I watched a couple of Charlies press conferences and liked what I heard, I also watched Jimmy Clausen's press conference and liked what he had to say as well. He seems like a great kid, I know opponents dislike him because of his recruiting hype, but you have to give it to him. He was not healthy for last years Spring, and still recovering from surgery at the begining of the season last year. Then he had to play behind a sieve for an OL and got beat up some more. But, like Brady Quinn before him, he never complained and just bounced up and was ready to play. Reports are that, like most freshmen, he's been able to add some muscle and is up to 212. Being able to workout in the offseason this year has really paid off for him. I have a lot of enthusiasm for next year. I like all 3 of our top RB's, Aldridge, Hughes and Allen. I like what I'm reading about Mike Ragone, even if he is from Joisey! I also like that Luke Schmidt is being moved to TE/HBack the kids is big, has soft hands and has good speed. I don't have much to go on with the Defense. Neal and Brian Smith are both bound to be even better and David Bruton seems to be ready to step up. I am hopefull that having Tenuta will have a big impact on our LB's and their Blitz schemes. But mostly this team will revolve around this guy ( the younger one) Terry
I have a good friend here in New Jersey whose son is being heavily recruited by the Irish. His name is Carlo Calabrese and he is a MLB. His father ( also Carlo ) called me yesterday and spent 45 minutes detailing the three days he and his son spent on campus last weekend. A lot of incredibly interesting stuff . I'm sworn to secrecy on a lot of the details but mom and dad are sold already. John Tenuta may make the difference in this kid's recruitment. On Saturday night big Carlo took his family and Duval Kamara, Mike Ragone and Jimmy Clausen & his father out to dinner at Bruno's(?). His observations on Clausen are that he is a real nice kid and seems to be taking on a leadership role. He also said he weighs around 212-215.
Re: Bruno's. It's on the far SW side of South Bend, a favorite place for team members and their families after games. I went there a couple of times with players and families when Brennan was on the team. I guess it's been a traditional favorite team/family place for many, many years.
Calabrese, eh....the way that Charlie is aquiring Joisey Eyetalians there are going to be a lot of broken legs showing up on the opposition. Bada Bing! 8) 8)
One of Commish's roomates father hosts a table for about 24 after each game at Bruno's(6 of the kids in the family went to ND or St. Mary's one grandchild is starting). If you're there and hear a large group in the back singing the fight song a number of times you'll know it's them. I try to make their dinner at least once a season because it's so much fun.
How hard is it to get a table at Bruno's following a game? or even on a Friday Night before the game?
Bruno's is a pretty big place and it's nothing more than a pizza joint. Should have no troubles on Fri. and probably can get something on Sat. It's further from campus that most other places where folks eat.
Well Sat is the Blue and Gold game. Since we don't have 2 QB's right now it's going to be Offense/Defense game with weird scoring. Coaches in general hate these games I think and probably if it weren't for the fans/alumni they wouldn't even play them. Things that I like given what I've read. 1. Jimmy Clausen is healthy and much stronger. He was known for his accuracy as a HS QB and people are reporting that his throws are very strong and that he is show a high level of accuaracy with his throws. We saw some of that last year but with his injury and the OL it was really hard to tell. 2. RB's, I am really looking forward to seeing these guys play. Robert Hughes has a ton of potential and seems to be showing it, Aldridge seems to be finally 100% and ready to show the skills that made him a 5* recruit and the same can be said for Armando Allen. If the OL makes a big improvement we could really have a great running game. 3. OL's all the reports point to Chris Stewart, who almost left the team last year, as the starting RG and playing very well. Sam Young has been moved back to RT, it has been revealed that the reason he played LT laast year was an injury that made it difficult to play RT. He's healthy now and the combo of Stewart and Young should be a good one. Wegner I believe is going to be a very good center, when he stepped in for Sully last year I think he played very well and he'll be even better this comming year. The LT position is still questionable, and some of the young OL's (next years sophs) are getting a lot of praise. 4. WR's, we have talent but in the spring it doesn't seem like anybody just wowed people. Kamara played a lot as a freshman and should be better Charlie named him the starting X reciever, David Grimes has looked like the best reciever. I thought Robby Parris would be the next Jeff Samarzdja but so far he's been up and down. Golden Tate has not been with the team that much because of baseball. It seems that guys like Dieon Walker and Mike Floyd will have a lot of opportunity next year. 5. TE's, early on Ragone was getting raves but he's been injured (minor) so I'm not sure what to expect from him. The move of Luke Schmidt to TE is also hard to guage since he also was knicked up. We certainly need for Yeatman to come back from suspension in the fall and one or both of the frosh TE's may have to play as well if Ragone turns out to be injury prone. Defense. I can get much of a feel, the biggest thing is that Harrison Smith has evidently had a tremendous spring and the staff is trying to figure out how to get him on the field and not have him just sit behind David Bruton at Safety. David also has had a tremendous spring. A lot of positives are comming from observers about John Tenuta as a coach. But we are thin on the DL (as usual) and need for guys to really take their game up a notch. The good news for the defense, is that the offense this year is likely to give them some support. Last year after any turnover the defense did create the offense was likely to just go 3 and out and give the ball back to the other team. This year I expect the offense to take advantage of the breaks the defense gives them. I thought at times that the defense played pretty well last year but they just got nothing in terms of support from the offense. With the expected big improvement in the offense a smaller improvement in the defense would likely be pretty significant. For the 25th year in a row we don't have a decent FG kicker, apparently the area around SB is the Bremuda Triangle for kickers. Go Irish. Terry
Not having a reliable kicker, year in and year out, has really hurt this program. It forces you to take chances you normally would not consider and they usually backfire.
Irish Spring <r>Terry,<br/> <br/> Big day coming Saturday(Blue and Gold Game). Although its a "practice", the O-Line knows they have got to come out and show they have improved. They are THE biggest key to a successful season for the Irish this upcoming season. Signs look good but until they show it in a real game I will remain skeptical.<br/> <br/> Satuday is a big day for recruits also. The big time RB from CA is suppose to be in town with his family so let's hope the weather forcasts of thundershowers are wrong. <E>8)</E></r>
Cierre Wood say's he is down to UCLA or Notre Dame. He is a 5* RB rated #3 at his position by Scout. I hope we can get him. It was nice to get Jake Golic, but that was sort of low hanging fruit and TE wasn't a big need in this class plus Golic is not even close to the talent that Rudolph and Fauria have in the 2008 class. Like everybody else I'd like to see some highly ranked guys like Wood start to commit to the Irish. I do realize it's likely to be slow this year with recruits maybe being a little gun shy after last years 3-9 season. But if Weis can stay in the hunt and keep them interested till the season begins then with improved play on the field some of those doubts will go away (hopefully). Terry
Wood is Irish. Let's see if he's still 5* next fall. Somehow commiting to the Irish sometimes results in a downgrade.