We have lost to teams who do not have a single player we actively recruited. The best LB I saw all year was the kid from Temple in Week 1. I can't even remember his name. Coach your talent !
Yeah if we aren't getting 5* guys these guys are pretty good, they are all pretty fast for LB's and we'll just have to wait and see how they turn out. Funny thing is that Mike Frank does not think Diaco is a very good LB coach, thinks he got lucky with Manti Te'o. A lot of people were glad to see Diaco go, they blame him for Thomas Holley not being interested in the Irish and for Alex Anzalone going to Fla. Said he is a lazy recruiter, unable to figure out how to defense the option, etc. I'm guessing that there will be no movement on the staff as far as filling the OCoord and DCoord spots till after the bowl game. He said in his press conference that he wants a DCoord with a lot of experience due to the fact that our schedule presents a lot of teams with various styles of play. Didn't want to rule out a 1st Time Coord but seemed to indicate he will try hard to find a guy who is a coord or who has been a coord.
ND <t>Luatua, the TE from Calif committed this morning. Those stud TEs just keep coming ND's way.</t>
ND <r>quote from Luatua,<br/> <QUOTE><s> </e></QUOTE> well it appears Denbrock knows who the next OC is going to be....him!</r>
Lol...I'm not surprised that Denbrock would be the guy. He and Kelly go back awhile and he's done an excellent job both recruiting and coaching the WR's. But I'm surprised that he told Lautua, I'm sure Kelly would prefer that he be the one to announce it. But he's one of JO'Co's infamous Calif "Beastie" Boys. So far that's been a good designation! Nikklas is one of them as well. The thought has been that he might bring another Calif kid with him, JuJu Smith or Micah Quick...some thought maybe Damien Mamma as well but Mamma has eliminated the Irish. Smith's uncle was hired by Sark at USC so I'm guessing that ship has sailed as well. His HS coach said that he could be an AA either as a TE or OLB, sounds a lot like Troy Nikklas!
Mike Farrell tweeted that he thinks Morgan is going to pick ND, now that guy is a legit ILB so he'd be welcome and have a shot at playing significant minutes as a freshman. If I had a wish list I'd like JuJu Smith, Micah Quick and Matt "Tub of Goo" Elam to finish off this class.
ND <t>Terry,<br/> <br/> it was 247 sports. they are also saying the ND staff is very confident Nyles Morgan will commit on Jan 4.</t>
Tim here's a picture of part of the "Golden Army"!! Front Row (L-R): C. Nelson; Tranquill; Brent; Blankenship; Hill Back Row (L-R): Q. Nelson; Sykes; J. Williams; Weishar; Bonner; Martini; Byrne; Mustipher.
something to remember about JOCO's "Beastie Boys"... USC spent the better part of a decade kicking the **** out of us because they had those guys in droves. The fact that we can continue to pick them off helps us, obviously, in terms of talent/depth but that also keeps USC from landing those guys. Those typically aren't 'UCLA guys.' Those Orange County and Long Beach kids typically wind up Trojans if they stay home. Welcome aboard lads, now sign the paper and show up.
I've added the names to that photo... I know Indiana isn't a recruiting hotbed but Tranquil and Brent both looked like they could play right now. Tranquil looks like he should stay at safety, a better version of Zeke Motta...maybe the second coming of Tommy Z.
re: Luatua I've seen him play on TV and he also played against some common opponents of Damien HS. He's the real deal. His coach said he "runs like a deer" and I agree with that statement. He's a crushing blocker and his brother plays at Alabama. I love those little brothers who get pushed around in the back yard when they're growing up, because sooner or later they grow up and have something to prove. When I was coaching, we used to call it "little brother syndrome." Everybody wanted him out here, but he chose Notre Dame over Alabama, because his mother loves ND. This is also a huge pick-up, because he's another islander. Allow me to remind everyone that they really are all related; like an Indian tribe, these islanders are all cousins. USC, UCLA and Washington used to get these guys automatically, but now they're going to South Bend. Keep 'em coming!
Seems like everywhere I look now the guru's are saying Nyles Morgan will be Irish....I hope it's true. He can play right away most likely.
Nd <t>I hope they are right about Morgan too Terry. We could gave really used him this year at the ILB position</t>
I couldn't help but notice that ND Hockey has most of the month of December off, played 2 games in the 1st week and nothing scheduled till Frozen Fenway vs BC after new years. Is that the norm for college hockey? Seems odd to have that long of a break.