Notre Dame football coach Marcus Freeman stated the Irish would pursue a quarterback in the Transfer Portal next month, which shouldn’t be a surprise. It makes sense on a number of levels as Freeman wants four scholarship quarterbacks on the roster next fall as the Irish have just three right now in Sam Hartman, Steve Angeli and Kenny Minchey.
Scenario 1: It’s the portal. There will be several talented arms headed to the portal in three weeks and players who can help Notre Dame win immediately. Sure, guys who are coming back for their fifth or sixth season have their faults, there have also been success stories with quarterbacks folks had all but written off or didn’t know a ton about. Example: DJ Uiagalelei, Shedeur Sanders, Graham Mertz, Jack Plummer and to a point Haynes King.
Scenario 2: If a big name decides to enter the portal, the Irish would also be foolish not to pursue it. If the portal has taught folks anything, it’s to expect the unexpected. Is Drake Maye going to pass on the NFL to transfer to play for a good program? Probably not. But several starters have left their respective schools to the surprise of some, so Notre Dame needs to be proactive there.
Scenario 3: If Notre Dame feels confident in Angeli or Minchey, the staff could bring in someone similar to Jack Plummer. A guy who has experience as a starter, so if an injury happens, Notre Dame has options. I wasn’t in South Bend for the 2012 season, but Tommy Rees provided value despite not starting as he helped maneuver the waters of having an inexperienced quarterback. The example here would be if Ian Book sprained his ankle in 2020 and the Irish had Plummer to turn to for a game or for two quarters. You’d feel much better about Plummer than true freshman Drew Pyne coming into a game.
There are multiple other scenarios where it makes sense for this to happen. It’s Freeman’s job to win games and good quarterback play can make all the difference. Improving the talent in the room makes everyone better through competition regardless of who Notre Dame lands.
Sure, the message boards are torn on the decision after Sam Hartman’s up and down year and it’s a valid point. That said, it’s a safe bet whoever is added won’t be coming from a slow mesh system, so there won’t be as steep of a learning curve.
Wake Forest is essentially the only program that runs it and the Irish won’t be taking a quarterback from Navy, so it’s a safe bet the transition will be smoother.
As for Hartman, I mentioned last week he would have fit much better on the 2021 team than the 2023 team given the makeup of the receiver room. Angeli, Minchey, CJ Carr or whoever won’t have the growing pains that Hartman experienced this fall as Notre Dame’s receivers won’t be true freshmen learning on the fly.
That deserves to be pointed out for as much heat as Hartman has taken. Mitchell Evans getting hurt and Jayden Thomas has also greatly impacted the pass game. Evans obviously had built great chemistry with Hartman. Deion Colzie and Thomas’ presence alone would have taken a great deal off the shoulders of the young receivers. Thomas had started to ascend so his production was likely going to go way up.
The receiver room has shown flashes of what it can be in the coming years, but when three freshmen make up the core of the group, it’s going to be tough, especially when you combine that with inconsistency at offensive coordinator.
If Notre Dame landed a quarterback similar to Uiagalelei, Sanders, Mertz, Plummer or King, it wouldn’t be a transition like Hartman. Sure, some ran air raid and some ran pro-style, but it’s not the slow mesh. They would be used to going through progressions and used to seeing a defense from that standpoint. New footwork wouldn’t need to be taught and there would likely be a comfort with concepts. And for clarity, I don’t think Notre Dame should have taken all of those guys over Hartman, but just providing examples of quarterbacks not going through such a transition.
And yes, there will be an adjustment period for a new quarterback as you saw with Jack Coan. That said, much of Coan’s early struggles can be traced back to some of the worst offensive line play at Notre Dame in recent memory. But if you could add Jack Coan to next year’s roster, you do it.
The college football world was focused on Michigan until perhaps the school that has done less with more took center stage on Sunday as Texas A&M fired head coach Jimbo Fisher.
Texas A&M has all the money and infrastructure needed to be a giant, so the hype has continued to build throughout the years and was at an all-time high when Fisher stepped off a private jet to a presidential reception in 2017.
Notre Dame will open in College Station next year and the Aggies could very well beat the Irish given the slew of talent on the roster and Kyle Field being a hostile environment, but at the end of the day, it’s still shocking to see how average the Texas A&M program has been throughout the years.
R.C. Slocum went 11-3 in 1998 and won the Big 12. Texas A&M didn’t win double-digit games until 2012 when Kevin Sumlin rode Johnny Football to a record of 11-2.
Those would be the only two seasons the Aggies have ended the season with double-digit wins since 1998.
Now, Texas A&M has had some big-time wins over the years, but the lack of success is still surprising when looking at other major Texas programs. Yes, there are different conferences, but the Texas A&M alumni and media were convinced Fisher was a lock to win a national title.
10+ win seasons since 1998:
Baylor: 6
Houston: 5
TCU: 13
Texas: 10
Texas A&M: 2
Texas Tech: 1
SMU: 1
If it were any other program, I’d say it would be an important hire for Texas A&M, but when push comes to shove, the Aggies might not be the sleeping giant most feel it is given the history of the program. Texas A&M might be closer to Arkansas or Kentucky than it is Alabama or Georgia. The silver lining is Oklahoma and Texas will join the SEC in 2024 and it seems like there will be a steep transition period for both programs.
This is also a great listen six years later.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish Stadium Essential Pullover Sweatshirt
