Latest news with #MikeDenbrock
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Andy Staples names Notre Dame's Mike Denbrock as one of the nation's top OC's
We saw the impact that offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock had in his first season with Notre Dame last fall, helping guide them all the way to the College Football Playoff championship game. Now that the majority of the returning players have a year of knowing the offense under their belts, there is plenty of potential that the Irish could have a sleeping giant on offense. On3's Andy Staples sees that it very well could be the case, and named Denbrock as his No. 2 offensive coordinator in the game behind only Oregon's Will Stein. Denbrock had the Notre Dame offense humming last fall, scoring 36.1 points-per-game, which was good for No. 8 nationally. The Irish averaged just short of 400 yards-per-game, with impeccable balance, as both the rushing and passing yards were right about at 200-per contest. This coming season will be a much different task, as Notre Dame is still deciding on which quarterback, CJ Carr or Kenny Minchey, will lead the offense this fall. Denbrock will have his work cut out for him, but if he can replicate the success that the Irish had on offense last year, he'll be worth every penny. Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (Formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions. Follow Mike on X: @MikeFChen This article originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire: Andy Staples names Mike Denbrock as a top offensive coordinator
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Notre Dame football position preview: Questions abound at tight end
SOUTH BEND—For five straight seasons, Notre Dame football's leading receiver has been a tight end. From 2020-22 it was consensus All-America Michael Mayer leading the way, including a tie with wideout Javon McKinley as a freshman. The past two years, Mitchell Evans topped the list, although with far more modest totals than Mayer posted. Now that Evans is in the NFL with the Carolina Panthers, the five-year streak could be in jeopardy. In 2019 Chase Claypool outpaced tight end Cole Kmet in catches (66-43). Eli Raridon enters his senior year with 16 career catches and a block-first reputation. Offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock is on record predicting 'a huge season' for Raridon this fall, but that will require instant chemistry with a first-time starting quarterback to be determined. Holdovers Kevin Bauman and Jack Larsen return, but promising junior Cooper Flanagan could miss the bulk of the regular season as he recovers from a torn left Achilles suffered in the Sugar Bowl against Georgia. 'More like Superman:' What Notre Dame football greats say about Jeremiyah Love Flanagan has five catches through two seasons but consistently earned playing time last year with his blocking prowess. That leaves Arkansas transfer Ty Washington and four-star freshman James Flanigan as potential wildcards. Like Raridon, Washington was mostly counted on to block during his three seasons at Arkansas. Denbrock tried to recruit him to Cincinnati out of high school, so the connection is there, but Washington has just 14 catches for 212 yards and four scores in his career. Flanigan, the son of former Irish defensive tackle Jim Flanigan, is a freak athlete who also starred in hockey and track and field during his Wisconsin prep career. The younger Flanigan, who also played defense, piled up 21 sacks and 26 touchdown grabs over his final three seasons. 'I wouldn't discount young James Flanigan,' Denbrock told reporters this summer. 'He's got size, he's got power and he's a mature kid for his age.' Depth chart 9 | TE | Eli Raridon | 6-7, 251 | Sr. (1L)-& 84 | TE | Kevin Bauman | 6-5, 253 | Gr. Sr. (1L) 85 | TE | Jack Larsen | 6-3, 250 | R-Fr. (4L) 7 | TE | Ty Washington | 6-4, 247 | Tr.-R-Jr. (2L) 88 | TE | James Flanigan | 6-6, 237 | Fr. (4L) 87 | TE | Cooper Flanagan | 6-6, 258 | Jr. (3L)-Inj. &: Denotes remaining eligibility years Mike Berardino covers Notre Dame football for the South Bend Tribune and Follow him on social media @MikeBerardino. This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Previewing Eli Raridon and Notre Dame football tight end position group
Miami Herald
08-07-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Notre Dame Football Offense Preview 2025: Loaded Attack Needs CJ Carr to Shine
Mike Denbrock came over from LSU, took over the offense, and made it a way too many injuries on the line, and with an early misfire against Northern Illinois, everything else clicked for a ground game that averaged over 200 yards per game, kept the mistakes and turnovers to a bare minimum, and showed surprising firepower in a few key is in place to keep it all going. It's an even more loaded attack, but … X CFN, Fiu | CFN Facebook | Bluesky Fiu, CFN2025 Notre Dame Preview Notre Dame Defense BreakdownSeason Prediction, Win Total, Keys to Season- Is CJ Carr ready to be a superstar? He might be along for the ride for a while until he settles in, but the new starting quarterback has to replace Riley Leonard - all he did was come in from Duke and power the team into the national 6-3, 210-pound redshirt freshman was a fantastic signing for the program with next-level passing skills and just enough mobility to take off here and there. With Steve Angeli taking off for Syracuse, sophomore Kenny Minchey will take over the No. 2 spot if he doesn't grab the gig in fall camp. No matter who's under center, the job will be to hand the ball off to … - Jeremiyah Love might be the nation's best running back. The 6-0, 214-pounder has an unstoppable blend of speed, pop, and balance, averaging close to seven yards per carry with 17 touchdowns, and catching 28 passes for 237 yards and two has the talent to be the signature star of the college football season, but he doesn't have to do it alone for the Irish. Jadarian Price could handle the workload himself, running for 746 yards and seven scores with the speed to be a dangerous kickoff returner. - The receiving corps was already going to be good, and then it got a boost. Jaden Greathouse was okay, and then he picked the right time to blow up with 13 catches for 233 yards and three of his four touchdowns against Penn State and Ohio State. Joining him is Jordan Faison, a rising receiver who should be great with more work after finishing fourth on the team with 30 grabs. Malachi Fields (Virginia) averaged over 14 yards per catch on his 129 grabs over the last four seasons with the Cavaliers. He's great for the outside, and Will Pauling (Wisconsin) will work his way in the slot after making 116 grabs with nine scores in two years with the Irish tight ends have been outstanding over the last few years, and now it's up to 6-7 Eli Raridon and veteran Kevin Bauman to try keeping it going with Mitchell Evans gone to be a Carolina Panther. - The Notre Dame coaching staff didn't get enough credit for piecing together the offensive front throughout the 2024 season. Center Pat Coogan took off for Indiana, and Rocco Spindler left for Nebraska, but the line might be even Knapp is back at left tackle after being thrown at the job as a freshman, and Aamil Wagner is a slightly undersized future NFL starter on the other Jagusah is an elite talent who was supposed to be a star tackle right away last year, hurt his knee, and got back in time to be a vital cog late at guard. Billy Schrauth is in his third year in the mix and will be a rock at left guard. Notre Dame Defense Breakdown2025 Notre Dame Preview Season Prediction, Win Total, Keys to Season © 2025 The Arena Group Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved.
Yahoo
04-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
CBS Sports Names Malachi Fields As Notre Dame's Top Portal Addition
CBS Sports Names Malachi Fields As Notre Dame's Top Portal Addition originally appeared on Athlon Sports. For the second season in a row, Notre Dame has elected to dip into the transfer portal to find their boundary receiver. Last season, Clemson transfer Beaux Collins came to South Bend for his final season of eligibility and started all 16 games for the Irish at the 'X receiver' position. He was a quality player who logged 41 receptions, 490 receiving yards, averaged 12.0 yards per catch and hauled in three touchdowns. Advertisement Collins was the team's leading receiver until Jaden Greathouse exploded in the CFP Semifinals and the national title game. This season, Notre Dame and offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock needed an impact playmaker at the boundary position and when Cavaliers receiver Malachi Fields entered his name in the portal, it became a no brainer for both parties where the Virginia native should spend his final year of eligibility. "Jaden Greathouse showed some signs as a go-to receiver in the national championship game. But Notre Dame lacked a true WR1 last season and hasn't had a wide receiver clear the 600-yard barrier since 2021. Fields should end that streak. A favorite of personnel departments across the country in the portal this winter, Fields combined for 1,619 yards and 10 TDs over the last two seasons. He's a big vertical field stretcher at 6-feet-4, 220 pounds and is a presence defenses will have to shade coverage toward. That's a dangerous thing when you consider how good Notre Dame's run game projects to be this year." - Chris Hummer, CBS Sports In back to back seasons, Fields logged over 50 receptions, 800 yards, averaged 14.0 yards per catch and hauled in five touchdowns in both 2023 and 2024. In what was considered a dormant offense, Fields was their lone bright spot. His fit at Notre Dame is coming at the perfect time, given Greathouse's breakout in the post season along with a talented returning offensive line and a bump in quarterback passing ability. At 6-4 223 pounds, Fields gives Notre Dame a presence in the boundary it has been lacking since the 2019 season when Chase Claypool was the go-to receiver. His play style and body type resemble Miles Boykins from the 2018 season, a year where he finished with 59 receptions, 872 yards, averaged 14.8 YPC and had eight touchdowns in 13 games. Fields adds a much needed boost in size, experience and production to this Irish receiving corps, and provides a star power element they have been lacking at the position for quite some time. Greathouse showed flashes throughout last season and is expected to be a go-to player once again this year for Denbrock, but the addition of Fields completely changes the narrative. Advertisement Notre Dame hasn't had a dynamic one-two punch at receiver in quite some time, and this will, by far, be the best one-two punch at wide receiver in the Marcus Freeman era. Combine Fields and Greathouse's potential of being a dynamic duo with 6-7 250 pound tight end Eli Raridon and an explosive run game featuring Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price, this Fighting Irish offense will likely put up some serious numbers this season. Be sure to check out the Irish Breakdown message board, the Champions Lounge Irish Breakdown Content 2025 Depth Chart 2025 Football Schedule Notre Dame 2026 Scholarship Offers 2025 Commit Rankings - Offense 2025 Commit Rankings - Defense Advertisement 2024 Recruiting Class 2023 Recruiting Class 2022 Recruiting Class ——————— Become a premium Irish Breakdown member, which grants you access to all of our premium content and our premium message board! Click on the link below for more. BECOME A MEMBER Be sure to stay locked into Irish Breakdown all the time! Join the Irish Breakdown community! Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown YouTube channel Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown podcast on iTunes Follow me on Twitter: @TTrow5 Like and follow Irish Breakdown on Facebook Sign up for the FREE Irish Breakdown daily newsletter This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 4, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
18-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
2026 Rivals250 OT Grayson McKeogh commits to Notre Dame
Class of 2026 four-star offensive tackle Grayson McKeogh is Notre Dame bound. McKeogh announced his commitment to the Fighting Irish on Wednesday, after intially targeting July 1 for his decision date. McKeogh is coming off of an official visit to Notre Dame this past weekend (June 13 through June 15). Advertisement Prior to that, he took an official visit to Penn State during the weekend of June 6 through June 8. McKeogh was also planning a trip to Texas this coming weekend (June 20 through June 22) for his official visit in Austin, but he will no longer make that trek after Notre Dame was able to secure his pledge. The La Salle College High School (Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania) standout ranks as the No. 210 prospect overall in the Rivals250. He also ranks as the No. 4 recruit in the state of Pennsylvania and No. 23 offensive tackle in the 2026 cycle. At Notre Dame, McKeogh will play under head coach Marcus Freeman, offensive coordinator/tight ends coach, Mike Denbrock, offensive line coach Joe Ruldoph and the rest of the staff. While Notre Dame competes as an independent instead of in a conference, the Fighting Irish met the criteria in which McKeogh was searching for in a college program. Advertisement "The biggest things in my recruitment are athletic reputation, conference (or competition), academics and campus/social life," McKeogh previously told In addition to the schools mentioned, McKeogh has received scholarship offers from Alabama, Boston College, Duke, Florida, Indiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina State, Northwestern, Ohio State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Stanford, Syracuse, Tennessee, Wake Forest, West Virginia, Wisconsin and others. The 6-foot-8, 280-pound McKeogh earned first-team All-State honors as a junior in 2024. He also plays basketball for La Salle. In the classroom, he carries a 4.14 grade point average. Advertisement With McKeogh joining the class, Notre Dame's 2026 class now includes 17 total pledges. McKeogh is the fifth offensive lineman in that group. He joins fellow four-stars Sullivan Garvin, Tyler Merrill, Ben Nichols and Gregory Patrick. The Fighting Irish currently rank fifth in the national recruiting team rankings. SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH NOTRE DAME FANS AT
