Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com PRESEASON 2021 9 UNDER THE DOME 3 Notre Dame players appeared on Bruce Feldman's 2021 college football "Freaks" list. The Athletic writer had junior safety KYLE HAMILTON at No. 3, junior vyper Isaiah Foskey at No. 45 and sophomore running back Chris Tyree at No. 75. Notre Dame was one of six schools to place three players on the list, joining 2021 opponents Cincinnati and Wisconsin, along with Louisville, TCU and Washington. Feldman's criteria is subjective and simple: "showcase guys who generate buzz inside their programs by displaying the rare physical abilities that wow even those who observe gifted athletes every day." Only Alabama left tackle Evan Neal at No. 1 and Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson at No. 2 were listed ahead of Hamilton. "New defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman inherits quite a chess piece in Hamilton, who in his first two seasons in South Bend has 104 tackles, 5.5 TFLs, five in- terceptions and 17 passes defensed," Feldman noted. "His top-end GPS speed has improved from last year to 21 miles per hour. His verti- cal is 41-7 and his broad jump is 10-8." Feldman also cited Foskey's "terrific speed and length," plus noted that Tyree is "one of the fastest players in college football." 9 Was where The Athletic's Sam Vecenie tabbed Notre Dame women's bas- ketball head coach Niele Ivey's son Jaden, a rising sophomore guard at Purdue, in his initial 2022 NBA mock draft. "My top prospect among those re- turning to college hoops. Ivey had an absolutely spectacular close to last season," Vecenie wrote. "He averaged 16 points, four rebounds and two as- sists in his final 10 games, leading Pur- due down the stretch. He followed that up with an All-Tournament performance in the U19 World Cup as the lead guard of the gold medal-winning team. "More of a scorer than a distributor, Ivey has a terrific first step and lives in the paint. He has po- tential as a three-level scorer due to his ability to separate, but the key going forward will be proving that he can shoot from distance." 22 Notre Dame sports teams will offer free admission for all fans beginning in the 2021-22 season. The only exceptions will be basketball, football and hockey. "Having Notre Dame athletics accessible to our local community has always been a goal of ours to grow sport and develop young fans," associ- ate athletics director Brian Pracht said. "We feel that breaking down the cost barrier can increase participation in Olympic sports in the Michiana community and enhance the atmosphere for all participants. "The events fans have access to free of charge represent 19 of our team national champion- ships and 13 Olympians who have competed in this year's Olympic Games," Pracht added. "We can't wait to welcome our community to watch our world-class athletes." 32nd Was where Notre Dame's Jack Coan was slotted in Pro Football Focus' ranking of all 130 starting quarterbacks in the Football Bowl Subdivision heading into the 2021 season. "Coan will take over as the Fighting Irish's starting quarterback after serving as Wisconsin's starter when last healthy in 2019," PFF noted. "That year, Coan earned a decent 77.0 passing grade but made more turnover-worthy plays than big-time throws. "That perfectly encapsulates the kind of passer he is: He can play in struc- ture and is accurate underneath but won't lead an exciting, explosive passing offense. Coan's big-time throw rate in 2019 tied for 89th in the FBS, and he produced a turnover-worthy throw rate on 20-plus yard throws that ranked second-to-last." The Fighting Irish will play five teams with quarterbacks ranked higher than Coan in 2021: North Carolina (No. 2 Sam Howell), USC (No. 10 Kedon Slovis), Florida State (No. 16 McKenzie Milton), Virginia (No. 18 Brennan Armstrong) and Wisconsin (No. 26 Graham Mertz). Oklahoma's Spencer Rattler was ranked No. 1 and was the only member of "Tier 1: The Elite." The players listed from No. 2 to No. 23 were considered " Tier 2: High-Ceiling Quar- terbacks." The signal-callers ranked No. 24 to No. 51 were considered "Tier 3: The Good, But Not Great." 56 Former Notre Dame football players were on National Football League training camp rosters as of Aug. 17. Twenty five of the 32 NFL franchises had a least one Fighting Irish alum on its roster. To see the complete list of names, go to Irish In The Pros (pages 62-63). 90 All-time NHL Draft picks in Notre Dame history, with the selection of Fighting Irish freshman for- ward Sasha Pastujov by the Anaheim Ducks with the second pick of the third round (66th overall) during the 2021 event on July 24. Forty-three of those 90 picks have come during head coach Jeff Jackson's 16-plus years in South Bend. 2,845.5 Wa s t h e o v e r / under for pass- ing yards in 2021 set for Notre Dame quarterback Jack Coan by SportsBet- tingDime.com. That was the fourth highest among transfer quarterbacks, with Tyler Shough (Texas Tech from Oregon) at 3,845.5, Grant Gunnell (Memphis from Arizona) at 3,249.5 and Tanner Mordecai (SMU from Oklahoma) at 3,124.5 just ahead of Coan (Notre Dame from Wisconsin). Florida State's McKenzie Milton (from UCF) was fifth at 2,455.5. ✦ BY THE NUMBERS PHOTO BY MIKE MILLER