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By Radio Man The old saying, "if you do not have anything nice to say, say nothing at all," apparently never took hold with Florida head coach Urban Meyer. At least that is the case when Meyer covets a recruit who is also considering Notre Dame...

Notre Dame Football: Urban Meyer is Public Enemy No. 1

by Mark Allen (Columnist)

53

4335 reads

Opinion

June 14, 2008


By Radio Man

The old saying, "if you do not have anything nice to say, say nothing at all," apparently never took hold with Florida head coach Urban Meyer.

At least that is the case when Meyer covets a recruit who is also considering Notre Dame. As someone who actually knows Meyer from his days at ND, that surprises me a little bit. In short, Meyer's true colors have been flying for a while now.

Case in point, when Meyer recruited Justin Trattou he did so by the cover of night. Not that it's illegal, but he told Trattou not to tell anyone he was talking with Florida. Keep in mind that Trattou was committed to Notre Dame at the time.

Amongst other things, Meyer talked to Trattou about how the 3-4 defense was not a good fit for him and his football future (read: NFL, which is garbage because the Cowboys, Patriots, and Chargers all use the 3-4), while former Gators assistant coach Greg Mattison's favorite topics about Notre Dame (with several recruits) despite his previous love for the school was how the weather sucked and the players' social life suffered.

Case in point No. 2, Omar Hunter, was the same deal. Omar was snookered into to lying to everyone from Notre Dame coaches, players, and likely even his parents that he was not talking to other schools. His father wanted him at Notre Dame due to the academics.

In the end, Hunter was a fraud himself, but he was not the one who was truly taken for a ride. Coach Mattison recruited Hunter. He had an ax to grind with Notre Dame after leaving South Bend on not so good of terms, and he definitely took it to another level with Hunter.

Mattison, you see, had an assistant coaching job lined up with the Baltimore Ravens long before this past National Signing Day came around. So when Hunter switched his commitment to UF after initially deciding to attend Notre Dame, Mattison and Meyer did what came naturally.

They lied to Hunter about the entire situation, telling Hunter that Mattison was not leaving Gainesville. Just by complete and total coincidence, Mattison ended up taking a job with the Ravens right after National Signing Day. Shocking!

And oh yes, Notre Dame assistant coach Bill Lewis, who recently retired as a football coach, told Hunter what was about to happen. Hunter did not listen and signed with the Gators.

This year will certainly provide more drama, even without the departed Gators assistant coach. Meyer has actually already made sure of that. The top recruit on Notre Dame's board for the class of 2009 is Fayetteville, N.C., standout Xavier Nixon, the top pure left tackle prospect in the country.

Notre Dame will be one of Nixon's five official visits, according to this article by Tigerbait.com. But oh, the Gators are looming as well.

Actually, Louisiana State, Notre Dame and Florida all appear to have a good shot to land Nixon. It's just that Notre Dame is the one school that is different (read: private school from a different region of the country) from the others that likely scares Meyer.

Without going into specifics, let me just say that Urban is bad-mouthing Notre Dame again with Nixon and his family. What a stand-up individual. With Omar Hunter, it was more of the same.

Notre Dame fans will be hearing more and more about Meyer's sliminess during the coming months, as Nixon and other Notre Dame targets cross paths with Gainesville's biggest dirt bag.

As I gather more information, I will continually keep everyone updated, with pleasure. Meyer's antics need to be publicly displayed. Promote the school you represent, but do not hammer other programs. It's pathetic, but that's Meyer for you.

For more interesting Meyer fodder, go to Her Loyal Sons and decide for yourself just how well Meyer fits in with another con artist down in Tuscaloosa or Knoxville or Fayetteville.

Okay, the SEC is chock full of slime balls. Meyer fits right in.

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53 comments Last one added 11 months ago — Leave a Comment

  1. Andrew Kapec about 1 year ago

    Amen brother. As an FSU fan, I've had the pleasure of dealing with his lies and hatred vs us. He's ridiculously childish. I almost ran over him when he j-walked across University Ave without looking for traffic...what a fool.

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  2. CJ Daley about 1 year ago

    Trattou hurt but what can you do. I wonder what hurts more for NFL stock. Playing a DE in a 3-4 or being second string for 3 years. I know on the D-line a rotation helps but he is behind a FREAK in Dunlap and a kid who has 2 more years in the program and does not look like he will jump after this year.

    As for Hunter, A.K.A. jeans shorts, I think it had more to do with playing time. No doubt the kid is a stud and will very good. However, Ian Williams just got his TRUE Freshman All-American honors just around the time Hunter said hello to Florida. The current depth chart down south is a SR and a Soph who is converted from the O-line. If I were Hunter and education was not a BIG BIG thing for me, I would have gone to Florida as well, if Football was all I was looking for.

    As for the coaching staff, they must have a plan. If Trattou does not work out, that will hurt Florida with Don Bosco Prep, who is a power in NJ. It might also hurt with other teams. With the way D-1 football works, the kids have all of the power until the moment they sign on the line. Then it shifts to the school. HS coaches know this and tend to look out for their kids. Parents are too new to really know what is going on most of the time. As the saying goes, do me wrong once...shame on you. Do me wrong twice...shame on me.

    A funny side note on this. Weis at ND has taken a LOT of heat in loosing kids. But when you peel back the layers of the onion, you can see that only the "talking heads" and ND haters see a problem. Matt Carufel leaves ND and bashes the program in the news. However, just a few months later Michael Floyd signs from the same school with ND. I think this is due to the coaching knowing what really went down and Floyd knowing Carufel personally, which allowed he to NOT listen to Matt when he advised not to sign with ND. ND is also in pretty good standing with another kid from the same school who is to be the #1 OT next year and a top 5 player overall.

    I think this comes because the staff at the HS knows the problem with the Carufel situation was Carufel himself and that ND did everything they said they would. Do what you say is D-1 football is hard. Repairing the damage done from NOT doing what you said is even harder. I think Meyer is setting himself to leave for the NFL in a couple of years. You just do not do the things he is doing without an exit strategy.

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  3. Michael Collins about 1 year ago

    I'm not wasting my time on Urban Meyer. Charlie Weis's recruiting philosophy is worth following - . I am not big on negative recruiting. Every prospect that I have ever talked to will tell you that I will say to them, `I am here to represent Notre Dame, not to talk about another school.'" If you spend time on bashing other schools, people can regard you as compensating for your shortcomings. Smart recruits want to know what your school can offer. Besides, if you can't play in bad weather late in the season, you aren't NFL material.
    What disturbs me is to hear stories like Zebrie Sanders' when he called to commit to Florida last year.

    Florida rejects commitment from Sanders
    By Jeff Hood

    The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

    Published on: 01/12/08

    Zebrie Sanders’ plan to choose between Florida and Georgia this weekend has hit an unexpected snag.

    The 6-foot-6, 270-pound offensive tackle from Northmont High in Clayton, Oh. was set to commit to the Gators on Sunday.

    But the lack of scholarships available in Gainesville for offensive linemen has Sanders looking elsewhere for a place to play college football.

    “The school that Zebrie was going to commit to called and informed him they no longer have slots available,” said Sanders’ father Vincent Sanders. “It was a disappointing situation for him. He had told that school to hold a spot for him when he went on a visit there.

    “And Zebrie had already called all the other coaches and told them he appreciated the experience, but he wanted to go elsewhere. Needless to say, now he feels like he has egg on his face.”...

    Vincent Sanders was still stinging Saturday night from the disappointing news.

    “As his dad, I was hurt,” he said. “When a head coach tells you ‘you’re a part of our school’ and then everybody backs away from you, how am I supposed to feel?

    “I’m not interested in bashing anybody. I’m just telling you what happened. (End of quote)

    -I'm just saying that a coach should be a man of his word. And, if not, those things get around.

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    • Mark Allen about 1 year ago

      That's a switch, frankly. Usually, it is a player, "playing" the schools. What would be great in this instance would be for the player to come to Notre Dame.

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  4. David Wunderlich about 1 year ago

    As a Gator fan, it makes me uneasy to read some of the stories about Urban Meyer and recruiting. Nearly all of them are overblown to some degree (as are all stories about recruiting) because they get told by people who are emotionally invested in the situation, but I wish he'd be more thoughtful in his methods.

    I can guarantee you though, it's not just SEC coaches who doing things like this. It happens in every conference, even among those who publicly say they don't.

    Michael, you bring up Charlie Weis and ethics. I'd be interested to hear your take on Weis' central role in the Patriots' "Spygate" episode as outlined here: http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/reiss_pieces/2008/05/specter_calls_f.html

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    • Michael Collins about 1 year ago

      Hi, David,
      My only comment about Charlie Weiss is his quote that he "is not big on negative recruiting" and is in a recruit's home talking about Notre Dame to him and his parents. That seems in line with this article.
      I think Weiss and "Spygate" will play out. I don't know the facts, but they always come out. Don't you get tired of "-gate" attached to so many things? Whether proven or not?
      I just wish more coaches would talk about the advantages of coming to their schools and the degrees they could earn and where that would leave them in life, than recruit a 17-18 year old by bashing other schools. Or make promises they do not keep.
      Offering girlfriends a gymnasist scholarship to get a prized recruit is just a matter for the SEC and NCAA.
      One thing Florida and Meyer have is a good graduation record and swift action against discipinary situations.

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    • David Wunderlich about 1 year ago

      I'm right there with you on the whole "-gate" garbage.

      A lot of the problem with broken promises is with the way the recruiting system works. Every coach in America sends out dozens of offers expecting that only a fraction of them will turn into signed players. If more kids want to accept offers than a coach was expecting, then someone goes home disappointed.

      Andy Staples at SI.com had a great idea to deal with this problem(1): get rid of signing day and make every scholarship offer binding. That way, players can get locked into their school of choice whenever they want and not have to wait until February after their senior season. It also gives coaches the security of knowing that early commitments are not going to be "flipped" by another coach.

      At the same time, it would eliminate those broken promises and make coaches a lot more careful about who they give offers to. It would also be a solution to the problem of coaches over-signing recruits.

      Meyer and Florida have already been cleared by the NCAA in the recruiting of Carl Moore.

      You're right about Meyer and academics. Every year he's been at Florida, the team GPA has gone up to the point now that the 2007 team had the highest team GPA in school history.

      1. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/andy_staples/06/05/early.signingday/index.html?eref=si_ncaaf

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    • Reggie Garcia about 1 year ago

      It makes me uneasy too. He is so good at recruiting and I never understood why. And reading stories like these are like..wow

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  5. Jeremy about 1 year ago

    wasn't there a scenario where Meyer contacted a top gymnaist who's boyfriend was a great football player and talked her into coming to Florida which in turn convinced him to Florida. Meyer was acting as an extension of the gymnastics team which all ready had the max amount of coaches recruiting. I don't recall if that player eventually went to Florida but Meyer has been shady in recruitong ever since he left Utah for Florida

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  6. Raj Kamruddin about 1 year ago

    At some point, recruits are going to realize that when Urban Liar comes calling, dont answer the phone. Trattou was told the 3-4 would not benefit him and that he would come to Florida and rush upright and that at ND he would rush with his hands down. Then he gets to Florida and rushes with his hands down, changing the type of player he thought he would be.

    As for Hunter, Im not dissapointed he went to Florida. If he felt the best situation for him was Florida, great. But, being told to stay quiet and not make his announcement for so long is disturbing. The way in witch the "Liar" goes about recruiting is bad.Between negative recruting, bumping, etc. Hes not the only coach doing it. If you have a good program, university, academics, then selling your program should not be too difficult.

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  7. Jeremy about 1 year ago

    did not know the follow on that david, but it is still pushing the line, but what coach doesn't do that

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  8. Erik Broxtin about 1 year ago

    I don't even know where to begin with this article. This is much more suited for Notre Dame message board banter than for public viewing. When hearsay is your best source of info, you might want to rethink your purpose in writing the article in the first place. Also, don't link to message boards to improve your position.

    Newsflash: Recruiting is for big boys. No team in the country whines more than Notre Dame about losing recruits. None. In fact, I can't think of one other team who even TALKS about this kind of thing. They all know that it's part of the game. You do realize that this happens to Florida every single year, right? Every year. Patrick Robinson was a verbal commit to UF who switched to FSU on National Signing Day and has been starting in their secondary ever since. Richard Gordon did the same thing a few years ago from UF to Miami.

    It happens all the time. For those who care, here's a link to an article about Omar Hunter and the way things really went down: http://www.gainesville.com/article/20080503/NEWS/478794850

    If you don't feel like reading it, here are the basic things to keep in mind:

    1. Hunter opened his committment up without having a new destination in place. He felt he rushed his decision based on an early visit to ND. In his own words, after the decommittment, he was "wide open" and that Weiss gave him the guilt trip about how he stopped recruiting DTs.

    2. Omar said himself that he was told of Mattison's departure prior to NSD. Without even knowing who the next coach would be, Hunter still signed with Florida.

    3. Several coaches tried to land him, including super classy guys like Pete Carroll and Mark Richt. The only difference between them and Meyer is that Meyer was able to seal the deal. Carroll was even trying to get Hunter to switch to USC all the way up until National Signing Day.

    So what if Carroll had succeeded? Would Gator fans be crying about this? No. It's just part of the game.

    And as for the parent issue - the Florida Gator roster would look a lot different if they landed every kid whose Mom or Dad wanted them to go there. I'll take a kid who makes the decision on his own over the one who goes where Mommy tells him to.

    The ridiculous part of all of this is that Notre Dame is one of the worst teams in college football, and their only way to vent is to act like it's Urban Meyer's fault for taking away two of their D-line verbals. Weiss is a pro coordinator who is not very good at recruiting. The only thing he does is sell the words "Notre Dame", which have helped him land some very impressive classes. It even pulled in the greatest prep QB prospect in the history of mankind, Casey Clausen. It also helped them land Armando Allen, a running back that Florida thought it had in the bag.

    The result? One of the worst seasons in ND football history.

    Oh well. Blame Urban Meyer. Blame high entrance requirements. Blame whatever you want. Don't take accountability for your own problems. Keep the Notre Dame tradition alive!

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  9. Hank Poteat about 1 year ago

    with out going into details, notre dame football sucks. with the exception of the usc "bush push" game, they've been embarrassed by every elite program they've faced in the "fupa" era.

    this is complete sour grapes. nd thought urban was coming to south bend after they fired ty. whoops! since then, the gators have won the bcs national championship and notre dame is losing to the service academies. maybe, like urban, the recruits are just deciding to go to the better football program.

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  10. Tim Pollock about 1 year ago

    I usually try to keep it positive on B/R, but this is another case of a "whining, sour grapes, my team is terrible, so I'm going to blame the evil coach who is successful."

    I second Erik's notion--take this to ND message boards.

    As an SEC fan, I have no problems with how Urban, Saban, Miles, and the rest of them recruit. They are all hard-working guys who are passionate about what they do. Articles like this are poor examples of trying to bring down someone who obviously recruits better than your coach.

    I bet Charlie Weis just has nothing but great things to say about other coaches and teams. Give me a break.

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  11. Mark Allen about 1 year ago

    I wonder if the negative comments about Notre Dame are due to not liking Notre Dame to begin with. I would bet you do not like the Irish, even outside of this article. Enjoy the 3-9 record, haters, it will, most likely, not happen again for a long, long, time.

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  12. Tim Pollock about 1 year ago

    The negative comments have more to do with your hearsay whining, not ND football.

    "Okay, the SEC is chock full of slime balls. Meyer fits right in."

    Sounds to me like you hate the SEC (and its ridiculous amount of success) than anyone cares about the tired Notre Dame program.

    I'd love to hear how many wins you are projecting for the Irish next year, Mark.

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  13. Mark Allen about 1 year ago

    At this point, without studying the schedule in great detail, I think 8 wins is very realistic. But, who knows - say the offensive line improves durastically. I think we could win more than 8. The talent is there. As I have been saying...if we don't succeed now, it will be the coaching at the heart of it, not a lack of talent.

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  14. Josh Prope about 1 year ago

    i say Urban Meyer does what he wants. GO GATORS

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  15. CJ Daley about 1 year ago

    Tim-

    It really is pointless for people to go back on forth on opinions. That you are correct on. As an ND fan, I understand the point of view that others take in looking at us. This is fine and I accept it. People value different things.

    An example of the difference between ND and other schools in recruiting is how verbals are treated and how much a coach sticks to his word. There are many examples of kids getting offers pulled because someone better came along. At ND, it is done a little different. Mitch Mustain was turned away from ND TWICE because of what Weis told DD and Zack F. While all were in HS, Weis said he would take two of the three and the first two to commit. Mustain was left in the cold even after he said he wanted to come. Once again when Mustain was looking at schools, he put feelers out to ND. At the time Weis still had both of these guys on the roster. Weis said no again. That is sticking to your word. Now, it would have been great to have Mitch last year. After all, Jimmy beat out Zack, bad arm and all and DD simply was not a fit for the system. I am sure Mitch would have come in handy.

    As for other comments...

    I mean when you have morons like Erik entry the thread, it is difficult to have a good discussion.

    First off, ND was not a good football team last year. Any ND fan will have no problem saying this. However, were they the worst team?...Or even in the bottom 25?...the answer to anyone with a clue is no. ND was team similar to a MAC school last year or maybe a bottom tier BCS school. I would say in the top 75. Nothing great but hardly the worst in the nation. Playing 10 bowl teams added to being a MAC quality team is the reason for the 3-7. Give ND a MAC schedule and they go 6-6 or even better.

    This is not saying ND was good, just dispelling the myth that they were one of the worst teams in the nation last year. Only a hater thinks so. Just as I know the worst team in the SEC would be the #1 team in most non-BSC conferences.

    There are 119 D-1 teams folks. Big picture. There are only 30 or so programs with the size to be national title players every year. By size I mean conference, facilities, funds and name recognition. Outside of these 30, there are another 30-40 that can make a run every couple of years. Outside of that, you have schools that are in between D-1AA and D-1. To say that ND or any of the 30-70 schools is worse than a bottom tier school just based on W/L without considering OPPONENTS is the sign of a "fan" and someone looking to hate.

    As for Erik and his comment that Weis can not recruit... well first off little man... It is Weis with 1 S not 2. His name is Jimmy not Casey. ND has had an average of a top 5 class the last 3 years when Weis has been working full time. I suggest you get ready for prom son and leave the adults table.

    Just saying.....

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  1. Erik Broxtin about 1 year ago

    CJ,
    Just so we're clear, you're using the "prom/kids table" argument to prove that I'm too immature to participate in a discussion with you, correct? Then you pointed out a couple of typos. Assuming you meant to do these things in an effort to seem old and wise, here's a quick time line of events in this comment section which should help you understand how foolish you appear:

    1. You immediately take a jab at Omar "when I was a Notre Dame verbal I was the greatest, but now that I'm a Gator I should be nicknamed jean shorts" Hunter. Classy. The only thing less respectable would be if were to slip in a line about how 3-star Ian Williams will fare better than the 5-star Hunter. Good thing you didn't do that...wait...

    2. You got an offer to write for the Domer Sports Report, even after blessing us with grammatical gems like "Do what you say is D-1 football is hard." No, really. You wrote that. Don't get mad at me for pointing it out. (Note to the Domer site - run your grammar check)

    3. I then provide a long response to Mark's article. In fact, at the time, I didn't read one word of your comment. Not one word of it was directed at you.

    4. You come back into the discussion and call me a "moron."

    5. You make some type of rationalization for Notre Dame being in the "top 75" before offering a hypothetical scenario where your team would play .500 ball in the MAC. To be perfectly honest, that's one of the funniest things I've ever read so regardless of where this goes - thank you.

    6. You call me a "little man" because I made the statement that Weis is not a great recruiter, but rather a salesman of the university. I know exactly what I meant by that and still stand by it, regardless of small of a man I now am. Agree to disagree.

    7. Finally, to demonstrate your stature, you suggest that I get ready for prom. The truth is that prom was months ago. The limo dropped us off back at home one last time. I've already returned my tux. In fact, my girl and I have an announcement to make to my parents just as soon as I get up enough nerve (I went to JARED!)

    Try to keep the personal jabs to a minimum and the grammar control to a maximum whenever you want to play the 'adult table' card. The two often go hand in hand.

    Of course I thought the esteemed graduates of Notre Dame would already know that type of thing...

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  2. CJ Daley about 1 year ago

    I did not take a jab at Omar, outside of calling him Jean Shorts. This name by the way was used BEFORE Omar even committed with the Irish, while he was committed to the Irish and After. So in reality, it is not a jab but rather a name. It stems from a recruiting picture.

    Next, I did not say Ian Williams was better or worse compared to Omar. What I DID talk about the depth cart at both schools and stated 100% factual information. Do not put words in my mouth kid.
    As far as Grammar, I was typing in a message box on an extremely long post. As someone who frequents several sites like this, I do not make an issue of typos. I do however mock people who try to pass themselves as informed and call Jimmy Clausen/Casey Clausen. The second S on Weis is just annoying to Irish fans.

    You did not need to address me for me to address you. This is an open thread. I called you a moron for three comments.

    The first is you claim that CW can not recruit. This after 3 top 10 classes and the #2 class last year. Doing this while having some of the hardest admission standards in the NCAA and having the kids he does bring in keep good grades. ND just posted a +3.0 TEAM GPA for the 6th straight semester. But why talk about the facts when we can just blow smoke out of our ass.

    Next was calling Jimmy by his brothers name. If you were not a kid, you would have watched Casey and Rick both play at Tenn and not on ESPN classic. If you were not a kid you would have known better. Talking about things you obviously have little insight makes you a moron in my humble opinion. By hey, I am ok if you disagree.

    The third being that ND "is one of the worst teams in college football"..In my opinion all 3 show great ignorance and are typical of just a childish ND hater.

    The fact that you do not see the validity in the MAC comparison simply shows you are a product of ESPN. Watch a game or two a week, watch the highlights and repeat what they said during the time out the next time football comes up.

    As someone who played D-III football and having two very close friends play D-1, one being a MAC school and another a Pac-10, allowed me to make my opinion. Just what are you basing your opinion on son?

    Because I decided to play instead of watch in college, I am not a Graduate of Notre Dame. I would say that 90% of ND fans never attended one class. This is the reason why ND is a national school. For every person who hates ND there is someone who loves ND. So the more you hate, the happier I am.

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    • Hank Poteat about 1 year ago

      Three top-10 classes and the #2 class last year? Wow, I didn't realize that. Weis CAN recruit; I guess he just can't coach.

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  3. Erik Broxtin about 1 year ago

    The kid thing is truly ridiculous. Kid, son, all of that. Pathetic. You should work on forming stronger arguments. This kind of thing carries over into your real life, too.

    Do you really think I don't know the difference between Casey and Jimmy? Do you think it's possible that I made a typo myself, Mr. "I'm on too many message boards to proofread?" Let's just say that I watched Casey play at Tennessee long after I had graduated from the University of Florida.

    "I would say that 90% of ND fans never attended one class."

    My work here is done.

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  4. CJ Daley about 1 year ago

    Hank -

    This is the question that will be answered this year. If the players do not show a massive improvement and the W/L does not go up as well, Weis will be on a very hot seat AND depending on how bad it is, could be let go.

    Even if this does happen and I would be sorry to see him go, ND would not be in a bad position. The team is stacked with players now. Either Wies and company figures it out or a new group of coaches come in. Either way...the players are now there.

    Erik - Ok...see you after school.

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  5. Tim Pollock about 1 year ago

    CJ:

    You are getting worked over in this thread. Up and down.

    Your arguments are going nowhere, and as proud as we all are of the fact that you played D-III ball, it just doesn't amount to anything. It doesn't make your argument stronger or your prom joke funnier. FYI, there are probably a lot of dudes on this site who have played some sort of college athletics.

    All that stuff about Mustain...it happens everywhere, man. Just different forms. What's the point of bringing it up, since it's "pointless to go back and forth."

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  6. CJ Daley about 1 year ago

    Tim-

    Sorry but I just do not see where I am getting worked... The counters I have gotten was that I was wrong but with no explanation as to why someone though that.

    Have I been a little bit of a wise ass. Absolutely. I am not running from that. However, I think to be fair everyone who wants to critique me for my comments needs to evaluate their position.

    You are the typical ND hater. You have an obvious love for the SEC. Both of these points are clear.

    But at least in my comments I attempt to claim a point. Agree or disagree with what I have to say, I think it is fair to say I back my points with their basis. This is something Erik and yourself have not done.

    Saying "My work here is done" or "You are getting worked over" when in reality I am not, is rather amusing.

    As for "taking this to a message board" I you need to reevaluate the meaning of this site. As for going back and forth...I am all for passionate discussion. I am all for discussing the details of programs and discussing opinions. However, there really is no point in having the typical ND fan / ND hater conversation. Here is an example:

    ND Hater: Charlie WeisS is a horrible coach and should have been fired.

    ND Fan: Yes the team was the worst on record last year but he has been running a clean program and bringing in top talent. Last year had a lot to do with talent and the depth of the top classes.

    ND Hater: Oh so now it is Ty's fault. You racist school. He was fired because he was black.

    ND Fan: Actually, TY was fired because he spent more time on the golf course compared to the recruiting trail. This is evident in his last couple of classes, which were no up to the caliber needed to compete with the likes of USC and Michigan. But coming from a fan in the SEC where Confederate Flag flies high and proud we think we will choose to ignore racism comments from your school.

    ND Hater: Dude, you are getting worked. Weis is so fat. He must have eaten his play book during the Navy game. Speaking of Navy, ND only wins because it plays the Service Academies.

    ND Fan: Yes, Weis is overweight, but that really does not reflect on his coaching ability. Navy stung last year, this we agree on. After a couple of decades in winning every game, Navy got the better of ND on their worst year in program history. We also lost to Air Force. Both stung last year. Navy went 9-5 and Air Force went 9-4, hardly bad completion if you ask me. Besides, Louisiana-Laf, Wofford, UAB, La.-Monroe, Western Illinois, Tulsa, Appalachian St., Troy, North Texas, Tulane, Arkansas St., Tennessee Martin, The Citadel, Georgia So., Central Michigan to name a few were all booked last year. So we tried to not schedule Academies with tradition but most of the cupcakes had their dance card booked.

    ND Hater: ND is irrelevant in college football. They are never going to win again. SEC and Odoyle Rules!

    ND Fan: Well since ND has a national TV contract, sells out every home game and every away game, some of which have 3x the ticket price because of it being ND and special program from the BCS are just a few things that would counter your claim. Added to this some great players entering their 2nd and 3rd year are signs that ND is on an upswing. Even if Weis is not able to get the job done, which I think he will, he will leave a talent stocked team over multiple classes in place for the next coach. Something he did not have the benefit of having.
    In reality the only people who say things like this are people who dislike ND so I guess we can agree to disagree.

    ND Hater: Man you got owned.

    ND Fan: Sure thing guy.

    The

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  7. Mark Allen about 1 year ago

    CJ goes in for a reverse slam! lmao Good job, Mr Daley. I especially liked your comments as the ND Hater on Ty. I was actually called a racist because I did not want Ty from the beginning. I saw that he was mediocre at Stanford and did not buy the "Stanford Excuse" (it was tough to recruit at Stanford and he did the best job possible, etc). I saw the mediocrity ahead before it happened. Ty did cause of a lot of last season due to his lousy recruiting that left the upper classes depleted of talent and numbers.

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    • David Wunderlich about 1 year ago

      A lot of what happened last year is also due to Charlie Weis having to learn how to become a college head coach too.

      He ran the team in the same way he likely did things at New England, in that he spent 19 of his NCAA-allowed 20 practice hours every week with Brady Quinn and only Brady Quinn (1) his first two years. He did just about nothing to develop the backups, and spent just 5% of his weekly time with the entire rest of the team

      The first two years' success was mainly built on the talents of Quinn and Samardzija, and had little to do with defense (and great teams always have a defense). In 2005, the team ranked 75th and 53rd in total and scoring defense; in 2006 those rankings were 65th and 67th. The 2007 team actually had the best average rating of them all at 39th and 72nd. It was the offense that cratered and dragged the team down, and offense is supposed to be Weis's specialty.

      If you go back and look, Notre Dame in Weis's tenure has defeated only one team that finished the year ranked: 2006 Penn State who entered the AP poll after the bowls at #24. The hype around Quinn and the near-win against USC masked the fact that Notre Dame simply never beat anyone worth talking about.

      To his credit, Weis has realized his mistakes and will be giving up play calling to spend more time with the entire team. However, you can't blame "a lot" of last season on Ty when the current head coach apparently gave no thought to player development.

      There's a lot of young talent on that Notre Dame team, so you can't blame it all on the previous guy. Florida's team was nearly as young as ND was last year, and it went 9-4 in the SEC.

      1. http://www.sundaymorningqb.com/2008/2/11/9531/09018

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  8. Mark Allen about 1 year ago

    Good post, David. I agree with what you said.

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  9. CJ Daley about 1 year ago

    David-

    Great insightful post. You are 100% on Weis learning to be a college coach. He can develop TE's and QB's all day long provided they are head strong. These were the positions he coached before becoming an OC. But working with 18-20 year old kids who are coming from Mr. Big to big time football takes a special touch. I think this is the #1 think CW needs to work on this year. He needs kids to want to run through a brick wall for him. Lou was great at this.

    Interesting take on the success in 05 and 06. I have to say I agree. I think ND did not belong on the field in those 2 BCS bowls and was only there because ND is a national team. While getting the hype was nice, after last year and the constant bashing, I would have traded it for 6-6 and 8-4 in 05 and 06 with a bowl win.

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  10. Bob Delaney about 1 year ago

    I do not care what anyone says. Notre Dame is, has and always will be in a class by itself. Urban Meyer will do anything to win. That's ok for him, but not for true Irish fans!

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  11. Harry O'Neal about 1 year ago

    Notre Dame is a great school and the football program will be great again. The rest of the world will realize this when the Irish sites and fans stop crying. Urban Meyer is not a liar or a cheat. He does work his ass off recruiting. When he arrived at Florida, he had to deal with "Bernie Bowden" having recruits silently commit to Florida, knowing they going to switch to Felony State on signing day. Made Bernie look like a great closer while leaving the Florida class short. Cheeseburger is not any more honorable, while recruiting, than Coach Meyer. I do a lot of scouting and have reason to talk with High School coaches all over the Country. There are a lot of lies about Urban out there. Do not be a party to that, it diminishes you.

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  12. Hotlanta Bill about 1 year ago

    How pitiful has ND football become. Meyer has not done ANYTHING illegal whatsoever. Maybe if you clowns had a real coach that knew what they knew they were doing, you'd be winning more than 3 games.

    Coaches talk smack about other programs...every major college coach does it. It's a dog eat dog world and you better learn what the dynamic is in today's college ball or look for another job.

    Meyer didn't lie to Trattou. He will play SDE most of this year and quick tackle only in necessary passing situations.

    Meyer didn't lie to Hunter. Hunter knew before he signed his LOI that Mattison was leaving. Mattison didn’t know for sure until that day as he turned down TWO previous offers in the days before NSD. Hunter verified this himself. I'll trust his word over crybaby blogger.

    If Meyer was win at all costs, we'd have a much lower graduation rate, team GPA, and team dismissals for disciplinary reasons.

    Get a real friggin coach that doesn't need tape of opponents defensive signals and maybe you'd be in a bowl game.

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  13. Hotlanta Bill about 1 year ago

    How pitiful has ND football become. Meyer has not done ANYTHING illegal whatsoever. Maybe if you clowns had a real coach that knew what they knew they were doing, you'd be winning more than 3 games.

    Coaches talk smack about other programs...every major college coach does it. It's a dog eat dog world and you better learn what the dynamic is in today's college ball or look for another job.

    Meyer didn't lie to Trattou. He will play SDE most of this year and quick tackle only in necessary passing situations.

    Meyer didn't lie to Hunter. Hunter knew before he signed his LOI that Mattison was leaving. Mattison didn’t know for sure until that day as he turned down TWO previous offers in the days before NSD. Hunter verified this himself. I'll trust his word over crybaby blogger.

    If Meyer was win at all costs, we'd have a much lower graduation rate, team GPA, and team dismissals for disciplinary reasons.

    Get a real friggin coach that doesn't need tape of opponents defensive signals and maybe you'd be in a bowl game.

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  14. Wilton Martin about 1 year ago

    Let's see -- when Urban Meyer lands a recruit Notre Dame wanted,
    he's a cheater. That's how I read this. The NCAA has spoken
    already on the Carl Moore incident, but apparently they don't
    have TV, radio and newspapers in psrts of the Midwest.

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  15. Wilton Martin about 1 year ago

    Let's see -- when Urban Meyer lands two recruits Notre Dame
    wanted, he's a cheater.
    The Carl Moore incident was long ago settled and the NCAA
    found no guilt.
    Apparently in certain parts of the Midwest they don't have
    TV, radio or newspapers yet.

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  1. Bari Tuba about 1 year ago

    What a bunch of whiny, gullible pussies around here.....

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  2. Jason Brooks about 1 year ago

    Notre Dame only wishes they had Urban Meyer. In fact, I met a guy last football season who played for Notre Dame in the 1973 Sugar Bowl against Alabama who straight up told me as such!

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  3. The Taipan about 1 year ago

    This article could have been a lot shorter and still covered all of the same themes:

    Waah! Urban Meyer chose Florida over Notre Dame. Waah! Urban Meyer convinced two big-time recruits not to come to a dying school that routinely puts up losing seasons and hasn't competed for a national championship since the Reagan Administration. Waah! The future looks grim, too, under our silver medal coach who apparently was more of a brilliant filmographer than the "offensive genius" that we thought were getting. That's Urban Meyer' fault, too! And Waah! Jimmy Clausen was the biggest recruiting bust of 2007! We wanted Tim Tebow! That Urban Meyer's fault, three!

    Cry me a river, Notre Dame. Urban Meyer didn't coach the Naval Academy to embarrass you at home last year. He just pointed it out to Omar Hunter. And you wonder why he decommitted. It would be more dignified if you just admitted that's it's all over and the glory days are behind you. I mean, the service acadamies don't still beat America over the head with how good they used to be.

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  4. Wade Dukes about 1 year ago

    I must freely admit that I despise Notre Dame. They believe that the rules do not apply to them. To be honest, apparently they don't. However, they are the most over-hyped and over-rated team on an annual basis. Like all Democrats, they believe in entitlements. The truth is that they haven't been relevant in college football in a long time. Perhaps "Cheeseburger Charlie" would be better suited getting his own show on The Food Channel than coaching college football.

    If they want to hate Urban Meyer because he spurned them to go to Florida, then so be it. It is apparent that was a wise decision by Coach Meyer. And...it was a win for all of the fast food restaurants in South Bend. I'm sure Charlie helps out the local economy quite a bit, especially the late night drive-thru windows.

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  5. Stephen The Kauf about 1 year ago

    This article which is more like a post on a message board, is laughable. Cry me a river, why don't you? Urban lied...waaaahh. Here is a little bit of truth to muddy the water. I know Justin Trattou's family. His father played football and knows a coach who can coach and one who can't. While he loved Notre Dame, he recognized that the coaching at Notre Dame was lacking.

    How do I know this? He actually told me. So, you folks are wrong about sleazy recruiting tactics. Some of you may need to realize that Notre Dame is in a tailspin...a decent coach does not need to lie to take recruits. Those with half a brain realize that their 3-4 years can be better spent at a school that will actually get them ready for the NFL.

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    • CJ Daley about 1 year ago

      Seriously suspect.

      I know someone who knows someone who knows the player. The death punch on message boards. Since you can not name names, as a reporter would do, I put just as much weight into your post as any claim against Urban. Not saying you are making stuff up, but in the same breath, who the hell are you....

      The simple fact is unless you are IN THE ROOM, everything is speculation.

      However, the position of coaching at the time of JTs recruitment, gave Florida a huge upper hand. Minter v. Mattison is an obvious call.

      The good news for ND is slowly the objection cycle is getting smaller.

      Minter has been replaced with Brown and Tenutia made it even better. The TV contract is not in doubt for kids this year as it was last year. Weis has focused on being more of a players coach.

      The simple truth is IF Weis does a good job coaching this year, say 7-9 wins which is VERY possible, there is no slowing down ND for the next 5 years. Period.

      Now IF Weis can not coach, the situation at ND is VERY SIMILAR to that of Florida post Zook/ pre Urban. A loaded team that only needs a coach. What a lot of people do not realize is it is possible for ND to have 19 returning starters going into the 2009 season. Those starters were some of the BEST players coming out of HS.

      No matter what happens in 2008, 2009 is looking very promising. It all depends on who is coaching.

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  6. Brett Supp about 1 year ago

    It is really sad what has happened to Notre Dame football. We used to be a power who all others feared. Now we are relegated to whining on a blog about how some other coach stole our players. Get a grip and get a life.

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  7. Kevin C about 1 year ago

    So if Meyer is lying/cheating/dirty for signing two players that ND wanted and thought they had (Hunter & Trattou), isn't Weis also lying/cheating/dirty for signing two players that UF wanted and thought they had (Allen & Young)? If not, why the double standard?

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  8. CJ Daley about 1 year ago

    I just love the trend of pussies creating a profile just to leave a single comment.

    Brett, Bari, Jason...now that is fucking pathetic. Not even owning up to your insults on ND. Too Funny!

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    • Wade Walker 11 months ago

      I just love the naive comments by FL fans, they think these posts are all about jealousy that Urban Liar is at FL and not ND. When ULM turned down the job he told them it was a no win job- so he has 2 priorities at FL, win and poach ND recruits to uphold his prophecy.

      Whether his recruiting antics are legal or not, they just add to being shady and most of the shady CFB recruiting stories seem to involve ULM- Sneed, Stonum, Patrick Johnson, Hunter, Moore, etc.

      I believe UM's latest gem was telling a 2009 recruit (who gave a verbal to ND) that NBC was not renewing their contract.

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