Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1517388
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM APRIL 2024 13 UNDER THE DOME 2 Fighting Irish football players were part of The Athletic college football insider Bruce Feldman's top-25 "Freaks List " that he put out in advance of the NFL Combine Feb. 27-March 4: Cornerback Cam Hart checked in at No. 19 and defensive end Javontae Jean- Baptiste was listed at No. 23. At the NFL Combine, Hart didn't disappoint. He scored an unofficial 9.82 out of a possible 10.00, per RAS (Relative Athletic Score) creator Kent Lee Platte. That score ranked 42nd out of 2,222 the cornerbacks who have taken part in the NFL Com- bine from 1987-2024, putting Hart in the top 1.9 percent. IRISH ON SOCIAL MEDIA " Will Black projects as a high-end left tackle, a guy you want protecting the blindside of your quarterback. He is out of central casting for a Notre Dame offensive tackle, particularly on the blind side. He has a really high upside and will continue getting better the more and more he plays. There's a lot to like. We feel really good about his skill level, athleticism and size — he's a big guy and will continue to fill out." — On3 director of recruiting and scouting Charles Power on Notre Dame 2025 commit Will Black being elevated to five-star status " She's like Michael Jordan. He loved de- fense. He was defensive and offensive player of the year. So, when you actually have the will and the desire to play defense, it's a much different sort of competitive nature." — Notre Dame women's basketball head coach Niele Ivey on freshman point guard Hannah Hidalgo, who ranked third nationally in scoring (23.3 points per game) and first in steals (4.6 per game) as of March 10 (courtesy Yahoo Sports) " The Fighting Irish weren't bad in coach Marcus Freeman's first two seasons, winning 19 games. But it's time for them to turn the corner, and Freeman has laid the groundwork by adding former Duke quarterback Riley Leonard and bringing back offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock, who directed LSU's high-flying offense in 2023." — Senior writer Mark Schlabach on ESPN ranking Notre Dame No. 5 in its way-too-early college football top 25, behind only Georgia, Ohio State, Oregon and Texas " There's a good case to be made that Notre Dame enters 2024 with the nation's best secondary. Safety Xavier Watts returns after an All-America season in which he picked off 7 passes. He'll be surrounded by veteran corner Benjamin Morrison and an intriguing transfer from Northwestern, Rod Heard II, whose versatility should allow him to fit anywhere there's a need. Arizona State transfer Jordan Clark and junior Jaden Mickey have ample upside, too." — ESPN's David Hale 46 Goals for the Notre Dame men's lacrosse team in its first two con- tests of the 2024 season. That shattered the previous program record for most goals in back-to-back games, previously held by the 1992 squad (40, 15 versus Air Force and 25 against Denver). The 25-3 win over Cleveland State Feb. 14 and the 21-8 victory versus Marquette also marked the first time in program history that the Irish recorded back-to-back outings of 20 or more goals. 5 Former Fighting Irish players were listed among the top 10 players at their respective positions for the 2024 NFL Draft by ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr. (as of March 1): Joe Alt (No. 6 overall, No. 1 offensive tackle), Audric Estimé (No. 3 running back), Marist Liufau (No. 7 off-ball linebacker), Cam Hart (No. 10 cornerback) and Spencer Shrader (No. 10 kicker/punter). 747 Points scored by Notre Dame's Hannah Hidalgo heading into the NCAA Tourna- ment — the most ever by a freshman in ACC history. Florida State's Ta'Niya Latson set the previous mark of 659 points last season, while Shari Matvey set the previous school record with 529 points in 1979-80. Hidalgo produced 25 games with at least 20 points — five more than anyone else in the league — and led the ACC with 23.3 points per game. Hidalgo was named both the ACC Rookie of the Year and ACC Defensive Player of the Year by league coaches and the Blue Ribbon Panel, making her the second player in ACC history to win both awards in the same season (Duke's Elizabeth Williams did it in 2012).