Credit: Detroit Free Press

Brian Kelly and his staff have convinced 21 student-athletes with Michigan offers to commit to Notre Dame, while Jim Harbaugh and his group have persuaded the same number to forgo Notre Dame offers and come to Ann Arbor, according to Her Loyal Sons research.

Michigan and Notre Dame have historically battled for outstanding players in midwestern states, although the skirmish has also expanded to the East Coast and California in the past 20 years.

WOLVERINES GRAB HIGHER RATED TALENT

Michigan has swayed 3 five-stars with Notre Dame offers to join their team, while Notre Dame has landed zero. The Irish have grabbed 16 four-stars to Michigan’s 13, while the Wolverines have 1 more three-star than the Irish group.

Credit: Melanie Maxwell / MLive.com

The six best players, according to Scout’s recruiting rankings, have all headed north: defensive tackle Rashan Gary (#1 overall, class of 2016); wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones (#22, 2017); running back Kareem Walker (#28, 2016); offensive tackle Ben Bredeson (#36, 2016); cornerback David Long (#64, 2016) and tight end Devin Assisi (#67, 2016).

Bredeson made eight starts at left guard for the Wolverines last year and appeared in all of their games. He allowed five quarterback hurries, three hits and one sack in 256 pass blocking snaps, according to College Football Film Room. He was also given an honorable mention on the All-Big Ten team. Gary played in all of Michigan’s games as well, registering 26 tackles, nine tackles for loss, eight hurries, eight quarterback hits and just four missed tackles.

Asiasi played sparingly – being targeted just five times and catching 2 passes for 18 yards. Long appeared in four games, mostly on special teams. A quarterback never threw his way when he was in at cornerback, so he didn’t register any stats. Walker was a redshirt.

WHO HAS HAD THE BIGGEST IMPACT SO FAR?

Credit: MICHAEL CATERINA / South Bend Tribune

Besides Bredeson’s and Gary’s notable freshman seasons, the Irish have two players who have made equal or greater impacts on their team so far.

Dexter Williams was the first to spurn the Wolverines in favor of the Irish after Harbaugh’s hiring in Ann Arbor on Dec. 30, 2014. The running back has registered 281 yards rushing on 61 carries over two seasons. Williams has also found the end zone four times. At this point, he has proven himself a capable second back behind fellow rising junior Josh Adams.

Kevin Stepherson, a three-star unranked in Scout’s 300, had a surprisingly good freshman campaign, becoming quarterback DeShone Kizer’s third favorite target last year. Stepherson caught 25 balls for 474 yards, good for 14 first downs and five touchdowns.

WHAT’S AHEAD?

Despite posting a 4-8 season, the Irish have grabbed as many highly-rated recruits for their forthcoming class as Michigan.

Brock Wright / Photo: Scout.com

The two teams have split Scout’s top 100 that received offers from both schools. Besides Peoples-Jones, Michigan will be welcoming four-star wide receiver Tarik Black (#90, 2017) and four-star outside linebacker Drew Singleton (#93) in the summer. Notre Dame has four-star tight end Brock Wright (#76) and four-star inside linebacker David Adams (#88) coming to South Bend instead of heading farther north.

We cannot discount timing, however. The Wolverines, fresh off their Orange Bowl appearance, have the momentum of late, grabbing five of the last six commits. Those all came since the college football season started. Four-star offensive tackle Aaron Banks (#163) is the lone individual to choose the Irish over Michigan recently.

KELLY & HARBAUGH AREN’T IMMUNE TO DECOMMITS

Of course, nothing is final with 2017 or 2018 recruits until they fax or e-mail their national letters of intent. Both schools have already seen commits suddenly change their minds.

Leonard Taylor, a three-star defensive end, initially picked the Wolverines over the Irish, but then de-committed before the season started. (He’s currently undecided.) Three-star running back A.J. Dillon also picked Michigan over Notre Dame, but then committed to Boston College shortly before Christmas.

Four-star outside linebacker Pete Werner chose Ohio State after initially picking the Irish. Most recently, four-star cornerback Elijah Hicks enrolled in Cal instead of honoring his verbal commitment to Notre Dame. Hicks held a Michigan offer, among several others.

COMPLETE LIST

The post In Kelly-Harbaugh Recruit Fight, It’s Tied appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

PODCASTS

• Irish Sports Talk: DaVaris at NFL Combine & Notre Dame scholarship at 82 – Feb 23 IST153 (46:45)
• Irish Illustrated: Insider Podcast #166 – Turnover margins (44:55)

VIDEO

• StudentSports: GoPro: Manti Te’o – Hawaii linebacker coach (2:06)
• WatchND: Tire Wars (0:42)

CURRENT TEAM

• Irish Illustrated: Spring questions: Defensive line (Jarron Jones, Isaac Rochell, Romeo Okwara, Andrew Trumbetti, Grant Blankenship, Jhonny Williams, Jonathan Bonner, Jay Hayes, Sheldon Day, Kolin Hill, Daniel Cage, Jacob Matuska, Pete Mokwuah, Jerry Tillery, Micah Dew-Treadway)
• Inside the Irish: Spring solutions: Wide receivers (Will Fuller, Corey Robinson, Chris Brown, C.J. Prosise, Amir Carlisle, Torii Hunter Jr., Corey Holmes, Justin Brent)
• Athlon Sports: College football’s top 20 running backs on the rise for 2015 (Tarean Folston)
• Bleacher Report: 1 thing opponents should fear about every Power 5 college football team in 2015 (“The defense has figured it out”)
• Slap the Sign: Notre Dame spring battles: Malik Zaire vs. Everett Golson
• UHND: Where’s the rush for Notre Dame football? (Romeo Okwara, Jhonny Williams, Kolin Hill, Jaylon Smith, Andrew Trumbetti, Grant Blankenship)
• The Observer: Seniors share advice with University freshmen (Matthias Farley)

RECRUITING

• Scout: Ohio QB still adding offers (Messiah deWeaver)
• Scout: Pylon 7v7: Auston Robertson
• iSportsWeb: Michigan State football recruiting: Auston Robertson names leader
• The Patriot-News: Penn State 2016 recruiting: ‘All-wish list’ offense includes commits Jake Zembiec, Miles Sanders (Cary Angeline)
• Bleacher Report: 2016 college football recruits who could change a program instantly (Dwayne Haskins, Rashan Gary)
• NJ.com: Cedar Creek’s Ahmir Mitchell, N.J.’s top wide receiver, to visit Rutgers Monday
• Eleven Warriors: Defensive line options abound in 2016, Buckeyes searching for new bullets (Naquan Jones, Rashan Gary, Kyree Campbell, Auston Robertson, Austin Mack)
• TigerNet: 5-star DB: “I love Clemson with all my heart,” commits to LSU (Savion Smith)
• Irish Turning Point: Dwayne Haskins
• Irish Turning Point: Woody Barrett
• UHND: Notre Dame recruiting ’16 needs: Defense (Auston Robertson, Josh King, Damar Hamlin, Eric Monroe, Craig Watts, Devin Studstill, Lokeni Toailoa, Jaquan Yulee and Curtis Robinson)
• Irish Sports Daily: Gicewicz enjoys Irish brotherhood on visit (Paul Gicewicz)

COACHING

• Inside the Irish: All signs (still) point to Keith Gilmore as defensive line coach
• UConn Huskies: Strong coaching ties have influenced Verducci
• ND Insider: Archive photos: Todd Lyght at Notre Dame

IRISH IN THE NFL

• ESPN: Fantasy football combine review: Maxx Williams most likely to succeed in weak tight end class (Ben Koyack)
• Awful Announcing: Fox’s Brady Quinn making a comeback bid?

SCHEDULING

• Official Notre Dame Athletic Blog: Where will the 2015 Blue-Gold Game be played?
• FB Schedules: BYU A.D. talks future football games with Utah & Notre Dame
• Anderson Independent Mail: 2015 lookahead: Pre-spring Clemson football projections

MISC.

• Sportsnet: Greatest uniforms in Sports, No. 8: Notre Dame Fighting Irish
• NewsOK: Media report: Oklahoma State receiver Ra’Shaad Samples to transfer

The post Morning Roundup: Feb. 25, 2015 appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

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Good morning! Here are your headlines:

FROM OUR SITE

• Two Notre Dame sons return home

VIDEO

• Scout: Williams bringing a lot to South Bend (Dexter Williams) (5:46)
• Eastbay: Kyle Brindza – Notre Dame (0:15)
• MGoDrone: College stadiums of the midwest! (2:14)

PODCAST

• Irish Sports Daily: 2-23-2015 Power Hour (1:08:52)

RECRUITING

• Scout: Mitchell updates recruitment (Shon Mitchell)
• Scout: Core 6 unites top recruits (Hunter Johnson, Jared Mayden, Byron Murphy and Julian Love)
• Irish Sports Daily: 2016 CA WR hoping to hear more (Grant Porter)
• One Foot Down: 2016 Notre Dame recruiting big board: Wide receiver & athlete (Ervin Barrett, Marquez Calloway, Jordan Fuller, Ahmir Mitchell, Julian Love, Donnie Corley, Dylan Crawford, Divine Deablo, Devin Duvernay, Josh Hammond, Brad Hawkins, Justin Layne, Austin Mack, Javon McKinley, Tre Nixon, Darian Owens, Darnell Salomon, Trevon Sidney, Dredrick Snelson, Eli Stove, Tyler Vaughns, Benjimen Victor, Cameron Chambers and Dillon Mitchell)
• Bleacher Report (Monaco): Notre Dame football recruiting offers of the week (Daniel Bituli and Julian Okwara)
• Slap the Sign: Notre Dame Junior Day visitors (Tommy Kraemer, Brad Hawkins, Josh King, Ron Johnson, Michael Jordan, Brandon Peters)
• MLive: Could Lansing Catholic QB Tony Poljan be the next Ben Roethlisberger? Some MAC schools think so

CURRENT TEAM

• Irish Illustrated: Spring questions: Offensive line (Nick Martin, Matt Hegarty, Quenton Nelson, Mike McGlinchey, Alex Bars, Steve Elmer, Hunter Bivin, Colin McGovern, John Montelus, Sam Mustipher, Mark Harrell, Jimmy Byrne, Jerry Tillery, Tristen Hoge, Trevor Ruhland)
• Inside the Irish: Spring solutions: Offensive line
• Bleacher Report (Arnold): How Brian Kelly and Notre Dame distracted attention from the QB battle
• Bleacher Report: 10 college football programs with the most compelling QB controversies (#8 Notre Dame)

IRISH IN THE NFL

• One Foot Down: A recap of the 2015 NFL Combine (DaVaris Daniels, Ben Koyack, Kyle Brindza)
• ND Insider: NFL Combine results for former Notre Dame players
• The Landry Hat: Dallas Cowboys: Zack Martin provides valuable draft lesson

COACHING

• Tampa Bay Times: USF Bulls start spring football drills (Autry Denson)
• KWCH: Wichita Sports HOF announces 2015 inductees (Kirk Doll)
• 247 Sports: Gilmore expected to leave UNC (Keith Gilmore)
• Go UTSA: UTSA hires Mike Markuson as assistant coach
• Irish Turning Point: Fresh in the Gug: Todd Lyght

SCHEDULING

• Bleacher Report: 25 biggest trap games for 2015 college football season (12. Notre Dame at Pitt)
• Inside the ACC: Top 10 non-conference games for the ACC in 2015 (Notre Dame at Clemson is #7; Notre Dame/BC at Fenway is #2)

MISC.

• ND Insider: Megan Whitt leaving Notre Dame recruiting operations
• 247 Sports: Megan Whitt leaving Notre Dame for job in the NFL
• AL.com: Notre Dame apparently sent recruiting letter to current Rutgers football player
• Yahoo Sports: Rutgers lineman receives recruiting letter from Notre Dame
• UHND: Do Notre Dame’s football facilities measure up to competition?
• Fox Sports: Photos: Awesome helmet designs for UF, Ohio State, LSU & more
• ESPN: The 2015 ACC Oscars (Best picture: The fourth down play(s) in Notre Dame at Florida State)

The post Morning Roundup: Feb. 24, 2015 appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

FROM OUR SITE

• More good works from Oscar McBride

VIDEO

• WatchND: Torii Hunter Jr.: From the gridiron to the diamond (4:52)

RECRUITING

• Cardinal Authority: U of L football: Junior day update (Connor Foos)
• 247 Sports: Corley heading to Michigan
• Irish Sports Daily: In the film room: Ahmir Mitchell
• Irish Sports Daily: Foster being patient with the process
• Irish Sports Daily: Youngquist hoping to hear more from ND
• Badger Nation: Brown talks Wisconsin offer (Cameron Brown)

CURRENT TEAM

• Irish Illustrated: Make the pieces fit
• One Foot Down: Chronicling Malik Zaire’s passing vs. LSU in the Music City Bowl

IRISH IN THE NFL

• Detroit Free Press: NFL combine: Miami RB Duke Johnson puts mom at center of success (Kyle Brindza)

COACHING

• Larry Brown sports: Charlie Weis does not think he will coach again

MISC.

• ND Nation: An early Easter (Knute Rockne)
• The Blade column: Surprising BG deserves more fan support

The post Morning Roundup: Feb. 16, 2015 appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

FROM OUR SITE

• Friday roundup: The “safety transfer” edition

PODCAST

• TNNDN: ND Fan Radio: Vol. 36 – Notre Dame coaching carousel – Part 1 (2:02:38)

COACHING

• 247 Sports: Hawkins: Sanford would be ‘lights-out’ hire at Notre Dame
• Rant Sports: Mike Sanford makes Notre Dame a New Year’s Six bowl contender
• 7KTVB (Idaho): Already time for the next big Harsin hire (Mike Sanford)
• Anchor of Gold: Report: Stanford assistant Marc Mattioli to replace Todd Lyght as Vanderbilt safeties coach (Mike Sanford)
• ND Insider: Former Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis diving into next stage of life

RECRUITING

• SB Nation: Only interested in the best college football recruits? The 10 to know for 2016 (Gregory Little, Rashan Gary, Jacob Eason, Kareem Walker and Malik Henry)
• NJ.com: St. Joseph (Met.) offensive tackle Nick Krimin commits to Rutgers during visit
• One Foot Down: 2015 football recruiting: LB review
• TigerNet: Clemson offers 6-8 DE named Prince (Prince Sammons)
• Bleacher Report: 10 most important college football recruiting camps to keep your eye on in 2015 (Adidas Chicago Showcase/Kerry Neal)
• Scout: Campbell closing in on 30 offers (Kyree Campbell)
• Scout: Bredeson picks up Bama offer (Ben Bredeson)
• Irish Sports Daily: Recruiting week in review (Ben Bredeson, Julian Love)
• Scout: New Jersey: Top 15 2016 prospects (Ahmir Mitchell, Jordan Fuller, Brad Hawkins and Ron Johnson Jr.)
• Irish Sports Daily: Big-time Cali LB ready for ND contact (Krys Barnes)
• Scout: First offer for Anderson (Lamar Anderson, ND has not yet offered)
• Chicago Tribune: Wrestling: Hinsdale South senior Nick Carlson gets another shot at state berth (Robby Regan)
• The Detroit News: Trieu: Top targets give MSU thumbs up on visits (Corey Malone-Hatcher)
• ND Insider: Former Cal safety Avery Sebastian announces commitment to Notre Dame
• Irish Illustrated: Cal transfer: ND ‘amazing’ option
• College Football Talk: Former Cal safety finds new home at Notre Dame
• UHND: Notre Dame adds S transfer Avery Sebastian
• NBC Sports: Notre Dame lands Cal graduate transfer Avery Sebastian
• Irish Illustrated: Sebastian goes Irish
• Irish Sports Daily: ND lands fifth-year safety
• One Foot Down: California Bears safety Avery Sebastian transferring to Notre Dame for graduate season
• Slap the Sign: Former Cal safety Avery Sebastian commits to Notre Dame
• CSN Chicago: Notre Dame adds key depth with Cal transfer Avery Sebastian

CURRENT TEAM

• Knoxville News Sentinel: John Adams: Graduate transfers have increasing effect on college football (Everett Golson)
• One Foot Down: May the road rise up to meet you: Sheldon Day
• One Foot Down: Reviewing the redshirts: DT Jonathan Bonner
• Subway Domer: Avery Sebastian transfers to Notre Dame; Irish are heavily oversigned

IRISH IN THE NFL

• CBS Sports: Offseason extra: Players entering a contract year (Michael Floyd)
• CBS Sports: 2015 NFL combine: Prospects with the most to gain or lose (DaVaris Daniels)
• SB Nation: Jameis Winston, Melvin Gordon top Mike Mayock’s 2015 NFL Draft position rankings (Ben Koyack)
• Blue & Gold Illustrated: Combine will be crucial for Irish trio
• City of Champions: Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Minnesota Vikings in 2015 HOF game (Jerome Bettis)

MISC.

• Nashville Post: Vanderbilt completes football coaching staff – again (Todd Lyght)
• Scarlet & Game: What can Tony Alford bring?
• SB Nation: Is Oklahoma’s air raid renaissance enough of an overhaul? (Kerry Cooks)
• Green Bay Packers: Packers finalize coaching staff (Tom Clements)
• Orlando Sentinel: Ohio State, Alabama are double-digit favorite in Week 1 early odds (ND 10.5 pt favorite over Texas)

The post Morning Roundup: Feb. 13, 2015 appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.