“That was one of the coolest things I’ve seen.”

This is a great story.

The primary memory most Notre Dame players have about the 2017 game against Georgia is profound disappointment. The Fighting Irish lost 20-19 to the Bulldogs and watched as UGA went on to the national championship while that early-season defeat held them back from achieving similar greatness.

But for Tommy Kraemer, who got his second career start at offensive guard that night, he still marvels at all the Georgia fans that filed into Sanford Stadium and that curious cell-phone tradition the Irish witnessed late in the game…

“That was one of the most memorable experiences I’ve had playing football — and it wasn’t even our tradition!” said Kraemer, a 6-foot-6, 319-pound senior from Cincinnati. “It was cool to see, and our fans picked up on it, too. No one really knew what was going on.”

Kraemer still isn’t entirely sure. When asked what he remembered about that 2017 game he talked about all the Georgia fans that half-filled Notre Dame Stadium

“I don’t know if there was a hurricane down South or what but it brought up a ton of Georgia fans. The stadium was half full of them,” Kraemer said. “Notre Dame Stadium is never like that. Usually you might see a little bit of red in the top-left corner or something. But it was able half-and-half that night. That was pretty neat actually.”

Kraemer said they knew a lot of UGA fans were there, but it wasn’t until “the lights thing happened at halftime or in the third quarter or whenever in was.”

That weekend was one of the greatest experiences of my life as a Georgia fan.  It’s nice to know we made a good impression.

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Got college football?

Here’s a handy guide to the barrage of spring games tonight and tomorrow.

What’s on your agenda?

“D-Rob has really had the best spring out of anyone.”

Oh, you’re singing that siren song to me, fellas.

“He’s come along well. It’s really nice to see him out there making plays.”

For example:

“Vertical threat. Speed. Consistency. He hasn’t had too many dropped balls,” Swift said. “You can see him and his confidence building.”

Um… there’s something you haven’t mentioned, D’Andre.  What’s that?  You’ll leave that to the head man?  Okay, Kirby, what about…

“He’s got to continue to play more physical but he’s made some catches,” Smart said. “He’s made some vertical threats.”

That’s about what I thought.

Saban’s springtime pearl of wisdom

Preseason happy talk?  Talk to the hand… er, Coke bottle.

Nick Saban: “No one ever has a bad recruiting class and no one ever has a bad spring. So we had a good spring, if that answers your questions.”

— Cecil Hurt (@CecilHurt) April 11, 2019

Yet another one of those April-ish posts

So here’s Jake Rowe’s companion piece to the one I linked to yesterday, this time projecting a defensive depth chart.

Again, the overall impression is one of depth, depth and more depth, which shouldn’t really be much of a surprise after the last three recruiting classes.  With regard to specifics, I’m intrigued by the battle at the Jack linebacker spot, which is shaping up as a ridiculously talented one.  Regardless of the pecking order that emerges, it looks like the coaches should be able to shuttle studs in and out there in game, which should do wonders for having fresh legs who can pressure opposing backfields.  Inside linebacker looks pretty stout, too.

Besides that, if D.J. Daniel is as viable an option as Rowe indicates, the defensive backfield is going to be in more than decent shape, even with Mr. Baker playing on Sundays now.

What do you guys see?

SEC recruiting profile, part one

I came across a post at Rock M Nation that evaluates Missouri recruiting’s offensive talent profile when compared to the rest of the SEC.  Here’s the general summation of the last five signed classes:

So, on average, Missouri is signing players that are about 9 percent less highly rated stars-wise and 3 percent less highly rated 247 rating-wise than its SEC counterparts.

Those numbers compare favorably with Kentucky (3.12 stars, .8598) and Vanderbilt (2.98, .8436) and not so favorably with, say, Alabama (3.98, .9318), Georgia (3.85, .9200), Auburn (3.68, .9104), LSU (3.65, .9008) and Florida (3.53, .8979).

Alabama, Auburn, Georgia and Florida, not so coincidentally, are the schools that have beaten Missouri out for either the SEC East or SEC crown in each of its seven years in the league. Because, while recruiting rankings may miss on a player-by-player basis, the cumulative effect is real.

Missouri has been able to compete the most at quarterback — thanks a lot to Drew Lock and Kelly Bryant — and line, where it is only about 7-8 percent off the league star average. At the skill positions — receiver especially — the Tigers fall off a bit more. All the way to 12 percent underwater at receiver.

Skill pieces like Larry Rountree, Damarea Crockett, Emanuel Hall, Albert Okwuegbunam and Jalen Knox are very nice pieces, yes. Skill pieces like the kind Alabama (.9287 receivers, .9382 average backs) and Georgia (.9052 receivers, .9402 average backs) get challenge for national championships.

Note that hierarchy again:  Alabama (3.98, .9318), Georgia (3.85, .9200), Auburn (3.68, .9104), LSU (3.65, .9008) and Florida (3.53, .8979).  The gap between Alabama and Georgia is roughly on the same level as that between Georgia and Auburn.  And before you say that gap with Saban is closing, note the huge margin of difference in the 2017 classes.  That ‘Bama class is ridiculous, and a reason why the Tide’s offense exploded last season.

Georgia is probably another season or two away from being on the same level, talentwise.  The good news is nobody is gaining real ground on Kirby’s work.

The life is like a box of chocolates quarterback

I got a chuckle out of this, from Mike Farrell’s “most intriguing quarterbacks I’m excited to see next season”:

10. Feleipe Franks, Florida – Can he take Florida to the next level offensively? Can he hold onto his job? It’s boom or bust for Franks, which is always interesting. No Jake Fromm on my list? Nah, I’d rather see guys like Franks where you just don’t know what you’re going to get.

I can live with Fromm’s high level of predictability just fine, thanks.

Leaving the door cracked open

It sounds like the XFL is keeping its options open on signing college players who aren’t yet eligible for the NFL.

Appearing on Monday’s #PFTPM podcast, XFL Commissioner Oliver Luck was asked whether the XFL has heard from college players who’d like to leap to the XFL in 2020, even if they can’t be drafted by NFL teams until 2021.

“I would say this there has been as you know a number of guys who’ve sort of talking about it,” Luck said. (Indeed they have.) “I think our launching point, February of 2020, is still down the way a little bit. We’re not actively talking to anybody at this point, but it is something that we are looking at. As I have said many times before I would only do that if I believe and our coaches believe [that] a young man who is not eligible enough for the NFL but nonetheless has the physical, the emotional, the mental sort of maturity to play professional football, because we’re gonna have 26-, 27-, who knows, 28-, 30-year-olds playing in our league. . . . It’s something that’s certainly in our playbook. At this point we really haven’t spent much time thinking about it.”

Let’s just say I detect a faint whiff of bullshit with regard to that last sentence.  If grabbing college players enhances the bottom line, they’ll do it in a heartbeat.

If college coaches already have their collective panties in a wad over transfers, imagine how they’ll respond to this threat, should it become a reality.  I also look forward to the latest Nick Saban spin on this sort of business decision.