Coming out of high school in Indpls. as a TE, Ryan Baker chose Purdue over ND. This is his senior year and he is one of four captains. During a time of the year when some college football players are getting into trouble, this kid is living a very busy life: Ryan Baker
Good article on the kid, it's always nice to read these as opposed to the ones where kids are arrested for various crimes and misdemeanors. The thing I remember most about Ryan is that he commited verbally to ND but later did not send in his LOI as he couldn't make up his mind whether or not to go to ND or Purdue. His girlfriend was at Purdue, and they were offering him to play TE while the Irish had him penciled in as a DL. I think he waited almost 2 months before he finally signed an LOI with Purdue. I think the fact that he wanted to play TE and the Irish wanted him for the DL was the deciding factor. He has ended up at DL anyway, but is clearly happy with his choice and that's really all that counts. There was another kid in the Tiller era who the Irish recruited as a DL and Tiller promised him he'd be a LB which is what he was in high school. He ended up at DL for Purdue as well. Maybe Irish coaches, in this case Bob Davie knew what they were talking about in terms of future playing position..it's not always what kids want to hear though.
well at ND <r>we keep trying to get all these great kids to come play for us, but then other coaches tell them that they will play another spot... only to wind up on the DL <br/> <br/> <E></E><br/> <br/> we're trying to get them though.</r>
I dunno what they were told but maybe it was just that they'd get a legitimate shot. Thanks for the link, Sid.
It happens all over college football. Kids sometimes just want to play a certain position, when told they aren't being recruited for that position then they will go someplace where they are promised at least a shot. It's legit, and I don't think there is anything wrong with it. ND has had kids leave because they didn't want to make a switch from the position they were recruited for and some who stayed and made the switch successfully. I can think of 2 right off the bat, Jim Flannigan wanted to be a FB for the Irish. He was a FB/LB in HS and highly recruited. He didn't work out at either position and ended up on the DL and was very successful played in the NFL for the Bears. Tony Driver wanted to be a RB, but was also an outstanding DB in HS. When he was asked to switch to DB at ND he left the team for a short period, eventually came back and was a good safety and played in the NFL. I think it's some what of a judgement call for staffs when they see a kid can be suucessful at one position but he prefers another, as to whether or not the want to give him a shot at his preferred position. Probably they need to disuss what happens if it doesn't work out, if not they risk that he'll say they lied to him and he'll leave. Terry