With the recent rush of last-minute commitment changes led by Urban Meyer, there is some talk going around of puching for an earlier signing date for college football.
Currently, the signing date is Feb. 2nd, and recruits aren't bound to their commitments until then. Verbals prior to that are worth the paper they are written on.
Notre Dame has become a player in this discussion on both sides of the recruit-poaching issue. After losing our top defensive recruit to Florida, we were left with a scholarship opening and a need to fill in our defense. As a result, Notre Dame offered Brian Smith, the son of a former Notre Dame player. Problem is, Brian committed to Iowa several months ago.
Now, lest I be accused of hypocrisy, I'm not a big fan of this move. However, this is a situation where Smith wanted to go to Notre Dame and follow in his father's footsteps, but didn't receive an offer from the Irish. so he committed to Iowa. Now that he has an offer from Notre Dame, he is wavering on his commitment to Iowa (who rumor has it pulled their scholarship offer).
Now, as I said before, I'm generally not a fan of poaching recruits. However, I've listened to Coach Weis long enough to know that Brian probably told Coach Weis to contact him if they changed their mind about offering him a scholarship.
Nobody has even suggested that Trattou contacted Florida. By all accounts, Florida sought him out, wooed him, and convinced him to change his commitment. Notre Dame, on the other hand, simply offered a guy who was seeking an offer all along.
However, I may be splitting hairs here. The fact of the matter is, that this has now become a big part of recruiting.
So, I propose we have a preliminary signing period just before the season, where a kid can sign a letter of intent if they so choose, and therefore be taken out of the recruiting pool. Then, only those kids that are seriously on the fence will still be available come December and January. This early signing period will give coaches a sense of how serious a particular recruit's commitment to the University is, and be able to fromulate alternate plans if it doesn't work out. Under the current system, when a big recruit like Trattou changes at the last minute, a coach is left scrambling at the last minute to fill the hole left by the defection.
I say bring on an early signing period. Put all of this controversy to rest.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Friday, January 26, 2007
Underhanded Urban
The South Bend Tribune is reporting that Notre Dame's top defensive commitment this year, New Jersey defensive end Justin Trattou, has decommitted from the Irish and committed to the Florida Gators.
Normally, I don't get too upset about kids changing their commitments from one school to another in close recruiting battles. In fact, this year we ahd that work in our favor in regards to offensive line prospect Chris Little. We also lost some recruiting battles to, of all places, Illinois. Which I don't understand, but I accept it.
But when a coach comes in late in the recruiting processs and uses negative recruiting tactics to change a kid's mind at the last second, I call foul.
Justin Trattou committed to the Irish in early June - over 7 months ago. He was a solid commitment, another Jersey guy coming to Notre Dame.
Then Coach Urban Meyer, fresh off of a national championship (and with a boatload of defensive line recruits already committed), decided FOR THE THIRD STRAIGHT YEAR to try to poach a Notre Dame recruit in the end of the recruiting season.
And, for the first time, it actually worked. He got Justin to come down to Florida where he used some of the famous Florida recruiting bonuses to dazzle the kid, all the while filling his head with rumors that the Irish are switching to a 3-4 defense, and telling him how bad that would be for him. I'm sure he said "Look, I'm a Notre Dame guy, I used to coach tehre. I get it. But the weather and the mystique is not for guys like us. Florida gives you a better chance to win now. Can I introduce you to Bambi and Heather?"
Urban Liar did this the past three years, inviting committed Notre Dame guys down for a visit in January, and trying to get them to switch their commitment.
Weis doesn't engage in such unethical behavior. He recruits a kid until he commits, asks him if is commitment is solid or if he should continue recruiting him, and then cuts it off when the kid says "I'm done."
Urban Meyer has no such ethical compunctions. In fact, this is the 7th time THIS YEAR that Urban has poached a kid committed to another school. I know verbal commitments aren't binding agreements, but there has always been a certain amount of respect between coaches in regards to committed kids.
Even Tom Lemming, the recruiting guru, has called Urban out on this.
But I know Weis. Despite the fact that if this were me, my temper would cause me to spend a week down in Florida with the entire coaching staff testing the loyalty of EVERY Florida commitment, Weis won't. He won't come out and bash Urban Meyer for acting like the slimy, greasy, sleazy car salesman that he is. He won't get petty and start going after the guys we lost to Illinois or somewhere else.
Weis won't do any of these things because Weis has one thing that Urban never will.
Character.
Weis knows that if he works hard, accepts nothing but the best from his coaching staff and his players - and more importantly, himself - Notre Dame will return to their rightful place as the paragon of college football programs. Winning, more than anyone else. Graduating, more than anyone else. Building not just players, but young men that will go on long after their football careers to be men of integrity. Men like Alan Page, Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court, who understands that there are far more important things in life than football.
Florida won a championship this year, and they earned it on the field.
But their success will be fleeting, as it always is for those who cut corners, take shortcuts, and look for the easy way, rather than the right way. A house built on a shaky foundation will not stand.
Long after Florida has been returned to the dustbin of history, Notre Dame will continue in excellence.
No other program has won more consistently over a longer period of time than the Irish.
The won their first national championship in 1924. Since then, the Irish have won at least one championship in every decade through the 1980s. Then, in the 90s, we struggled a little, falling just short in 1993 of our 12th championship.
And now we're back. And I guarantee that before this decade is out, Notre Dame will be back where they belong.
Many people mistake this attitude for hubris and arrogance, but it is not. We are not "holier than thou," because we don't care how you achieve your goals. All we care about is doing our best, and doing it in the best way.
Which is why Weis won't say a word. He'll remember the slight, but instead of retaliation, he will choose to work harder. He won't even blame Urban. He'll blame himself for not being as successful as he would like on the field.
I wish Justin Trattou and Urban Meyer nothing but the best, but I know far too well that Trattou has made a mistake. A 40-year mistake. When he leaves the University of Florida, there is about a 25% chance that he will not have a degree. At Notre Dame, there is almost no chance he would have left without one. When he leaves Florida, he'll have a chance to get in the NFL, but that's about it. Players leaving the University of Notre Dame not only have opportunities in the NFL, but they have one of the most dedicated alumni networks in the country.
Right now, it hurts to lose a talented player of the caliber of Justin Trattou. However, I wonder if he will regret his decision in 20 years.
Normally, I don't get too upset about kids changing their commitments from one school to another in close recruiting battles. In fact, this year we ahd that work in our favor in regards to offensive line prospect Chris Little. We also lost some recruiting battles to, of all places, Illinois. Which I don't understand, but I accept it.
But when a coach comes in late in the recruiting processs and uses negative recruiting tactics to change a kid's mind at the last second, I call foul.
Justin Trattou committed to the Irish in early June - over 7 months ago. He was a solid commitment, another Jersey guy coming to Notre Dame.
Then Coach Urban Meyer, fresh off of a national championship (and with a boatload of defensive line recruits already committed), decided FOR THE THIRD STRAIGHT YEAR to try to poach a Notre Dame recruit in the end of the recruiting season.
And, for the first time, it actually worked. He got Justin to come down to Florida where he used some of the famous Florida recruiting bonuses to dazzle the kid, all the while filling his head with rumors that the Irish are switching to a 3-4 defense, and telling him how bad that would be for him. I'm sure he said "Look, I'm a Notre Dame guy, I used to coach tehre. I get it. But the weather and the mystique is not for guys like us. Florida gives you a better chance to win now. Can I introduce you to Bambi and Heather?"
Urban Liar did this the past three years, inviting committed Notre Dame guys down for a visit in January, and trying to get them to switch their commitment.
Weis doesn't engage in such unethical behavior. He recruits a kid until he commits, asks him if is commitment is solid or if he should continue recruiting him, and then cuts it off when the kid says "I'm done."
Urban Meyer has no such ethical compunctions. In fact, this is the 7th time THIS YEAR that Urban has poached a kid committed to another school. I know verbal commitments aren't binding agreements, but there has always been a certain amount of respect between coaches in regards to committed kids.
Even Tom Lemming, the recruiting guru, has called Urban out on this.
But I know Weis. Despite the fact that if this were me, my temper would cause me to spend a week down in Florida with the entire coaching staff testing the loyalty of EVERY Florida commitment, Weis won't. He won't come out and bash Urban Meyer for acting like the slimy, greasy, sleazy car salesman that he is. He won't get petty and start going after the guys we lost to Illinois or somewhere else.
Weis won't do any of these things because Weis has one thing that Urban never will.
Character.
Weis knows that if he works hard, accepts nothing but the best from his coaching staff and his players - and more importantly, himself - Notre Dame will return to their rightful place as the paragon of college football programs. Winning, more than anyone else. Graduating, more than anyone else. Building not just players, but young men that will go on long after their football careers to be men of integrity. Men like Alan Page, Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court, who understands that there are far more important things in life than football.
Florida won a championship this year, and they earned it on the field.
But their success will be fleeting, as it always is for those who cut corners, take shortcuts, and look for the easy way, rather than the right way. A house built on a shaky foundation will not stand.
Long after Florida has been returned to the dustbin of history, Notre Dame will continue in excellence.
No other program has won more consistently over a longer period of time than the Irish.
The won their first national championship in 1924. Since then, the Irish have won at least one championship in every decade through the 1980s. Then, in the 90s, we struggled a little, falling just short in 1993 of our 12th championship.
And now we're back. And I guarantee that before this decade is out, Notre Dame will be back where they belong.
Many people mistake this attitude for hubris and arrogance, but it is not. We are not "holier than thou," because we don't care how you achieve your goals. All we care about is doing our best, and doing it in the best way.
Which is why Weis won't say a word. He'll remember the slight, but instead of retaliation, he will choose to work harder. He won't even blame Urban. He'll blame himself for not being as successful as he would like on the field.
I wish Justin Trattou and Urban Meyer nothing but the best, but I know far too well that Trattou has made a mistake. A 40-year mistake. When he leaves the University of Florida, there is about a 25% chance that he will not have a degree. At Notre Dame, there is almost no chance he would have left without one. When he leaves Florida, he'll have a chance to get in the NFL, but that's about it. Players leaving the University of Notre Dame not only have opportunities in the NFL, but they have one of the most dedicated alumni networks in the country.
Right now, it hurts to lose a talented player of the caliber of Justin Trattou. However, I wonder if he will regret his decision in 20 years.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Replumbing the Chicago Pipeline
With Corwin Brown having been on the staff only a few days, his impact on Chicago recruiting is already paying dividends.
Chicago's Public League, which used to send all of it's best athletes to Notre Dame, had fallen out of favor with the Irish under Davie and Willingham. Recently, Martez Wilson, the top defensive line product from the CPL, chose Illinois over Notre Dame in a heated recruiting battle. With Corwin Brown in the fold, suddenly Notre Dame is winning these battles, with the commitment of running back Robert Hughes, another recruit that came down to Notre Dame - Illinois.
And I expect that Coach Weis will make it Corwin Brown's responsibility to see to it that the days of ND losing Chicago recruiting battles with Illinois are over. I'm not sure what kind of wacky-tabacky Zook is selling over there in Illinois (and I'm not sure how Kyle McAlarney got his hands on it), but the recent recruiting surge by Illinois has kept Notre Dame's recruiting class this year from vaulting from top 5 to consensus #1.
Former Public League player Corwin Brown is already working on changing that. Only days into his tenure at Notre Dame, Rivals.com is crediting Rob Ianello AND Corwin Brown with the recruitment success of Robert Hughes.
I'm not a big fan of going after a kid that is committed to another school generally, but I hope that Corwin and Rob call MArtez again, just to see if he might change his mind after the new hire.
Chicago's Public League, which used to send all of it's best athletes to Notre Dame, had fallen out of favor with the Irish under Davie and Willingham. Recently, Martez Wilson, the top defensive line product from the CPL, chose Illinois over Notre Dame in a heated recruiting battle. With Corwin Brown in the fold, suddenly Notre Dame is winning these battles, with the commitment of running back Robert Hughes, another recruit that came down to Notre Dame - Illinois.
And I expect that Coach Weis will make it Corwin Brown's responsibility to see to it that the days of ND losing Chicago recruiting battles with Illinois are over. I'm not sure what kind of wacky-tabacky Zook is selling over there in Illinois (and I'm not sure how Kyle McAlarney got his hands on it), but the recent recruiting surge by Illinois has kept Notre Dame's recruiting class this year from vaulting from top 5 to consensus #1.
Former Public League player Corwin Brown is already working on changing that. Only days into his tenure at Notre Dame, Rivals.com is crediting Rob Ianello AND Corwin Brown with the recruitment success of Robert Hughes.
I'm not a big fan of going after a kid that is committed to another school generally, but I hope that Corwin and Rob call MArtez again, just to see if he might change his mind after the new hire.
Saturday, January 20, 2007
The Shark stays a Cub - forgoes NFL draft
I'm sure that puts a big grin on my buddy Brad's face, as the biggest Cubs fan I know, but I must say that I am a little disappointed that Jeff Samardzija is not going to play in the NFL.
I wanted the Shark to enter the NFL draft for mostly selfish reasons. I think he would have been one of the best receivers to come out of college in the last few years, and his presence near the top of the first round of the NFL draft would help recruiting.
However, I must begrudgingly admit that he probably made the safe choice. As a general rule, a baseball pitcher is going to be less injury prone than a receiver that gets hit almost every time he touches the ball. The money in baseball is potentially much greater than in the NFL, and he could have a much longer career.
My biggest concern is WHERE he signed on as a pitcher.
Now don't get me wrong, I am a huge Cubs fan. But I cringe when I hear the words "Kerry Wood" and "Mark Prior." The Cubs, famous for their curses, have been cursed of late when it comes to talented young pitchers. Hopefully, Jeff will be more Zambrano and less Prior.
Jeff, good luck in your career with the Cubs, and I wish you the best of luck.
I wanted the Shark to enter the NFL draft for mostly selfish reasons. I think he would have been one of the best receivers to come out of college in the last few years, and his presence near the top of the first round of the NFL draft would help recruiting.
However, I must begrudgingly admit that he probably made the safe choice. As a general rule, a baseball pitcher is going to be less injury prone than a receiver that gets hit almost every time he touches the ball. The money in baseball is potentially much greater than in the NFL, and he could have a much longer career.
My biggest concern is WHERE he signed on as a pitcher.
Now don't get me wrong, I am a huge Cubs fan. But I cringe when I hear the words "Kerry Wood" and "Mark Prior." The Cubs, famous for their curses, have been cursed of late when it comes to talented young pitchers. Hopefully, Jeff will be more Zambrano and less Prior.
Jeff, good luck in your career with the Cubs, and I wish you the best of luck.
Friday, January 19, 2007
Finally, it's official
In a noon press conference, Coach Weis introduced today our new defensive coordinator, Corwin Brown, and our new Quarterbacks coach, Ron Powlus.
Corwin Brown, for those unfamiliar with him, is of the Parcells-Belichik-Groh-Weis coaching tree. In fact, Coach Weis said that after speaking with Belichik, Parcells, and Crennel, that only one name was mentioned by all three - Coach Brown. Coach Brown was brought up in the Belichik defense, which has been notorious at the Patriots for being successful even when there are injuries - at one point, they had a wide receiver in defensive coverage. He doesn't have any coordinating experience, but he should bring some more intensity to the defense.
With these changes, I see the team improving in four key areas:
(1) recruiting - Powlus was in charge of on-campus recruiting for the last two years, and he has been tremendous in closing the deal with a lot of visiting recruits - as a Pennsylvania kid, I expect Coach Powlus to be in charge of the Pennsylvania-Ohio region. Brown is a Chicago kid with lots of contacts in the Chicago area, and he will be tasked with rebuiilding the once impenetrable pipeline of Chicago kids to Notre Dame.
(2) youth - Many people look at youth and inexperience as a disadvantage, but I think that in this context, it works in our favor. Young kids don't have bad habits, and they will be learning from the best. Corwin Brown will have the benefit of Coach Weis above him, and Coach Lewis below him, both of them teaching him how to manage the defense and assist him with the managerial aspects of his new position. Powlus, himself a former ND quarterback, will have one of history's best quarterback coaches teaching him the ropes as well in Coach Weis.
(3) energy - Coach Brown is an in-your-face guy with a lot of intensity and energy, which hopefully will help this team to play with more passion and pride. Too often under Coach Minter, the team looked like it was going through the motions. The only times I recall the defense playing inspired was when Coach Weis took it upon himself to get them fired up. Now, he won't have to bother. The youthful energy also will help us in recruiting - look at how Petey the Poodle over in South Central is doing with his "I'm a young energetic coach... Energetic, anyway!" routine. It will bring some vitality to a program that needs a shot in the arm.
(4) a new slate - This is a program in transition, suffering through the last painful shudders of a coach that nearly destroyed the program (don't believe me? count the seniors left from Ty's second recruiting class...). This is a program that has overachieved under Coach Weis tutelage, and is on the verge of taking the next step, from perennial BCS contender to perennial National Championship contender. The conventional wisdom believes that next year will be a "down" year, with this team going 7-5 or 8-4, and getting a berth in the Cotton or Gator bowl. I am not ready to give up the ghost just yet, however. We'll have a young QB, and an inexperienced defense learning a new system, but the talent level is really starting to ratchet up.
Talent Level in Transition
2006 Starters Scout.com Ratings
5 stars:
Rhema McKnight
Derek Landri
Sam Young
4 stars:
Bob Morton
Brady Quinn
Jeff Samardzija
Victor Abiamiri
Ryan Harris
Chinedum Ndukwe
Tommy Zbikowski
Travis Thomas
Trevor Laws
Ambrose Wooden
John Sullivan
Terrail Lambert
3 stars:
Geoff Price
John Carlson
Ashley McConnell (started due to injury of Schwapp)
Joe Brockington
Darius Walker
Maurice Crum
Ronald Talley
Mitchell Thomas
Asaph Schwapp
David Grimes
2 stars:
Dan Santucci
1 star:
Mike Richardson
2007 possible starters' Scout.com ratings: (ty's recruits in italics, my projected starters in bold)
5 stars:
Jimmy Clausen (QB)
Justin Trattou (DE)
Sam Young (OL)
James Aldridge (RB)
Konrad Reuland (#2 TE)
4 stars:
Tommy Zbikowski (S)
Travis Thomas (RB/LB)
Trevor Laws (DL)
Ambrose Wooden (CB)
John Sullivan (OL)
Terrail Lambert (CB), Gary Gray, Darrin Walls (CB - pick 1 for nickel back)
Raeshon McNeil or Sergio Brown (S = pick 1)
Michael Turkovich, Chris Stewart, Bartley Webb, Dan Wenger, Matt Carufel, Eric Olsen, Chris Little, Matt Romine, and Emeka Nwankwo (OL - pick 3)
D.J. Hord, Duval Kumara, Greg Little or Golden Tate (WR - pick 1)
Kallen Wade (DE)
3 stars:
Geoff Price (K)
John Carlson (TE)
Maurice Crum (LB)
Joe Brockington (LB)
Asaph Schwapp (FB)
David Grimes (WR)
Ian Williams (DL)
Toryan Smith (LB)
2 stars:
Ryan Burkhart (K)
1 star:
none
As you can see, the slow transition from 3 and 4 star kids to 4 and 5 star kids is coming around, and when we get all of the pieces in place, this will be one hell of a football team. This will be the last year we will see any of Ty's recruits, and if recruiting stays on course, you can expect fully 1/3 of the team to have 5-star talent by 2008.
You know who this team reminds me of? USC 2003
My pre-preseason prediction: 9-3, with an outside shot at a BCS berth. I predict losses to Michigan and USC, and a third loss to either Penn State, Georgia Tech or UCLA.
Best case scenario: 11-1, in the national championship game (we would have get lucky to split the games against Michigan and USC, and play to the maximum of our potential to win all the others)
Worst case scenario: 7-5, in the Insight Bowl. I just don't see us losing more than 5 games - we should handle Navy, Air Force, Duke, and Stanford easily, and I can't see this team doing worse than 3-3 versus Penn State, Georgia Tech, Michigan State, Purdue, UCLA, and Fredo. The other two losses would be to Michigan and USC - Michigan has too much experience, and USC has too much talent.
Corwin Brown, for those unfamiliar with him, is of the Parcells-Belichik-Groh-Weis coaching tree. In fact, Coach Weis said that after speaking with Belichik, Parcells, and Crennel, that only one name was mentioned by all three - Coach Brown. Coach Brown was brought up in the Belichik defense, which has been notorious at the Patriots for being successful even when there are injuries - at one point, they had a wide receiver in defensive coverage. He doesn't have any coordinating experience, but he should bring some more intensity to the defense.
With these changes, I see the team improving in four key areas:
(1) recruiting - Powlus was in charge of on-campus recruiting for the last two years, and he has been tremendous in closing the deal with a lot of visiting recruits - as a Pennsylvania kid, I expect Coach Powlus to be in charge of the Pennsylvania-Ohio region. Brown is a Chicago kid with lots of contacts in the Chicago area, and he will be tasked with rebuiilding the once impenetrable pipeline of Chicago kids to Notre Dame.
(2) youth - Many people look at youth and inexperience as a disadvantage, but I think that in this context, it works in our favor. Young kids don't have bad habits, and they will be learning from the best. Corwin Brown will have the benefit of Coach Weis above him, and Coach Lewis below him, both of them teaching him how to manage the defense and assist him with the managerial aspects of his new position. Powlus, himself a former ND quarterback, will have one of history's best quarterback coaches teaching him the ropes as well in Coach Weis.
(3) energy - Coach Brown is an in-your-face guy with a lot of intensity and energy, which hopefully will help this team to play with more passion and pride. Too often under Coach Minter, the team looked like it was going through the motions. The only times I recall the defense playing inspired was when Coach Weis took it upon himself to get them fired up. Now, he won't have to bother. The youthful energy also will help us in recruiting - look at how Petey the Poodle over in South Central is doing with his "I'm a young energetic coach... Energetic, anyway!" routine. It will bring some vitality to a program that needs a shot in the arm.
(4) a new slate - This is a program in transition, suffering through the last painful shudders of a coach that nearly destroyed the program (don't believe me? count the seniors left from Ty's second recruiting class...). This is a program that has overachieved under Coach Weis tutelage, and is on the verge of taking the next step, from perennial BCS contender to perennial National Championship contender. The conventional wisdom believes that next year will be a "down" year, with this team going 7-5 or 8-4, and getting a berth in the Cotton or Gator bowl. I am not ready to give up the ghost just yet, however. We'll have a young QB, and an inexperienced defense learning a new system, but the talent level is really starting to ratchet up.
Talent Level in Transition
2006 Starters Scout.com Ratings
5 stars:
Rhema McKnight
Derek Landri
Sam Young
4 stars:
Bob Morton
Brady Quinn
Jeff Samardzija
Victor Abiamiri
Ryan Harris
Chinedum Ndukwe
Tommy Zbikowski
Travis Thomas
Trevor Laws
Ambrose Wooden
John Sullivan
Terrail Lambert
3 stars:
Geoff Price
John Carlson
Ashley McConnell (started due to injury of Schwapp)
Joe Brockington
Darius Walker
Maurice Crum
Ronald Talley
Mitchell Thomas
Asaph Schwapp
David Grimes
2 stars:
Dan Santucci
1 star:
Mike Richardson
2007 possible starters' Scout.com ratings: (ty's recruits in italics, my projected starters in bold)
5 stars:
Jimmy Clausen (QB)
Justin Trattou (DE)
Sam Young (OL)
James Aldridge (RB)
Konrad Reuland (#2 TE)
4 stars:
Tommy Zbikowski (S)
Travis Thomas (RB/LB)
Trevor Laws (DL)
Ambrose Wooden (CB)
John Sullivan (OL)
Terrail Lambert (CB), Gary Gray, Darrin Walls (CB - pick 1 for nickel back)
Raeshon McNeil or Sergio Brown (S = pick 1)
Michael Turkovich, Chris Stewart, Bartley Webb, Dan Wenger, Matt Carufel, Eric Olsen, Chris Little, Matt Romine, and Emeka Nwankwo (OL - pick 3)
D.J. Hord, Duval Kumara, Greg Little or Golden Tate (WR - pick 1)
Kallen Wade (DE)
3 stars:
Geoff Price (K)
John Carlson (TE)
Maurice Crum (LB)
Joe Brockington (LB)
Asaph Schwapp (FB)
David Grimes (WR)
Ian Williams (DL)
Toryan Smith (LB)
2 stars:
Ryan Burkhart (K)
1 star:
none
As you can see, the slow transition from 3 and 4 star kids to 4 and 5 star kids is coming around, and when we get all of the pieces in place, this will be one hell of a football team. This will be the last year we will see any of Ty's recruits, and if recruiting stays on course, you can expect fully 1/3 of the team to have 5-star talent by 2008.
You know who this team reminds me of? USC 2003
My pre-preseason prediction: 9-3, with an outside shot at a BCS berth. I predict losses to Michigan and USC, and a third loss to either Penn State, Georgia Tech or UCLA.
Best case scenario: 11-1, in the national championship game (we would have get lucky to split the games against Michigan and USC, and play to the maximum of our potential to win all the others)
Worst case scenario: 7-5, in the Insight Bowl. I just don't see us losing more than 5 games - we should handle Navy, Air Force, Duke, and Stanford easily, and I can't see this team doing worse than 3-3 versus Penn State, Georgia Tech, Michigan State, Purdue, UCLA, and Fredo. The other two losses would be to Michigan and USC - Michigan has too much experience, and USC has too much talent.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Recruiting fizzle
With national signing day just around the bend, it appears that Notre Dame's recruiting cycle is about over.
Will Blackwell, our final remaining big-time Defensive Tackle target, committed to LSU.
Major Wright, the hard-hitting safety, is widely being reported as an Ohio State lean.
We still have a shot at running back Robert Hughes out of Chicago, but rumors put him going to Illinois. (Which is unfortunate, as we will be having an open tryout at running back in Spring practice with Darius leaving)
We may get another recruit or two before the big day, but I doubt we'll see any big Top-100 splashes coming out way.
All told, however, this is another top 10 recruiting class, and provides this team with the base it needs to be competitive going forward. We are still a little thin, expecially at defensive line, but our depth is slowly improving (albeit with inexperienced but athletic players).
Still no word on Corwin Brown. I wonder what's taking so long?
Will Blackwell, our final remaining big-time Defensive Tackle target, committed to LSU.
Major Wright, the hard-hitting safety, is widely being reported as an Ohio State lean.
We still have a shot at running back Robert Hughes out of Chicago, but rumors put him going to Illinois. (Which is unfortunate, as we will be having an open tryout at running back in Spring practice with Darius leaving)
We may get another recruit or two before the big day, but I doubt we'll see any big Top-100 splashes coming out way.
All told, however, this is another top 10 recruiting class, and provides this team with the base it needs to be competitive going forward. We are still a little thin, expecially at defensive line, but our depth is slowly improving (albeit with inexperienced but athletic players).
Still no word on Corwin Brown. I wonder what's taking so long?
Saturday, January 13, 2007
New Defensive Coordinator - Corwin Brown
There is no official word yet from Notre Dame, who is probably still going over his resume with a fine-toothed comb to avoid another O'leary fiasco, but it has been widely reported that the Irish have hired Corwin Brown as the new defensive coordinator.
Here are the pros and cons as I see it:
Pros
- young
- energetic
- good coaching pedigree (studied under Belichik and Parcells)
- African-American (I wrote a paper on this last semester, and more African-American coaches are needed throughout the upper echelon of football at all divisions)
- proven recruiter
- from Chicago, usually a pipeline for the Irish
- aggressive style of defense
- great reputation in the locker room
- came from NFL coaching ranks
- former NFL player
Cons
- Michigan grad
- young
- not a lot of coaching experience (6 yrs. total)
- has never been a coordinator before
- Michigan grad
Actually, I really like this hire. I think he exactly the salve that this team needed. Minter played a wait and react style of defense that relied on different looks rather that blitzing and jamming receivers. It fit with our less than stellar talent level of the past couple of years, but he did not teach it well enough for the kids to execute the scheme effectively. Brown will bring in an uptempo style of defense that is attacking and puts more emphasis on athleticism, which has gotten a great shot in the arm over the past two recruiting classes.
The end result of all of the news this past week has assured us of one thing:
Next year will be totally different.
We'll be breaking in a new QB, RB, WRs, and several O-linemen. Our only returning weapon on offense is All-American tight end John Carlson (which is key for a new QB). With all of the new talent on the field, and Weis' penchant for moulding the offense around the players, what we see next year will be completely different from the last couple of years.
On defense, we lose a handful of starters, but we should see a majority of the defense composed of freshman and sophomores. Trevor Laws will be back to anchor and lead the D-line, Crum will hopefully move backoutside where he can lead the linebackers, and Tommy Z (with all of his detractors out there) will come back to the team to lead an Irish secondary that should be our deepest and most talented secondary in years (if also one of our youngest).
This combination of 5th-year senior leadership and young inexpereienced talent will be interesting to watch. If the veteran guys can provide the stability and leadership that the underclassmen need, this team could far exceed most people's expectations, much like the Trojans did in Carroll's third year. Alternatively, replacing so many talented players, especially a leader like Brady Quinn, could mean a huge step back for the Irish. In Carroll's fateful third year, he had a veteran QB - we won't.
We still have a couple of weeks until national signing day, at which time we'll know for sure whether we can land the much-needed Will Blackwell and super safety prospect Major Wright among the remaining undecided players. Hopefully, Corwin Brown can come in and fire up the players still on the fence and turn a decent recruiting haul into one for the ages.
Welcome the the Irish, Coach Brown. Best of luck.
Here are the pros and cons as I see it:
Pros
- young
- energetic
- good coaching pedigree (studied under Belichik and Parcells)
- African-American (I wrote a paper on this last semester, and more African-American coaches are needed throughout the upper echelon of football at all divisions)
- proven recruiter
- from Chicago, usually a pipeline for the Irish
- aggressive style of defense
- great reputation in the locker room
- came from NFL coaching ranks
- former NFL player
Cons
- Michigan grad
- young
- not a lot of coaching experience (6 yrs. total)
- has never been a coordinator before
- Michigan grad
Actually, I really like this hire. I think he exactly the salve that this team needed. Minter played a wait and react style of defense that relied on different looks rather that blitzing and jamming receivers. It fit with our less than stellar talent level of the past couple of years, but he did not teach it well enough for the kids to execute the scheme effectively. Brown will bring in an uptempo style of defense that is attacking and puts more emphasis on athleticism, which has gotten a great shot in the arm over the past two recruiting classes.
The end result of all of the news this past week has assured us of one thing:
Next year will be totally different.
We'll be breaking in a new QB, RB, WRs, and several O-linemen. Our only returning weapon on offense is All-American tight end John Carlson (which is key for a new QB). With all of the new talent on the field, and Weis' penchant for moulding the offense around the players, what we see next year will be completely different from the last couple of years.
On defense, we lose a handful of starters, but we should see a majority of the defense composed of freshman and sophomores. Trevor Laws will be back to anchor and lead the D-line, Crum will hopefully move backoutside where he can lead the linebackers, and Tommy Z (with all of his detractors out there) will come back to the team to lead an Irish secondary that should be our deepest and most talented secondary in years (if also one of our youngest).
This combination of 5th-year senior leadership and young inexpereienced talent will be interesting to watch. If the veteran guys can provide the stability and leadership that the underclassmen need, this team could far exceed most people's expectations, much like the Trojans did in Carroll's third year. Alternatively, replacing so many talented players, especially a leader like Brady Quinn, could mean a huge step back for the Irish. In Carroll's fateful third year, he had a veteran QB - we won't.
We still have a couple of weeks until national signing day, at which time we'll know for sure whether we can land the much-needed Will Blackwell and super safety prospect Major Wright among the remaining undecided players. Hopefully, Corwin Brown can come in and fire up the players still on the fence and turn a decent recruiting haul into one for the ages.
Welcome the the Irish, Coach Brown. Best of luck.
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