More Tommy Rees, Irish Triplets, and Nantucket (LOTD 7/10)

Plenty of Notre Dame stories to go around today, so let's get to it.

BGS has a story up regarding the Tommy Rees that is very encouraging. BGS notes that Rees has yet to be evaluated by many of the major sources, leading to his 3-star rating (and 82nd rating overall as a QB). ESPN recently added an evaluation after he committed to the Irish, rating Rees as a 78 overall (out of 100, I presume). The WWL also added some rhetoric about a sleeper candidate with a lot of upside, which may be true, but also may be what they put down when they really don't know what to do with a guy.

The more important point, which we mentioned before, is that Weis saw Rees through up close and in person, evaluated the kid, and decided he was good enough. That should matter more than what any recruiting service says. I would trust Charlie Weis' evaluation of a quarterback much more than I would trust one of the guys from Rivals or Scout. Do I think Rees will start over Hendrix? Not really, but they can fight for that on the field.

Moving on, Heisman Pundit has rated the best "triplets" in college football, featuring our own trio of Jimmy Clausen, Armando Allen, and Michael Floyd. HP's top trio is Okie State's Zac Robinson, Kendall Hunter, and Dez Bryant, and rightfully so. Allen isn't a star yet, and is the weak link for the Irish when comparing trios, but he could improve heading into this season. He'll have to stay in bounds a bit more, but he could improve.

Tickets are on sale for the Nevada and Washington games. It's a limited number of tickets due to a lack of sales by the opposing teams. Tix are $68 each and can be purchased at www.und.com/tickets, or by calling 574-631-7356.

Some non-ND news: Superfreak Taylor Mays is making a run at the Heisman. Mays announced his presence with authority, telling Rivals Dan Woike:

"I want to win the Heisman — 10 sacks, 10 picks and we go undefeated. (I won’t return kicks); I’ll just return my picks for touchdowns. I have to return three of them for touchdowns and maybe force a couple of fumbles on the sacks. I at least want to go to New York.”

It won't happen, especially if he isn't returning kicks or playing some offense, but it's an interesting thought. 10 sacks from a safety would be ridiculous, and Mays didn't have a single pick last season, so 10 might be a bit lofty. Nevertheless, he wreaked havoc on the Irish last year, when we couldn't pick up a first down.

Oh, and while we're talking about the Trojans... 2 of them got arrested in NANTUCKET. Everson Griffen and Jordan Campbell are the two players taking street cred hits, but I can't really blame them. I lived across from Expo Park and the Colliseum last summer, and it's not a nice place. You get accosted by bums, South Central is just a few miles south, and the traffic is really terrible. Nantucket, on the other hand... well, just look at the pictures.


That's all for today. I put up a couple of previews yesterday, so enjoy those if you need some added reading.