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http://www.blueandgold.com/content/?aid=1759&pageID=1
A general consensus that Notre Dame former athletes use to describe the university is “a place that is not for everyone.” While some don’t notice the difference until after their arrival on campus, defensive tackle prospect Josh Brent took multiple trips to South Bend to see if he was a good fit, and opted to remove the Irish from his list.
“I called Notre Dame and told them that I’m not interested,” Brent reported Thursday night. “Me and my uncle sat down and talked about it for a long time, and outside of football, Notre Dame just isn’t the place for me.”
This becomes a difficult situation for Notre Dame considering the strong need for defensive tackles in the 2007 recruiting class. Four have been offered – Marvin Austin, Joseph Barksdale, Will Blackwell and Andre Jones (who has since committed to Texas) – and at this stage of recruiting, none of those players can be described as a “lock” for Notre Dame.
Despite the uncertainty of who will fill in the gaps at the defensive tackle position, the coaching staff have decided that this time around in recruiting, offers won’t be extended early due to numbers, but the best talent they can find will be rewarded with offers as the players emerge at the position. The lack of an Irish offer, due to those standards, had a hand in Brent’s decision.
“Truthfully, since they haven’t offered, it discouraged me,” he admitted. “I also felt that I didn’t fit in with the students at all.”
Brent took consecutive weekend trips to Notre Dame for the annual Blue-Gold Game and the adidas Elite combine. The trips gave him an opportunity to get a feel for Notre Dame’s campus, and it didn’t leave the best impression on him.
“It’s not too different than where I’m at now because I go to a Catholic school that’s about 99% white, but demographics did have something to do with it,” he shared. “It’s a small university with about 2,000-3,000 students and it would be nice if it was a bigger school that was more diverse. I wouldn’t base it solely on that, but it would help.”
The issue of the diversity on campus has been brought up on many occasions in terms of recruiting, and is something that is difficult to avoid. It mainly depends on where the prospect is from and it may be better that they realize the difference in advance, knowing that they are unable to adjust, than if they disregard those differences and regret the decision later.
Brent and a friend of his stayed in South Bend the night before the spring game to get a feel for the social life on campus and around Notre Dame. It was difficult for him to see himself fitting in, and the academic standards may have also been a little intimidating.
“When I stayed there, I met some students that didn’t play,” Brent said. “I met someone who was planning to go to law school and another going to med school, and the students at Notre Dame seem to plan on being at the top. Overall, the campus is upper-class and more wealthy than I’m used to and it would be hard to adapt. We just don’t share the same interest.”
In a situation where an offer hasn’t been extended by mid-May, it doesn’t always mean that the coaching staff isn’t heavily recruiting a prospect. This notion seemed to be consistent by the reaction Brent received from the recruiting coordinator – Coach Rob Ianello – when he informed Notre Dame that he wasn’t interested.
“When I told Coach Ianello, he was a little sad and disappointed that I cut them out early,” Brent said. “He did tell me that he understands the decision, but hoped that I kept them in the running for a longer period of time.”
After getting that type of reaction from Coach Ianello, if a scholarship was extended to Brent now, would his decision change?
“Notre Dame would have to show some very strong interest for me to reconsider, but it would pretty much be a waste of time for them,” he admitted. “I only had an issue with Notre Dame outside of football. Football-wise, it doesn’t get any better than ND with the tradition, the coaches, and the program regaining its glory.”
While Notre Dame seemed to have lost the interest of this prospect outside of the game of football, the coaching staff has some other options that their attention will be geared towards more now. The best of luck to Brent – you have to appreciate a young man being honest with himself and deciding what’s best for him – but now onto the next potential defensive tackle.
http://www.blueandgold.com/content/?aid=1759&pageID=1
A general consensus that Notre Dame former athletes use to describe the university is “a place that is not for everyone.” While some don’t notice the difference until after their arrival on campus, defensive tackle prospect Josh Brent took multiple trips to South Bend to see if he was a good fit, and opted to remove the Irish from his list.
“I called Notre Dame and told them that I’m not interested,” Brent reported Thursday night. “Me and my uncle sat down and talked about it for a long time, and outside of football, Notre Dame just isn’t the place for me.”
This becomes a difficult situation for Notre Dame considering the strong need for defensive tackles in the 2007 recruiting class. Four have been offered – Marvin Austin, Joseph Barksdale, Will Blackwell and Andre Jones (who has since committed to Texas) – and at this stage of recruiting, none of those players can be described as a “lock” for Notre Dame.
Despite the uncertainty of who will fill in the gaps at the defensive tackle position, the coaching staff have decided that this time around in recruiting, offers won’t be extended early due to numbers, but the best talent they can find will be rewarded with offers as the players emerge at the position. The lack of an Irish offer, due to those standards, had a hand in Brent’s decision.
“Truthfully, since they haven’t offered, it discouraged me,” he admitted. “I also felt that I didn’t fit in with the students at all.”
Brent took consecutive weekend trips to Notre Dame for the annual Blue-Gold Game and the adidas Elite combine. The trips gave him an opportunity to get a feel for Notre Dame’s campus, and it didn’t leave the best impression on him.
“It’s not too different than where I’m at now because I go to a Catholic school that’s about 99% white, but demographics did have something to do with it,” he shared. “It’s a small university with about 2,000-3,000 students and it would be nice if it was a bigger school that was more diverse. I wouldn’t base it solely on that, but it would help.”
The issue of the diversity on campus has been brought up on many occasions in terms of recruiting, and is something that is difficult to avoid. It mainly depends on where the prospect is from and it may be better that they realize the difference in advance, knowing that they are unable to adjust, than if they disregard those differences and regret the decision later.
Brent and a friend of his stayed in South Bend the night before the spring game to get a feel for the social life on campus and around Notre Dame. It was difficult for him to see himself fitting in, and the academic standards may have also been a little intimidating.
“When I stayed there, I met some students that didn’t play,” Brent said. “I met someone who was planning to go to law school and another going to med school, and the students at Notre Dame seem to plan on being at the top. Overall, the campus is upper-class and more wealthy than I’m used to and it would be hard to adapt. We just don’t share the same interest.”
In a situation where an offer hasn’t been extended by mid-May, it doesn’t always mean that the coaching staff isn’t heavily recruiting a prospect. This notion seemed to be consistent by the reaction Brent received from the recruiting coordinator – Coach Rob Ianello – when he informed Notre Dame that he wasn’t interested.
“When I told Coach Ianello, he was a little sad and disappointed that I cut them out early,” Brent said. “He did tell me that he understands the decision, but hoped that I kept them in the running for a longer period of time.”
After getting that type of reaction from Coach Ianello, if a scholarship was extended to Brent now, would his decision change?
“Notre Dame would have to show some very strong interest for me to reconsider, but it would pretty much be a waste of time for them,” he admitted. “I only had an issue with Notre Dame outside of football. Football-wise, it doesn’t get any better than ND with the tradition, the coaches, and the program regaining its glory.”
While Notre Dame seemed to have lost the interest of this prospect outside of the game of football, the coaching staff has some other options that their attention will be geared towards more now. The best of luck to Brent – you have to appreciate a young man being honest with himself and deciding what’s best for him – but now onto the next potential defensive tackle.
