IrishIllustrated.com Insider

Irish Illustrated Insider offers its game preview of Notre Dame at Miami to open the 2025 season. What's Miami's path to victory? Where are the Irish at a clear advantage…and what about those prop bets?!

Transcribed - Published: 28 August 2025

Irish Illustrated's Tim Prister and Drew Mentock and FootballScoop’s John Brice react to everything they heard during Wednesday’s media interviews with quarterback CJ Carr, Notre Dame’s coordinator trio and all six Fighting Irish captains. The crew delves further into why Carr won the job over Kenny Minchey and why the sophomore appears prepared for the season-opening matchup at No. 10 Miami.

Transcribed - Published: 28 August 2025

Irish Illustrated's Tim Prister and Tim O’Malley and FootballScoop’s John Brice react to everything they heard during Tuesday’s press conferences with Marcus Freeman. That includes the Notre Dame head coach’s comments on his decision to name CJ Carr the starting quarterback over Kenny Minchey. The crew also dives into the Week 1 Fighting Irish depth chart and who will be available for Miami on Sunday in Hard Rock Stadium.

Transcribed - Published: 26 August 2025

Irish Illustrated Insider begins its two-part preview of Notre Dame's season opener at Miami. Where do the Irish have an advantage? What aspect of the matchup offers cause for pause? Which position group can Irish fans count on most? And what's the true indicator for sustained success?

Transcribed - Published: 25 August 2025

Episode No. 3 of the Irish Illustrated Interviews podcast series features the Notre Dame football team chaplain, Father Nate Wills, who has served the program in this role since the 2018 season. He is also an associate professor who serves on the faculty of the Mary Ann Remick Leadership Program, within the Alliance for Catholic Education.

Transcribed - Published: 22 August 2025

Irish Illustrated Insider reviews Notre Dame's 'Camp Champs', examines challenges facing the offense in Game #1...and #2, details a Hall of Fame coach's previous work with new defensive coordinator Chris Ash, and better prepares you, the listener, with new game day cocktail concoctions.

Transcribed - Published: 21 August 2025

Irish Illustrated Insider gathers for a Q&A-only, quarterback-centric edition of the podcast. What was our reaction? Why were so many covering the team right, wrong, then wrong again? And what's the upside for both CJ Carr and the 2025 Irish offense as a result?

Transcribed - Published: 20 August 2025

Irish Illustrated Insider reviews Notre Dame's final press conferences of training camp, offers tidbits from the jersey scrimmage, and details what remains in preparations for game week in Miami.

Transcribed - Published: 18 August 2025

Irish Illustrated Insider delves into a recent Notre Dame practice, discusses the quarterback competition, potential captains, and a notable training camp surprise offensively.

Transcribed - Published: 14 August 2025

Irish Illustrated Insider discusses Notre Dame's longer-than-expected quarterback battle, examines the defensive line and linebacker rotations, offers a freshman player of note rising for the offense, and ponders the question: Where does Miami rank among tough openers of the last 10 seasons?

Transcribed - Published: 11 August 2025

Episode No. 2 of the Irish Illustrated Interviews podcast series features Notre Dame assistant athletics director for team communication Alan Wasielewski. Chances are, he's had a significant impact on how fans engage with Notre Dame football, men's basketball, or one of the several other athletic programs on campus. For more than a quarter century, Alan has held nearly every role within the Notre Dame athletic communications department and Fighting Irish Media. Today, he's also the football team's historian, filling in the knowledge gaps for fans and members of the media alike. It's a vital job for a team that has experienced more meaningful games and moments over the last 100 years than any other program in the country. There may be no one better suited for this particular work, in part, because he doesn't see it as a job. He's also been a Notre Dame obsessive for as long as he can remember, tuning out lessons from Saint Joe High School teachers in the early 1990s to create play-by-plays for upcoming Irish football contests or write his game recaps. It's as if he's been preparing for his current role for as long as he can remember. We also delve into all this and more.

Transcribed - Published: 8 August 2025

Irish Illustrated Insider discusses a '50/50' quarterback competition, a redefined floor for the season after last year's run, and opines on the red zone, the money zone, Eli Raridon, and ultimately offers a final question that reviews 15 seasons of freshmen first uttered by head coaches Brian Kelly and Marcus Freeman…2025 pending.

Transcribed - Published: 8 August 2025

Irish Illustrated Insider discusses the first weekend of training camp 2025. Who stood out? Who went unexpectedly unnoticed? And how long can a quarterback battle reasonably last to best prepare Notre Dame for Miami?

Transcribed - Published: 4 August 2025

Irish Illustrated Insider provides an analysis of Notre Dame's opening Fall Camp, offering insights into the quarterbacks, offensive line, defensive depth, and key takeaways from Marcus Freeman's opening press conference.

Transcribed - Published: 31 July 2025

Irish Illustrated Insider discusses Notre Dame's upcoming season, including concerns about the defense, quarterback, and potential captains. There are also questions about player prospects and predictions for the season.

Transcribed - Published: 28 July 2025

The Irish Illustrated Interviews podcast series begins with an interview with former Notre Dame defensive back Shaun Crawford, who overcame two torn ACLs and a torn Achilles to start his final two seasons and become a team captain.  After school, he signed with the Las Vegas Raiders as an undrafted free agent before another injury halted his football career—this time for good.  That led him down an unforeseen path. In 2022, he launched the Varsity House Podcast with an interview with Marcus Freeman.  Over the years, he’s branched out into other projects. Recently, he began to produce Irish Scoop, an in-season podcast hosted by a Fighting Irish football player. Last fall, Notre Dame nickel Jordan Clark served as the show’s frontman. Now that Clark is with the New York Jets, Crawford has found a new host, whom he discusses towards the end of this episode. We also delve into his Notre Dame and professional careers, and touch on other topics, such as who the best Fighting Irish players he played with are and why he defends Brian Kelly to this day.

Transcribed - Published: 25 July 2025

Irish Illustrated Insider digs deep into Notre Dame's personnel, best opposing players, and most intriguing tweaks to the offense heading into 2025. We also examine famous flags that ruined your weekends and recent camp position battles that did not go as projected by the masses.

Transcribed - Published: 17 July 2025

Notre Dame remains atop the First-Rate series rankings, with Pittsburgh the closest to Chris Ash's defense. Texas A&M and Miami are in the running.

Transcribed - Published: 16 July 2025

Irish Illustrated Insider offers a handful of its underrated (and concerns regarding potentially overrated) players, delves into our biggest hits and misses in the historical coaching carousel, and turns attention to the major position battles and intrigue entering camp.

Transcribed - Published: 14 July 2025

Irish Illustrated Insider discusses NIL contract stipulations (what's prohibited, if anything?), Notre Dame's toughest competition on the headsets this fall, and where the Irish Class of 2026 might matter most in retrospect.

Transcribed - Published: 10 July 2025

Irish Illustrated Insider offers inside knowledge of Charles Jagusah's UTV accident. What are the repercussions? What's a reasonable timetable for his return? And how does the offensive line adjust in his absence? We also go into detail on the pledges of Finley, Fitzgerald, and Robinson for Mike Brown's wide receivers room.

Transcribed - Published: 7 July 2025

Assessing Notre Dame and its 12 opponents at quarterback, running back, wide receiver/tight end, and offensive line. The Irish lead the way in three of four categories.

Transcribed - Published: 2 July 2025

Irish Illustrated Insider discusses the program's two most recent commitments—one from '26, the other the class of '27—plus examines what's on tap at wide receiver, some eagerly anticipated camp matchups to monitor, and who's invited to the cookout after all?

Transcribed - Published: 30 June 2025

Irish Illustrated Insider discusses two more pledges, reviews the career of a long-time behind-the-scenes name inside the Gug, and breaks down the most important weight gains (and losses) from the recently updated Irish roster. And oh yeah: who were our favorite players to torment Notre Dame Football teams over the years?

Transcribed - Published: 26 June 2025

Irish Illustrated Insider discusses Notre Dame's massive recruiting victories since our last podcast with analyst Eric Thomas. Who's next? Who's preferred? And wait, are those quarterbacks? We also debate Notre Dame's best backups, the program's ability to deftly navigate the changing NIL Landscape, and why we seem so high on CJ Carr.

Transcribed - Published: 23 June 2025

Irish Illustrated Insider offers prospect reviews and predictions in the midst of Notre Dame's 10-day official visitors extravaganza. We also look at the potential floor for this 2025 squad (rather than its accepted ceiling of a championship) and attempt to influence the powers-that-be to return names to Notre Dame's jerseys.

Transcribed - Published: 19 June 2025

Irish illustrated insider discusses Notre Dame's movement after a massive official visit weekend, examines the fallout of Jordan Botello's injury, and debates if anyone is irreplaceable on a championship-level football team. An interesting Freeman versus Kelly conundrum is also debated in Burning Up the Boards.

Transcribed - Published: 16 June 2025

Irish Illustrated Insider discusses the House versus NCAA settlement, how it impacts Notre Dame after the 2025 season, and the myriad unintended consequences of a $20.5 million allocation across college athletic programs. We also note a recent recruiting miss and a scorcher set for Fayetteville in late September. We also discussed offensive line strategy, Dallas Golden’s potential dual role, and the future of the Notre Dame collective, among other topics.

Transcribed - Published: 12 June 2025

Irish Illustrated Insider gathers for its thoughts on Irish Invasion, new men's hoops pledges, and a deep dive into Notre Dame's newly renovated recruiting process.

Transcribed - Published: 9 June 2025

Today's Irish Illustrated Insider unwittingly found a common thread among its discussion of position groups, the head coach's improvement for Year #4, and the road to a potential 2-0 start. That is: how do you—and we—define success for the 2025 Irish on the heels of the program's best season in three decades?

Transcribed - Published: 6 June 2025

Irish Illustrated Insider discusses early point spreads for Notre Dame's marquee games, offers three disparate opinions on which five players should garner the most NIL money, offers a Carr comparison to QBs past, and finds a mathematical formula to 100 percent determine the team's most improved player for 2025.

Transcribed - Published: 2 June 2025

Irish Illustrated Insider reviews its conversation with Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman. Who's on the cusp? How collaborative are recruiting evaluations? And what about that USC series?

Transcribed - Published: 29 May 2025

Irish Illustrated's Tim Prister and Tim O'Malley, alongside John Brice of FootballScoop, had the opportunity to meet with Notre Dame Head Football Coach Marcus Freeman for both on-the-record and off-the-record interviews. The guys broke down what they discussed with Coach Freeman and what it means for the program moving forward.

Transcribed - Published: 29 May 2025

Irish Illustrated Insider discusses Notre Dame's toughest position coaching tasks for 2025, our expectations for the defensive coordinator compared to seasons past, and answers our first (hopefully not last) "would you rather" of the '25 off-season.

Transcribed - Published: 22 May 2025

Today's Irish Illustrated Insider examines everything from preferred Playoff formats to two-spotting to the next Irish docuseries as chosen by the staff. We also talk a little football, highlighting special teams, the deep six-pack of defensive ends, and surprise storylines should the Irish forge a 2-0 season start.

Transcribed - Published: 19 May 2025

Irish Illustrated’s Tracking the Trail discusses Notre Dame’s continued recruiting hot streak. Since the last episode, the Fighting Irish have picked up commitments from five 247Sports Composite four-star prospects in the class of 2026: safety Ayden Pouncey, linebacker Jakobe Clapper, defensive tackle Tiki Hola and running backs Jonaz Walton and Javian Osborne. We also dive into Irish Illustrated subscriber questions regarding Notre Dame’s No. 2-ranked recruiting class.

Transcribed - Published: 16 May 2025

Today's Irish Illustrated Insider runs the gamut: Which game should you attend? What's the key to recruiting the 5-star/1st Round Draft Pick talent? Who'd start from 2012 on 2025? Who's more impactful at linebacker and who's indispensable elsewhere? And for the first time, we recommend you listen whilst mowing your yard.

Transcribed - Published: 15 May 2025

Irish Illustrated Insider discusses Notre Dame's trio of prime time home tilts, the future of the USC series, recruiting under a new business model, the pressing health question in the middle of the offensive line, and the spring standout we've potentially overlooked a bit to date.

Transcribed - Published: 12 May 2025

Analyst responsibilities. Snake River Farms. Redefined depth. Spring developments that never came to fruition. And oh yeah, Clemson. Irish Illustrated Insider runs the gamut in today's podcast.

Transcribed - Published: 8 May 2025

Irish Illustrated Insider rolls out a four-player crew for today's edition, which is replete with off-the-field stories, on-the-field expectations, an influx of recruited talent, and, of course, the grad-transfer portal.

Transcribed - Published: 5 May 2025

Irish Illustrated Insider begins its off-season coverage with a look at A.) what's wrong with each position, B.) key players' ceilings, C.) future first-round talents that could lead a title charge, and, of course, D.) the victorious gorilla.

Transcribed - Published: 1 May 2025

Irish Illustrated Insider offers delayed gratification on this Tuesday as today’s podcast quartet hits on Notre Dame’s empty April portal, its relatively full draft classes—present and future — and discusses the program’s well-stocked ‘Final Four Talent’ - albeit not at every position.

Transcribed - Published: 29 April 2025

Irish Illustrated Insider delves into Marcus Freeman's final press conference of the spring, plus examines the potential ramifications—logical, welcomed, and unwitting alike—in Judge Wilken's decision regarding 2025 roster limits in college football.

Transcribed - Published: 24 April 2025

After Notre Dame concluded its spring practice season, Head Coach Marcus Freeman spoke with the media. Afterwards, Irish Illustrated's Tim Prister, Tim O'Malley, and Drew Mentock spoke about their main takeaways from the event.

Transcribed - Published: 23 April 2025

With one team practice remaining, Irish Illustrated Insider discusses the tail end of Notre Dame's spring session. Where are they vulnerable to a portal defection? Does a particular position group need aid ahead of the portal's closing in five days? And where might Marcus Freeman's most talented roster need an influx of depth from within over the upcoming campaign? And remembering Notre Dame great Eric Penick.

Transcribed - Published: 21 April 2025

Irish Illustrated’s Tracking the Trail discusses Notre Dame’s hot recruiting streak, which includes picking up commitments from four-star prospects Ebenezer Ewetade, Gregory Patrick, Bubba Frazier and Rodney Dunham. The latter represents the No. 14 player in the class of 2026. We also preview the upcoming decisions of other Notre Dame targets, including blue-chip running back Javian Osborne.

Transcribed - Published: 18 April 2025

Tim Prister and Tim O'Malley reconvene for a Zoom Instant Analysis to discuss yesterday's news that senior quarterback Steve Angeli will enter the transfer portal. We also offer a roster update as Notre Dame's current 113 makes its journey down to 105.

Transcribed - Published: 18 April 2025

The Irish Illustrated Insider examines Notre Dame's dearth of portal entries to date, its potential need for one or two additions, and its preparation for reduced roster requirements as the 105 number looms. We also discuss spring risers and incoming summer freshmen who might make an early impact.

Transcribed - Published: 17 April 2025

A position-by-position look at the players who set themselves apart from the rest of the field. In some instances, it was a veteran presence; in others, a young, promising prospect. Which of these players will make the strongest impact in the fall of 2025?

Transcribed - Published: 16 April 2025

The Irish Illustrated Insider offers its standouts from Notre Dame's Blue-Gold Game. Who will still matter in August? Who will exit the program in April? And what perceived back-of-the-roster players made a significant move this spring? And oh yeah, The Quarterbacks!

Transcribed - Published: 14 April 2025