Chat transcript: Is there enough incentive for powers to continue to schedule Notre Dame?

Eric Hansen: Welcome to Notre Dame Football Live Chat, Late February Edition.

First, some quick programming notes:

► On July 1, Tyler James and I made the move to the On3 network and blueandgold.com and joined some amazing teammates. It’s proven to be a great move for us and, I believe, for our subscribers as well. And if you’re a potential first-time subscriber, we have a great deal — take a test drive for $1. With that, you get all of our premium content, plus all the value you get from a national team of writers and content creators, as well as access to every team site in the On3 network and a full year of The Athletic. Check it out at: https://www.on3.com/teams/notre-dame-fighting-irish/join/.

► If you missed the last episode of our aspiring-to-be-viral Notre Dame Football YouTube show, Football Never Sleeps, what are you doing with your life? Seriously, the show keeps its shelf life long after the live presentation, so you can catch up now or later on our YouTube channel.  We’ll be back next week, Monday at 7 p.m. ET, for another presentation of Football Never Sleeps with Tyler James co-hosting with me. And check out some great shows on the Blue & Gold YouTube channel as well, including the live Notre Dame Football Show, on Wednesday nights.

► The Third & Gold Podcast is available at all places where you find podcasts, as well as our YouTube Channel. On our most recent episode, we caught up with recruiting analyst Tom Lemming of the Prep Football Report. The next episode will drop Friday with special guest Pete Nakos from On3.

As far as this week’s chat …

Please include your name and hometown along with your question(s).

Here are the rules:

Only the no bare feet and no spitting rules will be strictly enforced.

Off we go …

Marie from Atlanta: Hi Eric, I hope you’re having a great week and surviving the return of the cold. Can you give your thoughts on the three quarterbacks ND  is recruiting in the 2027 class. Which one do you like the best and why? Are you at all  concerned that some of the upcoming home and home series for example against Texas and Alabama might be dropped by Texas and Alabama in order to soften  their schedules? If that becomes a pattern, do you think that will force Notre Dame to join a conference? Do you see the playoff committee developing a system similar to the NCAA basketball committee with its one through four quadrants in which wins from quadrant one count more and losses from quadrant three and four would be more detrimental, as a way to  encourage teams to continue to schedule tough and continue to schedule Marquee matchups? With the first spring practice just around the corner, what three things will you be looking at the most at the first practice that you are able to attend? As always thanks for hosting the chat!

Eric Hansen: Hi Marie, thanks for holding it under the forbidden 17 parts but bringing quality to the quantity. Let’s start with the scheduling question. I think this goes beyond Notre Dame. There seemed to be a fairly popular takeaway from the last playoff that it doesn’t pay to play stiff outside competition if you’re a Power Conference team. Texas, in particular, was vocal about it. Why play Ohio State, they felt, when you can schedule Ohio and have two losses instead of three and still make the playoff? To me, it’s a flawed argument, but college football’s leaders and the playoff committee haven’t definitively incentivized the tougher schedules in the 12-team format.

To me, as an AP voter, Texas’ 14-7 loss actually helped the Longhorns in my perception of them. And if Miami doesn’t play and beat ND, they don’t make the playoff. Period. Texas didn’t miss the playoff because of the Ohio State loss. It missed it because it lost to a bad Florida team, was not competitive at all with Georgia and struggled to beat mediocre Miss St. and Kentucky teams. But then you saw a very good IU team win the title with a non-conference lineup of Old Dominion, Kennesaw State and Indiana State.

And Texas Tech got a bye and a high seed playing a non-con schedule of Arkansas Pine-Bluff, Kent State and Oregon State. So if you’re Texas Tech, why play Oregon (which they did in the playoff and got drubbed), when you can play Oregon State? So again, I see this as more of a college football problem than a specific Notre Dame problem. And I like that you suggested a way to maybe fix it, but I don’t like the Quadrant thing for football or basketball.

OK, to keep the chat moving, I need to go quick on the other topics in this. Having spoken recently with longtime recruiting analyst Tom Lemming, I like Champ Monds from Vero Beach (Fla.) High the best, based on my conversations with Lemming. He has seen all of them in person and feels like Monds could be an All-American at the college level. At the first practice, which won’t be in pads and won’t have contact, you’re really looking at speed and size of the players, how they move, just very basic first impressions and yet sometimes those can be very telling.

Jack from Strongsville, Ohio: Hi Eric. If you are Marcus Freeman what is your biggest concern heading into the upcoming season? Mine would be keeping CJ Carr injury free. Thanks as always for your great work.

Eric Hansen: Hey Jack, thank you. Yeah, I think keeping CJ Carr injury-free would top my list too. And getting back all the key pieces on the offensive line and keeping them healthy would be huge too. Beyond health-related issues, it’s getting all the new defensive coaches on the same page (which I expect) and finding the right personnel to create a pass rush without having to rely so heavily on blitzing (which I think is possible).

Don in Scottsdale, Ariz.: Eric, Hope all is well with you.  In 5 words or less for each can you share your thoughts on the new coaches?  Thanks, and keep the off-season stuff coming!!!!!

Eric Hansen: Don! I’d say this is like a haiku, but I’d probably get made fun of by people who actually know what haiku is, and I only have a vague idea. But I will play along:

Charlie Partridge: Old school, new ideas.
Aaron Henry: High energy, not shy.
Brian Jean-Mary: I meet him next week.

John from Elkhorn, Neb.: Hi Eric  – I remember reading somewhere that Tommy Zbikowski would someday like to return to ND in a coaching capacity. Was he anywhere on their radar for the latest openings?  How do you think he would fit within the current culture? Thanks!

Eric Hansen: Hi John. It certainly was a priority at one time for Tommy Zbikowski and might be in the future. Currently, he is back in Chicago as the head coach at St. Patrick High School. No. He was not on the radar for the opening. As much fun as it would be to have Zibby on the staff and as bright of a coaching future as he appears to have, he is not as seasoned as the coaches Marcus Freeman hired in this cycle. So the timing isn’t right. I think he would fit well in the current college culture, because he understands the economics part of it but he’s also old school when it comes to values, and I think he would blend that well.

Len from the Jersey Shore: Hello Eric!!!!!!!!!!!!!!    I believe Charlie Partridge will be a great asset to the D-line.  Any guesses to any changes he will bring to use of  players? As an example  could Bryce Young become an inside pass rusher on certain downs?

Eric Hansen: Hi Len. Oops. LEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There we go. You’re right. It would be a guess at this point, because he doesn’t even know. Spring will be a big time of experimenting and trying new things and getting to know his personnel well. New defensive line coach Charlie Partridge  intentionally didn’t overinvest in watching old film, because he wants his impressions to be fresh and be his own. Because of his familiarity with Chris Ash’s system and his comfort in pushing back and collaborating both, yes I could see some new wrinkles as you suggested, like maybe Bryce Young inside on passing downs. I’ll be able to give you a much better answer say early April once he’s messed around with some different concepts.

Tom F from Kennesaw, Ga.: Hi Eric, forget the other message. Sorry.  Here are my questions: 1) Can you see Shular, Johnson and Talich all on the field at the same time in some situations?? 2) Potential kick-off returner: Tae Johnson, Dallas Golden, speedy frosh WR. Your thought. 3) Monroe Freeling of UGA is a projected 1st round draft choice. ND ran circles around him in ’24-25. What is your take on that??  Were our guys that good? 4) Lots of talk about the incoming DL transfers but what kind of season do you think Elijah Hughes will have this year??  He seemed to come on late last season so some positive vibes for ’26??!!!?? Thanks for keeping the Chats going, of course it is probably tough for you to get around with all the snow. Go Irish!!!!!

Eric Hansen: Hi Tom. It is forgotten! 1) Sure there may be a dime package when you see those three … or even Joey O’Brien with Adon Shuler and Tae Johnson. Or Ethan Long. 2) I think Marty Biagi will cast a wide net and usually does. I like Golden more on punt returns, but maybe this would work. Ayden Pouncey, Aneyas Williams, one of the freshman RBs, Mylan Graham. Those are some names that come to mind for me. If I had to be, I’d bet on Aneyas. 3) I haven’t studied Monroe Freeling a lot, but I know ND tried to recruit him. From what I’ve read, scouts love his traits and feel like his best football is ahead of him.

4) I think Elijah Hughes will keep developing and will be a strong rotation player. Right now, I think the clear top four on the interior of the defensive line are Jason Onye, Francis Brewu, Tionne Gray and Hughes. Wildest of wild cards is Christopher Burgess Jr.

Jeremy from Goshen, Ind.: HI Eric!!!! Happy Thursday!! today is not throwback thursday.. looking into your crystal ball for the season what the surprises you are predicting that few see coming? for example, I don’t think anyone predicted that the 2025 defense would struggle early but it did. What do you think?

Eric Hansen: Jeremy!!! I think I might need a beer rather than my perfectly brewed coffee from my Keurig machine to be creative enough to come up with a good answer here. Not sure how shocking, but let me make some bold, non-alcohol-enhanced predictions: 1) Mylan Graham will shock people with how hard he is to cover.  2) ND’s offensive line IF fully healthy will be a finalist for the Joe Moore Award and maybe even win it. 3) Teddy Jarrard will be ND’s No. 2 QB by October. 4) No one will be bitching about the kickers this year.

Ryan from Frankfort, Ill.: Good afternoon Eric who will be the number one tight end in the spring i know i asked in a past chat i think it should be copper Flanagan it will be nice to see him back on the field also Ty Washington and James Flanagan and the upcoming freshman GO IRISH ☘️☘️🏈🏈

Eric Hansen: Hi Ryan. I think the pecking order will look different at the start of the season than it will at the end of spring, because Ian Premer isn’t here yet and this is a position group where quite a bit of growth and development is expected. At the end of spring, I’d say the order would be James Flanigan, Cooper Flanagan and Ty Washington. On Sept. 5 in Green Bay, I think 1-2 stay the same with Ian Premer as No. 3. Strong, deep group.

2581/Tony from Lexington, Ky., by way of Somerset, Pa., also the hometown of ND baseball coach Shawn Stiffler – Howdy howdy, Eric !!! At this time next week, we will be only 6 months out from college football season ! I hope that you can get some rest before then ,,, ! But as we are in the doldrums of the football off-season, I have three non-ND football questions: (1) women’s basketball – what are the odds that Cass Prosper will return for another year at ND? (she could be the key to a major run next season); (2) NFL – what are the odds that Carson Towt will get signed as a free agent by an NFL team (did he play high school football)?; and (3) ND baseball – when do you think that Brandon Logan will finally see the field for ND? The possessor of such important answers will be rewarded with Coronas with lime !!! 🍻

Eric Hansen: Tony! What is the concept of “rest” of which you speak? 😎 I will accept your non-football questions, because a) I had hoped to do a WBB chat, but the football interest hasn’t ebbed enough for me to fit that in. b) There appears to be a tempting bribe involved. … 1) If Hannah Hidalgo comes back, I think it swings Cass Prosper’s odds of returning to maybe just a tad better than 50-50. I think she could really help herself and a pro career with another year, an option she gleaned with a medical redshirt. She is going to go through the senior day stuff tonight, but that is not a clear indicator of intention.2) I think the odds are good that Carson Towt signs, not so good that he sticks, at least not on an active roster. He would be a good gamble as a practice squad player perhaps. Can’t find any record that he played football in high school, when he was 6-6 and 185.

3) I don’t think I’m going to be able to give you a definitive enough answer here to earn the Coronas. As soon as Brandon Logan is healthy enough, he was expected to rotate in. The hope was that he could do that during the first couple of weeks of the season. If they could get that home game in next Tuesday, that would be my guess. But I don’t think the weather will cooperate. So, either the Duke series the first full weekend in March or the March 10 date against Queens in Charlotte, N.C.

Pete from Erie, Pa.: Hellooo Eric! I don’t really have a question, pretty much “we’ll see” covers things, just wanted to say hell-O. Still read everything of course. Love the Chats! Y’all are the best! I’m still not over ’93 and now add 2025. When people ask me I’ve been saying “ND hasn’t won a title since ’93” with a grin. Just claim it right? Just tell them, they’ll believe you. If I live long enough it’ll become “since 2025”. I guess I could ask you how you got over it but nothing works for me. I’m inconsolable. They got screwed and I’m sure they would’ve won. Love AND Price will never come again. Heck just Love was generational. My focus these coming months will be on the O-line/RB. The line has been just OK recently and it’s not good enough. Aneyas et al will hopefully take the baton but I doubt you see another Love let alone w/Price helping him. No matter how great Carr is, they still have to run the damn ball and dominate the trenches. Need a little luck for health and hope we get the line right this time. Go Irish!

Eric Hansen: Pete!!!!!! Hello. That was so perfectly peppered with compliments that it kept you from venturing into the dreaded and forbidden manifesto territory. And I think there’s something I can offer. First, thanks for the hype. Second, I think you might be able to console yourself that this team is going to be really fun to watch and probably has the best chance at winning a title — if everyone stays healthy at the key spots — since the Lou Holtz Era.

Dave Porter from Toms River, N.J.: Hi Eric does the NC drought end for the Irish this year?

Eric Hansen: Hi Dave. Not ready to predict that yet for Notre Dame or any other team. I need to see some spring practices first. So, then it can be an educated guess, rather than just throwing a dart with a blindfold on.

Manny from San Pedro, Calif.: Eric!!!!!!!! With USC opting to play San Jose State.  Is the committee going to finally penalize teams who don’t schedule power for teams in a nonconference  Notre Dame gets made fun of but they played 10 powerful teams.

Eric Hansen: Manny!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This ties in a big with Marie’s question. It felt like in 2024, there was more emphasis on schedule strength across the board than there was in 2025. Not only is overall strength of schedule key in how teams are perceived but November strength, and that Miami game being in November, win or lose, is going to help the Irish. The other problem, Manny, is that even conference schedules aren’t uniform anymore because of how big the conferences are. So you really have to look at all the opponents before judging a schedule of a Power 4 team.

Adam from Dayton, Ohio: Eric, Thank you as always for the awesome chats, you are more appreciated than you know! 1.) Very surprised to see Jeremiyah Love is running the 40 with his 1st round status cemented. Are expectations from his camp to run somewhere in the 4.3s? 2.) If you had a 40 yard dash race between the all-time ND speedsters, who ya got winning? I think I have Allen Rossum edging Rocket. Will Fuller right behind them. 3.) What do you think we will see with the offensive line (lineup) and is what are the Jagusah expectations. 4.) What are you most interested in seeing/hearing about during spring ball?

Eric Hansen: Adam, thank you! to your questions … 1) Expectations in my camp is that yes it would be in the 4.3s. My guess is 4.37. It would be cool to see what his time is in the 100 meters these days. His best in high school was 10.54 seconds and I am confident he is faster now. 2) Rocket Ismail, Period. I have only archived 40 times in combines/pro days since 2010. The three fastest in that time period are: Will Fuller 4.32, Nick McCloud 4.37 and Darrin Walls 4.39.

3. I’m going to stick with the lineup I’ve been predicting for a while from RT to LT — Guerby Lambert, Anthonie Knapp, Ashton Craig, Will Black, Charles Jagusah. As far as Jagusah, we’re going to get a health update on him and everyone else from head trainer Rob Hunt on March 18. 4.) Wide receiver room evolution, pass rush evolution, stretching drills. Just kidding about the stretching drills of course, but we will see that the most.

JJ from Bushwood CC (New Jersey): Ahoy Eric! I was intrigued by Aaron Henry’s comments on the defensive backfield he inherited for 2026, and how they combine athleticism, intelligence, and maturity. Coaches usually aren’t that complimentary, although it’s well deserved praise for those guys. How good can they be this year?

Eric Hansen: JJ, I’m glad you could take a break from hanging out on the Flying Wasp to join us! If ND can find a strong option or two at nickel, I think this will be the best defensive backfield in the nation.

Matt from Austin: Hi Eric. I hope you are starting to thaw out! I’m still waiting on a response from Keurig regarding the unexplained delay in your NIL payments and will update when I hear from them! I thought the comments from incoming OSU transfer Mylan Graham were very interesting. I wonder how much discussion they raised around the program regarding in person class attendance and whether the coaching staff and the administration actually use this requirement as a positive when talking to prospective student athletes? It would seem that the recruits who value education would see this as a way to immerse themselves into the university experience as a whole. Can you share your insights and thoughts on the matter? Thank you Eric for all of your hard work!!!

Eric Hansen: Hi Matt. Intermittent thawing here! An NIL deal with Keurig would be amazing, but I’m so smitten with that product anyway, they know I won’t bail on them. … I don’t think that response necessarily caught them off guard, online classes vs. in-person classes. I think they know the value of that and sold it, and yet not everyone is going to buy into that … and that’s where fit comes into the recruiting process. But my thought is that it’s an important part of the culture at Notre Dame that still makes this feel like college football and less like NFL Lite. .. and thanks for the compliment!

Stephen from New Orleans: Why does it seem to be that Pete Bevacqua is incapable of walking and chewing gum? The football program is in good shape, but he can’t seem to care at all about the basketball, hockey, or baseball/softball teams.

Eric Hansen: Hi Stephen. I don’t think Pete Bevacqua doesn’t care about them. Sometimes the fixes aren’t just about changing coaches. I would say of the programs you mentioned men’s basketball is the one I’m most curious in hearing his thoughts about. Beyond coaching changes, what would your fixes be for the programs you named?

Patrick from Fort Wayne, Ind.: Good afternoon, Eric. I have read a couple of stories about Keon Keeley’s love of Notre Dame that goes back to his recruit visits while in high school. He says he feels at home at ND.  Why did he flip his commitment and go to Alabama?  I smell money as the real love of choice of college institutions and take his fawning patter with a grain of salt.

Eric Hansen: In talking to those who followed his recruitment way more closely than I did, I think he was listening to the wrong people and shifted his priorities. I like the fact that Keon Keeley owned everything in his interview recently and didn’t come off as guarded. He was very open. He’s grown up a lot and learned a lot.

Mike from Alexandria Old Town, Virginia. Thank you Eric for your always highly interesting, informative and insightful chats. If a top priority of ND is to be a perennial candidate for the CFP, is an alignment with the ACC is

Eric Hansen: Hi Mike. This is harder than a college essay test, because I have to guess at the last part of the question, but I’m game. If you’re asking if an alignment with the ACC in its current form is the right move, it is. Contractually and pragmatically, and yet I think Notre Dame owes it to itself to see if there’s another partial affiliation that might work better if it can jump through all the legal hoops to get there. The ACC ND joined in 2014 is not the ACC of 2026. And yet for the time being, it is a Power conference that will schedule games with ND in October and November, where so many others seem hesitant to do so.

Damian Becker from Lynbrook, N.Y.: ND football was highly successful under Brian Kelly’s leadership. Yet, for the duration of his tenure it seemed so much further away from winning a national championship than it is now under Marcus Freeman. And for the most part, recruiting the elite talent needed to be a championship contender is just as challenging now as it was then.Aside from the character traits of both head coaches, what are the main factors that make the ND football program of today much better than the ND football program of the Kelly years?

Eric Hansen: Damian. I love the question. I think it’s a tough fit for this live chat program, because the answer is so expansive and layered. So let me give you the shallow, incomplete version. In fairness to Brian Kelly, he took over a Notre Dame program that needed more repair work than the one Marcus Freeman took over. But here are some things Marcus is getting right that have the Irish closer to winning a title than say if BK had stayed:

1) I think Marcus Freeman is more adaptable to and embraces the seismic changes in college football better than Brian Kelly did at LSU and would have done at ND. 2) Freeman is better at attracting elite QB talent and having the coaches to develop that talent. 3) Freeman is more consistent in his assistant coaching hires. Kelly did have some really good ones … and some real duds too. 4) Freeman is present every day in the program. He knows everyone’s name. His office door is open. He shows he cares, consistently, about them beyond football. His authenticity goes a long way.

If Brian Kelly comes back to college coaching, he needs to do what he did after the 2016 season and question everything and make changes. That was one of the more remarkable things I’ve covered in the four decades plus I’ve covered college football. He is a good coach. But he needs to be a better version of himself than what he was at LSU.

Stephen from New Orleans: I’d say my changes would be ensuring those programs have sufficient analysts to help supplement the assistant and head coaches for all of them; maybe get hockey sufficient NIL to use in the portal; for baseball/softball probably get them a dedicated practice facility to work on hitting in the cold seasons. Obviously, you can’t wave a magic wand but I think those things have to be priorities/goals for Pete B to do.

Eric Hansen: Stephen. I think those are reasonable requests.  The falloff in hockey is staggering. I wish Pete B were more accessible at more times of the year to talk about this stuff. It’s really good food for thought. I appreciate your volley back.

Tom F from Kennesaw, Ga.: Eric, it might be too late to respond, but ND’s commitment to attending classes goes hand in hand with the overall culture of the University.  Lifelong friendships are made in the classroom as well as in the locker room.  Not having Athletic Dorms is another factor to build friendships among the entire student body.  This overall social development for students attending ND cannot be overlooked.  I have experienced it and it is probably one of the biggest reasons that ND is often labeled as a “special place”.  In your interaction with student athletes do you see that same experience in the way they conduct themselves????  See, there was a question hidden in there somewhere.  Go Irish!!!!

Eric Hansen: Thanks for chiming in, Tom.

Ed from Sayville, N.Y.: Hey Eric. Thanks for Chilling and chatting with us once again. How do you think the most successful of the many legendary coaches in Irish football history (Ara, Lou, Leahy, Rockne) would respond to this question? Q- Are the challenges that Marcus Freeman faces in today’s college football environment significantly greater, somewhat greater or better able to be managed given the resources available? Thanks.

Eric Hansen: Ed. You guys are getting me with these deep philosophical questions that are really fun but hard to condense. The only one we could actually ask without a Ouija board is Lou. And we had him on the podcast in the fall, and I feel comfortable enough with projecting his answer that the challenges are significantly greater. And yet the one thing Marcus Freeman had that the others might not have had consistently is backing from the ND administration, which Marcus had to work hard for.

I’m least confident in how Leahy would answer this. He had to deal with World War II and all that entailed, including serving himself. Rockne was an innovator and kind of a rebel by nature. Ara could coach his butt off in any era, but would he have wanted to in this environment. So, I don’t think those legends would answer the question the same, but I also think they’d all think Marcus Freeman is pretty special.

Jeremy from Goshen, Ind.: What were your takeaways from the freshman interviews this week?

Eric Hansen: Hi Jeremy. I haven’t made it through all of them yet. Or even half of them, but I will. The two guys I spent my time with were Devin Fitzgerald and Preston Fryzel. Very impressed with the maturity of both of them. I’m not sure significant playing time is in the cards for either one of them this year, but I expect both of them to be factors at some point. Fitzgerald is a happy guy with a great attitude and a very mature way of approaching the game and making himself better.

Jeremy from Goshen, Ind.: Any idea who the notre dame NBC broadcast team will be in 2026? My favorite year was when we had Mike Tirico and Tony Dungy. but that likely won’t be happening ever again.

Eric Hansen: Jeremy, since I don’t watch the home games on TV, that kind of moves to the back burner for me, but I will ask around for the future.

Pete from Erie, Pa.: Eric!!!!!!!! Yeah but then they should be going for 2 in a row! I also hope they keep their heads right. Too much hype. Too many handing it to them before they do anything. I got a couple for ya. Does Towt have any football eligibility? I would think no but he’s big, strong, fast, can jump, he might be unstoppable in the right spots and he’ll be committed. He has little future in hoops. I could see him great jumping to block kicks, getting position to catch passes and anywhere you need a battering ram on either side of the ball! Also, ND has the 2nd longest winning streak in the country at 10? Correct? Of course Indiana 16-0 (should’ve been 15-1). Am I missing something?

Eric Hansen: Pete!!!!! To your questions, I don’t think there’s any way without a good lawyer. This is Tout’s seventh year in college. So while he hasn’t used any of those for football, I think his NCAA clock is out. You are correct on the nation’s two longest winning streaks.Eric Hansen: OK, that’s going to do it for today. Thanks for all the great questions. We’ll be back to do it all over again next Thursday at noon ET.