Part two of the mailbag. Thanks again for your questions.
irishsoccerfirst: Give us your take on the Irish schedule this coming season. Does it appear weaker than usual at this point? I mean Nevada and Army? Isn’t that two cupcakes? NC State and Syracuse are two weak ACC programs most years. VA Tech has been struggling of late, etc. Your thoughts at this early date would be appreciated, but it looks like any loss could be fatal.
I think Notre Dame’s schedule sets up pretty well for the Irish. I agree with you that Nevada and Army aren’t going to wow anybody, but sandwiching Nevada between Texas and Michigan State, and following up Army with Virginia Tech and USC is more than solid and not too many people will notice with that finish.
The ACC slate is going to be tough some seasons and lighter in others. Getting NC State as they continue to try and climb out is nice, and Syracuse is rebooting itself once again, this time with Dino Babers.
Like most schedules, you can argue anything you want. For those who want to talk up the difficulties, look at the murders row of head coaches facing off with BK and his staff: Charlie Strong, Mark Dantonio, David Cutcliffe, David Shaw and Mark Richt all feel like they have a home among the elite names in college football. Justin Fuente is a rising star, some say the same about Nevada’s Brian Polian, too.
If you’re looking for a reason to be bullish about the Irish, one factor is the schedule. I think it stacks up pretty well for Notre Dame.
To your point about one loss being fatal, that certainly hasn’t been the case so far in the two seasons the CFB Playoff has existed. If the Irish were a one-loss team in 2015, I think there’s a very good chance that Oklahoma was staying home last year and the Irish were the four-seed. (Stanford solved that for all of us.) But it is fair to say that this schedule won’t likely earn as much recognition as maybe other seasons have.
4horsemenrideagain: Who is the one guy on defense that everyone else hates to get tackled by? Who is the one guy on offense that everyone else hates to have to tackle?
Both candidates for this award are off of last year’s roster, as the team usually agreed that a hit from Elijah Shumate was the worst part of practice and trying to stop C.J. Prosise was one of the hardest jobs they’d face.
If I were assigning these for the 2016 team, I’ll say Nyles Morgan on defense and Josh Adams on offense. Neither seem like guys I want to tackle.
dudeacow: What do you think of the possibility of Nyles Morgan being the sack leader for the defense? BVG rushed Schmidt a whole lot, but was ineffective due to his physical traits. Morgan is fast, big, and strong.
I’m not sure if he’ll be the sack leader. But I do think he’ll get home more often than Joe did, who hit the quarterback plenty but couldn’t quite seal the deal with a sack. That’s not necessarily an indictment on Joe’s physical traits (though playing with a bum shoulder all year didn’t help), but Nyles has shown an uncanny knack for wreaking havoc in his limited playing opportunities—so I do expect a few sacks from him.
Replacing Schmidt, All-American Jaylon Smith and Jarrett Grace won’t be easy. But I’m excited to see what Notre Dame’s linebacking corps looks like in 2016. A starting lineup of Morgan, James Onwualu and either Te’von Coney or Greer Martini is a pretty good looking group, especially from an athletic standpoint.
jerseyshorendfan: Keith, would you call the 2016 campaign more of a rebuilding year or are we “reloading” to the point that we may be in the hunt for the Final four? What, in your opinion, is going to be the Achilles heel of both the offensive and defensive units this year?
I’m 100 percent on the reload train. I don’t think there’s a rebuild left in this program, especially with the solid groundwork laid at quarterback and the strength in the trenches. Is it perfect? No. I think this staff is understanding that when Notre Dame has great players, they’re susceptible to leaving for the NFL just like other programs. Expect the staff to adjust how they recruit (and manage their roster) after losing guys like Will Fuller, Ronnie Stanley and Jaylon Smith without finishing their eligibility.
I have a hard time finding an achilles heel on the offense. This group is going to be loaded. If there was an undoing, I’d say it could be the right side of the offensive line. I’m also interested to see how this receiving corps plays without an established No. 1 receiver. Irish fans got pretty spoiled watching major production from Michael Floyd, TJ Jones and then Will Fuller. Is Torii Hunter that guy? Spring gives us hints. But we certainly haven’t seen it. The last factor on offense to consider is the quarterback position. The personnel won’t be the problem, but rather the balancing act of keeping everybody happy and united is one that will have a low margin for error.
Defensively, I’m watching the secondary. Getting a better performance from the back end is key. Funny enough, I could make an equally compelling argument that we should be worried about the defensive line— or the linebackers. So maybe it’s best to say that the relative youth of the unit is the achilles’ heel, especially considering all the concern about Brian VanGorder’s scheme.
bostonjan: Keith…..any word about ND doing a Showtime like series for this season? That show was very enjoyable, and I hope a similar series is planned. I realize that there is the weekly “Inside the Irish” program, but I would like more.
I’m sure Showtime would like to return to South Bend, but it’s not happening. That was a one-year experiment for the football program and I think both parties got exactly what they wanted out of it.
The series is likely continue with another program—and it’ll be a show I watch whether it’s Notre Dame or not. I found the inside look fascinating and I think it served the purpose Brian Kelly and Jack Swarbrick hoped it would, offering total transparency and a clear look at a program that’s taken plenty of shots in the past—not all of them fair.
The non-stop nature of that series and the fact that a small army of cameras and producers were following that team for the better part of five months is really, really taxing. That took some significant getting used to and not all players (or coaches) liked it.
And Jan, an “Inside the Irish” program? Did you just book me a weekly TV show? If so, let me know where the commission check should go—I’ll have my people get in touch with your people.
jerseyirish10: Keith, with news that Corey Robinson was out again for a concussion and is being evaluated Tuesday, how surprised would you be to see him announce he is giving up football? He clearly has a lot of outside interests, is a bright kid, and maybe just sees the writing on the wall that football isn’t his path anymore.
I wouldn’t be surprised at all. Brain injuries are scary. Especially for guys who like to use their brain.
Robinson certainly has lofty goals for life outside of football and everybody on campus—coaches, professors and administrators—want to see that he makes the best decision for him. That said, I think what Kelly said last week about Robinson wanting to return to the team is true. But he needs to get his concussion cleared up before doing anything else, and spring practice isn’t all that important for a guy with a lot of reps in the program.
(Worth reading: Former Stanford linebacker A.J. Tarpley wrote about retiring from the NFL after suffering a fourth concussion. You’ve got to think these stories will get more and more common.)