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Since some of you have asked recently....
**Notre Dame is days from completing its offensive line class.
On Wednesday evening the Tunnel learned there’s a good chance Sam Young will wrap up his recruitment next week although he still plans to make an official visit to South Bend on the Jan. 20-22 weekend. Meanwhile, it appears visits to Penn State and Michigan might be scratched from the five-star offensive tackle’s calendar.
It doesn’t take a ruler to connect those dots.
If Notre Dame finishes its offensive line class with Young, it would give the Irish the nation’s best group of blockers on Signing Day and one of just four five-star offensive linemen in the recruiting class of 2006. Much more important than any ranking, however, would be the fact Notre Dame pitched a near perfect game at its biggest need position.
By now anyone that follows Irish recruiting knows that Notre Dame has just four offensive linemen in its junior, sophomore and freshman classes combined. With Ryan Harris entering his final year of eligibility next fall, that likely means in 2007 at least two players from the recruiting class currently under construction will start. Meanwhile, every line prospect set to sign in South Bend will hold a free pass to the two deep.
Obviously, that’s not a healthy way to manage a depth chart, but this potential six-man class of offensive linemen is the kind of medicine that Eli Lilly would rush to patent. Add Young to a group of Dan Wenger, Chris Stewart, Bartley Webb, Matt Carufel and Eric Olsen, and Notre Dame would find itself with a group stocked with quality and quantity. All but Olsen competed in last weekend’s U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio.
Young would mark the most talented lineman in this class, but it’s the interior prospects that might be more critical. After next season the Irish will have just one guard/center on the roster in John Sullivan, although there’s no guarantee a strong 2006 won’t convince the center to bypass a fifth year of eligibility for the NFL. If that happens, it’s not out of the question that Notre Dame’s starting offensive line in 2007 will be comprised entirely of prospects from his current recruiting class.
For all the talk about Notre Dame’s need to upgrade its skilled talent on offense and defense through recruiting, the Irish won’t find any success without a capable offensive line. There’s no guarantee these linemen will pan out as well as the Irish coaching staff hopes, but there’s no doubt Notre Dame will have material worth molding, especially if Young comes on board.
**How Notre Dame’s verbal commitments interacted not just with one another at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, but how they did in recruiting other potential teammates. Offensive lineman Chris Stewart roomed with defensive tackle Gerald McCoy during the week while wide receiver Barry Gallup spent time hanging with offensive tackle Sam Young. Just about every Irish commitment at the game, all 10 of them, worked the recruiting front.
“Sam’s quiet but really cool,” said running back James Aldridge. “It’s kind of hard to tell with Sam because he’s such a quiet person.”
As for McCoy, Stewart said he got a feel for the five-star defensive lineman, although he had little idea for where the Oklahoma standout will commit. McCoy has said in recent weeks that he’s down to three schools and that Notre Dame isn’t one of them. Considering Notre Dame’s needs at defensive tackle, the Irish coaches won’t take no for an answer very easily.
“I was roommates with [McCoy] so I got a chance to know him well,” Stewart said. “He’s an outstanding guy; big on Christianity and family. He’s really a ND guy. He’s the type of player that ND likes. We really didn't talk about it much but I told him that I wanted him to come to ND.
“The ND guys would be in groups taking pictures and whatnot and he’d walk over and we’d tell him that if he wanted to be in the picture he’d have to commit.”
It might take more than a photo op to entice McCoy to South Bend, but Notre Dame’s class of commitments figured it was worth a shot. When it comes to adding talent to the 2006 recruiting class, players like Aldridge and Stewart know that the more top players gravitate to Charlie Weis’ program now, the better chance they’ll have at competing for a national title later.
**Like statistics, it’s easy to misinterpret highlights.
Watching selective clips of a prospect has a way of distorting just how good a potential recruit might actually be. What kind of competition does the prospect face on a weekly basis? Does the game plan intentionally showcase the recruit? Are the clips from games against lesser opponents? Do the highlights explain how a player performs under pressure? It’s hard to answer any of those inquires in a 30-second spot that includes just four or five plays.
Yet some prospects make those questions hardly worth asking.
Meet Josh Oglesby.
Watching this week’s AMP piece on the offensive tackle explains why Charlie Weis has devoted heaping amounts of attention to the 6-foot-7, 315-pound lineman from Brown Deer, Wisc. If you haven’t checked out the piece on one of the Midwest’s top juniors, the Tunnel suggests making it required viewing. Not only will you see one of Notre Dame’s top targets for 2007, you’ll see why Weis makes recruiting an every day event. Constantly staying after kids of Oglesby’s caliber is the one way to land them.
**At least seven junior scholarship offers are already out, and that number figures to jump in the coming weeks after Notre Dame’s first junior day of the year. Instead of Notre Dame inviting anyone and everyone to this event, the weekend figures to center more on 30-35 of the nation’s top prospects including Jimmy Clausen and Arrelious Benn. As many as 15 prospects listed in the Rivals.com 100 juniors to watch will be on campus.
Note that Notre Dame will bring in “the nation’s top prospects” to this weekend’s junior day, not just “the Midwest’s top prospects.” The fact Notre Dame can successfully invite juniors from California or New Jersey for a no expenses paid vacation in mid-January to South Bend hints that the Irish recruiting profile continues to rise under Weis. Even last year, Notre Dame junior days centered more on prospects from distant states like Minnesota and Ohio.
Now Notre Dame is helping prospects log frequent flier miles.
That’s progress.
That’s Weis.
That’s the effect of Notre Dame’s first Top 10 finish since 1993.
**The Tunnel can understand the wishful optimism coming from Notre Dame fans regarding defensive tackle Gerald McCoy. We just can’t echo the sentiment.
Sometime next week, perhaps Monday, Notre Dame will give the five-star defensive tackle the Lawrence Wilson treatment by sending the maximum allowable seven assistant coaches Oklahoma (it’s not like there’s a ton of other senior prospects for the staff to target, anyway). The problem is that the Irish appear to be off McCoy’s favorites list with his recruitment trending toward staying in-state.
McCoy all but ends Notre Dame’s shot at landing a quality defensive tackle in this class because Butch Lewis committed to USC last weekend. Lewis had ranked the Irish highly, although it didn’t help Notre Dame’s cause that it asked the versatile lineman to hold off on his decision.
“Depending on how their scholarships go they’ll let me know if they have a spot for me,” Lewis told Irish Illustrated in late December. “I should know pretty soon.”
While holding off on Lewis might have been Notre Dame’s only option based on open scholarships, the approach opened the door wide of other programs to pass the Irish for the Colorado lineman. It’s one thing if Notre Dame asks a prospect to wait when his other offers are from mid-level programs. It’s another when the alternative is USC or Georgia.
So where does Notre Dame go from here? Not to Jason Kates, apparently. Irish Illustrated caught up with the one-time Notre Dame lean on Thursday and Kates said the Irish are no longer in his Top 5 and he has no plans to visit to South Bend.
Defensive tackle recruiting in 2007 will be what the offensive line was to 2006.
It’s not to early to mark down names like Po’u Palelei and Myles Wade. Wade is scheduled to attend Notre Dame’s junior day this weekend.
**Notre Dame has two scholarships to burn, but there’s a very real chance the Irish might use only one. Weis won’t take players just to fill up the roster, but what if there’s an open spot and the Gatorade Player of the Year wants to take it even though two quarterbacks are already committed?
Just a thought.
Not to throw gasoline on the fire or anything; we’ve just got a feeling that something might be about to break here.
Sam Young – Could cap the Irish recruiting class in five-star style. He’d give Notre Dame the finishing touch it needs on its offensive line haul and enter a depth chart in need of tackle talent.
**Notre Dame is days from completing its offensive line class.
On Wednesday evening the Tunnel learned there’s a good chance Sam Young will wrap up his recruitment next week although he still plans to make an official visit to South Bend on the Jan. 20-22 weekend. Meanwhile, it appears visits to Penn State and Michigan might be scratched from the five-star offensive tackle’s calendar.
It doesn’t take a ruler to connect those dots.
If Notre Dame finishes its offensive line class with Young, it would give the Irish the nation’s best group of blockers on Signing Day and one of just four five-star offensive linemen in the recruiting class of 2006. Much more important than any ranking, however, would be the fact Notre Dame pitched a near perfect game at its biggest need position.
By now anyone that follows Irish recruiting knows that Notre Dame has just four offensive linemen in its junior, sophomore and freshman classes combined. With Ryan Harris entering his final year of eligibility next fall, that likely means in 2007 at least two players from the recruiting class currently under construction will start. Meanwhile, every line prospect set to sign in South Bend will hold a free pass to the two deep.
Obviously, that’s not a healthy way to manage a depth chart, but this potential six-man class of offensive linemen is the kind of medicine that Eli Lilly would rush to patent. Add Young to a group of Dan Wenger, Chris Stewart, Bartley Webb, Matt Carufel and Eric Olsen, and Notre Dame would find itself with a group stocked with quality and quantity. All but Olsen competed in last weekend’s U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio.
Young would mark the most talented lineman in this class, but it’s the interior prospects that might be more critical. After next season the Irish will have just one guard/center on the roster in John Sullivan, although there’s no guarantee a strong 2006 won’t convince the center to bypass a fifth year of eligibility for the NFL. If that happens, it’s not out of the question that Notre Dame’s starting offensive line in 2007 will be comprised entirely of prospects from his current recruiting class.
For all the talk about Notre Dame’s need to upgrade its skilled talent on offense and defense through recruiting, the Irish won’t find any success without a capable offensive line. There’s no guarantee these linemen will pan out as well as the Irish coaching staff hopes, but there’s no doubt Notre Dame will have material worth molding, especially if Young comes on board.
**How Notre Dame’s verbal commitments interacted not just with one another at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, but how they did in recruiting other potential teammates. Offensive lineman Chris Stewart roomed with defensive tackle Gerald McCoy during the week while wide receiver Barry Gallup spent time hanging with offensive tackle Sam Young. Just about every Irish commitment at the game, all 10 of them, worked the recruiting front.
“Sam’s quiet but really cool,” said running back James Aldridge. “It’s kind of hard to tell with Sam because he’s such a quiet person.”
As for McCoy, Stewart said he got a feel for the five-star defensive lineman, although he had little idea for where the Oklahoma standout will commit. McCoy has said in recent weeks that he’s down to three schools and that Notre Dame isn’t one of them. Considering Notre Dame’s needs at defensive tackle, the Irish coaches won’t take no for an answer very easily.
“I was roommates with [McCoy] so I got a chance to know him well,” Stewart said. “He’s an outstanding guy; big on Christianity and family. He’s really a ND guy. He’s the type of player that ND likes. We really didn't talk about it much but I told him that I wanted him to come to ND.
“The ND guys would be in groups taking pictures and whatnot and he’d walk over and we’d tell him that if he wanted to be in the picture he’d have to commit.”
It might take more than a photo op to entice McCoy to South Bend, but Notre Dame’s class of commitments figured it was worth a shot. When it comes to adding talent to the 2006 recruiting class, players like Aldridge and Stewart know that the more top players gravitate to Charlie Weis’ program now, the better chance they’ll have at competing for a national title later.
**Like statistics, it’s easy to misinterpret highlights.
Watching selective clips of a prospect has a way of distorting just how good a potential recruit might actually be. What kind of competition does the prospect face on a weekly basis? Does the game plan intentionally showcase the recruit? Are the clips from games against lesser opponents? Do the highlights explain how a player performs under pressure? It’s hard to answer any of those inquires in a 30-second spot that includes just four or five plays.
Yet some prospects make those questions hardly worth asking.
Meet Josh Oglesby.
Watching this week’s AMP piece on the offensive tackle explains why Charlie Weis has devoted heaping amounts of attention to the 6-foot-7, 315-pound lineman from Brown Deer, Wisc. If you haven’t checked out the piece on one of the Midwest’s top juniors, the Tunnel suggests making it required viewing. Not only will you see one of Notre Dame’s top targets for 2007, you’ll see why Weis makes recruiting an every day event. Constantly staying after kids of Oglesby’s caliber is the one way to land them.
**At least seven junior scholarship offers are already out, and that number figures to jump in the coming weeks after Notre Dame’s first junior day of the year. Instead of Notre Dame inviting anyone and everyone to this event, the weekend figures to center more on 30-35 of the nation’s top prospects including Jimmy Clausen and Arrelious Benn. As many as 15 prospects listed in the Rivals.com 100 juniors to watch will be on campus.
Note that Notre Dame will bring in “the nation’s top prospects” to this weekend’s junior day, not just “the Midwest’s top prospects.” The fact Notre Dame can successfully invite juniors from California or New Jersey for a no expenses paid vacation in mid-January to South Bend hints that the Irish recruiting profile continues to rise under Weis. Even last year, Notre Dame junior days centered more on prospects from distant states like Minnesota and Ohio.
Now Notre Dame is helping prospects log frequent flier miles.
That’s progress.
That’s Weis.
That’s the effect of Notre Dame’s first Top 10 finish since 1993.
**The Tunnel can understand the wishful optimism coming from Notre Dame fans regarding defensive tackle Gerald McCoy. We just can’t echo the sentiment.
Sometime next week, perhaps Monday, Notre Dame will give the five-star defensive tackle the Lawrence Wilson treatment by sending the maximum allowable seven assistant coaches Oklahoma (it’s not like there’s a ton of other senior prospects for the staff to target, anyway). The problem is that the Irish appear to be off McCoy’s favorites list with his recruitment trending toward staying in-state.
McCoy all but ends Notre Dame’s shot at landing a quality defensive tackle in this class because Butch Lewis committed to USC last weekend. Lewis had ranked the Irish highly, although it didn’t help Notre Dame’s cause that it asked the versatile lineman to hold off on his decision.
“Depending on how their scholarships go they’ll let me know if they have a spot for me,” Lewis told Irish Illustrated in late December. “I should know pretty soon.”
While holding off on Lewis might have been Notre Dame’s only option based on open scholarships, the approach opened the door wide of other programs to pass the Irish for the Colorado lineman. It’s one thing if Notre Dame asks a prospect to wait when his other offers are from mid-level programs. It’s another when the alternative is USC or Georgia.
So where does Notre Dame go from here? Not to Jason Kates, apparently. Irish Illustrated caught up with the one-time Notre Dame lean on Thursday and Kates said the Irish are no longer in his Top 5 and he has no plans to visit to South Bend.
Defensive tackle recruiting in 2007 will be what the offensive line was to 2006.
It’s not to early to mark down names like Po’u Palelei and Myles Wade. Wade is scheduled to attend Notre Dame’s junior day this weekend.
**Notre Dame has two scholarships to burn, but there’s a very real chance the Irish might use only one. Weis won’t take players just to fill up the roster, but what if there’s an open spot and the Gatorade Player of the Year wants to take it even though two quarterbacks are already committed?
Just a thought.
Not to throw gasoline on the fire or anything; we’ve just got a feeling that something might be about to break here.
Sam Young – Could cap the Irish recruiting class in five-star style. He’d give Notre Dame the finishing touch it needs on its offensive line haul and enter a depth chart in need of tackle talent.
