Brutal Weekend in Recruiting, but Silver Lining Remains

BJDomer

My stance on Kelly has greatly, albeit possibly temporarily, changed. He is failing at his most important task right now, which is to keep Weis recruits in the fold. Maybe Bernard wasn’t the best player in this class, but nobody can argue that we’re better off without him. And Leuders was a huge loss; we lack depth on the defensive line, both in this class and on the whole team. Just as importantly, Kelly has added nobody of value to this class. The two commitments since Kelly’s arrival are, without a doubt, the least talented players of the bunch. The players he has targeted since he was hired are best described as underwhelming. Kelly has done little (read: nothing) to quell my worries that Notre Dame made a mistake in hiring Kelly. If we want to be a perennial top 15 program, this class can only be classified as a complete disappointment. He and his staff have simply FAILED in the recruiting department, no matter how you spin it.

I hope that some of the big names you mentioned, Biscuit, choose ND on signing day. But what is there to make me feel hopeful? Thus far, Kelly has given me nothing. I will give Kelly one full recruiting year to impress me in this regard, but for now, I am revising my stance from optimistic to one of thorough skepticism. Oh, and the douche cancelled walk-on tryouts.

SDI

BJ–skepticism is warranted with all ND coaching hires until proven otherwise, I’m with you there. But I would cut Kelly a little slack with recruiting. These kids have been building relationships with these recruiters for years, and Kelly is asked to come in and catch up in a couple of months and that is no easy task. Think about how long and hard Weis and Polian had to work to get Teo, multiple trips to Hawaii sitting with his family watching his games, meeting with his coaches. Some kids pick based on the school, but many pick based on how well they like the coaches and the system, and Kelly is at a huge disadvantage in both those areas in that he’s just getting to know these kids and he runs a different system on both sides of the ball than the previous regime. He has a lot to prove, but give him a fair chance before you say he/they have failed.

BJDomer

Domer, it seems he’s just cancelled walk-on tryouts for this season. The supposed reason is that he and his staff have to figure out what they already have before they can add more guys. Maybe that’s legitimate, but I think it’s unfortunate that guys who have been training for this for a while were not told until a couple days before they were scheduled to begin. As far as scoop from campus, the best information I can give everyone is that Dayne Crist is able to walk around without any sort of aid. Who knows what this says about his recovery, but certainly it’s better than if he were walking around with a giant brace or on crutches.
SDI, have you seen any positive signs in recruiting, 1 1/2 months into Kelly’s tenure? So far, the news has pretty much all been bad. I’m not saying he will fail, but he isn’t doing much to acquit himself as a solid recruiter. In the end, this class looks like it will be rated as poorly, or worse, than the 2005 class. And trey, I don’t want to see Notre Dame become TCU, Boise State, or Cincinnati. I want Notre Dame to compete for National Championships, and none of those three teams are on the level of Texas, Florida, or Alabama. That is certainly a product of recruiting, among other things. My worry is this: the argument for Kelly is, “If he can get 2- and 3-star players to win 12 games at Cincinnati, imagine what he can do with the talent he’ll get at Notre Dame.” Well, so far he seems to be targeting the same 2- and 3-star players he got at Cincy. I can’t help but think that Kelly is looking to turn Notre Dame into Cincinnati. Sure, that would be an improvement over the past 13 years, but in the end, it’s not where I want this program to be.