Notre Dame Football: 5 Things to Know for August 8, 2024

Practices not open for media but plenty still cooking as Notre Dame prepares for Texas A&M and 2024 season

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman greets corner back Max Hurleman (37) during a Notre Dame football practice at Irish Athletic Center on Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in South Bend. / MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK

Notre Dame football is coming. I swear.

In just 23 days, Notre Dame football returns to the playing field as the Fighting Irish will be at Texas A&M for a big-time opening tilt.

Fall camp carries on in South Bend but most practices are fully closed to the media this week. That means that plenty of work is certainly getting done, but any updates from camp are pretty much impossible to come by.

Despite that, plenty is still going on with Notre Dame football both on and off the field, as well as college football as a whole.

Here are the Five Things to Know About Notre Dame Football for August 8, 2024:

5. A Top National Tight End for 2026 High on Notre Dame

Recruiting never sleeps in college football and that's certainly the case at Notre Dame. On Wednesday, Notre Dame was one of 10 teams that top 150 overall prospect JC Anderson named as his top schools. You can learn more about the Illinois product and who Notre Dame is in competition with here.

4. Jim Harbaugh Punishment Handed Down

Punishments were handed down to Jim Harbaugh by the NCAA on Wednesday. It wasn't for the Connor Stallions sign stealing saga but instead for Jim Harbaugh cheating his way through the Covid times of college football. This latest drama led our very own John Kennedy to discuss an insulting part of the Michigan cheating scandal that is simply being ignored by the masses.

You can also watch John's Always Irish video podcast from Wednesday here.

3. Notre Dame in the NFL - Training Camp Check-In

Jul 25, 2024; Ashburn, VA, USA; Washington Commanders quarterback Sam Hartman (11) prepares to pass the ball during day two of Commanders training camp at OrthoVirginia Training Center at Commanders Park. / Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Earlier in the week Nathan Erbach took a look at each former Notre Dame football player who is participating in an AFC training camp. On Wednesday he took a look at each NFC player, this time breaking it down by division.

Notre Dame Football in the: NFC East, NFC North, NFC South, NFC West

In case you missed it earlier in the week - we took a look at Marist Liufau who continues to make an impact in Cowboys camp as well as Audric Estime who is barreling through Broncos defenders.

2. Impact on Notre Dame Football of Potentially Losing Deuce Knight

It's easy to hear that one of the nation's top-five quarterbacks in the 2025 recruiting class might be going elsewhere and think that's awful for Notre Dame. Sure, it's not the desired result that anyone affiliated with Notre Dame wants but is reason to think Notre Dame recruiting is coming undone?

I took a look at the last 15 quarterbacks to be rated No. 5 in the 247Sports composite rankings like Deuce Knight is this year. How the majority of those careers worked out is simply eye-opening.

1. Back to Practice and Prep for Texas A&M

Notre Dame kicker Eric Goins lines up for a drill during a Notre Dame football practice at Irish Athletic Center on Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in South Bend. / MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK

Notre Dame continues to practice during fall camp and get prepared for that mega-opener at Texas A&M. Obviously development and growth is key and tracking that with the offensive line will be perhaps the biggest story of the rest of camp. In the meantime, it's a good time to hope that we don't get anymore unfortunate health updates from camp anytime soon.

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In case you missed it: Yesterday's Five Things to Know About Notre Dame Football