Last year for the Irish was painful, especially for a Head Coach who erected a banner in the training facilities after his first year that said “9 and 3 is Not Good Enough”. Yet to many Notre Dame fans, players, recruits and their parents, Notre Dame is becoming great again in college football. Could ESPN be getting this wrong?
While hearing rumors of a premature Irish demise, Notre Dame instead is expectant this year—rather like Charlie Weis’s first year. The same, but different.
Remember 2005? An “offensive genius” from the New England Patriots and his hand-picked coaching staff with considerable experience in college and the NFL brought the Irish back from oblivion. Oblivion is:
- when the students and alumni were becoming disconnected about ND football
- when high school coaches and recruits, especially in traditional ND recruiting grounds such as Chicago, Ohio, Pennsylvania and the East Coast are going elsewhere
- when the offense is predictable and the defense is mistake-prone and the players
hang their heads
- when, in recruiting, ND could not attract a top 25 team for three years
- when the head coach, after losses, repeatedly says “We had a good game plan
but the players did not execute it.”
Weis, a Notre Dame graduate, came to his “dream job” with a hand-picked coaching staff who had considerable college and NFL experience. Talking heads wondered if he could jump from coordinator to head coach or how his NFL game would translate to the college level.
Weis exhibits all the attributes of a good CEO. He is insightful, identifying problems impacting the football program. He worked immediately to repair the disconnect with students in weekly meetings at dorms, with players in meetings and workouts, with high school coaches and recruits by crisscrossing the country during the spring, something only assistant coaches usually did. During recruiting, Internet boards would post "Where is Charlie Weis?" so the ND plane could be tracked. His work ethic became legendary, working late into the night only to come back at 4-5 AM for 11 months of the year.
Weis develops goals and plans of action with backup plans. He uses his talent of player evaluation from the NFL and coordinates his staff and team towards his goals. He makes adaptations quickly. He is not afraid to make hard choices or to seek out the insight of others. He is a teacher, a disciplinarian and a straight-talker. Most of all, he takes full responsibility in losses and in wins usually praises others.
Much of Weis reminds you of Rockne. Weis demands much of himself and of his coaches and his players - both on the field and in the classroom. His offseason strength and conditioning brings back Rockne’s famous quote: “You are going to sweat all the way down to your fingernails”. Another Rockne saying: “Show me a good and gracious loser and I’ll show you a failure.” With his high expectations, Weis is a results-oriented Jersey guy. “We lost. There is no moral victory.” His book is entitled “No Excuses”. Patience may not be his strong suit. “9-3 is Not Good Enough”. All this has resonated with Notre Dame fans, who demand success, and has earned respect from his players, recruits, and his opponents.
Who has done better in the last three years? In the last three years, only Jim Tressel (OSU) and Pete Carroll (USC) have taken their teams to more BCS bowls - three. Weis’s two BCS bowls is tied with only Bob Stoops (Oklahoma), Les Miles (LSU) and Rich Rodriguez (West Virginia-now Michigan). Weis did it while rebuilding a program in disrepair. As far as player development, Brady Quinn went from being a second day draft pick to going in Round 1 due to Weis’s tutelage and Quinn’s hard work. Many other players have improved their draft status. The NFL knows how Charlie develops players and can receive a frank appraisal of how a player would do.
Weis decided after the 2006 season that the defense needed a new direction and replaced Rick Minter with Corwin Brown of the Jets, who instituted a 3-4 defense. This year he has added John Tenuta, lately defensive coordinator of Georgia Tech, which was known for his attacking, blitzing defenses. He has also delegated play-calling to Mike Haywood, his offensive coordinator, who is also a Notre Dame graduate and was in a similar position at Texas. Notre Dame may be the only D-1 team where both coordinators are African-American. Corwin Brown is a Michigan alum who played in the NFL, a terrific recruiter and a young, talented defensive mind.
Notre Dame has recruited three top 10 recruiting classes as Weis and his coaches have worked tirelessly to add speed, size, strength and talent. The only other football programs that have similar top 10 recruiting results over three years are Florida, USC, and Georgia. His staff has three former heads of recruiting at different schools. Notre Dame is completing rebuilding with this next class and is restocked and reloaded. Recently, the top rated running back in the nation chose Notre Dame over USC and UCLA. Weis is reconstructing Irish football team year by year to build a program to the level of LSU, USC, Florida, Georgia, Texas and Oklahoma. Rockne: “I’ve found that prayers work best when you have big players.”
Weis is as likely to discuss teaching intangibles as fundamentals and techniques. At his spring press conference, one of his goals was to teach “swagger” and “coaching confidence”. He wanted his players to be instilled with a “very, very great sense of urgency similar to the first year I got here”. Rockne: “Football is a game played with arms, legs and shoulders but mostly from the neck up.”
What happened last year? Charlie will readily take all the heat for 2007. But last year’s Notre Dame team had youth and an inexperienced offense. Sophomores made more starts than seniors. Eleven freshmen played. Notre Dame played ten teams that went to bowls. Weis’s game planning is about ball control, keeping the defense guessing and creating imbalances with his personnel groupings. The offensive line did not control the line of scrimmage and Weis’s running game could not get established. Too many times Notre Dame was left in 3rd and long, predictably passing situations. But last year, as an indication, Time of Possession dropped from 32 minutes to 29 minutes. Too many mistakes were made. Special teams play limited the Irish in field goal attempts, kickoffs, and returns. Weis will work with special teams this year. Rockne: “Build up your weaknesses until they become your strengths”.
When Weis arrived at Notre Dame, he had less than 70 players on scholarship, historically worse than any program who received the NCAA’s “death penalty” except Miami and Oklahoma. Willingham had recruited only four offensive linemen in three years, including two in 2005 - the year he left. Weis replenished with six offensive linemen his first year, four his second year, and four with the incoming class. Charlie and his staff have added depth and competition for positions. His philosophy is that the best player will start, which appeals to talented recruits. But 2007 was when the chickens came home to roost in the worst season in Notre Dame football history. Talented but inexperienced players were outmatched too many times. Too many times Notre Dame was down early, and forced to try to pass to catch up.
The hard knocks from 2007 and an offseason of conditioning brings experience to the 2008 team. To give you an idea of last year’s youth, here’s 2008s’ returning players and the minutes played in 2007 by position:
QB – returnees played 90% of time in 2007
RB – 83%
OL – 80% (John Sullivan left for the NFL)
WR – 99%
TE – 28% (John Carlson left for the NFL)
DL (3) – 50% (Trevor Laws left for the NFL)
LB (4) – 72%
S – 53% (Tom Zbikowski left for the NFL)
CB – 77%
Expect some more talented freshmen to vie for playing time this year even with all the talent returning.
Most of all, parents and recruits are impressed with Notre Dame’s graduation record, including black football players’ grad rates. Weis recently was pleased to accept the American Football Coaches Association trophy for his team’s graduation rate, sharing top honors with Northwestern. He is proud of his team’s academic accomplishments. Weis makes sure he does everything he can so his players graduate, to be successful in life as well as optimizing their opportunities to be successful in football at Notre Dame and in the NFL.
Looking back on three years.
Students are excited about football. Alumni ticket requests are at their highest. Traditional recruiting pipelines have been reestablished and top prospects are coming to Notre Dame from all over the country. The coaching clinics have record attendances. ND football camps are attracting high numbers of prospects. The Golden Dome is shining whether Sports Networks recognize it yet or not.
Rockne: “We count on winning. If we lose, don’t beef. The best way to prevent beefing—don’t lose.”
comments (102) write a comment »
write a new comment
5 months ago
Look at the schedule... ND is going to be 9-3 this year, right on the cusp of another BCS berth. We'll hear all the same arguments (they lost to all the A-list teams on their schedule, who did they beat, they've haven't won a bowl game, etc.). But if Charlie goes to the BCS 3 times in 4 years, and this time with a QB not named BQ, that will be hard to argue with.
5 months ago
Great write-up. Too bad the haters and hair pullers will never understand.
2008 - will be good
2009 through 2011 - will be great years.
5 months ago
Unless of course, Trey, the Irish beat Michigan at home and role into Boston College 8-0 with a little chip on their shoulder for the Turf Trophy.
VERY INTERESTING FACT: When Weis arrived at Notre Dame, he had less than 70 players on scholarship, historically worse than any program who received the NCAA’s “death penalty” except Miami and Oklahoma. WILLINGHAM had recruited only four offensive linemen in three years, including two in 2005 - the year he left.
from 5 months ago
I have no doubt they'll beat Mich at home. I think they'll win the first two, split the next two with MSU and Purdue, then could roll all the way to USC Nov 29.
5 months ago
--or turn off your ESPN. Thanks for setting the record staight. I hope ESPN jumps on the bandwagon and in similar fashion recognize the "genius" of the program, Kevin White. Maybe the pundits can help propel him to bigger stages on the west coast, or better yet providing color commentary for men's fencing or women's diving on the Big Ten Network.
5 months ago
Charlie Weis is the most over rated college coach. They blew it when they got rid of Willingham. There is a reason that Weis did not have a head coaching job prior to Notre Dame. Stop drinking the Notre Dame kool-aid and look at throgh an objective fans eyes. Until he wins with his players you can't give this guy credit for being a good coach. He took players somebody else has recruited and called him a genius. By the way, selling Notre Dame football is about as hard as selling mice to a starving cat. The product will sell itself. Their three wins came against teams with a combined record of 11-26. I won't be convinced til I see some results with his guys.
5 months ago
Willingham couldnt win with his own players but Weis did and you fault him for that? Weird reasoning Chris.
from 5 months ago
Willingham never had a chance to win with his players. He got three years to work there, and they cut him loose. He was the scapegoat because Davies left Willingham high and dry.
from 5 months ago
Love the Willingham backers... first 3 years at Washington: 11 wins.
First Washington coach to have 3 consecutive losing seasons.
Yeah, the Irish blew it there.
from 5 months ago
Chris, if you think Willingham didn't get enough of a chance to work with his players, how come you won't extend Charlie the same chance. You say that Charlie can't win with his own players, and then you immediately say Willingham didn't have a chance to win with his players because he only had three years. Charlie has only been there for three years. You can't argue that Willingham didn't have enough time to be successful and then say that Weis overrated and can't win with his guys when they both had three years.
from 5 months ago
Chris-
1. Tyrone Willingham took ND to the Gator Bowl his first year, which isn't a BCS game. So, in answer to your question "What does that say?" it says Willingham never took the Irish to a BCS game.
2. Notre Dame has played Army three times in the last 20 years, so they don't play them every year. Navy has been a bowl team for the last few years, so if ND beats up on them to get into a BCS game, then they're beating up on a bowl team.
"... look at the facts and you will see that."
That's good advice, you should try it some time.
5 months ago
@ Chris
I'm honestly curious how you can say ND "blew it" when they got rid of Willingham. The man is a wrecker of programs due to his shoddy coaching and lackluster (to be generous) recruiting. It's not like he walked into UW and starting destroying the competition. UW's program is on the precipice of a melt-down of epic proportions; Locker's undeniable talent is all that's keeping them in some games. I'm no Husky fan, but if you were to stop by their message boards, there isn't exactly a lot of love for the Molder of Men.
Regarding your comment about "other people's players", you should realize that Quinn, a solid 4 star recuit I believe, was a projected 2-3 rounder before Weis stepped on campus. Stovall was servicable but hardly a star. Samardzija was a complete unknown. The leap in his performance in 2005 can be directly attributable to Weis' coaching, as can the quantum leap in offensive production. He simply did a much better job developing the talent he had on the team and outcoaching the competition than the prior regime did. Granted, he did have the benefit of experienced players on the offensive line, but that same team went 6-6 the year before so it's not like he could just walk in and win without being able to coach.
I do agree with you that we need more time to evaluate Weis' performance at ND. But to call his tenure a mistake by labeling him "overrated" is premature. 2007 shook the faith of all Irish fans, but ND was two BCS bowls the two years before due in large part to Charlie's coaching. If that's "overrated" I don't know what you would define as acceptable.
from 5 months ago
Notre Dame gets a free pass to any BCS game. All they have to do is finish in the top 12 of the BCS and they get an automatic bid. Poor reasoning with the BCS games. They don't have to win a conference or anything. They pummel Navy and Army every year, and get a BCS game. Second Willingham took ND to a BCS game his first year as well. What does that say? Third when Weis stepped on campus, Brady Quinn was a sophomore, so no one knew what kind of draft pick he would be. Willingham brought in all of Weis's players. How is he a detroyer of programs? Had Willingham an opportunity outside of three seasons, then maybe he could have produced similar results. You know Bob Davies left the cupboard bare for Willingham. Again look at the facts and you will see that.
from 5 months ago
Chris,
First of all, ND did not go to a BCS game in Willingham's first year, they went to the Gator Bowl. Second, if you are going to use the argument that Weis won w/ Willingham's players, then the same has to be said for Willingham. In 2002, Willingham's first year, ND started out 8-0 then finished 10-3. The majority of the major contributors on that team were recruited by Bob Davie. After starting out 8-0, Willingham went 13-15 the rest of his short career at ND. I do think ND fired Willingham too early but your argument's are not based on facts.
5 months ago
Great, positive, thorough and intelligent article. I hope sooner than later ND whips the big boys again, especially Boston College who have it coming. I look for 2009 to be great and I look for it to get better and better each year after.
from 4 months ago
Thanks, Joe. I, too, look forward to the BC game. Instead of getting pushed around, this ND team is learning what it takes to do the pushing around.
5 months ago
To Chris...
Willingham did not take ND to a BCS bowl game. They went to the Gator Bowl because they were blown out by USC in the last game of the regular season.
Before telling others to look at the facts, you should do the same.
from 5 months ago
Sorry Burt, if Notre Dame actually beats a team with a winning record then you can talk
5 months ago
davies did not leave the cupboard bare he actually had good recruiting classes that willingham used to get to his bcs bowl. if you take the time to look, ty's classes were getting worse each year so that shows you two things; 1) Notre Dame does not sell itself, especially with so much negative press (ESPN and Mark May), and 2) Ty was a bum when it came to recruiting. also BQ was a junior when weis got there. don't talk about things you don't know
from 5 months ago
nd does sell itself, thats why they are so stubborn to have their own liscencing agreement. don't talk about stuff you don't know. and espn is the notre dame network. the only reason they got down on the irish is because the offensive guru's offense scored 13 points over their first three games. plus he had the Jimmy Claussen who was the most talented qb in the 2007 recruiting class. i don't know why i both arguing because until any person who defends a team that gets a bcs berth if they finish in top 12 simply because they are ND is blind when it comes to college football. You keep scheduling like navy, syracuse, stanford, and san diego st. sisters of the poor could win one of those games.
5 months ago
A very positive and "moving in the right direction" article. Optimism is always high in May, but I do agree that we are going to be much better this year. The piece of the Charlie Weis puzzle that I don't think has been addressed is, how good of a motivator is he ? Rockne, Parseghian, and Holtz were masters at the art of getting maximum performance from their players when it was needed most.
I question Charlie's ability to motivate. I question his ability to get his players "up for a big game".
I haven't seen this from ND since the USC game in 2005.
from 5 months ago
Chris -- Michigan, Penn State, Purdue, Georgia Tech, UCLA and Navy are all teams that ND has beaten over the last three years who ended the season with winning records. Additionally Stanford, Pitt and Tennessee were all prevented by their loss to N.D. to having a .500 or better season.
5 months ago
Just let the season play itself out in a couple of months til then get alife people. Who cares in May???
Pete
from 5 months ago
people who have no life like me care
5 months ago
Chris, you're lost. Every typical blind Irish hatersays the same crap you're writing - they just spend less of their precious time doing it. AND his name was DAVIE. Have a great weekend.
from 5 months ago
Agreed I have wasted alot of time on this. Thanks for wishing me a great weekend.
5 months ago
To Chris,
Since the inception of the BCS there have been 9 teams that have received BCS bids with three losses. For the record Notre Dame has never received a BCS bid with three losses. In 2004 Notre Dame beat ACC Champ 4 loss Florida State at home. Notre Dame finished the regular season with two losses and was ranked higher than Florida State. There have also been plenty two loss at large teams that also got BCS bids. Does ND get preferential treatment. Yes they do. But at least they have to be in the top twelve when conference champs don't.
from 5 months ago
I agree this isn't the only flaw in the system.
5 months ago
Chris,
Do yourself a favor and if you want to discuss recruiting statistics, what coach is playing with who's class, and in general your eveluation of CW's tenure, at least do a little bit of research so your comments don't sound so ignorant. In a few short posts, you have made clear the depth, or lack thereof, of your football understanding.
from 5 months ago
I know very much about college football sir. You seem to offer no statistics or retort to my comments outside of saying they are wrong. Doesn't seem like a very sound argument to me.
5 months ago
Four words...Chris, your an IDIOT!
from 5 months ago
It should be "Chris, YOU'RE an idiot." You're is a contraction for "you are" whereas your implies ownership of something. It doesn't look as good calling someone an idiot when you don't use basic english grammatical rules.
And I actually agree with Chris. Notre Dame gets a free pass into the BCS with a marginal record every year (or nearly every year... even the BCS couldn't squeeze them in with a 3-9 record), and there is no skill involved in recruiting at Notre Dame because, well, it's Notre Dame. I feel like I could coach Notre Dame to a 3-9 record with all the hype, TV contracts (I believe NBC is actually the Notre Dame network, didn't they televise every ND game last year to the point of nausea?) and simple recruitment of 5 star prospects that they currently enjoy.
from 5 months ago
If there was no skill involved in recruiting at Notre Dame because it's, Notre Dame then why couldn't Willingham recruit well at Notre Dame? If that were also the case then why do so many recruits who aren't serious about academics go elsewhere despite the TV contract and hype? You'd think ND would have a #1 class every single year with all of that. But we haven't. However, it took Charlie some time but he's restored ND recruiting back to where it needs to be. On another note...if you were the coach we wouldn't be 3-9. Instead we'd be 0-12!
5 months ago
Who's your favorite team anyway Chris? Must be one of those brainwashed OSU fans because you sound just like them. Always have something to say about something you know nothing about!
from 5 months ago
I'm sure the ND fan base loves having a skilled debater like yourself in their corner. You changed my opinions with your sound reasoning and skilled mastery of debate. When you pose a factual argument instead of insults, then maybe we will have something to discuss.
from 5 months ago
You know what? It was just a simple typo. We all are entitled to mistakes and can be excused from them right? After all, I excused you for being a mistake!
5 months ago
Well when you have correct facts instead of crap the media has conjured up then maybe, just maybe something intelligent might come out of your mouth. But then again I doubt it! You have to have intelligence to be able to speak intelligently!
5 months ago
You sitll didn't answer the question...Who's your favorite team?
from 5 months ago
I am not going to dignify your question with a response. All you do is insult people. You have no argument.
5 months ago
I agree with the last few posts from Domer, Bill, Whiskey and Roderick and even you Chris....you have no life !!!
Domer54
from 5 months ago
Yet you come on to post because your life is so busy.......
5 months ago
You know what? If you continue to avoid the question and say negative things you only make yourself look bad and my point is made. Obviously you're an ND hater due to either not being able to get into ND, or ND beating your sorry team down so your only resolve is to bash ND. You're PATHETIC!
5 months ago
You know what? If you continue to avoid the question and say negative things you only make yourself look bad and my point is made. Obviously you're an ND hater due to either not being able to get into ND, or ND beating your sorry team down so your only resolve is to bash ND.
from 5 months ago
For the record my team pounds yours the past three times we played ND. And I forgot you ran the website to tell me I wasn't welcome.
5 months ago
Just go away. You are not welcome here dude!
from 5 months ago
And I recall after we beat you in 95 and 96 ND chose not to schedule us anymore because ND was embarrassed. That happened with the offensive guru's team in 2006 Fiesta Bowl.
from 5 months ago
ah yes, Ohio State...the think tank of America... I keep them confused with MIT and the University of Chicago......they are more like an experiment in inbreeding .....the gene pool is very shallow
from 5 months ago
ah yes a wall street advisor who doesn't know anything about college football.....i keep confusing you with a real fan of college football....stick to stocks and bonds
5 months ago
Just like I said...I knew you were one of those brainwashed OSU fans. I live in Columbus so I know your type. And just for the record - ND plays anyone unlike your 55% graduation rate football team. (38% among your black athletes) It's so funny how you were too ashamed to say who your team is. You tried to tip around it but I'm too smart for that guy. I know OSU fans when I hear and see them. Listen Concentrate more on graduating players and academics more than what happens at ND. And you talk about embarassment...how about soft-scheduling w/cream-puffs 2 years in a row to get to the NC only to get beat the hell down twice. What a joke of a university. Furthermore, if it weren't for Cooper's recruits, Tressel wouldn't have gotten that NC in '02' that he still had to cheat Miami out of to get. OSU has been cheating since his regime and cheated us in the BCS bowl! And contrary to what you think, it was a rebuilding year for us. Yet your alumni felt they had to cheat due to fear of embarassment from our prolific offense of '05' that WEIS instilled. Just so you know, they paid the refs off all of 2002.
5 months ago
You Notre Dame fans are completely blind. How can you not see the writing on the wall? You are irrelevant to just about anyone who hasn't been raised at the teet of the Golden Dome. You can't attract blue chip recruits at any position save offensive line and quarterback (positions that you need intelligence and quick thought to play). Charlie Weis is completely unlike any of the best recruiters in the country. He's ugly, fat, and surly. The top recruiters are young, good-looking, and savvy. Who's got the best recruits in the country? USC, Texas, and Florida. Why? Because they are in sunny areas, with lots of good-looking women and easy classes for the aspiring NFLer in their areas. Who was the last Notre Dame player to win a Heisman? I betcha most people outside of Indiana couldn't tell you, but I know it was 30 years ago. When did you last win a National Championship? Do I hear 20 years? A bowl game? 10 years? What's that spell, Domer Gomers? A steady and increasing decline in quality of play and recruiting. And the arrogance of the Notre Dame administration in thinking they don't need to join a conference and the idiocy of the BCS in putting them in a bowl automatically almost every year (then in the ultimate case of punishing them for showing up, putting them in a bowl with whatever SEC team got jilted out of the championship game) is enough to make me want to spit. Get over yourself, join the Ivy league, and fade away. That's right, I said it. Join Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Brown over there in the "We were great in the 1920's" conference. Hey, think of it like this, Notre Dame joins the ivy league, crushes all their conference foes every year, gets the BCS bid, and goes to a bowl game anyways. Everybody wins!
from 5 months ago
Why aren't you working in television? That response just might be the best one to any article I've read lately
from 5 months ago
Did you think of this on your own, or, did you by chance catch this on the Cowherd show a few weeks ago. Seems to me that's exactly what he was saying on his radio show not to long ago. Please come up with some of you own material instead of passing off someone else's work.
5 months ago
There are coaches that are way fatter than weis like Kansas' coach and Maryland's coach. You don't talk about them. Why not? I think it's fear of ND's return. You don't worry about them because they're irrelevant to you. Top recruiters? You talkin' about Carroll? Maybe Tressel? Or Meyer? Let's see...Meyer's a liar, and both Carroll and Tressel have their players paid to go to USC and OSU. You call that top. I'm so glad Weis isn't like them. He get's talented intelligent athletes who aren't thugs and can read and write. And for the record...we now match those teams with the recruits so know your facts before spewing out ignorance here. Although it's taken 20 years since ND's last NC, how long will it be before your team catches up to us? We have 11. How many does your team have? Oh, that's right...you're hiding behind your ignorance and failed to mention your sorry team.
You better come correct when you come here because I'm on guard duty!
from 5 months ago
Kansas? Maryland? You've got to be kidding? Maryland is irrelevant, has never been relevant, and I'm judging, will never be relevant. Kansas has been good for one, count it, one year. And you obviously have nothing better respond with than insults to my wife and I, which is completely off topic. I don't have a "favorite" college football team, I watch the best college football games. Those usually occur with USC, Texas, and SEC teams involved. Watching Notre Dame vs. Ohio State is liking watching USC vs. Florida on half-speed. Boring.
By the by, intelligent athletes who can read and write don't win championships anymore. Recruiting is where you win championships, and you Golden Domers have got your taste of his recruiting ability. It's obvious from last season that his top recruiting classes have been vastly overestimated. Claussen looked as wide-eyed as a doe in headlights last year, and can you say that Darren McFadden had almost as many touchdowns all season as your entire offense. Wake up and smell your football team, it may be full of people who are going to graduate, but not a one will sniff the upper echelon of the college football arena. You can call yourselves good most years, but when ND still schedules Air Force, Army, and Navy to go with a mostly soft schedule, you don't get to call yourselves elite. USC goes on the road to a tough non-conference foe every year, and plays at least two more good non-conference games. And wins. That's why they are elite, and ND is not.
5 months ago
You just want ND to join the Ivy and go away. Why don't you just do it for us instead! BUSTA.
from 5 months ago
You misunderstand, I'd love to see Notre Dame be what they were in the past, it would make the TV contracts and automatic bowl berths worth it. But the fact remains that they cannot recruit in the big football producing states: Southern California, Florida, and Texas. Those universities own those players. Go down the list of players Notre Dame snags on a yearly basis and tell me how many come from those areas? I bet most are from the midwest, and usually are inferior to the product coming out of the south. Notre Dame is not horrible, they wouldn't win 9-10 games a year most seasons if they were, but they are not elite. That's what I'm trying to get across here. They are more like Syracuse than USC.
from 5 months ago
No you're wrong again Aaron. ND recruits nationally so most of the recruits aren't from the midwest but rather all over. But here's the braekdown you wanted...
Florida -
'06' 3 players. Dan Wenger. Ft. Lauderdale.
Richard Jackson. Clermont.
Sam Young. Ft. Lauderdale.
'07' 2 players Armado Allen. Hialeah.
Ian Willams. Altamonte Springs.
'08' None
'09' None yet
5 Total Aaron.
Southern California -
'06' 2 players. Konrad Reuland. Mission Viejo. (since transferred after 1 season. reason competition)
Will Yeatman. San Diego
'07' 2 players. Jimmy Clausen. Westlake Village
Taylor Dever. Nevada City
'08' 3 players. Dayne Crist. Sherman Oaks
Anthony McDonald. Sherman Oaks (Father played for USC)
Joseph Fauria. Encino
'09' Cierre Wood. Oxnard (#3 prospect. #1 RB)
8 Aaron
Texas -
'06' 1 player. Chris Stewart. Klein
'07' None
'08' 1 player. Kapron Lewis-Moore. Weatherford
'09' None yet. (real stronghold with the Longhorns and Aggies so we get what we can and when
we can.
As you can see, ND recruits very well in those BIG IN-STATE SCHOOL TERRITORIES. Weis and staff has been lighting it up. Please Aaron. Before you come here saying things you know nothing about, do your research first. This link will help you out okay...okay. http://notredame.rivals.com/commitlist.asp
from 5 months ago
Touche, I stand corrected.
from 5 months ago
It's okay Aaron. I hate to come off as so mean but I just don't understand all the ND hatred from outsiders who don't know much of anything about ND. Like this Chris character for example. Aaron, you didn't know before but now you do and acknowledged you were wrong. That's cool man but Chris is one of those brainwashed OSU fans that you can't reason or rationalize with. He will never take the stand you did by saying he stands corrected when it concerns facts that we give him concerning ND. He even referred to me as being bi-polar but his mind is the one that's completely gone! I just hate it when people bash ND without any knowledge about us and it puts me on the defensive. I defend ND like my own family. ND is a family. It is a very special place and people who have never been there before just don't know. I didn't know until I went my first time. It is so peaceful throughout the whole city and almost everyone you cross smiles at you and speaks to you. People who were never fans of ND were so impressed with everything about ND upon going to a game there. It is about treating others well but when people say bad things about ND and don't know what they're talking about it really makes me upset. ND's highest priorities are Religion, Family, and Education. There are 3 buildings that represent those things and they are the highest points at ND. One being the Golden Dome. The other, the cathedral. So Notre Dame Stadium will never be built higher because if so, it will be higher than those 3 points.
from 5 months ago
What I was saying about Kansas' and Maryland's coaches is they are way bigger than Weis but I never hear anyone criticize their weight. Give our young men time to develop and ND will be back. The players are in place. They have more experience now just need to start playing with more of a winning attitude. The players they had to look to for guidance for the most part such as the small senior class Willingham left us with would've only been third stringers on the elite teams. ND had to use them in starting roles though because of their familiarity with the system. Our o-line was left very bare with only 4 recruited by Willingham and the key positions were filled with players who were good, but not potential gamebreakers. Our line now has plenty of depth. Similar to the depth when Davie coached and once they find their cohesiveness, our backs will can get those big run plays that they're capable of getting and our QB will be able to play the game the way he was recruited to. We saw glimpses of it at times almost all of last season but there was no consistency. Watch out though because HERE COME THE IRISH!
from 4 months ago
Listen, I hope you're right about Notre Dame coming back to the fore, I just don't see that as a viable trend, not to the point that they are in the same arena as USC, Texas, Ohio Sate, Florida, etc. It's true, Notre Dame takes the high road. They recruit true scholarship athletes, make them pass real classes and graduate most of their team. It's a feature that should be commended in today's college athletics. But because they don't recruit those players, they are dooming themselves forever to a certain level of performance, a level that is good, but not great. If they keep up the scheduling the way they have, they will perennially win 9-10 games and make a bowl game, but I don't believe, except for a fluke season, that they will contend regularly for a national title or put up anybody with Heisman hopes. It's the reality of the world. That being said, "Rudy" is still one of my all-time favorite sports movies. Still makes me mist up a little.
5 months ago
Dick says I have no life for defending ND. I thought he was an ND fan himself. I guess not because he also called out other ND fans. His name obviously was given to him for the right reason. It describes him perfectly!
from 5 months ago
Hey, I am a Domer. If you read my post, I agreed with your comments as well as Domer, Bill and Whiskey putting down Idiot Chris AND agreeing to his comment that HE has no life. Don't put yourself in his category. Just call me Richard.
from 5 months ago
I'm bad Richard. I was all worked up over that idiot's comments and was on the defensive and misread your comment. Can you accept an apology from a Domer who admit's his fault?
from 5 months ago
This is what distinguishes we Domers, who apologizes and admits fault vs Idiots like Chris. Accepted and GO IRISH !!!
from 5 months ago
Thanks Richard. It's only obvious that Chris cares more about ND than OSU. Sounds like a bitter person who applied at ND and was rejected so he's hatin' on ND as a whole. You read his comment about ND grads I'm sure. He just wishes he was one! He just stettled on OSU. He would've been better off graduating from Michigan! I know OSU has beat them 4 out of the last 5 times, but I do remember Michigan running off at least 10 on them from 1988-2000. Then he brags about 95 and 96 we they finally got the guts to put ND on the schedule during a time when Lou was hospitalized and coached from the booth. He forgot where he and his Worthless Nuts, excuse me, buckeyes came from during Coo