ND’s Class of 2009 (Insider) is currently coming in at #7 according to Tom Luginbill at the WWL’s Scout operation.

Now, I know everyone’s saying all these bad things about Charlie Weis and this team. And this is where I think you should all get down and kiss Charlie’s ass. Regardless of what happens this week, this year. Even if Charlie Weis ends up being a galactic bust, which I don’t think he will be, he will be single-handedly responsible for turning this program around through recruiting. With Charlie at the helm (excluding his first crappy transition year), he’s brought in a Top 10, #1 and now has a #7 class. And, this class looks like it’s only going to improve, with a number of Top 100 players still strongly considering the Irish.

Here’s the thing - good players win games. The coaches must develop them. They must execute, but good players win in college. It’s the great divider between perennial programs like USC, Texas and Florida, and the rest. Over the last 2 classes, and this upcoming class, Charlie has recruited as well as, or better than, everyone in the country. EVERYONE IN THE COUNTRY.

Have any of you fans ever seen a turnaround of these kind of proportions at Notre Dame before? Last year, with the cupboard almost completely empty, Charlie was trying to make that turnaround happen. Have any of you seen anything like that before, ever, at ND? I haven’t. Not even close. How can we judge what the climb out of that mire is supposed to look like? How do we compare or judge? With the number of young players we have, and the lack of senior players (let alone leaders), how can we guess how quickly that’s supposed to happen?

And in that mess, in that madness, Charlie has brought in talent that we haven’t seen at ND in decades.

That, alone, has put ND in position to have serious success in the near future.

Put aside your current frustrations and think about this with me now. Imagine 2 years from now (no, don’t close your eyes - you need to read here). Imagine it: Jimmy Clausen, Kamara, Sam Young, Darrin Walls, Michael Floyd, Rudolph, Robinson, Stewart, Tate, Allen, Jonas and Gary Gray, Johnson, Slaughter, Blanton, Fleming, Ragone, Ian Willimas, Brian Smith, Harrison Smith, Walker, Filer, Cave, Cwynar, Newman, Lewis-Moore, Golic…are all upper classmen. They’re TWO YEARS developed passed today. We have competition and depth across the board, not only at a few positions. The 5th years that year are a small, small group because of all the talent in the lower classes. But they’re experienced and battle-tested. This year’s incoming class are sophomores, and a few have broken into the starting lineup or the 2-deep and are seeing good time - Shaq Evans, Wood, Stockton, Watt, Pollard, maybe Eifert. And there’s a ton of guys just ready and waiting and pushing to get on the field - EJ Banks, Zach Martin, Motta, Riddick, Fox, Bullard and Calabrese.

Now, I don’t care how you feel about Charlie right now. But how are you going to feel about him THEN? Regardless! You’re going to freaking LOVE him. And looking at that scenario, vs what we have today, paints a pretty important and vivid picture.

Think about it - in this future scenario two years from now, a Michael Floyd will NOT be starting as a frosh. He’ll come in and get a chance to compete, but we already have a Michael Floyd, and guess what? He’s been starting for FOUR FREAKING YEARS. Same thing with ALL THESE GUYS that are frosh/sophomores right now. They’ll be just as talented, but they’ll know a ton more, they’ll be way more developed and experienced and they’ll be bigger and stronger. That means that the superstud recruit frosh (e.g. Floyd) will have his shot, but won’t get on the field. We won’t need him to - and that’s good. Because then he can take some time and develop - this will happen across the board at all the positions where we have this depth of talent.

Great right? Charlie’s doing right? “But that’s not enough!” I know! But it sets the stage for serious success in the future.

And the key thing to think about is how different that is from what we have today. Today, we have all these guys starting as underclassmen - that entire first list: Clausen, Tate, Floyd, etc. Not because they’re THAT GOOD that we just HAD to put them out there even though the upper class is really great. But because we HAVE to (with a different meaning) - we didn’t have any other options. Brian and Harrison Smith are solid players for ND’s defense this year. Quick, aggressive, smart. BUT, they’re young. Imagine them in 2 more years - with 2 more years of lifting and development under their belts? A Future-Brian-Smith comes in as a frosh in 2 years and learns from Current-Brian-Smith, and RIDES THE PINE, grows and develops. He’s not thrown onto the field as a young’n. He has time to grow up, get used to things, and THEN come in and be that much more effective - have that much more impact. Help a team play and win more consistently.

Cuz that’s what we’re talking about here folks. That’s what’s developing here. That’s what Charlie has in mind, and where we’re headed. The inconsistency right now is painful. It completely sucks. But when you have a fully developed roster chalk full of talent, you will have success. A coach can screw it up, sure. But I don’t think Charlie will. And, frankly, when you have that - screwing it up means 3 losses instead of 1 or 2.

This is why Charlie deserves another season after this one. We’ll be one season away from a ‘full’ roster at the end of next year. And with recruiting going as it goes, we will have 85 freaking talented guys fighting for the Irish.

This is another reason I support and fight for Charlie Weis here on this blog. I do not believe he’s perfect by any stretch, but he has put together the foundations for long-term success at Notre Dame - something neither of his predecessors could do. And something he’s doing in the midst of turning things around on the field. That is a big challenge and while it’s way far from going perfectly, it’s definitely moving in the right direction.

Remember, any time you start to freak out, just imagine that first game, 2 seasons from now in 2010, where all those 3 and 4-year starting 4 and 5-star prospects take the field as a single, cohesive unit. It will be a thing of beauty it will. And we will be back.

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