'14 FL WR Isaiah McKenzie ( Georgia ¯\_(ツ)_/¯)

[Irish YJ]

I enjoy even more when they graduate. It takes a committed young man to start with an academic deficiency and end up not just competing on the gridiron but competing with a classroom of Whiskejacks and jimmymacs ... and succeeding.

Amen
Sing it

 

[TheTurningPoint]

It all comes down to what he wants. Like I have said before, I dont think on NSD hes Irish. Id love for him to be part of the ND family and hope I am wrong. But he has yet to complete the proper steps to even get admissions process started. With it being mid-September there are very limited opportunities for him to complete his end of the process.

 

[Luckylucci]

Football Recruiting and Basketball Recruiting, Rankings, and News at PrepForce.com

Some of his Season To Date Highlights, pretty awesome.

 

[NDBoiler]

It all comes down to what he wants. Like I have said before, I dont think on NSD hes Irish. Id love for him to be part of the ND family and hope I am wrong. But he has yet to complete the proper steps to even get admissions process started. With it being mid-September there are very limited opportunities for him to complete his end of the process.

I hope you are wrong, but that doesn't sound good.

Football Recruiting and Basketball Recruiting, Rankings, and News at PrepForce.com

Some of his Season To Date Highlights, pretty awesome.

All these season highlights/updates are going to make it that much more painful if he doesn't get into ND unfortunately!

 

[Cackalacky]

I don't know his circumstances or if it possible to catch these guys earlier than we do but it would be nice if we could ID this guys early on, visit the school and tell the kids/coaches we are interested and get them on the right track to get an offer an ultimately be accepted by ND if they are interested.

Seems to me we wait too long to offer or there is always some academic issue that arises during the process. If the ND staff can do something about this then let's do it, but if ND is doing what they can and the kid still fails to do it after they know what needs to be done, then I am not going to get worked up over it.

 

[Luckylucci]

I hope you are wrong, but that doesn't sound good.



All these season highlights/updates are going to make it that much more painful if he doesn't get into ND unfortunately!

While I agree, I still love watching him makes some of these kids look silly!

 

[NDdomer2]

I don't know his circumstances or if it possible to catch these guys earlier than we do but it would be nice if we could ID this guys early on, visit the school and tell the kids/coaches we are interested and get them on the right track to get an offer an ultimately be accepted by ND if they are interested.

Seems to me we wait too long to offer or there is always some academic issue that arises during the process. If the ND staff can do something about this then let's do it, but if ND is doing what they can and the kid still fails to do it after they know what needs to be done, then I am not going to get worked up over it.

I think it has to start with the kid realizing that he may want to attend ND first. If they don't make that decision until August their senior year there isn't much we can do for them really.

 

[dwshade]

According to II he's pushed back his commit date from October 6th. Really doesn't matter as it won't be known until winter if he can qualify.

 

[Cackalacky]

I think it has to start with the kid realizing that he may want to attend ND first. If they don't make that decision until August their senior year there isn't much we can do for them really.

Exactly. I guess that is why I say ND may need to get to the kids early and let them know what it takes. We don't have the luxury or having these kids wait until NSD and then not qualify.

 

[rtrn2glory]

at this point the direction this is going (AQM 2.0) i'll be very surprised if he ends up signing with ND

 

[NDdomer2]

Exactly. I guess that is why I say ND may need to get to the kids early and let them know what it takes. We don't have the luxury or having these kids wait until NSD and then not qualify.

I think the hardest thing has got to be how many elite high school football players are thinking about "if I were to end up wanting to go to ND I need to take X, XII, and whatever else" when they are 15, 16, sometimes even 17.

Even if we were to talk to them earlier that doesn't always mean they are going to put together the "end goal" with the "it starts now."

 

[Cackalacky]

I think the hardest thing has got to be how many elite high school football players are thinking about "if I were to end up wanting to go to ND I need to take X, XII, and whatever else" when they are 15, 16, sometimes even 17.

Even if we were to talk to them earlier that doesn't always mean they are going to put together the "end goal" with the "it starts now."

Yep that was the point of what I said 2 posts up. If they want to come and they know what is expected and they don't make it.. well I am not going to get bent up about it.

 

[NDdomer2]

Yep that was the point of what I said 2 posts up. If they want to come and they know what is expected and they don't make it.. well I am not going to get bent up about it.

I honestly feel like it should be more on the adults in these kids lives (i understand some of them don't even have that) to see the long term goals and help get the plan laid out.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

IIRC, we had a big lead for McKenzie by the end of his sophomore year/ early summer. I don't think getting seriously involved with a kid's academic progress much earlier than that is plausible unless he's clearly a singular talent and he's really high on ND from the get-go.

According to TP, he's known what he needs to do to get past admissions for a while, and he hasn't even started the process yet. McKenzie would really need to have his heart set on ND to voluntarily do a bunch of extra work when other elite programs are willing to take him "as is".

 

[Cackalacky]

IIRC, we had a big lead for McKenzie by the end of his sophomore year/ early summer. I don't think getting seriously involved with a kid's academic progress much earlier than that is plausible unless he's clearly a singular talent and he's really high on ND from the get-go.

According to TP, he's known what he needs to do to get past admissions for a while, and he hasn't even started the process yet. McKenzie would really need to have his heart set on ND to voluntarily do a bunch of extra work when other elite programs are willing to take him "as is".

Well then the staff has done what they need to. Moving on.

 

[TheTurningPoint]

I mean if its not clear by him pushing back his announcement date twice I dont know what is. I mean I commend him for taking his time and taking visits, but the fact everyone knows ND leads and has set 2 announcement dates speaks for itself.

 

[stlnd01]

I honestly feel like it should be more on the adults in these kids lives (i understand some of them don't even have that) to see the long term goals and help get the plan laid out.

Yeah. That is what always gets me with the borderline academic cases who want to be here and get what it can mean for them but just don't have the proper coursework. (here's looking at you, Tee Shepherd). No one on their end of things takes the kid aside and says "here's what it takes?"

 

[NDhoosier]

The kid looks electric, but if we end up with Quick and Lazard, Ill get over the loss of McKenzie pretty quickly. Still, most schools know what it takes to get into colleges and should put their athletes on track to have the required classes. If it is just his grades being too low, then that is too bad, for the fault is squarely on McKenzie's shoulders.

 

[rikkitikki08]

Everyday the chances seem less and less likely that ND lands this kid, if ND informed him of what he needed to do and he didn't that's alright, kid has a hell of a future no matter what school he chooses

 

[BGIF]

Notre Dame football recruiting: Irish trying to corral an elusive target - South Bend Tribune: Recruiting


By Tyler James
9/18/13

His eye-catching highlights have brought increased attention from Texas Tech, Kansas State and Texas A&M, but McKenzie remains focused on five schools, with Notre Dame and Rutgers sitting at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively. Offers from West Virginia, Cincinnati and Kentucky are also currently receiving consideration from the South Florida sparkplug.

No mention of grades or test.

 

[Ironman8]

There really won't be any significant movement in this kid's recruitment until he gets the results of his test score he is supposedly taking in October. A great visit to USC will only help our lead, obviously, but I think as long as he can get in ND is where he will be. I think it's clear this one stretches to the winter before we get clarity.

 

[GoldenIsThyFame]

Per TV the plan is to get him commit on his visit to create more buzz and momentum with other recruits. This is of course depended on what IM8 said..

 

[Emcee77]

Per TV the plan is to get him commit on his visit to create more buzz and momentum with other recruits. This is of course depended on what IM8 said..

Innnteresting. I noticed that Loy never mentioned the test score issue that IM8 mentioned. Makes me wonder if what Loy heard about wanting to commit at the game was a partial smoke screen? Either way, love that we are still in good shape for Isaiah.

P.S. Is it bad that I trust IM8 to have the real story way more than I trust Loy? Probably unfair ... Wiltfong is involved in TV too.

 

[Luckylucci]

Wiltfong posted that he's still working through things but everyone is optimistic at this point.

 

[IrishLax]

Might just let him commit and have it be contingent on him getting his house in order. Seems like that'd be a smarter approach then NOT letting him commit and waiting on his test score....

 

[rtrn2glory]

Wiltfong posted that he's still working through things but everyone is optimistic at this point.

that's contrary to TP's report from yesterday

 

[Luckylucci]

that's contrary to TP's report from yesterday

Yes it is. TJ and Wiltfong have been more optimistic than TP for awhile now. Not sure why, maybe he can comment on that in the near future.

 

[IrishLax]

Not to speak for TP, but the pessimism probably stems from all of the guys who had "work to do" in the classroom and couldn't get their crap together. Last one I can remember everything working out for in the end was DaVaris Daniels.

 

[rtrn2glory]

i guess you could say everett worked out too didn't he he have issues in the classroom in HS?

 

[Luckylucci]

Not to speak for TP, but the pessimism probably stems from all of the guys who had "work to do" in the classroom and couldn't get their crap together. Last one I can remember everything working out for in the end was DaVaris Daniels.

Of course, I understand the pessimism and was not calling anybody wrong. I know nothing more than what I read or listen to. I just thought it was an interesting point to bring up that we have two polar opposite views from people close to the program, thats all.