How to watch former Notre Dame football players in 2022 Hula Bowl
A quartet of former Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players will don the iconic golden helmet in action one more time this weekend.
Defensive tackle Kurt Hinish, linebacker Drew White, offensive lineman Cain Madden and kicker Jonathan Doerer will all represent Team Billick at the Hula Bowl at UCF Bounce House Stadium in Orlando, Fla., on Saturday, Jan. 15. The game will be broadcasted and streamed at noon ET on CBS Sports Network.
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The Hula Bowl is an opportunity for NFL Draft hopefuls to showcase their skills and get their names out to scouts three months before they potentially hear them called during the draft. The current format as a collegiate all-star game has been in place since 1960.
The four Notre Dame players will be coached by former Baltimore Ravens Super Bowl winning head coach Brian Billick. They’re up against a team coached by former Atlanta Falcons head coach Mike Smith. The rosters of both teams can be found on the Hula Bowl’s website.
Former Notre Dame defensive back Nick McCloud was named defensive MVP of the 2021 Hula Bowl. He intercepted two passes in last year’s game; one from the hand of former Northwestern quarterback Peyton Ramsey and another from former Tulsa QB Zach Smith. The latter came in the waning minutes of the game and helped retain his team’s lead.
Hinish played more games in a Notre Dame uniform than anyone else in program history. The Fiesta Bowl was his 61st appearance in blue and gold. He totaled 82 tackles, 20.0 for a loss, and 7.5 sacks in his career. His younger brother, Donovan Hinish, signed with the Notre Dame recruiting class of 2022 during last month’s early signing period.
White was a three-year starter at middle linebacker for the Irish. He could have returned for a sixth season with the COVID-19 waiver but instead decided to leave and test his luck at the next level. He had 199 tackles, 21.5 for a loss, and 5.0 sacks. He returned the only interception of his career for a touchdown this past season in a Notre Dame win over Wisconsin.
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Madden only played one season at Notre Dame. He was an All-American guard at Marshall before arriving in South Bend as a graduate transfer last summer. He started all 13 games during the 2021 season at right guard for the Irish. He had an interesting, up-and-down year; he graded out as Notre Dame’s best run blocker per Pro Football Focus with a grade of 84.1, but he was one of the team’s worst pass blockers with a grade of 59.7.
Doerer was a kickoff specialist in his first two seasons in 2017-18 before becoming a three-year starting kicker. He made 163 of 165 extra point tries and 49 of 65 field goal attempts. Doerer made two huge game-winning kicks during the 2021 season. He sealed a 41-38 win over Florida State with a 41-yarder in overtime, and he drilled a 48-yarder in the final minute at Virginia Tech to give the Irish a 32-29 victory.
Hinish, White, Madden and Doerer are not expected to be early round draft picks, but teams could take a chance on them in the later rounds or as undrafted free agents if they perform well in the pre-draft process set to take place over the next few months.
Notre Dame has five players in addition to the aforementioned four trying to hear their names called during the draft; safety Kyle Hamilton, running back Kyren Williams, defensive end Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa, wide receiver Kevin Austin Jr. and linebacker Isaiah Pryor. Hamilton could be a top-five pick. Williams could go on the second day of the draft in the second or third round.
