Tigers recruit accuses Notre Dame

Cumbie questions critical comments about Clemson

 

BY LARRY WILLIAMS

The Post and Courier

 

CLEMSON - South Carolina fans who think Notre Dame pulled a fast one on the Gamecocks might be on to something.

 

Clemson defensive end Jamie Cumbie, an incoming freshman from Morris, Ill., said Fighting Irish coaches used questionable recruiting tactics before and after he committed to the Tigers in June of 2005.

 

"I'm not going to lie," Cumbie said Tuesday. "The coaches at Notre Dame sent some bad letters ripping Clemson after I committed here."

 

That claim has particular relevance in the Palmetto State given the recent indecision of Gary Gray, a highly rated cornerback who plays at Richland Northeast in Columbia. Having announced an oral commitment to the Gamecocks in March, Gray has recently re-opened his recruitment and is strongly considering Notre Dame.

 

Commitments are non-binding until prospects sign letters of intent, and Cumbie said Notre Dame's coaches didn't back off after he orally committed to the Tigers before his senior year.

 

"They were sending me postcards like a month after I committed," said the 6-7, 255-pound Cumbie, who was a first-team Parade All-American. "The only school that tried to keep recruiting me was Notre Dame. It really didn't bother me."

 

Cumbie said the Fighting Irish coaching staff, led by second-year head coach Charlie Weis, also engaged in some negative recruiting on his visit to South Bend, Ind.

 

"They had a piece of paper, and it broke down advantages and disadvantages. It said Notre Dame was televised every weekend, every Saturday. Then they said Clemson has a horrible education."

 

Back in action

 

James Davis was one of a few returning Tigers who didn't remain in Clemson for the first session of summer school, but the sophomore tailback said he definitely wasn't slacking off at home in Atlanta.

 

Davis said he engaged in two-a-days with John Lewis, brother of NFL star Jamal Lewis.

 

Davis and the Lewises attended Douglass High.

 

"I got stronger and did a lot of speed work," said Davis, last season's rookie of the year in the Atlantic Coast Conference. "I want to get a little faster this year and get a lot of breakout runs, because we didn't have a lot of breakout runs from the running backs last year."

 

When Davis arrived on campus recently, he was impressed at the sight of incoming freshman C.J. Spiller.

 

A five-star tailback from Lake Butler, Fla., Spiller could give Davis some stiff competition in the Tigers' backfield.

 

"I watch him out there, and he's in real good shape," Davis said. "He's leading all the freshmen conditioning-wise. ? When they run, he's out in front all the time. He's stronger than me when I came in."

 

Davis said he told Spiller that Spiller is still his backup.

 

"I told him I'm going to make him work for it," Davis said. "He's going to be pretty good, though. I like the guy."

 

Maxwell to safety?

 

Incoming freshman Byron Maxwell, a former star at Fort Dorchester, said he might move from cornerback to safety.

 

Maxwell said he's gained about 20 pounds in the past year and is now a little over 200. He's still struggling to recover from surgery that followed a devastating knee injury in May of 2005.

 

Maxwell said defensive coordinator Vic Koenning suggested the move.

 

"He just says safety is probably the better spot for me right now," said Maxwell, who didn't play his senior year at Fort Dorchester. "I've gained all this weight, and obviously I can't put it off. I'm trying to, though."

 

ARTICLE-CLICK HERE

First of all we've already established that schools don't stop recruiting kids until NSD, and CW has stated that if a prospect asks him to stop then he will. Also, we've heard plenty of stuff on Kerry Neal and how Miami, Florida, and CLEMSON are all still in contact with him. Also, who cares if they sent him a letter breaking down the advantages and disadvantages...they just want the kids to think about everything before they sign on that dotted line.

Every school negative recruits. That is not surprising at all and it is quite common.

I'm not sure how the comment that ND is on television every saturday could be considered negative recruiting. As for the comment about the education there, that would seem to be giving Clemson the benefit of the doubt.

 

I'm also not sure that they really "continued to recruit" him... As I recall he committed real early and he says they sent him a couple of post cards.

I saw this too this morning. My thoughts are that it is inherit to the recruiting game. I doubt the postcards/letters "ripped" Clemson as much as it reinforced the ND pitch. I.E. Graduation rate, NBC TV, strength of schedule, Players in NFL, etc.

 

Fundamentally, I think there is a difference between negative recruiting and laying out the facts. I.E. "You made a bad decision by committing to X University because they cheat, don't win, etc." vs. "We are still interested in you attending our school. We feel we offer better education (quote stats here), have a better winning % (stats) and hope you reconsider. Please let us know if things change."

 

IMO and in many ways the recipient of the communication should be flattered they are thought of in such high regard.

 

Several years ago "former" ND coach George O'Leary was accused of playing the race card with recruits. Specifically, O'Leary told African-American recruits that ND was not a place for them and they should opt for Georgia Tech who had a greater percentage of African-Americans student-population-wise. That is negative recruiting

 

That is the part I hate the most. What a joke and a total misrepresenation of what ND and Catholicism stands for..To suggest ND is racist is beyond comprehension.

 

Weis apparently tells recruits that he is in their school, house, etc. representing ND. He wants to tell them about ND's offerings. I think that is what he does. If he says, "I know you are considering SC, however I think we offer a better opportunity for these reasons. We offer a better..." To me, that is not negative recruiting. It is a statement of fact(s).

 

I think several programs do undertake negative recruiting. It's like the politician who constantly attacks his opponent. In the end, s/he has told you nothing about what they will do in office, only the negatives of the opponent.

 

Let's hope ND keeps everything about ND. I'm confident Weis and his staff do this. This article is attempting to make something out of nothing in my opinion.

Spurious is reaping the results of his revokeing all those players schollys last summer. He cannot even argue that a player should honor his verbal after he tore up the scholarships of all those players right before their junior years.

Whatever. We're like the Yankees, either you love us or you hate us. Kids and programs will always talk trash and try to paint a negative picture of us, and that will only increase now that we are making our way back to the top of college football. I guess I would be jealous too if a team like ND was still getting a ton of publicity and media attention even though my team was doing better then them....but I don't have to worry about that since I'm an ND fan!!!

clemson offers education?

Ha ha 34... Let me see, do I take the word of some 18 year old kid saying the ND staff says Clemson has "horrible" academics or do I trust our coach who could've had the #1 QB in the nation last year had he not been an ethical man of his words??????????? Sorry Cumbie, I never trust someone who starts a sentence, "I'm not going to lie"...

I don't remember the NCAA rule book saying that you had to talk up other programs. If I'm CW aka Broker. Then I am making sure my kids eat for a long time and doing whatever it takes within the guidelines of the NCAA recruting book.

if he gave him facts who cares

 

if he said ND was a better education thats a fact

 

clemson is not a bad school but its not notre dame

 

i think weis would be above bashing the school, i have no doubt he presented the kid facts, i have serious doubt that he flat out bashed clemson

 

im not sure what this kids motives are, maybe he thinks he missed the boat and is lashing out

 

maybe his parents should have hugged him as a kid and he wouldnt be desperate for attention!

clemson offers education?

Ha ha

Yeah, I equate it to Mustain's mom talking about ND and Weis after the door was shut...not really showing respect to a university that was interested enough to offer an expensive, yet free education.

It's only negative recruiting when you lie

It's only negative recruiting when you lie

 

 

I hear that Sub.When we get to that point then CW needs to look in the mirror.Which i don't think th at it would happen.CW has high standards and i believe that he lives by them and he expects his players to do the same thing.Thats what ND is all about.

Now, I know it's not productive for Notre Dame bloggers to go into a tizzy every time some hack sportswriter in some backwater redneck town writes a scathing and accusatory piece about the Irish. For one, I would have to quit my job and abandon my social life, spending 24 hours a day huffing and puffing and pointing out factual and grammatical errors for the Fort Klugworth Daily Picayune-Bugle sports column. However, today's latest smearing came from a sports column in South Carolina, where a columnist took a few words from a Clemson recruit and turned it into a ham-fisted indictment of Notre Dame's recruiting ethics.

 

The long and short of the article implies that Weis and his staff aggressively recruited Jamie Cumbie, a Clemson commit, and sent him several postcards and a letter spelling out the advantages and disadvantages of going to Notre Dame that was, allegedly, littered with slanderous statements about Clemson. Now, I am shocked -- shocked -- that Notre Dame could possibly be accused of negative recruitment, seeing as we are the shining beacon for all that is good and right about college football. The debasement of saying mean things about other colleges is a vile and scummy practice that I'd just as well leave to every other college football program who are unburdened by the heavy crown of being the conscience of an entire sport. Before I get too off-track in my sarcastic rant, let me return to the key issue here. The fact of the matter is that the contents of the letter were blown way, way out of proportion. I have secured, through my contacts, a copy of this offending letter, and it is a huge stretch to say any negative recruiting occured here

 

 

Found this at the House Rock Built.IF you go to the sight you will see a pic that goes along with this article.

on the contrary, i've read countless times where weiss actually goes out of his way NOT to bash other programs. this just sounds like someone with a bone to pick. notre dame's academic and athletic accomplishments speak for themselves.

If there was anything truly damaging in these postcards or letters they would be on the internet instead of Cumbie's subjective characterization. The University knows anything they send out could end up on the internet and I'm sure they adjust the verbiage accordingly. Cumbie probably took it hard because I think South Carolina was his home state and maybe Clemson his dream school.

blah blah blah blah - Recruitng is just like working in a sales Job! Even when a potential client says that they have already accepted someone elses offer nothing is final until (sales) Money has been collected or an agreement has been signed!

 

Recuits are fair game IMO until they sign that national letter of intent!

sic em coach

Good article in South Bend tribune basically withdrawing most of what was said... Sounds like a reporter that took advantage of Cumbie.