| Team and Recruiting Predictions |
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Written by Brian Smith
Wednesday, 03 March 2010 10:51 |
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| With Notre Dame nearing spring practice, it's time to gauge where the current Irish depth chart stands, as well as investigate a few possible commitments. As an added bonus, a two rival coaches that will likely be fired, neither of which will make Irish fans sad.
It's almost impossible to imagine a few players "not" moving to the defensive secondary and/or the defense in general. Why? As usual, ND lacks defensive depth, and quite frankly, the safety positions are down right scary. Speculation that Cierre Wood moves to safety makes sense. His physical skills and ideal size (6-0, 215/220) make him an ideal safety candidate. Yes, it's been hinted that Wood will receive repetitions in the secondary, but how can he not move? He's fifth-string as a TB. No reason to waste his talent on the pine. If nothing else, he can move back to running back for the 2011 season if safety talent emerges and more help becomes needed at running back with the loss of Armando Allen and Robert Hughes at the conclusion of the 2010 season.
Another possible move may not be as dramatic. With the switch to the 3-4 defense, will one or more of the nose guards see repetitions as a strong side defensive end? Hafis Williams and certainly Sean Cwynar present the size for either position, but how about the mobility? What about pass rushing skills? That's what spring practice helps figure out.
From the offensive side of the ball, expect many players to "try out" for new positions along the offensive line. The question: will Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly and his staff allow the media and fans to honestly know which players did well and which players did not with their tryouts? In short, will there be a media blackout, a la Bob Davie, the paranoid one, or will coach Kelly and his staff actually allow media to watch live (full contact) drills that truly help determine the depth chart? Will they just present the general coaching propaganda that permeates the college coaching ranks year after year? Time will tell.
Three players that pique my interest along the offensive line this spring: Taylor Dever, Matt Romine, and Andrew Nuss. Any combination of the three could be starters this fall. Then again, any or all of them could sit the bench. The development of the offensive line will be one of the most important for the 2010 Fighting Irish.
Moving to recruiting, many Notre Dame fans wonder aloud about how well (and how soon) coach Kelly will reel in elite recruits? My guess, the bigger names will generally wait. The elite recruits, as a whole, will want proof that coach Kelly's system equates to wins and major bowl game invites. If ND musters nine or more wins this season, look for December and January to be much happier recruiting months for the Irish coaching staff and its fans. Bottom line: Notre Dame must win this season to sign national recruits, especially ones down South.
As for the immediate future of recruiting, several recruits could join the Irish fold before the month of May. The best bet appears to beDL/OL Brad Carrico. He rates ND highly and probably no. 1 on his list (just my calculation by reading articles about Carrico). He will visit Notre Dame again this spring.
Several other recruits appear to be high on Notre Dame, but will any of them honestly pull the trigger before this summer?
WR DeAnthony Arnett from Michigan, QB Bubba Starling from Kansas, DL Chris Rock from Ohio, WR Devin Smith from Ohio, WR Davaris Daniels from Illinois, S Hasean Clinton-Dix from Florida, OL Matthew Hegarty from New Mexico, and OLB Clay Burton from Florida represent but a handful of the offered recruits that rate Notre Dame at or near the top of their list. Will any of the aforementioned recruits make a pledge to Notre Dame in the near future?
It's hard to predict which recrutis will sign with a school, let alone "when" recruits will make their decisions. That's what makes recruiting interesting.
While a couple of commitments could come from the March 20th junior day, realistic expectations mean more fireworks after the spring game in late April. Why? Simply put, more time to build relationships with recruits. Again, this is a new Notre Dame staff and recruits want to know what's going to happen on the field. Thus, heading into summer with only two or three commitments should not surprise Irish fans. Then again, securing five or more commitments by the end of the Blue - Gold game should not be shocking either. This is recruiting, where anything can happen.
Moving to coaching news, my take it to the bank predictions for head coaches being fired this season: Rich Rodriguez and Ron Zook. The embattled Wolerines and Illini coaches need to improve by more than just a little bit to save their jobs. Neither coach possesses the defensive talent to win games that way, so it will an attempt to outscore the opposition or face the music at the end of the season.
Prediction: Michigan goes 7-5 and Illinois goes 5-7, resulting in the ax falling in Ann Arbor and Champaign. |
| Last Updated ( Wednesday, 03 March 2010 19:54 ) |
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| Primary Irish Recruiting Areas |
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Written by Brian Smith
Wednesday, 17 February 2010 19:32 |
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| Notre Dame recruits nationally. That did not and will not change under the direction of coach Kelly. Each coaching staff finds its niche within a region, however, and each member of the Irish coaching staff will likely find his niche within particular high schools and/or cities and states. From very early indications, Notre Dame will hit Ohio, Florida, and Texas hard. Due to the enormous California pool of talent, one should expect Notre Dame to continue to recruit that state hard as well. Look for at least one-third of Notre Dame's recruiting classes to generally come from these four states. Too much talent within those four states combined with the familiarity of a few of the Notre Dame assistant coaches (see below).
Coach Hinton knows Ohio well and will be the main recruiter within the Buckeye State. It's not surprising that the Irish landed five Ohio prep players last year, and Notre Dame will continue to pursue the state of Ohio offers. As a guess, three to four Ohio players will sign with the Irish on average. Securing the commitments of primary Ohio recruiting targets will be the most important aspect of Notre Dame recruiting Ohio. Will the Irish thwart the Buckeyes for at least a few of the best Ohio prep players each year? That's a daunting task, but this particular Notre Dame coaching staff knows the state of Ohio well and its selling Notre Dame, a familiar name to the people of Ohio. Ohio State will likely win the majority of the battles, but Notre Dame will gain some talented recruits, too.
Coach Alford knows the state of Florida well, and so does coach Elston. Coach Alford will continue to recruit north Florida, while Elston will recruit the bountiful south Florida area. With the Gators a prominent program, and Miami and Florida State improving, it will be interesting to witness which recruits take a long look at the Irish during the course of the next several years. It's still likely that the Irish will sign three or more Floridians per year because of the massive number of Florida players capable of playing for the Irish, as well as utilizing two coaches to recruit the Sunshine State.
In addition to north Florida, coach Alford will be responsible for Louisiana and Alabama, and probably take a long look at Arkansas and Mississippi recruits. Coach Elston will also be recruiting Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.
With the Texas recruiting juggernaut in full steam (13 current commitments for the class of 2011), it's a wait and see who's left scenario for Notre Dame and everyone else recruiting the state of Texas. With that said, there will be ample amounts of talent within the Lone Star State all the way to national signing day. Look for coach Cooks to slowly make inroads through south Texas, as he hails from the Dallas area and knows it well. He will eventually be able to land some of the more highly touted prospects down the road (class of 2012, 2013, etc.). This year, however, will be extremely difficult to land the best recruits because of not only the Longhorns, but LSU and Oklahoma reside close by as well. With that many viable options, it's not hard to understand why Texas recruits tend to stay closer to home.
For the class of 2011, look for coach Cooks to position himself to do battle more with the Sooners, Tigers, Red Raiders, Cornhuskers, Jayhawks and Horned Frogs than with the Longhorns. Perhaps one or two recruits will consider Texas and Notre Dame instead of just committing to Texas during a junior day visit in Austin, Texas, but that's not a lock. The Longhorms are all but selecting its recruits right now.
An intriguing recruiting situation derives from the state of California. With USC possessing a few really good recruiters, UCLA starting to pick up a little recruiting steam, Cal possessing the best recruiter in the country on its staff (DL coach Tosh Lupoi), and even Stanford being more competitive in the recruiting ranks than usual, fending off in-state recruiting threats will be difficult for coach Denbrock. He will also encounter Oregon and Washington along the California recruiting trail, and both teams present legitimate recruiting adversaries. Denbrock did a good job during his first stint at Notre Dame, and he will certainly be challenged moving forward.
Notre Dame should still be able to sell itself to the California private school recruits, and with some good fortune on the playing field, some of the more entrenched public school talent will trek to South Bend as well. Just do not expect the latter to come this year without making a big splash (10+ wins in 2010).
Where else will Notre Dame make its biggest push for recruits? Look for that to change from year to year. In short, Notre Dame will find the best possible recruits and attempt to sign them, as well as capitalizing upon assistant coaches that know a particular region well.
Kansas and Missouri, because of coach Warinner, will be a possible recruiting area for the Irish. After coaching for Kansas, Warinner knows the Plains region pretty well. Look for the Irish to acquire a recruit or two each year from this particular area. Perhaps Bubba Starling will be the first from that area of the country under the new Irish regime? Starling would present a great start a fantastic start to Notre Dame recruiting within the greater Kansas City area. Coach Warinner also recruited Ohio for the Jayhawks, so his experience within that particular state will be important.
Like coach Warinner, each Notre Dame assistant coach probably knows a few high schools and cities well enough to make an impact along the recruiting trail. By the end of May, Notre Dame fans will probably better understand which states and cities those inroads run through.
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| 2011: Targets and Trends |
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Written by Brian Smith
Saturday, 13 February 2010 11:21 |
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With numerous offers extended to 2011 targets already, it's time to take a closer look at important recruits for 2011. Additionally, some recent recruiting trends to expand upon, Notre Dame and its competition included.
One of the most exciting players for the class of 2011, QB Bubba Starling causes many concerns for opposing defenses. His ability to explode through a running lane or carry out a play-action fake and connect a deep pass to a wide receiver shows Starling's diverse talent. In particular, Starling's ability to make defenders miss while running at full speed makes him an attractive recruit for any school that runs the spread. Starling possesses a 6-5, 190-pound frame in addition to his speed and elusiveness. It will be interesting to follow Notre Dame's recruitment of the Kansas City area signal caller. Great player.
One of the quickest Midwest running back recruits hails from Grand Blanc, Mich. Justice Hayes, 5-11, 180, cuts and darts through holes and does not mind physical play like many smaller running backs. Hayes could also be a slot WR or defensive back, enhancing his appeal to college coaches. It appears as if Hayes will take a close look at Notre Dame and Michigan State, among others.
Notre Dame just offered Aaron Lynch a scholarship. The 6-5, 235-pound defensive end from Cape Coral, Fla. fits the profile of the defensive end that Notre Dame now covets: tall, long arms, and a frame that's not done growing. Lynch recorded 16 sacks last year.
Two Maryland high school teammates received Notre Dame offers. Blake Countess and Vincent Croce, a cornerback and defensive tackle respectively. It's good for Notre Dame to begin to reestablish itself within the greater Washington D.C. area once again. It's been too long.
Another area that Notre Dame will attempt to make inroads with once again will be the state of Texas. The Texas Longhorns currently dominate that state's recruiting, and currently host several top juniors for the first of two big junior day events. Six in-state targets committed to Texas already (more will certainly follow by Monday at the latest). The question with regards to Notre Dame, how many recruits will hold off from committing to the 'Horns and allow Notre Dame and other schools an opportunity to recruit them? More about this subject in a few weeks, after the commitment dust settles in Austin, Texas.
A few Lone Star recruits that will hopefully spurn early overtures from Texas, if offers do indeed come from Texas for any of the following recruits: Cedric Reed, a DE, Ladarius Brown, a WR/DB, Chris Barnett, a TE/OLB, Aaron Green, a RB, Malcolm Brown, a RB, and Anthony Wallace, a LB, amongst several others.
While the state of Texas will continue to be one of the most difficult states for the Irish to infiltrate, the good news comes from the state of Ohio. Here's a quick look at how Notre Dame fared with signing recruits that took official visits from particular states during the last two years. The first number represents the number of visitors; the second represents the number that signed with ND:
Texas: 4, 1. The issue here simply comes from recruiting against the 'Horns. ND struggles to lure Texas prep talent to even take an official visit, let along sign with the Irish.
Ohio: 7, 6. Notre Dame went five for five within the class of 2010. Moving forward, will the Irish be able to bump the Buckeyes for a larger number of the best Ohio recruits?
Florida: 13, 7. Signing over 50% of the recruits that come from the Sunshine State should not be overlooked. Now imagine the results for Notre Dame if it begins to actually play well on the field...
New Jersey: 6, 4. That’s a ratio to be expected, but only one New Jersey recruit trekked to Notre Dame this past year. Odder yet, not a single Pennsylvania or New York recruit used an official visit to Notre Dame this past year. Do not look for that trend to continue.
California: 13, 4. It’s simple. Notre Dame will not consistently land Golden State talent until it becomes a BCS contender. More specific, Notre Dame will generally lose most battles against UCLA and SC due to proximity to begin with. Moving forward, winning might be more influential for California recruiting than any other state. Why? Winning matters with recruits from any state, but imagine being a big-time recruit from Los Angeles. Why would you leave to go to a school that's not winning, while also putting up with cold weather and distance from home? Not enough wins equated to Notre Dame signing less than 33% of its California official visitors during the course of the past two years. If Notre Dame starts winning big, it will land a much higher percentage of its California official visitors.
Georgia: 1, 1. Only one official visitor from Georgia for the classes of 2009 and 2010?
So, which states will the new Notre Dame coaching staff target its recruits? The basic answer: everywhere. The most likely signing day scenario: Ohio, Florida, Texas, New Jersey, Maryland, and California will provide the bulk of recruits, along with Illinois of course (Chicago truly represents Notre Dame's home base). Also expect more recruits from states like Kansas, Missouri, Colorado and even Washington. Notre Dame's coaching staff provides various connections to high school programs within those states.
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| 2011 Recruiting |
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Written by Brian Smith
Tuesday, 09 February 2010 14:07 |
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| A quick look at scholarship numbers for 2011. While the number currently resides below 20 available scholarships for the class of 2011, do not expect that trend to continue past this summer. Players could transfer to be closer to home, flunk out, seek an opportunity for more playing time at another school, suffer a career-ending injury, among other possibilities.
The following is a position-by-position judgment about how many scholarships ND would likely "prefer" to allocate to each position. Of course recruiting rarely works out that way, but hey, it's February 9th! So let's just go with it. I've already changed my mind a few times with these numbers, and that's because the class of 2010 provided several players with multiple talents, i.e. the ability to play more than one position. Thus, it's difficult to definitively state how many ND will need at each position. At any rate, here goes, based on 20 scholarships to offer:
QB -- If the Irish can land a really good signal caller, I'm all for it. Braxton Miller would be the ideal candidate, but since he's from Ohio, I'm not holding my breath. If ND does not land a QB it will not be a huge issue due to three field generals signing with the class of 2010. (0-1)
RB -- Say it with me now, "Aaron Green! Aaron Green! Aaron Green!" If you do not know whom this is, find his Youtube highlights. It's worth your time. At least one running back is needed, and a home run threat like Green would be ideal. Another Texan, and also from central Texas no-less, Malcolm Brown, will be a high priority recruit. (1-2)
WR -- Point blank, Michael Floyd is gone after this year (hello NFL). That means an elite down the field wide receiver will be needed. Hakeem Flowers from South Carolina and DeAnthony Arnett from Michigan will be big-play wide outs to watch, among others. (2)
TE -- Always looking for a tight end that can stretch the field and make plays in space (create mismatches with linebackers and safeties). As usual, ND appears to be in the mix with several tight ends, including Chris Barnett from Texas, Ben Koyack from Pennsylvania, and Jay Rome from Georgia, just to name a few. All three will receive offers from across the country. (1)
OL -- Three really good players would be good, possibly four. Young Mr. Christian Westerman, from Arizona, might be the top Irish target along the offensive line. For the spread, expect Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly and his coaching staff to target more athletic lineman than the last coaching staff. Quickness will be more important for this particular offense. (3-4)
DE -- Need big bodies (height will be a major factor moving forward) with the ability to play a 2-gap or 1-gap scheme (ND will use both). Selling playing time will easy because of the lack of depth. Remember the name Cedric Reed, a 6-6 stalwart from the Houston area. If he does not accept an offer from Texas within the next several weeks, ND might be able to get involved (UT is having two junior day weekends, and probably will clean up once again. With ND trying to reestablish itself in Texas, it's something to watch.). (2-3)
NG -- Stay on course with one per year. Many big bodies to choose from, but almost all of them reside outside of the Midwest (Midwest DL numbers are horrible for 2011, just like with most years, especially outside of Ohio.). (1)
Rush Backer -- This is the key position for the 3-4. A combination outside linebacker/defensive end with a very high level of physical skill, i.e. a recruit with a legitimate shot to play in the NFL will be needed. Ray Drew, that would be you. The Georgia product is an ordained minister. Drew might also be the nation's best overall prospect. Jadeveon Clowney from South Carolina and Jermauria Rasco from Louisiana would make Irish eyes smile as well. Depending upon the specific player, a rush backer could grow into a down lineman. (1-2)
LB -- Linebacker numbers should be in balance for the first time in a long while this season. It would still good to land a player with the talent of Trey DePriest from Ohio or Anthony Wallace, from Dallas. Remember Allen Rossum? He's from Dallas Skyline, the same high school that Wallace plays for. It's still one of the best Division I producing schools in Texas. (1-2)
CB -- Notre Dame will lose the bulk of its cornerback depth chart by the conclusion of 2011. That means it's time to stock up! Look for cornerbacks with height (5-11 or taller) to be preferred. Look for Ohio, Florida, and Texas recruits to be a major part of cornerback recruiting efforts. All three states present many options for 2011, including Jalen Brown from Texas (he's about 6-0). (2-3)
S -- Free safety in particular will be a need. Height will once again be a factor. Considering how wide-open ND's free safety depth chart is beyond Jamoris Slaughter, this should not be a hard position to sell. Lyndell Johnson from Texas fits the mold. He's 6-3 and just under 200-pounds. (2-3)
ATH -- A player that could bounce from one side of the football to the other. Every class would benefit with at least one player like this. Look for the Irish to sign a player from this classification. Jabriel Washington from Tennessee fits this mold. He could be a free safety, cornerback, running back or wide receiver. (1) |
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| Recruiting Prognosis |
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Written by Brian Smith
Monday, 01 February 2010 10:38 |
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| Here’s an overview of how Notre Dame recruited last year and how it currently sits two days away from National Signing Day. In addition, a look ahead to the needs for the class of 2011.
The good news stems from uncommitted recruits such as Kona Schwenke and Jeremy Ioane, both from Hawaii. Notre Dame appears to be in a good position to land each recruit. Neither player should be considered a slam dunk for the Irish, but gaining the last official visit does generally bode well.
From the offensive side of the ball, more good news should be on the way with offensive tackle Matt James will hopefully be joining the Irish. Notre Dame appears to his favorite.
A four uncommitted recruit, Danny Spond, could play offense or defense. He's another likely Notre Dame signee. His ability to play either side of the ball will be welcomed.
It would seem unlikely that Notre Dame will land any of Christian Jones, Ego Ferguson, or Seantrel Henderson, but any combination of the three would be a much needed injection of talent to the Notre Dame program. One can certainly hope.
With my personal projection of twenty-four recruits for the class of 2010, that brings the two-year total to forty-two recruits. Two areas of considerable concern continue to be offensive line and the defensive secondary. Even if Ioane signs with Notre Dame, a grand total of five defensive backs from two classes does not cut it. That's a catastrophe waiting to happen. At least five defensive backs will need to be added to the class of 2011.
Offensive line concerns would dwindle a bit with the signing of James. Good offensive tackles should always be coveted; assuming James does come to Notre Dame, he will certainly help the Irish down the line. Even with James, that would still only be a grand total of six offensive linemen for 2009 and 2010 combined. Look for Bruce Heggie to eventually move to offensive line, but that's still only seven. It's best to project at least five offensive linemen for the class of 2011.
Defensive line, specifically defensive end, will be a major need as well. The bonus is that two current Notre Dame defensive ends, juniors to be Sean Cwynar and Kapron Lewis-Moore, redshirted in 2008, providing them with NCAA eligibility through the 2012 season. No current commitment will likely be a defensive end (Justin Utupo will play rush linebacker), meaning two consecutive recruiting classes end with zero defensive ends. That's astounding. The Irish will need three or possibly four defensive ends for the class of 2011. Keep in mind, defensive end does not mean rush backer. With the 3-4 scheme going into place for the Irish defense, Notre Dame will need much bigger defensive linemen as a rule. Notre Dame will be looking for players that leave high school at least 6-4 and 240-pounds. That's not a huge pool to recruit from, especially from cold weather states. Recruiting the elite defensive linemen will be the most difficult recruiting task facing Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly and his assistant coaching staff.
So, here's an early projection for what the Irish need to land next year, assuming Schwenke, Ioane, James, and Spond will be the final four recruits to join the class of 2010.
At quarterback, one signal caller per year should continue to be the norm. With three (or perhaps more) quarterbacks within this class, that might be a tall order. If at least one quarterback from the 2010 class redshirts, the need for a quarterback next year goes down.
Running back recruiting will be interesting due to Notre Dame losing both Armando Allen and Robert Hughes. One or possibly two running backs should be added.
Wide receiver appears to be in good shape from a numbers perspective, but an elite down the field threat will probably be needed because Michael Floyd will probably bolt to the NFL after next season. Two or possibly three wide receivers will be needed.
The spread needs one tight end per year. 2011 will be just that, the status quo of one tight end.
Signing Five offensive linemen should be the aim (two tackles and three interior players).
One pure nose guard that's capable of controlling the middle (ND will utilize a one-gap and two-gap scheme, not just one or the other) and making some plays. Look for Notre Dame to pursue taller nose guards as well, at least a legit 6-2 if not taller. Yes, size matters as well. An athletic 320-pound nose guard would be good for each Irish recruiting class, 2011 included.
Defensive end should equate to no less than three, if not four signees.
Notre Dame did do a good job recruiting inside linebackers the past few classes. Thus, two will be needed next year, and that will likely be the norm moving forward.
Outside linebacker should be similar to inside linebacker. Two recruits will fit in nicely. One of them needs to be a tremendous pass rusher, however, and preferably be in the 6-4, 240-pound range. Much like the defensive ends and nose guards needed for this defense, that type of physical frame will be hard to land.
Notre Dame needs two or more cornerbacks each year, but because zero cornerbacks were landed within the class of 2009 and only two for the class of 2010, look for three to be added to the Irish roster from the class of 2011.
Safety needs as much if not more help than cornerback, especially free safety. At least two free safeties will be needed. Perhaps one strong safety will be signed as well, but that's not as big of a need.
QB - 1
RB - 1 or 2
WR - 2 or 3
TE - 1
OL - 5
DL - 4 or 5
ILB - 2
OLB - 2
CB - 3
S - 2 or 3 |
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| Recruiting Decisions |
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Written by Brian Smith
Thursday, 28 January 2010 15:38 |
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Notre Dame currently resides over 17 verbal commitments with several official visitors heading to South Bend this weekend. Will the Irish be able to land players at a variety of positions? Does this recruiting classes show a trend for future recruiting success or failure? What's the word about current ND assistants hitting the recruiting trail? Which recruits will most likely make an impact right away?
Beyond my continual complaint that Notre Dame's defensive line recruiting stinks far more often than not, at least compared to other traditional power programs, my next biggest complaint lies with recruiting imbalance. One year no QB, the next year no cornerback, and so on and so forth. That's not a way to build a BCS-level program.
Say what one will about how well the Notre Dame recruiting class is to date, it's fairly balanced, albeit far from perfect (hello DL recruiting). Still, considering it's a coaching transition year, ND currently resides in a better position than I expected it to right before national signing day. Many ND fans probably do not want to hear it, but the most important word in recruiting is comfort, and the coaching transition provides just the opposite for recruits and their families. It is what it is.
From the remaining list of recruits, honestly, I'd be floored if Seantrel Henderson or JR Ferguson chose the Irish. Why? ND played catch up with Henderson and Ferguson (like the other recruits, frankly) and neither recruit publicly admitted that ND was his "leader" after an in-home visit with Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly. Many recruits are coached not to provide such public information, but still, I didn't receive the feeling that either recruit would head to South Bend based upon articles I read. I'm projecting Henderson to Ohio State and Ferguson to LSU. Just my two cents.
The more intriguing prospect is Christian Jones. This young man has every reason to pick Florida State. Both his father and brother played at FSU, and he could receive early playing time at a local school (Jones lives just outside Orlando, Fla.). So why did he not pick FSU already? Coaching transition, perhaps? Could be. Jones had an in-home visit with ND last night. It reportedly went well. Still, will it be enough to send Jones to South Bend instead of Tallahassee, Norman, or Tuscaloosa? Jones last official visit will be to FSU this weekend. I don't like that much in the way of helping ND.
From the remaining recruits visiting ND this weekend, the most important will be Matt James. Notre Dame needs offensive tackles, as we all should know. Several of the other recruits fall into the "athlete" category and could help the Irish in a variety of ways.
Regardless of how this recruiting class shakes out, it is not a measurement for future success or failure along the recruiting trail. A coaching staff needs a full year and half (the summer before a recruit's junior season begins) to recruit a player in the most effective manner. That's just modern day football recruiting. Thus, the 2012 class will be the first one that the current ND coaching staff will be able to follow that guideline. Still, the 2011 recruiting class will provide a more stable fact sheet of what to expect from the Irish coaching staff than the 2010 recruiting class. There's just too little time to recruit the elite players and expect fantastic results (see above).
Based upon early returns, the current assistant staff brings a much more balanced recruiting acumen than previous ND staffs. In general, this staff appears to be much more aggressive and will pursue other programs' committed recruits just like other programs pursue ND commitments (nature of the beast). That's a good sign for the future of ND football recruiting.
Let's face it, several past ND assistants were complete duds along the recruiting trail. None worse than Tenuta with his glowing personality (yes, much sarcasm). Hopefully each current ND assistant pulls his own weight along the recruiting trail moving forward. Because ND does not have an in-state recruiting advantage such as Alabama, Texas, Florida or Ohio State among others, each assistant truly needs to recruit at no lower than a moderate level, with several assistants being able to lure talented prospects from far away locations such as California, Texas, Louisiana, and Florida.
There are four current ND commitments that I expect to play next year, and each could earn significant playing time:
Chris Badger (SS), Lo Wood (CB) and Spencer Boyd (CB), all three of which already enrolled at ND will enter a thin group of defensive backs. The head start via spring practice certainly helps as well.
The other player that I believe could play next year is Kendall Moore (ILB). Few inside linebackers enter ND with his physical size and strength. He's a good fit for the 3-4 defense ND will employ moving forward.
It would not shock me if Louis Nix made an impact along the defensive line next season either, but as a rule, a freshman defensive lineman redshirts his first season. I still believe Nix is a future NFL player regardless if he redshirts or not. Just cannot teach his size (315 pounds), strength and athleticism.
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| 2011 Recruiting: Looking Ahead |
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Written by Brian Smith
Wednesday, 13 January 2010 18:26 |
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As with every recruiting calendar, a new crop of recruits slowly begin to matriculate to the forefront of attention. Moving from 2010 to 2011, here's my opening list of recruits to watch.
Please consider, amongst other things, that it's virtually impossible to project which recruits will seriously consider Notre Dame and vice versa. It's still fun to take a look ahead. Thus, for the purpose of this article, at least one recruit that's more likely to end up at Notre Dame and at least one recruit that's not as likely to end up at Notre Dame per position.
Quarterback -- This is one position that seems to be quite difficult to project no matter the coach or the program. Quarterbacks often commit earlier because once the dominoes begin to fall, quarterback recruits lose valuable options.
The more likely candidate is Cole Stoudt, 6-4, 185, Dublin, Ohio, (Coffman). He received an offer from Cincinnati while now Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly resided over the Bearcats. Kevin Sousa, 6-4, 215, Orlando, Fla., (Lake Nona) kept in contact with Irish running backs coach Tony Alford until present day, and certainly possesses the physical tools to run Kelly's spread. Sousa camped at Notre Dame last summer.
The less likely, yet vastly talented Braxton Miller, 6-2, 185, Huber Heights, Ohio, (Wayne) appears to be a good bet for the home state Buckeyes. It's likely that Notre Dame and every other major program will challenge Ohio State for his services, however, as he's an incredible talent for the spread offense.
RB -- Two prominent names to remember include Jeremy Hill, 6-2, 220, Baton Rouge, La., (Redemptorist) and Aaron Green, 5-11, 185, San Antonio, Texas, (James Madison). Both appear to be unlikely to sign with Notre Dame from the outside looking in, but it's not out of the question. Hill committed to Louisiana State already, but is open to visiting Notre Dame despite his commitment. Green's brother is a member of the Nebraska football program, and holds offers from Oklahoma and Southern California. An offer from Texas should be forthcoming as well. Green also holds an offer from the Irish and Notre Dame could be a factor with his recruitment. Green might be the top running back in the class of 2011. Amongst some of the bigger names, two Floridians could end up in the Blue and Gold. Demetrius Hart, 5-8, 175, Orlando (Dr. Phillips) and Mike Bellamy, 5-10, 180, Punta Gorda (Charlotte) hold interest in Notre Dame, with Bellamy receiving an offer from Notre Dame's previous coaching staff.
WR -- Speed and shiftiness highlight DeAnthony Arnett, 6-0, 170, Saginaw, Mich. Cincinnati and Notre Dame began recruiting him long ago, so it would not be shocking if ended up at Notre Dame. A less likely recruit, albeit incredible talent, Kelvin Benjamin, 6-6, 210, Belle Glade, Fla., (Glades Central) will draw interest from every program in the country. He's probably the best wide receiver for the class of 2011.
TE -- Notre Dame will encounter great competition for the services of Troy Niklas, 6-5, 240, Anaheim, Calif., (Servite). Being that Niklas attended Notre Dame's camp and comes from an excellent academic high school, however, makes it plausible that he ends up at Notre Dame. Another outstanding tight end comes from the southern region of the Peach State. Jay Rome, 6-6, 230, Valdosta, Ga. received an offer from Notre Dame's prior coaching staff, but will be difficult to pry away from Florida State, Georgia, and Clemson among others. Rome's family ties lie with Clemson.
OL -- One of the best offensive lineman out West, Christian Westerman, 6-5, 280, Chandler, Ariz., (Hamilton) will be able to pick his school. Notre Dame recruited Westerman hard from the outset, but unfortunately it appears that the Trojans of Southern California top Westerman's list. A familiar name, and one that would certainly appear to be as close to a lock as any for the class of 2011, Conor Hanratty, 6-5, 300, New Canaan, Conn. Offered by the former Irish staff, Hanratty becomes the obvious legacy recruit for the upcoming recruiting campaign.
NG -- Indiana's top prospect for 2011 could be Chris Harley, 6-0, 270, Indianapolis, Ind., (Warren Central). Iowa and Stanford offered long ago, and Notre Dame recruited Harley during his junior season. Due to proximity and good grades, it would not be surprising if Harley ended up in South Bend. Perhaps the nation's top nose guard will be Tim Jernigan, 6-2, 270, Lake City, Fla., (Columbia). Prying top defensive tackle recruits from the Sunshine State does not prove easy, but it can be done as witnessed by current Notre Dame commitment Louis Nix of Jacksonville (Raines). Watch out for the Gators and 'Noles.
DE -- One Notre Dame's first offers to a member of the class of 2011 mailed to Brennan Scarlett, 6-5, 245, Portland, Ore., (Central Catholic). Hopefully Scarlett's interest towards Notre Dame did not wane since September. Another Peach State product who will be difficult to sign amongst all the offers he will obtain will be Ray Drew, 6-5, 235, Thomasville, Ga., (Thomas County Central). Already an ordained minister and wearing a size 18 shoe, Drew's physical talents will make him one of the top recruits for the class of 2011.
LB -- It's not often that an SEC school holds the favorite title for a recruit from Indiana, but Georgia fits that mold for Armonze Daniel, 6-5, 225, Avon, Ind. Why? His brother plays for the Bulldogs and Armonze originally hails from Alabama. Daniel's frame spells rush backer for the 3-4 defense that coach Kelly will install this next spring. A familiar program could send Notre Dame a talented player. Cody Kurz, 6-3, 240, Ventura, Calif., (St. Bonaventure) will hear from programs across the country, and Notre Dame already made contact. Kurz frame, like Daniel, fits the mold of a 3-4 linebacker.
CB -- Another Florida recruit to watch will be Wayne Lyons, 5-11, 190, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., (Dillard). He camped at Notre Dame last summer and he's one of the top students at Dillard. Notre Dame should be in the thick of the race for Lyons' signature until the very end. Notre Dame will also be in the race for Doran Grant, 5-10, 170, Akron, Ohio, (St. Vincent-St. Mary's), but will the Irish be able to overcome the Buckeyes? That's always a difficult challenge when recruiting Ohio talent.
As for the brother connection, Kyle Evans, 5-10, 160, Inglewood, Calif. fits the mold. Yes, he's the brother of Shaquelle Evans.
S -- Not only a good football but also a good student with a 4.1 GPA, Brian Randolph, 6-0, 180, Marietta, Ga., (Kell) fits the profile of a Notre Dame football player. He also already received offers from many of the top programs down South and Stanford. It's been a while since Notre Dame tapped into the Dallas area for top skill position talent. Perhaps 2011 will bring better results. Franklin Shannon, 6-2, 190, Dallas, Texas, (Skyline) received an offer from Kansas, Kansas State, and Nebraska already. Do not be surprised if Notre Dame becomes involved with his recruitment either, but it's still a difficult task to sign talented players from the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. |
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| Coaching Matters |
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Written by Brian Smith
Friday, 08 January 2010 09:54 |
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| The age-old argument, talent verses coaching, stands before the Notre Damefootball program once again. Do the Irish possess the defensive talent necessary to contend for BCS bowl games and a national title? If measured properly, Notre Dame needs excellent coaching far more than it needs more talent.
Using the Crimson Tide and Iowa Hawkeyes as data points, and utilizing recruiting cohort as the primary function for the definition of talent available, here's a quick overview of the Alabama and Iowa defenses.
Last night, the Alabama defense controlled the line of scrimmage for most of the evening. It's not secret that Tay Cody caused many of the Longhorns issues. Cody signed with Alabama after playing at Gulf Coast Community College in Mississippi. He was certainly highly recruited, but he's such an unusual player it's hard to truly gauge his value to a team. Seriously, how does an opponent prepare for a player such as Cody? He's a one of a kind college player at 6-5 and a bucket of chicken short of 400-pounds. Even with the plethora of talent available to 'Bama, nobody with Cody's skill set will likely enter Alabama or any other program within the near future. He's the one player that Notre Dame will not be able to emulate through recruiting (by the way, I'd love to see how much Cody eats during the course of an average week).
Kareem Jackson, the talented cornerback from Macon, Ga. signed with 'Bama after receiving offers Ohio, Bowling Green, Connuceticut, and Akron. He's considering turning pro a year early despite his limited offers.
Rolando McClain, the signal caller for Tide's defense, coveted by many programs and committed to Alabama early during the recruiting process. Auburn, Kentucky, Louisville, Vanderbilt, Ole Miss, and Mississippi State were other programs that offered McClain.
Much attention centered around McClain's ability direct the Alabama defensive players because of his ability to understand what the opposing offense will likely do based upon formation play tendencies. How did McClain become so good at it? Film study. Yes, he's talented, but the 'Bama coaching staff taught him what to look for and McClain worked at it.
ESPN did a special about McClain's film study work habits in large part because he's so dedicated. Hard work pays off, college football included. Notre Dame fans should hope that Manti Te'o works as hard at film study and being a leader as McClain. If so, other Notre Dame defenders will benefit. Imagine Te'o's physical prowess matched with McClain's dedication to learning opposing teams' play tendencies and being an on the field coach.
Javier Arenas, the ultra-talented cornerback and return man that intercepted two passes against Texas. He accepted an Alabama scholarship over....wait for it....Florida Atlantic. No Florida State offer. No offer from Miami. No offer from Florida. Arenas prepped at Tampa, Fla., (Robinson). Barring injury, Arenas will probably enjoy a lengthy NFL career.
Eryk Anders, the under-sized outside linebacker that sacked Gilbert to cause a fumble late in the game, he's 6-2, 227-pounds. How does such an undersized player do so well? It's not talent alone. It's coaching and talent. Most 3-4 linebackers weigh at least 240-pounds and frequently over 250-pounds. Note that three of the four starting linebackers for Alabama played at under 235-pounds.
There are many other examples of 'Bama defenders playing above their so-called talent level. Perhaps some of the players were not rated high enough by college coaches, and perhaps some of them did not do well academically coming out of high school leading some schools to offer other recruits instead. Regardless, 'Bama's coaching staff evaluated the players, signed the players, and most importantly coached the players that led the Crimson Tide to a national title.
Earlier this year, someone asked me how many ND defenders would start at Alabama or Florida? After thinking about it, it's impossible to know. Think about how much Darrin Walls regressed this past season, how Brian Smith would use poor technique when attempting to make basic tackles, how inept Harrison Smith played in pass coverage despite his obvious physical skills.
I am not saying Notre Dame possesses as much or more defensive talent than Alabama. That would be a fallacious argument, especially in terms of defensive depth (see Notre Dame's safety depth chart if you want a scare). The premise I present originates from Notre Dame's defensive starters completely underachieving last season.
Hopefully the likes of Te'o, Harrison Smith, Brian Smith, Ian Williams, Ethan Johnson, Kapron Lewis-Moore, Darius Fleming, Steve Filer, Darrin Walls, Gary Gray, R.J. Blanton, and Jamoris Slaughter, among other Irish defenders, receive a similar level of coaching as the Crimson Tide defenders. If so, the Irish should constitute a formidable defense next fall.
All of the aforementioned Irish players were highly recruited, most of them received an offer from at least one of if not a combination of Southern California, Texas, or a major SEC or Big 10 program. The lone exception from the aforementioned list above, Brian Smith, received offers from Nebraska and Iowa. Does anyone believe he would struggle to produce with the current defensive coaching staffs at either Iowa or Nebraska?
None of the starting Iowa linebackers received an offer from Notre Dame out of high school, and only Jeremiha Hunter became a coveted prospect during his recruitment. Hunter received offers from Penn State and Tennessee before selecting the Hawkeyes.
Notre Dame's rushing defense gave up 170.25 yards per game and its scoring defense allowed 25.92 points per game. Considering the level of talent available to the incoming Notre Dame coaching staff, it's reasonable to expect dramatic improvements from both areas, as well as several other areas. More evidence of how much coaching means to a defense: Iowa gave up 123.62 yards rushing per game and allowed 15.38 points per game. The Hawkeyes defensive players, as a whole, were not nearly as highly recruited as the Irish players.
Personal predictions for 2010: no more than 125 yards rushing per game (tough to gauge, however, because ND plays Navy), and no more than 21 points per game. Note: if Dayne Crist is playing injured or unable to play due to injury, all predictions are off. The Irish defense would likely be left out to dry.
Yes, Notre Dame must continue to climb the recruiting mountain to be a consistent BCS contender, but the more important issue moving forward, without a doubt, will be coaching. |
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