That Call? ND.
Over the weekend, Coach Kelly and the Fighting Irish received verbal commitments from 3 more talented young men that plan to don the Blue and Gold in 2011. The class is up to 7 with a lot of momentum with a lot of top guys around the country.
Tony Springmann, OT/DE, chose the Irish over the ‘other smart schools’ like Stanford, Duke and BC as well as most of the Televen, including Michigan (who continue to suck). Tony is a 4-star OT on Scout (ESPN and Rivals are slackers and have not yet ranked most players). He’s a solid prospect, and will help shore up a thin Tackle chart.
Another OT, Conor Hanratty (yes, THAT Hanratty) also joins the fold. Conor is also a 4-star on Scout (he’s on the Watch Lists for the other services – slackers), and has the frame for a Tackle, no doubt. Listed at 6’4 and just about 300, he’s built to beat up on dudes. Hanratty picked ND over Penn State, BC, Stanford, some Televen and ACC squads and…Harvard.
Jarrett Grace also fills a need at OLB. He’s ranked by Scout as the #10 OLB in the class, and is another 4-star. Jarrett selected ND over BC (must be getting frustrating), Televen schools, WVU and Tennessee. Kid rocks a 4.0 GPA and 95 tackles in 2009. Solid.
With these commits, Coach Kelly has shown that he can bring in top notch players that fill positions of need. He’ll need to keep this going, but thus far he and his staff are off to a great start. Just getting organized and out from behind the 8-ball of being a new regime is a big challenge. Winning battles for top-rated guys, along with solid role players, is huge. Being in the hunt, and often a favorite, for the top of the top (like Bubba Starling, QB) is another huge step.
ND’s class currently stands at 7, and it’s a solid class. Looking forward to continued success.
Welcome to the family, guys!
- (Re)Introducing: DANCING LEPRECHAUNS - August 29, 2019
- Ticket Auction: ND vs USC - August 22, 2019
- No Respect! - December 14, 2018