Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1407743
www.BLUEANDGOLD.com SEPT. 11, 2021 11 UNDER THE DOME THEY SAID IT THEY SAID IT "Like the Panthers' Jeremy Chinn, who dazzled as a do-everything rookie in 2020, Owusu-Koramoah profiles as a hybrid line- backer/safety type who can contribute in a variety of ways. He made up for the time he missed on the COVID-19 list, showed off his ability to blitz, cover and tackle in the Browns' preseason opener against the Jaguars, finishing with a team-high eight tackles (including three tackles for loss) and a sack." — NFL.com's Gil Brandt on ranking Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah No. 3 on his list of "Eleven non- first-round rookies who can pop" "A second-team All-America pick by The Ath- letic last December, he's a no-brainer as a first- teamer entering the 2021 season. He's physical and athletic, a hard-hitter with range who was rarely targeted in coverage last year." — The Ath- letic on naming junior safety Kyle Hamilton a pre- season first-team All-American "They choose Notre Dame for the degree and wanting to graduate from Notre Dame. We're pretty transparent up front about why you should choose Notre Dame. Don't come here just for the football. If you're just coming here for football, this is not the right place for you. Obviously that takes us out of consideration for some guys that are interested in football in whatever they can do to get to the NFL. "We're telling the kids, 'Look. It's both here. You're going to go into the classroom with ex- tremely talented, five-star students. You've got to be able to understand that.' For us, it works better that way." — Head coach Brian Kelly on Notre Dame avoiding players entering the transfer portal "Notre Dame should be good again in 2021. But a College Football Playoff berth looks out of reach. The Irish bring back just three starters on offense and six starters on defense. While RB Kyren Williams is back for 2021, Ian Book is not. The longtime QB starter was the catalyst for Notre Dame's offense. Wisconsin transfer Jack Coan was effective for the Badgers, but he wasn't the quarterback in the Bad- gers' system that Book was for Notre Dame. The Irish can't ask Coan to do everything that Book did. "Kyle Hamilton and Drew White are the only players back among Notre Dame's top five tacklers in 2020. The defense has allowed fewer than 20 points per game over three consecutive seasons. Will that stretch to four? "There's a reason we're a tad skeptical. Notre Dame plays Wisconsin, Cincinnati, Virginia Tech, USC and North Carolina all in a row from Sept. 25 to Oct. 30. It's not out of the question that the Irish go 1-4 in that stretch, even if it's not likely. If Notre Dame can escape that run at 4-1, then another fantastic season is in the cards. But 3-2 or 2-3 is more likely. And after an undefeated 2020 regular season, that's a step back." — Nick Bromberg of Ya- hoo! Sports on including the Irish among "5 college football teams poised to take a step back in 2021" "As a whole linebacker unit, we're very close. We understand there needs to be a healthy com- petition in order to make everybody better. If you watch during practice, we're always talking to each other and having a good time. But also at the same time, there is a competition. Someone has to walk out on the first snap. "But we're always going to be supportive of each other. It's just one of those things that when you put in so much work next to a guy, you gain that respect for him. You gain that bond. A starting po- sition versus a backup position isn't going to take that away." — Junior linebacker Jack Kiser "When they meet to rewrite the NCAA rulebook and everything, OK, let's start with this: Don't fool around with the Tournament. We can't fool with that, but everything else is open. "We're going to have all these new rules and guidelines, but they can't mess up March Mad- ness. That pays all the bills. That's the one saving grace … I don't see anybody messing with that format. That is just too golden for both parties. The format, and the Delawares getting in, and Cleveland States and VCUs and George Masons — I don't see them messing with that in the near future." — Notre Dame men's basketball head coach Mike Brey on realignment within the NCAA landscape (The Sporting News) PHOTO BY MATT STARKEY/COURTESY THE CLEVELAND BROWNS OF THE WEEK ➤ "While training for the Paralympics this summer, @samgrewe also started his first year of medical school. "Today, he won gold in the high jump T63. #TokyoParalympics" — The official account of Team USA (@TeamUSA) on Aug. 31