here's a little info from former recruiting coordinator Bob Chmiel on Trattou: As a coach going through the evaluation of tapes, there are certain young men who are just a true pleasure to watch. The one quality I enjoy most in watching a high school football player is someone who plays hard on every play. The Irish just landed one of those players in New Jersey defensive end Justin Trattou. Trattou knows no boundaries on the field. At the point of attack he is stout, sheds blockers while keeping good football position and makes the play. More importantly, he plays as though there are no plays away from him. In other words, he is in constant pursuit. Coaches often use the phrase, “he has a great motor.” This suggests his motor is never off or in neutral, always going in high gear. Trattou is one of those athletes. Another quality to admire in Trattou is his obvious enjoyment and love of the game. You cannot play the way he does and not enjoy the contact, and have a mindset for the fray. He is a hard charger and an impressive tackler with great upper body strength. Trattou plays with good pad level for someone his size. When coaching on the defensive side of the ball, I always emphasized the term “pad under pad.” You cannot play defense effectively without this concept. Another term I used was “scalloping to the ball.” That is when a defensive player initially attacks a blocker using fine leverage. Next, he’ll continuously move his feet, keeping his shoulder square to the line of scrimmage, taking on one blocker to another as he moves to the ball. All of this is done while keeping his outside arm free, shedding each of these blockers until he arrives at the ball carrier, then completes the pursuit with a tackle. Justin showed this talent and aspect of his game time and again. When evaluating last year’s signees, I commented on the fact that they were all football tough. I can honestly say there is no letdown in this category. Trattou adds to the football-tough mentality of the current commitments. Charlie Weis was not just blowing hot air when he said he was seeking nasty football dispositions. Without having seen Trattou in person, I cannot predict where the Notre Dame coaching staff projects him along the defensive front. But with all of the aforementioned positive qualities, regardless of his size that they want him to eventually play at, he will succeed at any of the spots. He is a great take. One of the greatest compliments a player can get from me is that he is a throwback. He reminds me of some of the great ones from years past who play the game the way it should be played.
JO'Co, Austin would be nice but how about Arrelious Benn? I'm pretty sure the Irish have a good shot at him. It would be sweet to end up with the #1 QB and WR in this class. 8)
Trattou selected the Irish over Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan and Florida. His commitment gave ND three of the top four players in the state. 8)
Benn would be great, but Marvin Austin would be better. I have a feeling that Notre Dame will put up points against anybody as long as Charlie is there. We need defense, especially tackles and corners and the sooner the better. It looks like the plan is move Trattou to DT as well. Thats where the need is. The program will not be dominant again until it has a defense that holds opponents to single digits....IMHO. .....................JO'Co