National Letters of Intent had already rolled across the fax machine at the Guglielmino Athletics Complex from 11 Notre Dame prospects last Wednesday before the signing period even opened on the West Coast.
It was barely 6:30 in the morning, but Washington Union High School (Fresno, Calif.) head coach Jeff Freitas was awake, if only barely. Asked if wide receiver Deontay Greenberry still planned to sign with Notre Dame at some point during the next two hours, Freitas said, “As far as I know, that’s the plan.”
As Twitter buzzed, rumors about a change of plans were getting stronger and more frequent.
Freitas would later say that he started wondering about Greenberry’s intentions the day before signing day, but less than 10 minutes after Greenberry made his flip from Notre Dame to Houston official, the coach was still clearly in shock.
“I just watched him sign the papers,” Freitas said, seeming to question his own eyes.
Greenberry’s last-minute switch put a significant damper on Notre Dame’s overall class and the wide receiver position in particular. Poised to be the most underrated part of Notre Dame’s 2012 signing class, instead the wideouts are undermanned.
While the two signees – Chris Brown and Justin Ferguson – possess extremely high ceilings, Greenberry was to be the headliner.
Initially considered by many as a ‘throw-in’ with his cousin, cornerback Tee Shepard, who was the first commit in the entire class, Greenberry’s stock rose during the 7-on-7 circuit in the summer and he exploded during a strong senior season that saw him lead his team to a state title and capture the state’s Mr. Football honor for himself.
He was Notre Dame’s second receiver pledge – behind Ferguson - when he made his commitment in May before he ever visited South Bend. He got his first chance to see Notre Dame for the USC game in October. There were rumors that Greenberry didn't have the greatest time during his official to Notre Dame, but maintained his commitment in the weeks and months afterward.
Greenberry always intended to take other official visits and while Notre Dame assistant Mike Denbrock didn’t encourage the visits, he was hoping the trips would only reinforce the wideout’s decision to commit with the Irish. Following visits to Arizona State and USC, Greenberry’s pledge seemed as strong as ever, especially when Shepard enrolled early in South Bend in mid-January and Greenberry cancelled an official visit to UCLA that weekend.
When it was first reported, the idea of Greenberry visiting Houston the final weekend before signing day raised eyebrows, even with the explanation that he was close with former Arizona State and new Cougars receiver coach Jamie Christian. Still, Notre Dame fans didn’t know there was any reason to worry until the Twitter buzz started on Wednesday. The Irish coaching staff got a heads up earlier, but not much earlier.
The loss certainly puts more pressure on the two signees, but also provides the duo greater opportunities and both have reasons to have chips on their shoulders
There is no doubting Brown’s athleticism, but the broken collarbone he suffered at the start of his senior season prevented him from posting the gaudy stats he surely would have compiled. Meanwhile, Ferguson never gathered the attention of some of the other top members of the class despite an attractive offer sheet.
Ferguson was the first wideout to jump on board following a trip to South Bend for Notre Dame’s spring game in April. He had gathered offers from Florida, Florida State and Wisconsin among others, but decided Notre Dame was the place for him just two weeks after his first visit. Alabama came through with an offer after Ferguson committed and he briefly considered taking a visit to Tuscaloosa, but held firm with his decision.
Despite the offers from the Gators, Seminoles and Crimson Tide, most services rank Ferguson as a three-star talent, something his high school coach Don Simon definitely disagrees with.
“I think he’s a big, explosive receiver with great hands,” Simon told Irish Sports Daily. “I think he’ll be one of the premier receivers at that level. I think Notre Dame is getting a great pickup. He’s got a couple things you can’t coach, he’s 6-2 and he’s 205 pounds right now.”
Meanwhile, Brian Kelly's eagerness to coach Brown was apparent as he mentioned the South Carolina native multiple times on National Signing Day, referring to him as a steal.
Brown took his official visit to South Bend in September and gave Notre Dame his pledge before leaving. While his parents were the ones originally pushing their son to Notre Dame, they didn’t want him to completely rule out other schools until they ended up making a trip to South Bend with him a month later.
“I was able to relive how Chris felt and why he made his decision so fast,” Brown’s father Joe said after he made the trip to Notre Dame for the USC game. “He tried to explain it to me over the phone and I told him I understood, but I didn’t understand until I went there myself.”
Early on, the Irish targeted several of the nation’s elite receivers, led by Missouri’s Dorial Green-Beckham. Notre Dame hoped a relationship between the family of current Irish safety Zeke Motta and Beckham’s adopted father and coach would give the Irish a shot, but they were never even able to secure a visit. Green-Beckham ended up signing with the Tigers, where he'll team up with former Irish quarterback target Maty Mauk.
A couple other receivers, Amara Darboh and Bryce Treggs, made it to the Blue-Gold Game in April and there were times when it appeared both would end up Irish.
Darboh was close to committing before the summer, but wanted his parents to get on campus before he did so. By the time he returned, Michigan had become his leader and he eventually committed to the Wolverines. Treggs seemed to be favoring Notre Dame even over Cal during the summer, but wanted to take his official visits before committing. He ended up giving his verbal commitment to the Golden Bears during the summer, but still took an official to South Bend. Treggs’ recruitment went all of the way until the end, although Notre Dame bowed out in January, before he decided to stick with Cal.
The Irish made a good case with Arkansas’ Zac Brooks and his parents. Brooks had Notre Dame in his final four, said he would definitely visit Notre Dame and his coach told ISD he believed Notre Dame was his leader at one point during the summer. But Brooks made a commitment to Clemson earlier than anyone expected and never ended up visiting South Bend. Maryland receiver Ian Thomas planned and cancelled a pair of official visits in the fall and ended up committing to Vanderbilt before the Irish banquet in December.
When former offensive coordinator Charley Molnar left for the head coaching job at UMass, Chuck Martin brought a new philosophy to the job. He quickly reached out to former Irish targets Jordan Westerkamp and Alton Howard, who Molnar viewed as too slow and too short respectively to fit in his system.
While Martin was able to get Westerkamp on campus late in the process, the Illinois wideout decided to stick with his original pledge to Nebraska to the surprise of many, including some Irish commits who had been in touch with Westerkamp during the process. Notre Dame didn’t get nearly as close with Howard, who receivers coach Tony Alford had been high on from the start.
Jordan Payton probably would have signed with Notre Dame last week if not for the distance issue, but even after the coaching shakeup at Cal, the Irish never went very hard after Payton or Treggs. Payton ended up committing to three Pac-12 schools, USC, Cal and Washington, before signing with a fourth, UCLA.
The Irish did everything they could to convince Florida stud Nelson Agholor that South Bend would be a great fit for him, but he ended up signing with USC. Notre Dame also made pushes for Durron Neal (Oklahoma), Latroy Pittman (Florida), Cyrus Jones (Alabama) and Stefon Diggs, but was never considered a serious player for any.
Diggs is still undecided, but the Irish aren't in the running. However, Notre Dame is still a player for Arizona’s Davonte Neal, who won't make his decision for another two weeks after focusing on his high school season instead of recruiting. Neal took an official visit to Notre Dame in December and the Irish are one of his top options, especially after reports that Ohio State is no longer in the mix. North Carolina, Arizona and Arkansas are the other options.
Landing Neal would go a long way toward making up for missing out on Greenberry.
