and they just completely forget where they are or what’s going on in their life. I think that’s very meaningful. I mean, that’s what life is all about. Regardless of the money, who you are, what your name is, who you know… Changing people’s lives is one of the most important things and it’s one of those things money can’t buy.

In the future, where do you see yourself? Would you ever consider trying to get back into football as a coach?

Honestly, I was just having this conversation earlier. Whatever life has for me. I’m about living life to the fullest. I think getting hurt so suddenly in football has allowed me to just live moment by moment and take it day by day. Don’t get me wrong, I have dreams and aspirations but you just never know what life has for you. I guess my dream and my goal is to just get everything I can out of today and change as many lives and make the biggest impact. If I’m blessed to live another day tomorrow, then I’ll do that and when the time comes to move on somewhere else, if that’s needed, then I’ll do that.

Have you ever been to a Notre Dame football game?

No, never in my life.

So your first one will be this season?

I can’t wait. Everyone’s been talking about football season and how crazy it gets.

What are you expecting from the football scene at Notre Dame?

I’m excited for some wins definitely, as everyone else is. I’m excited to tailgate, I’ve never tailgated before in my life. You know, just that atmosphere. Football season is a good time regardless of where you are. People have been talking about some high expectations just enjoyment and entertainment-wise. You know, it starts on Thursday night and goes until the end of Sunday. So, I’m just excited to really see what it’s all about.

You just saw the all-green Shamrock Series uniforms. What do you think?

Laura Thomas (@NDSportsBlogger)

8.14.2015

When you work at Fighting Irish Media, you never know who you might run into on any given day. It’s common for notable athletes, musicians, and actors to visit campus, and sometimes we’re lucky enough to meet them.

On Thursday, that notable person on campus was Eddie George. George was an All-American running back at Ohio State and won the Heisman Trophy in 1995. He was taken in the first round of the 1996 NFL Draft by the Houston Oilers (now the Tennessee Titans) and was with the Oilers/Titans for 8 years. In that time, George was named Rookie of the Year, appeared in four consecutive Pro Bowls and won a Super Bowl. Following a brief stint with the Dallas Cowboys, George retired from the game in 2005 with 10,441 career rushing yards under his belt.

George is pretty familiar with South Bend. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2011, back when the Hall used to be in downtown SB.

So, you could say he’s kind of a big deal.

While George didn’t have time to stop by the FIM office, he was nice enough to chat with me for about 3 minutes while he walked from the Gug to his car, rushing off to catch a flight to his next destination.

George was on campus with Sirius XM as a host for their College Football Camp Tour alongside former NFL coach, scout, and executive Phil Savage and Mark “The Packman” Packer.

“We go around to all the top teams in the country in college football and we figure out what they’re up to, what they’re doing,” said George. “It’s a great chance to promote the program.”

George and the Sirius XM crew drove in on Wednesday from Columbus, Ohio, where they were visiting George’s alma mater Ohio State.

Throughout the day, they met with Notre Dame coaches and players and watched the Irish practice, getting a feel for the team.

“I’ve only seen one practice but, based off what I’ve seen, I know that they're a team that definitely believes in competitive excellence,” said George. “What I mean by that is they're always competing against one another, trying to make everyone around them better.”

One day isn’t a lot of time to get to know a team. But, it was enough time for George to pick up on some key aspects of the Notre Dame culture.

“Just talking to everybody around here, the culture is that they truly believe they can go to the next level and really compete for a national championship this year,” he said. “This could be a really special year for them because of the closeness of this football team.”

So, does George think that Notre Dame can make it to the playoff?

“Notre Dame is returning so many starters this year, 17 starters, and there’s some expectations that they could be one of the four teams in the playoff,” he said. “They have the players to do it, the schedule to do it, and they certainly have the brand to do it. So, I’m really impressed with what I’ve seen from them so far.”

While George believes Notre Dame has everything in place to make it to the College Football Playoff, when I asked him who would win between Ohio State and Notre Dame, his answer was not surprising.

Training camp at Culver Academies wraps up for Notre Dame football on Tuesday. I went down for most of the day on Friday and Saturday to check out the grounds and get a glimpse of camp life at Culver.

Brian Kelly is the second Notre Dame coach to kick off training camp at Culver, Lou Holtz being the first. Running Backs Coach Autry Denson and Director of Player Development Ron Powlus were at Culver as players under Lou Holtz and we caught up with them to see what, if anything, has changed since they were at Culver in the 90′s.

One thing that has remained the same: no AC in the dorms. When Ron and Autry were at camp, it was brutally hot. Ron told us that the upperclassmen would bring their pillows into the hockey rink at night to sleep on the cement bleachers, a slightly cooler option than the dorms. Apparently they didn’t tell the underclassmen, which included Autry. In fact, Autry only found out the upperclassmen did this just last week.

Another notable anecdote from Holtz’s time at Culver was when he burned a small boat on the lake. Here’s the story told by former linebacker Kory Minor (‘99):

“There are so many memorable stories that I can share about my time at Culver, but I think the funniest and most enjoyable would be when coach Holtz burned a small boat on the lake. It reminded me of something General Patton would do to ensure his men were in the battle for the long run. I don’t recall if it was the first night we arrived in Culver or a day or two later, but it was a sight I have never seen and the inspirational and motivational message was on point, accurate and precisely delivered.

Imagine coach Holtz and his less than large stature standing in front of each and every player and coach and basically gave his sermon on the mount.  He talked about the mission and what it would take to be successful that season. Coach shared stories of past seasons, the successes and failures and what that team needed to do to win. I remember him scanning the audience with his eyes as though he was looking and talking to each one of us directly, giving you the official guidelines and strategies that we needed to hear as a team so we could unleash our true greatness.

When coach lit the boat on fire and pushed it out to sea the underlying message was clear, there would be no retreating. If you were on that team you must totally by into the message and the philosophy that coach Holtz envisioned. There would be no middle ground. Coach knew how to win and he was very proficient at that. His job was now to fundamentally transform our minds, hearts and beliefs and to have us all on the same page. I must admit Coach did an excellent job conveying his message. I have never been in awe of anything in my life, but to see the boat on fire behind coach Holtz set against the starry night was the most breathtaking sight I have ever seen. That moment was when I knew I had arrived at the University of Notre Dame and there would be no turning back now.”

The Culver campus is a busy place during the summer, and not just because of Notre Dame football. On Saturday, there was a triathlon in the morning and three weddings throughout the day. Then, once Notre Dame was done on the field, Culver Academies had their own football team that had to practice in the afternoon.

Luckily, the grounds are huge and there’s plenty of space for everyone.

After lunch, the players have some free time before meetings. They can go boating, horseback riding, or fishing but, as you might expect, most choose to just sleep… Or, if you're Romeo Okwara and Corey Robinson, play the ukulele.

You never know what you might come across with @NDFootball players & their free time at Culver Academies.. #camplife pic.twitter.com/7NO1aOKtqj

— Michael Bertsch (@NDsidBertschy)

August 8, 2015

This morning, I woke up to what seemed like a million retweets from One Direction fan accounts on my twitter feed.

At first, I thought I was being spammed. But, I quickly realized it was former Notre Dame swimmer Emma Reaney who was responsible for the retweets.

Not only was she retweeting a bunch of tweets about 1D but she was actually MENTIONED in these tweets.

Turns out, Emma went to a One Direction concert last night dressed up as a caterpillar.

What? Yeah, I know. It sounds odd and sweaty but what happened next was awesome.

At some point, Emma decided to throw her caterpillar costume on stage. Band member and British heartthrob Liam Payne then decided to put the costume on and perform the rest of the night in the caterpillar suit.

Nouis helping Liam with the caterpillar costume like I can't 😍 (via @h0tlikepayne) pic.twitter.com/14hwanHDXl

— 1D Updates (@About1D_)

August 3, 2015

I. AM. CATERPILLAR GIRL. HEAR. ME. BLOSSOM INTO A BEAUTIFUL BUTTERFLY. 🐛 pic.twitter.com/VoS0BmX6vt

— Emma Reaney (@chloreaney)

August 3, 2015

Liam in his caterpillar suit during the show! (via insider) pic.twitter.com/fYldWdRgJc

— 1D UPDATES (@freakywhoran)

August 3, 2015

He was even still wearing the suit when he left the concert.

LIAM IS STILL WEARING THE CATERPILLAR SUIT 😂 #OTRAPittsburgh pic.twitter.com/9BQk1O2CW3

— justin bieber (@NationOfBiebs)

August 3, 2015

So, not only is Emma Reaney a national champion, a Notre Dame record holder and an American record holder, she is now also “the girl whose caterpillar costume Liam wore on stage.”

1D fans everywhere loved it. And so did we.

Emma, we miss you here at Notre Dame but we’re glad you’re having fun in the “real world”!

Laura Thomas (@NDSportsBlogger)

7.30.2015

If you are ever blessed with the opportunity to spend some quality time in our office here at Fighting Irish Media, you might experience that I like to talk. A lot. To whoever will listen, which is usually not that many people.

Today, I was telling a story about the trip I took last week to Glacier, Montana. My “boss”, aka NDSportsBlogger emeritus Aaron Horvath, was surprisingly listening, or at least pretending to, and told me I should write it down. In hindsight, he was probably just trying to get me to shut up.

Either way, here is my story of the day:

It actually begins at my graduation from Notre Dame a little over two months ago (insert sobbing emoji here).

I once heard the joke, “I didn’t graduate Summa Cum Laude, Magna Cum Laude, or Cum Laude. I graduated Thank the Laude.” This definitely applied to me.

I was a fine student who was involved in several activities, always had a job and internships, and studied for most of my tests in college. While I feel pretty good about my accomplishments at Notre Dame, my graduation outfit didn’t consist of any ropes or sashes for any honors or societies. Nope, I stuck to the basics: cap and gown.

See here: Cap and gown (shoutout to my roommate and good friend Liz on the right)

But, this wasn’t the case for a lot of my fellow classmates. Notre Dame students have a tendency to excel in many aspects of life: academics, athletics, service - you name it.

This excellence that I saw from so many of my classmates was exuded most of all by our valedictorian, Anna Kottkamp. Anna was a 4.0 environmental science major who has done research in Bolivia, an internship in Peru, was a member of the Voices of Faith Gospel Choir, was very active in the South Bend community, and was an accomplished varsity rower who plans to do service after graduation before going to grad school. I’ve never been lucky enough to personally meet Anna but, judging by her presence on stage and her valedictorian speech, she seems like the nicest, most humble, down-to-earth person ever.

And there I was, just happy to have graduated and have a job lined up.

To be completely honest with you all, I definitely felt a little inferior to Anna after her amazing speech. I think everyone in the crowd was certainly wowed by her achievements and overall persona. I couldn’t help thinking, “She is really outdoing me in life right now.” Anna was, simply put, an awesome human.

So, how does this relate to my recent vacation?

Last week, I spent seven days hiking in Glacier with my dad, an avid backpacker/hiker/crazy outdoorsman. This vacation was sort of a pre-football season getaway where I could enjoy some time in the wilderness with my dad before the craziness of Notre Dame football starts picking up in August.

On our first day of hiking, my dad decided we were going to do a hike where we had to climb 2,300 feet.

I’ve been in these situations with my father before. He takes us on these hikes that the guidebooks call “moderately strenuous to strenuous”, which is basically a less dramatic way of saying VERY HARD. The entire time, I usually have to pretend I’m not cursing him under my breath. I generally just keep quiet and try not to say something I’ll regret. In his defense, though, if you want to see the best views, you have to climb a bit.

My dad fueling up mid-hike

Anyway, as I’m huffing and puffing my way up this mountain and wondering why on earth my dad couldn’t have taken up less “strenuous” hobbies like golfing or fishing, I heard two people coming up the trail behind us. We paused and stepped off the trail to let the two faster hikers go by. But, these people weren't just hiking; they were running. Yes, they were RUNNING up this mountain that I was just trying to survive walking up.

As they got closer, I saw one woman was wearing a “Notre Dame Rowing” shirt. I immediately looked at her face to see if I knew this fellow Domer passing me on the trail. Sure enough, I did.

The woman running up the mountain was none other than Anna Kottkamp. She was, yet again, surpassing me in life.

“Out of all people to run past me on this mountain, it had to be our class valedictorian,” was my first thought.

“She did college better than me and now she’s climbing this mountain better than me,” was my next thought.

(Anna, by the way, gave us a big smile and graciously thanked us as we let her pass - proving, again, what a nice person she is.)

So, I’m not sure what the moral of this story is or why I even felt compelled to share. If I was a pessimist, I’d probably say that this experience shows that no matter what I do in life, someone will always do it better.

Thankfully, I’m not that negative.

In all honesty, I thought it was pretty awesome that someone who I initially thought was living such a different life than I was, ended up on this same mountain to accomplish this same goal, even though she was doing it a lot quicker.

At the end of the day, Anna was not just our valedictorian. She was a classmate of mine. And how cool is it that I ran into a classmate on this specific trail in this specific national park? Of all the places we could’ve been on this one summer day, we chose the same one.

And I thought that was pretty cool.

Notre Dame truly is everywhere and while Anna passed me too fast for me to ask for a picture, leaving me no proof that this actually happened, hopefully you take my word for it.

When you’re on top of a mountain, it’s always comforting to know you have some fellow Notre Dame fans up there with you. Because you never know when you might run into a USC fan… 

We finally made it to the top

Anna Gonzalez ‘16 (@ndbloggonzo)

7.27.2015

While they’re known for their talents on ice, Bo Brauer and Tommy DiPauli (among other Notre Dame Hockey players) have become well acquainted with the ice when it isn’t frozen. Both Bo and Tommy are avid anglers in their free time. I took a short fishing trip with both of them on the shores of St. Mary’s lake right here on the Notre Dame campus and got to see their less-known talents in action.

Both Tommy and Bo have been fishing for a long time. Tommy, a native to Caldaro, Italy, was taught by his father how to fish along with his brother and sister. He prefers saltwater fishing over freshwater, which he gets to do when he returns home to Italy or goes down to Mexico which he says he visits every summer. When there, he fishes as much as he can--“every day. All day.” Because he fishes in saltwater, Tommy has the chance to catch much larger fish than freshwater lakes can provide. His record is a “300-something-pound” marlin. “That was on a charger boat,” he recalled, “so I don’t really count that because it’s more just reeling in the fish.” His catch also includes some sharks and large tuna (which, yes, he said he cooked and was delicious). 

On the other hand, Bo baits for large-mouth bass and muskies. He learned the sport on the lakes of Minnesota, which he calls home, with his dad and younger brother. The largest fish he’s ever landed was “a 52-inch muskie, which probably weighed over 40 pounds. That took probably, like, an hour to get in,” he said with a chuckle, “So that was a fun fight.”

Now, they’re limited to when they can fish, but they try to go as often as they can. They’ve spread the hobby and have gotten teammates involved as well. The two reported that they’ve gotten Connor Hurley, Cal Petersen, and Mario Lucia all out to fish with them, and get out with members of the football team as well.

On sunny days, such as the day I went along, the guys spot fish, which means they just walk around the lake and look for the fish in the water to bait them. They began using poppyseed bagels, which proved fairly unsuccessful, so switched to mulberries that they picked directly off one of the trees.

“There is certainly something in angling that tends to produce a serenity of the mind.”  ~Washington Irving

It was only an hour and a half of fishing, but I would agree with Mr. Irving. Fishing is quite peaceful. It’s a respite from the speed and ferocity of hockey, and it’s a way to exercise patience and focus. It’s no wonder fishers enjoy the sport as much as they do.

In theory, summer should be the best season of the year. The weather is nice, the office is usually a bit slower and kids don’t have to go to school.

But, for any college football fan, summer is brutal. It’s been more than half a year since we’ve seen a college game. The first few months were fine since we still had the NFL to hold onto for a bit. Then, through the beginning of April, we could immerse ourselves in college hoops. But, to be honest, as much as I love America's pastime, I’m suffering severe college football withdrawal by July.

If you’re anything like me, you’re probably in the same boat. What’s worse, our summertime college football blues aren’t going anywhere. So, we might as well try to make the most of it.  

Here are 5 things that will help you cope with the summertime college football blues.

1. Explore the new academic and student life buildings around the stadium

If you haven’t been on campus since last season, there’s a chance you might not recognize the stadium when you get back, even though it’s still that huge building in the center of campus. A lot has changed since November 2014, when the Campus Crossroads Project took off. This website will provide you with everything you need to know about the project, including a live webcam so you’ll know what to expect when you come back on September 5th.

2. Brush up on your Notre Dame football history

Do you know which U.S. president was nicknamed “The Gipper” or how many Heisman Trophy winners Frank Leahy coached or what comes after “Outlined against a blue-gray October sky…”?

If not, maybe it’s time to brush up on your Notre Dame football history. At tailgates this season, you can brag about all of the random Notre Dame football facts you know or if you ever find yourself on Jeopardy, you’ll have better odds at winning some money. Plus, are you really a diehard Notre Dame fan if you can’t name all of the Heisman Trophy winners?

3. Make a daily visit to this countdown clock

Each morning, before you check your e-mail or your Facebook or your Fantasy Baseball team, there’s a more important site you should be visiting. This countdown clock has the time until each game of the season measured out to the last second. You'll always know exactly how much time is left until opening night and it's live proof that each passing second brings us closer to the season. The next time you’re feeling like the season is never going to arrive, just check out this clock.

4. Get to know the new players

There are a lot of familiar names stepping out on the field this year but there are some newcomers who are predicted to make a splash as well. Most of us probably couldn’t list off all of the new freshmen and their positions. That’s why there are sites like Bleacher Report and Irish247.com to tell us who we need to look out for. Now, when that unfamiliar number runs out on the field and everyone’s wondering who the new kid is, you can confidently say, “That’s Aliz’e Jones. He’s a tight end from Las Vegas and his favorite ice cream flavor is chocolate chip cookie dough.” (I might have made up that last part but you catch my drift.)

5. Check out the competition

It’s been almost 20 years since Notre Dame last played Texas and the Irish have only faced the Longhorns 10 times ever. In addition, Notre Dame’s contract with the ACC means we’ll being facing a lot of different teams than we have in the past couple of decades. Take Clemson, for example. Notre Dame has only faced the Tigers two times ever, the last time being in 1979. Then there’s Virginia, who the Irish have only played once and that was back in 1989. On top of it all, Notre Dame has never faced UMass, though this 151:42 minute Notre Dame hockey game against the Minutemen could’ve easily counted as a one hockey game AND one football game. My point is, it’s likely you might not know a whole lot about our competition. This lull in the summer is a perfect time to google Dabo Swinney and provide some factual evidence to your 12-0 prediction for the season.

And if none of these suggestions help… We can all just practice Lou Holtz’s relaxation techniques.

Anna Gonzalez ‘16 (@NDBlogGonzo)

7.10.2015

On Tuesday, July 7, Notre Dame Hockey season ticket holders gathered in Compton Family Ice Arena for a reason quite different than their usual reason for going. For the first time ever, the hockey program hosted Hockey 101, a hands-on, all-access night in which season ticket holders were escorted around Compton by the players themselves to learn more about the program, the players, and the sport.

Fans were split into eight “teams” and worked their way through eight different stations throughout the course of the night to take pictures on the zambonis, try their hands at shooting the puck, hear about tactics from the coaches, learn about the equipment, and understand the strength and conditioning workout the players go through, among other things.

The idea for the evening was inspired by Football 101, held every year for women to learn about the football program as a fundraiser for the Kelly Cares Foundation. Darin Ottaviani, Assistant Director of Marketing & Promotions, and Nick Siergiej, the Director of Hockey Operations, conceived the idea as a way to give back to the season ticket holders.

“I think any time we can do something for our fans or our season ticket holders, it’s a great opportunity for us to mingle with them, but more importantly, to give back to them,” head coach Jeff Jackson said. “They’re invested every year. They buy tickets; they’re at our games making noise. They support us. I think that any time we can give back to the community in any way, it’s beneficial.”

“I think it’s fun any time we get to do that,” agreed senior center Steven Fogarty. “It’s a nice thank-you for them coming to all of our games,” added senior defenseman Andy Ryan.

“After the TV games, we’ll have the skates, and meet all the fans. We enjoy it, but I think they enjoy it more than we do just because we’re tired [after games],” said sophomore right winger Bo Brauer. Sophomore left winger Anders Bjork candidly chimed in, however, and said, “I probably enjoy it more than they do!” (He definitely seemed to be having a blast when we paid a visit to him at the rapid shot machine.)

When I talked to some of the players before the event began, I asked what they were looking forward to, and Fogarty said, “I’m excited to see some of these older fellas on the rapid shot,” and the rest of his teammates agreed. Later that evening, I got to see some of those guys show off their hockey skills on the machine, proving that muscle memory can be hard to forget. 

From what I witnessed, fans were having the time of their lives learning about the program they’ve been zealously supporting for many years; from what I experienced, the night made it much easier to appreciate and much harder to ignore all the hard work that goes into running a successful collegiate hockey program. I’d put down a good sum of money on the bet that Hockey 101 will happen again next year, and maybe even open itself up to the general public--because everyone should get to try the rapid shot.

Anders Bjork refreshes my memory in how to properly hold a stick after manager Shannon Carpenter volunteered me for the rapid shot. Of the 16 pucks the machine gave me, I think I hit only one target. I need some work.

Steven Fogarty and Ben Ostlie with a fan after the event’s conclusion. Photo courtesy Jill Hanson via PhotoCircle.

Luke Ripley gives a young fan some pointers before the on-ice shooting contest. Photo courtesy Kristin Lewis.

Strength and Conditioning coach Tony Rolinski speaks about the players’ conditioning regimen. Photo courtesy Tracy Westwater.

Bobby Clark - Men’s Soccer

2015 will be his 15th season as Irish Head Coach

Clark coached the program to its first ever NCAA title in 2013

Then:

Now:

Coach Clark played professionally in his native Scotland for 20 years, most of which were spent playing goalkeeper for Aberdeen of the Scottish Premiere League. While he was with Aberdeen, Clark helped the Dons win the 1970 Scottish Cup, the 1976 League Cup, and the 1980 Premier League Championship. Clark also made appearances with Scotland in their 1970, 1974, and 1978 World Cup campaigns, including a trip to the finals in 1978. In 2002, Aberdeen named Clark as one of its top 25 members of all time.

Mike Brey - Men’s Basketball

2015-2016 will be his 16th season as Irish Head Coach

Then:

Mike Brey #15

Now:

Coach Brey spent the first three years of his collegiate career in Louisiana at Northwestern State. In three years, Brey notched 311 assists, making him number 8 on the school’s all time career assist list. After his junior season, Brey transferred to George Washington where his mother, a member of the 1956 U.S. Olympic Swimming Team, was the women’s swim coach. During his senior season, Brey served as the team’s captain and earned MVP honors. In 2014, he was inducted into the George Washington University Athletics Hall of Fame.  

Muffet McGraw - Women’s Basketball

2015-2016 will be her 29th season as Irish Head Coach

McGraw led Notre Dame to their first NCAA title in 2001

Then:

McGraw on the far right

Now:

Coach McGraw was the starting guard for the first four seasons that St. Joseph's University had a varsity team. McGraw served as captain during her junior and senior years and set the school record for steals in a season during her senior year (102). Before she began her coaching career, McGraw played one year in the Women’s Professional Basketball League with the California Dreams. In 2011, McGraw was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, the first ever Notre Dame representative to be inducted.

Theresa Romagnolo - Women’s Soccer

2015-2016 will be her 2nd season as Irish Head Coach

Before Notre Dame, she coached at Dartmouth, Stanford, and San Diego

Then:

Now:

Before her successful coaching career, Romagnolo made a lot of noise on the West Coast as a midfielder at the University of Washington. She was named All-Pac 10 during every season she played with the Huskies. She also played in a NCAA Championship during three out of her four seasons at Washington and she still holds several spots in the UW record books:

2nd in all-time points (80)

Tied for 3rd in all-time goals (27)

3rd in all-time assists (26)

Romagnolo also played professionally in the Women’s United Soccer Association (what is known today as the National Women’s Soccer League) for three years with the San Jose CyberRays. Romagnolo and the CyberRays won the WUSA title in 2001.

Mik Aoki - Baseball

2016 season will be his 6th year as Irish Head Coach

In the 2015 season, he took Notre Dame to the NCAA Regionals for the first time since 2006

Then:

Now:

Yesterday, we all woke up and were like:

It's really here #DraftDay

— Jerian Grant (@JerianGrant)

June 25, 2015

Then, we followed Jerian to the Draft... and he was looking pretty spiffy:

On the bus to the #NBADraft with @JerianGrant! pic.twitter.com/QRH7Ob3Mzv

— NBA Draft (@NBADraft)

June 25, 2015

We got Action pic.twitter.com/yFHlevKvni

— Jerian Grant (@JerianGrant)

June 25, 2015

As the first round got underway, this is pretty much how we felt every time a team didn't pick Jerian or Pat:

And then this 13-year-old came along with his $200K bowtie business and made us feel seriously inadequate:

Also, this awesome comparison was made:

"The bow tie kid looks like a young Russell Westbrook." -@AminESPN #NBADraft #analysis pic.twitter.com/3f8Ap2GPJd

— ESPN (@espn)

June 26, 2015

But then, the time we were all waiting for finally came:

When Pat got drafted in the next round it was like:

Sure looks like a fun time to be hanging out with former @ndmbb star Pat Connaughton! Congratulations @PlanetPat24!https://t.co/CkJZSVyf0C

— ACC Digital Network (@theACCDN)

June 26, 2015

ND Nation got really excited about the idea of Pat and Jerian being in NYC together:

So @JerianGrant to the Knicks, @PlanetPat24 to the Nets. The MTA should get these posters ready for the NYC subway. pic.twitter.com/EEjejyZP74

— Matt Fortuna (@Matt_Fortuna)

June 26, 2015

Congrats to Pat Connaughton drafted 41st overall by the Brooklyn Nets! both Notre Dame guys going to NYC! jerian to Knicks, Pat to Brooklyn!

— Angelo Di Carlo (@angdicarlowndu)

June 26, 2015

So can Jerian and Pat be roommates in the Big Apple?

— Josh Flynt (@jflyntnd518)

June 26, 2015

Then, that dream quickly ended...

Well the Grant-Connaughton era in NY was fun while it lasted ...

— Matt Fortuna (@Matt_Fortuna)

June 26, 2015

Surely Pat Connaughton had his mind set on the hipster culture of Brooklyn. Not sure how he’ll adjust to Portland after that trade.

— Irish Illustrated (@PeteSampson_)

June 26, 2015

@PlanetPat24 @JerianGrant well never mind!!! #Awkward 😓😢

— lOUIS NIX III (@1irishchocolate)

June 26, 2015

But, it was still a great night for Notre Dame:

The Grant family celebrates @JerianGrant's trade to NY! #KnicksDraft15 https://t.co/d6wMHxffBZ pic.twitter.com/2vxMMBeFL1

— NBA New York Knicks (@nyknicks)

June 26, 2015

See you soon, @PlanetPat24! 🍀 pic.twitter.com/P4rKVbSKBk

— Trail Blazers (@trailblazers)

June 26, 2015

And this tweet sums up everything best:

You've "Impacted" many in such a special way-Thanks...#NDinNBA pic.twitter.com/8J67WdL1tp

— Anthony Solomon (@NDSlo)

6.19.2015

Laura Thomas (@NDSportsBlogger)

Last week, on my second day as the @NDSportsBlogger, I was given the opportunity to participate in Kelly Cares Football 101 (see above for a full video recap of me making a fool out of myself). I had always heard about the existence of Football 101 but never actually knew what it entailed, so I was eager to find out.

I quickly learned that, in addition to participating in football drills and learning about the game, Football 101 is largely a social event that women participate in with their friends year after year. A few women were Football 101 rookies but a lot of them were 3 or 4 year veterans, which was pretty intimidating for a newbie like myself.

So, after carbo-loading on the ravioli that was provided at the pre-workout reception, I decided to walk around and make some new friends, which included successfully getting Coach VanGorder to reenact his legendary fist pump (see below).

After the reception, we split up into groups to rotate between four different drill stations: blocking, field goal kicking, tackling, and throwing.

The nerves really started to kick in (pun not intended) when we got to the field goal station. I played soccer when I was 9 years old but I wasn’t too confident that my soccer skills circa 2003 were going to help me out that much here. When I actually made a field goal from about 10 yards out, aka the end zone, I felt really good about myself. But then Irish kicker Tyler Newsome starting drilling 45 yarders with no shoes on and all my dreams of becoming a walk-on kicker were crushed.

I must say, though, that I have a new appreciation for kickers because that job is not easy, especially when the game’s on the line and there are 80,000+ fans screaming in your ear.

Our next stop was the tackling station. Here, I learned…. Well… That I suck at tackling. The good news, though, is that I think I’ve got the aggression part down which I feel is half the battle, especially when you’re going up against a foam dummy.

Unfortunately, the video recap doesn’t show the part of the evening where we went inside the Gug to learn about nutrition. Aside from the team nutritionist telling me I couldn’t eat cookies ever again, the nutrition station was definitely a highlight because I got to take like 5 bananas, 3 apples, and 2 bags of pretzels home with me and there’s really nothing I love more than free food.

6.16.2015

Laura Thomas (@NDSportsBlogger)

A few weeks ago, the Women’s Lacrosse team took a trip to the land of sports cars, pasta, and gelato: Italy.

So, I wanted to know, what happens when you send 31 Women’s Lacrosse players to Italy for 10 days?

I sat down with midfielder Hannah Hartman (‘16) and after getting her recap of the trip, here’s what I found out.

1. You can get a diploma for learning how to make pizza. This is a lacrosse team self-described as “obsessed with pizza.” Whether it’s a pregame meal or a Friday night hangout, this team loves their pizza. So, it’s no surprise that while they were in Como, the team took an Italian Pizza Making lesson, one of their “cultural team building exercises.” Each athlete made their own pizza, from tossing the dough to putting on the last piece of prosciutto. Thankfully, for some members of the team, presentation wasn’t a huge priority at this particular pizza making school and they were still able to “graduate” with an actual diploma, even if their pizza didn’t really look that appetizing. As Hannah H. put it, “It didn’t look good but it tasted good.” That’s all that matters.

Hannah Rees (’17) learning the art of the Hand-Tossed pizza

2. You will be denied entry to the Monte Carlo Casino if you’re wearing flip flops. On the 5th day of the trip, the team spent the morning exploring Cinque Terre by train and water taxi. From there, they traveled to France for the afternoon, stopping in Cannes and Monte Carlo. Because they spent the morning in Cinque Terre, the team was dressed in more casual clothes, I’m talking tank tops, bathing suits, and flip flops. So when some of them tried to gain entry to the luxurious Monte Carlo casino, they were denied. They really lost a gamble with that one.

3. Don’t try to count the steps to the top of the Duomo. On their second of two days in Florence, most of the team woke up early to climb to the top of the famous cathedral in Florence, Il Duomo. While the view of Il Duomo from the ground is extraordinary, you can get a closer look at the paintings, or frescos, on the inside of the dome and breathtaking views of the entire city from the top. But, in order to get to the top of the dome, you have to climb 463 steps. While they initially tried counting each step to the top, the team quickly found out that climbing those 463 steps is a lot easier than counting them.

463 steps later... The view from up top

4. Lacrosse does, in fact, exist in Italy and other parts of Europe. When the team wasn’t loading up on pizza/pasta/gelato and sightseeing, they did get to play some lacrosse. Turns out, the sport with Native American roots that’s still gradually making it’s way across the country has made it’s way across the world. In Rome, the women participated in a Cooperative Practice with the Italian National Team. They were able to teach some of their skills to a team whose country is still gaining familiarity with the sport. Towards the end of their trip, the team played games in Milan against UK Select, a team from the UK, and HLC Rot Weiss, a team from Germany.

ND Women’s Lax and members of the Italian National Team

Hannah H. summed it up best: “It was like, get on the bus, drive for two hours, go to the coolest place ever, get back on the bus, drive to the next coolest place ever, and so on.”

Anna Gonzalez ‘16 (@NDBlogGonzo)

6.11.2015

The unveiling of the 2015-15 Notre Dame Hockey schedule has me like

The regular season begins on October 6 and ends on February 27. College hockey has a longer season than most other NCAA sports, but it flies by, as you well know. I only remain calm because I am in denial that I am now a senior and will be graduating in less than a year. What? Who said that? Never mind. Continuing...

The Irish, members of the Hockey East Association, will play 18 different schools from 10 states. Seven (!) of those schools are in Massachusetts. All the games are worth being excited about, but are the 5 that I can’t wait to see:

1. The first big series will be against Minnesota-Duluth when the Bulldogs come to visit on Oct. 23-24. I’m excited about this series because UMD was ranked 6th in the nation at the end of the 2014-15 season. Our freshman class last year was 10 members strong, and they showed a lot of potential. Now they’re sophomores: one year older, one season wiser. I’m ready to see what they’ll bring to the ice this year, and I think UMD will be the first big opportunity to showcase their talent.

2. The next big series is an unusual split series against Connecticut. The fact that it’s a split series is not unusual as it’s been that way a few years in a row now. What’s unusual is that the locations will be the XL Center in Hartford (the home of the Huskies) and the New York Islanders’ brand new home, the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. I am currently taking donations for my travel expenses.

3. After they get back from New York, the Irish will play the Golden Gophers of Minnesota in a home series. Our series against Minnesota is always one of my favorites because Compton is so electric for the series. Like UMD, the Gophers will be challenging, but it’s not in the tradition of the Fighting Irish to shy away from a challenge.

4. On November 27, Hahvuhd is coming. The Crimson will be a nice contrast to our Blue and Gold on the ice for the annual Shillelagh Tournament. Those Harvard kids are known for being pretty smart, but they’re not bad at hockey either. They finished 11th in the USCHO Poll last season, but they’re no better than us Domers at exams or hockey. (Okay, they’re definitely better at me than hockey, but you get my point.)

The guys will head west to Denver for a New Years’ Series on Jan. 1-2, have a split series against Western Michigan and will bounce around between Indiana and the East Coast until finally...

5. THE FRIARS. They won it all last year, and they’ll be the penultimate series of the regular season for the Irish. It’ll be an away series against the reigning National Champions, and I feel as if our games against Providence are becoming a secondary Holy War on Ice.

Which games are you most excited for this season? Comment below or tweet me with your feedback, and let Hans and Franz pump you up!

When one of your parents is a Notre Dame alum, you’re basically forced into loving Notre Dame, and that means loving Notre Dame sports, for better or worse.

This is me.

After Muffet McGraw's women's basketball team won the National Championship in 2001, I wrote a letter to my idol Ruth Riley telling her that I wanted to go to Notre Dame and be a basketball star “just like her”. Making my eight-year-old self’s year, Ruth wrote me back and wished me luck on my dream. Looking back now, she was probably thinking “how did this girl get my address, this is really creepy.” But, because she’s awesome, she responded anyway and after receiving that letter, I was determined to end up at Notre Dame some day.

I learned soon enough that to play basketball at Notre Dame you actually have to be good. And not just good by your parents’ standards. They’re your parents. They’re genetically inclined to think you are absolutely amazing at everything you do. But future Ruth Riley or not, I was going to Notre Dame and that was that.

Thankfully, my dad always supported my dreams, told me I could go to school wherever I wanted to go to, pursue whatever I wanted to pursue and be whatever I wanted to be. As long as I didn’t go to USC.

While becoming a Notre Dame student was a dream come true, I have to say becoming a Notre Dame employee is a little more bittersweet. I haven’t quite accepted that I have to leave behind my college years. But, at least I don’t have to leave this amazing place behind just yet.

My game plan as the newly crowned @NDSportsBlogger is to take you inside the world of ND athletics and connect you, the fans, with some of the best student-athletes in the country through tweets, videos, podcasts, blog posts, maybe interpretive dances, who knows. Because, believe it or not, there’s a lot more to Notre Dame athletics than just the conference championships, national championships and individual all-american honors.

Whether it’s learning how to be a hockey goalie, perfecting the art of the high dive, participating in Football 101 with a go pro on my head or just chatting with your favorite student-athletes, my hope is to show you something that you won’t find in the stat sheets and box scores. Something that actually shows the personality of the people we are naturally so invested in as Notre Dame fans.

If nothing else, here’s something that you will help you procrastinate even more while you’re at work.

My only promise is to leave the game strategy and player evaluations to the professionals, unless it’s about basketball because my parents told me I’m really good at that.

Until next time,

Laura Thomas                                                                                                  

Anna Gonzalez ‘16 (@NDBlogGonzo)

5.2.2015

“Anna! Anna! We’ve got the next idea!”

Evan Panken had just finished covering his entire face in Barbasol shaving cream, when I say, “Cut,” and someone comes running up behind me. I follow some the members of the men’s soccer team into the hallway where the shelves and beverages have been removed from a fridge. The refrigerator door opens from the inside.

“Okay. So Cupero is going to sit inside the fridge and hand Gormley a Gatorade when he opens the door to get a drink.” By that point, I had heard weirder things.

“Sounds good to me. Let’s do it!”

The entire day of filming the Men’s Soccer O.S.C.A.R.S. competition video was filled with insane (read: insanely creative), goofy (read: hilarious), brilliant (read: brilliant) ideas for a parody video. Earlier this spring, the team approached me about filming their video and asked if I had seen a particular commercial from the 2014 World Cup advertising Beats by Dre headphones. I had, and I loved it. The commercial featured Brazilian soccer superstar Neymar talking to his dad on the phone, wearing Beats during his pre-game ritual, and the pre-game rituals of other world-famous soccer players and their fans. The original video, which is just over 5:00 long features nearly 200 different shots, so I knew making a parody would be quite the undertaking. I also knew it would be worth my time.

Filming was a blast. The guys were willing to do just about anything. Connor Klekota put on a full-face of makeup and even offered to shave his head. Chris Hubbard taped his head to his left arm. Brandon Aubrey painted his toenails. Brian Talcott stood in a cold shower with his entire uniform on and blocked shower poofs being thrown at him. Patrick Hodan did his best fake (or was it?) cry while watching The Notebook. Mark Mishu wore a towel on his head while praying at a shrine featuring a Yankee Candle and a photo of their 2013 NCAA Championship team. And, yes, Andrew Cupero sat in a fridge while we filmed multiple takes of Mark Gormley going to get a Gatorade. How they managed to keep straight faces throughout, I’ll never know. I sure couldn’t.

Editing was also a blast. After watching the original video maybe 100 times, sorting through footage, going through Spotify to find the perfect music to play before and after “Jungle” by X Ambassadors, and hours of meticulously editing those clips into a story of the weird (but fake) pre-game rituals of the Notre Dame soccer team, I finally came out with a video that I am so proud of and overjoyed that I could help make. When the video won the O.S.C.A.R.S. video competition, I was so relieved that the guys’ willingness to do just about anything paid off. I hope everyone enjoys the video as much as I do.

                                                                Matt Cashore/USA Today

4.18.15

Craig Chval ‘15

It’s really hard to experience unqualified excitement at the Blue-Gold Game. The biggest cheer of the game may have come on Malik Zaire’s 68-yard touchdown bomb to Justin Brent. But any successful play on offense likely means a broken play by the defense. It’s also easy to forget that we’re watching one spring practice, four months before we’ll next see the Irish take the field. For as much attention as it gets, the spring game doesn’t really tell us a whole lot. Just ask Junior Jabbie. 

That being said, it’s fun to see where the team is right now, halfway through the dark eight-month period without football. There’s a reason there have been 86 years of this game with thousands of people tuning in. So, taking everything with a grain of salt, here were my biggest takeaways:

The Read Option Game

With Everett Golson, we’ve only seen the read option on a very limited basis, but we got glimpses of its potential with Malik Zaire in the Music City Bowl. Right out of the gate today, we saw that Golson can pick it up as well. Clearly Zaire is the more skilled runner - he’s faster and has better moves, frequently wowing the crowd with his play. But getting away from the perception that Zaire is the “run-first” quarterback and Golson is the pocket passer will add another problem for opposing defenses in 2015. 

In the opening quarter, the offensive line play also looked much improved over 2014, creating great holes for the read option. But again, it’s hard to cheer too hard for our O-line opening up holes in our defense. However, the defensive line seemed to get the better of their counterparts in the second half, when the offense started passing more.

Running Backs

We already knew that Tarean Folston and Greg Bryant offer a tremendously skilled duo out of the backfield, but they confirmed their ability today. Both backs ran hard through tacklers and showed noticeable improvement in hitting holes. 

But the surprise was how well C.J. Prosise fit among this group. Prosise may take on a hybrid slot/RB role in 2015, and he showed off an ability to run hard between the tackles in addition to his usual sweeps.

All three backs flashed a combination of physicality, speed, and patience that will be sure to please new coach Autry Denson.

Defensive Pressure

Brian VanGorder is known for his blitz packages, and after the first quarter he started getting to the quarterbacks. Both Golson and Zaire had problems adjusting to the pressure, whether form a blitz or an O-line breakdown. Golson has the experience necessary to stay in the pocket and make a play under pressure, but Zaire’s ability to escape can turn a broken play into an exciting gain. On the defensive side, dialing up the pressure is always important, but the defense also can’t leave the secondary exposed. 

Guarding Against the Big Play

In addition to Brent’s touchdown, there were a number of near misses for the Irish offense after breakdowns in coverage. Like the 2014 game, the defense started slow and picked up its intensity after the first quarter. I’m not sure how much of that was a change in play and how much was the effect of a controlled scrimmage. The defense also had to play deeper than the offense, including giving walk-ons some action, even in the first quarter. 

Penalties

Again, there are four months left to correct issues, but the mental errors that led to penalties would prove problematic during the season. The first play of the game was a false start, and there were a number of those, along with holds and a roughing the passer. When you add in a real crowd and the play clock, which has caused problems for the Irish in the past, those issues will intensify. We’ll have to cut those down before August.

Wide Receivers

Last year receivers were a mixed bag, showing promising plays along with a number of drops. This year the receivers displayed the improvement they’ve made since 2014: they routinely got open, showed off some speed and cut way down on the drops. There were also plenty of opportunities for relatively new faces to impress, including Brent and Corey Holmes.