Sights and sounds from Notre Dame football Blue-Gold Game draft

It started with a joke from Jerome Bettis, because of course it did.

A lot has changed in four and a half months. Marcus Freeman wasn’t the one being introduced at the Irish Athletic Center Wednesday morning; he was the one doing the introduction. Not that Bettis needed one. Everyone in the room knew who he is. And once Freeman turned the stage over to Bettis, it belonged to him for the better part of an hour.

Bettis served as the “commissioner” for Notre Dame’s Blue-Gold Game draft. It kicked off with a coin toss.

“I have a bad history with coin tosses,” Bettis said, referencing his infamous blunder during an overtime coin toss debacle on Thanksgiving in 1998.

Bettis motioned Freeman back to conduct the flip.

“I’m not screwing this one up,” Bettis quipped.

Blue Team head coach Al Washington faced off with Gold Team head coach Deland McCullough in a game of rock, paper, scissors to see who earned the right to call it in the air. Washington won the battle, McCullough won the war. Washington called heads. It landed on tails. An ode to Bettis after all, though Washington didn’t waver in his declaration. Thus, no bickering. No argument to be had. Just picks to be made.

McCullough and the Gold Team snagged senior center Zeke Correll, and the draft was underway.

For the first few picks, the traditional NFL Draft jingle echoed through the IAC.

“It sounds so good,” Bettis said. “It brings back old memories.”

Notre Dame football analysis

• Cover 3: Who is the most intriguing non-quarterback in the Notre Dame Blue-Gold Game?

Players walked to the stage upon hearing their names. They posed for a picture with Bettis holding up a blue or gold jersey signifying their numbers. Some picks elicited stronger reactions than others. The team erupted for freshman quarterback Steve Angeli, the first pick among quarterbacks. Sophomore Tyler Buchner is out with an ankle injury, so junior Drew Pyne is playing for both sides. That left Angeli and sophomore Ron Powlus III. Whoever got picked first among that duo was going to get a rousing ovation. Advantage Angeli.

Junior running back Chris Tyree will join Angeli on the Gold Team. He slid to the No. 4 pick among running backs. There appeared to be some gamesmanship between Washington and McCullough in letting him stay on the board, but McCullough had to snatch him up before any walk-ons were selected. Tyree, the team’s potential No. 1 back come the regular season, taken behind three other position group mates? That’s value.

Notre Dame RBs coach Deland McCullough made sure to wear his Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl ring to the Blue-Gold Game draft. He’s the head coach of the Gold Team.

“I told them I had to bring a little championship aura to the whole thing — some hardware to the table.” pic.twitter.com/2Pfa61jd0M

— Tyler Horka (@tbhorka) April 20, 2022

McCullough got out of his “war room” chair where he discussed his team’s selections with seniors who were preassigned to his squad (Cam Hart, Bo Bauer, DJ Brown among them) to celebrate the Tyree pick. That was his way of adding “WWE flare” to the proceedings, he said. And that’s part of what made Wednesday’s draft so unique and entertaining. This wasn’t a social media reveal of a list of names. There was at least a little suspense and entertainment value involved, a nod to the energy and buzz emanating from the program since Freeman was promoted to head coach.

And of course, the Bettis star factor played a significant role in pulling off such an event as well — even if there wasn’t a controversial coin flip gaffe.

“It was super cool,” McCullough told BlueandGold.com. “It’s exciting to have Jerome around. He’s a guy I’ve taken a liking to. I’ve always had respect for him, without a doubt, but to be at the same university as him at this moment is special.

“Now, we have to go out and not get our butts kicked.”

That said, McCullough left the stage with this: “I feel unbelievable about my team. And I feel sorry for the Blue squad.”

Game on.