'14 CA TE Tyler Luatua (Back in Blue)

[palinurus]

I hope the kid becomes a star if he actually comes to ND, but with his delaying act, then his immediate reconsideration/lukewarmness toward ND, followed by what has been described as an unimpressive showing at the all star game, I think some misgivings or uncertainty of fondness by fans (who, as you would think, are fanatical about the school/team/prospects) is completely understandable. Put me in that category.

 

[ResLife Hero]

I hope the kid becomes a star if he actually comes to ND, but with his delaying act, then his immediate reconsideration/lukewarmness toward ND, followed by what has been described as an unimpressive showing at the all star game, I think some misgivings or uncertainty of fondness by fans (who, as you would think, are fanatical about the school/team/prospects) is completely understandable. Put me in that category.

I could be wrong, but I thought all the "delays" were speculation on the part of analysts. Didn't he stick to the only announcement date he ever personally set?

For me, the only issue I have with some of the criticism on the board is that it seems overly harsh for a kid who, until he decommits or visits another school, is planning on playing football for the team and school we're all so fanatical about. I'd hate to be him and stumble across this thread, but free speech and whatnot so debate away.

 

[PANDFAN]

He doesn't, somebody is always pissing in them.

lol..good one bogs

 

[Meacon Irish]

I would absolutely love to have this kid still. But the way his recruitment is going reminds me of a few players (Kiel/Neal). If he decides to come here and doesn't get on the field next season, I'd give incredible odds that he leaves and ends up back out in Cali.

 

[Cackalacky]

I could be wrong, but I thought all the "delays" were speculation on the part of analysts. Didn't he stick to the only announcement date he ever personally set?

For me, the only issue I have with some of the criticism on the board is that it seems overly harsh for a kid who, until he decommits or visits another school, is planning on playing football for the team and school we're all so fanatical about. I'd hate to be him and stumble across this thread, but free speech and whatnot so debate away.

For me its this in a nutshell:

1. Kid is initially an ND lock
2. Versatile TE prospect with a high ceiling from Cali who wants to play with Juju and Mama
3. Brother goes to Alabama
4. JuJu and Mama cool on ND
5. Visits Bama and plays up publicly Bama vs ND
6. Silently commits to ND on December 3
7. Publicly commits to ND
8. Publicly says he cools on ND and wants a USC scholarship after the Sark hire
9. Shows up and is underwhelming at UAAA game and in all photos interviews etc with ND commits is not present (for whatever reason)
10. Lots of scout criticism about lack of intensity, fire etc (which is fairly important for a TE) and apprently is dropping to a 3-star?
11. Add in all the info from NDinLA and Lax, and even T Town Tommy et al, who have provided information confirming many schools on his offer list have cooled on him..particularly the west coast schools, despite him not being 100% committed to ND

All this leaves me, at this point, not so stoked about a kid I was once warm about. Although since Shepherd, Greenberry, Darby, and especially Kiel and Vanderdoes, I am less than apt to get stoked until they actually show up at school and perform. I retain the right to be fluid in my opinions regarding commits. If that pisses people off well... all I can do is explain my position.

 

[Irishnuke]

While I don't think he'll wind up here, I'm not about to say we shouldn't take him. That's just stupid.

Seems you agreed with most of those including myself....

Originally Posted by Irishnuke View Post
We've all seen this movie before. He's not coming to ND.

i would say more schizophrenic

Interesting that you guys chose to leave this one out.

You guys are right though. At the time I didn't think he was coming here. I'm still not so sure but I'm leaning towards him signing with ND. I didn't try to cover that up. That wasn't my point though. I was pointing out that people on this board were stoked when he committed. Then, he says he might not be 100% and all of a sudden he's an attention whore, prima donna, has a bad attitude, is overrated, unathletic, isn't a RKG and so on and so on. All that shit was said about a ND commit. Not a decommit, a kid who is still committed to ND. If he decommits then go ahead and rip him. What's going to happen if he doesn't?

 

[Jebediah Springfield]

[/B]




Interesting that you guys chose to leave this one out.

You guys are right though. At the time I didn't think he was coming here. I'm still not so sure but I'm leaning towards him signing with ND. I didn't try to cover that up. That wasn't my point though. I was pointing out that people on this board were stoked when he committed. Then, he says he might not be 100% and all of a sudden he's an attention whore, prima donna, has a bad attitude, is overrated, unathletic, isn't a RKG and so on and so on. All that shit was said about a ND commit. Not a decommit, a kid who is still committed to ND. If he decommits then go ahead and rip him. What's going to happen if he doesn't?

They do a naked lap.

 

[Emcee77]

[/B]

You guys are right though. At the time I didn't think he was coming here. I'm still not so sure but I'm leaning towards him signing with ND. I didn't try to cover that up. That wasn't my point though. I was pointing out that people on this board were stoked when he committed. Then, he says he might not be 100% and all of a sudden he's an attention whore, prima donna, has a bad attitude, is overrated, unathletic, isn't a RKG and so on and so on. All that shit was said about a ND commit. Not a decommit, a kid who is still committed to ND. If he decommits then go ahead and rip him. What's going to happen if he doesn't?

I agree. I was stunned by how quickly people turned on Luatua based only on a few comments to Bartow that may or may not have represented the truth of the matter.

I also just think generally that too many keystrokes have been wasted on Tyler. He is a true take-or-leave-him recruit, imo, unless he has more influence over Juju than I think he does. Don't get me wrong, I like him and want him. I know the staff likes his athletic profile and so do I. But we have Weishar in the class and we haven't stopped recruiting Dalton Schultz. Loy or Wiltfong said the other day that we could still take Schultz; even though 3 TEs in this class would be a lot, it would make sense because we aren't high on any 2015 TEs other than Alize Jones, who is already committed elsewhere. So Luatua just doesn't matter. If he wants to come, great, I want him. If he doesn't, best of luck. Nothing to get worked up about.

 

[GBdomer]

Only issue I have sometimes are the people who "OMG WELCOME TO ND TYLER"
"BEST TE IN THE COUNTRY"
"TEU"
Then he starts talking aobut taking visits and it's like well I want Schultz more
Stay consistent with the way you feel. Tyler stock has been falling for two years. ND staff likes him and wants him at ND. I respect the people who sometimes disagree with players and commits. I remember last year when we got Anzalone. Wooly was never that high on him and once he committed he wasn't like "Ya number 2 MLB in the country, welcome Alex"! If you don't like a player or aren't that high on him just say it. But then when they commit there all a bunch of "RKG's. I get what nuke was saying, I was never that high on Luatua and some of you were. Everyone has there opinions and that's what makes this board great. I will always root for players as long as they are at ND. But don't beat around the bush with it.

 

[EuropeanDomer]

@Luatua9 5h
Troy niklas to the draft... Looks like playing time for me�� time to work for that spot�� #GoIrish #TightEndU ��

Looks very confident!

 

[rtrn2glory]

thank goodness we're taking 2 tight ends...

 

[Domina Nostra]

thank goodness we're taking 2 tight ends...

Maybe, three!

 

[Emcee77]

I really hope he hits the weights hard and is really conscientious with his conditioning this spring. He has a ways to go based on his Under Armour game showing, but if he comes in in the best shape of his life, a la Keivarae Russell two years ago, he could see early playing time as a blocking TE. I don't think he will get a lot of balls thrown his way with Koyack and Smythe ahead of him, but maybe he will prove me wrong.

 

[GoldenIsThyFame]

I really hope he hits the weights hard and is really conscientious with his conditioning this spring. If he comes in in the best shape of his life (and he has a ways to go based on his under armour showing), a la Keivarae Russell two years ago, he could see early playing time as a blocking TE. I don't think he will get a lot of balls thrown his way with Koyack and Smythe ahead of him, but maybe he will prove me wrong.

This is why I wish Welch was coming back. We don't need a TE to catch balls, we need an in-line blocker.

 

[Ironman8]

This is why I wish Welch was coming back. We don't need a TE to catch balls, we need an in-line blocker.

Agreed. Might seen an extra OT in this role now. I'd think we could see McGlinchey as a 3rd tackle in the traditional TE spot in some alignments.

 

[Emcee77]

This is why I wish Welch was coming back. We don't need a TE to catch balls, we need an in-line blocker.

Oh yeah. Welch pulled a total Gunner Kiel, transferring only to have the guy in front of him end up out of the program. (Not that I blame him; I guess the circumstances were actually a bit different from Kiel.)

Agreed. Might seen an extra OT in this role now. I'd think we could see McGlinchey as a 3rd tackle in the traditional TE spot in some alignments.

That is a great idea. Kelly did say at his last media session that McGlinchey is a freak athlete who could play TE for some teams. Not sure if he was serious about that, but if he was, that could solve our problem.

 

[dublinirish]

This is why I wish Welch was coming back. We don't need a TE to catch balls, we need an in-line blocker.

this is why when i look at the roster i feel an in-line blocker has got to be converted from the defense or OL somewhere, I dont see Koyack or any of the young guys being able to handle it.

 

[GoldenIsThyFame]

Agreed. Might seen an extra OT in this role now. I'd think we could see McGlinchey as a 3rd tackle in the traditional TE spot in some alignments.

oh yeah, daddy like that. Throw in a wrinkle on the goal line where we throw it up to him.

 

[CanadalovesND]

Like IM8 said, McGlinchey could play "TE" in 12 personnel running sets. Every so often, you could even let him run a route, it would definitely throw off the opposing defence a bit.

 

[IRISHbluehen]

Agreed. Might seen an extra OT in this role now. I'd think we could see McGlinchey as a 3rd tackle in the traditional TE spot in some alignments.

Get out my head man.

 

[ResLife Hero]

Like IM8 said, McGlinchey could play "TE" in 12 personnel running sets. Every so often, you could even let him run a route, it would definitely throw off the opposing defence a bit.

Oh yeah. A LB all of a sudden having to recover and try to break up a pass from a 6'8" 300 lb guy would be fun to watch.

 

[Cpnd1]

@Luatua9: Can't wait for this visit with coach Kelly and Denbrock�� #ND #Irish ������

 

[Redbar]

@Luatua9: Can't wait for this visit with coach Kelly and Denbrock�� #ND #Irish ������

That is really good to hear from Tyler.

 

[Brooklyn]

no one bump this thread until he signs his LOI please. Scary.

 

[Ironman8]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>ND's greatest👌 Coach Kelly and Coach Denbrock <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23GoIrish&src=hash">#GoIrish</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23ND&src=hash">#ND</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23TightEndU&src=hash">#TightEndU</a> 🍀🍀🍀 <a href="http://t.co/xsZERC2Rj2">pic.twitter.com/xsZERC2Rj2</a></p>— T•L (@Luatua9) <a href="https://twitter.com/Luatua9/statuses/428740804127899648">January 30, 2014</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[T Town Tommy]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>ND's greatest&#55357;&#56396; Coach Kelly and Coach Denbrock <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23GoIrish&src=hash">#GoIrish</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23ND&src=hash">#ND</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23TightEndU&src=hash">#TightEndU</a> &#55356;&#57152;&#55356;&#57152;&#55356;&#57152; <a href="http://t.co/xsZERC2Rj2">pic.twitter.com/xsZERC2Rj2</a></p>— T•L (@Luatua9) <a href="https://twitter.com/Luatua9/statuses/428740804127899648">January 30, 2014</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Any concerns he backs out and chooses USC? I kinda get that feeling....

 

[dublinirish]

he has been surprizingly drama free for the last few weeks alright!

 

[Irish#1]

Any concerns he backs out and chooses USC? I kinda get that feeling....

STOP!

 

[Irish8248]

Any concerns he backs out and chooses USC? I kinda get that feeling....

Not even the slightest ...

 

[PANDFAN]

Any concerns he backs out and chooses USC? I kinda get that feeling....