Blue and Gold Illustrated

Nov. 16, 2024

Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football

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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM NOV. 16, 2024 5 FAN FORUM PRO IRISH I feel like this would be most appreciated by (BlueandGold.com football analyst) Tim Hyde but hopefully this email finds another Notre Dame fan with too much time on their hands. I wanted to see which Notre Dame players were active on NFL rosters to see how good that theoretical team would be in the actual NFL. Here goes … OFFENSE Pos. Starter Backup LT Ronnie Stanley, Ravens Blake Fisher, Texans LG Quenton Nelson, Colts Aaron Banks, 49ers C Robert Hainsey, Buccaneers Jarrett Patterson, Texans RG Zack Martin, Cowboys Liam Eichenberg, Dolphins RT Joe Alt, Chargers Mike McGlinchey, Broncos TE Cole Kmet, Bears Durham Smythe, Dolphins TE Tommy Tremble, Panthers Brock Wright, Lions TE Michael Mayer, Raiders WR Ben Skowronek, Steelers RB Kyren Williams, Rams RB Audric Estimé, Broncos Observations: • So … we don't have a quarterback. And we only have one wide receiver. We're just going to have to lean into that. • As expected, our offensive line should be incredible. Probably the best and deepest in the NFL. • We're going to run a real weird offense with 2 running backs, 3 tight ends and Ben Skowronek as our vertical threat. • I bet Tim could figure out how to make this work. DEFENSE Pos. Starter Backup DL Isaiah Foskey, Saints DL Jerry Tillery, Vikings DL Kurt Hinish, Texans Edge J. Jean-Baptiste, Commanders Julian Okwara, Cardinals LB J. Owusu-Koramoah, Browns Marist Liufau, Cowboys LB Drue Tranquill, Chiefs JD Bertrand, Falcons DB Alohi Gilman, Chargers Brandon Joseph, Lions DB Harrison Smith, Vikings Thomas Harper, Raiders DB Julian Love, Seahawks DB Kyle Hamilton, Ravens DB Cam Hart, Chargers Nick McCloud, Giants Observations: • In true Al Golden fashion, we're going to run nickel as our primary (only?) defense. • There aren't many defensive linemen to choose from. That probably shouldn't be a surprise though since this is a pretty good reflection of our recruiting over the years. • Our second level is pretty solid though. JOK continues to do everything well in the NFL, and Drue has emerged as an impor- tant part of a Super Bowl-winning team. We even have a little depth now with two more LBs getting drafted this past year. • Our strength will be a diverse and talented group of DBs. Hart and McCloud are the only true corners but Love and Harper can play there too as needed. Alohi might be more of a box player while Hamilton can do absolutely anything. That leaves us with Harrison Smith, hope- fully a NFL Hall Of Fame lock, doing whatever the team needs to help them win. SPECIAL TEAMS Pos. Starter Backup LS JJ Jansen, Panthers Scott Daly, Bears K Brandon Aubrey, Cowboys Blake Grupe, Saints Observations: • We are not going to punt. Problem solved. • We're deep enough to have two long snappers in the NFL (Kmet can be the emergency third option in a pinch). Take that SEC! • And why not have the best one-two punch at kicker in the NFL? All in all, this is a fun little exercise to see the cumulative talent we've sent to the NFL over the years. Our positions of strength are offensive line, tight end, defensive back and kicker. Our positions of weakness are quarterback, wide receiver and defensive line. Sounds about right. Go Irish! Nathan Stanton BE HEARD! Send your letters to: sdowney@comanpub.com or mail to: Blue & Gold Illustrated, P. O. Box 2331, Durham, NC 27702 Through Week 9 of the 2024 college football season, Texas A&M stood atop the SEC standings — ahead of both No. 2 Georgia and No. 6 Texas — with a 7-1 overall record and 5-0 league mark. The lone defeat for the No. 10-ranked Aggies was a 23-13 setback versus Notre Dame in the season opener for both teams Aug. 31. Needless to say the victory has aged well for the Irish. Heading into the second bye week of the year, Notre Dame fans opined about how big it was in hindsight on our message board at BlueandGold.com. Juicy J: What a MASSIVE game Texas A&M was in Week 1. As much crap as we and the media have given Freeman and Leonard for Northern Illinois … we don't give enough credit for that win over Texas A&M. Week 1 against a tough op- ponent in one of the gnarliest atmospheres in the country, and we go win and cover. If you made me trade losing to Texas A&M for beating NIU … I wouldn't do it. I'd take the qual- ity road win over an "oops" game against NIU. It totally removes the "well who did they beat" argument from the haters. Also, with [RJ] Oben and [Donovan] Hinish see- ing less playing time in favor of [Joshua] Burnham, Bryce [Young], Junior [Tuihalamaka] and [Gabriel] Rubio … and Leonard Moore ascending as a QUAL- ITY replacement of B-Mo [Benjamin Morrison] … I'm not sure we aren't better now then we were then on defense. We're about the same at worst. Offense is certainly improved although I did like the game plan for Texas A&M. It's a shame we didn't keep it for Northern Illinois. We'd have won. There might still be a gap between ND and the "Elites" but I think it's about as small now as ever. I have a feeling we might be even better next year, too. It's a fun rewatch that somehow feels like an- cient history at this point. 3DVision: Agree with you. How much better we get this year and next year depends upon how well the defensive line is recruited and developed and our QB play. Our OL and RBs should be as good as ever and if [Mitchell] Evans comes back we are loaded at TE as well. Another thing in our favor is that almost all the elite teams seem to be coming back to us and none of them are as dominant as they used to be. NIL has made a big difference; people getting paid to play don't care as much about the old U as they used to. Kpaltman30: Agreed. I wouldn't mind seeing the Aggies again in the 8-9 matchup in the play- offs … in South Bend this time. Arrowfan624: Yeah ND would be in a boatload of trouble if you reverse the win and loss at A&M and NIU. We wouldn't have a good tiebreaker argument over a lot of 11-1 and 12-1 teams. FROM THE WEB .com .com JOIN THE CONVERSATION AT BLUEANDGOLD.COM! Use Promo Code Join50 To SAVE 50% off your first year! Harrison Smith, whose career trajectory could have him headed to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, is part of a strong contingent of former Irish players in the NFL. PHOTO COURTESY MINNESOTA VIKINGS

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