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

[wizards8507]

He definitely hasn't made up his mind, and he is far from locked in or "in love" with ND as others have hypothesized. I think ND still has a very decent shot to sign him... I'm skeptical that with his personality type he will enjoy his visit though.

Hasn't he been on an unofficial and already enjoyed it?

 

[connect the dots]

Loy just posted that McKenzie called Kelly and Alford last night to let them know that while he was quoted correctly that's not how he wanted it to come out. He told them that he's excited about this weekends visit. He was not angry with Kelly. JC told Loy this morning that it looks like VT won't offer. Not 100% sure but that's the feeling right now.

- the fact that he contacted Kelly directly to apologize for how it came out is a good sign. Either this kid is really playing us for fools or he may have an incredibly hard time communicating his points in interviews. Either way it will be an interesting week. 7 days

Isaiah does have an incredibly easy time communicating his skill set on a football field. Though being other than verbal, it's a rather declarative and emphatic statement - You can't touch this!

 

[PANDFAN]

Hasn't he been on an unofficial and already enjoyed it?

yes, june 14

 

[woolybug25]

Hasn't he been on an unofficial and already enjoyed it?

He loved his first visit. Even took a pic of himself doing a backflip on the field. The guy left wanting to commit, but we wouldn't let him.


I know people on here have gotten opinions of him from your "sources" and have heard various stories regarding him. But no one on here has actually met him or have the personal knowledge of him to judge his character, imo.

 

[D-BOE34]

Deeb seems like a stand up kid and he has a strong relationship with IM. That plus the coaches are still after him and what all he has done to put himself in this position, I am going to assume this is a good kid that is just young. Nothing more nothing less.

Now come to ND, IM, and avg more than 5 yards a punt return!

 

[Booslum31]

He definitely hasn't made up his mind, and he is far from locked in or "in love" with ND as others have hypothesized. I think ND still has a very decent shot to sign him... I'm skeptical that with his personality type he will enjoy his visit though.

Hey Lax....curious what it is about his personality type that would impact whether he enjoys his visit or not? If it's about having a big ego I would think that all those involved would partake in stroking it...he's not the first big ego to show up on campus. Maybe you mean that he's very social and wants to see a lot of "action" on his visit? And what he's going to see is a more serious and business-lke atmosphere from both the staff and the students? I don't know...your post got me thinking.

I'm just hoping that he doesn't freeze his ass off.

 

[rocket66]

He loved his first visit. Even took a pic of himself doing a backflip on the field. The guy left wanting to commit, but we wouldn't let him.





I know people on here have gotten opinions of him from your "sources" and have heard various stories regarding him. But no one on here has actually met him or have the personal knowledge of him to judge his character, imo.

Thank you. Perfectly said.

 

[#1rish]

Bold prediction time, he'll commit on his OV this weekend, once he realizes he's right where he belongs.

 

[IrishLax]

I know people on here have gotten opinions of him from your "sources" and have heard various stories regarding him. But no one on here has actually met him or have the personal knowledge of him to judge his character, imo.

Most of this info is coming from two degrees of separation at worst. A lot of it straight from the horse's mouth. You can put whatever level of stock you want in the info, that's your prerogative. Most of it is relayed directly from multiple people who know McKenzie or talk to him regularly... or parsing of his publicly available quotes.

When you talk about your prototypical "Notre Dame" type kid with a "Notre Dame" mindset it's someone like Corey Robinson or Steve Elmer or the like. No, I don't think you judge his "character" in the sense of good/bad person or anything like that. That's stupid. But you can judge his "fit." He absolutely does not have some love of ND, or even an appreciation of anything many "Notre Dame" type kids find special. He does not have strong academics. Calling him "inconsistent" is about as generous as you can be with how he has talked to and treated people (and I don't mean reporters, I mean coaches).

I hope he signs with ND because his talent is that good and that needed. And I think there's a reasonable chance that happens. Be he has more red flags than anyone we have ever signed, and even if he does make it to campus there's an extremely high risk of him washing out.

 

[IrishLax]

Hey Lax....curious what it is about his personality type that would impact whether he enjoys his visit or not? If it's about having a big ego I would think that all those involved would partake in stroking it...he's not the first big ego to show up on campus. Maybe you mean that he's very social and wants to see a lot of "action" on his visit? And what he's going to see is a more serious and business-lke atmosphere from both the staff and the students? I don't know...your post got me thinking.

I'm just hoping that he doesn't freeze his ass off.

This is what I mean. He wants to hang out with people and have a good time. He wants to get to know the players. His personality seems way closer to the guys he was hanging with at Ole Miss than most of the guys on ND's roster. ND does not exactly have the most wild and impressive party scene either in the dead of winter. But for all we know, he has a great time and feels very welcome and commits. I don't think he was blown away by either visit to Florida or Ole Miss.

 

[Emcee77]

He definitely hasn't made up his mind, and he is far from locked in or "in love" with ND as others have hypothesized. I think ND still has a very decent shot to sign him... I'm skeptical that with his personality type he will enjoy his visit though.

You've mentioned this twice and I think I should clarify to the extent you are referring to this post:

I'm feeling increasingly certain that he picks ND. He likes drama, but he loves ND, and that will win out.

As you can see, I didn't say he is "in love" with ND. "He likes drama, but he loves ND" is maybe making a bit of a rhetorical flourish, but all I was saying is that I believe his desire to attend ND will overcome his desire to play up the drama of his decision and steal some of the spotlight from other recruits. Love as in "> like", not "in love."

Not saying I have inside info that McKenzie will pick ND (no one does; he doesn't know himself which way he's going) ... just my guess as to how his decision-making process will go as we get closer to NSD.

 

[irishog77]

He loved his first visit. Even took a pic of himself doing a backflip on the field. The guy left wanting to commit, but we wouldn't let him.


I know people on here have gotten opinions of him from your "sources" and have heard various stories regarding him. But no one on here has actually met him or have the personal knowledge of him to judge his character, imo.

True.

But if we're going down that road, then the same can be said for basically every recruit/player. And we'd all be as equally wrong to praise a guy for how well-spoken a kid is, how intelligent a kid seems, how much of a team-oriented kid is, how strong a kid's work ethic seems to be, how much a kid is a fit at ND, how much a kid loves ND, etc.

 

[palinurus]

You've mentioned this twice and I think I should clarify to the extent you are referring to this post:



As you can see, I didn't say he is "in love" with ND. "He likes drama, but he loves ND" is maybe making a bit of a rhetorical flourish, but all I was saying is that I believe his desire to attend ND will overcome his desire to play up the drama of his decision and steal some of the spotlight from other recruits. Love as in "> like", not "in love."

Not saying I have inside info that McKenzie will pick ND (no one does; he doesn't know himself which way he's going) ... just my guess as to how his decision-making process will go as we get closer to NSD.

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The most boring YouTube post ever.

 

[IrishLion]

True.

But if we're going down that road, then the same can be said for basically every recruit/player. And we'd all be as equally wrong to praise a guy for how well-spoken a kid is, how intelligent a kid seems, how much of a team-oriented kid is, how strong a kid's work ethic seems to be, how much a kid is a fit at ND, how much a kid loves ND, etc.

I would disagree. Usually, when we praise a kid's character, work ethic, etc., it's because there is hard evidence of those qualities on display.

However, we should not question a recruits character just because they are wishy-washy during the process, or bad with interviews. Unless we are talking about Jayru Campbell, we usually don't have evidence that supports any negative conotations of a recruit's qualities aside from the pure football things, like "lack off acceleration" or "bad pursuit angles." You see a kid on film and can make judgements, and you can see the work they've done off the field to qualify or provide service, but you don't see enough to know the "dark secrets."

 

[NDinL.A.]

A lot of you went from praising him for getting his grades together and being accepted to bashing him for saying a recent visit to Ole Miss "sticks out". There is just as much drama on this board as there is with IM's recruitment.

** I can only speak for myself, but I PM'd Lax a month ago with my concerns about his ability to get fully qualified and whether he would be a good fit. And I got that info from a guy very close to the situation. Pretty much everything that has happened since then has only strengthened that argument (Lax already gave a good summary so I won't rehash it all).

** As far as Lax saying that he might not love his visit, and subsequent posters correctly pointing out he already loved one ND visit, there is one major difference. IM is coming off visits to FL and Ole Miss. Now, I personally think ND women nowadays get a really bad rap and there are a lot of hotties on campus, it still pales in comparison to Ole Miss and FL hotties ready to show the boys a REAL good time in a moment's notice to get a recruit on campus full-time. ND is a just different in so many ways than that, and IF he likes the fun things FL and Ole Miss showed him (he is 18 after all), it is very conceivable that he won't like the ND parties as much. So I see Lax's point there.

I actually think he chooses ND in the end. No inside info, just an opinion. But I also don't think he'll last the 3-4 years here. And I NEVER like to rip on a recruit who still is choosing ND (the other time I did it as I recall was Seantrell Henderson, and that was because I had people at USC telling me about him and his dad even before he signed there), but I came across a bunch of that tells me he's going to struggle mightily here unless he has a come-to-Jesus moment and completely changes his academic habits.

(I listened to an interview with a former USC walk-on yesterday who said he did nothing but practice, study and lift, lift and lift some more his first 2 years at USC bc he wanted to earn a scholly, which he did. Didn't party once lived in the weight-room. THAT is the type of dedication IM will have to make, except not in the gym, but in the classroom, to make it at ND. I can be done.)

 

[rocket66]

Something to point out: Loy has communicated directly with IM as much as anyone and has concluded that he is a good kid. The last month has blown up for him and perhaps some of it has gone to his head, but 99% of kids in that same scenario would handle it similar, IMO.

Using Elmer and other long time ND commits as a comparison for character is a bit off as well. A lot of these "ND" kids had long time offers from several big time schools before settling on their decision to attend ND. The exact opposite is happening for IM, who is getting a ton of love all at once at the end of the cycle. No one on this board could comprehend what he is going through.

 

[Luckylucci]

Something to point out: Loy has communicated directly with IM as much as anyone and has concluded that he is a good kid. The last month has blown up for him and perhaps some of it has gone to his head, but 99% of kids in that same scenario would handle it similar, IMO.

Using Elmer and other long time ND commits as a comparison for character is a bit off as well. A lot of these "ND" kids had long time offers from several big time schools before settling on their decision to attend ND. The exact opposite is happening for IM, who is getting a ton of love all at once at the end of the cycle. No one on this board could comprehend what he is going through.

With all due respect, you have to read between the lines with some of this stuff. Loy's not going to come out and blast the kid. Loy, who has been a huge advocate of McKenzie's, has mentioned he's a little of the rails at times. In fact, I can even sense a little frustration is his posts recently as McKenzie tells him one thing and tells another reporter something else and its making Loy look silly. With that said, I do believe McKenzie is at heart a good kid. I think he just may not have been given proper guidance growing up. Some fundamental things that kids take for granted is communication.

 

[IrishLax]

Something to point out: Loy has communicated directly with IM as much as anyone and has concluded that he is a good kid. The last month has blown up for him and perhaps some of it has gone to his head, but 99% of kids in that same scenario would handle it similar, IMO.
Using Elmer and other long time ND commits as a comparison for character is a bit off as well. A lot of these "ND" kids had long time offers from several big time schools before settling on their decision to attend ND. The exact opposite is happening for IM, who is getting a ton of love all at once at the end of the cycle. No one on this board could comprehend what he is going through.

I bolded the parts of this post that I'm not really sure if I understand where your coming from. To the "character" discussion, if you read my post #2521 I say:

No, I don't think you judge his "character" in the sense of good/bad person or anything like that. That's stupid. But you can judge his "fit."

and I think that's pretty accurate.

To the other parts... no, I do not think 99% of kids would handle things the way he is handling. In fact, I think it's a very small minority that would act how he is acting. And yes, there are plenty of us with a very good and complete picture of exactly what he is going through.

Check your PMs in about 5 minutes.

 

[Philmcd]

He loves attention? Oh, well coming to ND he will get plenty of attention! Dislikes authority? Where the hell is that coming from?

I'll just say it...

I'm not sure I want this kid anymore. He seems to love attention and dislike authority. My first clue was when he complained about not starting at the all-star game. The last couple of weeks haven't really changed that perception. This, on top of his academic questions worry me a lot.

I hope I'm completely wrong and that he turns out to be a great student/leader on our team. But I just don't see it.


EDIT: I completed skipped over a couple posts with essentially identical viewpoints. So this post is kind of pointless.

 

[gkIrish]

He loves attention? Oh, well coming to ND he will get plenty of attention! Dislikes authority? Where the hell is that coming from?

That's just like, my opinion, man.

 

[Irish#1]

If what Lucky reported is true (calling BK) and I have no reason not to believe it, then this bodes very well for ND. If he's just looking to take another recruiting trip and isn't really interested in ND, then why call and apologize in advance? He could simply come up, hang out and put another notch in his holster.

After his new found fame he did seem to have a little change in his attitude, but he is just 18 and I probably would have handled it the same way. That doesn't mean he's a bad kid. The more I think about this and as others have mentioned I think he's just not had the proper support system around him for a long time providing the guidance he needs for everything from A to Z. I'm guessing his buddies are in his ear all the time telling him what he should do which doesn't help the process.

Whether he comes here and washes out or ends up successful I don't know. That's too far in the future for any of us to really know until he's been on campus for a while.

I just asked the 8 ball again and this time it said:

I'm not asking it again before NSD.

 

[Henges24]

I do think this is all going to his head, especially the last month or so. But look what's happened in the last month for him. He's been offered scholarships to many big time programs that probably didn't show a ton of interest in him until now. I beleive, in a way, his recruitment has just started, and that has to be an exciting aspect in a 17-18 year old kids life. I'm sure 75% of recruits get "big heads" when they start getting offered by programs of the likes of ND, Florida, Oregon, Tennesse, Ole Miss, etc. And eventually that excitment dies and becomes annoying, which might not happen for him before NSD. I wouldn't be surprised if this recruitment goes past NSD.

So I'm not judging his character, yet. I want him at ND and I want him badly (no homo).

 

[irishog77]

I would disagree. Usually, when we praise a kid's character, work ethic, etc., it's because there is hard evidence of those qualities on display.

However, we should not question a recruits character just because they are wishy-washy during the process, or bad with interviews. Unless we are talking about Jayru Campbell, we usually don't have evidence that supports any negative conotations of a recruit's qualities aside from the pure football things, like "lack off acceleration" or "bad pursuit angles." You see a kid on film and can make judgements, and you can see the work they've done off the field to qualify or provide service, but you don't see enough to know the "dark secrets."

Yeah, true. My main point was illustrating none of us really know these kids-- so we're all, more or less, making assumptions.

I've also read and heard very good things, too, about every kid that transferred out of ND, or kids who had ND as a finalist.

I think when a kid has ND in the mix of schools he is choosing, common sense, general decency, and even an outright unwillingness to say bad things about a kid prevents bad things being said about a kid. No reason to dump on a kid who may be picking ND...and no reason to dump on a kid, generally. I think (thankfully) this what we often see on IE (and other sites also, to an extent). I think Matt Elam is a good example. While ND was pursuing him, we didn't hear much negative about him. But since he was dropped, we've heard more about him. Aaron Lynch? Tee Shepard? Deontay Greenbury? Same thing. The stories and instances of a kid being "bad" are out there and exist, we just don't necessarily hear some of them until it becomes apparent ND won't be involved with the kid.

 

[IrishLion]

I think (thankfully) this what we often see on IE (and other sites also, to an extent). I think Matt Elam is a good example. While ND was pursuing him, we didn't hear much negative about him. But since he was dropped, we've heard more about him. Aaron Lynch? Tee Shepard? Deontay Greenbury? Same thing. The stories and instances of a kid being "bad" are out there and exist, we just don't necessarily hear some of them until it becomes apparent ND won't be involved with the kid.

That's part of the issue as well. Of course we don't want to hear the negative things about a certain recruit, commit, or player. After all, that could be info that is damaging to ND. But it is an issue of hypocrisy in some cases... Since Elam isn't coming here, we've got guys talking about how he'll be flipping burgers and blaming his issues on other people. However, if he were a current ND commit and someone made those comments? Shitstorm ensues, mods nuke the discussion, "40-year-decision!" etc.

I've posted my share of dumb, poorly-thought-out things, and I'm sure I'll do so again in the future. But I think the discussion around character/fit/merit/drama/etc. is something everyone should keep in mind more often, as a general principle, when posting.

 

[ndcoltsfan2010]

This whole recruiting soap opera aside, I truly hope he is Irish in the end. I am not going to judge this kid either way. Let's remember that this young man busted his tail to get his academics in order so that shows that he can succeed at something if he puts his mind to it. I think he is a young man that is relishing in the limelight while he can, I can't say I blame him. I just hope that when the dust settles he chooses a school that is best for him. I wish him the best no matter what.

 

[aubeirish]

I just asked the 8 ball again and this time it said:

I'm not asking it again before NSD.

 

[Ironman8]

Hahahahahahah

Apparently McKenzie just texted Loy saying VT offered and he 'may not be visiting ND this weekend'.

I'm done with this headcase. Let's move on.

 

[gkIrish]

Hahahahahahah

Apparently McKenzie just texted Loy saying VT offered and he 'may not be visiting ND this weekend'.

I'm done with this headcase. Let's move on.

LOL

 

[Luckylucci]

Hahahahahahah

Apparently McKenzie just texted Loy saying VT offered and he 'may not be visiting ND this weekend'.

I'm done with this headcase. Let's move on.

I'll second this.

 

[Emcee77]

Omg hilarious