Notre Dame Tops Recruiting Rankings

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Notre Dame Tops Recruiting Rankings

by Scott Michael Edwards

You won't read this headline anywhere else, but Notre Dame has already won the recruiting war.

Notre Dame picked up two very big recruits recently, but that has done little to quiet the nerves of Notre Dame fans watching highly “ranked” players commit elsewhere. Relax brethren, Notre Dame already landed its biggest recruits in Charlie Weis and his proven experienced staff.

The fact is that recruiting means little if there isn’t a great staff to mold the men. Both Davie and Willingham worked with exceptionally gifted athletes who were highly ranked at their positions, but their lofty recruiting rankings could not make up for poor player development. Notre Dame started more top 25 consensus players at their positions this year than did USC, Michigan and Tennessee, yet players continually looked out of position and lost. The composite(all services combined) average of Ty Willingham’s sophomore through fifth year classes “averaged” in the top five in the country, yet Notre Dame couldn’t finish in the To 30 in on the field. That type of underperformance is unacceptable at any major University.

Yet, football analysts and even some former Notre Dame players have confused “lack of development” with “lack of talent.” That underperforming trend has been frustrating for anyone aware of the stock of talent at Notre Dame. Fans at NDNation.com watched as player after player entered Notre Dame with high school accolades, performed poorly at Notre Dame then went on to have successful NFL careers. Many current recruits have said they were upset at the way Ty Willingham was treated; they should not be. Notre Dame did the exact same thing that schools like Florida and Stanford did (who also fired their 3rd year coaches,) it acted to uphold its tradition of excellence.

As for cries from the media that Willingham was treated poorly, that is simply not fact. Not only did Willingham fail to meet the specific performance clause that he signed in his contract, but he was paid off a very large sum of money and allowed to look for another great paying job while Notre Dame took the heat for him. Notre Dame could have cited, in detail, the many reasons why it was firing Willingham. Doing so would have made Notre Dame look better to the football world, but it also would have hurt Willingham’s reputation and ability to find another position. Instead, despite failing to meet his agreed upon third year expectations, Willingham was treated with kind words about excelling Sunday through Friday and he was able to upgrade his financial situation considerably. Media protestations not withstanding, Willingham was treated with great dignity upon his firing and is financially set for life.

Notre Dame had and has a duty to give players who chose to come to South Bend the best teachers and coaches possible. That is why these coaches are the most important recruits and they are already in the fold. Charlie Weis has put together an exceptional staff of teachers and recruiters who have coached success on every level. Between them they have coached Super Bowl champions, National champions, Conference champions, Heisman Trophy winners, Doak Award winners and have integral ties to the NFL where many athletes aspire to play. Players at Notre Dame will now receive unparalleled teaching.

Compare and contrast the resumes of Notre Dame’s staff with those being assembled at Stanford, Washington and Florida and it’s clear that Notre Dame is finally giving its players what they deserve, the best coaching in the country. There are many successful former NFL coaches in the college ranks such as Petrino, Carroll, Groh and Ferentz, but none of them or their staffs entered college with the success Notre Dame’s current coaching staff has experienced.

As important as the coaching staff is to Notre Dame the new administration, led by Father Jenkins, is also committed to giving them the best support available. Notre Dame’s new facilities are second to none. Notre Dame’s graduation rates are among the top in the country and unlike schools such as Michigan that habitually fail to graduate minority players or push them into “football majors,” Notre Dame graduates players equally across the spectrum.

So watch these next few weeks Notre Dame fans and don’t fret if an outstanding recruit commits elsewhere. Those recruits who come to Notre Dame will be developed and given the best coaching and education available. If they come this year, great, they’re getting in on the equivalent of a Yahoo IPO, but the most important recruits are already working hard for Notre Dame.

All Notre Dame has ever needed to win is proper coaching and support, and those things are in place. Notre Dame’s tradition is intrinsic and unmatched; it wells forth like a spring. So much so that other coaches are desperately trying to export Notre Dame’s great traditions to their schools, recreating player walks and salutes, but you can’t create tradition or hawk it like a street vendor. And the University and Notre Dame and its great tradition of excellence is about to be renewed.



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[nshope]

Right on my man...good post. Agree with it entirely.

[bmf175]

Very accurate. Thanks for posting it.