Blue & Gold Illustrated: Notre Dame Football And Recruiting

Notre Dame plays a challenging 2018 schedule, but it's one the Irish should be able to manage for at least 10 wins if this team is going to be as good as the preseason prognosticators say it will. It won't, however, be easy.

Blue & Gold Illustrated senior editor Lou Somogyi and football analyst Bryan Driskell break down the schedule into three categories: Can't lose games, upset specials and marquee matchups. The BGI staff breaks down who they believe is in each category and why, and what will make a successful 2018 season.

Notre Dame's running back depth chart is in flux heading into the 2018 season. Leading rusher Josh Adams is gone and there are major questions about who actually is going to be on the team in 2018, and who will be eligible. Even if everyone is healthy and back, just how good can this unit be? That remains a question.

Blue & Gold Illustrated senior editor Lou Somogyi and football analyst Bryan Driskell break down the position group player by player, they discuss the job position coach Autry Denson has done up to this point and talk about whether or not Notre Dame has the talent at the position to be a top rushing offense this season.

The show concludes with the BGI staff answering subscriber questions.

Recruiting reporter David McKinney goes over the upcoming June visit list and answers subscriber questions from the message board 

The BGI recruiting staff discusses the commitment of Alabama punter Jay Bramblett and what it means for Notre Dame 

We begin our summer breakdown of the Notre Dame roster by breaking down the position that will be under the most scrutiny this fall .... quarterback.

Blue & Gold Illustrated senior editor Lou Somogyi and football analyst Bryan Driskell discuss the four quarterbacks on the 2018 deph chart, taking a look at the 2017 season, expectations for the 2018 season and an overview of the competition at the position. The staff discusses the struggles and potential of starting quarterback Brandon Wimbush, the competance of backup Ian Book, the versatility of sophomore Avery Davis and why there is so much excitement about incoming freshman Phil Jurkovec.

Following the breakdown of the position the staff spends the rest of the show answering BGI subscriber questions about the quarterback position, including a discussion of position coach Tommy Rees.

The BGI recruiting staff previews the upcoming decision of three-star TE Luke Deal and goes over the offensive target board for Notre Dame 

The Athletic's Stewart Mandel recently released a Top 25 list of college football coaches, and the list did not contain Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly. Blue & Gold Illustrated senior editor Lou Somogyi and football analyst Bryan Driskell break down the list and much more.

After going over Mandel's list, the Blue & Gold staff discusses the criteria for what makes a top coach and where Kelly should rank in a top coaches list. Somogyi and Driskell also go over their top coaches, discuss some coaches they believe are overrated and others they believe are underrated before finishing with a discussion of young coach's that could crack the list in the near future.

The BGI recruiting staff discusses the commitment of Rivals250 DE NaNa Osafo-Mensah and what it means for Notre Dame

The BGI recruiting staff goes over the top targets and projected numbers at each defensive position in the class of 2019, and previews the upcoming decision of four-star DE NaNa Osafo-Mensah 

Notre Dame returns nine starters from its 2017 defense and another three players with at least three career starts. It's a deep group, but there remain questions that must be answered if the Irish D is going to become one of the nation's best in 2018.

Blue & Gold Illustrated senior editor Lou Somogyi and football analyst Bryan Driskell breakdown those questions, which include depth at linebacker, the ability to pressure with the front four, the strongside end position and the safety position. The BGI staff also discusses the potential impact of the incoming freshman class before moving onto BGI subscriber questions.