Notre Dame vs. Clemson Tonight on ESPN2 !!!

The Fighting Irish are in South Carolina tonight to play Clemson (for the first time ever on their campus) beginning at 7 PM ET on ESPN2.

It's a big game for Notre Dame...

LINK:  MIKE BREY TALKING CLEMSON

LINK:  GAME NOTES

LINK:  ANDERSON INDEPENDENT

NFL Draft Diamonds Interview of Justin Utopo

The folks at NFL Draft Diamonds interviewed Notre Dame grad student Justin Utopo '14, as he prepares for the upcoming Draft...

LINK:  JUSTIN UTOPO

Green Bay Packers Promote Domer Clements

Former Notre Dame "National Champion" and All-American QB Tom Clements has been promoted to Associate Head Coach -- and will take on play calling duties for the Packers' offense.

LINK:  CLEMENTS

LINK:  CLEMENTS WIKI PAGE

LINK:  CLEMENTS TALKING PACKERS' OFFENSE

LINK:  CLEMENTS HONORING COACH PARSEGHIAN

Former Domer Billy Casper Passes at Age 83

World Golf Hall of Famer Billy Casper died yesterday at the age of 83.  He won 51 golf tournaments -- seventh most in history -- including the 1959 US Open and the 1970 Masters.

What many don't know is Billy Casper enrolled as a student-athlete at the University of Notre Dame back in the fall of 1950.  He never finished his first semester at ND -- see story linked below. 

You'll enjoy browsing the photo album from his return to campus back in 2012:

LINK:  BILLY CASPER / NOTRE DAME

LINK:  CASPER DEAD -- AGE OF 83

"Next Coach In" -- Thanks Coach Tony Alford!

Word broke yesterday morning that Notre Dame's Tony Alford had accepted an Assistant Head Coach / Running Backs Coach position at "that school in Columbus."  It became official when he spoke with Pete Sampson at Irish Illustrated yesterday afternoon confirming his move to Ohio State.  ALFORD INTERVIEW

This makes "three" -- the total number of Notre Dame Football coaching assistants who've left for new jobs in the last five days; Matt LaFleur (Atlanta Falcons), Kerry Cooks (Oklahoma) and now Coach Alford.

It should be noted the only time Brian Kelly lost three assistant coaches after a season at Notre Dame (including two to Ohio State) --- the Fighting Irish went 12 - 0 the next season and played in the National Championship game!

Over the past three years I've had the privilege of crossing paths on numerous occasions with Tony Alford.  All I can say is this -- CLASS ACT.  He was a wonderful representative of the University of Notre Dame.  I will always wish him well.  Thanks Tony!

So, where do we go from here?  The top rumored candidates (in the media) are these -- listed below -- zero confirmation yet from the University of Notre Dame on any of these individuals.

If these three are the "NEXT COACHES IN" at Notre Dame -- we'll be just fine...

"NEXT COACH IN" -- POTENTIAL CANDIDATES

TODD LYGHT -- link from the Tennessean.

• Notre Dame fans will remember this name!  Lyght (Flint, MI) was a two-time All-American defensive back for the Fighting Irish during the Lou Holtz era.  He was a starter on the 1988 National Championship team.  LYGHT ND HIGHLIGHTS
• A First Round Pick (#5 overall) in the 1991 NFL Draft by the St. Louis Rams.  Lyght had a 12 year career in the NFL -- he's a Super Bowl Champion (XXXIV), NFL All Pro (1999) and NFL Pro Bowl (2000).  Todd had 37 interceptions in his NFL career -- taking 4 to the "house" for TD's.
• Lyght began his coaching career at Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas in 2009 and 2010 -- ND has recruited three players from Gorman in the last few years; Ronnie Stanley, Nicco Fertitta and Alize Jones
• In 2011 Todd joined Chip Kelly's staff at the University of Oregon (defensive backs)
• In 2013 Todd joined Chip Kelly's staff at the Philadelphia Eagles (defensive backs)  LYGHT TALKS EAGLES DB'S
• And, just a little more than three weeks ago -- LYGHT HIRED BY VANDY

JEFF QUINN -- link from Bull Run.

• If you've followed Brian Kelly's coaching career a name you'll find at a majority of his stops is Jeff Quinn.  Quinn was an assistant for Brian Kelly for 21 years at Grand Valley, Central Michigan and Cincinnati -- before he left to be the head coach at the University at Buffalo.
• Coach Quinn's wiki page:  JEFF QUINN WIKI
• Video of Coach Kelly & Coach Quinn:  GRIDIRON CONVERSATION

AUTRY DENSON -- link from WSBT-TV

• Fighting Irish fans will recognize this name as well.  Autry Denson is the all-time leading rusher in Notre Dame football history with 4,448 yards. He played five years in the NFL for the Buccaneers, Dolphins, Bears and Colts
• Autry talking Notre Dame experience:  DENSON ON NOTRE DAME
• In 2010, Autry was named the head football coach at Pope John Paul II High School in Boca Raton, FL -- HEAD COACH
• In 2011, Denson was named Running Backs Coach at Bethune-Cookman where he coaches for three seasons.
• In 2014, Autry took a job at Miami of Ohio on Chuck Martin's staff (former ND assistant) as Running Backs Coach -- DENSON MIAMI OF OHIO BIO
• Interview of Autry at Miami of Ohio:  DENSON TALKS RUNNING BACKS
• And just a little more than three weeks ago -- DENSON HIRED BY USF

Again, no confirmation on any of these individuals -- just plenty of media speculation at this point. 

Another name to keep an eye on is -- JEFF BURRIS:

• Burris played running back (goal line situations) and defensive back for the Fighting Irish -- he was named an All-American as a defensive back in 1993.  JEFF BURRIS ND HIGHLIGHTS
• He was a First Round NFL Draft Pick of the Buffalo Bills
• Played ten years in the NFL for the Bills, Colts and Bengals  BURRIS TALKING COLTS
• Burris is currently the Cornerbacks Coach and Quality Control Coach for the Miami Dolphins.  He's been with the Dolphins since 2013.
• Prior to that he spent a year coaching defensive backs at UMass (2012) and a year in the UFL coaching defensive backs for the Sacramento franchise.

Here's some additional names being discussed in the media as possible replacements for Coach Alford:

• Chad Scott, Kentucky running backs coach - A Florida native, Scott played at Kentucky and in the NFL. He coached running backs at Troy (2007-09) and Texas Tech (2010-12) before joining the staff at Kentucky.
• Derek Lewis - Lewis was the tight end coach at Florida under Will Muschamp. He's a New Orleans native was an assistant at North Texas (2007) and Minnesota (2008-10) prior to coaching at Florida. He was named by Rivals.com as one of the Top 25 recruiters in the nation for the 2012 cycle. 
• Charles Huff, Penn State running backs coach. Huff was at Western Michigan in 2013 and was hired away by James Franklin. He coached with the Buffalo Bills in 2012 and was also at Vanderbilt for a season.  

#10 Notre Dame at #4 Duke Today on CBS 1 PM

The Fighting Irish of Notre Dame make their first trip to Cameron Indoor Arena in 21 years -- we are 0 - 6 in this building...  The last time we played at Duke, the Blue Devils won 74 - 72.

The photo above is of Notre Dame's practice last night at Cameron Indoor Arena.

Duke is ranked #4 in the country -- yet they are in FIFTH PLACE in the ACC.  Ironically, Notre Dame is ranked #10 in the country (with a win over Duke) and they are in SECOND PLACE in the ACC.  I guess playing in a conference is over rated...

The game will be televised on CBS beginning at 1 PM ET -- don't miss it!

Here is coach Brey's look at today's game:  BREY ON DUKE

Here's the local North Carolina media's take on today's game:

LINK:  THE HERALD-SUN

LINK:  NEWS OBSERVER 

LINK:  GAME NOTES

#10 Notre Dame Plays #4 Duke Saturday!!!

We're going to learn a great deal about our men's basketball team in the next 15 hours...

Mike Brey's Fighting Irish were feeling pretty good about themselves with "back to back" wins over North Carolina State and Duke -- then a close loss to Pittsburgh seemed to take away our momentum.

We can get it back tomorrow beginning a 1 PM ET on CBS.  Here's what the media has to say about the game:

LINK:  ESPN

LINK:  WALL STREET JOURNAL

LINK:  SPORTS ILLUSTRATED

Signing Stories: Notre Dame's Miles Boykin

Took a lap around the worldwide web this evening to see what the various "local" media outlets had to say about a few of the 24 recruits who committed to play football for the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame...

Here is a story at CSN/Chicago about Miles Boykin:

LINK:  MILES BOYKIN -- CSN/CHICAGO

Signing Stories: Notre Dame's Trevor Ruhland

Took a lap around the worldwide web this evening to see what the various "local" media outlets had to say about a few of the 24 recruits who committed to play football for the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame...

Here is a story in the Northwest Herald about Trevor Ruhland:

LINK:  TREVOR RUHLAND -- NORTHWEST HERALD

Signing Stories: Notre Dame's Josh Adams

Took a lap around the worldwide web this evening to see what the various "local" media outlets had to say about a few of the 24 recruits who committed to play football for the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame...

Here is a story at Philly.com about Josh Adams:

LINK:  JOSH ADAMS -- PHILLY.COM

Signing Stories: Notre Dame's Bo Wallace

Took a lap around the worldwide web this evening to see what the various "local" media outlets had to say about a few of the 24 recruits who committed to play football for the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame...

Here is a story in the Times Picayune about Bo Wallace:

LINK:  BO WALLACE -- TIMES PICAYUNE

Signing Stories: Notre Dame's Shaun Crawford

Took a lap around the worldwide web this evening to see what the various "local" media outlets had to say about a few of the 24 recruits who committed to play football for the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame...

Here is a story in the Cleveland Plain Dealer about Shaun Crawford:

LINK:  SHAUN CRAWFORD -- CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER

Signing Stories: Notre Dame's Dexter Williams

Took a lap around the worldwide web this evening to see what the various "local" media outlets had to say about a few of the 24 recruits who committed to play football for the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame...

Here is a story in the Orlando Sentinel about Dexter Williams:

LINK:  DEXTER WILLIAMS -- ORLANDO SENTINEL

Notre Dame #10 -- "Best Colleges Nationwide"

The University of Notre Dame was ranked #10 by COLLEGE FACTUAL --  a data-driven college choice resource -- ranking the top undergraduate institutions in the country.

“These rankings are based on a pure and distinct focus on data,” says Bill Phelan, co-founder and CEO of College Factual, which aims to help students make better career and college decisions. “We don’t count previous reputations … providing a more unbiased view.”

LINK:  RANKINGS

Brian Kelly Talks Notre Dame Recruiting Class

The Fighting Irish of Notre Dame put the finishing touches on a recruiting class that numbers 24 from 15 states...

Here's what Head Coach Brian Kelly had to say about his future Fighting Irish:

LINK:  PRESS CONFERENCE

Notre Dame FB Recap: National Signing Day

The Fighting Irish "inked" twenty more student-athletes to National Letters of Intent today -- taking this recruiting class to a total of 24 when you add in the four early enrollees.

HIGHLIGHTS:

• They hail from 15 states
• The farthest "commute" to campus goes to C.J. Sanders -- he'll be 2,062 miles from his home in Granada Hills, CA
• The shortest "commute" to campus goes to Josh Barjas -- he'll be 56 miles from his home in Valparaiso, IN
• 16 of the 24 recruits earned ALL-AMERICAN recognition
• Jaylen Guyton, Josh Barajas, Brandon Wimbush, Alize Jones, Nicco Fertitta, Shaun Crawford, Bo Wallace, Mykelti Williams, Asmar Bilal, Tristen Hoge -- won at least one STATE CHAMPIONSHIP -- many of them won MULTIPLE STATE TITLES

RANKINGS OF NOTRE DAME'S RECRUITING CLASS:

SCOUT -- RANKED ND'S CLASS #7

RIVALS -- RANKED ND'S CLASS #11 

247 -- RANKED ND'S CLASS #13

ESPN -- RANKED ND'S CLASS #13

MAXPREPS -- RANKED ND'S CLASS #13

Notre Dame Commitment in THREE Languages

Equanimeous St. Brown -- already on DAY ONE, one of the great names in Notre Dame history -- made his college decision LIVE on ESPNU this afternoon...

To say he made quite a first impression -- would be an understatement.

How about making your college choice in THREE LANGUAGES -- English, German and even French -- quite appropriate for the University of Notre Dame du Lac

LINK:  EQUANIMEOUS ANNOUNCEMENT

Welcome to ND: Equanimeous St. Brown

Equanimeous St. Brown (Anaheim, CA) signed a National Letter of Intent this afternoon to play football for the Fighting Irish.  St. Brown, a wide receiver, selected Notre Dame over USC, UCLA, Utah, Arizona State, LSU, etc.

UNDER ARMOUR ALL-AMERICAN

• 6'-5" / 205 lbs.
• Wide Receiver

LINK:  NOTRE DAME PROFILE

LINK:  SI STORY

LINK:  ESPN RECRUITING PROFILE

Welcome to Notre Dame: Alize Jones

Alize Jones (Las Vegas, NV) signed a National Letter of Intent today to play football for the Fighting Irish!  Jones, the nation's #1 TE, chose Notre Dame over USC, UCLA, Arizona State, Tennessee and Baylor to name a few...

US ARMY ALL-AMERICAN

• 6'-5" / 220 lbs.
• Tight End

LINK:  NOTRE DAME PROFILE

LINK:  LAS VEGAS SUN -- STORY

LINK:  ESPN RECRUITING PROFILE

Welcome to Notre Dame: Dexter Williams

Dexter Williams (Winter Park, FL) signed a National Letter of Intent today to play football for the Fighting Irish.  Williams, one of the top five running backs in the country, selected Notre Dame over Miami (FL), Florida, Michigan, Ohio State, USC, Texas A&M, etc.

ESPN TOP 100

• 6'-0" / 190 lbs
• Running Back

LINK:  NOTRE DAME PROFILE

LINK:  ORLANDO SENTINEL -- STORY

LINK:  ESPN RECRUITING PROFILE