August 1, 200618 yr not a big deal it came down to the wire, he didnt call the coaches until right before the announcement i would rather lose a guard to someone than any other position
August 1, 200618 yr I agree with your spin TD. It would be awesome to get Donald under similar circumstances. That would certainly lessen the sting. Let's face it. USC now has 3 guys we really wanted in Gallippo, Tyler and Wilson. We have to turn the tide with some of these other recruits this season. My spin? Let's settle it on the field. As Charlie once said, "wait until we ge on the field and it's X's and O's time. I can assure you that you will have a distinct advantage"
August 1, 200618 yr and we got guys USC wanted its how the recruiting goes be happy charlie is recruiting with the big boys the last two couldnt do that
August 1, 200618 yr The way I look at it, this hurts a little but not as much as losing Tyler and Gallippo did. The thing is, with the OL class we pulled in last year, we don't really need to get that many great linemen this year. I figure that Sam Young, Dan Wenger and Matt Carufel are probably all going to be starters. Reports are really good on Eric Olson too. So, I think if we could get one really good guard and one really good Tackle, we'll be all set. Hopefully, those two guys will be Nwankwo and Ziemba.
August 1, 200618 yr we will be brining in 4 or 5 4star and above lineman this year do not worry all 6 of those guys brought in last year will start at some point one class doesnt create depth we need a good OL class every year
August 1, 200618 yr I don't know about you guys, but I'm starting to get sick of losing recruiting battles to USC and finishing in the top 2 with elite recruits. I know in recent years that ND wasn't anywhere near close to competiting with the type of elite players CW and Co. are going after today and I appluad them for that. However, it just feels like Wilson led us to the altar (After his visit, talked about how "awesome" it was) and then left us at the altar for our better-looking, wealthier, arch-enemy. Between Galippo, Oglesby, and Tyler, I've already had enough disappointment to last a year in recruiting and hopefully this trend won't continue, since we are in the top 2 for many other top prospects (Benn, M. Wilson, Gray, Hughes, C. Donald, Williams, etc).
August 1, 200618 yr Hey guys top what? Come on It's just a brief second year we have been back on the scene. Give us some time.
August 1, 200618 yr This won't be well taken here, but Wilson went after the better-looking arch-rival because it is better looking right now. As much as I hate to admit it, you cannot sneeze at USC's record and success over the past 3 years. It's gonna take some time to build with Charlie and recruiting. He's only had one full year to attract top recruits. I'm probably more impatient than anyone, but I realize we this will be a few years before we are fully on the national stage. Thank Willingham in part for that... Like TD said, we'll win some and lose some. Once we get 'em here I feel VERY good because of the coaching. Wilson hurts, but like the football maxim says, "the most important play is the next one." Let's get this season started and prove we are not a one-hit wonder, but back on the national map for a long time...
August 1, 200618 yr The Trojans received good news today when Nease (FL) offensive lineman James Wilson announced that he has given a verbal commit to USC. Click below to hear his thoughts on the commitment and the reasons for making his choice: It was a packed house at the Bogey Grille in Jacksonville today with over 100 family and friends gathered to hear the announcement by Wilson of his college choice. Nease HS Craig Howard praised Wilson as an "outstanding guy, both on the field and in the classroom" and he called James the best offensive lineman he's ever coached. Wilson took the time before making his announcement to thank all the college coaches who had recruited him, including Charlie Weis, Urban Meyer and Mark Richt. He then proceeded to pick up the USC hat off the table and his decision was made clear. "The determining factors of why I chose USC were the attraction of Los Angeles, the business school at USC, the fact that my father was in the area and just California in general," said Wilson. "It was a split house as my mom wanted me to go to Notre Dame but overall the whole experience in California was too much and having my dad there is big too. "I'm looking forward to playing for Coach Carroll. He's so enthusiastic and his energy is amazing. Pat Ruel (OL coach) was big in this decision as well. He knows what I need to do in order to be successful at the next level. "Right now I'm 6-4, 310 and the coaches told me they don't want me to change at all, they want me to report around that weight. I don't plan on taking any other recruiting trips, I will only trip to USC." Just in case anyone was curious, I figured I'd post it..... It's not premium info, available on scout
August 1, 200618 yr poor fella..he regret that we we beat their a$%# over the next 10 years.. his loss.. GO IRISH
August 2, 200618 yr A guard can only do so much for a team. Once we have our o-line set in a few years, we wont know the difference. We will have plenty of fine talent on the o-line this year. Its more important to have a dominant OT anyway.
August 2, 200618 yr I wish Mr. Wilson well at USC. It appears the two week blitz of glitz sealed the deal for him. I found it interesting that he listed the allure of Los Angeles first when describing the determining factors. I have no doubt that USC is a quality educational institution with a fine business school. I don't know enough about the school and its academic support system though... the business school might be great, but if the support system isn't up to par to help you focus and succeed in the classroom so you can be on the field, I don't think the quality of the school is relevant. From what I've heard about ND, from alumni friends and these boards, the support system at ND is top-notch, and is a major contributor to the high grad rates. From what I can tell though, JW is a high character kid, I hope he succeeds on and off the field, but less so on the field when playing ND. Go Irish.
August 2, 200618 yr Here's a little post that I made on Irish Illustrated that I think is pertinent to this topic. Someone asked if we have lost "steam" in our ascent in recruiting after considering the Wilson situation: I don't know that we have lost momentum. But, everyone that said JC would be the recruiting windfall was smoking crack like I said they were. We will be fine. Probably a top 10 (probably #6- recruiting class. But, not the #1 class like all the misguided folks thought we were going to be. With that being said, it is all still looking pretty darn good considering where we have come from. USC will a powerhouse as long as Poodle is there. The one thing that he has that even CW doesn't have is a very strong charismatic personality. Don't get me wrong I love CW. Wouldn't trade him for Poodle or anyone else for that matter. But, I think CW's personality is great for parents. But, some of these young kids react better to someone like Poodle who is (annoyingly) energetic and appeals to "the kid" in these YOUNG athletes. And we also need to start winning some meaningful games like bowl games before these kids fully believe in ND again. It will come under CW (hopefully this year). But, we are at the beginning of this journey back to prominence. We are NOT there yet! Wilson is a great example of that. Possibly next year will be the year that we win more battles in recruiting with thelikes of USC. And we have won some last year and this already. All I can say is that we need to beat USC this year and a few more thereafter so we can end this recruiting blitz they've been on. No doubt; they will have the #1 recruiting class again this year.
He's a Trojan, sadly.