I think we are finally ready for a new topic on ND football. So I'll start it off with the rumor that Troy Nikklas has been moved to TE, per Pete Sampson. I thought they really liked him at OLB.
:shock: Wow. This is another Kelly move that has me scratching my head. Niklas is a fabulous athlete who can do anything they want. He was a great TE at Servite HS in Anaheim, so I have no doubt that he will do well there at ND. But we already have an All-American there in Tyler Eifert and I was led to believe that the guys behind him were potential starters too. The only explanation that I can think of is that the weak-side LBs are doing so well that one of them had to move and Niklas was the obvious player to move, because he has a history as a great offensive player...
Much ado about nothing... Eifert Friday night tweeted this: "Big recruiting day tomorrow here at ND. Looking forward to meeting and hangin with 5 star Fort Wayne native @JaeeSmiff9ENT." And the big deal is? Eifert was referring to ND recruiting target Jaylon Smith, a talented junior outside linebacker/defensive end from Fort Wayne, Eifert's hometown. Smith, who plays at Bishop Luers High School, made an unofficial visit to Notre Dame on Saturday. The problem is that a school's administrators, coaches or players are prohibited by the NCAA from publicizing a prospect's visit. Bylaw 13.10.5 says so. Eifert quickly removed the tweet. "We're aware of the tweet and it has been forwarded to our compliance office, where they will process it appropriately," Brian Hardin, Notre Dame's director of football media relations, said in a statement. "We take any potential violation of NCAA rules very seriously and we will never compromise on matters of NCAA compliance. Ultimately, this will serve as an excellent teaching moment for all of our teams and student-athletes." The matter in all likelihood falls under the category of a secondary, minor violation, and does not affect Smith's recruitment, nor is it expected to cause any problems for Eifert. Smith, meanwhile, is free to tweet as he pleases. Saturday morning, in fact, he posted the following message: "Up gettin ready for Notre Dame visit."
:idea: re: Niklas The obvious way that Niklas could help would be in red-zone situations: - Imagine a three TE set where the smallest Irish TE is Ben Koyack. - This super tall 3-TE set was very effective for Stanford last season. - Imagine a goal line "power-I" formation with Niklas as the wing-back going in motion to block. He's just under 6'8" and he's one of the best blockers on the team. I saw Servite HS use him this way and it was scary for opponents. - Imagine a "trips-wide" set for a jump ball in the endzone where the smallest ND receiver is Goodman (6'3"). There are a lot of possibilities with a move like this. Niklas at over 6'7" has enough skills to play on the ND basketball team if he wanted to. He has way above average skills as both a receiver and a blocker. If a major problem was red-zone scoring (and it was) then this could be a solution...
Irish pick up recruit #2, Ohio DE Jacob Matuska. Sounds like a good solid pickup, from what I've read he's a 3* kid with a good upside and if he goes to camps this summer could end up a 4*. He grew up an ND fan and was very excited to get the ND offer. Welcome to the family Jacob!
My boy Carlo has decided to take things into his own hands this spring. He dropped 5 lbs and has been running and doing extra cardio. In informal running drills he is "running Fox into the ground". When they put the pads on he intends to bury him. In the recent strength test he benched 225lbs. 21 times which placed him #3 on team. Neither Kelly or Diaco have had much conversation with him as to what happened last year so he has decided to make them take notice this year and kick some ass in practice. If you own stock in Fox I recommend a sell. 8)
re: Jacob Matuska He's an Irish fan growing up in Columbus, Ohio. The bus can't leave soon enough for him... :wink:
from: Bleacher Report At the moment, the only surefire starter at linebacker is Manti Te'o, obviously. The other three spots will, once again, be open for competition. Perhaps the most intriguing will be the inside spot opposite Te'o. Dan Fox and Carlo Calabrese battled it out last spring and summer, with Fox claiming starting duties. This spring and summer should feature an equal amount of competition at the spot. Both Fox and Calabrese have received loads of criticism for being poor in pass coverage, so it will be interesting to see if either one has made strides in that facet of the game. Teo was no great shakes in coverage either. I don't think its the player as much as it is the scheme. These guys were being asked to cover slot receivers running drags across the middle or skinny posts. It's asking a lot of 250 lbers to cover guys with 4.5 or better speed. Our annual lack of lock down corners really hangs these inside guys out to dry.
:idea: I agree that it's the scheme more than the players, but whether it's the corners or the LBs, the fact remains that there is an opportunity for playing time to anyone who can cover...
Well the good....Amir Carlisle is eligible to play at ND this fall, that is a big addition to the offense. Although I must say I don't agree with the NCAA on this. He asked for a waiver based on hardship, his father relocated from So.Cal to Purdue and he wanted/needed to be close to his family or something like that...sorry that's not a hardship. The bad...Tee Sheppard has quit the program. He was one of those guys everybody liked after watching that video of him talking about overcoming his hearing handicap. His cousin is Deontay Greenberry and as you all know they were supposed to go together but Deontay shocked us by chosing Houston. I have to wonder now if Tee just couldn't handle being without Deontay or something like that. Anyway he's a big loss for the future as he has a tremendous upside as a DB and we need DB's.
Looks like we have another home game at night this year. The Michigan game on Sept. 22 will be at 7:30 and be on NBC.
Shepherd was our #1 recruit in most minds and already penciled in as a starter at CB. Watch him enroll at Houston now. This has the potential to be a long season.
Maybe the kid was homesick. Who knows? I don't recall the last time a season's fate rode on the shoulders of a freshman, no matter how highly touted. Whatever happens next season or the next or the next will have nothing to do with one kid who never suited up for ND. If, in fact, he was pencilled in as a starter by the coaches, which I doubt, I say, next man up.
It's just disheartening. At one time we had two of the top rated cover corners and I can't remember the last good one we had. Now they are both gone along with a much needed WR. I watch Darelle Revis on the Jets every week and shut down corner can change your entire defense. If this doesn't bite us immediately it surely will in the next two years.
You may have a point, George. You are closer to the details of the game than I am. I guess time will tell.
-This entire episode is weird. I can't remember anything like this... -I agree with Sid that this really doesn't matter in the long run. We won't know exactly how good Darby and Sheppard were until we see them play, but someone else will step up. The team has a lot of good athletes, including players who can play multiple positions... -I agree with Terry on this Amir Carlisle business. It's great to have a running back of his ability. He'll compete for playing time right away, but he doesn't have a real hardship and should not be eligible IMHO...
Sid has probably seen this article already. http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120315/BLOGS02/120319634