A lot of these recruits that aren't a so called "Notre Dame type", end up being the exact players who play in BCS games and play on Sundays. Malik Zaire doesn't exactly have a common "Notre Dame type" name, nor did Raghib Ismail. I'm also pretty certain that if another talent like Raghib Ismail tried to come to Notre Dame to play football, with Rocket's same academic intelligence, he would be denied admittance into ND. This is one of the main reason's Notre Dame football has been drowning in mediocrity for almost 20 years. I like to call it that "Old Guard" mindset. The Notre Dame coaches would accept Ebenezer's commitment in a heartbeat. I give all the credit in the world to BK for trying to escape the stranglehold that is the "Old Guard".
Not sure what you mean. Rocket and Raghib are two easy fits. Its also not about intelligence or names, its about what a kid wants out of college.
For me, ND has certain selling points: football tradition, academics, family atmosphere, faith, and a "total package." When a kid talks about these kind of things, ND is generally going to be in it until the end. When a kid talks about location, social life, NFL, etc., the things that make ND unique aren't selling points anymore, and the academics can actually becomes something of a roadblock. Similarly, if the only thing that separates Auburn and ND in your head is the climate, I'm going to guess you pick Auburn.
EO loved his visit, but isn't spouting out the kind of things that you hear from recruits that ultimately chose us-- even studs like Tuitt, Nix, the Attkinsons, Day, etc. He may love all that stuff, I just hear other things which would make his commitment surprising.
We are starting to get ahead of ourselves. We need all the Alabama-offered LBs we can get. Don't need another repeat of last year at CB.
