The Willingham Effect - Offensive Line Recruiting Under Ty and Charlie

                       LeVoir-Sr          Mattes-Jr

Total - 11      

4 returning starters. 2 departures for 2006. 1 transfer. 1 injury. 2 incoming freshmen.

In 2005, Willingham again lost out on top recruits.  Especially painful were two from Chicago, one from Cleveland and one from an Irish pipeline in Minnesota (Cretin-Durham) that sent Ryan Harris and Rashon Powers-Neal to Notre Dame.  Three chose Iowa.  One chose Ohio State.  Willingham had no contingency plans.  

One recruit, Thomas Bemenderfer, from the South Bend area, badly wants to go to Notre Dame.  He goes to Northwestern when he is rebuffed.

What was Willingham thinking?  Did he delegate O-line recruiting?  Did he place all his eggs in one basket?  Was he just planning on fluttering off when his five years were done, leaving the offensive line cupboard bare for the next coach in 2007?  Davie had left Tyrone stocked with offensive linemen. 

Sports columnists talked about how the Irish are irrelevant, can’t recruit big time players anymore, and have academic standards that are too tough for today’s recruits.  The only offensive linemen he had recruited for the 2005 class was Paul Duncan.  Willingham is fired at Notre Dame – and hired two weeks later at Washington.

Willingham’s total offensive line recruiting in three years at Notre Dame – three!!!  One per year!!!  Ryan Harris, John Sullivan and Paul Duncan.  The iceberg has melted from the bottom up and is about to tip over. 

Charlie Weis Arrives

New coach Charlie Weis immediately acts on the deficiency, reviews ND’s chances with prospects less than six weeks to signing day with most linemen already committed, and gets a commitment from  Mike Turkovich.  Turkovich is one of Pennsylvania’s top players and had not been offered by Willingham.  Weis is still coaching New England prior to the Super Bowl but spending hours after each Patriot day finalizing his coaching staff, reviewing recruits and calling prospects.

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