'11 CA LB Joe Schmidt (Scholarship Earned)

[chixdigbunt4hit]

Kids like this are the reason that I root for Notre Dame.

 

[Green Mountains]

Bump.

There has been lots of discussion about inside linebacker depth. I haven't seen Joe Schmidt mentioned anywhere as a possibility in any two deep discussions.

We were pretty excited about him as a member of the '11 class. Does anyone have feedback about Joe's development (physically and football wise)?

 

[IrishLax]

Bump.

There has been lots of discussion about inside linebacker depth. I haven't seen Joe Schmidt mentioned anywhere as a possibility in any two deep discussions.

We were pretty excited about him as a member of the '11 class. Does anyone have feedback about Joe's development (physically and football wise)?

Not a bad catch! He has made the travel roster before. Supposedly he's not a bad player, just undersized.

Can he provide quality depth? That's something I don't know. I know his upside sure as heck has to be pretty far below the "ideal" but I know nothing about how he's progressed since he stepped foot on campus.

 

[Emcee77]

My impression is that he is too small to be a starting-level contributor at ILB. I remember seeing Cierre Wood absolutely beast him in drills back in those spring practice vids, and I think of Cierre as a serviceable blocker but not incredibly fierce. Not sure Schmidt can be more than a special teams guy.

But they've said the same about lots of guys ... Zach Thomas and Luke Kuechly come to mind as guys who were considered too small at one point. I won't rule out the possibility that he could help out but I'm not counting on it.

 

[DillonHall]

Bump.

There has been lots of discussion about inside linebacker depth. I haven't seen Joe Schmidt mentioned anywhere as a possibility in any two deep discussions.

We were pretty excited about him as a member of the '11 class. Does anyone have feedback about Joe's development (physically and football wise)?

I don't think too many were thrilled that he was joining the team as much as we were happy to have him as a walk-on

 

[woolybug25]

My impression is that he is too small to be a starting-level contributor at ILB.

Does anyone have any accurate measurables on him? His profile says 6'2"/225, which is only slightly lighter than Manti and the same height. So if accurate, I don't understand why he is considered undersized.

His high school tape is beast.

 

[dublinirish]

My impression is that he is too small to be a starting-level contributor at ILB. I remember seeing Cierre Wood absolutely beast him in drills back in those spring practice vids, and I think of Cierre as a serviceable blocker but not incredibly fierce. Not sure Schmidt can be more than a special teams guy.

But they've said the same about lots of guys ... Zach Thomas and Luke Kuechly come to mind as guys who were considered too small at one point. I won't rule out the possibility that he could help out but I'm not counting on it.

Zach Thomas was short so he had to head butt guys on every play to be effective and then gave himself life long concussion problems..not exactly the career model many will want to take anymore. Keuch had wheels though, he had DB skills rare in a linebacker.

 

[Emcee77]

Does anyone have any accurate measurables on him? His profile says 6'2"/225, which is only slightly lighter than Manti and the same height. So if accurate, I don't understand why he is considered undersized.

His high school tape is beast.

It's more than slightly lighter. Manti goes about 245. Councell is 240 and said in the fall that he knows he is about 5 pounds too light right now. Schmidt needs about 20 more pounds to be a first-rank linebacker for us -- unless he is Luke Kuechly, who played at about 235, I believe.

 

[IrishLax]

Does anyone have any accurate measurables on him? His profile says 6'2"/225, which is only slightly lighter than Manti and the same height. So if accurate, I don't understand why he is considered undersized.

His high school tape is beast.

He weighed in at 6' 230 by ND's profile page... so considering they say Golson is 6' 185... chances are good he definitely isn't taller or bigger than listed.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

I don't think too many were thrilled that he was joining the team as much as we were happy to have him as a walk-on

He's also one of Troy Niklas' best friends, and his decision to walk-on at ND instead of taking scholarship offers at a few other schools likely helped us land Hercules.

But in any case, I'm genuinely glad we've got him. As Lax mentioned, he made the travel roster a few times in 2012, which indicates that he can play. He just seems to be underweight right now. If he manages to put on 10-20 more lbs, I wouldn't be surprised to see him earn a scholarship over the next couple years.

 

[woolybug25]

It's more than slightly lighter. Manti goes about 245. Councell is 240 and said in the fall that he knows he is about 5 pounds too light right now. Schmidt needs about 20 more pounds to be a first-rank linebacker for us -- unless he is Luke Kuechly, who played at about 235, I believe.

I thought Manti got down to 235?

 

[IrishLax]

He's also one of Troy Niklas' best friends, and his decision to walk-on at ND instead of taking scholarship offers at a few other schools likely helped us land Hercules.

But in any case, I'm genuinely glad we've got him. As Lax mentioned, he made the travel roster a few times in 2012, which indicates that he can play. He just seems to be underweight right now. If he manages to put on 10-20 more lbs, I wouldn't be surprised to see him earn a scholarship over the next couple years.

Sadly, the one thing I have heard on him is that he doesn't have the frame to really get much bigger. London Fletcher plays 3-4 ILB at like 5'9" 235 but he's an exception to the rule. Who knows though... maybe he can go on the Brian Cushing diet and become an All-American.

 

[ndfb3]

Sadly, the one thing I have heard on him is that he doesn't have the frame to really get much bigger. London Fletcher plays 3-4 ILB at like 5'9" 235 but he's an exception to the rule. Who knows though... maybe he can go on the Brian Cushing diet and become an All-American.

Steroids and protein shakes?

 

[IrishJayhawk]

Steroids and protein shakes?

C'mon... be fair. We're not sure he ever used protein shakes.

 

[IrishLax]

Steroids and protein shakes?

With a side of HGH and low grade beaver tranquilizer.

 

[jimmymac]

Joe started every game on kickoff I believe. Kid can play, just a little undersized. One of my good friends... Definitely a guy that can contribute if needed

 

[scUM Hater]

Can you put a measurement on a guys heart? Hell, even if he is only a special teams player at ND, he is at least wearing the uniform and running down the field that many....ALL...... of us could only wish for.

 

[IrishLax]

Joe started every game on kickoff I believe. Kid can play, just a little undersized. One of my good friends... Definitely a guy that can contribute if needed

As a good friend, can you get him on the above IrishLax approved nutrition plan? KTHX.

 

[Rack Em]

As a good friend, can you get him on the above IrishLax approved nutrition plan? KTHX.

Protein and Pixie Sticks?

 

[Me2SouthBend]

Joe started every game on kickoff I believe. Kid can play, just a little undersized. One of my good friends... Definitely a guy that can contribute if needed

Pics or GTFO.

 

[Bogtrotter07]

I thought Manti got down to 235?

I will bet my hat that Manti played most of this season north of 255. When he came in to camp as a freshman he was 253. If you check the threads, and do the addition, I believe you can put it together; Manti played his junior year at nearly 270. Manti has body density like it is going out of style, which is an underrated factor in hitting hard, and destroying lineman blocks. Was Manti 6'2"? Barely, but he had brolic. I mean real breadth. This kid is a fine looking young man, very athletic compared to the average build, but will need years of work to catch up. That may be the difference. Not all 225's are created equal.

 

[dublinirish]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Everyone congratulate @<a href="https://twitter.com/joeschmidtiv">joeschmidtiv</a> on gaining a scholarship!! <a href="https://twitter.com/search/%23NDFB">#NDFB</a></p>— Nicky Baratti (@NickyBaratti) <a href="https://twitter.com/NickyBaratti/status/342981181584850944">June 7, 2013</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[dublinirish]

Well deserved Joe! you know he is going to give oceans more effort than the likes of EV ever would.

 

[GoldenIsThyFame]

Woot!

 

[notredomer23]

Very well deserved. Congrats to him!

 

[NDdomer2]

Congrats Joe!

On a side note: Will we ever get to max scholarship with Kelly. Yet to happen.

(Disclaimer: I am not blaming Kelly)

 

[Bogtrotter07]

Sláinte!

 

[rtrn2glory]

very happy for him...great to see a kid be rewarded for doing things the right way.

 

[Emcee77]

Fantastic news! Congrats Joe!

 

[ndfi78]

Awesome, congrats!