cmccollum413

Not his choice.

Pot of Gold going to Morgan, Schultz, Hill, Luatua, A. Williams, Elam, Quick, S. Thomas, C. Nelson, Sikes and Juju. As Hoosier said they were sent out before Hill, Luatua and Sikes committed. The other commits should be getting something GoldenArmy-related relatively soon.

This tends to be my feeling as well. May not be a very big deal, UA is definitely a better opportunity, but this kid has basically been on Commitment Watch since the summer. Then, there was some hope he'd commit on his official and then right after he visited Bama and then twice during Denbrock stops at the school and then again the birthday. I still think ND, but this thing just keeps getting pushed back.

As for Luatua, a source very close to him told me in July that he was an ND lock and that it could happen anytime - literally sooner or later. That same source has grown as concerned as just about all ND fans about why it hasn't happened yet. This guy is as puzzled as everybody else, but he's still told by everybody in Luatua's closest circle that it's ND. And as we reported the word is the decision will come on his birthday next week. If it doesn't come then, all bets are off as far as I'm concerned.

Yep. Definitely wrong on that one, but I do know that was exactly what ND was telling people all week. That was definitely their preference, but I guess the Pinstripe Bowl wasn't gonna pass up the chance to have ND in their game no matter what. Missed that one badly regardless though.

Tyler Luatua

I'm sorry. I hope everyone understands I really never intended to cause this type of stir and take this thread in a negative direction. I could have handled this situation differently and that's on me. I love the passion of Notre Dame fans and I've been one all of my life. I also love the way posters stick up for the guys on their boards and I know the guys on ISD would do the same for me. I see how valued Big is as a poster here and I regret coming at him the way I did. It's probably going to be an exciting final two months of recruiting for ND and hope nobody will be offended if I continue to post here from time to time.

Not at all. No need to lock the thread or anything. Big, I posted on your public board too.

Anyway, here's a complete copy of today's Intel. I can accept Big if he says he didn't get it from ISD, but I think it's also clear why I initially assumed he did. It's very similar even down to the order of topics. The biggest news of the week obviously surrounded the start of the coaching carousel with moves impacting Notre Dame from the Pacific Northwest to the Midwest and this is just the start. Surprisingly or not, the changes at USC may have a bigger impact on Notre Dame’s recruiting efforts than the changes inside the Gug and even then, the impact may be smaller than minimal. Chuck Martin’s departure from Notre Dame to take over as head coach at Miami-Ohio was greeted with mixed emotions by almost all of the Irish’s current recruits. Almost to a man, the offensive recruits were sad they wouldn’t have the chance to play for Martin, but excited for his new opportunity. One commit is even planning to pen a hand-written letter to Martin thanking him for helping him end up at Notre Dame. Martin’s impact on the commitment of 2015 quarterback commit Blake Barnett cannot be overstated, but again, it’s not going to do anything to change the junior’s mind. The coaches were a major part of why Barnett committed to Notre Dame, but he committed to Notre Dame not a coaching staff. The only remaining 2014 targets Martin had an integral role in recruiting are both defensive prospects – linebackers Nyles Morgan and Nile Sykes – and it’s unlikely his departure will be a deciding factor for either. Freshman quarterback Malik Zaire caused a minor stir on Twitter by merely tweeting, “Frustrated” shortly after the Martin news broke. It’s no surprise a first-year quarterback would be “frustrated” to learn his position coach –a person who had a great deal to do with him being at Notre Dame and a person he had Thanksgiving dinner with a week earlier –was leaving. We know for a fact Zaire was indeed frustrated on Tuesday and maybe he still is. But we also know Zaire is intensely focused on competing with Everett Golson this spring and we can’t imagine anything distracting him from that. Steve Sarkisian’s move from Washington back down to USC could end up making the Trojans serious players for Juju Smith and/or Michiah Quick, especially Smith. Notre Dame is definitely still in the race and all of the reasons he liked the Irish in the first place remain in place and Irish assistant Mike Denbrock visited with Smith on Tuesday to remind him of all of those things. But Smith was waiting to see who USC would hire and it’s hard to imagine anybody else making a bigger impact on him than Sarkisian. Smith grew up a fan of USC and is already thinking about whether Sarkisian will be able to bring the Trojans back to the heights they reached under Pete Carroll, when Sarkisian was on the staff. In addition, Sarkisian is also bringing Johnny Nansen with him from Seattle to Los Angeles. Nansen is Smith’s uncle, and family is a very big deal to Smith, but this is also going to be Smith’s decision alone. Either way, the Sarkisian hire will undoubtedly play a larger role down the road than Martin leaving. BRING ON BOISE IN BOWL?: We’re told Notre Dame’s bowl situation is almost finalized. From what we’re hearing, the opponent has likely already been decided and the only remaining questions are when and where. Apparently, the Irish will be playing Boise State in a postseason game - either the Hawaii Bowl on Christmas Eve or the Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego the day after Christmas. Notre Dame-Boise State would provide a juicy matchup with the little guy getting another chance to knock off one of the game’s great powers. The Broncos finished the regular season 8-4 (6-2 in the Mountain West), but lacking one of the signature victories that has allowed them to rise to national prominence. The Irish and Broncos share two common opponents this season, Air Force and BYU. Notre Dame beat both while Boise State split, beating Air Force 42-20 and losing 37-20 to BYU. Making the lead-up to the potential matchup more interesting is a report early Friday morning that Broncos head coach Chris Petersen is expected to be named the new head coach at Washington today. SHAMROCK SOLDIERS ENLISTING ANOTHER?: As do most, we expect 2015 Idaho offensive lineman Tristen Hoge to commit to Notre Dame during his third visit to campus this weekend. Hoge made it clear after an unofficial to South Bend in October that Notre Dame was his favorite and planned on coming back in early-December to make it official. We’ve received no indication that those plans have changed, so stay tuned. And yes, that’s the moniker Barnett and Jerry Tillery have agreed on for the Class of 2015. First it was #IrishMob13, then we had #GoldenArmy14 and now we have #ShamrockSoldier15. LONG LUATUA WAIT SHOULD END SOON: The longer the process drags on for California tight end Tyler Luatua, the more Notre Dame fans are concerned about the holdup. Mike Frank had some good news for Irish fans on that topic earlier this week and while some may still fear Alabama, considering his brother plays there, we’re told that everybody in the family, including his brother, believe Notre Dame is the right spot for him. On another note, there’s been speculation about what Notre Dame intends to do with Luatua in regard to a long-term position. One of ISD’s sources very close to the situation recently told us in no uncertain terms that the La Mirada, Calif. product is being recruited as a tight end and only a tight end. Our source did acknowledge that Luatua fits the “big skill” athlete profile that could eventually morph into a linebacker. At this time, however, there’s no intent to have him play anything else but tight end should he end up committing to the Irish. We’re also told Notre Dame always dual-evaluates players (“big-skilled” or not) like the 6-foot-4, 240-pound La Mirada High School star. Much like they dual-evaluated current Fighting Irish players like C.J. Prosise and Troy Niklas, who spent time on both sides of the ball early in their collegiate careers. That’s not to say Luatua could end up on the defensive side of the ball in South Bend, but it’s common practice for the Irish to dual-evaluate those who can be effective in multiple roles. They feel it’s the prudent thing to do in order to get the most bang for their buck. McKENZIE SAGA WRAPPING UP: The soap opera that's been Isaiah McKenzie’s commitment to Notre Dame should be coming to a conclusion, one way or another, later this month as the Irish coaching staff works to see if the American Heritage standout is going to be able to qualify for admission. “I will be taking my test this weekend and I should have the results back fairly soon,” shared McKenzie, who confirmed that he’ll be taking the SAT. “Once I get those scores back, I'll be heading up to Notre Dame for my official visit sometime in January.” When asked how he was feeling heading into this weekend he replied, “I'm feeling very confident.” Stay tuned. WIDE RECEIVER BOARD SLIMMING: Outside of linebacker, wide receiver remains the position with the most remaining legitimate targets and with the McKenzie situation still in the air, the most possibilities, but it does seem to be getting a bit slimmer. There were reports that Bob Elliott visited with California wide receiver Erik Brown earlier in the week. We know the Notre Dame assistant was in the area, but we’re not sure if he met with Brown, who flipped from Washington to Cal a couple weeks ago. Either way, one source close to Brown who was pro-Notre Dame tells us the Irish would be wasting their time if they continue to recruit Brown. Also, it’s becoming more and more likely that Allen Lazard sticks with his commitment to Iowa State. We know Lazard likes the Irish an awful lot, but this seems like a case of a kid not wanting to go back on his word. Hard to fault him for that. Another potential target came off the board earlier in the week when Florida’s Ryan Sousa flipped from Florida State to Florida. Sousa grew up a Gators’ fan and must have been a little annoyed that it took them so long to offer, but the dismissal of offensive coordinator Brent Pease allowed Florida to blame that on him. We are told Sousa was waiting on Notre Dame to offer, but when it became clear that wasn’t coming immediately, he made his decision and it sounds like he’s solid now. Charles Nelson is one reason Notre Dame wasn’t going to rush an offer out to Sousa. Nelson will be on campus for next weekend’s banquet and it’s a visit he’s really looking forward to making. He has an official visit scheduled for West Virginia in January and is looking to set up trips to Florida and USC as well, but we wouldn’t be surprised if his process is finished before any of those visits were made. Another potential name to keep an eye on at wide receiver is Donovan Walker. While we’re not sure if Elliott met with Brown, we do know he met with the Chino Hills, Calif., native. The 6-foot-2, 175-pound Walker doesn’t have any offers at this point, but he’s receiving interest from several major programs out West. We’re told he’d commit on the spot if Note Dame offered, but Walker understands he’ll have to wait until January to find out if one is coming. Midseason Senior Highlights From Walker LAST SHOT WITH HOLLEY?: Notre Dame is expected to drop in on 2014 New York defensive lineman Thomas Holley Friday and this may be the Irish’s final chance to try to get him back to campus before he makes his decision. Following an official visit to Florida this past weekend, we’re told the Gators have narrowed the gap with Penn State and at this point, both of those schools are well out in front. Holley will sit down with his inner circle after his team’s championship game on Tuesday to decide his next step. Holley could choose to continue the process, which would then likely include an official visit to Notre Dame, but there’s a good chance he could just pick a school. We know he’s intrigued by the draw of playing at Florida in the SEC, but we still think the Nittany Lions are the choice here. Q STILL SOLID: Despite rumors linking him to Ohio State, Rutgers and Penn State since the summer, 2014 Notre Dame offensive line commit Quenton Nelson has remained strong in his pledge to the Irish. The rumors ranged from misinterpretations (his communication with Ohio State commits at The Opening and his contact with Penn State coaches) to falsehoods (the claim that a Rutgers running back commit was in his ear). Regardless, Nelson is and always has been solid and his commitment is only strong after hosting offensive line coach Harry Hiestand at his house for dinner on Monday. We’re told Nelson and his family couldn’t be happier with the decision he’s made. Nelson will be back out to South Bend next weekend for the banquet, where he’ll have the chance to bond with several other current commits, including the offensive linemen. Kelly will be out to do an in-home visit next month. NEW BARNETT HIGHLIGHTS: Blake Barnett’s complete junior highlights are now on hudl. You can check them out here. MOCKERY IN THE MAKING: The NCAA takes a lot of crap – and rightly so much of the time – but sometimes, it does things in the best interest of kids and coaches immediately find a way to take advantage of it. Look at the new rule which allows early enrollee prospects to sign as early as October. The prospect isn’t locked to the school, but the school is locked to the prospect. So why would a school do that? Because it removes contact restrictions for the remainder of the recruiting process. But, since it’s non-binding for the prospect, he can sign multiple agreements and at least one prospect already has. Florida running back Dalvin Cook has already inked financial aid agreements with Miami and Florida State and could possibly sign with Florida soon as well. Obviously, this rule was intended to relieve some of the pressures from the process, but that’s not going to happen here as the staffs will practically be racing one another to in-home visits even during the dead period. Clearly, this was Cook’s choice, so it may not be something he’s worried about, but there’s no doubt more schools will try to pressure prospects into signing early even while the process remains ongoing. Many have asked about Notre Dame signing its prospects to early financial aid agreements, but that hasn’t happened yet. Wide receiver pledge Justin Brent and defensive line commit Andrew Trumbetti are scheduled to be early enrollees in this class and we spoke to Brent about the new rules. “I asked Coach Kelly about that,” said Brent. “He said it’s something the University hasn’t really looked at yet. He said they haven’t put it in place yet and they’re not doing yet, but is something they probably will end up doing. The University isn’t doing it yet, that’s why we haven’t done it.” ALL-STAR GAME LISTS: With the high school playoffs quickly coming to an end, most of the top players in the 2014 class have already set their sights on next month's All-American games and are really looking forward to participating in them. Here's a quick rundown on which Notre Dame commits and targets will be playing at each venue. Army All-American Bowl San Antonio, Texas, Alamodome January 4th, 2014, 1 PM ET/ 12 PM CT, NBC EAST DL Matthew Elam TE Nic Weishar LB Richard Yeargin III WEST WR Allen Lazard LB Nyles Morgan DE Solomon Thomas Here's a link to the Army All-American bowl website Under Armour All-America Game St. Petersburg, Fla., Tropicana Field January 2nd, 2014, 4 PM ET/ 3PM CT, ESPN ***Teams have yet to be set yet, but here's who's participating*** OL Alex Bars DE Lorenzo Carter DT Thomas Holley WR Corey Holmes ATH Adoree’ Jackson TE Tyler Luatua WR Isaiah McKenzie OL Sam Mustipher RB Bo Scarbrough OL Braden Smith DE Andrew Trumbetti CB Nick Watkins Here's the full list of participants for the Under-Armour All-American game

I'm not trolling. Somebody brought it to my attention and I created an account here to ask about it. I seriously tried to figure out how to PM, but couldn't. I definitely would have preferred to handle it that way because that's the way I would have liked it to be handled myself. And just to be clear, I'm not really upset about it, I just wanted to check and try to prevent anything like that in the future. I'm sure there are some people here who know me and can vouch that I'm pretty laid back about this kind of stuff.

That's your right. I wasn't asking anybody to feel bad for me. I love my job and feel extremely grateful to have it. I was just trying to explain why we're compensated.

I'm sorry you feel that way. I hope my posts weren't read as provocative, that's not the way they were intended. I understand your point of view, but the fact is that myself and all of the writers for the other ND sites and other schools' sites work really hard to obtain the information we do. It's a full-time job for myself and others and requires a great deal of time and energy. I'm pretty sure recruiting wouldn't be covered in as much depth as it is today without people spending all of that time on it and being compensated for it.