IrishIllustrated.com Insider

IrishIllustrated.com

The Irish Illustrated Insider podcast is hosted by Tim Prister, Tim O’Malley, John Brice, and Pete Sampson. This podcast provides the latest Notre Dame football news and analysis.

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20 episodes
Updated Wednesday

Episodes20

Newest first

Wednesday · 54 min
Irish Illustrated Insider: An Exclusive Interview with Notre Dame Director of Athletics Pete Bevacqua
University Vice President and Director of Athletics Pete Bevacqua joins a special edition of Illustrated Insider to discuss myriad topics. Among them: the recently announced SOFI jersey sponsorship, the future of the ND/Texas home-and-home, the unsustainable nature of NIL in its current nationwide form, the future of the College Football Playoff, and expectations for a championship season for the 2026 Fighting Irish Football Program.
July 27 · 48 min
Irish Illustrated Insider: Notre Dame’s Always Busy Off-Season, matchups to watch in 2026, QB room confidence and Freeman-era tipping point cement Irish as title threat
Irish Illustrated Insider runs the gamut in today's Monday podcast, discussing—among other topics—Shields Family Hall, Sarkisian's comments, Notre Dame's spring-to-fall player projections, recruiting up front and, of course, those 12-0 predictions.
July 24 · 44 min
Irish Illustrated Interviews: James Rendell, Notre Dame’s Former Australian Punter
Episode No. 23 of the Irish Illustrated Interviews podcast series features James Rendell, Notre Dame’s punter during the College Football Playoff run in 2024 and last fall. Rendell came to Notre Dame by way of Melbourne, Australia. There he grew up playing Australian Rules Football before learning to punt at Prokick Australia, the country’s premier punting and kicking academy. Eventually, his skills impressed Fighting Irish special teams coordinator Marty Biagi, who offered him a scholarship
July 23 · 1 hr 5 min
Irish Illustrated Insider: Marcus Freeman’s Growth, Injury Updates, Parks’ Decision, QB Reps Debate, Staff Self-scouting, Freshman Impact and Fall Camp Kryptonite
Irish Illustrated Insider discusses injury updates, Marcus Freeman, Brayden Parks, backup QBs, kryptonite, tendencies, records about to be broken, Greathouse, Gilbert, et al, and yes, our own Top 5s, nationally, albeit with varied criteria.
July 21 · 30 min
Irish Illustrated Insider: Our Takeaways and Reactions From Our Interview With Notre Dame Head Coach Marcus Freeman
Irish Illustrated, Notre Dame Insider/ South Bend Tribune, and WSBT Sportsbeat sat down with Marcus Freeman as one of two media interview sessions Tuesday afternoon at the Guglielmino Athletics Complex. Here are some of our key takeaways from that interview.
July 17 · 41 min
Tracking the Trail: Roman Igwebuike Commits; Who Are the Best Notre Dame Fits in 2028?
Irish Illustrated's Tracking the Trail returns with host Drew Mentock, Irish Illustrated's senior recruiting analyst Eric Thomas and 247Sports and CBS Sports national recruiting analyst Tom Loy. The trio discusses the commitment of Top247 linebacker Roman Igwebuike and what’s left on the Fighting Irish linebacker board. The crew also dives into the latest in the recruitment of four-star defensive lineman Brayden Parks and what he would add to the class if he committed. Lastly, Eric and Tom o
July 16 · 44 min
Irish Illustrated Insider: Brian Kelly, Marcus Freeman and the New Era of Notre Dame Football
Irish Illustrated Insider previews the start of Notre Dame's training camp, examines the program's elevated place in college football's modern landscape, and offers a few overrated/underrated thoughts on recently profiled Irish players. We also discuss Brian Kelly's recent interview with Pete Sampson and Matt Fortuna on the Independent podcast
July 13 · 49 min
Irish Illustrated Insider: Notre Dame’s Summer Storylines, ‘Warnings’ and Rising Reserves
Irish Illustrated Insider offers its thoughts on reserves who could instead start, our tendency to overrate something during the summer months, which underdogs might offer competitive games along the way, and the nature of mixed player reviews on summer updates across football websites.
July 10 · 55 min
Irish Illustrated Interviews: Charles Du, Former Notre Dame Walk-On Cornerback
Episode No. 22 of the Irish Illustrated Interviews podcast series features Charles Du, a Notre Dame walk-on cornerback from 2024-25. Our conversation covers what it was like to first play football in high school after growing up in Beijing, why he picked Notre Dame over numerous Ivy League opportunities, the trials of being a walk-on to such a high-level football program and his own “Rudy” experience. We also dive into his time on the team, his unique bond with Fighting Irish coach Marcus Fr
July 9 · 55 min
Irish Illustrated Insider: Shamrock Series uniforms reaction, basketball NIL money questions, most important player after CJ Carr plus the unpredictable Irish WR race
Irish Illustrated Insider goes off the field to discuss Week Zero's Future (Bowl Games?!), NIL on the Irish bench, and linebacker recruiting with an important announcement forthcoming. We also delve into the seemingly irreplaceable players, the wide receiver position as a whole, freshmen buzz through the years, and how inconsistencies could materialize for the loaded '26 Irish squad.
July 6 · 48 min
Irish Illustrated Insider: Notre Dame’s breakout seniors, position rankings and wildcards poised to define the 2026 Irish season power push
Irish Illustrated Insider tackles topics ranging from Rodney Dunham to de-commits, from the next Asmar Bilal to the first first-round draft pick. We discuss Quincy Porter's importance, rank each position group nationally, and look back at opportunity lost and what could've been with the modern 5-for-5 rule.
July 2 · 46 min
Tracking the Trail: What Does Notre Dame Need to Finish with Top-3 Recruiting Class in 2027?
Disclaimer: Eric Thomas, Tom Loy and Drew Mentock recorded this before 2028 three-star quarterback Trey Tagliaferri decommitted from Notre Dame six days after he initially announced his pledge. So, we don’t discuss that here. The crew will cover 2028 quarterback recruiting on a future episode, but our resident experts still dive into plenty of pertinent recruiting scoop. Irish Illustrated's Tracking the Trail returns with host Drew Mentock, Irish Illustrated's senior recruiting analyst Eric Tho
June 29 · 45 min
Irish Illustrated Insider: From Contracts off-the-field to CJ Carr on it—Notre Dame’s Outstanding Off-Season Continues
Off-season notes, NIL contracts, four hypothetical freshmen starters (hint: they're in the NFL), CJ Carr and Arch Manning, transfers for '27, the 2015 Irish, Shrewsberry's next pivot, and four Irish starters lost to World Cup Soccer? Irish Illustrated Insider runs the gamut in this June 29 podcast extravaganza.
June 26 · 36 min
Irish Illustrated Interviews: Chance Tucker, Former Notre Dame Cornerback, Double Domer
Episode No. 21 of the Irish Illustrated Interviews podcast series features Chance Tucker, a Notre Dame cornerback from 2021-25. While on campus, he earned two degrees, including your master’s in business analytics this spring, before transferring to North Dakota State, which just moved up to the FBS level. Our conversation covers how his dad reacted to Notre Dame's offer in high school, his relationship with former defensive backs coach Mike Mickens, and why he doesn’t regret his college deci
June 25 · 1 hr 1 min
Irish Illustrated Insider: Notre Dame’s Recruiting Machine Rolls On
Irish Illustrated Insider welcomes Locked on Irish Podcast host Tyler Wojciak for today's three-man booth in which we discuss four camp position battles, early failures by otherwise successful coordinators, the Five for Five eligibility rule, and Notre Dame's remarkable recent run of recruiting successes heading into a crucial announcement Friday, June 26. We also share a long-lost Brian Kelly practice field story and opine on which of Notre Dame's lesser foes might find some fight in 2026.
June 22 · 55 min
Irish Illustrated Insider: Recruiting Efforts, Perceived Weaknesses, and Certainties for Notre Dame 2026
Irish Illustrated Insider goes between the lines to discuss Notre Dame's perceived imperfections that could become weaknesses, reviews the future of the safety and linebacker positions, opines on the possibility of a No. 1 receiver (who is not named Faison), and takes a look back at the recruiting evaluations of favorite hits and misses over the decades.
June 19 · 24 min
Tracking the Trail: Notre Dame Lands One Five-Star, Loses Out on Another
Irish Illustrated’s Tracking the Trail returns with host Drew Mentock and senior recruiting analyst Eric Thomas. The duo discusses Notre Dame’s newest five-star, Abraham Sesay. The 6-foot-5, 215-pound edge rusher out of Downingtown East High School in Exton, Penn., represents the No. 22 overall prospect and No. 5 defensive end in the class of 2027, according to 247Sports’ rankings. Of course, it wasn’t all good news this week for the Fighting Irish. IMG Academy linebacker Amarri Irvin flipped
June 18 · 38 min
Irish Illustrated Insider: On elite DB room, defensive line outlook, true WR1 search, Irish Wear Green uniforms, playoff expectations & the future Irish starting quarterback
Irish Illustrated Insider discusses the "Protect College Sports Act", delves into Notre Dame's NIL, opines on its defensive linemen versus linebackers, and takes a deep dive into preseason No. 1s. We also take a shot at likely statistical achievements for the likes of Greathouse, Young, Talich, and Jarrard. We also discuss the defensive line ceiling, WR1 debate, one-hit wonders, Irish Wear Green, playoff expectations, future QB1, and all-time preseason No. 1 stakes in South Bend.
June 15 · 54 min
Irish Illustrated Insider: How Marcus Freeman’s Relentless Recruiting Surge is Changing the Notre Dame Football Ceiling
Irish Illustrated Insider reviews Notre Dame's remarkable hit rate on official visits, discusses Tom Loy's new six-pack of top-tier recruits projected to pledge to the Irish, and offers thoughts on Seider's RB rotation, future linebackers, and past faulty practice-field impressions. And oh yeah, we cut eight great football players from Notre Dame's (hypothetical) roster.
June 12 · 32 min
Tracking the Trail: Official Visit Season Arrives at Notre Dame
Irish Illustrated’s Tracking the Trail returns with host Drew Mentock, Irish Illustrated’s senior recruiting analyst Eric Thomas, and 247Sports and CBS Sports national recruiting analyst Tom Loy. The trio discusses Notre Dame’s three official visit weekends and midweek trips. It starts this weekend, when seven prospects will be on campus: defensive linemen David Folorunsho (Notre Dame Commit), Brayden Parks and Tyler Alexander, long snapper Sean Kraft (Notre Dame Commit), edge rusher Abraham