Has Charliie hit a road bump ?

 

It seems all N.D's impetus in recruiting has come to a grinding stop.

 

We started out brilliantly identifying all the top talent ,and getting out the early offers to keep us ahead of the game, or equal with other programs.

 

Charlie did his state of the nation and saw us 1st or 2nd with other schools.

 

Unfortunately, we seem to be losing these heads up - particularly Wilson who committed to an out of state team.

 

I don't think N.D secure another commitment until the season starts and the bandwagon rollsafter Penn State and Michigan.

 

I hope to see some new names and a couple of older ones surfacing- a la

Galippo , Gray and Oglesby afterthe season's hype starts.

 

However, I do see Benn , Hughes , Wilson , Williams and Romine as likely commits in the future who will shoot us up the rankings (if that matters).

 

GO IRISH

 

I. still expect a top 3-5 recruiting class

Sub, good expectations....a solid top 5 class is expected. Not sure how to respond to your comments except that there's the possibility of silents and other things that only the staff and recruits are aware of. W/ Wilson, he would have committed out of state had he picked ND, so it was rather surprising that this FLA kid was so high on ND, only to pull a switch to SC....I agree w/ you, things will pick back up in the season, UM weekend is HUGE as is Penn St. So to answer your question, yes we hit a bump in the road w/ Wilson, but it can easily be overcome when the Irish wheels get churning.......GO IRISH!!!!!!!!

Come February, this class will be phenomenal. Period.

Nice subatlantic.

 

My take? About where it should be at this point in time if you consider last years.

 

We had the JC hype, hype, hype baloon and nothing to really show for it. Then we had the South Bend Tribune crapola. Quickly followed by Weis and ND counter attacks, now a counter-counter attack by media.

 

No wheels fell off it was just the air out of unrealistic expectations of ND fans.

We never have forged like the Texas team which is already almost full. Chase a # 1 to 5 class? Who cares? They give out awards for that? I look at it as a long time procedure. There are 6 months to go to sign. A ton of kids, none of which are playing HS ball yet to look at. A ton of stars coming not on anyones radar yet.

 

Meanwhile back at the Gug, we have to work what we do have into a Notre dame team. We we have to prepare fore georgia tech in 18 some odd days. That's the focus. Let's worry about some huge right tackle freshmen in 2007 or JC throwing bombs for then. One of the DD's guys sayings here is if you build it they will come.

 

It's built now who worries?

Lemming's summer report came out. I think Charlie is shooting for the moon and being very picky by going after the best right now. CW has a policy of not rushing people and giving them the time they need. There's a plethora of studs at all positions interested in ND who CW has kept waiting and can go to if he doesn't get who he wants. Almost every top notch kicker/punter is interested in ND. Go a rung down the ladder and things look OK at DT. CW could lock up the class tomorrow with 3 and 4 stars. But he's going for the 4 and 5 stars. Tidbit - Reuland has a kid brother who's a WR at 6' 5".

Right on nd1baby right on

please not another "were losing everybody" topic...

 

Truth is its August and we have no clue what will happen. But I know for sure there's nothing to worry about.

We'll have a top 10 class for sure this year sub, and probably top 5. (not that rankings matter); but I feel your pain...with so many of our recruits not deciding until the season (or later) its just downright painful to sit here and wait! At least practice has started.

We'll have a top 10 class for sure this year sub, and probably top 5. (not that rankings matter); but I feel your pain...with so many of our recruits not deciding until the season (or later) its just downright painful to sit here and wait! At least practice has started.

get used to it. that is the way it is going to be from here on out. recruiting top notch talent and waiting to NSD. it is a good problem to have.

Our season is about 2 and half weeks away. Once the PSU and Michigan games get here, we should see our fair share prospects coming on board.

 

I know it's been a very dry period since Nuss commited back in the middle of July. We just have to be patient and I don't see this class being anything less than Top 5 when it's all said and done. We're in postion with a lot of recruits who are taking advantage of the recruiting process and checking their options ('Tez, Hughes, Benn etc..). I can say that if I was in there shoes, even 'tho I'd commit to ND in a heartbeat, I wouldn't mind seeing other colleges or even making someone like USC pay for me to take an official visit .

I think we will definitely end up with a strong and versatile class when all is said and done, but I'm still feeling a little anxious. However, you guys already brought up two key points: one it's only August, and two we have a ton of guys visiting for the PSU and UM games so they will really get the ball rolling on commits.

everyone back away from the ledge, there is no reason to jump

 

this will be a top 5 class no question about it everyone relax

 

life is good, we lost wilson, we have been over that life goes on and there are commits coming I promise, from today until feb is a long time, who cares when they come on just as long as they are here by signing day

 

the wheels have not come off, this staff is doing an unreal job, and this class will be even better than the last one

 

end of story

I skimmed everyone's posts and I didn't see any mention the fact that this is usually a very quiet period in general for commits. The kids have been working hard most of the summer, especially the last 2 weeks and the next 2 weeks. I'm sure those of you who played HS ball know that. It seems uncommon for many kids to commit during the 2nd half of July through the 1st half of September. That's when it starts back up again.

Ya we know that, but it just stinks that of the moves that kids have made so far that we haven't been involved in a lot of it....Wilson to USC, out of Austin's top 6, Barsdale favors Texas, not on top of Ziemba's list, etc. However, GG's opening of his recruitment and the recent rumors of Chris Donald are really getting the "wheels rolling" again.

nd fan this happens, we are going to miss alot of the top guys everyone does, all these kids look at the same top schools, you will get some and lose some, just look at the class we have already landed we stack up with anyone right now and there are plenty more to come...you can't ask for more than a top 5 class and thats what we will get

 

blue, nice to see you around man, its been awhile, and i agree with everything you wrote

Guys we've had this conversation before, I know. What I believe is that if we can consistently field a TOP-10 (not even top-5) class we will be MORE THAN competitive every year. Take a look at 5 of the more dominant programs over the past 5 years-USC, Texas, Ohio State, Oklahoma, and LSU. I know there are others that could be included but I am going with these five. It is interesting to see what the recruiting class rankings on Rivals was for these schools since 2002.

 

Here is what there Rivals class rankings were from 2002-2006:

 

Texas - '02-#1, '03-#15, '04-#10, '05-#20, '06-#5

 

OSU - '02-#5, '03-#41, '04-#9, '05-#12, '06-#12

 

Okla - '02-#7, '03-#4, '04-#8, '05-#3, '06-#9

 

LSU - '02-#15, '03-#1, '04-#2, '05-#22, '06-#7

 

USC - '02-#13, '03-#3, '04-#1, '05-#1, '06-#1

 

All of these schools (really with the exception of USC) has averaged a top-10 class over the past 5 years. USC has averaged more like a top-3. All except OSU do have a couple top-5 finishes. But, only USC has managed to stay in the top-5 consistently. And look at Ohio State's rankings. Nothing to get overly excited about on paper, but, they have been pretty good the past couple years.

 

So, Charlie is well on his way to getting us back into the elite of recruiting with a #8 class last year. If all he does is keep us in the #5-#8 range for the next 3-5 years (so I'm not even talking about top-3), the only team that will be able to regularly compete with us is USC (assuming they continue their recruiting ways). And I expect that CW will have a few top-3 finishes before he is done. And considering that schools like UTexas, USC, and the FLA schools have so many more recruiting advantages over ND, it is astonishing what CW is doing. And it will only continue to get better.

USC - '02-#13, '03-#3, '04-#1, '05-#1, '06-#1

 

It must really suck to be a USC fan

Totally agree Vagas. That being said I think we will be better than eight this year and next. Last year I think CW may have felt that he ran out of scholarships a little early last year. I think he has only offered players at this point that he thinks can compete for the starting job as a freshman. There are plenty of backups options out there, and CW has them ready on speed dial.

 

Bernstien, for example, is a top 100 safety that lists a top 6 offered schools plus ND (no offer) as the schools he is interested in.

Has Charliie hit a road bump ?

 

It seems all N.D's impetus in recruiting has come to a grinding stop....

 

 

We're at the 13 mile mark in a MARATHON and people are handwringing because we not sprinting like it's a 40 yard dash.

 

Understand the process people.

Great point BGIF - "We're at the 13 mile mark in a MARATHON and people are handwringing because we not sprinting like it's a 40 yard dash. "

Good post Vagas...informative and comforting. I don't know that we'll turn out a #1 class, but I think we can all agree that a top 10 should be within our reach. It's not even so much the overall ranking as it is those key guys that you don't want to lose, ex. Chris Donald who isn't a 5 star but as we all know is a complete beast. Hopefully we just end up with the guys we want regardless of ranking and then we can all take comfort in the fact that we have a talented, competent coaching staff that can turn them into All Americans.