Marcus Freeman Built AN ELITE DEFENSE For Notre Dame Football

welcome back to the first team I'm Joe Deon with me is NFL draft analyst for a toz sports Ryan Roberts it's in season scouting summer scouting is behind us and what we're going to be doing during the regular season we're going to be doing scouting meetings Ryan and I are going to be breaking down film for specific games twice a week and we're going to be pitching guys that we wanted to keep an eye on and then anybody that we want to bring to the table so today we're going to be doing Texas A&M versus Notre Dame and then the next show this week we're going to be talking about and breaking down Georgia versus Clemson so this obviously listeners of the show know that Ryan and I are big Notre Dame fans Ryan covers Notre Dame for a toz sports as well his as his draft and college football duties uh I also do live streams for bleacher report for Notre Dame so this was an exciting win this was a very exciting uh separation for Notre Dame having such a close relationship with the school to see them finally get the big win I think just talking General takeaways Ryan there clearly feels like there's some juice in this offense like it actually feels like there's some speed there's some guys that they can find the ball to them in space Jeremiah Love is a spark plug not to throw out a a specific name already you just broke your rule you just broke your rule right I know well I'm just saying though man this offense feels night and day from what we were used to under Tommy re and uh who was the the the Goof yeah Jared Parker yeah it feels night and day though it feels transformed under Mike D Brock well I mean I would even quantify that on both sides of the ball I know defense has not been an issue at Notre Dame the last like for several years now but Joe I mean look Texas A&M is not one of the crowns of the SEC right now because they are a transitional into the Mike Elco era and Colin Klein as their offens coordinator and Jay baitman as their defense coordinator so like it's a brand new staff obviously and there were some roster turnover but still that team has a lot of speed on it right like Texas A&M has some guys on both sides of the ball and Notre Dame was the faster team on Saturday night like I think that came down to it it wasn't that Notre Dame just like pummeled them to death and like they just that's how they won the game is that they just asserted their will on both line of scrimmage they did it to a degree on both sides but like the difference in the football game was that I think that Notre Dame on defense swarmed they were the F they were faster compared to to Texas offense and then the Texas and the Notre Dame offense compared to Texas defense which is very talented several guys talking about today I think Notre Dame was the fastest team on both sides of the ball so that's comparing Notre Dame to a team that is very talented and has a a lot of highlevel speed and I think that Notre Dame is what's the one thing that Marcus Freeman has been preaching over the last few years from a recruiting perspective is that he wants to get longer and faster right like that's two things was very evident in this game very very evident and that that's cutting the Gap right because I I mean like there has been sometimes where you're just like like Alabama 2020 right which is an awful game for us but like Notre Dame was good enough in some areas to play with that Alabama team but like at the end of the day it's like we had nobody that could cover Devonte Smith when they throw a bubble screen out there like they had nobody that had that type of speed that type of juice Notre Dame is starting to cut the gap on some of those SEC schools they're nowhere near like a Georgia yet but like they are starting to gain on some of those SEC teams that have always had speed just a speed advantage against Notre Dame and that's starting to get cut a little bit Yeah the there was a stark difference between also a program that's in its first ever game under a new head coach and a program that is now in year three and they've been figuring out and trying to develop the roster the the crazy thing I think in this game is the amount of young players that stood out that had contributions that are sophomores that have just been in the program and that were part of the original recruiting classes that to me I think is where the separation is now here for Notre Dame in the in the long-term Outlook from what they do this year and next year is Freeman clearly now has his guys yes and depending on how long Al golden is here for he's got all those tools to work with to continue to make this this defense even better it's the sophomore class for Notre Dame right now it's the 2023 recruiting class we'll talk about several of those players especially on the defense side of the ball like that was a sophomore driven uh just dominant performance but it extends obviously to the in the Run game for Notre Dame it extends to the wide receiver unit like there are sophomores 2023 recruiting class kids who are not going to be eligible to the NFL draft until 2026 but yeah so 2023 some 2022 but I really think that the two classes that can potentially turn things around for Notre Dame and hopefully make a couple deep playoff runs over the next couple years is that 2023 class and then the 2024 class which is like the C Carr class if those two classes hits I think Notre Dame is going to be a dangerous team in over the next couple years to get the obvious guys out of the way that stood out in this game um Howard cross looks thick as he looks like he's gotten he's gotten thicker he had a couple big plays uh throughout the game where just getting underneath guys like we know that he can do quick first step great hands that he always shows and Shamar Turner Nick scon on Texas A&M's defense those are all the obvious guys those are the guys that we previewed in in summer scouting that we knew coming into this game that they were going to make important Splash plays throughout it in order to change the course of it and the scon was going up against a true freshman like his spin move was going to create separation and help him win reps obviously can I say one thing about scaron that I was actually a little bit disappointed with if disappointed is the right word it might not even be the right word but Joe I mean he was dominant at times right right I mean like you said he's working against a true freshman and Anthony knp has never seen that spin move that Nick scaron had especially for a 285 pound guy but man he looked like he put on a little too much weight to me he looked like he was almost 300 man he obviously isn't but he looked he looked a little thick yeah I kind of noticed that too I checked in with somebody before the game and he they told me that he was at Purdue last year I think he was listed at like 280 but they said he was between 275 and 280 like he was in that range he's got to be 285 290 right now man like it looks like probably the number and I know that in their defense he's kind of playing that strong side defensive end so they probably did want him to gain a little bit of weight just to work the point of the attack and be on the strong side of run plays but man I would just like him to be what he was last year 275 280 just leave you there man like I don't want to so he's still dominant he was still great in this football game for in his one-on-one matchups I just was kind of like hey man like I would actually kind of like you to lose five pounds I don't know like five to 10 pounds it really was you know who the guy that surprised the heck out of me was I was very curious to see what Shamar Turner looked like as a full-time interior player he looked great man he looked great he may have been the best player on Texas A&M's team on Saturday night in my opinion that's even including scaron like he's listed now at and we had the verified in the spring he was 6'3 even 289 pounds but He's listed at 300 on the roster and like he might be 300 like it's close if not but like I thought that he was a lot more physical than I thought he would be because that was the one that was the one hangup I had on him was he had kind of that tweener profile of 63 289 are you really a true Edge being able to bend the outside track probably not but are you a true interior player too because now you're only 285 to 290 pounds I think that he took the onus on himself to say like I am an interior player on the next level and I Notre D was actually pretty good inside like they had the questions at the tackles with NP starting his first game and Emil Wagner starting at right tackle for the first time but Ashton Craig Billy schra are very talented players I know there was a freshman starting at the left guard position but I thought that Shamar Turner was a pretty dominant player and he was the reason that it was like part it was like almost halfway through the second quarter Notre Dame only had 15 rushing yards in that game through like the second you know part of the second quarter and you were kind of like oh I don't think they're going to be able to run the ball today and it was a lot of it was because of Shamar Turner he didn't do all the flashy things on Saturday night but I really thought that his body transformation and his physicality were a pleasant surprise to me man I think that him selling into interior player in this class could let him rise because I had like a third round grade on him like a solid third round grade but I wouldn't be shocked if he's a top 64 kid I wouldn't be shocked if he's a top 50 kid I mean he's a really talented moover for a kid his size yeah the that transition for him in the interior now like it comes to full full circle I you mentioned it there and he hit the nail on the head he was just super hard to keep up with with what was supposed to be the stronger part of the offensive line you brought up Emil Wagner I wrote him down not in the sense where like I was super Juiced up by him but God that kid is long man like and he's got some pretty good power to him too yeah the crazy part about him Joe is that he he probably has like 35 inch arms I guarantee it's going to be something in that ballpark like least high 34s but the crazy part of him is he's one of those kids that's had a tough time like holding weight he's only like 291 lbs right now but the power he has for only being 291 lbs is pretty jaw-dropping dude like it's really impressive so yeah that's why I wrote him why I wrote him down his flexibility wasn't great like there were a couple times where he looked like he was swaying a little bit and he was first career star too so might be some uncomfortability well that that that's why this is a a write down name of hey noticed him probably still needs a little bit of work he's not going to be a part of the upcoming draft class so this might be a name that we're talking about NE next cycle you could tell you mention him trying to hold on to weade he does look on the leaner side his lower half his his legs his base were not as filled out as you're probably liking for a right tackle that projects in the NFL but the power is what really impressed me he's long as hell and then there were a number of reps where he's just straight up redirecting guys now when he was going up against Nick scon that was kind of when the when the deficiency showed up but Wagner was one of the one of the early players that I kind of gave a little note to didn't have a many text A&M guys by the way um Bo Collins was another one who shock and Clemson didn't have any receivers apparently and they didn't need to bring anybody in and here's Bo Collins who was phenomenal I I thought that he was great as a route Runner I thought that his hands were really great I thought that he was super smooth I don't know if he finishes his number as the number one receiver for Notre Dame in this offense but man this is a guy that they've needed just a strong route Runner with some pretty good body control and play strength bet online remains your top spot for all of your live betting action and contests NFL college football UFC NHL are all in full swing bet online is your number one source for wagering news odds Trends and predictions with both desktop and mobile access at any time head to bet online today and use promo code believe that's bleav V for 50% off your first deposit that is a 50% welcome bonus bet online where the game starts yeah Joe I mean in so in felman's freak list he had a reported 41 inch vertical this off season and obviously he's got some Springs in his legs but he's verified at around 6'2 and I know he was 210 pounds in the spring but I actually think he was a little bit lighter in this game which I thought was kind of interesting but he's not a he's not a deep separator in in the sense of like I don't think his long speed is great but man that contested catchability that physicality and dude blocks his butt off dude like he's a really physically kind of imposing player and honestly we could talk about Jaden great house who I think is gon to have a big year for Notre Dame we could talk about Chris Mitchell who didn't have a ton of opportunities in this game Jordan faan even is guy that for like future draft you might be able to talk about but the position that nerame has been missing the last two years especially has been a big body boundary receiver that get make some plays with a ball in the air and I I think that that's what obviously a guy like a Bo Collins brings to the game you know who impressed me can I bring up a Tex am guy because it's it's a matchup with with him will Le will Lee who is transfer number number 26 he's transferred from Kansas State he 63 190 pounds and I know that Bo got the best of him in a couple of those contested cat situations but I thought he was in position for both I thought he had some really physical obviously long frame but then he also almost had an interception during that game you know when they they threw like a stick to like Jaden Thomas or something and he broke on it and the ball was in his hands and Jaden Thomas kind of had to break it up a little bit on him but that kid is long and pretty explosive so I don't know if he's a guy for I I really don't even know if he's a guy in general for like future classes but certainly 63190 pops off the page a little bit yeah I mean that's that's freakish size that you're you're talking about right there and this this corners for Texas A&M I thought did a really good job of of pressing up and and not allowing too much after the catch playing within the role Will Lee's a good one that's that's one that I didn't write down but that's a good one to keep note of because of my obsession for these 6' three corners I mean we could always talk about Tyre Chapel who's been there forever and like I think Tyreek Chapel is just going to be like a pretty solid backup nickel on the the NFL level but if I look at will Lee who's only a junior this year if we're talking about e maybe for this class or probably not but more for like a 2026 NFL draft sleeper I I point to the 63 Corner that's goingon to be playing against a lot of good SEC teams this year I had one other guy that I wrote down that's not somebody that I want to bring to the table um I don't know if you're GNA hate this one Chase bantes interior offensive lineman for for Texas A&M I thought that the whole offensive line for Texas A&M was fine I didn't think anyone particularly really flashed to me because there were a number of reps where felt like some guys were overwhelmed they couldn't keep up with some of the speed that Notre Dame had um like zoon to me is somebody who will probably get get overhyped and is more of a late day three type of a guy that's going to be a backup if that in the NFL but Battis the shorter stockier of the group I I thought he L he moved really freaking well and he got underneath guys pads he played with really good pad level I I I know there's a little bit left to be desired for him fully developing but he's pretty experienced I don't know if he's a part of this 2025 class but Battis seemed like he has he he can't be a part of this he can't be a part of this 2025 class true sopore true sophomore true sophore that's even more impressive then I I I I put a little bit more yeah props to him for how good he looked and I didn't realize he was a true sophomore I thought he was a sophomore so people that I've talked to around Texas A&M this has been their guy all offseason so like the quick back story he was a big time recruit freshman allamerican last year I think he's listed like 66 320 at this point he's probably more in like the 65 range but either way he he doesn't look he doesn't look 66 on film and he plays way lower than that which is where the he does props are for him I I'm happy to see him inside a guard because he played a lot of right tackle as a freshman and I just don't think that that's a natural fit for him I always thought he was a guard even when he was coming he's a I think he's a Bergen Catholic kid if I remember correctly because he's a New Jersey Jersey kid no it might be Don BOS he might be Don BOS he might is he Don BOS it's either Bergen or Don BOS I can't remember which one it is I can't remember dang it I'm going to look it up so first yeah you look it up I'm going to keep stalling for a second until you tell me it's BOS okay so he's a Don Bosco kid which for people that don't follow High School football Don Bosco is one of the best programs in the state of New Jersey they pump out a lot of talent typically and he could have went anywhere man like all the Midwest schools wanted him all the SC schools one of them obviously inex A&M freshman All-American he actually entered the portal this past off season and he flirted with you know obviously the nil offers out there and everything he ends up coming back to Texas A&M they kind of told a really cool story about how he went out there and and apparently what brought him back to Texas A&M Joe was Mike Elco sat down with him and Mike Elco was honest with him and was like dude you're you need to get better like you're don't not act like you are a finished product like you need to be better and if you want to be better you need to come back to the Aggies like you need to come back here and hats off to the kid man I think he turned down a lot of money I'm not saying he didn't get any money from T&M I'm sure he did but like to come back I think that that is a good sign and mve him moving inside he's got all the variables and the people around Texas A&M are super high on that kid they were say saying that he had a great offseason they think he could be one of the best offensive lineman in college football so yeah 2026 kid more than likely Chase bantis who's starting left guard for Notre Dame Tex m not not I was impressed by him any anyone else that you wrote their name down before we we bring a couple of guys to the table I had two that I wanted to bring to the table but did you have anyone else so Texas ANM side I would just say he didn't have a great game in my opinion but tan York the inside linebacker I do think is an NFL player I just think that like jadarian price froze him in the hole on his long run in that game the first touchdown of the game and wasn't a great day for torian York but I would just say that he is he's a guy to keep an eye on there's no doubt and can I jump over to Notre Dame side of things or am I just sticking on Tex no no any any direction you want to go here sophomores on the defensive side of the ball for Notre game to no so these are 2026 kids because we've talked about Howard cross we've talked about Riley Mills I was actually very disappointed with Riley mills's game I did not think that he played overly well but Xavier Watts had a pretty good game overall Benjamin Morrison we've talked about a million times Christian Gray the corner opposit of Benjamin Morrison that's gonna be a guy Joe we're gonna be talking about him in the summer of next year I guarantee it I think that kid's gonna have a Big Time season let me cut you off so he's the first guy I wanted to bring to the table yeah um I wrote him down and I was like oh I'm I'm in on this kid I I don't think he is fully finished product obviously he is going to be a 2026 kid so for bringing him to the table we're pitching him to an agent you know it's a little bit of a different case here but um what was so impressive to me was how closely and tightly he was able to track some of these receivers there was one play where he was stride for stride with a guy and he was able to just so easily reach and disrupt the catch point I was surprised that he was only listed at 6 foot he looked like a guy that was a little bit taller than that but the length is very visible good quick feet I don't know if he's like a super fluid hip guy but for what Notre Dame needs in that secondary Corner opposite of Benjamin Morrison you can really see how he's going to step in and replace what cam Hart did who much taller bigger Corner played a very different style I feel pretty confident just generally as a Notre Dame fan seeing this kid and knowing that's who's opposite of Benjamin Morrison so it's a really cool and this actually be an easy transition because Christian Gray and Jeremiah Love are both from St Louis Missouri Joe and they're both very good friends which is kind of funny because they're both in the 2023 class Christian Gray I would say from a length and speed perspective is more Advan or better just FL up better than Benjamin Morrison now Benjamin Morrison is probably better short but Christian Gray as a High School junior when he was going to camps Ohio State wanted him bad he ran 44 flat and I think 439 at the Ohio state camp like this kid's going to fly and he's going to have probably 32 and a half plus inch arms so like he's gonna he's gonna be a guy there's no doubt about it quick shout out before we move to Jeremiah love because I know we need to talk about Jeremiah Love who is dominant in this football game okay Adon Schuler safety opposite of Xavier Watts number eight couple huge sticks had an interception in that game he's also a sophomore he's from Irvington High School in New Jersey as well shout out Irvington yeah man sophomore he was also cool backstory in him he was the first player in Irvington High School history to graduate early from high school first one ever to graduate a semester early so great kid great family first career start opposite of Xavier watts in his in the Tex A&M game and I thought he made his he made his presence known pretty quickly in that one you brought up Jeremiah Love Jeremiah love I did not have him as somebody to bring to the table cuz I kind of just thinking in this conversation that I knew that you were going to bring him up and I also almost thought he was just a foregone conclusion which I realize now for the general public he's not necessarily a foregone conclusion but that kid has taken a step forward and we saw glimpses and flashes of what he was as somebody who can kill you in space as just a general offensive weapon I I think he is transformed this off season he put looks more put together he looks more built he looks like a guy that can take a ton of carries I feel great about what he's going to bring to the running game and in a year he's probably going to be one of the top names that we're talking about at least in the top 10 of the the 2026 running back class you know what's crazy is that like I think in most years Joe like we would be talking about jorian price the other running back and being like that dude's good right but like it's just that there's a sophomore named Jeremiah Love who's kind of a freak apparently he played at like barely 190 last year and He's listed now at 210 pounds so like he's put on a lot of weight it is not compromised athletism the kid is explosive he can catch the football man he was really good in this football game obviously it's like the little detail stuff I think there were a couple misreads in this game he's still not a guy that necessarily is going to be a highlevel pass blocker right but like overall man he is lightning in a bottle and explosive weapon at 2 10 pounds did you I had one more guy to bring to the table who did you have anyone else to bring to the table the two interior offensive linemen I would say are just kind of worth a watch they're both red shirt sophomores so we're talking again about 2020 probably 2026 kids maybe 2027 kids depending how they develop but Center Ashton Craig I think has a lot of upside there's no doubt about it I think that he's a really good easy mover on the interior continu to get stronger and then the Right Guard Billy shra might be the best offensive lineman on Notre Dame right now only Richard sophomore both those players had three starts last year so this is their fourth start respectively and I think that if we're talking about Notre Dames traditionally developing the the offensive line position as well as any school in the country I think that those are a couple guys to keep close eye on over the next couple years last guy that I had I know it sound it seems like it's kind of a their name stroke Fest here but we're we're it just so happened the team that looked the best on the field um was obviously Notre Dame well when we talk about Clemson I guarantee that George is going to dominate the part of the convers there's nothing to talk about Clemson well we're going to talk about Peter Woods we're going to probably talk about Kart um we ain't talking about Kate kumnick that's for sure Jaylen Sneed number three linebacker for for Notre Dame his eyes aren't totally there like little hesitation in some of his decision- making but he was one of the guys I was watching I was like holy hell this kid's flying all over the field this kid downhill fast closes down on so many gaps I I know that you're a a perfectionist when it comes to talking about these linebackers but I don't know man I was blown away I don't know if I would Bill him to be a this is going to be a a first round pick type of a guy but if he progresses into a third rounder in the next year or so I believe he's eligible for this draft he is yeah the guy flies the guy flies up field I I was impressed when when he was coming out of high school because I think he was a Louisiana guy if I remember correctly he was definitely a South no South Carolina he's a South Carolina guy my apologies but Jaylen sneeve was a guy Joe that was being compared to Jeremiah Wu cor Mo because he was a Rover and he was super explosive right and the one play that perfectly illustrates that is it was they ended up scoring on the drive it was when Texas M had their long touchdown drive but there was like a second and goal I think where they handed the ball off to Le'Veon moss and you see number three just scream from the backside dude you're like what the heck like that closing speed is wild now he needs to be a much more disciplined football player he kind of sacrifices you know integrity at times defensively but if we're talking about speed explosiveness and dynamic upside yeah he's he's a very he's a great athlete there's no doubt about it anyone else before we get out of here Conor Wagman is not that good Joe oh my gosh he's not that's disappointing man this is wait perfect quck just did my Spiel for one second the perfect example of don't put a kid in a first round mock draft and and ironically you're a victim of this too don't put a kid in a first round draft that hasn't really played it's one thing to do it with guys that are projects like you know Carson Beck's still not completely all the way there shador Sanders we still needed to see a little bit more from him cam Ward he's played a ton of ball and he's a bit of a project quin's bit of a project but man Conor Wagman needs like two more years of starting before I would even consider him yeah and and that that's the crazy part is he's only Richard sophomore because of how much time he's missed right so like it's not a down on him type of thing it's just that if we're if we're GR in this game in a vacuum he was not good in this game I mean there's no other way around it I mean he was poor he was fading off his back foot he was making bad decisions his ball placement was all over the place so it's possible he gets a whole lot better and I do I I would like to do this show because I've heard people completely discount Notre game in this conversation they like wow Conor wigman sucks and I'm like guys you know Notre Dame forced a lot of that to happen right that's important to talk about nobody wanted to bring that up that defense top five in the country and they they made the kids head spin I bet Conor Wagman has a game this year where everybody suddenly like oh wow maybe we were wrong about Conor wman guys week one like we can't we can't geek out too much I mean we have we have to just just has to be a Grace conversation here right because like yeah you remember what Notre Dame did to Caleb Williams last year didn't you like I mean it's the same conversation Notre Dame has a really good defense did Conor wigman play bad yes the Notre Dames defense play really well also yes like those things can both line together obviously I can't wait for Notre Dame to put Miller moss in a goddamn blender with the way that the insanity that they were talking towards me with with I I said on the show that he's the worst quarterback that um that Lincoln Riley had has had his worst starting quarterback yeah and people were like how dare you say that you know what the list is it's Baker Mayfield Kyler Murray Jaylen Herz Spencer Rattler and Caleb Williams yeah what he's definitely the least talented of the GW there's no I it was it was so frustrating because it's like LSU's defense was a whole lot better in that game right but also it's still not there yet I mean we're not g to act like it's all the way there yet under Bryce b or Blake Baker I'm must say Bryce Baker but I yeah he's definitely the least talented quarterback is he a better quarterback than maybe I gave credit for in the pre in the preseason it's possible but I need to see a few more games before I jump to that conclusion absolutely folks thanks for tuning in we're going to be talking Georgia Clemson on the next show so stay tuned for that subscribe so you don't miss out Joe dilon ryzen draft at the first te Pond we'll talk to you later