Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1297579
12 OCT. 17, 2020 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME UNDER THE DOME THEY SAID IT THEY SAID IT "One of my best friend's family is all Notre Dame. A lot of people are in my ear saying, 'How could you pass up the opportunity to be a quarterback at Notre Dame?' I'm truly blessed for the opportunity, but I want to take it one step at a time and get out to South Bend and a couple other schools and make the right decision. "I've looked at their quarterback pedigree, how they recruit, the guys they bring in and their pipeline to the NFL. I've uncovered more of the great- ness Notre Dame has with the people they've put in the NFL and players they've developed." — Oradell (N.J.) Bergen Catholic 2022 quarterback and Notre Dame target STEVEN ANGELI "To be clear, Notre Dame is not a cheater, but in terms of people not quickly welcoming them in because of their lack of a desire to be a part of [the ACC] until they had to, those feelings are very real. I would say they put it front and center with everything else because — and this is probably the most diplomatic answer but some sincerity to it as well — it gives them an opportunity to say, 'Hey, in this time look at how we were able to adjust.' "Look at how we were able to deliver sports to our fan base, who so much love Notre Dame and its tradition of college football on Saturdays. Not only were we able to give that to you, we were able to thrive. At the end of the road, we were able to win something substantial.'"— Jordan Cornette, the host of the ACC Network's The Huddle and a former Notre Dame men's basketball player, on the possibility of the Fighting Irish winning an ACC football championship (The Athletic) "Because it's more physical, and it allows your offensive line to be physical together. Whereas pin and pull, you're oftentimes dependent on tight ends that have to block and prevent penetration. Penetration is the Kryptonite for any run game anywhere on the field, so pin and pulls are great if you can outflank a defense. "But if you have a quick defensive linemen who can tell that his guard or tackle is pulling, or a tight end that doesn't get his head across and prevent penetration, then the play is pretty much blown up before it can even get started. I'll probably get crushed for this by people in the O-line community, but pin and pull is what you do if you can't block straight up." — Former Fighting Irish consensus All-American offensive tackle Aaron Taylor on why he prefers the outside zone, which Brian Kelly said the Notre Dame offensive will run more of this season (The South Bend Tribune) "I don't know that you ever try to break it down and say these guys are going to get these carries when we're dealing with five. They do have a sense of complementing each other well at different times in the game. We're committed to running the ball with a physicality, but also we need guys who can catch the ball out of the backfield. I think having that versatile running attack has allowed us to go deep on the running back side. "We're committed to all of those guys and expect to see them all touch the football. But I believe the games will still dictate how those carries will pan out. We were in a pretty clean situation against South Florida where they were able to get a lot of carries." — Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly on dividing carries between the five scholarship running backs currently on the roster OF THE WEEK ➤"College Football's highest-graded Offensive Lines (power five): 1. Notre Dame - 96.9 2. Georgia - 80.9 3. Clemson - 76.1 4. VA Tech - 76.0 5. Louisville - 76.0" — The official account of PFF College (@PFF_College) Oct. 7 PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM Irish student-athletes excelling on the field and in the classroom Robert Hainsey — Football The senior from Pitts- burgh is one of 199 semi- finalists for the William V. Campbell Trophy, which is given to the nation's best senior scholar-athlete. All semifinalists must be in their final year of eligibil- ity and have at least a 3.2 GPA. Hainsey is in his third full year as Notre Dame's starting right tackle and his second as a team captain. Jack Lynn — Soccer The junior forward from St. Louis provided Notre Dame's lone goal in a 2-1 loss to Louisville on Oct. 3, which dropped the Irish to 1-2 overall and 0-1 in the ACC. The goal was a header that came in the 32nd minute off a cross from senior Aiden McFadden and was Lynn's first of the season. Lynn led the Irish with 10 markers, includ- ing four game-winners, and 21 points in 2019. Caroline Meuth — Volleyball The sophomore outside hitter from San Antonio had a combined 32 kills in sixth-ranked Notre Dame's wins over No. 5 Syracuse on Oct. 2 and Oct. 3. In the Oct. 2 match, Meuth had a 17-kill, 15- dig double-double to help the Irish win in four sets. The next day, she posted seven kills in the first set as Notre Dame (3-0, 3-0 ACC) swept the Orange. Meuth also combined for nine blocks over the two matches. Kiki Van Zanten — Soccer The sophomore from Buffalo Grove, Ill., tallied three of the Fighting Irish's four goals in a pair of 2-0 wins over Boston College Oct. 1 and Syracuse on Oct. 4. Van Zanten had a team- high six goals on nine shots on goal through four contests this season, and has helped Notre Dame (3-1, 3-1 ACC) win three straight matches. TOP TOP OF THE CLASS OF THE CLASS