'14 IN OLB/S Drue Tranquill (Notre Dame Man)

[zbikowski88]

No timetable to commit and will visit Purdue in the next few weeks. He will also visit ND for a game later on, ND made a great impression.

 

[BeauBenken]

I so just did. I had the misfortune of doing my undergrad in that dump

If you went to BSU and have only bad things to say about it, that's your own damn fault.

 

[dudesthisisthebest]

Lax's Stanford examples still hold. The Cardinal has been turning kids like Tranquill into NFL caliber athletes for years now. They seem to focus on upside, character and cultural fit above all else. If your staff is good at evaluating upside and developing talent, it's a great way to recruit.

I think you might be overrating Stanford a little bit. They haven't had a linebacker or safety drafted since 2007 and have only had 3 defensive players drafted in the last 6 years(since Harbaugh).

 

[EuropeanDomer]

No timetable to commit and will visit Purdue in the next few weeks. He will also visit ND for a game later on, ND made a great impression.

No timetable to commit? he is already committed

 

[Ironman8]

Okay okay Ill quit with the fussing. Hopefully the guy works out and Im wrong.

No offense meant to anyone

Don't be a CottonHeadedNinnyMuggins.

 

[koonja]

Tony Krausz ‏@JGKrausz 1h

Tranquill, a #Purdue commit, said he got a better feel of why #NotreDame sees him as a MLB. No time table on final decision.

 

[ab2cmiller]

Fort Wayne newspaper article about the visit
Tranquill enjoys Notre Dame visit | The Journal Gazette

Tranquill enjoys Notre Dame visit
Tony Krausz | The Journal Gazette

SOUTH BEND – Drue Tranquill is still committed to Purdue, but Notre Dame made an impression on the Carroll linebacker.

Tranquill visited Notre Dame with his parents and girlfriend on Saturday, and he got a lot of questions answered.

"I kind of got to see everything they have to offer, whether it was academics, football, team camaraderie, the campus itself, just everything was great," Tranquill said in a phone interview shortly after leaving campus. "Throughout the day there was just this theme of expectations of excellence. It was just notable in basically everything.

"It is really a community-oriented, family-oriented campus. I mean there's 8,500 students all striving for excellence. When success is a standard, it makes it easier to work hard and stuff. It was just great. All of the guys were great. I watched them practice, hung out with them a little bit and had lunch with them."

Tranquill had lunch with freshmen linebackers Jaylon Smith, a Bishop Luers graduate, and Michael Deebs, along with junior linebacker Joe Schmidt.

He said the players gave him good insight into what it was like being at Notre Dame.

"Basically, they were saying in high school when you get an A on a paper, it would be cool. You are just trying to get by," Tranquill said. "But at Notre Dame, when you get that A on a paper, it's just a sense of relief and a sense of accomplishment. The biggest thing that stuck out to me was just how accomplished you will feel when you get that done in the classroom. You will say, 'Wow, I got a degree from the University of Notre Dame.' "

Tranquill said he was also impressed with how academics are handled for incoming freshmen.

"The coolest thing that stuck out to me academic-wise was the first year at Notre Dame, nothing is intended," Tranquill said. "Basically, everyone goes in undecided, and the first year is like kind of an overview. The first year is going to be basically you're kind of discovering which field is going to be the best for you and what you want to do.

"They give their students a year to kind of do that, take classes and understand more of the fields they are interested in."

Tranquill also got a better grasp of why Notre Dame has interest in making him a middle linebacker. Purdue recruited Tranquill as a defensive athlete and could use him at outside linebacker or safety.

"They definitely see me in the middle spot," said Tranquill, who discussed how he could fit into the Irish's defense with defensive coordinator Bob Diaco and defensive line coach Mike Elston after Saturday's practice. "They see a lot of intangibles there. They want players with a motor, aggressiveness, leadership, they saw all of that in me. They didn't have a spot at safety. They didn't have that many spots at outside linebacker. When they look at their defense and their scheme and how players fit, they don't normally usually go out of their set profile of a player. They even said Jaylon Smith (who is 6-foot-2, 230 pounds) is a small outside linebacker for them, but obviously, Jaylon is a great athlete, so he was kind of an exception.

"They said I'm a profile middle linebacker for them. They said they like to bring in developmental guys that they turn into a product. Obviously, weight-wise, I'm a little smaller, but their weight coach (Paul Longo) says he sees me being 235, 240, no problem. When you look at that, that runs right along with the linebackers they've recently had. Manti Te'o is 6-2, 250, so I'm 6-2 ½, 240. They were able to explain that a little more to me and made me feel a little more comfortable with the idea of possibly playing middle linebacker."

What Tranquill isn't comfortable with is setting a time frame for when he has to decide to stick with his commitment to Purdue or possibly switch to Notre Dame.

"I'm not going to put that added pressure on me," Tranquill said. "It's a lot to handle on top of your senior season. I only get to go through my senior season once, so that is my primary focus right now. Obviously, I'm going to talk it over with my parents and close family friends. But I'm not going to put a time table on it. I'm definitely still committed to Purdue. I got a lot of questions answered today. I got a lot of information presented to me, and I'm going to have to talk it over with my family.

"Obviously, they are two different schools and have different things to offer. I just take what they have into consideration. Ultimately, I'm the one who has to live with my decision and no one else. I just have to take all of that into consideration and make the best decision for myself."

 

[koonja]

If he's truly 6'2.5", and about 210 as a senior-to-be, I say sign him up.

Local kid, seems to have a good head on his shoulders, and at a position we don't recruit well at.

 

[STLDomer]

No timetable to commit and will visit Purdue in the next few weeks. He will also visit ND for a game later on, ND made a great impression.

I think he'll be Irish rather soon, don't think he makes that Purdue visit. Sounds like ND sold him on playing ILB and the academics

 

[GreenSox04]

Bring him in. Any kid from Indiana good enough to receive an offer from us needs to be here IMO.

 

[stlnd01]

His offer list still doesn't excite. But he makes a lot more sense as a middle linebacker than as a safety.

 

[OCIrish]

One reason for the lack of offers, I would think, might be due to the fact that he's just now starting to concentrate on football more intensely....... JMO. As its been hashed out, he's a hell of a baseball player, and after speaking g to my cousin, she says athletically, there's not much that he cannot do........

 

[rtrn2glory]

loved this kid's film from the get go...would love to add him to the mix

 

[AdmiralBackhand]

His instagram has him in a ND jersey in the locker room. Looks well put together and I could see how he would be molded for ILB.

 

[GoldenDomer87]

My only concern is why the coaching staff never offered right away after he camped at ND. If I remember correctly, Bonner camped and they offered right away, so they saw something. Other than that, 3 and 4 stars are the same to me, all depends on work ethic and coaching.

 

[Freeman Ara]

My only concern is why the coaching staff never offered right away after he camped at ND. If I remember correctly, Bonner camped and they offered right away, so they saw something. Other than that, 3 and 4 stars are the same to me, all depends on work ethic and coaching.

Read somewhere that Kelly was going to offer after camp but Drue left camp early. Then the staff went on vacation so the offer didn't come out until beginning of August.

 

[STLDomer]

Him and his girlfriend

 

[SirStrutsAlot]

Drue "the tranquillizer" tranquill?...sounds good to me!

 

[woolybug25]

loved this kid's film from the get go...would love to add him to the mix

Would love to know. What in particular did you love about his film?

No one that has said this has been able to honestly answer this point.

 

[yankeeND]

Would love to know. What in particular did you love about his film?

No one that has said this has been able to honestly answer this point.

What up Wooly? So I watched his film and here is my amateur opinion. He is raw but played well in all 3 facets of the game. Good speed, bump to exceptional for a MLB if he can maintain it with added weight. Nice hands, should be able to make big plays on passing downs. Thumper, when he made the hits, bad guy go boom. Will be a great special teams player from day one, should be in the two deep by year three on campus with the personnel we will have on hand at the time maybe even start next to Deeb. I am all for it if he wants in.

 

[TheTurningPoint]

Drue Tranquill - Highlight Videos, Schedule & Roster - Hudl

Wooly haha.

Just look at the defensive ones. Engage. Shred. WRAP.

Kid wraps up more than most kids that are the best athlete on the field. He engages his guy, and shreds at the right time to make the play. His vision I think could be improved a little bit on some plays. The way he prepares to make the play shows why ND does like him inside. Initiating contact and getting off blocks is solid.

He reminds me a little bit of this guy

Dan Fox in action - YouTube

Both arent the fastest guys for "safety" which a lot of school wanted them at, but ND saw LB. Similiar speed coming out of high school, and I think Drue is a little more athletic. Both have good ball skills for LB. Time will tell, but this staff has done wonders with development.

 

[BeauBenken]

Him and his girlfriend

Is this being posted because it's a picture of Drue...or because it's a picture of his girlfriend?

 

[woolybug25]

Thanks for honest feedback, but I'm just not seeing this technical, instinctive speedster that you guys seem to be seeing. Not to mention, these are highlights against poor competition. He's the best athlete on the field because the only D1 prospect out there.

I mentioned earlier and Lax's Stanford comment made me want to reidderate, my issue had nothing to do with him being a 3 star or his bad offer list. It's the fact that when I turn on his clips, he doesn't look like a great football player, and that's with him playing against scrubs.

Go watch Deeb's tape and then watch Drue's. if any of you can say that they are comparable, then I don't really know what to say.

Either way, I'll root for the kid to prove me wrong. He is yoked too.

 

[Emcee77]

Yeah the highlights are sort of unspectacularl ... But fwiw Wiltfong is high on Tranquill based on what he has seen at camps this summer, and he says he has seen him go 4.1 in the pro-agility shuttle or whatever they call that drill. That's the kind of agility we want, in combination with his other tangibles and intangibles at ILB. he's definitely a project but I think we have the spots to take him.

Wiltfong also says we are probably done at LB except for elite guys if Tranquill commits.

 

[OCIrish]

Is this being posted because it's a picture of Drue...or because it's a picture of his girlfriend?

Does it matter??????

 

[rtrn2glory]

Would love to know. What in particular did you love about his film?

No one that has said this has been able to honestly answer this point.

all my observations are based off of my belief he will best serve as a MLB in our scheme. I think with his athleticism and skill set and then throw in the outstanding ball skills he will be outstanding in coverage covering the seam and backs out of the backfield, which is quite essential in a cover 2 defense.

imo kid's best football is ahead of him.

 

[EddytoNow]

This time the girl friend back home could play in our favor.

 

[IrishLax]

Thanks for honest feedback, but I'm just not seeing this technical, instinctive speedster that you guys seem to be seeing. Not to mention, these are highlights against poor competition. He's the best athlete on the field because the only D1 prospect out there.

I mentioned earlier and Lax's Stanford comment made me want to reidderate, my issue had nothing to do with him being a 3 star or his bad offer list. It's the fact that when I turn on his clips, he doesn't look like a great football player, and that's with him playing against scrubs.

Go watch Deeb's tape and then watch Drue's. if any of you can say that they are comparable, then I don't really know what to say.

Either way, I'll root for the kid to prove me wrong. He is yoked too.

IMO, I believe this is the flaw with how you're looking at this. Why are you comparing him to a guy who plays only MLB instead of a developmental prospect that plays ATH for his HS team? Of course he isn't going to look like an inside run-stuffing thumper... because he isn't even playing that position in HS. People already dropped Fox on here, I talked about Baratti... but if we really want to go apples to apples with a developmental prospect who played all over the field on both sides, projected at ILB, and played weak competition... here you go:

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/dh9Cg9UQluA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

He's got a smaller frame than Anzalone but I don't know how you can watch those highlights and say he is a worse athlete. And Anzalone plays against MUCH weaker competition than Tranquill. What I like about Tranquill's film is that, for a LB candidate, he is quite fast, covers exceptionally, and is fluid. Can he get big and strong enough? That's the only question.

I also, personally, hate the "good competition" argument... it's really smoke and mirrors, especially if you're projecting the player to play a different position than he is playing in HS. The simple fact is, playing against bad competition is just as likely to mean that you're overlooked than anything else. I'd rather take a developmental player from Montana 10 out of 10 times over a guy from Florida that none of the Florida schools wanted. For years you used to see this in Virginia until people finally started going "how is Virginia Tech winning 10 games every year? Oh maybe these kids in Virginia can play ball..." and now you have 3 of the top 10 players this year from Virginia... not because they're better or playing good competition (the competition still, relatively, sucks)... just because analysts decided to start noticing them.

Those Stanford guys I brought up? It's no coincidence that the 5/7 with no or very few FBS offers came from "bad competition" areas and were thus overlooked... Ed Reynolds came from Woodberry Forest (where he was worse than Prosise as a HS safety and was unrated and had no offers); Ben Gardner was from Mequon, Wisconsin; A.J. Tarpley was 6'1" 215 from Plymouth, Minnesota... he's now listed at 6'2" 237 and a very good 3-4 ILB opposite Skov... who does that remind us of?; David Parry was from Marion, Iowa; and Trent Murphy was from Arizona, maybe the only one you could claim played against "good" competition and that would be a big stretch to say it's better than what Tranquill plays against.

 

[Buster Bluth]

I also, personally, hate the "good competition" argument... it's really smoke and mirrors, especially if you're projecting the player to play a different position than he is playing in HS. The simple fact is, playing against bad competition is just as likely to mean that you're overlooked than anything else. I'd rather take a developmental player from Montana 10 out of 10 times over a guy from Florida that none of the Florida schools wanted. For years you used to see this in Virginia until people finally started going "how is Virginia Tech winning 10 games every year? Oh maybe these kids in Virginia can play ball..." and now you have 3 of the top 10 players this year from Virginia... not because they're better or playing good competition (the competition still, relatively, sucks)... just because analysts decided to start noticing them.

This. What's even sillier is when people generalize the competition factor over entire states. "Plays in Texas? Tough competition." "Plays in New Mexico? Weak competition." It's malarkey. Corey Robinson played against weak opponents in Texas, Elijah Hood plays against weak competition in North Carolina, Malik Zaire played against weak competition in Ohio. It simply doesn't matter.

This staff puts in their due diligence with every recruit, and we sometimes lament that fact because it takes too long. The fact is, if the staff wants this kid in August, then he's a keeper. If it were January, then the naysayers would have a point, but it's much too early to start reaching for players.

 

[Emcee77]

Drue Tranquill - Highlight Videos, Schedule & Roster - Hudl

Wooly haha.

Just look at the defensive ones. Engage. Shred. WRAP.

Kid wraps up more than most kids that are the best athlete on the field. He engages his guy, and shreds at the right time to make the play. His vision I think could be improved a little bit on some plays. The way he prepares to make the play shows why ND does like him inside. Initiating contact and getting off blocks is solid.

He reminds me a little bit of this guy

Dan Fox in action - YouTube

Both arent the fastest guys for "safety" which a lot of school wanted them at, but ND saw LB. Similiar speed coming out of high school, and I think Drue is a little more athletic. Both have good ball skills for LB. Time will tell, but this staff has done wonders with development.

YES thank you. I've been making this comparison for days now.