was offered according to BGI and some other services.

 

was a lifelong ND fan, but some have said he may have skipped the ND camp in spite b/c he wasnt offered. Lets hope he hops on board.

 

I think this means that Zach Martin is going elsewhere.

 

Another thing is that the staff might be looking for 2 OTs and then leave a spot open for Xavier Nixon no matter what

Seems like a really solid prospect...I hope he decides to give us another look.

 

Man, we just need bodies at OT. Badly. I love getting people like Bullard and Watt, but eventually we'll have 400 guards and no one to protect Jimmy's blindside.

We're going to be absolutely stacked at guard in a year or two. To think that in 2009, we'll have Olsen, Stewart, Nuss, Big Trev, maybe Cave (may end up there or at C), Bullard, and Watt all in the fold. We should at least have a two deep that we're comfortable with, and we'll certainly have guys we feel good about in the future.

 

If only we could start matching that at OT. Considering that Ward was pretty much told that the offer was his if he camped at ND, and he opted not to, I have my reservations about him, but we'll see.

Man, we just need bodies at OT. Badly.

 

I disagree. We do NOT just need bodies. We need talent at the tackle position. We also have a few guys who can play that position. I wouldn't be surprised to see Trevor move out there if needed. I have always liked Nuss. He is my dark horse for this year. Unless Romine really bulked up, I don't see him being ready this year.

We're going to be absolutely stacked at guard in a year or two. To think that in 2009, we'll have Olsen, Stewart, Nuss, Big Trev, maybe Cave (may end up there or at C), Bullard, and Watt all in the fold. We should at least have a two deep that we're comfortable with, and we'll certainly have guys we feel good about in the future.

 

If only we could start matching that at OT. Considering that Ward was pretty much told that the offer was his if he camped at ND, and he opted not to, I have my reservations about him, but we'll see.

 

I think 2010 will be the year of the tackle for Notre Dame.

I think 2010 will be the year of the tackle for Notre Dame.

 

Yeah and it'll be a year too late. We'll end up having to throw another kid or two to the wolves like we did Young.

Yeah and it'll be a year too late. We'll end up having to throw another kid or two to the wolves like we did Young.

 

Young was not thrown to the wolves, he was thrown on the wrong side of the line during his soph season. Young played pretty good his freshman year. It's not like we have zero talent at LT. We have candidates with talent: Nuss, Duncan, Dever and Romine.

Young was not thrown to the wolves, he was thrown on the wrong side of the line during his soph season. Young played pretty good his freshman year. It's not like we have zero talent at LT. We have candidates with talent: Nuss, Duncan, Dever and Romine.

 

We have unproven, injured or just plain disappointing talent at OT in Nuss, Duncan, Dever and Romine. There's nothing about that group that causes excitement beyond simple optimism.

people were pretty f'ing excited about romine when he committed. He's young and was banged up but if he gets healthy in time he should be a good option by mid year. I don't like the idea that just because a guy's not a starter by the time he's a sophomore means he's no good. Samardzija had 1 catch before his junior year....and he wasn't an OL either, who should take a couple years.

people were pretty f'ing excited about romine when he committed. He's young and was banged up but if he gets healthy in time he should be a good option by mid year. I don't like the idea that just because a guy's not a starter by the time he's a sophomore means he's no good. Samardzija had 1 catch before his junior year....and he wasn't an OL either, who should take a couple years.

 

Are you referring to Romine? That's why I included "injured" in there. We have nothing to go off of besides his rivals ranking when planning out what he'll do for us this coming season because he was injured right after be saw the field.

 

I'd rather not say "we'll be fine. We have so and so" when "so and so" has done nothing for us. We *need* any OT that we offer at this point. We can't afford to miss on any of them in THIS class. Forget 2010.

Lets not forget Clelland - nor should we write him off because he weighed about 265 coming off of his senior year. Robert Gallery knocked the snot out of people in college, and he started out at what, tight end? Sometimes the quicker, more athletic guys that grow into their frames are the best ones in the end.

 

Gotta say that I have zero faith in Duncan after last year though. I wouldn't lump him in with the talent like Rock. There were games last year (see: Georgia Tech) where he got out-chessed, out-techniqued, out-athleticisimed, and out-everythinged by his opponents. Maybe chalk it up to an awful year, but he had enough trouble manning either tackle position, and I'm not sure I'm seeing or hearing of a transformation on that front, let alone to the point where he can protect Jimmy's blindside.

 

While I don't think we'll be very deep at tackle before we make our run at guys like Henderson, Hurst, Lombard, etc next year, I think we can find two guys that can hold their own at the least. Can't say I blame you for not going beyond optimism KSU, but way too early to issue judgments on a position that is notorious for having a slower timetable for development than any other. How can we confidently say we're screwed when we haven't even really seen Romine, Dever, Clelland, or Nuss on the field? Give it time, then we'll know. 'Til then, we don't really know if our depth chart sucks, or if it will be better than advertised.

Lets not forget Clelland - nor should we write him off because he weighed about 265 coming off of his senior year. Robert Gallery knocked the snot out of people in college, and he started out at what, tight end? Sometimes the quicker, more athletic guys that grow into their frames are the best ones in the end.

 

Gotta say that I have zero faith in Duncan after last year though. I wouldn't lump him in with the talent like Rock. There were games last year (see: Georgia Tech) where he got out-chessed, out-techniqued, out-athleticisimed, and out-everythinged by his opponents. Maybe chalk it up to an awful year, but he had enough trouble manning either tackle position, and I'm not sure I'm seeing or hearing of a transformation on that front, let alone to the point where he can protect Jimmy's blindside.

 

While I don't think we'll be very deep at tackle before we make our run at guys like Henderson, Hurst, Lombard, etc next year, I think we can find two guys that can hold their own at the least. Can't say I blame you for not going beyond optimism KSU, but way too early to issue judgments on a position that is notorious for having a slower timetable for development than any other. How can we confidently say we're screwed when we haven't even really seen Romine, Dever, Clelland, or Nuss on the field? Give it time, then we'll know. 'Til then, we don't really know if our depth chart sucks, or if it will be better than advertised.

 

To be fair, I'm not saying we're screwed. I'm just saying OT is the most difficult position to build quality depth in and we're not at the point where we can afford to "take a pass" in the 09 recruiting season because Duncan seems like he won't pan out, Romine has been injured, Clelland needs to put on *a lot* of weight before he can even get within a mile of the field (did you watch him at the AA game? He looked like a child), Nuss has never been seen and Dever is being groomed at RT when what we really need is someone who can play LT.

 

We need anyone who will come here at that position, if you ask me. If Notre Dame offers someone at OT, I want him. I kinda think waiting on Nixon is a seriously dangerous proposition, but that's just me. What happens if we whiff on the 2010 guys? People seem to be so sure of that haul of players, but recruiting is such a crap shoot.

Edited July 11, 200816 yr by ColinKSU

To be fair, I'm not saying we're screwed. I'm just saying OT is the most difficult position to build quality depth in and we're not at the point where we can afford to "take a pass" in the 09 recruiting season because Duncan seems like he won't pan out, Romine has been injured, Clelland needs to put on *a lot* of weight before he can even get within a mile of the field (did you watch him at the AA game? He looked like a child), Nuss has never been seen and Dever is being groomed at RT when what we really need is someone who can play LT.

 

We need anyone who will come here at that position, if you ask me. If Notre Dame offers someone at OT, I want him. I kinda think waiting on Nixon is a seriously dangerous proposition, but that's just me. What happens if we whiff on the 2010 guys? People seem to be so sure of that haul of players, but recruiting is such a crap shoot.

 

Thinking that we're arguing towards different points. I too agree that we shouldn't bail on OT for 2009 because we wiffed on Shrive, Schofield, and Martin. Offering Ward was a surprise, and I think is a good indication that the staff is serious about ensuring we get some more competition going at the least.

 

All I'm saying is, I wouldn't jump all over Romine's injuries (its only been one year), or Clelland's size (we'll see how quickly he puts on weight now that he won't be playing baseball or wrestling, and has a collegiate weight room to look forward to), or some of the other unknown quantities just yet. And while I'm not counting my chickens before they hatch in 2010, when was the last time you saw ND get this seriously involved with so many kids so early? Certainly can't hurt our chances.

Thinking that we're arguing towards different points. I too agree that we shouldn't bail on OT for 2009 because we wiffed on Shrive, Schofield, and Martin. Offering Ward was a surprise, and I think is a good indication that the staff is serious about ensuring we get some more competition going at the least.

 

All I'm saying is, I wouldn't jump all over Romine's injuries (its only been one year), or Clelland's size (we'll see how quickly he puts on weight now that he won't be playing baseball or wrestling, and has a collegiate weight room to look forward to), or some of the other unknown quantities just yet. And while I'm not counting my chickens before they hatch in 2010, when was the last time you saw ND get this seriously involved with so many kids so early? Certainly can't hurt our chances.

 

See, what worries me so much about Notre Dame getting involved so early with 2010 is that it tells me one of two things.

 

1) The staff has given up on getting a solid 2009 OT class.

 

2) What they have now isn't cutting it and they know they need to step up their efforts.

 

Now, I admit I'm an extreme pessimist at heart, but I just find their efforts towards next year's class to be very curious. Notre Dame has a grand tradition of taking their time with recruiting because of all the hurdles that need to be jumped. For them to hit the gas makes me wonder.

Or, the talent in this class is limited as compared to next years class. Many pundits say this. It's a drought this year...there will be a lot more rain next year.

Or, the talent in this class is limited as compared to next years class. Many pundits say this. It's a drought this year...there will be a lot more rain next year.

 

I don't know if that's an excuse, though. We can't have a Bob Davie year where he recruited 3 QBs and no OL. We still have to get people to keep the transition from era to era going on that line.

There are a lot more interpretations to be drawn from hitting the gas so to speak. Given that we've also extended verbal offers to a WR recruit, a DE, and perhaps a QB (depends on who you listen to in the 4HL), there's also:

 

3. Charlie & Co. are laying down the groundwork across the board (rather than just one position) for a year during which recruiting should be easier, after a hopefully much better year.

 

4. (As wave mentioned) Talent isn't as abundant in 2009, so we're going after quality over quantity, by targeting the lineman we want, rather than a lineman we want.

 

5. This is a reaction to the rules changes about spring visits to HS campuses, so that the staff can continue to out-hustle the competition.

 

And remember, these are verbal offers, not written. Could very well be something where ND says what grade/test score related strings are attached.

 

We've already got one lineman on board, another waiting on deck, and its still July. I don't foresee any Davie/Willingham-esque efforts at OL. Lets not forget that for all we know, the next Taylor Dever late bloomer is waiting out there, currently unnoticed an waiting to burst onto the scene.

 

Again, these are subjective indicators that don't necessarily mean that the sky is falling for offensive tackles in '09.

See, what worries me so much about Notre Dame getting involved so early with 2010 is that it tells me one of two things.

 

1) The staff has given up on getting a solid 2009 OT class.

 

2) What they have now isn't cutting it and they know they need to step up their efforts.

 

Now, I admit I'm an extreme pessimist at heart, but I just find their efforts towards next year's class to be very curious. Notre Dame has a grand tradition of taking their time with recruiting because of all the hurdles that need to be jumped. For them to hit the gas makes me wonder.

 

u do kno that were in xavier nixons top three right?

u do kno that were in xavier nixons top three right?

 

Of course I know that, but to rest your hopes on one player when you're going up against schools like we are for Nixon doesn't seem wise to me. It's like not recruiting any RBs because we really want Reggie Bush. You can't put your eggs in one basket.

See, what worries me so much about Notre Dame getting involved so early with 2010 is that it tells me one of two things.

 

1) The staff has given up on getting a solid 2009 OT class.

 

2) What they have now isn't cutting it and they know they need to step up their efforts.

 

Now, I admit I'm an extreme pessimist at heart, but I just find their efforts towards next year's class to be very curious. Notre Dame has a grand tradition of taking their time with recruiting because of all the hurdles that need to be jumped. For them to hit the gas makes me wonder.

It's true that ND has traditionally taken it's time with recruits, but times have changed, and Charlie knows it.

To be competitive with teams like usc and Florida, you have to change your philosophy. This might compromise tradition, but than that same group screaming for tradition can't revolt when a team has more than it's share of mediocrity.

 

I hate to use slick petey as an example, but carroll offers juniors, and even sophomores!

A lot of those kids turn out to be 4 and 5 star talent, and a few have ended their recruiting process very early by choosing sc before anyone else realizes what happened.

 

If that's what the Irish have to do to compete for national titles, than I'm all for it. Tradition is great, and we need to solidify our own in the modern era.

Now, now...let's stay positive...

 

We have one more year of Duncan/Turcovich at the left tackle spot, and they should have improved from last year, when they got their first slice of playing time against a difficult schedule full of veteran Defensive lineman...

 

I was just as disappointed in them as anyone, but I have to imagine they will be better than they were last year...

 

Sam Young, will move to left tackle for his senior year...He is a natural RT and a very good one at that...but his draft stock will suffer if he can not play on the left side. And I think he will want to make that move and he will be helped out by a veteran group surrounding him at guard and tight end by that point...Not to mention a QB with a quick release.

 

So, while Nuss, Dever, Romine and others are tackles on the depth chart, they too will likely earn their stripes on the right side before making the switch over to the left side.

 

I also think if we land Nixon or Santreal Henderson next year, we won't have to worry about moving Sam Young over to the left side because either of those two will hold it down for the next 3-4 years...

 

So let's not get ahead of ourselves with the 2010 depth chart just yet...

 

We need to worry about this year's lineup first...