Well it looks the the Hendrix kid from Ohio is visiting SB today. Looks like he and Montana are both trying to decide between OSU and ND. Sorry if this sounds a little sacreligeous for a ND fan but I'm hoping we get the Hendrix kid to commit. I love Joe Montana but as I mentioned before I just don't see lighting striking twice. If it should be Montana instead of Hendrix....fine. I just like what I've seen and heard about the Hendrix kid a lot. Hell, who knows, we might not get either one of them. 8)
Yeah there certainly would be a lot of pressure on Nick to be the next Joe Montana. He and Hendrix are ranked right next to one another so it's not like if we get Hendrix that we'd be settling. Some have said that Hendrix has more upside than Nick, but I'm not sure what they are basing that one to tell you the truth. Last year was the first time Nick was the starter so he's bound to be better this year. What do you think about our new WR recruit, Bennett Jackson? He's been getting mixed reviews on most boards, with some saying he's got a ton of athleticism and all, but a lot worrying about his speed. He does seem to be the slot reciever type. I think everybody is just disappointed that Charlie hasn't been able to really get that elite 5* reciever with speed, while no doubt in Floyd he got an elite reciever but Floyd doesn't have that blazing speed that every southern team seems to have at WR and we've struggled to get even 1 in the last 10 years. Not to mention the kids from Joisey!
ND <r>Terry,<br/> <br/> I'm not sure about the Jackson kid either. He does seem to fit the slot receiver mode ala D. Grimes. The thing I noticed right away is he has great technique when catching the ball, using his hands and not his body. One thing for sure, he was set to go to either M. State or Pitt if not ND so I like the idea of having him with us instead of scoring points against us for one of our rivals. <br/> <br/> On Floyd, I know he may mot be a burner but I'm convinced he will be one of the best ever at ND by the time he leaves. It will be hard to keep him past his Jr year if he does what I think he will. <E>8)</E></r>
Hendrix <r>looks like Hendrix really liked his visit at SB yesterday and today from the reports I was reading. From a few of his comments ND will be hard to beat now. Seemed he felt right at home. His parents were with him and they seemed to enjoy the visit too. <br/> <br/> Unless they pull out all the stops at OSU, thsi kid will probably be Irish within a week. <E></E></r>
I have to say I'm a little surprised that Hendrix is so high on Notre Dame. From the rumors on the Tennessee boards, this guy was high on the Vols with Ohio State being the team the staff would have to beat out. However, that was a couple of weeks ago and the talk about Hendrix has died down significantly with the talk about California QB Jesse Scroggins heating up along with Memphis QB Barry Brunetti who isn't all that highly rated. While I don't doubt that Hendrix will be a Notre Dame commitment, I don't think Tennessee is done with him yet. They're expecting a large number of high profile QBs in their upcoming June camps and the Vols have a lot to offer to a QB. From the time a top rated QB steps on campus, they'll be the favorite to win the job. Another note, the Tennessee staff seems high on Hendrix but would not extend an offer to Montana, for what that's worth. Montana even came on an unofficial and still didn't get an offer. It seems the Tennessee staff is much higher on Hendrix in comparison to Montana.
Hendrix has recently added the Ohio State offer, the Buckeyes had told Nick Montana that he was the only QB that they would offer and that they would wait on him. However since Montana seems to be a long way from making a decision, Tressel called him and told him that they were going to offer another QB, that they still wanted him but didn't feel like they could leave the exclusive offer on the table any longer. Some think that Montana built a relationship with Washington coach Steve Sarkesian while he was at USC and that he's going to be a UW commit. Montana also made a visit to Texas but Mack doesn't give out many offers unless he knows the kid is going to commit on the spot and given that Connor Wood was in the picture and eager to commit Nick did not recieve an offer at Texas either. Also Hendrix was at ND today and reportedly had a great visit, but did not commit and said his top 3 are ND, OSU and Cinncy. He did say that Miami and Tenn were also in the picture. There really aren't that many pro-style QB programs out there any more with so many schools going to some version of the Spread. ND, USC, Tenn, and I assume Washington are amongst the few.
Well Nick Montana has committed to Washington. I assume his relationship with Steve Sarkesian, the depth chart at UW and not having to live in his dad's footsteps at ND were prime factors. Hopefully Hendrix, who reportedly had a great visit to ND, will make his verbal to ND soon!!
Hendrix is in Columbus today.....given the Montana commitment to UW, I'm thinking the young man will get the full treatment. Coach T has a pretty good closing ratio on visits, we'll see how he does with this one.
He supposedly is going to also visit Tenn and Miami unoffically. Aquilla however posted earlier that he's not the top target at Tenn, so they'll probably slow play him till they get a clear indication one way or the other on their top target. As far as OSU vs ND. Being an Ohio kid I'm sure it's a tough decision to not go to Ohio State, but then Brady Quinn left the state (although I don't know if Brady was offered by Ohio State to tell you the truth). He does seem to be very interested in academics and says he wants to go to med school. I have heard that the ND pre-professional program has something like an 80% acceptance rate to med school. Plus our offense is more "pro-style" than the offense at OSU, by that I mean ND QB's work basically from under center while the OSU qB's I've seen in Tressels tenure seem to work mainly from the Shotgun. If Hendrix doesn't come to ND, I'm not sure where the Irish go next.
Montan/Hendrix <r>Well with Montana going to UW it sets up as a real battle for Hendrix for sure now between ND and OSU. I know Hendrix is in Columbus today so we'll just have to see how this plays out. <E>8)</E><br/> <br/> I guess we'll find out eventually why Montana didn't choose ND but as I said before, this is not a big loss as far as I'm concerned. I'm sure he'll probably throw six TD's against ND in a future game now that I said that but I'm betting he is no "Joe Montana". <E>8)</E></r>
There will be tremendous pressure on the kid to be a Buckeye.....though not so much in Cincy, particularly Moeller, as anywhere else. Cincy is nowhere near the hotbed as the rest of the state....we have kind of a love/hate relationship with Cincy ever since back-to-back NCAA title games in 60-61 and alot of bad blood over scheduling, recruiting, etc. ND has always recruited well in Cincy and the Moeller connection is "infamous". 8) I don't know the full story about Quinn.....I know we had Justin Zwick in the fold - a very highly rated recruit at the time - as well as Troy Smith, so I don't know if there was an offer or how aggressively they pursued him. In any event, I think it played out well for both schools and QB's - except Zwick perhaps.
You know, I understand the disappointment for some over Montana and the ensuing angst over Hendrix' eventual choice, but I have to believe that there are some very good HS QBs out there who are fully capable of playing at the level that ND fans desire. I recently read that Golden Tate was rated a 4* recruit out of HS, which I'm sure at the time prompted some recruitniks to bemoan the fact that we can't get the "really good" 5* WRs to commit to ND. Turned out OK, wouldn't you say?
Whoa! Hold on there, BT ! Do you mean that OSU does not recruit the Cincinnati area as hard as other parts of the state? Certainly you don't mean that the Cincinnati area talent level is not as high.
Krebsie, I don't mean that at all....they play great football in Cincy and have several outstanding HS programs. It is just nowhere near as strongly pro-Buckeye as the rest of the state....e.g., Akron, Canton, Cleveland. We recruit Cincy hard....we're just don't dominate that area as we do the rest of the state for as long as I've been around for the reasons I mentioned.
Hendrix <r>Well I hope I don't jinx this whole thing but I'm really hoping ND gets this Hendrix kid. I just like everyting I see and read about him and I'd really like to see him in a ND uniform He just sounds like he fits at ND, If he doesn't go to ND then whoever gets him is getting a quality person and player. <br/> <br/> I know CW wants to take 2 QBs in this class but I think we only need one. The QB recruitng class for next year is suppose to be better than this years anyway. If we have as good a season as we should(big if) then we take anther 4 or 5 star QB next year and we should be fine. <E></E></r>
I agree we really don't need 2 QB's in this class unless one of them is a QB/ath who can play another position. Some have said the other QB from Cincy, Luke Massa, can play defense so that would be a good thing. Plus people keep forgetting we have Nate Montana who based on some of the throws he made in the spring game is comming along in his developement. So with Hendrix we would have 4 QB's on campus in the fall of 2010, that would be Clausens last year if he doesn't leave for the NFL after this year.
Hendrix had a good visit to Ohio State yesterday, said he will make a decision in the next couple of weeks. Look's like it's either OSU or ND. I'm not sure if non-subscribers can read the article ..but here's the link Hendrix OSU Visit
I definitely like your chances of landing Hendrix. Here is another free tidbit on his recruitment per ESPN. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/recruiting/onthetrail He still mentions Tennessee but the vibe I'm getting from the boards is that the coaching staff has cooled on him a bit. They seem to have their sights set on Jesse Scroggins whom I think will be tough to pull away from USC.