So you don't think that having a top recruit back out of his long standing commitment on the eve of NOI day doesn't sabotage a program? You're kidding me right? Oh I got it if you win a ring then breaking your commitment is OK. They teach that at an ethics class at UF?
Gruden <r>The audacity of some people....<br/> <QUOTE><s> </e></QUOTE> What they think is they are glad they don't play for a back-stabbing SOB named Meyer! Gator Chomp on that for a while! Go back to admiring your autographed 8X10 glossy Timmy Tebow pic. <br/> <br/> The day that Urban Meyer becomes the ND HC is the day I will no longer be a ND fan. Hopefully he goes to the NFL where he and Tebow will be lost for all time on the list of....what ever happened to.. <E></E></r>
Careful Tim. Don't make promises you can't or won't keep 8) We would miss your Irish enthusiam around here. Gipper, Losing Trattou and Hunter was tough but certainly not malicious. I say this because we do the same thing and everybody knows that we never do anything underhanded 8) Brian Smith we copped from Iowa at the 11th hour. Trevor Robinson we took off of Nebraska. I'm sure there are others. We took Marcus Pollard off of UCLA and then Neuheisel, that rascal, copped him back! These coaches all do it. Some are better than others. And these are kids who will change their minds. Nothing means othing until 11:59PM on Feb 1.
Come on, I know a lot of ND fans have issues with Urban's recruiting tactics since we've been burned a couple of times by them. But they are legal and not violations of NCAA rules. I think Charlie has finally figured out that if a kid is looking it's ok to show him the goods and if he likes it to take his commit no matter how long they were with there previous school (verbal commitment). This is why I'd like a early signing period. Why the coaches would like an early signing period and for the life of me I don't understand why the conference commissioners shot it down. I guess they don't think the coaches know much about the situation.
Just so we're clear, we're talking about the Brian Smith who's father had played for ND and who always wanted to go there. The one who didn't have a spot because ND had already gotten a commitment from one Justin Trattou? He would have played for Iowa if a certain ND recruit had kept his commitment.
So what's your complaint? Meyer "did good" for both Trattou and Smith!! Anyway ..... ND doesn't really want guys like Trattou and Hunter ... since they wouldn't live up to their previous commitment ..... so Meyer "did good" for ND, too. There ya go, be happy and don't sweat the small stuff.
That's not completely true. Brian Smith was deemed unworthy by Rick Minter who didn't like him for a LB in his defense. When Minter was canned and Corwin Brown brought in, a need for more LB's with the 3-4 defense coming with him. That caused the staff to take another look at him and Brown liked what he saw and they asked him to make a visit to ND. When Frenentz found out he was going to take a visit to ND he told him if he went his scholarship offer was rescinded and wouldn't be reinstated. So he came and was offered and commited. It was late and it did hurt the Iowa recruiting class. As George pointed out we've been hurt by that and benefited by that, we've gotten an OL (Bobby Morton) away from Texas A&M, a DL (Kapron Lewis-Moore) away from Texas A&M, Holtz got a punter from Vanderbilt, Davie also got a punter from Texas (can't think of his name) Stuff happens. Ask Tenn fans how they feel about Mack Brown and Chris Simms.
I haven't mentioned Meyer once in this thread. I mentioned two individuals who gave their commitments and then at the last minute left a school who took their word hanging. It's not good when you lose a recruit that you thought you had, when you lose them at the last minute it really causes damage because you have no time to recover. It's the best way to screw a program. If it happens once, it's really unfortunate, when it happens the same way twice someone's stickin it to ya. Didn't happen last year but then Matison wasn't at UF. Could be a coincidence but...
http://florida.scout.com/2/613067.html Meyer made the visit to NJ where Trattou gave his verbal. But it's history, now.
I did some research. Bob Morton committed to the Irish on July 8th. Trevor Robinson and Kapron Lewis-Moore both committed to coaches who were let go and decided to put themselves back on the market by visiting schools.
I think what is being missed here, or perhaps I missed it, was the reports to IE by those kids that they were told to keep their new 'verbal' secret while keeping up the front they were ND commits. I remember reading that, and I believe it is premium content from Mike's site so I don't see how it can be linked... but I believe that is what has caused the ill feelings there. Is that true? I don't know.. but I do know that a very reliable, and honest to the point it costs him 'the scoop' at times guy who runs a site said he was told that... Either way, it is water under the bridge.
Corey, whether that is true or not, certainly that is what most ND fans who follow recruiting believe. I believe it and I've brought it up here several times. I doubt if any Gator fan gives it much of a thought one way or the other. I would imagine most of them feel that even if Trattou and Hunter were encouraged (told) to not tell ND coaches, that when Meyer and staff left the house that those kids could have called if they wanted to, but chose not to do it. Same for the parents. For SEC fans it's more likely to be business as usual in a highly competitive cutt throat process (SEC recruiting).
I'll add that of the several lessons that Charlie has learned in the last 4 years is that 1)Kids Lie 2) you can't trust the competition to be honorable 3) You'd better look out for #1 in recruiting, because nobody else is. 4)When you get a team down you'd better step on them, don't worry about embarassing them or their momma's or the coach on the other sideline.
It ain't over yet... maybe. ND recruit Nyshier Oliver, a four start S out of NJ is visiting Tennessee this weekend. He has been verballed to the Irish for at least five months. I met him at one of Carlo Calabrese's games this past fall. The interesting thing is that he was verballed to Tennessee before Notre Dame but switched in part because of Fullmer's uncertain status. Sound familiar?