The Notre Dame Fighting Irish completed their media day on Monday ahead of Wednesday's pro day! 15 student athletes took to the podium and addressed the media. Here are some players that stood out to me throughout the press conference.
Offensive Line
Notre Dame's strongest position was their offensive line. They dominated all season and now 3 players are expected to be drafted on days 1 and 2 of the 2021 NFL Draft. Aaron Banks and Robert Hainey were the first two individuals to step up to the podium to answer questions. Both individuals had very similar responses to similar questions. They give a lot of praise to their offensive line coaching staff for creating the dynamic. The dynamic in the offensive line is why they were so successful. Players like Zack Martin and Quentin Nelson are two players that helped create the successful dynamic for the position. Both players reiterated that they will bring the same dynamic at Notre Dame to any NFL team.
Liam Eichenberg
Here is a player that I was really excited to hear from. He is a player that I feel the Eagles should be high on and may be calling his name come time for the draft. He reiterated what his teammates said about the incredible dynamic within the offensive line room at Notre Dame.
A majority of the questions asked to Eichenberg were revolved in his strengths and weaknesses. He credits his film watching as one of his strengths. He was asked what he sees in a defensive line when they are blitzing or not. This is where Eichenberg feels that his film watching and his attention to detail comes into play. His ability to study his opponent during film is going to correlate incredibly to the NFL.
One thing that stood out to me was his response to a question surrounded with his weakness of not being athletic. Eichenberg said if you watch the film on him you can clearly see a very athletic player. I really loved his confidence in this response. Eichenberg and his coaches really believe in his athleticism and does not listen to the negatives.
Ian Book
Another player that may be on the Eagles radar is QB Ian Book. I believe the Eagles will draft or sign a QB during or after the draft. Book is someone who will be available whenever the Eagles are drafting. When asked what it would mean to work in a QB room with a rising star in Jalen Hurts and seasoned veteran in Joe Flacco here is his response.
I do not have a high grade on Book, but he was asked on this thoughts on being ranked so low in the QB rankings. He doesn't see a QB who could be rated higher than him and he just wants to focus on himself and no one else. One negative is his size and he said "I can't get any taller, but I can make up for it in my athleticism.
Tight Ends
One big thing that stood out to me are the two tight ends that took to the podium. Brock Wright and Tommy Tremble took to the podium and really focused on the success of the tight end position. Throughout draft season there is a negative narrative on the TE position. Wright was asked about that and his immediate response was praising top TE Kyle Pitts from Florida. He said he is the best pass catcher in this draft and he is a TE. He said the same thing is in the NFL. Travis Kelce and George Kittle are two of the best pass catchers in the NFL, and he used those two examples as elite pass catchers who are not wide receivers.
Tommy Tremble gave similar responses to his questions. He said the tight end position is just as valuable as a wide receiver. He described his elite pass catching ability and his run blocking ability. The idea that he can be involved in every play is what makes the tight end position just a valuable position in this draft.
Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah
The biggest name in this draft to hail from Notre Dame is linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. There was one question and response that really stood out to me. He was asked "what was one question a team asked him that stood out to him." He said he asks every team what about their culture makes them stick out. He is interviewing teams just as much as they are interviewing him. Jeremiah said a team asked him that before he had an opportunity to. An incredible culture is something he values more than anything. He said he is going to help bring that to an NFL roster and wants to make sure he is involved in one as well.
Here is his response to the culture in Philly and what it would mean to play for them.