Blue & Gold Illustrated: Notre Dame Football And Recruiting

National Signing Day has arrived and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish have signed one of the nation's top classes. Notre Dame's offensive staff brought in a strong haul that has top end talent, balance and depth. Blue & Gold Illustrated football analyst Bryan Driskell spoke with offensive coordinator Chip Long, quarterbacks coach Tommy Rees, running backs coach Autry Denson, wide receivers coach DelVaughn Alexander and offensive line coach Jeff Quinn about the class.

The BGI recruiting staff previews the Notre Dame storylines heading into National Signing Day.

Notre Dame had one of the nation's best offensive lines in 2018, and the end result was the unit winning the Joe Moore Award, which goes to the nation's top group. ESPN Football Analyst Cole Cubelic is one of the top evaluators of offensive line play in the country, and the Irish line was a hot topic for him all season. He joined Blue & Gold Illustrated football analyst Bryan Driskell to talk about the Irish line. Cubelic broke down what made left guard Quenton Nelson so dominant and where he stacks up compared to other linemen Cubelic has evaluated over the years. He gets into the success of left tackle Mike McGlinchey and the potential of the players that return to South Bend next season, including center Sam Mustipher and right guard Alex Bars.

With less than a week to go until National Signing Day, the BGI recruiting staff discusses where Notre Dame stands with each of its remaining targets, and breaks down the list of prospects that attended the Irish's Junior Day

Notre Dame hired former Tennessee, Nebraska, Texas A&M and North Carolina defensive backs coach Terry Joseph to lead the Irish safeties. The final hire to the new ten man staff, Joseph brings a strong recruiting and coaching background to the Notre Dame staff. Blue & Gold Illustrated senior editor Lou Somogyi and football analyst Bryan Driskell discuss Joseph's background and why this was such an effective hire for Notre Dame, and what it means for the staff as a whole. Following that discussion, Somogyi and Driskell begin the offseason breakdown of the different position groups as the team heads into winter conditioning and preps for spring practice. Up first is the position that will likely be the most watched, and has the biggest questions .... quarterback.

The BGI recruiting staff discusses the commitment of Georgia CB KJ Wallace and what it means for Notre Dame, plus dicusses the massive amount of talent on campus for Notre Dame's Junior Day 

The BGI recruiting staff goes through the extensive list of official and unofficial visitors sltaed to be in South Bend this weekend 

BGI basketball beat writer Corey Bodden recaps Notre Dame's loss to Clemson, discusses the latest Irish bracketology and previews the upcoming matchup with Virginia Tech

In a surprising move, Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly named offensive analyst Jeff Quinn as the team's next offensive line coach. Quinn worked under Kelly from 1989 to 2009 and was an analyst at Notre Dame the last three season's. Blue & Gold Illustrated senior editor Lou Somogyi and football analyst Bryan Driskell discuss the hire. The staff gives their opinions on the hire, discuss the optics of the hire and what has to happen for this hire to work out for Notre Dame. The show ends with a discussion of what returns on the offensive line, and the pieces that are in place for Quinn next season.

Notre Dame is poised to hire a new safeties coach, and the Blue & Gold Illustrated staff breaks it all down. Senior editor Lou Somogyi and football analyst Bryan Driskell talk about the new coach and discuss what kind of talent he inherits. Notre Dame's safety play wasn't good enough in 2017, but Driskell believes the unit will be much better in 2018, and he explains why.  The show finishes up with the staff breaking down the four candidates who interviewed for the vacant offensive line coach position.

BGI basketball beat reporter Corey Bodden recaps the last few weeks of Notre Dame basketball and previews the upcoming matchup with No. 20 Clemson 

The BGI recruiting staff rewinds the past week in Notre Dame football recruiting and previews the official visitors slated to be on campus this weekend   

Notre Dame got major news on Monday when rising seniors Jerry Tillery and Te'von Coney announced they would be returning for their fourth and final seasons in South Bend. By coming back to school the Irish will now have ten starters returning, including Jonathan Bonner, who announced after the show was published that he to planned to return for his fifth season in 2018. Expectations for the Irish defense next season are now sky high. Blue & Gold Illustrated senior editor Lou Somogyi and football analyst Bryan Driskell discuss what the return of Tillery and Coney means for the Irish defense not just in 2018 ... but beyond. The staff then goes over the Irish defense and projects what it will look like moving forward with Coney and Tillery in the lineup.

The offseason has brought about some major staff upheavel at Notre Dame. There isn't the volume we saw last season, but Notre Dame has lost its defensive coordinator and now offensive line coach. Blue & Gold Illustratedsenior editor Lou Somogyi and football analyst Bryan Driskell discuss the hiring of Clark Lea as the new defensive coordinator, the remaining needs on the defensive staff and the departure of line coach Harry Hiestand. The show ends with a frank discussion of why the success of the defensive coordinator and offensive line coach are so important to the present and future of Notre Dame football.

The BGI recruiting staff discusses the latest in the world of Notre Dame recruiting.