Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1338415
www.BLUEANDGOLD.com MARCH 2021 11 UNDER THE DOME "There are so many people out there that like to take advantage of kids by using their names and their likeness, and the kids aren't aware of it. We thought that we should do what we needed to do to protect his name and his brand. Even if it were possible to be able to profit for their name and likeness, we have always thought about making sure that his name and brand were protected." — Yolanda Jackson, the mother of 2021 Notre Dame wide receiver signee Deion Colzie, on protecting her son's brand (Athens Banner Herald) "Hainsey was one of the most consistent pros- pects this week. He played with good hands and a firm base, taking snaps at guard and tackle. The team that picks him will be getting a very polished player. "It didn't go unnoticed that the Notre Dame guys worked after practice every single day, and I was told Hainsey's interviews with teams were outstanding." — NFL analyst Daniel Jeremiah on Robert Hainsey's performance during practice at the Senior Bowl (NFL.com) "I've been asked a lot about that. Top five to us – we weren't quoting what [Rivals] considers to be top five. We have our own way of determining top five. I think four out of the last five years we've been top 10 per Rivals, 247 and ESPN — the way you guys put it together. "But we have another way because we have to factor other things into that. We were talking about how we factored in what we considered to be a top five recruiting class and that means get- ting quality talent — guys we put on the field and show that at the end of the year. "We were able to take the talent that we re- cruited and finished in the top five in the AP [poll] two out of the last three years. That's what we were really talking about relative to recruiting talent — the kind of talent that gets you the kind of teams necessary to finish in the top five as it relates to polls and things of that nature." — Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly (Rivals) THEY SAID IT THEY SAID IT "I've covered Brey from near and afar since 2007, and he's one of the easiest and best people I've dealt with in my career. I'm hardly the only person who thinks so. His resurrection of Notre Dame's pro- gram, with the crescendo of consecutive Elite Eights in 2015 and '16, is remarkable. Football sucks the oxygen out of every room in South Bend, all the time, which is a maddening dynamic to deal with. Nev- ertheless, Brey produced contenders in two all-time tough leagues: first the pre-breakup Big East and then the ACC. That was not, uh, easy to do. No men's coach has won more basketball games at Notre Dame, so there's legitimately a lot deposited in the vault here. "Before this season Brey told me he wanted to see what this group could do on a two-year run. Even though his contract runs through June 2025, and even though the Irish pursued and then landed two top 100-ish local recruits for the class of 2021, it sounded suspi- ciously like a coach wishing to hit one more crescendo before he hit Rehoboth Beach for good." — Brian Hamilton on head coach MIKE BREY and the state of Notre Dame men's basketball (The Athletic) Our life plan community for those over the age of 62, provides residents with exceptional personalized services, a secure atmosphere and carefree luxury lifestyle – while making it possible to ease into further healthcare levels as needs change throughout retirement years. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS OF THE MONTH ➤ "Most snaps played by OL in the NFL this season: 1. Notre Dame - 5.3k 2. Wisconsin - 5.2k 3. Ohio State - 4.8k 4. Georgia - 4.2k 5. Florida - 4.1k 6. LSU - 4.0k" — PFF College (@PFF_College) Jan. 22