JPham's Recruiting Week in Review (3/31/07)

[Jason Pham]

Committed

John Goodman [WR] - Committed to Notre Dame
Kyle Rudolph [TE] - Committed to Notre Dame
Sean Cwynar [DE] - Committed to Notre Dame
Braxton Cave [OC] - Committed to Notre Dame
Mike Golic [OC] - Committed to Notre Dame

Offensive Positions

Quarterback
Dayne Crist [QB] - Medium Interest
-Making a visit to Notre Dame in a couple weeks with LB Anthony McDonald

Runningback
Darrell Scott [RB] - Medium Interest
-USC, Texas, Florida considered Scott's top 3
Carlton Thomas [RB] - Medium Interest
-Notre Dame considered in Thomas' favorite
Cyrus Gray [RB] - Medium Interest
Ryan Williams [RB] - Medium Interest
Sam McGuffie [RB] - Low Interest

Wide Receiver
Michael Floyd [WR] - Medium Interest
-Notre Dame, Minnesota, Ohio State, Florida, and Michigan make up Floyd's top 5
Martavious Odoms [WR] - Medium Interest
Kenny Tate [WR] - Medium Interest
Julio Jones [WR] - Low Interest
Brice Butler [WR] - Medium Interest
-Clemson, Florida State, and Southern Cal make up Butler's top 3
Dan Buckner [WR] - No Interest
-Committed to Texas

Tight End
Blake Ayles [TE] - Medium Interest
-Official visit to ND in the Fall
Jonathan Baldwin [TE] - Medium Interest
Brandon Moore [TE] - Medium Interest
Jake Stoneburner [TE] - No Interest
-Commited to Ohio State

Linemen
Lane Clelland [OL] - High Interest
-Notre Dame and Michigan make up Clelland's top 2
Trever Robinson [OL] - High Interest
-Notre Dame, Nebraska, and Michigan make up Robinson's top 3
Steven Robinson [OL] - Medium Interest
-Notre Dame considered in Robinson's top 5
Art Forst [OL] - Medium Interest
-Notre Dame, Rutgers, Florida, and Boston College make up Forst's top 4
Tyron Smith [OL] - Medium Interest
-UCLA, USC, Arizona, and Notre Dame make up Smith's top 4
Kyle Long [OL] - Medium Interest
Khaled Holmes [OL] - Low Interest
-Considered a Southern Cal lean
John Jenkins [OL] - Low Interest
-Soft verbal to West Virginia, Ohio State makes up Jenkin's top 2
Michael Brewster [OL] - No Interest
-Florida and Ohio State make up Brewster's top 2
Brandon Washington [OL] - No Interest
-Committed to Miami
Mike Adams [OL] - No Interest
-Committed to Ohio State
Stephen Good [OL] - No Interest
-Committed to Oklahoma

Defensive Positions

Linebacker
Anthony McDonald [LB] - High Interest
-Considered a Notre Dame lean
David Posluszny [LB] - High Interest
-Considered a Notre Dame lean
Steven Filer [LB] - High Interest
-Considered a Notre Dame lean
Brendan Beal [LB] - Medium Interest
-Beal continues to praise Notre Dame's future and academics
Andrew Sweat [LB] - Medium Interest
-Florida and Ohio State make up Sweat's top 2, Notre Dame in third
Etienne Sabino [LB] - Medium Interest
-Recently offered by Notre Dame
Arthur Brown [LB] - Low Interest
-May be interested in going to school with brother who does not have an Irish offer
Shayne Hale [LB] - Low Interest
-Considired an Ohio State lean

Cornerback
T.J. Bryant [CB] - Low Interest

Safety
Dan McCarthy - Medium Interest
-Stanford, Notre Dame, Michigan, Louisiana State, Oklahoma, Indiana, Wisconsin, Iowa make up McCarthy's top 7
Jamoris Slaughter - Medium Interest
-Notre Dame considered in Slaughter's top 4
Robert Blanton - Medium Interest
-Considered a Michigan lean

Linemen
Darius Fleming [DE] - High Interest
-Considered a Notre Dame lean
Ben Habern [DE] - High Interest
-Notre Dame and Oklahoma make up Habern's top 2
Brandon Newman [DL] - High Interest Interest
-Considered Kentucky and Notre Dame in the front
Ethan Johnson [DE] - High Interest
Hafis Williams [DL] - High Interest
Chancey Aghayere [DE] - Medium Interest
-Notre Dame behind Texas, Oklahoma, and Florida
Kapron Lewis-Moore [DE] - Medium Interest
-Notre Dame has best shot out of non-Texan competition
Marcus Forston [DL] - Medium Interest
-Considered a Miami lean, will not make a decision until NSD

Athletes
Will Hill [ATH] - Medium Interest
Terrelle Pryor [ATH] - Medium Interest
A.J. Alexander [ATH] - Low Interest

 

[Jason Pham]

Decided to pool together the offers and summarize things on a weekly basis so we can get an overall picture of the recruiting season as it progresses.

Cheers.

PS The interests levels are based off of my personal interpretation and should not be banked on.

 

[IRISHDODGER]

Thanks for the update. your efforts are appreciated.

 

[FleaFlicker]

That's really helpful, putting them all on the same post. Gives a short consensus of how things are looking. Good work buddy

 

[dudexcore]

wonderful job, thank you!

 

[notredomer23]

wonderfull J pham. I just dont like how we dont have enough cornerbacks or safteys with good interest. Besides that i guess we should be happy with how charlie and corwin are doing

 

[Subway Alum - MA]

Thanks for the consolidation. With the increase in offers, its convenient have them all on one list. Speaking of lists, is there a list of the recruits who will be attending the Blue & Gold game this year? OL Kyle Long has a Notre Dame offer, but I haven't read anything about him and his Notre Dame recruitment (You have him listed as having "medium interest".). He certainly has the size, athleticism, academic qualifications and blood lines. I know that his father has always had good things to say about Coach Weis. Perhaps its because of his father's Charlestown roots and the fact that the Patriots somehow missed out on drafting him when he came out of Villanova increases my interest in his son's college choice (Is Notre Dame in his "top five")?

Subway Alum - MA

 

[knute]

wonderfull J pham. I just dont like how we dont have enough cornerbacks or safteys with good interest. Besides that i guess we should be happy with how charlie and corwin are doing

Kinda makes sense. We're really deep at corner and safety right now. I remember a recent article from the Fort Wayne paper that the defensive backfield is the only group where we are a solid 3 deep.

 

[jboxer562]

if im reading this corectly we are going to be stacked at the linebacker position

 

[Subway Alum - MA]

Jason. Is LB Arthur Brown's brother only a sophomore? I know he is considered one of the most talented, elite players in the Class of 2009?

 

[Jason Pham]

Jason. Is LB Arthur Brown's brother only a sophomore? I know he is considered one of the most talented, elite players in the Class of 2009?

Bryce Brown is a sophomore right now. Here's to hoping Charlie pulls both brothers in.

 

[Jason Pham]

if im reading this corectly we are going to be stacked at the linebacker position

We will be, and these guys are stud linebackers to boot. The 3-4 Defense and Coach Brown in addition to our lack of depth at LB, in my opinion, have a lot to do with the interest from these elite linebackers.

 

[Easton Pa ND Fan]

Good Job...

Good Job...

Jason Pham,

Keep up the good work. It is appreciated that you
are willing to take an active interest and keep
the rest of us informed on this site...Tom

 

[Jason Pham]

Thanks for the consolidation. With the increase in offers, its convenient have them all on one list. Speaking of lists, is there a list of the recruits who will be attending the Blue & Gold game this year? OL Kyle Long has a Notre Dame offer, but I haven't read anything about him and his Notre Dame recruitment (You have him listed as having "medium interest".). He certainly has the size, athleticism, academic qualifications and blood lines. I know that his father has always had good things to say about Coach Weis. Perhaps its because of his father's Charlestown roots and the fact that the Patriots somehow missed out on drafting him when he came out of Villanova increases my interest in his son's college choice (Is Notre Dame in his "top five")?

Subway Alum - MA

It seems to be the consensus is that Kyle Long is a bit of a stretch for Notre Dame, though it seems that he will be going through the entire recruiting process and we have time to reel him in, Kyle and his father both have had only good things to say about Charlie.

 

[Jason Pham]

Kinda makes sense. We're really deep at corner and safety right now. I remember a recent article from the Fort Wayne paper that the defensive backfield is the only group where we are a solid 3 deep.

Absolutely, here's what our roster looks like in the backfield right now.

Safety
Tom Zbikowski Sr
David Bruton Jr
Ray Herring Jr
Sergio Brown So
Kyle McCarthy Jr
Jashaad Gaines So
Leonard Gordon So
Harrison Smith Fr

Cornerback
Terrail Lambert Sr
Ambrose Wooden Sr
Leo Ferrine Sr
Darrin Walls So
Raeshon McNeil So
Munir Prince So
Gary Gray Fr
Mike Anello Jr
Wade Iams Sr
William Williams Sr

 

[HeliND]

Jason, where did you hear/read that Brice Butler is a USC lean? I'm not doubting you, I just haven't seen anything on him.

 

[Jason Pham]

Jason, where did you hear/read that Brice Butler is a USC lean? I'm not doubting you, I just haven't seen anything on him.

After rummaging through more sources, it looks like Clemson and FSU with USC make up Butler's top 3. Sorry for the misrepresentation.

 

[kjones]

if im reading this corectly we are going to be stacked at the linebacker position

Remember, we have 4 of them on the field at any time now. We'll need a few extra .

 

[Ricochet]

I disagree that USC, Texas, Florida considered Scott's top 3. I don't think he has a top 3 as of now and saying that USC, Texas, Florida is nothing more than a writer perceives is his top 3. Florida makes no sense for a RB like Scott, he's a terrible fit for there offense. USC and Texas style wise makes much more sense and IMO ND is right in the mix for him.

 

[Jason Pham]

I disagree that USC, Texas, Florida considered Scott's top 3. I don't think he has a top 3 as of now and saying that USC, Texas, Florida is nothing more than a writer perceives is his top 3. Florida makes no sense for a RB like Scott, he's a terrible fit for there offense. USC and Texas style wise makes much more sense and IMO ND is right in the mix for him.

It's still very early in the recruiting process, and truth be told, I'm just reporting what I've read from writers and every now and then from a tidbit I've heard first hand. Also, it's also why I put considered rather than named in the top list. Thanks for clearing this up though.

 

[Ultimate Penn St. Hater]

Good job Pham. Thanks a lot. Keep up the great work.

 

[irishunclebill]

It seems to be the consensus is that Kyle Long is a bit of a stretch for Notre Dame, though it seems that he will be going through the entire recruiting process and we have time to reel him in, Kyle and his father both have had only good things to say about Charlie.

Based on Kyle's own comments, if Howie was making the decision for Kyle, he would be going to ND. Villanova grads tend to like ND football.

BTW- Great job Jason, and don't shy away from listing interest levels because it does give comparison points for each position, and I'm sure that if anyone disagrees as Ricochet did, that they will point out their reasons why, which just adds to the benefit of the discussion. Ricochet is very familiar with Darrell Scott, and I agree with him that ND has a shot at recruiting Scott. The whole Florida, Texas, USC thing is mostly related to Darrell's well documented nomadic football travels.

 

[Jason Pham]

The whole Florida, Texas, USC thing is mostly related to Darrell's well documented nomadic football travels.

That is what it seemed to be when I read it as well. Again, thanks for the heads up everyone.

 

[johnnd05]

Jason, thanks for doing all this -- it's great! I can remember wishing that these sorts of "interest level" summaries were put together during last year's recruiting "season". It's also great, of course, to see everyone's feedback on your opinions.

I was also surprised by the real paucity of offers in the defensive backfield. Is the thought that recruiting has actually gone pretty well there in the past couple of years, as opposed to on the D-line and with 'backers? Or does this have more to do with the fact that most of the serious defensive talent this year is up front?

 

[Ricochet]

It's still very early in the recruiting process, and truth be told, I'm just reporting what I've read from writers and every now and then from a tidbit I've heard first hand. Also, it's also why I put considered rather than named in the top list. Thanks for clearing this up though.

Thats what I thought but I didn't know if it came off as the way I meant it.

 

[irishunclebill]

Jason, thanks for doing all this -- it's great! I can remember wishing that these sorts of "interest level" summaries were put together during last year's recruiting "season". It's also great, of course, to see everyone's feedback on your opinions.

I was also surprised by the real paucity of offers in the defensive backfield. Is the thought that recruiting has actually gone pretty well there in the past couple of years, as opposed to on the D-line and with 'backers? Or does this have more to do with the fact that most of the serious defensive talent this year is up front?

Jason, hope you don't mind me answering this for you.

There is actually more DB offers that it appears from Jason's list, plus it seems that the staff is just now focusing on that area. McCarthy & Bryant were for the longest time the only per se DB offers and they were offered early for obvious reasons, one for family as well as very high credentials, the other because he will most likely be the #1 recruit at his position. Blanton & Slaughter are very recent offers. There is also a new CB offer from last night, Jeremy Brown, who is not on Jason's list yet. In addition, Will Hill is most likely being recruited by ND to play a DB position. There will also be another DB offer posted next week when the written offer is confirmed, but it seems pretty certain that now that Gerell Robinson has gone "soft Verbal" on Arizona that he has also received an ND offer as the staff was recruiting Gerell pretty heavily before the AZ commit. Hopefully, an offer will be extended shortly to Jarred Holley, but there is nothing solid to indicate that yet. So, in summary, what looks to be 4 offers is actually more like 7, and expected to grow.

 

[Ricochet]

BTW- Great job Jason, and don't shy away from listing interest levels because it does give comparison points for each position, and I'm sure that if anyone disagrees as Ricochet did, that they will point out their reasons why, which just adds to the benefit of the discussion. Ricochet is very familiar with Darrell Scott, and I agree with him that ND has a shot at recruiting Scott. The whole Florida, Texas, USC thing is mostly related to Darrell's well documented nomadic football travels.

Well said and I agree. All I was saying is that some of the articles about nomadic football travels as you said have listed put to much into where he's going to school now as well as where he's been. I can't say a 100% but from what I've read, heard and have been told is that the kid is open to anybody and that the move to St. Bonaventure has nothing to do with getting him a pipeline to go to a certain school. These articles on Scott look to much into the schools from the state's that he's lived in and while he's interested in those schools it's far from the fact it's because he's lived there in the past it's because they are top programs and in the end it might be a factor when it comes down to making a decision on a few schools that he equally likes. They are looking to much into this and they put it out there and now something that isn't true is perceived to be true.

So all I was trying to do was point that out and it's nothing against the great work being done by Jason Pham, who's doing a great job BTW.

 

[johnnd05]

Thanks for the clarification, IUB ...

 

[Ricochet]

irishunclebill, are you saying ND is recruiting Gerell Robinson as a Safety? I have no idea but I assumed they were recruitng him as a WR or an Athlete and that they would find a position for him later.

As for Will Hill, I was told that they are just recruiting him and they would take him regardless of position but that at the end of the day most expect that he would more or less be recruited as a Safety but that if he wants to come as a LB, WR, QB or anything else they wouldn't say NO.

 

[irishunclebill]

irishunclebill, are you saying ND is recruiting Gerell Robinson as a Safety? I have no idea but I assumed they were recruitng him as a WR or an Athlete and that they would find a position for him later.

As for Will Hill, I was told that they are just recruiting him and they would take him regardless of position but that at the end of the day most expect that he would more or less be recruited as a Safety but that if he wants to come as a LB, WR, QB or anything else they wouldn't say NO.

Let me try to clarify. Hill and Robinson have so much flexibility that there are a lot of positions they can play. I added them to the 5 guys that we are right now definitely going after for DB positions because they could both easily play Safety in college, the point being that the staff has some added flexibility in giving out DB offers this year that does not neccessarily show up in the positions assigned by the recruiting services.

FWIW, Rivals originally listed Hill as an "Athlete", but for some reason, they changed his tag to Dual-Threat QB. Scout has Hill pegged as a Safety in college. You're right though, Hill is most likely this year's consensus #1 recruit, and because of his athleticism, he can probably pick where he wants to play, my feeling is that ND if gets him, he would end up as a Safety.

Robinson is listed as an "Athlete" by Rivals. He is playing QB and Safety this year in High School, and he recently said that he would actually prefer to play QB in college, but that most schools are recruiting him as a WR despite the fact that he will not play that position his senior year. He also did indicate that WR was his second choice if he did not get recruited as a QB, so he obviously prefers Offense. Offense or Defense, I 'd be happy to see him playing for the Irish. I did not see any specific reason why he went soft verbal on Arizona other than that he just wanted to look around. Do you know if it had anything to do with where AZ wanted him to play?