JIM SMALL'S NOTRE DAME GO IRISH BLOG -- www.NDGOIRISH.com -- A NOTRE DAME BLOG

Thursday, May 5, 2016

SI's "Way Too Early" Poll Has Notre Dame #9

Even though it means nothing -- it's better than not being ranked this time of year...

LINK: SPORTS ILLUSTRATED FOOTBALL POLL

Wednesday, May 4, 2016

ND Mens Hoops vs. National Champ Villanova

The Fighting Irish will take on defending National Champion Villanova in a game December 10th in Newark, NJ at the Prudential Center. It's being called "The Never Forget Tribute Classic"

Tip-off is scheduled for NOON -- and the game will be nationally televised on CBS.

Tickets can be purchased -- beginning tomorrow (May 5th) at the link below:

LINK: NEVER FORGET TRIBUTE CLASSIC

Latest "Success Tweet" for Notre Dame Football

Thought you'd enjoy seeing this...

Samardzija Breaks Bat Over Knee Last Night

The former Notre Dame All-America wide receiver is now 4 - 1 on the season for the San Francisco Giants -- after beating the Cincinnati Reds last night.

It was Jeff's third straight win -- a first for his major league career!

LINK: MLB STORY

LINK: SAMARDZIJA'S PITCHING STATS

Tuesday, May 3, 2016

Dallas Cowboys' 5 + 4 = Jaylon's Old ND #9

Notre Dame All-American Jaylon Smith has a new number -- can't wait to see him flash #54 for the Dallas Cowboys!

V.J. Beachem Decides to Stay at Notre Dame

Notre Dame's top scorer in their NCAA run this past March -- has decided to return to school for his senior season.

Sunday, May 1, 2016

The Cowboys Phone Call to Jaylon Smith!

Enjoy!

LINK: JAYLON SMITH

Skylar Talks What it Takes to Return to WNBA

Go all-access with @DWingsHoops guard @SkyDigg4 as she prepares for the season! #WatchMeWork https://t.co/eeND7eNobL
— WNBA (@WNBA) May 1, 2016

NFL Contract Values of Notre Dame's 7 Drafted

Here's a look at the total contract value of the seven Notre Dame football players drafted into the NFL these past few days:

Ronnie Stanley: $20.5 million total contract / $13.1m guaranteed
Will Fuller: $10.2 million total contract / $5.6m guaranteed
Jaylon Smith: $6.5 million total contract / $2.9m guaranteed
Nick Martin: $4.8 million total contract / $1.7m guaranteed
KeiVarae Russell: $3.3 million total contract / $813k guaranteed
C.J. Prosise: $3.1 million total contract / $692k guaranteed
Sheldon Day: $2.9 million total contract / $609k guaranteed

The SEVEN will sign NFL contracts that total: $51.3 million.

LINK: CONTRACT VALUES -- 2016 NFL DRAFTED PLAYERS

Saturday, April 30, 2016

Notre Dame Players Drafted by Position Rank

Here are the SEVEN NOTRE DAME PLAYERS DRAFTED into the NFL this week -- and their draft rank by position:

Ronnie Stanley -- 1st offensive lineman drafted
Will Fuller -- 2nd wide receiver drafted
Jaylon Smith -- 3rd linebacker drafted
Nick Martin -- 2nd center drafted
KeiVarae Russell -- 12th cornerback drafted
C.J. Prosise -- 4th running back drafted
Sheldon Day -- 28th defensive lineman drafted

ND's Undrafted Free Agents Sign NFL Deals

To date -- here are the NFL free agent signings of a number of former Notre Dame players...

Romeo Okwara -- New York Giants
Mathias Farley -- Arizona Cardinals
Chris Brown -- Dallas Cowboys
Elijah Shumate -- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Amir Carlisle -- Arizona Cardinals
Ishaq Williams -- New York Giants
Jarrett Grace -- Chicago Bears

First: The Phone Call --- Last: The Hall of Fame

What does it sound like when Jerry Jones asks you to come play for his team?

Listen in.#NDinTheNFL
https://t.co/QvToPO37BP
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) April 30, 2016

Going to be fun watching the "in-between" -- congratulations Jaylon Smith!

Sheldon Day Selected #103 Overall to Jaguars

🎥 The moment when Sheldon Day became a Jaguar.

7 players from ND were drafted in the first 4 rounds.#NDinTheNFL
https://t.co/K7h4Ac7t4x
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) April 30, 2016

Former Notre Dame defensive lineman Sheldon Day was just selected #103 overall to the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2016 NFL Draft.

With this selection -- Notre Dame is now tied with USC for the all-time lead in total players drafted into the NFL with 492.

Congrats Sheldon!

Cowboys' Team Doc Operated on Jaylon's Knee

You just have to wonder -- what did Dallas know about Jaylon's knee that the other 31 NFL teams did not...

LINK: JAYLON AND THE COWBOYS

LINK: ESPN STORY

Ronnie Stanley's Ravens' Press Conference

The now "former" Fighting Irish star was in Baltimore yesterday to meet his new team and town...

LINK: RONNIE STANLEY PRESSER

Will Fuller's Houston Texans' Press Conference

The former Fighting Irish star was in Houston yesterday -- meeting his new team and town...

LINK: WILL FULLER PRESSER

Six Notre Dame Players Taken in First 90 Picks

It's been a great first two nights of the 2016 NFL Draft for a number of Notre Dame Football stars -- with six being drafted in the first 3 rounds:

#6: Ronnie Stanley -- Baltimore Ravens
#21: Will Fuller -- Houston Texans
#34: Jaylon Smith -- Dallas Cowboys
#50: Nick Martin -- Houston Texans
#74: KeiVarae Russell -- Kansas City Chiefs
#90: C.J. Prosise -- Seattle Seahawks

Here's a look at the colleges with the most players taken in the first 3 rounds of the 2016 NFL Draft:

Ohio State: 10 players drafted
Alabama: 7 players drafted
NOTRE DAME: 6 players drafted
Clemson: 4 players drafted
USC / Penn State / Florida / Ole Miss: 3 players drafted

Here's a look at some schools that haven't fared so well with NFL Draft picks -- in the first 3 rounds. Many of these schools routinely have top rated recruiting classes:

Michigan: 1
LSU: 1
Auburn: 1
Oklahoma: 1
Oregon: 1
Virginia Tech: 1
Boston College: 1
Miami (FL): 1
Oklahoma State: 1
TCU: 1
Tennessee: 0
Iowa: 0
North Carolina: 0
Arizona: 0
Arizona State: 0
Texas: 0

LINK: NFL DRAFT TRACKER -- COLLEGES