WATCH: Is Notre Dame’s preseason top-10 ranking justified? | Hey Horka!
The Hey Horka! BlueandGold.com message board mailbag column originates each week with a message board thread titled “Hey Horka!” Subscribers are prompted to ask Blue & Gold beat writer Tyler Horka questions about Notre Dame football. He answers all of them in the thread and in an article that publishes later in the week at BlueandGold.com.
Every Wednesday night at 8 p.m. ET, Horka hosts a YouTube live show with coworker Jack Soble discussing in greater detail some of the most pressing questions from the thread. You can watch the show via the video player on this web page or by visiting Blue & Gold’s YouTube channel.
This week’s questions, from users whose Lou Somogyi Message Board names appear after the dashes, are…
Hey Horka! questions of the week
-Are the Fighting Irish overrated or is Notre Dame actually a top-10 preseason team? — Bsmitty8
-Name a player from each side of the ball who will redshirt in 2024 but play a considerable role in 2025. — jrp3
-Who will lead Notre Dame in tackles for loss in 2024? — Del2210
-How does a Riley Leonard-led Notre Dame team feel different in fall camp than a Sam Hartman-led Notre Dame team? — TyWebb
-What are the top five college towns you’ve been to, and what is South Bend’s case for being a good one (not top five, but at least a little fun)? — jrp3
More about this week’s show
The show starts with some talk about the upcoming Notre Dame football docuseries “Here Come The Irish” which will be streamed on Peacock beginning with episodes 1 and 2 on Aug. 29, two days before the Fighting Irish’s season opener against Texas A&M. Horka and Soble give their thoughts on what profiling a Notre Dame football season in seven parts could look like.
The redshirt to playing a role conversation is quite interesting. It’s not easy to pinpoint who isn’t going to play in more than four regular season games one year then is going to play in all of them, and play a lot, the next, but a current Notre Dame player on that exact developmental timeline is sophomore safety Adon Shuler. So, hint hint, one of the beat writers advises you to look at the Irish secondary for potential answers to jrp3’s astute question.
The tackles for loss question is straightforward but can be answered with a good handful of possibilities. The guys throw out some names to keep an eye on in that regard.
As for comparing the vibes around this year’s team with Leonard leading the way to last year’s with Hartman at the helm, both writers give their perspectives on what’s different and what’s not so different.
Finally, what you’ve all been waiting for, some of the best college towns in the country. They’re going to be jumping in a few weeks when the season starts.
