Comments on: Brutal Weekend in Recruiting, but Silver Lining Remains

By: tjak

tjak — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 03:38:12 +0000

Over the last 15 years I have gotten myself either too excited or too down over Irish football; must be the Irish in me. Every time something positive happens, I figured we were turning a corner and when things were not going right I would start to think like you BJDomer. Nothing personal, but I am going to wait till signing day before I make any comment on this recruiting class. Some people may get caught up in the drama of this situation, but I do not have any energy for getting down because Barr turned his back on family tradition, I’ll reserve judgement for Feb.3rd.

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By: The Biscuit

The Biscuit — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 00:54:45 +0000

One of my many comments that refuse to post today said something like this: Kelly’s biggest recruiting right now is the current team. RR saw huge attrition when he started. Many coaches see big losses. So far ND lost Clausen and Tate, and they were gone no matter who the coach was going to be. So that’s positive. Kelly’s job is to hold this class together. So far, he’s lost Martin, who was gone no matter what once Weis was fired, Leuders, Gio and missed on Barr. But you can’t call this Fail until signing day. He’s got in good with some big guys. If they come on board, great class. If not, decent class. And decent is pretty solid for a transition year, especially if he doesnt lose any guys to transfer. Most transition years totally suck.

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By: SDI

SDI — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 23:43:32 +0000

BJ–I think there have been some positive signs. I’ve read a whole bunch of positive reviews from current ND players, commits, and possible commits and their parents who have talked quite a bit about Kelly’s energy, enthusiasm, and competitiveness. And although he might end up losing 3 or 4 guys, he’s holding the other 14 on board which is no small feat, and might land a couple of big fish in the next couple of weeks.

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By: BJDomer

BJDomer — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 20:59:42 +0000

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.

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By: Trey

Trey — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 16:32:57 +0000

The big reason i dont really get into the recruiting like u guys do is because i dont see a huge connection between it and team success. We’ve had these huge recruiting
classes and sucked, and teams like cincy, boise, tcu get 2-3 stars and win the BCS gms. Its more about what can ur coach get out of them that really matters and kelly has proven he can.
I kno inevitably ill get the ‘but the 5-stars have a better chance at success’ comment, and i kno and agree.

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By: SDI

SDI — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 16:23:31 +0000

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.

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By: domer.mq

domer.mq — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 16:09:44 +0000

BJDomer, wait, he cancelled walk-on tryouts? As in cancelled the program, or is this some sort of delay/postponement? That’s a pretty interesting nugget. What’s the word? Further, any other scoop from campus?

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By: BJDomer

BJDomer — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 06:40:41 +0000

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.

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