What were Coach Diaco's requirements?

[vmgsf]

I have seen repeated references to Coach Diaco's requirements for various positions on defense. I do not recall seeing any thread with any detailed discussion of what these requirements were and how they affected Notre Dame's recruiting offers. How will this change with BVG?

 

[OCIrish]

He had certain height requirements for certain positions......I doubt you'll find a certain requirement per se, but its been discussed ad nauseum over the course of the last 3-4 years.

 

[dublinirish]

yeah basically it was height requirements like over 6'5 for DL, 6'2 for LB's and 6'0 for DB's or something like that.

 

[RDU Irish]

6'4" minimum for pretty much everyone but DBs. DBs were ignored unless they were over 6' and it seemed safeties needed to be 6'2"- at least that is my quick guess. It seemed like we rarely recruited anyone who was less than that.

I imagine he will have to throw those minimums out the window at UConn or else he will end up signing two players per year.

And OCIrish - If you observed so many posts, did you not draw any of your own opinions or summarize points and counter points?

 

[dublinirish]

UConn's Diaco signs 14 to first recruiting class - Connecticut - Boston.com

he signed 14 recruits in his first class so yeah he will be up against it

 

[Irish#1]

I thought he required everyone to be 6'8", 350lbs, wingspan of 9 ft. with a 4.40 forty time.

 

[T Town Tommy]

6'4" minimum for pretty much everyone but DBs. DBs were ignored unless they were over 6' and it seemed safeties needed to be 6'2"- at least that is my quick guess. It seemed like we rarely recruited anyone who was less than that.

I imagine he will have to throw those minimums out the window at UConn or else he will end up signing two players per year.

And OCIrish - If you observed so many posts, did you not draw any of your own opinions or summarize points and counter points?

Nothing wrong with having a player profile for positions and trying to recruit to that. A lot of coaches do that. But at ND it is going to limit you when it comes to players that fit that profile AND have to overcome some of the other obstacles for admission.

 

[ThePiombino]

I thought he required everyone to be 6'8", 350lbs, wingspan of 9 ft. with a 4.40 forty time.

...and shoot bolts of lightning from their arses.

 

[wizards8507]

Nothing wrong with having a player profile for positions and trying to recruit to that. A lot of coaches do that. But at ND it is going to limit you when it comes to players that fit that profile AND have to overcome some of the other obstacles for admission.

I might be wrong but I got the impression from other posters who seem to know what they're talking about that most coaches use height-weight as "guidelines," while Diaco treated them like hard-and-fast rules.

 

[dublinirish]

Nick Saban has a similar thing though, especially with defensive players

 

[ThePiombino]

Nick Saban has a similar thing though, especially with defensive players

Saban can afford to be selective. ND not such much at this point in time. A few solid seasons in a row could change that, but until then...

 

[zelezo vlk]

ND will probably never be able to be that selective again, unless we have a surefire lifer and Hall of Fame coach running the team. That's the only way I see ND able to be incredibly strict in their guidelines.

Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk 2

 

[Brooklyn]

I actually like Coach Diaco's guidelines, but you have to have contingency plans who are close to those guidelines but not quite there. Thats where he failed imo. Otherwise the players he has brought in are very good imo.

 

[OCIrish]

And OCIrish - If you observed so many posts, did you not draw any of your own opinions or summarize points and counter points?

Yeah, I just didn't feel like rehashing 3 years of discussion based upon this persons height, that persons weight......Sheldon Day certainly doesn't meet the 6'4" requirement, but he's still on the team.

 

[anarin]

I figured he required someone tall with a pulse. Someone sort of like Ishaq. Too soon?

 

[OCIrish]

I figured he required someone tall with a pulse. Someone sort of like Ishaq. Too soon?

Not soon enough.......

 

[Ndaccountant]

I figured he required someone tall with a pulse. Someone sort of like Ishaq. Too soon?

Better than short teenagers with a pulse, since that cupboard was robbed by Jerry Sandusky.......too soon?

 

[Emcee77]

There's nothing wrong with recruiting to a physical profile, but you have to compromise on the profile if you can't get your Plan A recruits in a given cycle. You can't sacrifice depth for the profile because guys who don't fit the profile can be plenty effective (just look at Prince Shembo). This is where Diaco may have gone astray.

 

[irishfanjho15]

There's nothing wrong with recruiting to a physical profile, but you have to compromise on the profile if you can't get your Plan A recruits in a given cycle. You can't sacrifice depth for the profile because guys who don't fit the profile can be plenty effective (just look at Prince Shembo). This is where Diaco may have gone astray.

Well if Diaco was too selective the experience he'll gain in a year's time at UConn will break that quickly. He'll have to learn to adapt just like every other successful head coach out there. I think he'll do just fine (a couple bowl games should do it) and he'll eventually land the Iowa job when it's financially feasible to fire Ferentz.