I just wanted to raise an important point. I think we are witnessing a very important transition in Notre Dame football.

 

Notre Dame is slowly transitioning from recruiting great players because of deficiencies to now recruiting great players to add depth. The great national programs recruit great players every year and are able to reload every year. That is where Notre Dame has fallen short in recent years.

 

Crist and Rudolph verbals were important steps in that direction. We already have some great quarterbacks and tight ends on the roster. But signing those players only adds to that depth and ensures that there will be competition at those positions for a few years.

 

This transition is by no means complete and it will probably take a few more years before it become a reality. There are still major areas that are lacking in depth and places where freshman can come in and compete right away. (e.g. LB, DT, WR....) This transition also does not mean that in the future freshman will not get a chance to contribute right away. The nation's best programs have great players come in and play right away. (Percy Harving and Florida). All I am saying is that ND is taking huge strides in this direction.

 

I just hope that ND can keep up the momentum up in recruiting this year and in the years to come. If we can, Notre Dame football will truly become a program that can reload with talent every year.

good post

yeah i just think its easier to recruit elite guys at positions where you've shown an ability to send guys to the NFL. Especially when it comes to QB since everyone is giving Weis all the credit in the world for grooming Quinn.

 

Thats why im surprised we haven't landed any 5 star WR's yet.

totally agree...nice post

DiDo great post.Have to agree ya man.

Thanks, I think we tend to get lost in discussing how many stars a particular player has or whether a player will commit and forget to look at the big picture and realize how far ND football recruiting has come in the past couple years.

Thats why im surprised we haven't landed any 5 star WR's yet.

Well grades, staying close to home or players that want to be the man without having much if any responsibilities have hurt ND from getting the best of the best WR's.

or Ron Zook.

or cash...girls....cars....

Kamara and Tate will be successful in this system. Parris, Grimes, West will all be productive contributors. I agree we don't have a whole lot of flash on the outside, but we do have a deep stable of receivers.

 

Clearly Charlie sees super talented tight ends as being more important than super talented wideouts. Remember, he'll line up the tight ends on the end of the line, split out, or even in the backfield.

Great post here. The depth being created is what will make us mythical NC contenders for years to come. What impresses me is the the apparent character of the kids we are getting. When you read what McDonald, Rudolph, Posluzny et. al. say in their interaction with the media it seems we are getting true ND men. Character on and off the field make a difference.

 

I have said it in some threads of the recent past but Parris is going to be a stud under CW. I saw the kid play in HS at Cleveland St. Ignatius (NE Ohio football is not for the faint of heart) against some of the best HS teams in the midwest (if not the country) and he has an uncanny knack for getting open (despite a lack of blazing speed), uses his body incredibly well to get position and is a ball hawk. He is an awful lot like Smardjzia (I still have no clue how to spell his name). Don't be surprised if Parris really turns into a shark type receiver, if not in 07, for sure in 08.

 

Go Irish!

Charlie uses the TE better that any coach in college football or the NFL, IMO. This is why we will constantly bring in great TEs. You do need receivers, though. How good would the 2005 team been without great years from Shark and Stovall?

I4Ever, where in NE Ohio? I'm a grad of St.I

Charlie uses the TE better that any coach in college football or the NFL, IMO.

 

Agreed, i just hope it has more to do with Charlie Weis than Brady Quinn

Irish4Ever is on to something about the character being brought in. I think he even missed out on the biggest of the "ND men", Mike Golic Jr. How many guys would be willing to interrupt their trip in Europe to commit to a prospective college? It shows an uncommon level of commitment and pride in the school he wants to attend.

 

From a slightly different perspective, I like the fact that we've thus far been able to hit on a few key regions in this class's group of recruits. Our commits are coming from South Bend's backyard (IN and IL, producing Goodman, Cave, and Cwynar; perhaps more to come). Ohio and Pennsylvania have given us Rudolph and Posluszny, and we've managed to pluck the top LB and QB from talent-rich California with McDonald and Crist. All three of those states are very apt at producing Division I talent.

 

And in many cases, these trends extend beyond this class. We started to struggle getting top guys from places like PA and CA before Weis. Frazer, Walls, Paskorz and Posluzny attest to a trend reversal in the former, while Reuland, Clausen, Crist and McDonald for the latter. It's nice to see Weis hit up some of the nation's hotbeds for talent. Now there's still work to be done, of course, but so far so good in trying to lay down some effective "pipelines".

Parris is going to be a good player but he's a different type WR than Samardzija. That comparison is happen because he's a tall white kid with good hands but from the film I've seen of him he is nowhere near as athletic or as fast.

 

He's without a doubt possession WR and there is nothing wrong but ND already has alot of them. Kamara is another player who I really like and is going to be a very, very good player for ND but he's more in the mold of Mo (possession WR+) and not that of a playmaking WR, thats fast, extremely athletic etc. to keep teams honest.

 

ND's has players that have the great hands and will move the chains very much in the same way a good grinding power RB moves the ball to keep getting first downs but what ND needs now is the players that put a threat into the other team, you the guys that other teams are always thinking about and always worried about when the ball is in there hands.

 

Those players don't even need to touch the ball to be effective because the effort and concentration of the worry that he will get the ball in his hands free's up others.

We definitely need Hord to step up this year. Have been hearing he is rusty. Also, what's the word on R. Jackson? Just caught some limited practice film on the WRs.

The thing that i'm most excited about is that now we are building a base in the midwest. We could get 4 or 5 players out of the midwest top 10. I like how Charlie recruits, he goes and gets players from talent rich areas like Dade county in Miami, the L.A area, and the south in general.

Parris is going to be a good player but he's a different type WR than Samardzija. That comparison is happen because he's a tall white kid with good hands but from the film I've seen of him he is nowhere near as athletic or as fast.

 

He's without a doubt possession WR and there is nothing wrong but ND already has alot of them. Kamara is another player who I really like and is going to be a very, very good player for ND but he's more in the mold of Mo (possession WR+) and not that of a playmaking WR, thats fast, extremely athletic etc. to keep teams honest.

 

ND's has players that have the great hands and will move the chains very much in the same way a good grinding power RB moves the ball to keep getting first downs but what ND needs now is the players that put a threat into the other team, you the guys that other teams are always thinking about and always worried about when the ball is in there hands.

 

Those players don't even need to touch the ball to be effective because the effort and concentration of the worry that he will get the ball in his hands free's up others.

 

You mean like Garrett and Smith were for SC?

 

I'll take it.

 

me

We definitely need Hord to step up this year. Have been hearing he is rusty. Also, what's the word on R. Jackson? Just caught some limited practice film on the WRs.

 

just started a post on jackson over in general.

 

Clearly Charlie sees super talented tight ends as being more important than super talented wideouts. Remember, he'll line up the tight ends on the end of the line, split out, or even in the backfield.

 

I've always loved TEs, but that has compounded since Anthony Fasano and continues through John Carlson.

 

I can't wait to see what the others are going to do.