Rusty Setzer<\/a>, who had a non-descript career at Notre Dame and was a Parade All-American but didn\u2019t make the first-team All-Area for the Hammond Times. Rusty was an elite sprinter in track, but was not an elite running back. Parade (and ND) figured the production would eventually happen at the college level. It did not. My sense with Khary is that opposing teams didn\u2019t throw his way, because it would have been a big mistake. Thus, he didn\u2019t have monster numbers in high school. I also think the people picking these teams are working for newspapers that have very thin resources and thus not a lot of voters got to see him play in person. I hope this answer is complete enough for me not to get downgraded to Eric \u201cthe perhaps slightly above average\u201d in your book.<\/p>\nMarie from Atlanta: Hi Eric, I hope you\u2019re enjoying your very busy week between women\u2019s basketball and all the spring football. I\u2019m sure you\u2019re being kept on your toes. Not including the quarterback position. What position group on offense and what position group on defense are the most important for winning a national championship? Of the current position groups, which groups do you think are championship level, which are playoff level, and which still need work? Which of the players that participated in Pro day\u00a0 who did not get an invite to the combine do you think have the best chance to get drafted? A little women\u2019s basketball, what do the Irish need to do on Friday to win the game? As always, thanks so much for hosting the chat and all the great sites.<\/p>\n
Eric Hansen: Hi Marie. I think it\u2019s important to be strong at every position group. Look at Indiana this year. Where was their weakness? They needed every bit of that to get by Miami to win the title. Ohio State did too the year before to fend off Notre Dame. I think in the era of the transfer portal, the teams that win the national title are more complete, because you can spackle the holes in your roster with transfers instead of camouflaging them with inexperienced players. I think the two positions that most separated ND from a national title in 2024 were WR and D-line. Now that doesn\u2019t make them the most important, but they were the two the Irish needed to upgrade.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t see any reason, barring injuries, that Notre Dame would have a position group (or more) that would prevent if from a national title run, but we\u2019re still learning about those position groups. But I feel good about the early progress of the offensive line, the defensive line, the running backs, the tight ends \u2014 positions where there are a lot of moving parts still. But I\u2019d say they all need work. That\u2019s what great teams do, they keep striving to get better, through the spring, through fall camp, through the summer, through the season.<\/p>\n
I think Will Pauling and Devonta Smith really helped themselves at Pro Day. Gabe Rubio being healthy enough to work out helped him too. I\u2019m curious what teams will do with Jared Dawson, being undersized yet very productive last year.<\/p>\n
Finally, to WBB, the Irish catch a break in that Vanderbilt is not a great rebounding team, nor is it a smothering defensive team. That\u2019s a palatable matchup for the Irish. But the Commodores are very good and have another All-America guard, in Mikayla Blakes, to deal with. Notre Dame\u2019s defense will give it a chance to win this game. They have to control\u00a0 tempo and turnovers. Vandy is too good of a 3-point team for ND to go to their zone much, if at all, so they\u2019ll have to stay out of foul trouble. Thanks for bringing it, like you always do.<\/p>\n
Ryan from Frankfort, Ill.: Good afternoon Eric how has Jerome Bettis jr and copper Flanagan looked during spring ball\u00a0 Go IRISH\u00a0 \ud83c\udfc8\ud83c\udfc8\u2618\ufe0f\u2618\ufe0f\ud83d\udc4d\ud83d\udc4d\ud83d\udcaa\ud83d\udcaa<\/p>\n
Eric Hansen: Hi Ryan, you picked two pretty interesting guys to ask about. Jerome Bettis Jr. is at a very deep position group (boundary receiver), but has not gotten lost in the numbers. He has practiced very well. And TE Cooper Flanagan looks like he\u2019s all the way back from that January 2025 Achilles injury that limited him to four game snaps in the 2025 season. Really strong starts to the spring for both of them,<\/p>\n
Bill from St Joe, Mich.: Hi Eric! When you\u2019ve had a chance to view practices, has Bryce Young only lined up at right DE, or has he also lined up on the left side as well?<\/p>\n
Eric Hansen: Hi Bill. Let me answer it this way. I would expect Bryce to rotate with Keon Keeley on the right side during the season. So let\u2019s work backwards from that premise. First, we have seen two practices. One full and one with ZERO team periods. At practice one, my assignment was to watch just the offense, so I was not looking at nuances on the defense. But even if I were, what happens in a non-padded practice on day 1 when the coaches know the media are in there will not necessarily ever happen again.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why I started with the premise of how things are likely to end up. Your question is a very good one and one that we need to ask Charlie Partridge when we get him next. How interchangeable are the end spots in his way of thinking, not just for Bryce Young, but for all of them? And it will get asked. But remember in what we see, spring is for testing and experimentation to a large degree, especially with a new position coach who\u2019s learning his personnel. So what we see one day may be an experiment.<\/p>\n
ced walker from Saginaw Michigan aka sag nasty Saginaw pride: what players has stood out the most in spring practice so far for me\u00a0 it has been Jerome bettis\u00a0 with the muscle and the Johnson making plays God Bless This Football Team here come the irish trust the process the golden standard rally we are nd god country go irish love thee notre dame our mother pray for us<\/p>\n
Eric Hansen: Hi Ced, if I had to narrow it down to just two, as you did, I would say Tae Johnson on defense and WR Mylan Graham on offense. But there are so many more. Now, keep in mind, that\u2019s based on one full practice and one with four five-minute periods with no team periods in that partial practice. We saw not one snap of practice No. 2, on Saturday. That doesn\u2019t mean there isn\u2019t enough to form impressions. I just wanted to be up front about how large (or small) our sample size is.<\/p>\n
James Martinez from Albuquerque, N.M.: Dear Eric, xan you believe it\u2019s the first week of spring practice? Anxiously awaiting the lottery tickets for the Shamrock game at Lambeau Field, and was wondering what kind of an opening tilt you are expecting?<\/p>\n
Eric Hansen: Hi James. We\u2019ll have a little bit better feel for Wisconsin at the end of spring, but there are more than 30 transfers on the Badgers\u2019 roster as head coach Luke Fickell has rebooted the program after a 4-8 season that could have cost him his job. Instead, he\u2019ll have a new QB, in Old Dominion transfer Colton Joseph, as well as a lot of new faces all over the field. Fickell and Marcus Freeman aren\u2019t new to each other at all, with a long association with each other, and a lot of the ND assistants. Wisconsin is projected to be good enough to play in a bowl and with around six or seven wins. I think it will be a great opener for Notre Dame and a tough one, but one they\u2019ll end up winning by double digits.<\/p>\n
Bo from Michiana: Good afternoon Eric!!!!\u00a0 I\u2019m without power as the electric company decide today to replace telephone poles in the Edwardsburg tornado area\u2026.. my biggest take in 3 practices is that Will Black is holding down the LT position, is that something you can confirm?\u00a0 I\u2019ve been excited for him since he committed and waiting for an AA year from him, is that doable?\u00a0 Drinking a \ud83c\udf7a for you since you\u2019re working!\u00a0 One day my friend, one day, \ud83c\udf7b\ud83c\udf7b!<\/p>\n
Eric Hansen: Bo, hope you get your power back soon and thanks for having a cold one for me in spirit. Yes, that Will Black development is really interesting, but not necessarily permanent, although I think it has a good chance to be. We talked about this some on YouTube (The Notre Dame Football Show) last night with Mike Singer. When Black arrived on campus as a freshman last June, he instantly impressed with his athleticism and movement skills. But there was an adjustment \u2026 to the speed of the college game and to learning Notre Dame\u2019s blocking schemes.<\/p>\n
He basically came out of the womb athletic. Will had learned to swim at age 1 \u00bd, was downhill skiing at age 2 and was participating and thriving in a handful of other sports by age 5, though not football. He was convinced his future was in hockey until high school, when football overtook it. The London, Ontario, Canada, native then convinced his mom to send him to a pricey prep school in New England, and there he honed his craft for two years. In November of 2025, everything started to move in fast forward again. And so I believe he\u2019ll start somewhere on the line.<\/p>\n
But will it be at a guard spot or a tackle? Some of that depends on where Charles Jagusah would plug back in when healthy. Some of that depends on how well Anthonie Knapp plays guard and how well Black plays tackles, but early returns are positive that this could be the configuration.<\/p>\n
Lorne from Reno, Nev. Thanks for the chats and congrats to Gia K on two more titles. Do you think we have a shot at UConn with Miles and Koval on the team?<\/p>\n
Eric Hansen: Well Notre Dame did beat last year\u2019s UConn team, and by double digits, with those two players each playing a lot of minutes and Hannah Hidalgo scoring 29 points. But I think this UConn team is better. Notre Dame doesn\u2019t really have a matchup for this version of Sarah Strong defensively. But the biggest thing is team chemistry. I\u2019m not sure Olivia Miles and Hannah would have been able to coexist for another year. So I\u2019d push my chips into the middle of the table on UConn in that hypothetical matchup. Good question, but it made my head hurt.<\/p>\n
Jack from Strongsville, Ohio: Hi Eric. Who is the best all time guard, men or women, at ND? Austin Carr or Hannah Hidalgo. Carr was better scorer and didn\u2019t get to play as a freshman. Hannah is better defensively and steals. What are your thoughts on the Vanderbilt match up and hopefully beyond? Thanks as always for your great work.<\/p>\n
Eric Hansen: Thanks, Jack. Speaking of my head hurting. A lot of these fun and interesting hypotheticals make my head hurt, because it\u2019s not wired for these. We\u2019re talking different genders, different eras, different rules, and one player who hasn\u2019t even finished her junior season. I would lean toward Carr, because his entire career is done and put in context. I\u2019d leave open the possibility that Hannah will finish as the top guard on the women\u2019s side. As far as Vandy, they\u2019re very good, but not invincible. Notre Dame has a chance, but should be the underdog. But against UConn, I think the Huskies are going to be national champs. And that would be the team ND would have to beat to GET to the Final Four.<\/p>\n
Brian K from South Bend: Hey Eric. I wanted to follow up on last week\u2019s chat related to changes or guardrails being established. In the divided culture we now live in, (Shutdowns over funding certain departments of our Govt.), what gives you optimism that Congress can or would work in a bi-partisan manner to establish guardrails and give Universities & the NCAA a Law to work with?\u00a0 If memory serves there have been hearings recently on Capitol Hill with differing opinions by party of how and what should be protected and how to implement it.\u00a0 Having a Congressional Bill would be welcome relief so there would be a rulebook the NCAA could follow (theoretically).\u00a0 Although prior NCAA experiences leads many to question if they could even follow that in a consistent manner.\u00a0 I\u2019m not trying to sound pessimistic, although it probably sounds that way.\u00a0 Like you, I think it would be a huge benefit from to have something to plan around for Transfers, NIL, etc.\u00a0 Do you believe this will eventually happen? Thanks<\/p>\n
Eric Hansen: Brian, thanks for the question. I think I need a drink. Seriously, good question, but this is not that kind of stuff I like to think about or write about. Kind of like doing your taxes. You have to, but you hold your nose. And the biggest reason is it is very difficult to write or talk about anything within our political system that isn\u2019t going to piss off half the country, even if you\u2019re trying to play things down the middle. Having said all that, I am not overly optimistic it gets done, but I don\u2019t think this is an inherently political issue and that\u2019s where I think there\u2019s some hope. In other words, even though folks of different parties may interpret different \u201cbest paths forward\u201d, there\u2019s no political stakes that I can see to keep them from eventually working together.<\/p>\n
Now prioritizing it and getting to the common ground is the devil in the details, and we\u2019ve been talking about this for years. But the urgency has never been greater, so I will not write it off as an impossibility.<\/p>\n
Greg from Huntingburg, Ind.: Long time reader of your chats, but first time posting a question. Can you give your analysis of Keon Keely vs Josh Burnham? I know we lost Burnham in the portal, but curious if Keeley and the freshman would have pushed Burnham on the depth chart.<\/p>\n
Eric Hansen: Greg, thanks for taking the dive into question-land. I hope I can reward you with a good answer. I think what it comes down to is Josh Burnham, a proven productive player with some injury history vs. Keon Keeley, a player with still a very high ceiling and now in the right system and perhaps with the right D-line coach. And the two high-ceiling freshmen, Ebenezer Ewetade and Rodney Dunham. I don\u2019t think the freshmen are in a position physically yet to push someone the caliber of Burnham. Had Burnham stayed and the Irish still plucked Keeley out of the portal?<\/p>\n
I think Burnham would have moved back over to the Vyper (left) side and rotated with Boubacar Traore, with Bryce Young and Keeley forming a formidable tandem on the right side. So, it would not necessarily even have been Burnham vs. Keeley. But let\u2019s say that battle was put in play. I\u2019d say Burnham would be the starter at the beginning of the year, and Keeley would overtake him, but they would both play a lot.<\/p>\n
JJ from Bushwood CC (New Jersey): Ahoy Eric! It\u2019s a sunny 70 degrees here at Bushwood today, although a return of the nice weather also means a return of the gophers (and golfers)\u2026 in your limited observations of the team so far this spring, who passes the eye test in terms of offseason body transformation? Who has stood out in the drills that you\u2019ve watched? Thanks, as always, for your fantastic insights.<\/p>\n
Eric Hansen: Ahoy JJ. I hope you got a free bowl of soup with the hat you bought at the pro shop. It looks\u00a0 good on you! \u2026 To your question, the two most striking for me were sophomore WR Jerome Bettis Jr., and Alabama transfer DE Keon Keeley. I\u2019m sure there are others, but those are the two that come to mind. A word about each of them. I saw a graphic on Facebook by a \u201cmedia\u201d outlet I had never heard of and I\u2019m certain is not credentialed for practice proclaiming a breakthrough season is ahead of Bettis. Tap the freaking brakes. Bettis deserves a lot of credit for his transformation and it translated into a good practice day, but there are a lot more practices and ones in pads ahead of everybody.<\/p>\n
But at a position where you are competing against an improved Micah Gilbert and vastly improved Cam Williams, an impressive freshman in Devin Fitzgerald and eventually expected starter Quincy Porter when healthy, projected a breakout season is unfair and very premature at best. An improved season, a building spring, yes, that is on the table. And that\u2019s a great place for him to have put himself. Keeley, meanwhile, has slimmed down and looks lean and menacing and relentless. But \u2026\u00a0 this is a spring in which there will be growth for him in terms of pass rush, and progress isn\u2019t always a straight line. So, to have some downs with the ups is normalcy. But I am very encouraged about the direction he\u2019s headed at ND.<\/p>\n
Frank from Wayne, Ill.: Eric, what is your way-too-early prediction for this year\u2019s ND-Miami score?<\/p>\n
Eric Hansen: Ha. Way-too-early is right. I might as well pick numbers out of a hat. But I\u2019ll play along. Notre Dame 31, Miami 21.<\/p>\n
Skip from Houston: Are freshmen football players required to live on campus?\u00a0 What percent of scholarship players live on campus? Thanks.<\/p>\n
Eric Hansen: Skip, I sent a note to someone who\u2019d be in the know and have yet to hear back. I believe most of them still do live on campus, but no one on our staff knew for sure. Good question, but something out of my purview. But once I get the answer, I will email it to you.<\/p>\n
Eric Hansen: OK, that\u2019s going to have to do it for today, My next assignment beckons. Thanks for all the great questions. We\u2019ll be back to do it all over again next Thursday at noon ET.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Eric Hansen: Welcome to Notre Dame Football Live Chat on an actual spring-like day in South Bend, Ind.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":836227,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2026],"tags":[7,4732],"class_list":{"0":"post-836226","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-notre-dame-fighting-irish"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116299499407628669","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/836226","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=836226"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/836226\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/836227"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=836226"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=836226"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=836226"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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