Blake Grupe // The Observer

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Sports

Three Irish players selected in NFL Draft, seven sign as free agents

Andrew McGuinness, Aidan Thomas, Liam Coolican, Tyler Reidy, Matthew Crow, Thomas Zwiller, Ryan Murphy and J.J. Post | Monday, May 1, 2023

The 2023 NFL Draft took place from Thursday-Saturday in Kansas City. Three Irish players were taken in the seven-round process, with seven more signing shortly after the draft’s conclusion as undrafted free agents. TE Michael Mayer (Drafted No. 35 by Las Vegas Raiders) After a curious slip out of the first round, Notre Dame’s record-setting

Sports

‘You can really see that love we have for each other’: Irish ride stellar start on senior day

Andrew McGuinness | Saturday, November 19, 2022

As Notre Dame struggled through its first month of the season, the biggest criticism of the team was the lack of an identity. First-year head coach Marcus Freeman has talked about this all season, and perhaps nothing stood out more today. A resurgent run game that emerged in October started to change things. But there’s

Sports

Sun Belt to South Bend: Grupe embraces the Notre Dame experience

Tyler Reidy | Friday, November 18, 2022

Five years ago, Blake Grupe embarked on a challenge. Coming out of Sedalia, a mid-sized Missouri town, he accepted a walk-on offer to kick at Arkansas State. Now, with five seasons in Jonesboro behind him, Grupe is taking on the ultimate task: starting kicker at Notre Dame. “It’s been very unexpected,” Grupe said. “Everything that

Sports

“We need to execute to do it”: Coach Brian Mason builds momentum for special teams

Madeline Ladd | Friday, October 28, 2022

Excellent play from special teams helped Notre Dame capture a win against UNLV last weekend and avoid a losing streak. Senior defensive linemen Isaiah Foskey was a major contributor, as his two blocked punts resulted in 10 points for the Irish. Foskey’s feat also made him the first-ever Irish player to block two punts in

Sports

Key moments from Notre Dame’s first win in the Freeman era

Jose Sanchez Cordova | Saturday, September 17, 2022

Slow start for both teams The game started slowly with seven consecutive three-and-out possessions for the Notre Dame and Cal offenses. For the Irish, this meant 10 total yards in their opening four possessions. For the Golden Bears, it was 14 yards through their first three. On their fourth possession, Cal was finally able to

Sports

Irish fail to execute late, fall to Buckeyes in season opener

Nate Moller | Sunday, September 4, 2022

The fifth-ranked Irish battled hard in the season opener against the second-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes, but Notre Dame failed to score in the second half and Ohio State battled back to secure a 21-10 victory on Saturday night in Columbus. The Irish started off the night in a big way with a 54-yard pass to

Sports

Key moments from season opener against Ohio State

Nate Moller | Sunday, September 4, 2022

The Irish went toe-to-toe with the Ohio State Buckeyes in their season opener on Saturday night in Columbus, but the Ohio State offense clicked late to secure a 21-10 victory. Let’s look at some of the key moments that dictated the course of the game and gave the Buckeyes a season-opening victory. Irish open with

Sports

Coolican: Special teams an issue for Irish in Blue-Gold game

Liam Coolican | Monday, April 25, 2022

Notre Dame lost a significant amount of production on the special teams unit in the offseason when reliable place-kicker Jonathan Doerer graduated and punter Jay Bramblett followed former coach Brian Kelly and special teams coordinator Brian Polian to LSU. Still, few expected special teams to look as poor as they did when the Irish took

Sports

Irish lose Elston, land Stuckey and Grupe

Aidan Thomas | Friday, January 14, 2022

The season is over, but the news keeps rolling in regarding Notre Dame football. The coaching staff saw some departures, but they’re also expected to announce a few new names. On the player side of things, Notre Dame hauled in a graduate transfer at a position of need as they continue to stock their roster