Rakes Report: A Notre Dame Podcast

Eric Hansen of Inside ND Sports stops by to talk about Sam Hartman, the depth at running back, how the offensive line is shaping up, finding playmakers on offense, also finding some playmakers on defense and a little women's basketball.

In a supersized episode, Jamie Uyeyama of Irish Sports Daily drops by to get into the nitty gritty of football positions. This is a nerdy deep dive into the skills and traits you're looking for to fill in different spots on the roster during which the host embarrasses himself with a litany of dumb questions. Topics include the intricacies of defensive line play, what you need in modern linebackers and safeties, different types of corners and how they match up to different types of receivers and a whole lot more. 

 Michael Bryan of 18 Stripes joins to walk through the depth chart and discuss whether we feel better, worse or the same about the various position groups versus the start of spring practice.

An unofficial Part Two with our previous episode, this is a How Did This Get Made? for the New York Times op-ed written by Father Jenkins and Jack Swarbrick on the future of college sports. Jessica Smetana joins to talk with Notre Dame professor Katherine Walden about the history of sports labor, amateurism, potential Congressional action, gender equality with NIL and much more. (Note from Walden: She mentions The Daily in this episode but meant to refer to this episode of What's Next.) Links of note The New York Times op-ed Dianne Williams' op-ed on the AIAW WBUR story on Walter Byers and the origin of student-athletes Q&A with Nat Marshall

Jessica Smetana joins for a conversation with Yahoo Sports' Dan Wetzel about his interview with Jack Swarbrick, the doomsaying about NIL's effect on college sports, Notre Dame's chances at staying independent and Marcus Freeman's second season.

Patrick Engel of Blue and Gold and the On3 network joins to talk about early impressions from spring practice and the hiring of Micah Shrewsberry as Notre Dame's new men's basketball coach. Topics include Sam Hartman, development at wide receiver, the ceiling for the offense under Gerad Parker, potential breakout players on defense and how long a hoops turnaround might take.

Getting you prepared for the start of the tournament and beyond with an all-star lineup: Sabreena Merchant of The Athletic breaks down Notre Dame's corner of the bracket and their chances at making it to a second straight Sweet Sixteen. Then, Chantel Jennings of The Athletic stops by to talk about her great profile of Niele Ivey and what she learned about the Irish program while writing it. (30:22) (Read it here.) Finally, our friend Sam Werner joins for an update on the end of Mike Brey's tenure and the top contenders to be hired as his replacement. (49:49)  

Jessica Smetana and Jamie Uyeyama join to discuss Tommy Rees heading to Alabama and what Marcus Freeman should ideally look for in a replacement offensive coordinator. Jamie's list of potential candidates at Irish Sports Daily.  

The Athletic's Pete Sampson joins to talk about the finalized 2023 Notre Dame football schedule and how this fall's roster compares to last year's team.

Let's chat about a good basketball team and also a bad basketball team. First, Sabreena Merchant of The Athletic (2:07) joins for a fun talk about Niele Ivey's top ten women's squad and Irish alumnae in the WNBA. Then our friend Sam Werner hops on (38:45) to discuss the rough situation on the men's side and the likely end of Mike Brey's tenure.

Jessica Smetana joins to talk about Notre Dame's thrilling win over South Carolina, enjoying the Fiesta and Cotton results, a Mini Movie Club on Glass Onion and much more.

A re-release of our carol draft from 2018. Merry Christmas, everybody!

Notre Dame basketball head coach Niele Ivey joins to talk about the big win over UConn, her relationship with Muffet McGraw, coaching Olivia Miles, the joy of fast breaks, the Mabrey sisters and her experience at the NBA Draft. Donate to the Center for the Homeless in South Bend here or go to www.rakesreportchristmasgiving.com. Purchase the Christmas Giving design shirts (with all proceeds going to the CFH) here.

Donate to the Center for the Homeless in South Bend here or go to www.rakesreportchristmasgiving.com.  Eric Hansen of Inside ND Sports joins to talk about Marcus Freeman's first season, his outlook on Freeman's potential for the future, how the Irish are approaching the transfer portal, NIL opportunities for Notre Dame athletes, a bunch of Charlie Weis stories and much more. Purchase the Christmas Giving design shirts (with all proceeds going to the CFH) here.

Donate to the Center for the Homeless in South Bend here or go to www.rakesreportchristmasgiving.com.  It's a full house to start the week as Jessica Smetana and Jamie Uyeyama join to run through all the news including but not limited to the playoff field, Drew Pyne's transfer, bowl opponent South Carolina, transfer portal crashing into recruiting, bowls we're excited to watch, who Jamie considers to be "low-rent Ian Book," spicy bowl sponsors, the war for Toledo, Northwestern completing its 0-for-the-United-States quest and Jamba Juice tips.

Our Trojan insider Nick Tresnowski joins to preview this weekend's Top 15 matchup between Notre Dame and USC. A tremendous offense and sketchy defense await the Irish in Los Angeles for their season finale.

Jessica Smetana joins to recap a 35-14 victory over the No. 4 Clemson Tigers. 

On the tenth anniversary of a wild fourth quarter comeback and perfectly officiated overtime session, Jessica Smetana and Paul Rigney join to talk about 8-0 Notre Dame trying to stave off an upset by Paul Chryst, Aaron Donald, Tino Sunseri and the Pitt Panthers.

Jessica Smetana joins to discuss Notre Dame's 41-24 road win against the Orange.

Jessica Smetana joins to partake in Michael Bryan of 18 Stripes' new game show: LepreCard Sharks (sorry) where the categories are all Fighting Irish stat rankings. Also, field reports are filed from the UNLV and Stanford games plus big picture thoughts seven games into Marcus Freeman's first season.