Class of 2010 Commit #9 - Chris Badger

The Irish got their fourth commitment in five days when Utah safety Chris Badger committed to Notre Dame yesterday.

Badger was a Stanford commit, then he hit the age of reason. He's a three-star safety who is a big hitter, probably best fitted in the strong safety role. He had some big offers from schools like Oregon, LSU, Cal, Florida State, and Missouri. Badger is 6'1", 192 pounds, and runs a 4.65 40. Scout and Rivals both have him as a three-star guy, with Scout ranking him as the 25th best safety and Rivals as the 24th best safety in the nation.

In his junior year, Bager had 74 tackles, two interceptions, and two forced fumbles. He also had 51 tackles, three interceptions, two forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries in his sophomore season. His team has won the Utah state football championship the last three years.

Badger is the first safety to commit to the Class of 2010. Coach Weis will certainly look to take one more, with the possibility of a three safety class.

LOTD Lightning Round (LOTD 6/29)

Not much news out there today, so I'm going to go with a lightning round LOTD.

First, some personal business. A shout out to OC Domer for a nice plug in his latest post. That's all. Secondly, I got an email from my good friend (sarcasm) MKAllen. MKA has started (another) new ND website and wanted me to send him some traffic. Anyone who has spent 5 minutes on an ND football board knows of the infamous MKA. He doesn't have the University's best interest in mind, and will inevitably go off the deep end (ETD - 3 weeks into the season). Be wary blarneys.

Alright, let's move on to the reaction to the Fauria post. I had 15 comments on that story, more than any other story in TDS's short history. It gives me the opportunity to do two things; post a reaction to the... uh, reactions, and post some sort of comment policy. I'll start with the latter.

I'm a pretty big anti-censorship guy, but some stuff won't be tolerated. Keep your comments reasonable and.. well, not disgusting, and I'll keep them up. Make comparisons to Hilter, as some have, and they will not.

Some people are committed to going by the letter of the law in this case, and not the spirit of the law. Fair enough, technically you are correct. Then again, just because a rule exists does not make it right. Kicking a kid out of college for a minor infraction and then refusing him an appeal is not fair. There's no two ways about it. The spirit of the law sees a kid doing what teenage boys do, but a kid who also has a 3.0, loves the school, was rocketing up the depth chart, and who was a member of his class. The spirit of the law says that there is no reason to kick a kid out of school for a minor infraction, especially when he adds so much to the University.

Blake Lueders redux... BGS has a nice report on the commitment (though they got the title wrong... it's "Blake's got a new face" according to Vampire Weekend). Lueders adds some nice depth to the defensive end position. I think the Irish will be good at the position for now, though they may add another DE for good measure (and protection from the small chance that Martin defects, which doesn't seem likely at this point).

BlueandGold.com has a list of five potential sleeper candidates for the Irish this year. The nominees are: Duval Kamara, Sergio Brown, Dan Wenger, Manti Te'o, and Mike Ragone. I agree on Brown and Ragone. Both should see some solid playing time this year, with Ragone being moved up to #2 on the depth chart now that Fauria is leaving. Kamara will battle incoming frosh Shaquelle Evans and Robbie Parris for the #3 WR spot, though he leads in the experience column. Wenger will have to battle to get in the top 5 among linemen, which could be difficult with the emergence of Trevor Robinson. Te'o has the goods, but it will depend on how quickly he can adjust to the speed of the game.

SubwayDomer is back with a nice week in review. If you haven't been following this site all week (and why haven't you been? The critics have said we're "on fire this week"), check it out. It should get you caught up.

Alright, that's all for today.

Fauria to transfer, ResLife screws the pooch once again

Where have I heard this before? College kid has some harmless fun, ND's ResLife finds out, he gets suspended for a semester, and away he goes.

Such was the case with Will Yeatman, when he was unreasonably given a red card when caught with booze, and such is the case with Joseph Fauria. The rumor mill is saying that Fauria was caught streaking, though I haven't been able to confirm that at this point. If that is the case, then ResLife whiffed again.

This speaks to two issues. The first is how unreasonable the Office of Residential Life is at Notre Dame. I'll let Fauria explain how unreasonable himself, since he did a pretty damn good job of it:

"The people who are close to me know what it is, and they couldn't believe this is happening. I'm a good guy, a fun-loving guy. I have a 3.0 GPA. My team won Bookstore Basketball. I had moved up to No. 2 tight end. I was on Cloud 9. And then it all came apart. They punished me without knowing who I am. And then when they said, 'No appeal.' Wow, even murderers get to appeal."

So Fauria is banned from campus until after Christmas, not that it makes a difference since we just lost our backup tight end to a Pac 10 school (most likely UCLA). We lose a kid that loved the University, who dreamed of playing for the Irish growing up, and who had tears of happiness when he committed to ND. The kid freakin' loved the school as much, if not more, than the most die-hard fans, and ResLife kicked him out.

The second issue this brings up relates to recruiting. Notre Dame is given plenty of negatives by other coaches in recruiting high school players. Most of the time these accusations are false or stretched greatly. In one instance they are not. There are some great things related to the lifestyle on campus at Notre Dame, but they are very different than the entertainment options for recruits at schools like Florida, Texas, and Southern Cal. The more mature fan sees what ND has to offer and falls in love with it, while the 17 year old kid sees the party/celebrity lifestyle at these other schools and can't turn away. So you have the option of being one of the pack at ND, where the communal atmosphere is where you get your kicks, or you get to be a borderline celebrity at a huge school. Remember, the kids are 17... what would you have chosen?

ResLife is only making this issue worse. Recruits will hear the stories of Yeatman and Fauria from opposing coaches and simply turn away. Yeatman was caught drinking and kicked off campus? I wouldn't go to a school with that strict of an alcohol policy. Fauria was caught streaking and kicked off campus? UCLA has an undie run that's basically school wide and basically school sponsored. Which sounds like the better situation to you?

I have to say that I admire the way Fauria handled this all on his way out. You could tell they took him out of school kicking and screaming, like a cat with it's claws dug into the ground. He still holds a love for Notre Dame, was very complimentary of his coaches and fellow players, and was genuinely sad with regards to having to leave.

And he didn't pass up the opportunity to take shots at ResLife, which is certainly his right, and I applaud him for it. Here's what he told Irish Illustrated's Pete Sampson:

"They don't take character into account. It's the letter of the law, but not the spirit of the law. It's a Catholic environment, but there's no Catholic spirit in the process, no spirit of Notre Dame. It's all just trying to knock somebody down. It's terrible... If anyone knows me, they know I'm not some malicious person, not some predator. I'm a fun-loving guy. (Residence Life) didn't see that."

Bravo to Joseph Fauria. I wish him the best of luck and hope he sees great success on the football field and in life. We should want to have more people like him at Notre Dame instead of getting rid of those who love the school.

Freshman numbers assigned

BlueandGold.com has the jersey numbers for all incoming freshman up on their site. And now so do I.

5 - Manti Te'o (LB)*
11- Shaquelle Evans (WR)
17 - Zeke Motta (LB)
20 - Cierre Wood (RB)
27 - EJ Banks (DB)
32 - Theo Riddick (RB)
35 - Ben Turk (ST)
40 - Nick Tausch (ST)
44 - Carlo Calabrese (LB)
48 - Dan Fox (LB)
60 - Jordan Cowart (ST)
66 - Chris Watt (OL)
68 - Alex Bullard (OL)
70 - Zach Martin (OL)
80 - Tyler Eifert (TE)
84 - Roby Toma (WR)
88 - Jake Golic (TE)
92 - Tyler Stockton (DL)

*Te'o will wear 5 on defense, while Armando Allen will keep the number on offense. This is similar to what Kyle Rudolph and Ethan Johnson are doing with #9.

Class of 2010 Commit #8 - Lo Wood

3-star cornerback Lo Wood became the 8th member of Notre Dame's Class of 2010 today, announcing that he will play football for the Fighting Irish. Wood chose the Irish over the Michigan Wolverines, which makes things that much sweeter.

As mentioned above, he's a 3-star prospect on both Rivals and Scout. Wood is 5'11" and 175 pounds and runs a 4.55 40. He had offers from Michigan, Georgia Tech, Mississippi, NC State, Stanford, Louisville, Virginia and Wake Forest. Rivals rates him as the 32nd best cornerback in the nation, while Scout has him at 42 overall.

Wood had 35 tackles (4 tfl), five interceptions, four forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, and a blocked kick in his junior year for Apopka Senior High in Apopka, Florida. He was named to the All-Metro Conference First Team by the leagues coaches, as well as being named to the Orlando Sentinal All-County team.

A good get for the Irish. Wood will have some time to develop his skills while he learns from a very talented and experienced backfield next season.

Chris Martin may not to take those visits after all

Granted it's from a pay site, and bloggers don't get paid much, but IrishIllustrated has a nice little tease up regarding Chris Martin. Here's the quote:

"Earlier this week the restlessness in Chris Martin had the five-star defensive end openly wondering about a back-up plan to his Notre Dame commitment. But one day, 243 Facebook messages and a long talk with Corwin Brown and Randy Hart later, Notre Dame’s marquee commitment has reconsidered his reconsideration."

So I think it's fair to deduce from that a certain amount of what happened. Martin says he wants to take a few visits and check out some other schools, ND fans go nuts (as the tend to do), Corwin Brown gets on the bat phone, calls Martin up, and everything is confirmed.

So apparently Martin won't be taking those visits. A John Kerry-esqu couple of days now has Irish fans backing up from that ledge, which is always a good thing. Just a word of caution (and, please, don't read too much into this), but these things are never official until the papers are signed on NSD. Nevertheless, I feel much better about this now than I did yesterday.

A wave of commitments, more redux on Fauria's departure, and BCS possibilities (LOTD 6/26)

So two commitments in two days, and a distinct possibility of getting two more in the next 24 hours. Recruiting seems to have heated up, though I can't give you the cause to this effect. My best guess would be that the coaching staff is capitalizing on the optimism heading into the season. Pre-season mags have been bullish on the Irish, with Phil Steele's #7 ranking leading the pack, and the fan base has managed to rally around Coach Weis and the team despite the finish to the 2008 season.

So, as we've noted, Andrew Hendrix and Blake Lueders are the 6th and 7th commitments to the Class of 2010. Both are big gets, ranking as four-star recruits, and both are at positions of need. We had to get a legitamite quarterback in this class, which Hendrix is, and the defensive line recruiting became a premium when Chris Martin announced that he would take other visits.

So, in honor of the Hendrix-themed week, here's Jimi playing "Like a Rolling Stone" at the Monterey Pop Festival... you know, because it's my blog and I can do these things.


Alright, now that that's out of my system, let's look forward to the next 48 hours while continuing to enjoy the past 48. 3-star cornerback Lo Wood is scheduled to make his announcement later tonight, deciding between the Irish and Michigan. I like our chances with this one, which is as close to a prediction as I'm going to get. Furthermore, it has been rumored that runningback Jerrell Priester will be announcing in the next two days, with his decision coming down to Notre Dame and Vanderbilt. Vandy fans are pretty confident on this one, as Priester can be a featured player for the Commodores.

Moving on to players who are already on the team... or used to be on the team, I should say. Her Loyal Sons has a breakdown of why teh Fauria announcement will really hurt the team. Why was the offense so vanilla last year?

"Despite becoming TE U in terms of recruiting, we had 1.5 (Fauria was the half) last year, and both were true Freshmen. Ragone was out hurt, Yeatman was out drinking, and so that left Rudolph and Fauria. Rudolph, despite being a TRUE frosh, was somewhat ready. Fauria really wasn’t. So what does that leave as options? 1 TE and 2 TE sets, with the 2nd either being an unready Fauria or a fill-in like Trevor Robinson. And that GREATLY limited Weis’ offense."

So what looked like a team with three solid tight ends returning now is back to having two returning tight ends and two incoming recruits who are probably not ready for playing time. Bobby Burger, who has developed a cult-like following despite a lack of scholarship (there's a reason for that), will be the third tight end when we actually use 3 TE sets.

Another issue will be injuries. God help us if Kyle Rudolph gets injured next year. Mike Ragone missed last season with a knee injury, so his ability to stay healthy has to be in question. If either were to go down we would be left with a walk-on and two true freshman as the second tight end. Back to the vanilla play-calling. Cross your fingers and pray for health.

NDNation has a very bullish pre-season prediction that the Irish will return to the BCS this season ("its hard to not see the Irish going to the BCS this season"). The reasons? It breaksdown like this: 1) the talent in the defensive backfield (and there's plenty of it) will allow a focus on the run, which is a specialty of Jon Tenuta's blitzing defenses 2) Charlie Weis takes over playcalling duties, likely resulting in great improvements from Jimmy Clausen 3) the seniors in the class of 2009 averaged 3.9 stars as recruits, while the class of 2010 averaged 4.1 stars. This is up from the 2007 and 2008 classes, which averaged 3.1 and 3.2 stars respectively (thanks Ty).

The momentum heading into the season is certainly exciting, and the bowl win against Hawaii seems to have propelled the Irish faithful into believing in this team (and the coach) once again. We'll see how long it lasts, but it's a nice feeling for now.

Class of 2010 Commit #7 - Blake Lueders

The Fighting Irish got their second commitment in two days when defensive end Blake Lueders committed to play for Notre Dame.

Lueders, a 6'5" 250 pound end out of Zionsville, Indiana, told IrishIllustrated's Jake Brown that, "I thought it was the best combination of academics and football in the country," Lueders said. "I just love the tradition. The coaches are great. The players are great. Everything."

The commitment comes a day after the top defensive end in the country, Chris Martin, said he would visit other schools, essentially reopening his recruiting.

Lueders is rated as a 4-star DE by Rivals and Scout, ranked the 14th and 18th defensive end in the country by the two services respectively. He runs a 4.79 40 and has a 4.0 GPA. Lueders chose the Irish over fellow in-state school Purdue, Stanford, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Boston College, Iowa, North Carolina, and Northwestern.

The decision came after making an unofficial visit earlier this week.

"I knew when I was there (Tuesday) Notre Dame was the place. I just wanted to sleep on it and think about it for awhile and make sure I was right. I was. I'm happy with my choice. The whole time I was kind of thinking to myself, like, if I was committed would I be happy? In these past 48 hours I pictured myself going to Notre Dame."

Lueders is a great get for the Irish, especially considering the uncertainty surrounding Martin at the current time. Congrats to Blake on making an excellent decision.

Class of 2010 Commit #6 - Andrew Hendrix

And the wind cries Mary. Andrew Hendrix became the sixth commitment in Notre Dame's Class of 2010, providing a much needed result from the quarterback position. The Irish beat out Ohio State for his services.

The quarterback is a product of Moeller High School in Cincinnati, Ohio. He's 6'3", 220 pounds with a strong arm and lots of potential. Scout has Hendrix as a 3-star prospect, Rivals has him as a 4-star prospect. Hendrix completed 61% of his passes for 1700 yards last season, posting an 11-7 TD-INT ratio.

The Irish needed a top quarterback in this class and Hendrix is their man. Some worried when Nick Montana decided to go to Washington, but it is very likely that we got the better of the two quarterbacks in this situation. Hendrix is a guy who already has a college body to go with a very strong arm. Some have compared his mobility to that of Brady Quinn; he's not fast, but he can get the yards when needed.

Hendrix will have to improve his numbers in his senior year, but if he can then we will see his recruiting ranking sky rocket. He has all the tools, now he just needs to understand the game better.

And for those keeping track, we got another one from Cincinnati... a recruit the Buckeyes really wanted, who was right in their backyard, and we got him.

Martin's bad news, Fauria's bad news, and a Mitch Mustain update (LOTD 6/25)

Uh-oh.


Seems we've hit the proverbial bump in the road, and the team's only been on campus for two days. 5-star prospect Chris Martin wrote a Dear John letter to Charlie Weis yesterday, announcing that he would take visits to other schools. This is usually a bad sign, though you can never be sure until the end. We've heard similar statements from recruits in the past; such was the case with Omar Hunter and Arrellious Benn (though Benn never said it to the press). I think we know how those both turned out.

Off the top of my head, I can't really remember anyone who said they would take visits to other schools and then stuck with their original commitment. Opposing coaches see the blood in the water, and Notre Dame is a very easy school to recruit negatively against. I like to call it the Fox News effect. The negative recruiting doesn't have to be true (and in most cases isn't), but college football coaches are Machiavellian little fellows and they don't care as long as they get the recruit.

Martin is the big chip in the stack that is the 2010 recruiting class. He is a monster of a lineman on defense and is the type of player we need to get if ND ever wants to compete at an elite level. Unfortunitely, the old adage "where there's smoke, there's fire" tends to work with recruiting. I hope Martin decides to stay, but I'm not entirely confident that he will at this point (and that's based on no inside info, just experience with recruiting).

UPDATE (9:33): Martin says, “(I’m) very committed to Notre Dame still, but just decided I’d like to take some visits, get out and see what every other college is about.” He continued to say that his commitment to Notre Dame is "very solid" and the Irish will receive one of his five allotted visits (I would hope so). So he's very solid, yet still visiting other schools. Something just doesn't make sense here.

Okay on to... more bad news. Joseph Fauria will miss the upcoming season for "personal reasons". Fauria is not enrolled in summer school and will not be enrolled in the fall. Fauria told the Chicago Tribune's Brian Hamilton that it has nothing to do with academics or lack of playing time. It's the fourth straight season a player has left for "personal reasons", with previous sabaticals coming from Pat Kuntz, Darrin Walls, and Gary Gray.

The common trend among the previous departures is obviously the fact that they all returned. Fauria says he would like to return as well, which is a good sign. His departure does hurt our depth at tight end, with Kyle Rudolph being backed by Mike Ragone (who hasn't played a down in college), and Luke Shmidt, who will see time at tight end in 3 TE sets. Everyone else is a walk-on.

I can't help but think that the situation wouldn't be so bad if the University hadn't completely botched the Will Yeatman situation. Tight end depth wouldn't have been as much of an issue had Yeatman received a fair punishment, as opposed to the overreaction we saw from those in charge.

Okay, on to good news! Hooray! BGS has a break down of returning starts by offensive lines, both at Notre Dame and for the opposition. Returning starts on the offensive line tend to have a lot to do with whether a team has a successful year or a year like 2007. Luckily, the Irish have more returning starts among offensive lineman than any team on the slate. ND's lineman have accumulated 100 games started, SC has 91, Michigan has 75, and Sparty has 47. There's been a lot of talk of a vastly improved offensive line and these numbers help back up those predictions.

Conversly, the Irish have 42 starts among defensive lineman, a number that puts them in the middle of the pack among scheduled opponents. Stanford leads the way in this category with 67, SC has 16 (though Everson Griffen plays a lot and never starts), Michigan has 17, and Sparty has 48.

There's some good news on the recruiting trail, though it doesn't mean much at this point. Irish Illustrated says that Blake Lueders took his third unofficial trip to ND ($). ND seems to be the leader at this point, though Lueders didn't commit while on the trip. It's odd, but I actually feel better about our position with Lueders than I do with Chris Martin (though that statement could come back and bite me in the butt).

Quick note: Tickets may still be available for the season opener against Nevada. A limited number of tickets went on sale yesterday morning, so there might be some left. I tried calling the ticket offices, but they aren't open until 8:30. The sale is a result of Nevada fans not buying enough seats... which means there either aren't many Nevada fans or that they don't care about the biggest game on their schedule this year.

So the ND news is mostly bad today. What might cheer us up? A MITCH MUSTAIN UPDATE! Seems like ole' Mitch, who at one point was the starting quarterback at Arkansas before transferring to become QB3 at USC, may not be on the field with the Trojans this year due to academic reasons. When asked if Mustain would be eligible if the Trojans were to play tomorrow Petey said, "We don't have a game tomorrow," which is a ringing endorsement if I've ever heard one. Mustain finished the spring behind starter Aaron Corp and backup (and true frosh) Matt Barkley on the depth chart.

Finally, Oregon has new uniforms (again), and they are as hideous as you would expect Oregon uniforms to be. There is a set of Athenian wings on the shoulders, with a particularly special yellow top with silver numbers combination, along with a white top and silver pants combination (since when is silver one of Oregon's colors?). Nike claims they are the fastest uniforms produced... but could they beat Trindon Holliday in a race? I think not.

That's all for today. I think I'm going to go take visits to other blogs while considering a return tomorrow.

Clausen comparisons, Lemming gets targeted, and training tables (LOTD 6/23)

I actually have quite a bit to write about today, which is nice (for the writer and reader). Let's get to it.

The guys at NDNation have a very encouraging comparison of Jimmy Clausen to most other quarterbacks in their sophomore years. The stats show Clausen outperforming nearly all of his counterparts in their second season, with the exception of Tim Tebow, Colt McCoy and Sam Bradford. I documented Clausen's comparison to #1 draft choice Matthew Stafford last week, showing that Clausen's numbers were actually better dispite playing with less talent. NDN furthers the point, noting that the second quarterback drafted, Mark Sanchez, had terrible numbers his second year.

NDN notes that Vince Young competed 58% passes with 6 TDs and 7 INTs his sophomore season, while future Heisman winner Carson Palmer completed 55% of his passes and had a 16-18 TD-INT ratio. Another Heisman winner, Troy Smith, completed 54% of his passes with a 8-3 TD-INT ratio. Furthermore, Clausen has outperformed all of the top 15 QBs from his class to this point, and the numbers aren't even close.

This raises expectations, and rightfully so. Clausen hasn't been the savior everyone has expected, but he has been a very good college quarterback to this point, given his experience coupled with the lack of experience around him. I have been skeptical of the Cluasen to Quinn comparisons (predictions?) heading into 7's junior season, but I see no reason why Clausen can't come close to the number Quinn produced in his junior year.

Another story from the Nation hints at the implementation of training tables for ND athletes. ND has been hesitent to put training tables in up to this point, but AD Jack Swarbrick seems to be in favor of the move. There's little doubt that the missing link for Notre Dame, at this point, is strength and conditioning. The S+C program took some hits when it was revealed that there are voluntary speed workouts, along with rumors that some players are taking the S+C program lightly. Last year our players looked out of shape towards the end of the year, especially in comparison to USC. A commitment to S+C could do nothing but help, and is a main reason why there is a divide between ND and programs like Texas, SC, and Florida.

There's another story on the '09 schedule (Hooray!). Dr. Saturday's Matt Hinton takes the admirable (and correct) position that the ND schedule won't put them in the BCS, but it shouldn't keep them out of it either. Hinton points to ND losing 16 of 17 games to teams with winning records, with the only win coming in narrow fashion against Navy last year. There is a likelihood of 9 of the 12 teams on this year's schedule having winning records, so that trend has to change in a hurry. Hinton finishes by saying that a 10-2 season should result in a BCS game, especially when considering the cupcake infatuation that has gone on with most team's OOC scheduling.

Bruce Feldman has a story up on the WWL regarding the attack on recruiting services, and (not) surprisingly, Tom Lemming takes a hit. A quote from Myron Rolle during his recruitment:

"Tom Lemming is a huge Notre Dame guy. He kept saying to me, 'You know they have a great coaching staff. You know Charlie Weis is Mr. NFL. You're an academic guy. That place is for you.' Then he killed Florida State. He said, You're stupid if you go there.' Um, OK. Thanks."

These rumors have been going on for a while. Lorenzo Booker said many of the same things, so it's either coming from the FSU program, or there is actually smoke behind the fire. Luckily The Neck has seen his stock drop since ESPN dropped him, so one has to wonder just how much of an impact he has.

Recruiting news: DE TJ Clemmings has selected the Pitt Panthers over the Irish, Rutgers, Penn State, Maryland, and South Carolina. Another defensive line loss for Charlie Weis. Clemmings will now play for the Wanstache, most likely being a part of an underperforming team in a forgotten conference. So it works out for all in the end.

Some non-ND news: USC AD Mike Garrett is willing to put his hiring record up against anyone elses. That's interesting, especially when one considers that Garrett just saw the Tim Floyd regime go down in a ball of flames, with Floyd being run out after handing money to a handler. Pete Carroll is one of the winningest coaches in college football over the past decade, but Poodle Pete is feeling the hot flames of the NCAA's firey furnace. It appears that USC is the wild, wild west for coaches, where rules aren't all that important as long as you don't get caught. Furthermore... we'll, I'll just let the guys from Deadspin explain:

"To be sure that Garrett's record does 'hold up,' Adam Rose of the LA Times runs the down list of coaches who have turned down/been run out of town by the Garrett administration ... and it is very impressive! Dennis Erickson, Mike Riley, Mike Bellotti, Rick Majerus, Jamie Dixon, Jeff Van Gundy, Lon Kruger. Scratch that, Lon Kruger has never been impressive. But Garrett also has the distinction of firing one USC's greatest coaches (John Robinson) and replacing him with the worst (Paul Hackett.) Plus, he hired Chad Kreuter to coach their baseball team, which is sorta mindblowing, but not in the way you probably think."

So maybe Garrett means he will let anyone compare his hiring record to that of Kevin White's at ND. But to anyone in the country... well, I think not.

Finally, the Florida Gators are actually using the bulletin board for bulletin board material. It's not surprising that Kiffykins has a full slate before the season even starts, but apparently Mark Richt and the boys in black have made their fair share of contributions. The headline of "Beat." has me a bit confused. You would think that a coach as hip as Urbie would know that if something is "beat" it's not a good thing, so having a "beat" board is old news. Maybe "Beat..." would have been better, but that's just journalistic nitpicking, I guess.

That's all for today. It's a gorgeous day in Ithaca, so I'll be out for the rest of the day. Get you PeeYou preview somewhere else (or just wait a day or two... it will be up soon).

We're getting the band back together, with a side of asparagus (LOTD 6/22)

They got the band back together. The team reports to campus today to begin the summer session, which means that football is juuuuust around the corner.

The guys at BGS took a look at the Hansen article I mentioned yesterday, bringing up a very interesting point. One of the crucial players Hansen highlighted was Trevor Robinson, a lineman who showed some signs of solid play down the stretch. Robinson was originally slated to take over the left tackle position, but Paul Duncan has returned with a vengeance to solidify the left side of the line. Hansen speculates that Eric Olsen may be moved to center, bumping Dan Wenger, and moving Robinson to left guard and Chris Stewart to right guard. Sam Young would remain at right tackle.

It's an interesting line if that were to play out. Olsen, Stewart, and Young would be a lot of weight to move on the right side of the line, the strong side in most situations. It would also play out the Charlie Weis play-the-best-linemen scenario. The problem? Robinson has limited experience, Duncan missed all of last year, and Olsen has never played center. That's a lot of uncertainty for a line already adjusting to a new offensive line coach.

If Olsen can get the snaps down, the shotgun snaps in particular, then I could see this scenario working. There's a lot of talent in that group (Young was a five-star, Steart, Olsen, and Robinson were four-stars), and if Verducci can coach them up then it could work. It's a risk-reward situation, but those seem to be Charlie Weis' favorite plays.

A blog named TrueGipper (Gipper? I hardly know her) has a Q+A up with Chris Martin. Martin reitterates that he will not be an early enrollment recruit. Martin was then asked which NFL player he likes to fashion himself after, to which he replied "I'd say Ray Lewis. I'm a gentleman off the field, but mean as hell on the field." That would be fine if not for that little Ray Lewis murder charge following a bar fight/stabbing in 2000. You can't really blame Martin for the response though, he was only 9 when the incident occurred (which shows what a job Lewis did in rehabbing his reputation).

Martin also says that he'd like to take both home games against USC and see what happens down in LA. I'm all for that, though he needs to pump up the adrenaline if he's going to catch up with Cierre Wood.

Mike Frank's Irish Sports Daily (courtesy of the WWL) has a lineup of the ND quarterback versus the competition. ISD sees Jimmy Clausen as being better than any QB on the ND schedule. I would put Colin Kaepernick and Jake Locker ahead of Clausen at this point, given that Kaepernick is a freak of nature and Locker will probably see the effects of the Willingham-bump this upcoming year.

Nick Saban, Ron Zook, and Steve Spurrier, three recruiters of questionable repute, are coming out against recruiting websites that present a possible violation if not held in check. Here's the Zookernaut's quote on the issue:

"We're turning the recruiting over to the so-called recruiting gurus. Now, all of a sudden, just like you've got basketball coaches complaining that it's turning over to the AAU coaches, now we're turning it over to these guys that can call them. Well, you know what a lot of them are saying. They're selling their school to these kids, and we're not able to talk to them. To me, we're losing this thing, in my opinion."

That's taking things a bit far, seeing as how AAU coaches act as agents for their players and recruitniks might be looking for extra access at the most. I do wonder, however, if an Illinois recruiting site had anything to do with the theft of Arrellious Benn from ND, or if it was just Zook's shady tactics alone. Rivals Bobby Burton shot back at Zook and Saban with the following (great) quote:

"The [Saban Rule] has come about because of your profession's inability to work within the rules that govern them. Simply put, the NCAA doesn't want its head coaches going out in the spring because they don't trust you and your brethren."

Touche.

Finally, the crazy kids at William & Mary, who rioted when their beloved (liberal) school president was kicked out of town, are now coming up with mascots for their school. The Tribe, which will remain the Tribe, is acquiring a new look, and the school is taking suggestions from the students. So far the suggestions have ranged from a feathered horse (?) to a stalk of asparagus. Notes the person who suggested the asparagus: if served with cheese, the vegetable represents the school colors.

This reminds me of a Tony Kornheiser column where he looked for new nicknames for his (and soon to be my) Binghamton University, the best of which was the Fighting Hassids. I'm not sure if the Hassids would be a hit in Virginia (it is below the Mason-Dixon line, after all), but at least they wouldn't make your pee stink.

And on that note, I'm out. PeeYou preview coming tomorrow (maybe), along with any newsworthy... news.

Brian Smith settles in, Clausen needs to take a leap, and Te'o's prospects (LOTD 6/21)

Eric Hansen had a nice story up this morning for the South Bend Tribune, which appears to be the only story worth anything today, so I'll take a look at that.

The focus is on Brian Smith, who is returning to campus and sticking around, hoping that his presence will bring more of a commitment to football in the off-season. Smith, as I've written before, is the frontrunner to be the leader of this football team. He's displayed the leadership characteristics in his first couple of years but never had the experience to bring others along. I think this is the year he takes charge of the team and provides the leadership that we've been missing from the players on the past two squads.

Smith is living with Armando Allen and Duval Kamara, and the trio are among the first players to begin trickling in for voluntary workouts and training camp (hoorah! football nears!). Smith seems to be totally committed to football this year, providing the following quote:

“I felt like if I went home, I’d be distracted. It’d be a break in my workout routine. I just want to keep moving forward. I don’t want to stand still. I know if guys on the team have the mind-set I have, we’ll be a dangerous team.”

Weis agrees with the leader-status, saying that Smith is "the heart and soul of our defense." Hansen notes that none of the boys in the house can cook, so they rely on nutrition shakes, ramen, and going out to eat (often). Hopefully his diet doesn't make him balloon up like James "The Grim Reaper" Roper in The Great White Hype.

Hansen continues on to outline 9 more players (or groups of players) to watch for in the off-season. He highlights the improvements Jimmy Clausen needs to make this off-season, which are mental, as opposed to the physical improvements he made last off-season.

Everyone knows about the jump Brady Quinn made between his sophomore and junior seasons as quarterback at ND. I would attribute a good amount of that to switching from an inept coach (Willingham) to a good quarterbacks coach (Weis), but the maturity aspect can't be overlooked. Your average college student makes a jump in maturity between their second and third years in college, and it's no different for football players (these guys are college kids, afterall). Clausen will have to make a similar leap if the Irish are to get back to the BCS. He needs to limit his interceptions and be more comfortable in the pocket, especially if the Irish are going to continue to rely on the passing game for success.

Hansen speculates that incoming freshman Manti Te'o will see a lot of time in the nickel package, but may struggle to break the top line of the depth chart as a three down linebacker. Te'o's speed would be an asset in nickel settings, but I believe we will see more of the super-frosh on first and second down than Hansen does. Te'o is a star in the making, and while solid, our current linebackers have a hole at the third spot (behind Smith, who can play inside and outside, and either Darius Fleming or Toryan Smith). Weis has said that Te'o can play any of the three linebacker positions, so it sounds like he is going to make an effort to get him on the field whenever possible.

Hansen wraps the story up by noting that QB recruit Andrew Hendrix will be making an unofficial visit early this week, and Tom Lemming (he of the mock turtleneck) believes Hendrix will announce his commitment either during or just after the visit. Lemming believes that Hendrix is a better fit than Nick Montana in the long run, due to his size and potential to develop at Notre Dame. There's a bit of a risk in taking Hendrix before the season, seeing as how his junior year stats didn't exactly jump off the charts, but his potential is unlimited and he already has the size of a college quarterback.

On a separate note, you can find the .pdf file of Phil Steele's Notre Dame pages here. We already broke that down, so if you're going to the .pdf then your late to the party... and nobody likes the kid that's rolling in when the cops are breaking it up.

That's all for today. More stories should be coming when the news cycle kicks in tomorrow. The mainstream media... still not realizing that speed plays a factor in news.

2009 Opponent Preview - Michigan State Spartans

Oh, Sparty... the thorn in the (rather large) side of Charlie Weis. Weis' teams are just 1-3 against the boys from East Lansing, with the lone win coming in spectacular comeback fashion in 2006. Spectacular games seem to be the trend in the MSU-ND series, as the series has had plenty of thrilling finishes recently, including a seven game streak from 2000 to 2006 where every game was decided by 8 points or less. Sparty has had the Irish's number the past couple of years, blowing out ND in the god-awful 2007 season by a score of 31-14, and beating a dead Irish team last year in East Lansing 23-7.

The two teams have played 72 times since 1897, battling for the Megaphone trophy ever since 1946. The Irish hold a 44-27-1 series lead, doing most of their damage in a 23-4 run coming between the 1969 and 1994 seasons. The game will be crucial if the Irish can get off to a 2-0 start, seeing as how Sparty has given the Irish trouble despite having less talent. If MSU coach Mark Dantonio were to beat Charlie Weis' Irish this year, it would leave no doubt as to who the better coach is (and possibly provide a coaching candidate in the off-season). And, as with the Michigan game, this is a game I highlighted as a possible turning point in my previous dialectics article.

So without much further ado, let's take a look at the talent pool for the 2009 Spartans.

Offense- MSU has to replace their top rusher and passer from last season, along with the right side of their line. Their receiving corp, however, remains in tact, accounting for 139 receptions last year. The Spartans relied on runningback Javon Ringer last year, slightly favoring the run to the pass, but that may change with Ringer's departure.
Backfield: Ringer and QB Brian Hoyer are gone, replaced by true freshman Edwin Baker at runningback and sophomore Keith Nichol, an Oklahoma transfer, at quarterback. Baker was the tenth-rated runningback out of the 2009 class, hailing from Oak Park, Michigan. Another true freshman, Larry Caper, is set to backup Baker. Andrew Anderson, a sophomore, is the only back with a significant amount of carries at the college level. It's an extremely young unit, though not untalented.
Receivers: All three of Michigan State's starting receivers are returning starters from last year, making them arguably the best unit on State's offense. Mark Dell, Blair White, and BJ Cunningham all contributed fairly equally, totaling 120 catches and 1,866 yards combined. Dell lead the group in yards (679) and touchdowns (3). Tight end Charlie Gantt is also a returning starter, having caught 19 passes for 302 yards and four touchdowns last year (most on the team). Nichol, a quarterback who was regarded to have some talent, has a great group of guys to throw the ball around to.
Offensive Line: Sparty returns three of their five starters from last year, the three being tackle Rocco Cironi, center Joel Nitchman, and Frosh All-American Joel Foreman. Sophomore guard Jared McGatha and junior tackle J'Michael Deane are newcomers to the unit. Phil Steele ranks it as being tied for the worst offensive line in the Big 10, accompanying Purdue at the bottom of the list. The MSU rushing attack only averaged 130 yds/game last year, down from 198/game the year before, and that's with Javon Ringer at runningback. They had talent at RB, and MSU has proven they can gameplan to have a successful rushing game, so you have to imagine the issue was with the offensive line.

Defense: MSU runs a straight up 4-3 on defense. D'Antonio is known for being able to put together a tough defensive team, and the Irish offense has struggled against the Spartans the past couple of year, amounting only 21 points total in two matchups. Last year's seven point product was a source of frustration for Irish fans, which means we were doing pretty poorly against someone's D.
Defensive Line: The weakness of their defense. Sparty returns two starters in tackle Oren Wilson and end Trevor Anderson, but there is not much talent on the line as a whole. Wilson only had 15 tackles last year, Anderson was a Big 10 Honorable Mention, and new starters Cam Neely (DE) and Jerel Worth (DT) have only 17 tackles combined in their careers. Getting a solid running attack going against the Spartans will be crucial this year.
Linebackers: Two return from last year's squad: Middle linebacker Greg Jones led the Spartans with 127 tackles last year, 12 for a loss, while strongslide linebacker Eric Gordon was the runner up with 85 tackles and 3 sacks. True freshman Chris Norman, ranked 14th at his position coming out of high school, will step right in at strongside linebacker, but he will be pushed by Brandon Denson, who had 31 tackles last year.
Defensive Backs: Safety Otis Wiley, who lead the team in interceptions last year, will be replaced by Kendal Davis-Clark, a senior, at strong safety. He's the only new starter, as cornerbacks Ross Weaver and Chris L. Rucker and free safety Dan Fortener return. Rucker is the only non-senior in the group, but he was an Honorable Mention All-Big 10 selection last season. Fortener and Rucker had two interceptions each. It's an experienced group, and nowhere is experience more valuable than in the defensive backfield.

Special Teams: Kicker Brett Swenson was 22-28 last year, hitting a long of 50 yards. D'Antonio says he believes Swenson may be the best kicker to ever attend Michigan State. Punter Aaron Bates is also a returning starter and was named a 2nd team Big 10 selection last year. Glenn Winston and AJ Jimmerson returned kicks last year, and both will compete for the punt returner position left vacant by Wiley's graduation.

Final Thoughts: Michigan State has really given the Irish problems recently, and a lot of it has to come down to coaching. The Irish have much more talent than Sparty, but Mark D'Antonio has been able to out scheme Charlie Weis in recent years. If it wasn't for the total meltdown on Sparty's part in 2006, D'Antonio would be 3-0 against the Irish.

Phil Steele believes that this is D'Antonio's best MSU team to date, and his recruits are just starting to come to the top of the depth chart in his 3rd year. This game could tell us a lot about what type of team we'll be seeing in the year to come. A win against Sparty and we have a good shot at going into the USC game undefeated. A loss and it will seem like more of the same. We have a more talented team than Michigan State this year, but I think it will come down to coaching more than the talent on the field. This is Weis' third crack at D'Antonio, and to this point he's only been able to steal one game, coughing up the other two. To go 1-3 against a coach who's team has inferior talent is an indictment of Weis' coaching skills, and a sign that he might, in fact, be in over his head.

I think the Irish will win a close game, but that's a far-too-early prediction at this point. I will have my eye on the Spartans early on, though we won't know much after their early matchups against Montana State and Central Michigan at home.

Rivalry Notes:
- Michigan State came close to setting the record for most consecutive wins against Notre Dame in 2002 (at six wins), but the Irish were able to pull off a late 21-17 victory to snap the streak. USC has since set the record at six, breaking the previous record of five straight wins, which was shared between Sparty and the Trojans.
- The visiting team won every matchup from 2003 to 2007. It was snapped last year when MSU won at home.
- The 1966 matchup is one of the most memorable games in college football history. The game involved a Sparty crowd chanting "Kill, Bubba, Kill," emploring defensive end Bubba Smith to continue to punish the Irish backfield. With the game tied at 10 and the Irish having the ball late, Irish coach Ara Parseghian elected to accept a tie instead of going of the win, preserving Notre Dame's #1 ranking. The Irish would beat USC the next week and take the 1966 National Championship.
- The Irish won 15 of the first 17 matchups, with their only losses coming on the road.
- State has won 9 of the last 12 games, including 6 straight in South Bend, where this year's game will be played.

Scheduling 'Bama, Scheduling a BCS game, and WR gets an offer (LOTD 6/20)

A bit of news heading into the weekend, most of it surrounding the schedule. Nick Saban came out and said that he would like to see more top programs play each other more often. Saban's quote?

"Let's say you had four or five teams, Notre Dame, Penn State, (schools) that had some sort of connection with the history and tradition of this school. And you just roll home-and-homes (on and off the schedule) so the fans could relate a little bit and look forward to playing that particular team. Like maybe we play Penn State this year, Notre Dame next year... Texas, Southern Cal -- if you just got those and just kind of rolled (them over). It would make it easier for scheduling, too."

I'm all for the idea of playing elite teams year in and year out, especially when seeing the 09 schedule, one with only one marquee game in a 12 game season. USC has been a power on the schedule, Michigan will probably be back soon, but adding a third national team and varying that team would really make things more exciting. If Notre Dame wants to return to being one of the national elite programs then they have to beat the best. You can't do that if they aren't on the schedule, so why not start with a traditional power like 'Bama.

Staying with the topic of scheduling, Cory McCarthy of SI.com is the first to take the very predictable position that the Irish will return to the BCS thanks to an easy schedule (and not, you know, by playing well.

Jumping back on the Notre Dame bandwagon is about to become as trendy as hailing Breaking Bad as the best show nobody's watching, saying you were down with Asher Roth back in The Greenhouse Effect days and picking sides in the Jon & Kate debate. Seriously, take a look at [their] schedule.

Asher Roth is weak, Jon & Kate are last weeks celebrity news (seriously, the kids are on to Leighton Meester now), and there are much better shows in their second season than Breaking Bad (ahem... Flight of the Conchords). Notre Dame won't be in the BCS because of their scheduling, they will be in the BCS because they got the job done. But, as I said yesterday, prepare yourself for loads of columns like this until the winter rolls around.

Tickets for the October 31st game against Washington State (played in San Antonio) have gone on sale to the general public. Tickets can be purchased at www.und.com/tickets for $68. You can also call the ticket offices at 574-631-7356. It appears that sales for the Washington State game are low, considering the website says all requests in the ticket lottery will be accomodated. If the game is not sold out does it break the current sellout streak? It's certainly a question to consider at this point.

Finally, the Irish have offerred wide receiver Markeith Ambles. Ambles goes to Henry County HS in McDonough, Georgia. He's 6'2" 182 pounds, and runs a 4.47 40. He has offers from Alabama, Florida, LSU, FSU, Auburn, Cal, and UCLA. He's a four-star on both services, being rated in the top 15 at his position by both as well. There's some concern about Ambles GPA and off the field issues, but an offer would seem to be a vote of confidence.

That's all for today. I'm going to post the Sparty preview in a matter of hours. Have a nice weekend all.

Gody returns, Sharpley returns, and Texas might return (LOTD 6/18)

Sorry for the hiatus, I had some blogger issues, but it's all cleared up now. On to today's LOTD (which is really more of a weekly roundup at this point).

Luke Harangody will return for his senior season. The Irish power forward/center decided to remove his name from the NBA draft list, presumably after being told he would not be a lottery pick. " He has the chance to carve a unique place in the long and storied history of the Notre Dame basketball program," head coach Mike Brey said at a press conference Monday. 'Gody is a two-time All-American who is the only player to lead the Big East in scoring (25.2) and rebounding (12.8) in consecutive seasons. Furthermore, he was the only player in the nation to rank in the top 10 in points and rebounds last season. He ranks 4th all-time at Notre Dame with 50 double-doubles in his career.

Luke's return provides a cornerstone for a team on the rebound next season. ND will try to get back to the NCAA tournament after a very disappointing season last year, and it could provide a much better platform for Harangody to leave on. I'm not sure how much Luke's stock can rise with the help of another year (I tend to think that he has improved as much as he will in college), though finishing your college education never hurts.

On to football news: Evan Sharpley has been granted permission by the Seattle Mariners to cut his baseball season short to be on the Fighting Irish football team for his senior season. Sharpley will compete with Dayne Crist for the backup quarterback position behind Jimmy Clausen. I tend to think that Crist will get the position, but they play these things out for a reason. Sharpley struggled two seasons ago behind a terrible offensive line, but you have to admire his commitment to the squad, to Charlie Weis, and to the university.

HeismanPundit continues his breakdown of the top players at each position, examining the best runningbacks, receivers, and tight ends in the country. HP listed Armando Allen as an honorable mention at runningback, Michael Floyd and Golden Tate as the third best and honorable metion at receiver respectively, and Kyle Rudolph as the second best tight end in the country. I agree with HP that Floyd is a better receiver than Tate, seeing how Tate's production dropped significantly once the focus left Floyd and went 23's way. Furthermore, Floyd is listed above Julio Jones and AJ Green, both fellow true sophomores. The selection of Rudolph is surprising. I know he had a great season, but to see a sophomore as the second best at his position in the country is quite an honor.

A couple of scheduling notes: There is a lot being made of teams taking on cupcakes for an easy win and a big payday at home. This will inevitably come back at the Irish, who face an easy schedule this season, though not through any fault of their own. I'm not sure anyone expected Washington to be Willingham'd when the schedule was made, Michigan was not expected to be Rodriguez'd, and Boston College wasn't expected to hatchet their own coach out of the gig. Pitt, Stanford, and Michigan State could prove to be solid teams, though at this point no one knows. However, the Irish remain one of just a few teams to never schedule a D1-AA team. I guess you just have to play the teams they give you.

Furthering the discusison of the schedule, there is apparently some thought that Notre Dame will take on Texas in 2013. AD Jack Swarbrick told Jerry Briggs of the San-Antonio Express-News that we approaching a few significant 100-year anniversaries in 2013, one of which is the first time the Irish played the Longhorns. Said the Swashbuckler:

“I think Texas is one of the great athletic programs in the country. Not just now, but for many years. I’m a huge fan of the program, their coaches, and (athletic director) DeLoss (Dodds) is one of the giants of our industry. So, if we can figure out how to play Texas at some point, we would love to do it."

I would LOVE to see a matchup against Texas, even in the barnstorming non-sense, as opposed to a team like Washington State. Texas is one of the marquee programs from the past decade and a team who has had the success over the past 10 years the Irish are aspiring for at this point. The press surrounding the matchup would be great, and it couldn't hurt our recruiting attempts in a state with more talent than any other.

Speaking of teams with success in the past decade, Matt Hinton takes a look at which team was the best from the past decade. Their decision? The Texas Longhorns of 2005. If you remember correctly, that team, featuring Vince Young, beat the supposed best team ever, USC, which was crowned with such a title by ESPN leading into the game. Furthermore, ESPN matched that year's Trojan team against other teams that could be considered the best ever. Then USC choked, the WWL looked ridiculous, and Vince Young reached the highest point of his life. Surprisingly, none of the Notre Dame teams from the last decade were listed. I don't understand why.

It was Brady Quinn day at that Roller Coaster park in Ohio that everyone drools over. I only post this so that I can also post the accompaning picture.

In non-ND news, Florida State will have to vacate 14 victories as a result of the NCAA sanctions that everyone has been talking about recently. That puts Bobby Bowden in an asterisk situation, so I now believe he is behind Joe Paterno (BRAAAINS!) in the all-time win count.

Oh, and Congress is blabbering about the BCS again, trying to get some face time with a fruitless trip into the world of sports. Seriously, shut up Congress.

TDS UPDATE: Site Issues

We're having some issues with the website. Should be taken care of by tomorrow. LOTD and Sparty preview will (hopefully) be up then.

Stay Tuned!

Irish Quarterbacks past, present, and... future? (LOTD 6/14)

Comparisons aplenty from fans and periodicals. On a similar note, DiveRightIn, a poster on IrishEnvy, has a breakdown of some of the pre-season expectations. He cites the WWL as making a comparison of Alabama in '07 and '08 to the Irish in '08 and '09. In '07, Bama started 6-2, lost their last four, including an embarrasing loss to Louisiana-Monroe on Senior Day, and finished the year with a convincing bowl win against Colorado. The Tide had 9 returning starters on offense and five on defense. They began the year at #24 in the polls, and played in a BCS bowl game.

The Irish, in similar fashion, started out 5-2 last year. They went on to lose four of their last five, including an embarassing loss to Syracuse on Senior Day. As we all know, the Irish beat Hawaii convincingly in the bowl game. This year ND returns 10 on offense, 6 on defense, and starts the year at the back of the top 25. The comparisons are encouraging, though I think a lot of Alabama's improvments have to do with having a great coach, and Weis has yet to prove himself to be near the same level as Nick Saban. Nevertheless, it lessens the blow of the struggle the Irish faced down the stretch.

ESPN has a comparison of Jimmy Clausen's first two seasons against #1 draft choice Matthew Stafford's first two season's at Georgia. The numbers are pretty similar.

Player A-406 of 685 (59.3 percent), 4,426 Yds, 32 TDs, 23 INTs
Player B- 329 of 604 (54.5 percent), 4,272 Yds, 26 TDs, 23 INTs

Player A, who has the better numbers of the two, is Clausen. Couple this with the disparity in talent between Georgia in Stafford's first two years and ND in Clausen's first two years and you have plenty of reason for encouragment. Stafford went on to post the following numbers in his junior season: 235 of 383 (61.4%), 3,459 yds, 25 TDs, 1o INTs. If we can get similar numbers from Clausen then I would be willing to predict a BCS bowl for the Irish.

Sticking with Clausen, Heisman Pundit has a list of his top 10 QBs, and Clausen missed out, being labeled to the "Honorable Mention" list. HP points out the receiving corps that Clausen has to throw to as reason for optimisim. Colin Kaerpernick also makes the "Honorable Mention" list, with HP tabbing him as "A physical freak who should be well known after the opener against Notre Dame." I expect Kaerpernick to have a good game against the Irish, though in a losing effort. Aaron Corp, USC's starting QB, and Tate Forcier, Michigan's starting QB, make the list of "National Breakout Stars on the Scene".

Moving on to recruiting, there appears to be a battle heating up over Ohio quarterback prospect Andrew Hendrix. Ohio State is vying for the recruits services with the Irish, and Ohio State has had to renew interest after losing out on Nick Montana. Both OSU and ND currently have offers out to Hendrix, and he appears to be the top priority at the position for both schools. Similarly, both schools are looking to take only one QB recruit, so we have ourselves a battle.

Hendrix came close to committing to the Irish after an unofficial visit early last week, but came short of pulling the trigger. He then took an unofficial visit to the Buckeyes later in the week. ESPN's Bill Kurelic reports that Hendrix will make another unofficial visit to the Irish when the team is back next week. If I had to guess (and it's only speculation), I would think that Hendrix will commit to the Irish while on campus next week. Again, it's only speculation, but I think that the QB recruit wants to meet some of the players, get a better feel for what life is like as an ND football player, and to see more of the town. If all goes well we could get the QB we are looking for, but OSU won't go down without a fight, especially after losing out on Montana.

BlueandGold.com has a story up regarding Brady Quinn's attempt to take over the starting QB position for the Cleveland Browns. Quinn has the fans on his side, but lacks the experience of Derek Anderson. The great equalizer, BnG points out, is that both QBs are facing a new system with the entrance of new head coach Eric Mangini. Mangini has said that he is going to look for leadership qualities in his new quarterback, qualities that we know Quinn posseses based on his four years at Notre Dame. Now he just has to display those at the next level. Quinn says of the responsibility:

“It’s extremely important and something I take pretty seriously. Obviously, a play call starts in the huddle. That’s where everything kind of goes from there. If you don’t have control of the huddle, if you’re not effectively communicating to the other guys, you’re going to have some breakdowns as you get out of the huddle and get to the line of scrimmage. It’s tough. You have to have a solid feel for the offense. You’ve got to know what you’re talking about, know everyone’s job including your own.”

I expect to see Quinn starting for the Browns next year, based on their financial commitment to him and the pressure on Mangini to get the fans on his side in his new gig. The two QBs seem to have equal amounts of talent, but Quinn has the bigger upside and the brighter future, not to mention the accolades and pressure of being tabbed a first-round draft choice.

That's all for today. Not much news from the general CFB world, so we'll stick with the Irish today.

Comparisons to 2005, recruiting news, the Tyrone Willingham bump, and the NCAA blotter (LOTD 6/12)

I took a day off yesterday due to a lack of news, which makes things easier today now that stories have sort of piled up. There's lots of things to get to, so on with it.

BlueandGold.com compares this year's team to the 2005 team that kicked off the Weis era. BnG comments that the '05 squad made vast strides and had a superior work ethic, but that it was necessary to make up the ground that was lost in the Tyrone Willingham era. I'll also add that there is a significant bump found in a team's attitude when you move from a coach the team quit on to a coach that is riding a wave of positive emotion. BnG notes that this team, however, has experience and production that is unmatched by its 2005 counterparts. This year's team features 11 players on offense who have at least one year as a starter, and six who have two full years of starting experience. Furthermore, Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate are coming off of two of the bigger years any sophomore has seen at Notre Dame, while Michael Floyd and Kyle Rudolph broke all sorts of freshman records.

Furthermore, BnG points to the defense of '09 being a group on the rise, while the '05 group seemed to hit a wall in development when Rick Minter jumped on board (please, let's not give credit to Kent Baer). The defenses, to this point, have been undermanned but have outperformed expectations, with a solid season last year that kept the team in gave while the offense struggled.

I expect a similar result to that of the '05 season, probably a couple of losses and a BCS bowl game. If we don't see that then Weis' job will be in doubt, as it should be when you have taken a step back once collecting five classes of your own players.

On to recruiting. A poster on IrishEnvy reposted a list of recruiting priorities. You will notice that the majority of the players on the list are either offensive or defensive linemen. I'd have to agree with that sentiment. The Irish need to add a lot on both lines, but there's also a great void in recruiting right now at the runningback position. I think the Irish need to add at least one or two solid-to-elite prospects when you consider the big class of Aldridge-Hughes-Allen is nearing the end of its career. The problem is that Weis isn't really in on any major runningback recruits at this point, so we're kind of relying on a good season to boost those efforts. It's a big risk.

Sticking with recruiting, it appears that defensive end Blake Lueders may be nearing a decision. Lueders told IrishIllustrated that he could make a decision soon, but soon may be in the next couple of days or in three months. Kind of a broad definition of soon. BC, Stanford, Northwestern, and Wake Forest are competing for Lueders' services with the Irish. Notre Dame is considered to be the favorite at this point.

Brian Cook of The Sporting Blog has an interesting story on the recruiting bump programs get after firing Tyrone Willingham. Cook notes that Willingham's '04 and '05 classes at Notre Dame had more two-star commits than four-star commits, and while at Washington last year Willingham had yet to pick up a commitment by July (while all other Pac-10 programs had at least four) and only 5 by mid-October. Once Willingham left Weis was able to put together knock out classes and Steve Sarkisian just got Nick Montana at Washington, a program coming off of a winless season. It's the Tyrone Willingham effect and it goes something like this; "We were bad last year because of Chauncey. We're going to be good now with competency at the head coaching position." It seems to work.

A couple notes on possible Irishpros: Evan Sharpley was drafted in the 50th round of the MLB draft by the Seattle Mariners. Sharpley will have a shot at professional baseball regardless of where he was picked, so best of luck to the former Irish QB. Also, Luke Zeller was able to fill in for Josh Heytvelt at a Chicago Bulls try out on Wednesday. I'm not sure if LZ is a pro-quality player, but he has a shot to prove himself and here's wishing him the best of luck as well.

Non-ND news will look like the College Football blotter today. Luckily it involves some of our favorite programs.

The USC Trojans finally addressed the ever-ongoing investigation. “We have no idea how long this investigation will continue, and no one is more anxious to bring this process to a conclusion than we are, but we remain committed to getting to the truth,” senior administrator Todd Dickey said in a video statement. USC AD Mike Garrett followed it up by saying, “I, we, take these allegations very seriously. People who say that we have something to protect are partially right. What we have to protect is the integrity of the athletic department. And that means doing this right. And that is what we are doing."

Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.... our jobs are on the line, we're totally screwed, I know nothing. Furthermore, the LA Times finally decided to acknowledge the investigation (it only took a coach's resignation, nice job MSM) when Bill Plaschke penned a column chastizing the Trojans. Says the Around The Horn talking head:

These being difficult times in Trojans athletics, USC's best is to duck and cover and forgo all public accountability.
These complex challenges apparently require [President Steven B.] Sample to protect sports programs to the detriment of the rest of the university.
All of which remind us that Sample's core values apparently don't include an interest in maintaining control of his cash cows.
Memo to the many esteemed educators employed by USC: This is how you want your workplace to be perceived?
Memo to the many National Merit Scholars and high SAT scorers who have recently been drawn to USC: This is where you want to spend your next four years?

That's actually well put. The italicized portions are in relation to a quote by Sample saying that the tough times bring out the best in the leadership at the University. Scary thought if you are a Trojan supporter. It's actually one of Plaschke's better columns, and definitely worth a read.

Moving on... to Urban Meyer! Florida has begun to do some damage control on its little 24 arrest issue. This may not have been the best way to go about doing that. Florida has provided some in the MSM with a list of the arrest record by it's own account. It sort of takes the teenage excuse of "24 arrests... what so bad about that?" As College Football Talk says, "it's never good when your athletic department is breaking down arrests by recruiting classes."

Finally, Alabama had to vacate three seasons of wins and is back on probation (they are comfortable there) due to a violations in a textbook disbursment policy. The violations came under Mike Shula's watch, so Nick Saban is clean of these (other than having to deal with the probation issue). This puts 'Bama on the 5-year probation plan, which is sort of like being on Double Secret Probation.

That's all for today. Sparty preview coming tomorrow, along with any worthy news.

Nick Montana commits to Washington, Hendrix becomes top priority

Remember the idiot who posted this great story, discounting Washington right off the bat because "one of these things is not like the others". Well, he was right, one of those schools got a top quarterback with the last name Montana, and the others did not.

Nick Montana committed to Steve Sarkisian's Washington Huskies this weekend while on an unofficial visit. It's a good move for Montana; he's at a school with an offense that compliments his skill sets, and he a shot to be the cornerstone of a program's resurrection. I thought there was a chance he would commit to ND because of family ties, but it always seemed like he wanted to stay on the West Coast.

I wish Nick the best of luck at Washington. I feel for the Huskies' current situation as they try to pick up the scraps left from a terrible AD and Tyrone Willingham. We've been there before, we know how it goes.

However, the Irish need a top quarterback in this class, and so far they haven't gotten one. Devin Gardner is at Michigan, Nick Montana is at Washington, and Austin Hinder is at Cal. Andrew Hendrix, a rising star in the recruiting rankings, now becomes the top priority for the Irish coaches. Hendrix came close to pulling the trigger this weekend, after he described his unofficial visit as "fantastic," but it's still not a commitment and the Irish currently don't have a quarterback on board.

Think of it this way; you want a top-notch quarterback at least every other year. That means you are going to have a junior or redshirt sophomore starting when a senior leaves. You don't get stuck with a freshman starting, and the new quarterback has a decent grasp of the offense and a solid amount of maturity. Jimmy Clausen committed in 2007, Dayne Crist committed in 2008 and then redshirted his freshman year. Clausen graduates, Crist has two years of eligibility. This is the class where you want someone to follow Crist. Wait until next year and you tempt fate.

Pretty Boy Floyd says "no mas." What lies ahead for Pete Carroll?

I'm going to skip the LOTD story today, as there are only two major stories, both deserving of their own post.

Our crack research team at TDS has told me that Tim Floyd, possibly the most unhirable coach in the game right now, has resigned from USC. He said USC would be his last job, and he is right. It all stems from allegations that Floyd paid for OJ Mayo to go to USC, funneling money through sports representative Rodney Guillory. How Floyd got away with this will baffle me for ages. 1) Guillory was a known entity on USC's campus; he worked with Jeff Trepagnier, 2) Floyd said that OJ magically showed up at the doorstep... and everyone believed him, 3) Tim Floyd is not a smart guy, and it should surprise no one that he would actually hand money directly to a player or recruit. Think of the character Tom Grunick from the film Broadcast News, extremelly charismatic, wants people to think he's smart, isn't actually.

Here's what we know. USC met with the NCAA this past weekend, and by USC I mean AD Mike Garrett, football coach Pete Carroll, and (former) basketball coach Tim Floyd amongst others. It was the first major meeting between the NCAA and the USC athletic brain trust. Three days later Tim Floyd resigns.

There's no doubt that the NCAA had solid evidence against Floyd and USC basketball, otherwise Floyd would have done what USC has all along; try to ride it out. This brings up two questions: 1) Is Floyd the sacrifice to try to save the sacred cow that is the football program 2) Does the NCAA have an excuse to go easy on the football team with the two investigations being folded into one.

Here's something else to think about: The allegations against Floyd were over $1,000. Reggie Bush's parents got a house. And that's only one of the major allegations against the USC program. There's no doubt that USC football will be penalized, it's only a matter of when and how bad. It wouldn't surprise me to see the 2005 season wiped from the record books, and it's likely the 2004 season could take a hit as well, which would be a real blow considering the Trojans won the National Championship that year.

I floated out the idea that there's a chance Pete Carroll may either resign or be fired if these allegations are proven to be true. I'll admit that it's simply speculation, based on my thoughts on the program, the penalties that could be levied, and any value on USC's part to save face. I would imagine it's just as likely that Carroll leaves after this season. The NCAA wants to have the penalties announced at least two weeks before the season begins, giving SC the two-week rebuttal period that is allowed. There's a chance Carroll will stick it out this season - especially if there is no post-season ban put in place - make a run at the National Championship, and then jump ship after the season.

So now we have to wait and see what happens with the Trojan football program. There is another NCAA meeting scheduled in a couple of weeks, so more news should come following that. There's a little more than three months until the season begins, and a decision will be put out by then. Start the ticking time bomb now.

Hendrix "nearly" commits, Pep Rallies are in doubt, and Manti Te'o's impact as a frosh (LOTD 6/9)

Big news of the day actually comes from a headline (that's the crack reporting your used to). IrishIllustrated has a story up with the headline "Hendrix nearly commits to Irish". Rejoice!... sort of.

So let the speculation commence. It obviously isn't a verbal commitment, but it appears to be good news all the same. The Irish are looking to take at least one elite commitment this year, though I don't think they would turn away Hendrix or Nick Montana if both were to want to commit to the Irish. There's a few scenarios that present themselves with this news:
1) Hendrix does in fact commit, giving the Irish their QB for the class of 2010. Weis shuts down QB recruiting and Montana goes elsewhere.
2) Hendrix does in fact commit, Montana wants on board as well, and Weis takes the two, similar to what he did with Zach Frazer and Demetrius Jones (hopefully with much better results).
3) Hendrix does not commit, the Irish get Montana.
4) Hendrix does not commit, Montana goes elsewhere, Weis is left scrambling.

1 and 2 seem the most likely at this point. I would take either. Scenario 4 is the one to be most worried about, though it seems the least likely at this point. Either way, Ohio State has apparently heavily backed off of recruiting Hendrix at this point, which points to good things happening. I would assume the Buckeyes will now put the full-court press on Montana, though Nick has a lot of interest from plenty of other big name schools.

In all honesty, I would expect a commitment to come from Hendrix in the next couple of weeks (based on the news). The longer it drags on the worse things get for the Irish, and Charlie has said that a soft commitment means a recruit is looking and so are we.

Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick is trying to figure out what to do about pep rallies for the upcoming season. The Friday night pep rally used to be held at the Joyce Center, but that option is no longer available with the renovations being done to the JACC. Swarbrick told the Journal-Gazette's Michael Rothstein, "[We're]Trying to figure that out right now, what the alternatives are. I think we'll probably do a number of different things."

A lot of other bloggers have commented that they would like to see fewer pep rallies, mainly for the big games and not for some of the lesser opponents. I understand the point of view for those who regularly attend games, but as someone who went to one game at Notre Dame Stadium, I disagree. The Friday pep rally was a big part of the football weekend in South Bend, and for many others who make the pilgrimage once or twice a decade, the pep rally is a great part of the experience. I hope Swarbrick can figure something out, even if it is a scaled back version of what we're used to. I'm pretty sure of one thing. The USC pep rally will probably be in the Stadium, similar to 2005. That's just a hunch though.

Everyboy's favorite group of hack journalists, CollegeFootballNews.com, had a roundtable with the subject "Who does less with more?" My first thought was CFN itself, considering they have the resources for Rupert Murdoch and the talent of Rupert Bear, but apparently that's not the case.

The roundtable was split between the Irish (surprise!) and the Clemson Tigers. I can see Clemson making the list, but the Irish haven't exactly been playing with a full cupboard the past two seasons, and if you look at Weis' results when the talent was there, you will find two BCS bowl games. But we've come to expect this from CFN. The story was just another chance to take unwarranted shots at Notre Dame, which might be the only thing CFN is actually good at.

HeismanPundit recently posted a list of freshman he thinks could make an impact on the field in 2009. One name was left off the list: Manti Te'o. HP addressed that yesterday.

A few commentators have asked why I don’t have incoming Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o on my list of impact freshmen. The reason is because I don’t think he will be much of an impact freshman. I think he will have an adjustment year and be much better as a sophomore. Honestly, I was never super impressed by him in the first place (yes, I know, internet gurus say he’s the No. 1 LB). I am prepared to eat crow later on over this…

HP appears to be the only person I've heard from that is NOT impressed by Te'o. It could be because the linebacker didn't select his beloved USC Trojans when making a commitment, or maybe he just sees something everyone else hasn't. I personally think Te'o will have an impact next year, whether as a contributing member of the linebacking corps or as a freshman starter. I guess only time will tell.

In the only non-ND related story of the day, the SUPERFANS have gone the Chris Weinke route in trying to find their new quarterback. BC received a verbal commitment from 25-year-old former baseball player Dave Shinkskie yesterday, and Shinskie will apparently be on campus for summer drills.

Shinskie has spent the past 6 years in the Minnesota Twins and Toronto Blue Jays minor league farm systems. He was released by the Jays this year and decided to go out for football, which he played in high school for Mount Carmel HS in Pennsylvania. Shinskie had some interest from schools out of high school, including BC, Indiana, Iowa, and Temple, but decided to try baseball when he was selected in the 4th round of the 2003 draft by the Twins. This time around he had interest from BC, Temple, Rutgers, and Pitt. Shinkskie has four years of eligibility left, so he will be 29 or 30 when he finishes up at BC.

Alright, that's all for today. A Sparty preview will be up in the next day or two. Stay tuned.