Rapid Fire: Notre Dame Defensive Line Confidence Vs Offensive Line Concern, Texas A&M Offense

all that said Vince are you ready for Rapid Fire I I forgot about Rapid Fire Let's Roll Baby Let's go I know I know we've been here for a while man tonight like we have been we have just been rolling here tonight so here's Notre Dame defensive line coach Al Washington talking about the depth we'll see from his position group whoops this season I just hit something and here we looking at 11 to 12 right yeah and they all got a factor in you know and I was saying this downstairs the way college football is now it's a long year so like you got to have you can't wear guys out a guy can't play 70 snaps a game for eight nine games you they'll break down so you know we're really um you know really intentional about developing that that next layer and there can't be a drop off you know and um and the guys know that and I've been we're transparent you know I tell them straight up and say hey um this is what the plan is so we need all of you and so every day and they've come out with great enthusiasm so again that's Al Washington and my question to you Vince is does your enthusiasm for Notre D's defensive line outweigh whatever concerns you have for the offensive line o I'm very enthusiastic about the defensive line that is for sure and but no it does not outweigh my concerns for the offensive line I I I think I have more questions about the offensive line not necessarily concerns you know what I mean like I think it'll all get figured out and they'll be fine moving forward but I have more answers about the defensive line than I do about the offensive line so I'm gonna say no to your question but I am very excited about the defensive line if I'm going to go just from a number standpoint I have to say yes because like I think that they're going to throw there's basically going to be two lines out there that I think like each of them could potentially start you know so you're talking about eight guys right off the top and so like if I'm going into Texas A&M with eight guys who I know could potentially be starters going up against the Aggies down there and all the Heat and and everything else and and then I throw in a few extra guys to go along with it for to to throw another wave Adam I am just my enthusiasm would be boundless for that I think that this is going to be one of the best especially from a a total depth standpoint I think this is going to be one of the best defensive lines if not the defensive line that we seen here at at Notre Dame in a long time um so I have to say that my do I have concerns for the offensive line yes but I'm I'm not like to the point where like it is so debilitating that I just think that this is going to be horrible out there you know when it when it comes to the offensive line I think that it is still going to be good I think that is going to be a work in progress when you lose a guy like jagas saww after you already lost two NFL tackles I think that that that I think it is going to be a work in progress but I don't think that it is going to be like Patchwork and it is Jo just going to be hand ringing on a week- toe basis I think that ultimately it'll gel and it'll be fine so my my enthusiasm for the defensive line does top whatever concerns I have for the offensive line okay so Irish defensive coordinator Al golden discussed what his defensive approach roach to Tak it on Texas A&M's offense could look like considering former Kansas State offensive coordinator Colin kleene is now running the agies defense a balance the Personnel is obviously the A&M film Kansas state is more philosophy and then seeing where they go you know what does the o line coach like to do what does the wide receiver coach like to do what does the running back coach and you know it's that Confluence that comes together on the opening game so this is the second year in a row we didn't know what we were going to see everybody said oh you're going to see this from Navy we didn't see anything from Navy the first 15 plays that that we thought we were going to see so it is what it is so uh how do you handle it you manage your own variables right you keep your variables quiet and uh rely on your fundamentals you know and then hopefully have enough leadership uh to withstand anything that you could not have practiced early and and then just move forward so Vince how do you think having a new offensive coordinator on the other side impacts things going into week one oh it definitely impacts things it forces you to watch game film from teams that you're not playing you know what I mean I I guarantee that they're watching Kansas State film and and all of that and then you've got to kind of figure out okay the these are the schemes that they're going to run but here's the Personnel that they have and so how is that going to be different things of that nature and so it is very tough and going into game one you get a lot of that no matter what level you're on because so many things can change especially at the college level but you try to get as much data as you can without overdoing it but but you've got to watch film from where they were last I mean that's that's a absolute must and so it just adds another layer of stuff that you got to do and I think really even the first three weeks of the Season you kind of continue to see that like that's that's the way it's been the last couple years it seems like where you're just like they're they're kind of holding things back they know Notre Dame is coming up on the schedule they're holding things back they're not going to show you everything and it it becomes you kind of have to adjust on the flying the sideline but that was something that Al golden talked about when he was hired was as a linebacker coach in the NFL it's not just game to game like it's it's series to series you're calling guys over and you're making constant adjustments over there on the sidelines and I think that he has done a really good job of it because I I think that you know they especially in these openers like this like you said Navy hit him with some stuff because remember they had a new coach and everything last year and they were kind of throwing throwing you know everything but the kitchen sink at him early on last year and so there'll be some adjustment because now the athletes are a little bit bigger and a little bit better I do think it's interesting that in a in a like in a parallel universe Colin Klein could be the Notre aim offensive coordinator right now and not terribly parallel I mean it was a very close thing happening you know right I I do Wonder because of thatc like whatever background and you know that Marcus Freeman was doing when he was thinking about an offensive coordinator like does he at least have some some Colin Klein material cataloged maybe that they spent some time looking at oh I'm sure season you like when he was evaluating okay this is what this guy does as an offensive coordinator you know those kind absolutely and it it adds more to your prep because not only do you have to watch film of the scheme that Colin Klein had at Kansas State but you also have to watch film of Texas A&M for personnel so it it doubles kind of what you have to do but that's why you have analy like that is their job is to to break down that film and figure out you know that kind of stuff and then Al golden comes in and makes the ultimates decisions obiously there you go there you fill in the blank it's blank that Riley Leonard and Kevin Bowman are on the college football comeback Player of the Year watch list it's interesting because I wouldn't have thought about either one of those guys being on that list I mean we've been waiting for Kevin Bowman to come back for like three years it feels like and I'm not even sure he's even gonna be back at all so believe it when I see it kind of a situation we know Riley Leonard's gonna be back we know Riley Leonard's gonna be back and I'm cool with him being on the list I suppose because he basically had a season ending injury last year for all intents and purposes and you know what he's able to do at Notre Dame will to be a major comeback if he does what we think he's going to do so I'm cool with it I'm I'm down with that I think the most interesting thing to me is apparently they've been giving this award out for six years it's been around since 2018 and I didn't know it existed so I'm so used to the NFL version I guess as opposed to the college version exactly um but you're right about Kevin Balman because like man you you talk about a guy who's had bad luck he just continues hope goes well for him this year and I don't know anything as far as like how they're going to do the roster management and everything but I believe they're at least one player over the limit at the moment and he's like a prime example of somebody who might retire due to injury you know what I mean again I don't know anything I don't know what their plan is or whatever but if they have to get down he's got to be a finalist for one one of those you know retirement due to injury spots so very true fact that he's on that list is kind of nuts good point I would think that if Riley Leonard has anywhere near the kind of year that we think that he's going to have though that he'll he would be like a runaway winner of thing when it's all said and done good call with the profile that he's gonna have so Notre name oh never mind here here Bruce Feldman put out his annual freaks list an Irish defensive tackle Riley Mills is number 27 wide receiver Bo Collins is number 3 six on the list this is the second time Mills has made the list by the way so my question is which current guys on Notre Dame's roster might we maybe see on Bruce felman's freaks list next year this is a really tough one because I don't like you're gonna have to help me with what the criteria to be on the freaks list is you know what I mean like what what's the criteria it's a hang on just a second so I'm I'm I'm trying to I'm G to pull it up yeah no I hear you and I'm going to tell you if it kind of okay the freaks list started in 2025 uh I mean basically it's like athletic testing and all that okay kind of stuff is is what goes into it um I was hoping that he kind of spelled out the criteria it's like I need to I need to scroll here and and find one of these guys so I can give you an example of the stuff that that's fine I've got a couple answers for you so okay so like here's here's what he says about Riley Mills for example Irish have a lot of Talent on their defense and Mills and another freaky um so Mills has a vertical jump and impressive 32 in he weighs 200 90 PBS um and it goes on he squats for 580 pounds uh he benches about the same as he used to 445 lbs so it's a lot of stuff it's yeah it's a combination like he vertical jumped 38 and a half inches and Broad jumped uh 102 and a half so it it's like a lot of that kind of stuff that goes into it you know the vertical jumps how much you can lift all those different kind of things that kind of go into it the first two guys I thought about because I wanted to stay younger obviously since this is a future freaks list you know nomination so I stayed in the freshman class and and the two guys that came to mind for me were KVA and Bryce young like I feel like they could probably test pretty well and so but I don't know what I don't again I'm not a recruit Nick so I don't know what all their testing numbers have been while they were in high school but I feel like with their physical stature with the speed which they operate that their position that those are the two guys that I would pick in the younger class Bryce young is a really good one KVA is one of the first guys who came to mind Jeremiah Love is another one okay for me you know again like not knowing what all because like they obviously you know like vertical jumps and Broad jumps and all these different things it's like it's not like Notre Dame is giving us that kind of information you know and like even how much they bench and squat and all that kind of stuff but Bruce Feldman gets it because he puts this out and it's in you know everyone's interest you know to have a guy you know show up on these different lists javante John Baptist was actually on last year Notre Dame as well I think Bryce young is a really good one KV is a really good one like who is it DK mentioning cam Williams and and Gilbert like I was a little bit surprised that Collins showed up on this thing let alone as high as he was on this thing but apparently he tests really well also and let me see if I can scroll and find his numbers here real quick uh the former Clemson wide receiver put up some dazzling numbers in the training room this off season vertical jump of 412 in and a broad jump of 10 112 So almost 11 foot broad jump Bo Collins has so obviously that means explosiveness and obviously this stuff also tracks well when you're talking about your uh your director of football performance Lauren Lando for these guys to have these kind of numbers so I think that I wouldn't be shocked to see a guy like great house next year third year in a college program you know as athletic and dynamic as he is already I wouldn't be shocked to see him potentially on on this list next year either so I'll stick with that I like it fill in the blank it's blank that Florida International University has announced it will rename its football stadium Pitbull Stadium after entering into a fiveyear naming rights deal with the musician of the same name Pitbull crazy but I'm cool with it because schools got to figure out a way to make money man so that they can compete and if that you know they stadiums have been selling naming rights forever in a day right and so pitb wants to put his name on a stadium and he's got the money to back it up then so be it like okay cool um I can't be worse than Guaranteed Rate field right exactly that's the thing there some of these stadiums are have horrible names like horrible names you know and and that very same field used to be called US Cellular Field and they nicknamed it the cell yeah like okay you know what I mean so it could have been a heck of a lot worse I mean literally every field at my kids high school has a sponsor so I mean that's true they're doing it at all levels man I'm telling you I was just I was pretty shocked to see that that that Pitbull is gonna throw out $1.2 million a year to put his name on Florida Internationals football stadium he clearly has too much money I mean that's right I mean you got that kind of money it's not even something that's GNA stick I would rather give $5.5 million which I believe is going to be the total gift and have like a building named after me that's actually going to last like it's over after five years that's true no more this is just naming rights yeah they could sell it to the highest bidder the next time around here's five mil name the engineering building after me you or whatever like are they going to play Pitbull songs you know like yeah going to play Timber you know when when he you know when you're walking or like in the gate have like the the locker room named after you or the you know the strength and you know strength and conditioning building the football building you know that kind of a thing and then it actually will remain there for a long time I the only problem I have with with naming rights is it goes away you know that's true that's true I mean it gives you a little cache though I guess if you're intern I mean that's kind of cool I guess that's not bad like yeah yeah like is Pitbull gonna be hanging around I mean he you know he he lives down there in that area he does I I didn't realize he was connected to them but hey I didn't either and I wonder like I wonder if he shopped this idea around to like multiple Florida schools you know question like where the connection came from like yeah yeah like the pit swamp we do the pit swamp that'd be kind of fun the swamp at pit bull or something like that yeah exactly you know did he aim higher is this the best he could do right like did he want it to be hard rock Stadium you know where the Hurricanes play but it's like well you have to Shell out five million a year if you that bit bull like right it's not gonna happen so we started off the show talking about Olympics which made a lot of people happy um we will finish up don't get the ey man NBC wants Snoop Dogg to return for future Olympics coverage do you buy or sell more Snoop Dog in your Olympics it's a huge buy for me I've actually really enjoyed watching Snoop do his thing at the Olympics been amazed at how entertaining it is actually I know I I I love first of all I love the fact he has his own Olympic pin have you seen that thing is freaking awesome and he is extremely knowledgeable about a host of Sports yeah I give him a lot of credit for that you know what I mean and and like off the not off the- wall but like you know off the beaten path type sports like he's learning about these and he's he can speak intelligently about many of these Sports and he's hanging out with the families and hang out with parents yeah like I dig it man I I dig Snoop at the Olympics I do well and I saw I do I absolutely do as well again I've been amazed at how you know I thought it was just be like okay you've got Snoop Dogg in your coverage how good is this actually going but it's just like he's been a little bit alike where's Waldo he's just bouncing around you know event to event and you know like you said he's hanging out with the families he's he's you know and not just like interviewing the families he's literally just sitting with moms and dads watching their kids perform he's like chilling with uh with Caleb dressel's wife and their new baby and he like gave the baby a nickname and everything and they interviewed Caleb dressle and he's like no he goes our kid really enjoyed hanging with Snoop like he was totally like calm and cool and collected when he was around he's not usually like that around strangers he was like that around Snoop you know like I I just I feel like maybe NBC hired him in the first place to kind of be what you just said you know what I mean just to he you know it's kind of a thing but he is like all in on it like I think they're getting way more than they even bargain for if you if you want to put it that that way you know well you know in the next Summer Olympics are going to be in Los Angeles so it's just a natural fit he's a California guy works those like my question is do they bring him in to do Winter Olympics in in two years you know like would he go to the slopes or you know to the ice rinks or whatever he probably would he Pro I think he needs to be a staple he he him and Mike too you guys are now the NBC Staples for the Olympics yep it's been a lot of fun it's been a lot of fun and it's all winding down down now we've only got a couple days left the Olympics but he's he's really added to the entertainment value like when they do that it doesn't even have to be Studio stuff but he bounces in the studio every now and then too I have to say I I have actually really enjoyed just getting up in the morning and just flipping on the Olympics and it's just the live they're just bouncing around between all the different stuff and it's been great I've really it's kind of revived the summer like during the day part like I've really enjoyed it for sure all right well that's going to do it for today's show Vince I appreciate you jumping in kind of on some late notice again tonight no problem pitching in helping out always appreciate I Jesse will get me back full faith that that will happen I'm sure you guys will get each other back and just I saw Joe uh you know because I said on the boards because people have asked before well who's hosting the show so we know you know sort of where to direct a question so I put something on the board saying Vince is hosting you know you know Vince is co-hosting tonight so plan your questions accordingly and Joe basically said I was telling people to dumb the questions down wow because you were hosted wow okay that was that was before you shot down his Arrowhead Stadium thing so Joe Joe I know he's not local because he said he lives three hours away from AR Omaha he's in Omaha so I'm safe but come on Joe show me love I know all right smash that like button before you leave again we appreciate you being here have a good one and we will talk to you later on IB Nation Sports Talk