NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL PRESEASON AWARDS! MVP, BREAKOUT PLAYERS, AND MORE!

it's time for the preseason award show which player is going to win MVP and which young players are going to break out all that more in today's edition of locked on Irish you are locked on Irish your daily podcast on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day hey what's going on and welcome into lockon Irish I'm your host Tyler rojack I'm a notre malum producer at Fox Sports and it's great to have you here on Tuesday August 27th and I wanted to thank you for making this your first listen of the day you can listen to the show wherever you get your podcast and you can watch every episode on YouTube as well just please hit that like button and subscribe if you are watching on YouTube or rate review And subscribe if you're listening to the podcast this episode is brought to you by FanDuel now through September 22nd all FanDuel customers can bet $5 and get a 3-week free trial of NFL Sunday Ticket from YouTube and YouTube TV just asit fanduel.com / lockon to get started okay I am so excited about today's show Luke Smith and I are going to hand out our annual preseason Awards we started doing this five years ago on a podcast we used to do together called sons of Saturday Irish and we have kept it going every year since it is a great way to share some predictions about players who we think are going to shine for the Irish this year and then at the end of the season we're going to go back and revisit our selections and see how we did we always have a ton uh ton of fun doing this and I hope I hope you enjoy it as much as we do check it out all right Luke the time has come it's game week we're excited we're optimistic and we're going to do our preseason award show and I was looking back I think this is like our fourth year doing this which is kind of insane it shows you how fast time flies but before we get to the awards we do have to touch on the fact that Notre Dame released their first official depth chart of the 2024 season they were some notable takeaways I think a lot of what we saw was things they were things that we expected but now it's official so what really stood out to you from the depth chart I think the biggest thing to me was Adon Schuler beating out Rod herd at safety it was something that we had heard was a strong possibility and especially over the last couple weeks it seemed like that might happen but that's pretty significant to me that now Rod herd this guy who's played five years of college football four years of college football or whatever it is at Northwestern in the Big 10 is truly just a luxury depth piece at that at this point that that's significant to me and and that's where you want to be as a as a college football playoff Contender I would say to have that level of depth so that's significant to me I think that's significant and the fact that Schuler just beat him outright is really impressive and it's rare for a younger player who doesn't have a ton of experience to beat out an older player who has a ton of experience now it's a little bit different in this case because herd is a transfer and his experience was at Northwestern but still he was a very productive player at Northwestern and I think think Notre Dame probably expected him to start when they got him in the transfer portal but he's still going to be a very important piece for the Irish he's going to be the first safety Off the Bench he's going to be a backup nickel and apparently a backup cornerback as well but I think the most significant thing to me is something that we expected but seeing it on paper Sam Pendleton is going to start over Pat kugan and Roco Spindler we had heard about it for weeks now but that's another guy who beat out older more experienced players in front of him and I don't know how he did it in a couple weeks at Camp the fact that he was able to basically make up for what 23 combined starts between Pat coug and Rocko Spindler Pendleton has none but I thought it's it it must be really really telling of how good of a player is the fact that he would beat out those two guys so now it's official Notre is going to be rolling out an offensive line with six career starts combined among the group and obviously I'm nervous but I think the fact that beat them out shows you that he might be a really good player I agree um and this is probably me just trying to spin Zone some things but I was I was thinking about this earlier today like the reality of the situation that you have here is Charles jagus saww was hurt he only had one career start and it was against a skeleton crew Oregon State team in the bowl game last year so who really knows what he was going to be at the start of this season Sam Pendleton goes and wins a job over two guys that had 21 starts between them like I'm not really sure that outside of Jag you saw which I think the ceiling is a lot higher that this that this concern that we've had over the offensive line over the last few weeks is it's really any more than we should have probably had to begin with because we're not even taking into account that at right tackle you've got a guy that's never started before either nobody's really talking about the fact that Amil Wagner hasn't started at all I know it's just like okay out there he's good we're moving on from that all the concerns about his weight people just seem to forget and I mean I've been pretty consistent throughout the offseason I've been like yeah I'm really concerned about the offensive line I have no idea what's going to happen they lose jasaw and now pendon gets a start and I feel pretty much the same about the group still very nervous but we're going to see when the Irish take the field against T&M um a couple other things I thought it was interesting that for all of the starting wide receiver spots there was an ore for every single one which means that the player was listed first it was dude it was alphabetical and not necessarily who won the job so it's going to be a six-man rotation it's a lot of the players that we expected Bo Collins and Jane Thomas at the boundary and then at the field you've got Jordan Faison and Chris Mitchell and then in the slot Jane great house and jayen Harrison so it's a deep group there's a lot of talent there we're going to find out if there's a true Alpha because right now it looks like there's six onea or like number two guys absolutely and I know that he missed pretty much all last season but the fact that Dion KY isn't even on the depth chart is fairly significant to me just because he has made plays in games before and that's a a luxury item I guess at this point it makes me wonder if he's on the team after week four this year or if he's just gonna grad transfer or maybe he doesn't like football I don't I don't know but um that's that's something that's also notable to me last thing on the dep chart Drake Bowen is going to be the starting middle linebacker and there was also no or next to his name I thought that could be the case that maybe King s bamu ASA could really challenge him for the starting job it doesn't appear that he's going to do that week one but maybe he will later on and I think you're going to touch on that in the preseason Awards so I don't think we need to wait around anymore why don't you kick us off with our very first award first award where we will be listing today is the uh Club Fever award for freshman of the year for those not familiar with South Bend in the late 2000s to 2018 I want to say Club Fever was the one bar in South Bend that allowed pretty much anybody and everybody who had some semblence of an ID and it was a wonderful place um you could get in there as like I said like with a anybody's ID basically you'd also see upper classman graduate students there it was truly a place that brought South Bend together unfortunately it is no longer but um actually named for the Freshman of the Year here and I am going to go with Anthony nap I want one more thing to say on the Club Fever thing so for people who are unfamiliar yeah they let in pretty much everyone and it wasn't like one of those bars where oh if you were too if you were older you wouldn't go cuz it's freshman only no it was literally every single grade but the bar was so big that each grade would kind of sort of like go into their own little space there but something that I kind of forget about that is very funny is TR the the beginning of the end for feve came when I was a sophomore so this was probably 2015 and there was a Facebook post yes people were still using Facebook at the time Club Fever posted on Facebook basically saying this long drawn out thing that they can't break the law anymore it was a really big deal and the Notre campas basically shut down and they're basically saying like yeah security is going to be ramped up Unfortunately they accused like other bars of ratting on them and all this stuff and like it was they never really came out and said it we can no longer let underage people into the bar but it's so funny in retrospect thinking that grown adults running a Facebook page saying hey guys bad news we've been breaking the law for years everyone knew about it we can't do that anymore but just a one last aside because I feel like people don't really know about fee anymore well if we're gonna be before we get into the awards now if we're gonna be talking about that Facebook post that is not the most unhinged thing I was actually wondering if we were gonna go there why not I'm gonna go there uh really the bar ended up closing because the bouncer one of the main bouncers was effectively running and operating the bar the bar owner was no longer really involved in the day-to-day operations this guy tragically passed of a heart attack I think uh winter break of fall 2018 and they go on his Facebook and the club thever Facebook advertising that they are going to have his wake at Club Fever and there's going to be a visitation but the the thing is they did this all in like the first person as if they were the Dead Guy like they hosted hey I'm in a better place now and then it ended with hasg goirish hashack pack the fever so I think that's uh it's all you need to know about this place yeah it's too bad that place is no longer because the stories I mean if walls could talk I mean Club Fever would have stories that frankly I mean they could write great novels you just those stories but I think that was along aside from the actual award which is given out to the fresh of the year so you said Anthony nap I'm going to follow that up with Anthony knp as well because Notre needs Anthony knp to be the fresh of the year and it's kind of funny imagine if I had asked you this question like a month ago I don't think anyone would have said Anthony nap KVA would have been the very popular pick and for good reason and there's a very good chance that Kingston Vasa ends up being the best freshman on this team but if nap can just survive this Texas ANM game like if he could just get through it relatively unscathed this if he can just hold his own and just be average like I don't think anyone's expecting him to go out there and be a brick wall in the left side of that line but if he can just hold his own keep the texam defensive ends at Bay we know they've got some really good ones I think that is going to give him so much confidence throughout the rest of the season and yeah there's going to be some growing paints there's going to be times where he's a little bit overmatched but if he could just get through this game it's a lot like the schedule you get through this it really opens up for you and I think that all Anthony nap has to do is get through this first game and then he could have a really really good freshman season which no one would have expected a month ago right and that's kind of where I fell on this I think the answer has to be nap if this season is g to be as successful as we all want it to be I think it can be if if there M's gonna make the college football playoff and host a first round game win a neutral sight game it's got to be Anthony nap he's his nastiness and visal that's been praised over the last couple weeks and really going back to his time as as a recruit that needs to show itself and really it needs to show itself right away at College Station I want to give an honorable mention because if we gave this a to rard freshman my pick would have been Sam Pendleton and something that you know we've already talked about him a little bit the fact that he won the job all that is great but uh Tom ly from 247 Sports posted this blurb on Twitter where it's uh from a piece he wrote in 2023 he does an according to sources piece every single year about every player in the Notre Dame recruiting class and it's basically just like someone from inside the goog someone who works in the recruiting department or on the actual staff provides ly some insight anonymously and I thought the blur about Pendleton is spot on so here's the full quote that's another draft pick super underrated in our opinion we love that kid tough leader physical can bend will knock you out smart as a midyear he could absolutely be a guy that plays way earlier than people expected and could start way before most expected end quote a lot of the time when I read some of these like quotes about recruits coming in like every single one just seems so exaggerated because obviously a coach is going to speak highly of the recruit that they just signed this probably read like that at the time and it ended up being 100% accurate and it's pretty crazy now that he is actually going to be starting way earlier than everyone expected it it really is so um we'll see how that goes but yeah it's pretty wild and for context you I both took Jaden GRE house on this last last year I think we probably ultimately decided that it was Rico Flores actually who won this award last year but great house without injuries was a pretty good pick from us yeah he still led the team in reception despite the fact that his hamstring really not like completely wiped him out for the second half of the season because he did come back and play but there was a big chunk there where notame really missed him and then Rico Flores basically won it because of process of elimination they didn't really have any of receivers and now he's at UCL okay next next award this one is self-explanatory the Jonas Gray award the senior who has a breakthrough year Luke and I thought we were being original when we created this award a few years ago and now it seems like on every single Notre name podcast people literally call it the Jonas Gray award we're not going to get protective it wasn't the most creative thing in the world but it's basically about a senior who has been around for a long time maybe they've contributed a little bit in their time but then their senior year they really break out Javon McKinley is another great example of this but who are you taking for this year so I think I'm cheating a little bit with this pick because this is a guy who actually has produced the college level albeit not at Notre Dame but I think it fits because he hasn't produced to the level at which he was projected and the other thing is when I was looking at the depth chart there there really aren't a ton of guys who potentially fit this role like Notre Dame's got a lot of younger guys it was pretty hard I'm not gonna lie this one was kind of checky so with that said I'm going with Bo Collins uh former five star has 91 catches for just under 1300 yards and 11 touchdowns over his first three years of college it's decent production but probably not what Clemson thought they were getting from him when they recruited him however I would argue that everything we've heard about him this August from his testing numbers to reports about his ability to go up and make plays on the ball it forced me to believe that his performances fall might shed more light on the Mickey Mouse Clemson offense that they were running the last couple years as well as his own Talent so I'm going with Bo Collins here and you have a pretty good track record last year you picked Chris Tyree I think that was spot on that was a great hit for you for my pick here I'm gonna take another wide receiver Jane Thomas because even though he's not we don't think he's going to be a starter in the sense he's not going to be like one of the first three wide receivers out there I think he's going to have a really good year and if you look at his career splits 2022 he only had 20 receptions for 295 yards three touchdowns last year he was protected to be wide receiver one going into the season and it actually started off that way he had a touchdown in the Navy game and that spring game Sam Hartman's first time in the blue and gold he was going to Jaden Thomas routinely and they were having a lot of success and you're like man Jaden Thomas could end up having a huge season for the Irish then Thomas heard his hamstring in that Ohio State game and then he was really pretty much done the rest of the season I think he played sparingly in a couple games but was not healthy enough to really contribute and his stats last year he actually regressed in terms of the numbers he put up he only had 17 receptions for 251 yards and one touchdown in that season opener I think he's going to have a really solid year this year I'm not saying he's going to be anywhere near a thousand receiving yards but I just think that he is a really reliable Target he can also block really well and considering the issues that notame could have on the offensive line if you bring him in motion which we know Mike Den Brock likes to do he can chip guys off the edge and be a force in the Run game so I think he's going to be out there a lot and I just really thought it was interesting in that sunbowl when Jane th s played for a really long time he came out Steve anelli was immediately looking to get him the ball and I think that he's a consistent four receptions 60 yards per game type of player and that's going to be an asset for this offense I almost went with Thomas myself so I think this is a good pick frankly it's a guy that couple months ago I'm not sure I thought he was still gonna be on the roster I think there were some murmurs that is he just gonna move on is he is he potentially the odd man out well he's still around and and I think this is a great pick for a guy to have a a really big bounceback here and last year I took Bella who I almost went with again this year but it's like at this point he's I mean he did start throughout last season he's uh he has no eligibility left for this award yeah I think when when every single year people are picking you to be the breakout player like eventually it's it just it doesn't really apply that being said Jord batell could still end up having a really good year unfortunately he is just no longer eligible for this award Luke and I still have plenty more Awards to hand out but before we get to that I want to tell you about 5H Hour Energy 5H Hour Energy fixes tired fast whether you have a long list to do for work or a long list of DIY projects to tackle at home take a 5our energy shot so you can check everything off your list if you're like me you always have a large list of things you need to do and when you get supplies for your project or if you're ready to knock out those things at work do not forget the most essential Supply which is a 5H Hour Energy Shot with zero sugar and a convenient portable size it is the perfect pickme up for getting stuff done the 5our Energy website has flavors lore like watermelon tropical burst grap Berry and more there is really a flavor for everyone you can try them all on the site you even have the option to build your own 12pack or 24pack you choose the flavors and it is delivered right to your door if you go to 5our energy.com that is the number five hour energy.com and get some 5H Hour Energy product today you can use my promo code locked on CFB to receive 20% off your order this offer is only valid until September 30th on 1 order and cannot be used with other promotions the code is not good on subscription orders so go to 5our energy.com today and use my promo code locked on CFB next one we have the Kiren williamsj alt award for the player who will have a breakout season pretty simple pretty self-explanatory I'm gonna take Christian Gray here throughout last season there was talk that Christian Gray was going to be a star he has great size for the position he has Elite athletic ability now he's a true quarterback Marcus Sten said as much in his press conference on Monday the fact that he got 198 snaps last year as a true freshman when Notre Dame had Benjamin Morrison and cam Hart ahead of him they did not need to play a true freshman quarterback at all but he was so good that he earned his playing time and I've said it over and over I think Christian Gray is going to be a star and I think we're going to start to see that this season I think I would love if this is the case I mean there's been some chatter I think John Bryce football scoop said he has like all am American potential this year that would be awesome if that's the case if if he can match or come close to cam Hart's production or just overall play last year this secondary is gonna be Dynamite so um would love if gray is ends up being that guy personally I'm staying on the defensive side of the ball I'm going with Jaylen sne um while perhaps not in the same vein of Kiren or or Joe Al who are kind of both stars that broke out seemingly out of nowhere I I think this just needs time to Rise um we've heard some really good things coming out of August coming out of Camp officially listed as a starting Rover on the dep chard and when you think about it some under names more Dynamic linebackers have really flourished for the first time in their third season playing that's J K Tavon Cony guys like that come to mind and and I think he's finally had enough time in the system it's his third year in Al Golden's defense and I think he's ready to to really show out and and frankly I think he could truly game wreck that Texas A&M game with his speed I thought about picking Sneed the only reason I didn't is because I just didn't know how many snaps he's going to get per game now if he separates himself and it's basically him and Kaiser as the primary two linebackers so when Notre Dame runs nickel they have those two guys out there every single play then sne could end up having a huge year I've just been so curious about Jane ury's role in this defense like how much is he going to play because I would think that if Osberry is on the field then sneed's probably not I don't know how Notre is going to rotate their linebackers it's going to be one of the most interesting things we see from that defense early on but one last thing on Gray I've said it before I wish I could bet on this I think Christian Gray is going to lead the team in interceptions because Benjamin Morrison is going to have his own Island I think Xavier Watts cannot duplicate what he did last year with seven interceptions I think teams are going to test Christian Grey a lot and he's gonna make him pay yeah and speaking of zavier Watts that was my pick for this award last year I think I think I was like sort of right on that I don't know what would you say I took Riley Mills so I I was really into the defensive line last year clearly with batell and Riley Mills but yeah you were nailing it yeah there we go what's next all right so for the next award here we have the dco cafe award uh this refers to the player who is a who is not a starter week one but will have a huge impact for those not familiar with doo Cafe and frankly I I fear that we may have to update this name at a certain I was actually just thinking about that I'm not sure it's quite the Hidden Gem once was um but when we were in school dco Cafe was largely a faculty lunch spot in the dco hall building they had the best Launches on campus really not a ton of people knew about it um but it kind of evolved over time and uh and now I think it's it's super Popular by the time we graduated it was it was very popular and I went there what three or four times a week so that's where that name comes from yeah we might be really showing our age here I'm worried that there's going to be a current student or maybe a recent graduate listening this like dco Cafe is a Hidden Gem like I had to wait in line for 30 minutes to get a spicy chicken wrap there so hopefully it still works but we wanted to give a shout out to dco Cafe because I basically live there uh I think the last probably year on campus because once you would move off campus um most people did not get the meal plan where you'd get to go to the dining hall so you had to kind of find your spots uh I probably ate more Penn Station back then cuz they took Dom dollars but that was on a canas so we're going to go dco Cafe all right who are you taking for the award so this is where I have KVA I would not be shocked at all if Kingston Ville amasa is starting by the Louisville game I just think he's that good and it seems like the staff thinks he's that good we haven't seen it from Drake Bowen yet that's not to say that he can't be a very good player himself but it just seems like this kid is one of those guys that only comes around so often and and I really do think that he is probably going to be starting by the time October comes around um you know I I had initially had noted here that I thought that Notre Dame giving him a Green Dot which signals that he's the guy with the uh the helmet communication made it clear to him that they have trust in him that might still be true but as as I was kind of thinking back on that the other guy that has that is Jack Kaiser uh and you can only have one guy on the field with that at one time so I don't know how often Jack Kaiser is going to come off the field which made me think all right maybe that doesn't mean anything then if if he's got that because Kaiser's not coming off the field self but anyways I was confused by that as well could they just take the Green Dot off his helmet when he's in at the same time as Kaiser like that seems almost impossible that KVA and Jack heis are never going to be on the field at the same time right I don't know I don't know how the technology Works uh I'm I'm claiming ignorance here so but yeah I'm not sure yeah but again the fact that they even trusted him to have that as a true freshman is telling but I'm going to take bubacar tayori he might not even start a single game all season long but he's going to be a high impact guy when he's out there and for as much as we all like Jordan Bell and the idea of a mature slim down Jordan Batello and the impact that he could have on this defense I do think that he's going to take the bulk of the snaps but look at what bubor did in that one snap against USC last year when he absolutely dusted that right tackle on USC I think that he is going to come in in situations that are very advantageous for him like obvious passing situations when he just really has to pin his ears back and go and he is going to be an asset so I I was thinking about what his statline could look like I looked back at some of the samps norm had on defense last year not out was safam men said like 252 I think trar is goingon to have a little bit more than that and I think that when he's out there he's going to bring the noise I think he's going to have like potentially six sacks eight tfls and he's going to be a weapon for this defense whenever they choose to use him so he was my pick for this last year which was a bit of a stretch and I acknowledge that as much at the time but I almost felt like that play against USC was so insane that it I was ready to quantify it as a huge impact so I like it this year um I and I and I totally agree I think he's going to be a big ball player this year for the Irish and I remember when you picked that it was because of the things that we had heard about what he was doing in Camp so it's not like this brand new thing where all of a sudden he's coming out of nowhere in this preseason like had a really good camp last year still very raw still had a lot to learn about playing the position and being like a real football player now it's been a full season and then some so now I think he's really kind of fine-tuned his game and he's going to be ready to have a big impact so yeah the fact that you picked him last year makes me feel even better about what he can do this year just a little ahead of the curve there so I'm with you as you've been on all of these okay our next award is the Brothers Bar and Grill award so this goes out to the position group or a player that might frustrate you at times but we'll deliver when it counts and we might have a reputation of complaining a little bit on this podcast but sure there is nothing that infuriates me more in maybe in this entire world than the customer service at Brothers Bar and Girl in South B it is located on the corner of Eddie Street and what's the street that runs perpendicular to it um isn't it just uh it's like it runs parallel to Angela it's basically part of the original Eddie street it's it should be the best bar ever because they have a great indoor outdoor setup it's so close to campus they have unbelievable deals on food and drink the problem is I don't know if there is any sort of background check screening process for hiring their employees I have spent more time or I had spent more time waiting on food and drink to arrive when I was a student at Notre Dame and I would go to brothers and thing is the setting was still so good that we would go all the time and it was so cheap that we would continuously go despite the fact that they would give us reasons time and time again to not go to the bar but we would do it and we'd make the most out of it but at its peak in the most high pressure moments there was nothing like eating and drinking on the brother's patio on a nice day in South Benz so we might complain about it but man when it delivers it delivers in a big way yeah I mean sometimes you they put the wrong Smith's tab on yours too and you end up with like $200 that you had one beer so it's that's sweet do um it's just an extremely inep staff sometimes they run out of wings on wing night an hour into it sometimes they throw ice at patrons and that there's just there's a lot of weird stuff that goes on in that bar but it's a terrific place so I think we could probably also name this like the John door award because he was the epitome of this award that's actually so true there is no player that embodied this reward more than Jonathan door 35 yard Chip Shot early on in the game low stakes that is not even coming remotely close to the field goal post if you put another one right next to it he would miss it again but game on the line on the road in Tallahassee gamewinner blackburg yeah he's he's getting it so I something to consider if we get some cease and assist letters Brothers might not love this um I still have I think a little bit of survivors not guilt or remorse PTSD I almost call it from the receiver room last year who I picked for this we both did they never delivered unfortunately not once yeah so I think the answer here is offensive line and this is a little bit of optimistic thinking this line could be awesome by Year's End as you mentioned they're so young six career starts in a talented group but they could also be awful in September and I think we had to prepare ourselves for that uh and so that especially the first game being what it is that doesn't give us a ton of latitude but um I think we just have to keep the right mindset about this that hey by November this group could really be jelling and we could have a lot of special players on that line I like your pick I think that's the safe pick and it's sort of optimistic because as long as they deliver when it counts like that's the most most important thing I'm going to go a little Against the Grain here I'm going to take the linebackers because I think we're all really excited about what this group can accomplish they have five really talented players led by Jack Kaiser the veteran Drake Bowen Jaylen Sneed KVA and Jaye Ury all bring different things to the table that frankly no probably hasn't had in a long time because for his good and as consistent as JD Bertrand was he obviously had a few limitations still a very good player but maybe not quite the athlete as some of these guys and then Maris lefau we have talked about his deficiencies many times before in this podcast but he was still a productive player as well outside of Kaiser this group is very inexperienced and I do think it's going to show itself at times it could be a bad run fit Miss tackles in the open field poor coverage either way this group is going to have some growing pains and it will be frustrating but overall I think they're going to be really impressive they're going to get better as the year goes on and they're going to make some plays where you go wow like we weren't seeing that in the past couple years so this group has like a really high ceiling I think a lower floor than some people might expect but overall I still feel good about the linebackers but there's just going to be a couple big plays or some explosives or they're going to want to make you pull your hair out I think that's a really good call there there could definitely be some busts that are just infuriating it's like what the hell happen there but as I alluded to earlier there could also be some moments where jayen sne is just wreaking havoc out there with his speed so it'll be a very fun group to watch and and I'm sure there'll be some learning curves or a learning curve to this but um I think that's a good call the first time Jaylen seed rushes off the edge has a free Lane to the quarterback and actually just tackles him and doesn't just fly just run right past him or whether it be a running back either one the first time he makes that play it's going to be really exciting okay our next award the four 1K award which goes out to the player who might not have the biggest impact this fall but whose progress you will be watching closely I think it's pretty self-explanatory we know what a 401k is we're smart here who you who are you taking here I'm going with Bryce young here um Notre Dame's defensive line room is extremely deep and I think in other years Bryce young would be playing a lot of snaps uh I still think it's significant that he's on the depth chart whether even though I think it is as like a third Stringer but this year they really don't need him to play a ton of snaps and I I do think there are going to be some moments for him where he shows off all the traits that make him a tantalizing Pro Prospect down the road I don't know if that's a big sack like similar to what trayor did against USC last year if he just has a moment where he just blows past the tackle and and smokes the quarterback but I can see that happening for him in a couple in in small sample sizes this year yeah I I was pretty surprised to see an or next to his name on the depth chart I think that maybe by season's end he is you know maybe not the backup because I think Josh Burnham has got that spot down but I think he's gonna have more of an impact than people would have expected going into the season given the fact that notam has so many guys in front of him um for my pick I'm taking gerby Lambert the other true freshman tackle and I guarantee if you had told 100 people in the summer that Notre was going to start a true freshman at left tackle 100 out of a 100 people out you know outside the program would a probably predicted that person would be gerby lamber that's because he's massive borderline five-star recruit coming out of high school one of the biggest editions in not's most recent recruiting class well it's not him it's going to go to Anthony now but that doesn't mean that kby Lambert isn't going to be very good the staff is extremely high on him for all the reasons I just mentioned and he just wasn't around during spring practice he wasn't a midyear en rolly and I think that is the reason why nap is starting nap is still a really good player he's been around he's been in the college wait room longer and I think that that's a big reason why nap got the um Edge for now and I think that Anthony knp and gerby lbert could both be great I'm not even suggesting that gerby Lambert is going to beat him out for the job but I think that by the end of the year gerby Lambert is going to be fighting for some playing time and I think in the future uh he's still going to be a great player for the Irish even if he doesn't have quite the same start that a player like Anthony nap is going to have totally I I think that there's even been some some rumors out there that you know the staff thinks that at some point this season Lambert is going to start or will be ready to start at a minimum so I think that he's definitely got a bright future above him and that's a great pick for that reason last year my pick was Christian Gray so I'm still riding the Christian Gray train as you can see today and you had Kenny minchie and honestly like that could have been a good pick again this year was a good pick last year it's still interesting now it is uh the only real action we saw him last year was taking a knee against his uh the coach he was for committed to so yeah didn't get to see a whole lot great Petty moment hey Irish fans I want to take a moment to give you a heads up on a brand new mobile game that I think you are going to love just as much as I do ultimate college football HC in this amazing game and simulation you get to step into the shoes of a head coach and lead your college football program to Glory can you imagine actually being the head coach of Notre Dame from recruiting players and hiring your coaching staff to overseeing training camps and handling school scholarships you control every crucial detail of your program it's all in your hands will you be able to handle the pressure here's what I really love about the game you're responsible for calling offensive plays during the games your strategy will not only determine the success of your football season but it will also shape the future and the legacy of your program ultimate college football HC is completely free has no ads and is 100% playable offline you can play on the- go as you want and when you want to and of course we have a special offer for locked on Irish listeners use the promo code locked on CFB all caps inside the game store to receive a free boost to your program make sure to take advantage of this perk as it will get your team off to a strong start to download the game just visit ultimate-fx Legacy today today's episode is brought to you by ibata it's summertime which means it's barbecue season you can stock up on all of your grilling favorites and earn cash back on every purchase when you use ibata so you won't have to choose between burgers or hot dogs you can get both ibata it as a free app that lets you earn cash back every time you shop you can earn on hundreds of items from groceries to Beauty Supplies even toys so you can make sure you're beating inflation no matter what it is that you're purchasing the average ibata a user earns $256 per year that could cover the cost of an entire shopping trip that flight you've been eyeing or the fancy dinner that you've been craving other apps give you points but they don't really amount to much but with ibata up you earn cash back that you can withdraw to your bank account payal or gift cards simply add offers in the app upload your receipt and voila the money is yours you can save on over 2400 Brands and shop at over 1,000 retailers including your favorite grocery stores Lowe's Macy seora Best Buy and more it's time you join the over 50 million users who use iata to earn cash back every time they Shop Right Now iata is offering our listeners $5 Just For Trying ibata by using the code locked on College when you register just go to the app store or Google Play Store and download the free ibought an app to start earning cash back and use code locked on College it's IB o t TA in the Google Google play or App Store and use codee locked on College who's the MVP I don't know about you I I spent a lot of time thinking about this this was really hard last year it felt easy like we took or no you took Sam Harin I took AIC ese I think you know 90% of people were taking Sam Harman last year and I ended up taking kind of a boring pick I'm going to go with Riley Leonard and personally as you know I have come a long way with Riley Leonard at point I wasn't even if Notre should take him now I think he's going to be the MVP and a big reason why I'm taking him is because of not's issues on the offensive line or perceived issues because I think they're going to need Riley Leonard to run around and use his legs to save them a lot if they lose Leonard it could get dicey for the offense especially early on in the season because even though Steve Angeli can move he's nowhere close to the runner that Riley Leonard is and I think that he's going to be such a focal point of this offense that he's going to be the second leading rusher there's going to be some games where he might be the leading rusher and he's good enough throwing the ball notam has a lot more weapons for him on the outside so he is going to be a very very very important part of this team I'm not saying he's going to be the best player I think that Benjamin Morrison is the most talented player I mean you could maybe even make the argument that Riley Leonard isn't even a top three player in terms of talent but I think he's going to be the most important player on this team and the most valuable by season end so you're picking him basically for the same reasons that I picked Sam Hartman last year um Sam Hartman didn't deliver on that and and I will state that he was not helped by the receivers around him and maybe just some play calling but I I I totally get the rationale that's exactly what my thought process was last year didn't work out that way um hope it does for Riley Leonard Notre Dame this year I'm saying Jeremiah love it seems like he has really separated himself from jadarian price I think price going to play a bunch but it seems like there's a significant gap between love and price and everything we've heard coming out of Camp is extremely positive I think we're going to see some dominant performances from him this year I mean this is a guy that had five touchdowns in a state championship game I don't know if he's gonna be scoring five touchdowns and a college game but like I think he's gonna have some wow moments just like stuff we haven't seen from a running back in a long time and this is a program that their last two running backs have been audre EST and kyen Williams so that's saying a lot like the bar is extremely high but he just seems to have a different gear that neither of those guys really had I think people were probably shocked earlier on in this episode when neither one of us gave Jeremiah love the kyen Williams Joe Alward for the player who has a breakout season well that's because Luke is picking up to win the MVP and I think that says a lot he definitely could he's a very explosive player and Notre is going to need him uh to be that kind of guy at this season all right this next award it's an old award with a new name and I think you are better off explaining this one than me so this was formerly called the uh what the hell was that game otherwise known as Ball State Toledo Vanderbilt Louisville Etc award um we're changing it to the domerfest award because for those who are listening to this show that attended Notre Dame you'll probably know what this is but effectively think of domerfest as a part of FR show freshman orientation weekend that is like a forced mixer between everybody across the student body and you're in like a fenced in area on a quad um I think it's like right in front of the Jordan Hall of Science if I recall correctly there's a bunch of Inflatables there's a DJ there's no alcohol right because it's a school function yeah yeah not to say that kids don't show up lit but it's you basically have to show up because your ra walks you over there and then you try to find ways to scheme out so that you can go off campus and actually go to like a real party but it's funny like I still have some numbers in my phone that like is like Chris ND domerfest no idea who the kid is but I'm like yeah I guess I met this guy at domerfest in August of 2015 so it's like a what the hell was that I don't know like fever fever pitch dream sort of thing so that's uh that's why we're renaming it to that yeah and I think one other thing the other reason why the domerfest name is sort of applicable here is because you know it's going to be awkward like you know it's probably going to be uncomfortable because it is a four social setting and there's a ton of people and like you're excited the school is starting but you're like wait this does feel a little bit off it's like going to a summer camp for kids but you're in college so it just has a weird vibe to it so the reason why it works for the schedule is because like you kind of know there's going to be one game where it's the fourth quarter you're sweating it out and you're like we're really doing this well yeah it just happens to every team other than like maybe Alabama and their Prime where like there is going to be a game against a team who another name is much better than but for whatever reason they just didn't show up to play that day and it's going to be uncomfortable and it's just about getting through it and I think there's actually a lot of different good options on the schedule this year but who are you taking ultimately I think Miami Ohio is probably the easy pick won the MAC last year and despite Alabama stealing their kicker um they're still a a talented team however I I cannot afford for that to be a game at all for various reasons so I'm going say Army um and the reason is I think playing at Yankee Stadium against Army after senior day and before going out to LA is is weird timing other name did this in 2018 where they did the whole Chicago to South Bend to New York to LA and it was it's not quite the same this year there's no Chicago there's actually a byee after the Florida State game in November which helps a little bit but you have no idea what the weather could be like in Yankee Stadium the Saturday before Thanksgiving additionally AR is going back to the under Center option after deviating from it last year and playing more of a shotgun style offense I could very easily see possessions being at a premium in this game and maybe the 10 and0 Irish are distracted by an upcoming trip to the Coliseum so I'm gonna say Army I just think that's a weird one and maybe it's also because like I'm so sick of this freaking Yankee Stadium thing and playing Army and Navy like that I I'm not looking forward to that game at all so maybe that's part of it too yeah I said it before that game just does not move the needle for at all I think Notre should handle him though I am going to take Miami of Ohio it is the easy pick uh I am kind of treading this game honestly just a no- win situation for me or the team because if they smoke them who cares if they lose one season's over and two our mutual friend Preston Khan will never ever let us live it down and look they've got a really good defense they have some real players and I think Chuck Chuck Martin once said uh when he was talking about Notre in Miami of Ohio it's like recess but they get to first 85 picks well that's not the case with this team uh Miami of Ohio actually has a few really good players uh including the Mac Defensive Player of the Year who could be an All-American I'm not talking like all conference I'm talking one of the best players in the country they're old they're going to be ready to go and I just think it's going to be an annoying game Notre should win but it's not going to be a whole lot of fun last year I picked Duke spot on you picked Louisville unfortunately you might have been a little bit too spot on yeah yeah that uh boy that's right yeah I I agree with you I I am also dreading the Miami game um dating a girl who went to Miami she can have a bunch of friends there so I can't have this be a game because I just want to be relaxed the whole time and just not freaking out um you're always relaxed during games well if it's not close it'll be great uh but Miami has has come a long way since my buddy Billy ball was throwing four picks against Ohio for like 80 yards in 2016 and they won like one game so shout out to them all right last award before your official record prediction this is the Min in Utopia no this is South Bend award for the biggest win of the year what are you taking here so I've got a different answer on this one I'm not sure one applies um and here's why this team should win every game on its schedule they are better than every team on its schedule and they are more talented they are better coached than every team on its schedule and I go back to Notre Dame basketball in 2015 Notre Dame beat Duke at home as a top 10 team playing at home game they were favored in and the students tried to rush the court and jiren Grant and Pat conathan are saying no get back like we expected to win this game that is the sort of mentality that I expect this group to have now while winning at A&M has the potential to shape this season in a tremendous way winning that game to me is not on the same level as beating Ohio State in past years or Clemson and some others even USC maybe in some others because not should expect to win that Texas A&M game I don't care that they're a dog I mean they're a better team than A&M and there's a lot of there's a lot more questions at A&M to me than there are in the Notre Dame program so I just there's not gonna be a win to me that um that probably really is like I can't believe that just happened because I think they should win every game on this schedule yeah not surprisingly we both took Ohio State last year and we were very close to it would have been it actually would have been Utopia like if not name it actually pulled off that upset we don't have to relive that again but that is sort of the weird thing about this schedule especially now that Florida State lost the season opener is it does lack that Marquee matchup and even though this is obviously a very big game this weekend when Notre faces Tex A&M like Tex A&M isn't going to be in the national championship hunt at any point in the season whereas Ohio state was last year that being said I'm still taking T&M and this actually might be a little bit more personal for me because you and I will be at this game if the Irish get to win it will be the first time I've ever gone to a big road game that Notre Dame actually won I was at Georgia in 2019 for the sake of this discussion we're going to include the playoff games and the national championship because it feels like a road game not got absolutely dominated uh in every single one of those games that I went to and I've just I enjoy going to other uh campuses to watch other play I did go to the Michigan State game my senior year that was in 2017 they were both ranked they were both ranked in the top 15 at the time Michigan State ended up being very overrated the Michigan State stadium was probably the worst college football stadium I've ever been to for a place that's actually that actually cares about football so that just does not have the same juice as this one so if Notre Dame is able to pull off the win this Saturday walking out of that Stadium surrounded by 100,00 000 screaming techm fans is going to feel so good and I'm just going to be so much more excited about this season that uh it would feel like Utopia in that moment and we're gonna be having a party in College Station no doubt about that so I I don't argue with the r now there I just think from so from a fans perspective that probably is the right answer for the team I don't think they're I would hope that the team doesn't celebrate like that yeah you know what I mean like they should have that mindset this uh this A&M game might be just as hot as that Michigan State game where you and I drove there in a car without air conditioning so that's so true and wasn't your door like kind of broken so we had to hold the door I think at that point that was fixed but I don't know that car had a lot of issues and that was the night we discovered oh no Charlotte Michigan that's what it was uh if any of our listeners are from charlot Michigan please let us know because I just have questions I've got some questions about Charlotte Michigan okay last one here I already gave out my record prediction in yesterday's show it is time for you Luke to share yours and I think I kind of know where you're going with this I've alluded to this I I think Notre name goes 12 and0 this year um I I think they win every game in the regular season last year I picked just to go 11 and one with a loss to Clemson I think um so it I don't always pick to go 12-0 this year I'm confident this group is going to go 12-0 and and even further I'm confident this group is going to make the final four of the playoff so uh I feel pretty good about it and I think that they're really you know they're college kids it's it's a sport Anything Can Happen week in wi out but I think the expectation should be to go undefeated I agree obviously I took Notre aame to go undefeated and make the college football playoff semi-final but I look at this team is like they're going to go undefeated but there are going to be multiple heart attacks throughout this season like it is not going to be easy which games you think are going to be the toughest I think Saturday Saturday's going to be real tough um and I I think that I I kind of think that Florida State still could be screwy like who knows they could figure out a lot of things but people are right them off too quickly November 9th is a long time from now um and USC we we never play well in La so that uh that one scares the Daylights out of me and another game I'm going to yeah I think that the Senior Day curse is is kind of worn off and I'm really not a big believer in Tony Elliott but Anthony kandria like who knows like that guy might just come in Notre name stadium and just start slanging the rock around like that could be a weird game where people have been talking about Virginia being frisky I I'm not really buying that but the ones that stick out to me are still Florida State and and USC yep it should be a fun season it is weird that we're going into it talking about not potentially going undefeated but also knowing that they could very well lose the season up sure yeah it's very strange it's a it's a weird dynamic going into this year but it should be a lot of fun and Luke this is the first show back and we're gonna have you back here every single Tuesday throughout the football season to react to every game give our final thoughts after the game I'm excited how are you feeling about it I'm pumped uh I'm I'm really pumped and uh hopefully we have some really good things to talk about next Tuesday I think we should um but hopefully for our sake because just with our luck we seem to have a lack of it when traveling and so just hopefully nothing ridiculous happens in the state of Texas I'll leave it at that this is going to be the fourth year in a row where we have spent our Monday nights in the fall talking about this team and it started off great in 2020 they went undefeated it was not so great uh or no fifth year fifth year fifth year wow yeah damn yeah yeah time flies so yeah start off great first season we went undefeated we're like oh my God we're going to go undefeated every year and then 2021 it was like kind of going down and then I don't think I've ever seen you lower than the Monday after Ohio State last year so hopefully we never have to deal with that again and we can go back to doing a lot more fun games but I'm excited for it I'm excited for this season and uh I'll see you in a couple days sounds good all right that is going to do it for today's episode thanks again for making lock on hours for listen of the day tomorrow we will shift gears and dive deep into notrees matchup against the tchm Aggies remember to subscribe on YouTube or wherever you're listening to the podcast and for your second listen check out the locked IR college football podcast I actually went on with Spencer mclin we talked a little bit about Charles jaga's injury and why I like the Irish over the agies this weekend so check that out and I'll see you tomorrow