Yeah that's been out on the Texas boards for awhile now, but the thing is I don't think we need another TE in this class with Heuerman coming in as a TE and Matuska coming as a DE but having played a lot of TE in HS and could go back their if needed. Things are in quite a bit of a mess at Texas and it's hurting recruiting, which given the great season A&M had and JFF winning the Heisman and they are doing extremely well on the recruiting front...is making this Christmas season tough on Longhorn fans.
Re: The Texas TE, Smythe. I think from what I have read, Kelly likes kids like Nikklas (calls them Big Skill) who can play on both sides of the ball. The Smythe kid is a TE only. Good news.....Kelly has announced that Louis Nix and Zach Martin have decided to return for 2013. Cierre Wood is supposedly waiting on his evaluation from the NFL. Nix and Martin will be key players next year and key leaders. Wood, who has a load of talent but is unable to hold on to the #1 RB slot even when it's given to him, will be easier to replace if he decides to go to the NFL. The knock on him isn't that he's fast or strong but that Kelly wants a guy who runs with a lean and runs north/south. Wood has been seen by a number of people having animated conversations with Tony Alford during games. He just doesn't seem to like to hit the hole with the same purpose and authority as a guy like Theo. I think GAIII also has this problem and I wonder if he'd be better off as a WR.
ND <t>Nix returning is a big plus. We still don't have a replacement for him on campus or in the current recruiting class so this is great news indeed. We may end up adding one more 4 or 5 star RB to this years recruiting class before its over and that will definitely help that situation. Replacing Manti is something else altogether. We have plenty of LB talent on hand and coming in the next class but you can't replace what he does for the team in terms of leadership and determination, etc, etc, etc.</t>
Eddie Vanderdoes, a USC commit, is a name that keeps coming up and he supposedly is going to visit in Jan. He's a big time NG type of body, but with kids who decide to visit late like this and have been committed for a long time I wonder if they just want some attention. Redfield and Folston however are guys who I think we can get on campus. There is a LB from NJ named Muhammed or something like that who everybody is saying will be Irish, but I'll believe it when I see it.
How about Sheldon Day with about 15-25 more lbs. as an eventual replacement for Nix? I'm sure glad Louis is going to be around for another year. Same with Zack Martin.
Day has been impressive this year and another year in the weight room and wow he has a lot of potential. Here's a quote from Diaco's press conf today.
:idea: Eddie Vanderdoes appears to be a Louis Nix clone. I sure would like to pry that guy away from USC/UCLA. He's a NoCal who doesn't want to stay home...
ND <t>Well as we suspected the RB Jamel James decomitted. Maybe the commit of Bryant pushed him to do it but it is what is. Not worried at this time though cause we have some big recruits we are trying to find room for in this class.</t>
With Greg Bryant on board James loss is not that big a deal. He wanted to take visits and the staff told him if he did he would no longer be considered as a commit...so he scheduled visits. Truthfully from what I am reading there may be some academic issues and these visits are to schools who have lesser admissions requirements. So it is probably the best for all concerned. Also we have a good shot at the Folston kid and if he does commit at the Under Amour Game, which is when he says he'll announce, then RB recruiting will be done and done well! BTW: Somebody put together a video highlight of the whole season. It's over 30 minutes. 2012 Season Highlights
Great video! Watching the films, you can see that this is a much better team at the end of the season than at the beginning... - Remember when we ran out of safeties? Look at them now. Zeke Motta is an NFL prospect and redshirt frosh Matthias Farley was as good as any saftey that we saw on any team. True frosh Nicky Baratti looked fabulous and Austin Collinsworth will compete for a starting job as soon as he returns. This is a great group. - Bennett Jackson and KeV Russell were as good as any CBs that we saw all year too. Both will be starting their 13th game in Miami and they're not rookies anymore. - Danny Spond changed everything. He takes away a lot of check-downs for opposing QBs and he's fast enough to stay with receivers on low crossing patterns too. When he's out there it allows Diaco to give the other team's offense the full Manti... - Golson began the year as a confused redshirt frosh who was overwhelmed at times; then turning into a cool dude who has a plan that he's trying to implement. Remember when we had no QBs at all? Now the Irish have at least three on game days and will have at least four next year... - Oline depth and Dline depth are amazing. The first 2-3 guys to substitute into the game appear to be as good as the starters and there's more on the way...even bigger than the kids they have now. Have you checked out the sizes of the incoming frosh Oline? 6'9", 6'7", 6'6" and the little guy is 6'5"...where does Kelly find these guys and why couldn't Davie/TW/Weis find them? - I love watching true frosh Chris Brown haul arse. He's a potential Rocket. - Players like Goodman and Cam McDaniel would be starting on most teams. - Thank you Mr. Kelly!
NBC is going to broadcast a review of Notre Dames undefeated season today at 2PM EST. Trailer. <div><iframe frameborder="0" width="576" height="324" src="http://d.yimg.com/nl/yahoo%20sports/site/player.html#vid=31379039&browseCarouselUI=hide&startScreenCarouselUI=hide&shareUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fsports.yahoo.com%2Fvideo%2Fplayer%2Fnfl%2FY_Sports_NFL%2F31379039"></iframe></div>
Irish women basketball won the World Vision Classic last night by beating Texas A&M. They are a pretty young team after Skylar Diggins, but they are coming along very nicely and should be ready for another good run in the NCAA tournament. They have UConn Jan 4th. Irish Men beat Niagra to finish the non-conf slate and open up Big East play with Seton Hall.
Irish women take apart Purdue today. Reports are that Purdue/ND won't be playing again in the regular season in the near future. Purdue/ND seem to be heading different directions in most sports, I wonder what the future of the football series will be going forward.