SOUTH BEND - Notre Dame is nearing the midway point of its 2018 football training camp and following Thursday's practice veteran coach Brian Kelly felt pretty positive about how his student-athletes had performed through six camp practices thus far. "I think they have had accountability and expectations for themselves, more so than (the coaches) had for them," Kelly said. "They come to practice with a ...
OUTLOOK Doug Dinan has strung together seven consecutive winning seasons in leading the Carroll High School football program, but 2018 may provide one of his biggest coaching tasks since he took over the program in 2010. The Chargers have been decimated by both graduation and injury since falling to Snider in the 2017 IHSAA Class 6A Sectional, but Dinan isn’t allowing anyone surrounding the program to ...
SOUTH BEND – Scan the Notre Dame football depth chart at free safety and there is no shortage of talent at the top. Former Navy star Alohi Gilman brings incredibly high expectations to his first season in South Bend after sitting out last year following his transfer and then there is arguably THE most heralded freshman in the 2018 Fighting Irish recruiting class in Houston Griffith. “He knows what he ...
College athletics – most notably the sport of basketball - underwent their most sweeping alterations in some time Wednesday with the announcement by the NCAA’s Board of Governors and Division I Board of Directors of several rule changes in regards to recruiting, as well as student-athlete rights. The implementation of these changes was made in an effort to clean up unethical behavior on the part of ...
Alize’ Mack has allowed time – and opportunities – to slip through his fingers too many times in the past. The Notre Dame senior tight end has had the same occur with footballs, as well. However, it appears that with his college clock ticking precariously close to the end, Mack has finally begun to seize opportunities (and passes) instead of wasting them. “It’s his last year,” second-year ...
The Purdue Fort Wayne men’s basketball program is immersed in a 10-day study abroad opportunity in Italy in which the Mastodon coaches and student-athletes will discover a great deal of information regarding historic sites and locales. However, what won’t be a discovery to the Purdue Fort Wayne coaches will be the potential of sophomore center Cameron Benford. “He is very mobile,” veteran Purdue ...
“If I could plug right here, I hope that I can get him in my room full-time.” That request was made publicly by Notre Dame running backs coach Autry Denson during the spring as it pertained to then-cross-training athlete Jafar Armstrong. Veteran Fighting Irish coach Brian Kelly had moved the redshirt freshman from solely being a wide receiver to also giving him some work at running back throughout the ...
There are more things known than unknown regarding Indiana high school basketball sensation Trayce Jackson-Davis. This much is known: • He is a really talented basketball athlete, and • There are six universities that have the opportunity to have him within their program following his final season at Center Grove High School this year. The 2019 Indiana Mr. Basketball candidate narrowed his college ...
CULVER – Veteran Notre Dame football coach Brian Kelly was pleased with the mentality of his secondary following spring football and that belief hasn’t wavered as training camp is underway at Culver Academies. “It's a confident group,” Kelly said of his defense overall in the spring. “They run to the football. They are going to be attacking the football in the back end of the defense, which was ...
OUTLOOK Tim Mannigel is entering his ninth season in charge of the Concordia Lutheran High School football program and the Cadets have developed an identity during his tenure. Concordia almost always has a potent offense and of late, that offense has led to winning seasons. “It really is not about winning,” Mannigel told News-Sentinel.com, “but it is more fun. It’s not such a struggle.” Prior ...
The losses of significance are found all over the Notre Dame offense from a season ago. From the two behemoth offensive linemen (Quenton Nelson and Mike McGlinchey) that were taken near the absolute top of the 2018 NFL Draft to the perimeter (wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown) to the backfield beast (Josh Adams). The Irish offense in 2018 will have a lot to live up to. However, the positive news is the ...
CULVER - The annual tradition of opening training camp at Culver Academies continued for the Notre Dame football program Friday. The Fighting Irish will conduct five practices in Culver before returning to campus in South Bend on Wednesday. Coach Brian Kelly begins his ninth season leading the program and was pleased with the effort and stamina that his student-athletes put forth throughout the nearly ...
CULVER – Notre Dame football opened up its 2018 training camp Friday at idyllic Culver Academies with the Fighting Irish running drills just a long field goal from the soft waves lapping along the shores of beautiful Lake Maxinkuckee. At times throughout the nearly three-hour session, redshirt junior quarterback Brandon Wimbush looked as picture-perfect as his surroundings. “I thought that he did some ...
OUTLOOK Andy Thomas was still walking to his dorm room at Manchester University the last time Angola High School had an unbeaten season or won an IHSAA football sectional title. However, a quarter-century later, Thomas put himself (along with a number of very talented players) in Hornet lore by guiding his team last fall to a 12-1 record and a Northeast Corner Conference championship, as well as a victory in ...
The 2017 Notre Dame football program set a new mark for season rushing yards (3,503) last fall in large part, but not solely, due to a behemoth offensive line and a talented and powerful back (Josh Adams). The offensive line lost its two most critical pieces in Mike McGlinchey and Quenton Nelson, both of whom were first-round selections in the 2018 NFL Draft this spring, while Adams also turned pro. ...
SOUTH BEND – One of the advantages of enrolling a semester early for a college football player is that it allows that student-athlete to get a jump start in both his mental development, but his physical growth, as well. During the spring, veteran Notre Dame football coach Brian Kelly referred to Fighting Irish freshman Bo Bauer as a “tiger in the weight room,” and with good reason. The heralded ...
SOUTH BEND – If the old adage that an athlete is only as good as their last game is true, then Notre Dame quarterback Brandon Wimbush isn’t that dynamic. However, being benched in each of his last two games hasn’t dissuaded the committee for the coveted Maxwell Award (given to the nation’s top quarterback) from placing the Fighting Irish thrower (and runner) on the award’s “watch list.” “We ...
SOUTH BEND – For the curious Notre Dame football fans, who wondered whether they would catch a glimpse of the future this fall in Fighting Irish freshman quarterback Phil Jurkovec, Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly answered that question when he met with the media for his 2018 season-opening press conference Thursday. “I want to get them ready,” Kelly said of his incoming freshmen class. “I want to get ...
The performance of the Notre Dame offensive line garnered a lot of attention last season, as it earned the Joe Moore Award for being the top such unit in the entire country. However, there is no more tradition-rich position group within the Fighting Irish program than the tight ends. Notre Dame almost annually churns out professional athletes at the position, with Durham Smythe (Miami Dolphins) just being ...
The 2018 Notre Dame football season will officially get underway Friday at 10:20 a.m. as training camp opens at Culver Academies. The Fighting Irish bounced back in 2017 from a stunningly disappointing four-win campaign in 2016 and the expectations for another step forward hang over the program. Notre Dame finished 10-3 last season, which culminated in an impressive win over LSU in the Citrus Bowl. ...