Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1402756
12 PRESEASON 2021 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME THEY SAID IT THEY SAID IT "Spindler is the son of Marc Spindler, a for- mer NFL defensive lineman, and is living up to the expectations of a Midwest offensive line- man whose dad went pro. Spindler is tough and hard-working, and has already started making some noise at Notre Dame. It's too early to tell how quickly he will see the field, but the expectation is that he won't be on the sidelines for long." — ESPN writer Tom VanHaaren on ranking Notre Dame freshman offensive guard Rocco Spindler No. 49 on his list of college football's top 50 newcomers in 2021 "They're basically doing the same thing Alabama, Clemson and Ohio State are doing — they're picking and choosing the right guys for them. They're beating Stanford for a lot of these guys. Kids go out to Notre Dame and see something very special and something they can't experience on the West Coast. And they're drawn to that. "The history, tradition, Touchdown Jesus and academics, and then taking a team to the College Football Playoff. Those things fit Merriweather and Wil- liams, and other guys they've come out and gotten in years past." — Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney on Notre Dame's recruit- ing efforts, after the Irish landed 2022 pledges from standout West Coast wide receivers Tobias Merriweather and CJ Williams within a five-day span "Ian Book was a pretty underrated quarterback last year, and the Irish will likely replace him with Wisconsin transfer Jack Coan. Can he thrive at the high- est level having to air it out behind an offensive line that lost almost 80 percent of its starts? Yes, Notre Dame has a stud running back tandem in sophomores Kyren Williams and Chris Tyree, and yes, the Irish added a really solid interior offensive lineman in Cain Madden from Marshall. But is this program built for consecutive runs to the College Football Playoff? That's a lot to put on Brian Kelly, and a start outside of the top 10 seems like a more appropriate place to begin." — The Athletic's Ari Wasserman on including No. 7 Notre Dame among his overrated teams following the release of the preseason coaches' poll, along with No. 1 Alabama, No. 4 Ohio State and No. 9 North Carolina (No. 5 Georgia, No. 13 LSU, No. 19 Texas, and unranked Michigan and ULCA were all considered underrated) "Yeah, I mean, I think it's great. … I hope they have a great season. But when we play them, we're gonna be ready to go. For us, we've just got to keep it week by week. For us, it's just another game. Can't get too juiced up for it." — Wisconsin quarterback Graham Mertz on his former teammate Jack Coan finding a new home at Notre Dame; the Irish and Badgers will face each other Sept. 25 in Chicago "Now that Texas and Oklahoma are poised to join the SEC, adding to that league's already daunting roster, the pres- sure for the ACC to lure the Fighting Irish is greater than ever. The new-look SEC, which shares a footprint with the ACC, could potentially earn double the ACC's per-school distribution — the ACC distributed $32.3 million per team last year while the SEC distributed $43.7 million per team, but the SEC will earn more with a new ESPN contract, so with the addition of Texas and Oklahoma, there's a thought that new money could exceed $70 million down the road. "Already as a league, the SEC had $721 million in revenue to the ACC's $497.2 million. Money aside, the allure of a mega-conference just a tier behind the NFL would give the SEC a massive recruiting advantage over its neighbor, too. Notre Dame is a lifeline. 'Notre Dame adds real value,' one administrator said. 'They're the only big prize out there.'" — ESPN staff writer David M. Hale in a feature about Notre Dame and college football realignment "Indiana is definitely on the rise, but it's still light years away from contend- ing with Notre Dame as the king of the Hoosier State. The Fighting Irish have made the College Football Playoff twice since its inception and even knocked off Clemson last season — their lone campaign as a member of the ACC in football. Notre Dame is one of the most polarizing teams in the sport, but there's no doubt that it, at the very least, is consistently one of the better teams in America." — CBS Sports writer Barrett Sallee on tabbing Notre Dame as the best football program in the state of Indiana entering the 2021 season PHOTO BY CLAYTON SAYFIE OF THE WEEK ➤ "Hey now, hey now, this is what dreams are made of. Now everything's technicolor because @ByGollyMolly12 winning Olympic marathon bronze is the feel-good story of the week. #OlympiansMadeHere #GoIrish" — The Fighting Irish's official account (@FightingIrish) on Aug. 9 PHOTOS COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS