Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1506454
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM SEPT. 2, 2023 13 UNDER THE DOME "Everybody in the industry has to take respon- sibility here. I'm not excluding myself from that. I think the decision-making has lost its way in terms of the focus on the student-athlete and what's primarily best for them. But we are where we are, and we have to try to make it work." — Notre Dame director of athletics Jack Swarbrick after calling the current landscape of college sports "a complete disaster" during an appearance on "The Dan Patrick Show" Aug. 23 in Dublin, Ireland "Time to stop whining about where college foot- ball is headed and figure out how to save the rest of college sports. Let football break with the NCAA and form their own league and let college basketball and the Olympic sports continue the conference model. There has to be another way to preserve all that is good in college athletics and give our student-athletes the experience they de- serve." — Former Notre Dame women's basketball coach Muffet McGraw in a tweet Aug. 6 "The biggest thing for me is just his leadership. He stepped in and is a natural born leader. He cares so much about this team and he's not afraid to lead." — Junior left tackle Joe Alt on fellow team captain and graduate student quarterback Sam Hartman "I'm not trying to make too much of it right now. I'm trying to focus on playing at a high level this Saturday against Navy. My parents are pumped. My mom was in tears. It's a great feeling. Now I have to do my part and play at a high level." — Notre Dame junior Rocco Spindler on winning the starting job at right guard for the season opener against Navy "The rib he had surgically removed to prevent blood clotting is being made into a necklace, which in and of itself is worth top-five status on this list. But there is plenty of additional intrigue with Hartman, a sixth-year player who threw for 94 touchdowns and nearly 11,000 yards at Wake For- est. Hartman is trying to prove his skills translate outside the esoteric Dave Clawson offense, keying an offensive reboot in South Bend. There is a new coordinator [Gerad Parker] and plenty of skill- position churn, with Hartman being counted on to lead the new-look Fighting Irish to more productiv- ity than last year." — Sports Illustrated's Pat Forde on listing Notre Dame graduate student Sam Hart- man No. 4 on his top-25 list of the most intriguing quarterbacks of the college football season "There's a great chance (no pun intended) for Greathouse to instantly deliver at a position where Notre Dame lacked a go-to-guy in 2022. Star tight end Michael Mayer, last year's team leader with 809 yards, is gone and no returning wideout had more than 361 yards (Jayden Thomas) last season. "Enter Greathouse, who comes to Notre Dame after putting together one of the most prolific ca- reers in Texas high school football history by a wide receiver. He won three consecutive state cham- pionships from 2019-21 at Westlake High School in Austin while hauling in passes from current Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik. Greathouse finished his Westlake career with 4,035 yards re- ceiving — the 15th most in state history — and 53 touchdowns. "With Wake Forest transfer quarterback Sam Hartman the presumptive starter for the Irish in 2023, look for Greathouse to become one of his key targets. Fans already saw a preview of what might be on deck when Greathouse totaled a game-high 118 yards during Notre Dame's spring game." — Dean Straka of CBS Sports on including the Notre Dame wide receiver on his list of six college football freshmen ready to burst onto the scene, make immediate impact in 2023 season "And last but not least: Duh. Notre Dame to the Big Ten. I'm sorry Fielding Yost was mean to you 100 years ago, Domers. Get over it. Why be half-in with the ACC, which pads your schedule annually with the Virginia Techs and Pitts, when you could be annually playing nearby old rivals like Michigan, Michigan State and Purdue?" — The Athletic's Stewart Mandel on including the Fighting Irish among his "five dream realignment moves" TOP TWEETS PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER THEY SAID IT THEY SAID IT "It's big shoes to fill. I actually asked Michael if I could wear it. To be honest, there weren't a lot of 80 numbers, and I was pretty set on an 80 number coming in. So, why not try to take the challenge?" — Notre Dame freshman tight end Cooper Flanagan on wearing jersey No. 87, which Irish great Michael Mayer donned from 2020-22