'08 CA QB Dayne Crist (Signed LOI to ND)

[johnnd05]

And this from Tom Lemming, who ranks Crist his #1 Pro-Style QB recruit:

Dayne Crist (Committed to Notre Dame - 6-foot-5, 227, 4.66 - Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, CA): Really impressed at January's U.S. Army All-American combine in San Antonio. Big kid with a great arm, presence and poise -- a Tom Brady-type. Can fire the ball and has a great future. Very confident since he's going to Notre Dame with Jimmy Clausen already there in front of him.

He has been coached very well by his head coach Kevin Rooney. Missed part of the season due to a broken vertebrae, which kept him out of five games, but proved to be unstoppable when healthy. He fits perfectly into a pro-style offense. He is not fast but blessed with quick feet and can do a pretty good job of avoiding the rush. Has "sky is the limit" type of potential.

Threw for over 1,200 yards, 17 touchdowns and was picked off just 3 times while also rushing for over 500 yards and 4 scores before the injury ended his season.

Ranked No. 13 overall in the Class of 2008.

[johnnd05]

From this article, previewing Crist's game tonight:

But Notre Dame, unlike Canyon, does have its quarterback and running back returning.

And they're a pair of good ones.

Dayne Crist, a preseason candidate for National Player of the Year honors, is the biggie.

Having already committed to the college version of Notre Dame, the 6-foot-5 signal caller presents his share of challenges. He led the Knights to their 18-17 win over Canyon last time around.

Despite a back injury which limited his playing time a season ago, his first as Notre Dame's starter, Crist threw 17 touchdowns and just three interceptions. Bigger numbers are expected this year.

"He has a great arm, he's a great athlete and he has the great size you want in a quarterback," said Notre Dame head coach Kevin Rooney. "Dayne is our leader. We have a lot of confidence in him."

Thaddeus Brown, Notre Dame's returning runner, is a likewise proven commodity, having run for 1,340 yards and 14 touchdowns a season ago as a junior. He is also a standout defensive back.

The strength of the Notre Dame team, though, according to Rooney is their defense, which returns all of its starting linebackers including Anthony McDonald, a University of Notre Dame-bound terror.

Also back is Wes Horton, a 6-foot-6, 230-pound defensive lineman who has committed to USC.

Do they mean he's a preseason candidate for NATIONAL player of the year? Or just a local award?

[johnnd05]

Hunter leads Notre Dame past Canyon

BY GERRY GITTELSON, Staff Writer
Article Last Updated: 09/08/2007 02:35:49 AM PDT

Overshadowed on a star-studded football team loaded with big names, Hayden Hunter of Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks managed to steal a few scenes to make the marquee Friday in a 17-7 opening victory over visiting Canyon.

(snip)

Notre Dame quarterback Dayne Crist, who's headed to the University of Notre Dame, and defensive end Wes Horton, who's going to USC, had their moments.

Crist completed 13 of 26 passes for 176yards, and he rushed for 74yards on nine carries.

Photo here.

[johnnd05]

From an LA Times article about how many CA teams are running spread-style offenses out of the shotgun (Fauria's Crespi team gets talked about, too):

Now, 6-foot-5 Dayne Crist is the latest Notre Dame quarterback to benefit from [head coach Kevin] Rooney's willingness to keep experimenting with the shotgun. Last week, Crist rushed for 74 yards and passed for 166 yards in the Knights' season opener, a 17-7 victory over Canyon Country Canyon.

"Everything changes, but I think at this point in time, it's obviously going to be here for a long while," Rooney said.

Throughout Southern California, high school teams in growing numbers are using the shotgun formation, and not just for passing. The ability to run the ball out of the shotgun is the main reason it has become an acceptable formation in the eyes of coaches who are adamant about running first.

...

Even Jeremiah Ross, the coach at Encino Crespi who's a former offensive lineman and believes in trying to pound opponents, has become a shotgun advocate. Every Crespi offensive play starts out of the shotgun.

"The thing is evolutionary," Ross said. "The reason people stayed away from it was it was looked at as a throwing formation. People have shown you can run with it."

Quarterbacks remain the most enthusiastic supporters of the shotgun. It gives them more time to read the defense and avoid an oncoming rusher.

"I'm definitely benefiting," Crist said. "It puts you in a very successful position. It gives you a lot of options."

...

On Friday night at Pierce College, Crespi plays Centennial in a FSN Prime Ticket game in which both teams will line up 100% of the time in a shotgun, but the emphasis will be on running. That's the amazing evolution of the formation.

"There's so many different aspects of the offense you can use," said Crespi quarterback Kevin Prince, who's out for the season because of a knee injury. "It's a lot more beneficial than being under center."

[johnnd05]

I already quoted a bunch of it in this post, but the SBT article on our currently committed players has a bunch of good profile-type stuff on Crist. Here goes:

The future is now at ND
Irish recruits see a winning future for Notre Dame underclassmen.

By ERIC HANSEN
Tribune Staff Writer

Dayne Crist is plodding along in traffic on U.S. Highway 101, his CD changer empty, his head teeming with a new wave of insults aimed at the future University of Notre Dame quarterback and the current Irish football team.

"You've got to realize, my high school is on the other side of the hill from USC's campus," said Crist, a 6-foot-5, 221-pound senior from Canoga Park, Calif., and a seemingly walking, passing infomercial for Notre Dame's teams 2008 and beyond.

"I'm not sure that I've run into someone who hasn't given me a hard time about the Irish starting out 0-2. But I take it in stride. I tell them, 'Wait, you'll see.' I'm supposed to talk to coach (Charlie) Weis tonight. And I really don't have any questions for him. I can't question him, because I have so much faith in him. And I know he's such a talented coach, he's going to find a way to win. I just can't wait to get up there and be a part of it."

(snip)

"One thing people have to realize is these kids, these recruits are not yet part of the team, so they don't feel the malaise about the team now. They're looking to the future, and the future is Jimmy Clausen," [said Tom Lemming].

Which makes Crist's enthusiasm so perplexing until you find out what makes the Sherman Oaks Notre Dame High School quarterback tick.

Crist, 17, and Clausen, who turns 20 on Sept. 21, went to Chaminade Middle School together in Southern California. They were not football teammates, however. Clausen played on the school's flag football team. Crist chose to play tackle football, so he joined a Pop Warner team.

It was Clausen who invited Crist over to his father's house near campus to play video games during the down time of Crist's recruiting visit. It was Clausen who recruited Crist harder than any other current Irish player. It was Clausen who called him to see how Crist's visit went. It was Clausen who still touches base with Crist on a weekly basis, just to check in.

"I consider Jimmy a friend," Crist said. "Some people think there's this animosity or rivalry between us. Well we are both very competitive people, but we want to be around other competitive people. That's how college is. I mean it's a competition. That's how you get better. That's how you build winning teams."

...

Some, like Crist, may have to wait. Clausen, after all, is only a freshman. But the highest-rated prospect in the class (No. 10 nationally regardless of position) is willing to do that if patience is asked to be his virtue.

"I definitely have a lot of people ask me why I'd go to Notre Dame with Jimmy already there," he said. "Again, what they don't know is how competitive I am at everything. Just by nature, I give 110 percent to whatever I do. I'm just confident that whatever I do and whatever happens will be the best situation.

"I'm not necessarily concerned about having to go play early or play right away. But when I do play, I want to play great. I want to be the best prepared when it's my time to play. I want to be comfortable. I just want to be in the best position to be successful when it's my time. And I'm going to compete every day until coach Weis says, 'Dayne, it's your time.'"

Seems like a GREAT kid!

[bostonirish1908]

Wow he seems like an awesome kid

[ptrigger]

his game is live on espn2 tonight at 11 est.