'08 PA LB Andrew Sweat (Ohio State Verbal)

[Irishknight1023]

I read on a OSU board that he was glaring when talking about OSU and not ND haha. Then you come over and say you can't get a read. OSU people are so annoying I cannot take them anymore.

 

[irishunclebill]

has Sweat committed to OSU yet...just wondering?

Sweat has not committed to OSU yet, and I am a little surprised that everybody continues to write him off, especially considering the see-saw that his recruitement has been. Yes, ND is a longshot, just ask any OSU fan, and apparently any ND fan as well, but I would not write Sweat off as a ND recruit until and if he announces that he is a Bucknut.

 

[PADOMERNUT]

Yea i dont see how anyone could say there was a glaring difference if we were watching the same interview

 

[seniorle]

I second that IUB, it's worked both way for ND where we were the favorite and the recruit chose elsewhere, and we've also pulled in a longshot so u just never know

 

[ant80]

I read on a OSU board that he was glaring when talking about OSU and not ND haha. Then you come over and say you can't get a read. OSU people are so annoying I cannot take them anymore.

Irishknight, are you NotreDameChief on BP?

 

[marv81s]

From what I have heard from others that saw the same piece on the news was that they asked him about the pros of each school and he named like 5 things for osu and 2 for ND while grinning ear to ear during osu's listing.

We'll see

 

[Irishknight1023]

Irishknight, are you NotreDameChief on BP?

No, not me. I never joined any OSU sites.

 

[Jason Pham]

I haven't seen the interview but my sources say that the interview was not published in its entirety. I wouldn't count Notre Dame out until he announces by the end of this week.

 

[gallup21]

http://recruitsni.blogspot.com/2007/05/andrew-sweat-announcement-day-and-time.html

Announces thursday

 

[rontdtarchala]

Come on andrew come to ND and go for the NC with the rest of the incredible talent coming in.

 

[scooper]

OSU fans poop in coolers, burn cars, drag their knuckles when they walk and paint their junk scarlet and grey every morning, but they are right about their impressions of the Sweat interview. And they are probably right that he's going to Columbus.

 

[Katzenboyer]

If it's anybody else besides OSU, I'll be shocked.

 

[irishunclebill]

I understand that a lot of the negativity about Sweat going to ND is warranted, and I am not a Kool-Aid drinker, and would not try to force the Kool-Aid down anybody's throat, but I have to say that I am truly amazed at how few ND fans think we even have a shot at Sweat. In fact, after looking at some of the other message boards, it seems to me that more ND fans than OSU fans think that Sweat is an OSU lock. I'm going to play the Devil's Advocate here for a second, and point out a few reasons why Sweat might surprise everyone and pick the Irish.

Facts:

1) Sweat is a smart Irish kid from a High School that strives for Academic Excellence. By now, Sweat has pored through all of the garbage thrown at him by Cheaty, and fully realizes that to OSU academics is meaningless, just look at the graduation rates.
2) At least one of his parents is gung ho about Andrew attending Notre Dame.
3) After all of the shenanigans of the first few months of the Sweat recruiting saga, he has been remarkably consistent in his comments in the last 2 months.
4) He made a quick and unplanned trip to Notre Dame this past weekend after a short talk with Corwin Brown. Now, maybe he just made that trip to convince himself that OSU was his choice, but that’s an awfully long car ride to make just to do that. The point being that how can anyone completely write Sweat off as an ND recruit when he is willing to make that effort on the spur of the moment.

Rumors:

1) Sweat was supposedly turned off by the OSU boys on the last trip that he made to Columbus when most of the OSU commits were there.
2) Sweat is attributed to making numerous off the Rivals/Scout record comments that he favors ND.


Now, I am not saying that Andrew Sweat will commit to the Irish, and I am not criticizing anyone who says we do not have a chance, but I have seen way too many posts on message boards from Irish fans who say our chances are 1 in 100, or 1 in 200(the anti-Kool Aid effect), and that is just not realistic here for many factual reasons. I have said it before, I do not think Andrew Sweat will be certain of his selection until shortly before his 5 or 5:30 PM announcement tomorrow, and that in itself gives ND a reasonable chance here. All I am saying is let’s not write off Andrew Sweat until and if we hear it from his mouth that OSU is his choice.

One other note, if by some chance, Andrew does pick the Irish tomorrow, I hope that we will all have enough sense to avoid immediately talking about whether he is a de-commit possibility. I guarantee you that the subject will be a major one on other ND message boards, but it would be nice to see the high road taken here. If Sweat picks the Irish, let’s first of all be excited about his commitment, take the kid at his word, and most importantly trust CW that he will not accept a verbal commit from a kid this year who he is not absolutely certain about, although I fully realize that there are no absolutes with 17 year old kids.

 

[leprechaun4life]

If Sweat chooses ND, then does that mean we are finished with LBs, or would we hold out for guys like Sabino, Brown, or even Filer?

 

[IrishCalves]

Great post IUB. If only I had a good feeling about the kid...

He's had a knack of making his top 2 known when he talks to the media, and the only ever-present team in that two has been OSU. I think its a done deal, but crazier things have happened. If he's serious about business school, he'd be wise to pick ND, so we'll see by tomorrow.

 

[irishunclebill]

If Sweat chooses ND, then does that mean we are finished with LBs, or would we hold out for guys like Sabino, Brown, or even Filer?

IMO, a Sweat commit would only affect Filer because of similar positions. I'm not saying that it dooms a Filer commit to ND, but the longer Filer waits, the less shot he has at coming to ND even if he wants to. Sabino is being recruited to play OLB, and a Sweat committment would not change ND's need for another OLB, unless the staff thinks Sweat is a possibility there, which seems unlikely.

I think a slot will be held open for Brown unless he lets the staff or the media know that he has little or no interest in ND. A Sweat commit would probably eliminate the possibility of any new offers for LB, as there are still some possibilities that in addition to Sabino, a few DL with offers (Agahayere, Lewis-Moore) could play OLB in the 3-4.

 

[Jason Pham]

I understand that a lot of the negativity about Sweat going to ND is warranted, and I am not a Kool-Aid drinker, and would not try to force the Kool-Aid down anybody's throat, but I have to say that I am truly amazed at how few ND fans think we even have a shot at Sweat. In fact, after looking at some of the other message boards, it seems to me that more ND fans than OSU fans think that Sweat is an OSU lock. I'm going to play the Devil's Advocate here for a second, and point out a few reasons why Sweat might surprise everyone and pick the Irish.

Facts:

1) Sweat is a smart Irish kid from a High School that strives for Academic Excellence. By now, Sweat has pored through all of the garbage thrown at him by Cheaty, and fully realizes that to OSU academics is meaningless, just look at the graduation rates.
2) At least one of his parents is gung ho about Andrew attending Notre Dame.
3) After all of the shenanigans of the first few months of the Sweat recruiting saga, he has been remarkably consistent in his comments in the last 2 months.
4) He made a quick and unplanned trip to Notre Dame this past weekend after a short talk with Corwin Brown. Now, maybe he just made that trip to convince himself that OSU was his choice, but that’s an awfully long car ride to make just to do that. The point being that how can anyone completely write Sweat off as an ND recruit when he is willing to make that effort on the spur of the moment.

Rumors:

1) Sweat was supposedly turned off by the OSU boys on the last trip that he made to Columbus when most of the OSU commits were there.
2) Sweat is attributed to making numerous off the Rivals/Scout record comments that he favors ND.


Now, I am not saying that Andrew Sweat will commit to the Irish, and I am not criticizing anyone who says we do not have a chance, but I have seen way too many posts on message boards from Irish fans who say our chances are 1 in 100, or 1 in 200(the anti-Kool Aid effect), and that is just not realistic here for many factual reasons. I have said it before, I do not think Andrew Sweat will be certain of his selection until shortly before his 5 or 5:30 PM announcement tomorrow, and that in itself gives ND a reasonable chance here. All I am saying is let’s not write off Andrew Sweat until and if we hear it from his mouth that OSU is his choice.

One other note, if by some chance, Andrew does pick the Irish tomorrow, I hope that we will all have enough sense to avoid immediately talking about whether he is a de-commit possibility. I guarantee you that the subject will be a major one on other ND message boards, but it would be nice to see the high road taken here. If Sweat picks the Irish, let’s first of all be excited about his commitment, take the kid at his word, and most importantly trust CW that he will not accept a verbal commit from a kid this year who he is not absolutely certain about, although I fully realize that there are no absolutes with 17 year old kids.

Thanks for the sensible post, IUB. I'm with you on this one. I have a great feeling about Sweat's announcement.

 

[napoleonbuck]

I understand that a lot of the negativity about Sweat going to ND is warranted, and I am not a Kool-Aid drinker, and would not try to force the Kool-Aid down anybody's throat, but I have to say that I am truly amazed at how few ND fans think we even have a shot at Sweat. In fact, after looking at some of the other message boards, it seems to me that more ND fans than OSU fans think that Sweat is an OSU lock. I'm going to play the Devil's Advocate here for a second, and point out a few reasons why Sweat might surprise everyone and pick the Irish.

Facts:

1) Sweat is a smart Irish kid from a High School that strives for Academic Excellence. By now, Sweat has pored through all of the garbage thrown at him by Cheaty, and fully realizes that to OSU academics is meaningless, just look at the graduation rates.
2) At least one of his parents is gung ho about Andrew attending Notre Dame.
3) After all of the shenanigans of the first few months of the Sweat recruiting saga, he has been remarkably consistent in his comments in the last 2 months.
4) He made a quick and unplanned trip to Notre Dame this past weekend after a short talk with Corwin Brown. Now, maybe he just made that trip to convince himself that OSU was his choice, but that’s an awfully long car ride to make just to do that. The point being that how can anyone completely write Sweat off as an ND recruit when he is willing to make that effort on the spur of the moment.

Rumors:

1) Sweat was supposedly turned off by the OSU boys on the last trip that he made to Columbus when most of the OSU commits were there.
2) Sweat is attributed to making numerous off the Rivals/Scout record comments that he favors ND.


Now, I am not saying that Andrew Sweat will commit to the Irish, and I am not criticizing anyone who says we do not have a chance, but I have seen way too many posts on message boards from Irish fans who say our chances are 1 in 100, or 1 in 200(the anti-Kool Aid effect), and that is just not realistic here for many factual reasons. I have said it before, I do not think Andrew Sweat will be certain of his selection until shortly before his 5 or 5:30 PM announcement tomorrow, and that in itself gives ND a reasonable chance here. All I am saying is let’s not write off Andrew Sweat until and if we hear it from his mouth that OSU is his choice.

One other note, if by some chance, Andrew does pick the Irish tomorrow, I hope that we will all have enough sense to avoid immediately talking about whether he is a de-commit possibility. I guarantee you that the subject will be a major one on other ND message boards, but it would be nice to see the high road taken here. If Sweat picks the Irish, let’s first of all be excited about his commitment, take the kid at his word, and most importantly trust CW that he will not accept a verbal commit from a kid this year who he is not absolutely certain about, although I fully realize that there are no absolutes with 17 year old kids.

I think you're accurate for the most part in your assessment, but I think you overstate a few things.

On your first point, I think you exaggerate Ohio State's emphasis on academics. Does Ohio State place as much emphasis on academics as Notre Dame? No way. It isn't even close. However, to say that academics are "meaningless" at Ohio State is just inaccurate. Jim Tressel, no matter what you think about him, has strived to improve our graduation rate and academic reputation, and he's been successful thus far. Besides, if Andrew cares about academics, he'll succeed wherever he goes. I can't dispute or affirm your first point. However, I would say that Andrew and his parents like the fact that Ohio State is closer to their home than Notre Dame is, but that's probably not going to be a deciding factor(just like I think the gung ho attitude of one of his parents won't be either). I agree fullheartedly with your third point. Andrew has been talking straight these last few months with a dead serious attitude. I'm guessing he realized how important his impending decision is and he's focused solely on that now. As for your fourth point, he did make a trip to Notre Dame, but he also visited Ohio State the day after that visit, so I don't think any huge advantage(without knowing exactly how he felt about each visit, which is frankly impossible) went to Notre Dame with that visit, but I'm guessing it helped him make his decision(as did the Ohio State visit) since he's announcing his decision so soon after the two visits.

As for the rumors. I've heard the opposite on the first one. I heard he had a great time hanging out with Brewster, Adams, Stoneburner, Shugarts, and the other commits. A few of the Ohio State commits even commented as to Andrew having a good time at the spring game. Again, that's just heresay, but take it fwiw. I have no clue about your second rumor. Could be true for all I know.

Personally, I think his decision will be Ohio State. It just makes sense logically. However, anyone that follows recruiting knows logic doesn't always fit into the equation.

Regardless, I think both Ohio State and Notre Dame are gearing up for good linebacker classes.

 

[beaudoj]

Very good post napoleonbuck. Nice to see a Buckeye fan come on here and provide a fair and informative post.

I hate saying this but Ohio State is going to have a sick class this year. Oh well, better OSU than Michigan I guess.

 

[irishunclebill]

Buck,

I appreciate you defending the academic reputation of your favorite school and coach, but despite what I personally think of Tressel, the facts don't lie. Look at the NCAA grad stats and you will see that for football players OSU is ranked 9th out of the 11 schools in the Big 10 in both actual graduation rate and GSR. Only MSU & Minnesota are worse. Less than half (49%) of OSU football players graduate, and even when you factor in the bogus GSR stat, that number only hits 55%. The actual graduation rate for black football players of 32% is one of the worst among all D-1 programs.

You are correct, I don't like Tressel, but the numbers don't lie. Academics has always been something that has received only lip service attention from Tressel. The only point that I will grant you in that regard is that at least Tressel is not a huge fraud about it like Urban Meyer, and it is unfair that OSU's football program has a worse academic reputation than Florida's when OSU actually graduates a higher percentage of football players than the Gators.

 

[napoleonbuck]

Buck,

I appreciate you defending the academic reputation of your favorite school and coach, but despite what I personally think of Tressel, the facts don't lie. Look at the NCAA grad stats and you will see that for football players OSU is ranked 9th out of the 11 schools in the Big 10 in both actual graduation rate and GSR. Only MSU & Minnesota are worse. Less than half (49%) of OSU football players graduate, and even when you factor in the bogus GSR stat, that number only hits 55%. The actual graduation rate for black football players of 32% is one of the worst among all D-1 programs.

You are correct, I don't like Tressel, but the numbers don't lie. Academics has always been something that has received only lip service attention from Tressel. The only point that I will grant you in that regard is that at least Tressel is not a huge fraud about it like Urban Meyer, and it is unfair that OSU's football program has a worse academic reputation than Florida's when OSU actually graduates a higher percentage of football players than the Gators.

The thing about grad rates is they're usually outdated. Tressel's first classes are only starting to be counted into the grad rates, and once they're fully incorporated into the rate, I think you'll see the improvement. With that said, there is no denying that Ohio State's numbers are poor, and until they're improved I expect schools to use them against us(I know Penn State uses them a lot against us).

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/ed...6/12/06/college_footballs_winners_and_losers/

At the end of that link, you'll see the grad rates account for players that were recruited before Tressel came in, so I don't think it's fair to label his academic progress at Ohio State without a full body of data to work with.

 

[irishunclebill]

The thing about grad rates is they're usually outdated. Tressel's first classes are only starting to be counted into the grad rates, and once they're fully incorporated into the rate, I think you'll see the improvement. With that said, there is no denying that Ohio State's numbers are poor, and until they're improved I expect schools to use them against us(I know Penn State uses them a lot against us).

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/ed...6/12/06/college_footballs_winners_and_losers/

At the end of that link, you'll see the grad rates account for players that were recruited before Tressel came in, so I don't think it's fair to label his academic progress at Ohio State without a full body of data to work with.

Buck,

This is a discussion that belongs in a different post, but the numbers listed in the article you linked are from the latest NCAA graduation rates report, which was published in 2006. That report according to the NCAA "gives graduation information about student-athletes entering school in 1999, the most recent period for which the required six years of information is available". I believe Tressel was hired in 2001, so 4 of those 6 years were under his watch. The guy who wrote the article had the correct figures but did not use the correct period of time that the figures covered. The actual graduation rates for OSU football players during that period was 30% for blacks, and 71% for Whites. The GSR which is what was used in the article shows a 32% GSR for Blacks, and 85% for Whites, which as the author noted is the worst racial gap of all 2006 bowl teams, and the 32% GSR for Black football players, the 2nd worst of all 64 Bowl teams.

You can delude yourself all you want in to believing that Tressel is improving academics at OSU, but as I said before the numbers do not lie, and 2/3 of the most recent stats in that regard are his responsibility, and those numbers are dismal. Granted, he has 2 more years before it is completely his responsibility, and if the numbers improve in the next 2 years, then you will have a point. For now, all we can look at is what is available, and those numbers do not paint a pretty picture.

Like I said, this is a subject for a different thread, and I am not going to debate it with you anymore in Andrew Sweat's thread, plus there really is not much to debate about at this point in time.

 

[marv81s]

Someone rep IUB for me, I have to spread it around before I can do it for myself

Very good, no, great, last two post IUB!!

 

[ptrigger]

Someone rep IUB for me, I have to spread it around before I can do it for myself

Very good, no, great, last two post IUB!!

i got your back this place should be called irishunclebillenvy hes been doing a great job since he has been here.

 

[Irishknight1023]

I didn't know it was possible for IUB to get any reputation. I haven't been allowed for like 2monthes. As for him visiting OSU after ND..........

4) How was your visit to OSU?

It was good I didnt meet with the coaches I just drove through Columbus meeting up with my sister who goes to a school near that area so we just stopped by Columbus it wasn’t football oriented.

-------So how would that count as coming to OSU? It doesn't so don't use that as a bragging point. Fact is I think OSU gets him and I'll be shocked if he came here. I think you guys need him because Zordich is going to PSU and your only other LB you're going to get in my opinion is Hale. 2 good LB's, but is that enough?

 

[napoleonbuck]

I read from another source that he did see the coaches. I guess that source was wrong.

I think we're shooting for two linebackers. We took five two years ago, and we took at least two last year(we took three safeties, but one of them has the size and demeanor to become a linebacker depending on how his body reacts to the weightroom).

We only have one senior starter this year. Lil' Animal might leave early, but other than that we return the rest of our linebackers, and most of them appear ready to make an impact. We're actully so deep at linebacker, that there was talk that if Zordich verballed he would likely be tried at fullback first, so suffice to say depth isn't a huge issue(but it's always nice to bring in linebackers because of their special teams ability and some linebackers are better at coverage while others excel at run stopping, so they're rotated a lot).

Anyways, I never realized his sister lived near Columbus...

You'd have to consider that a plus in our column, right?

 

[Akron Irish]

I read from another source that he did see the coaches. I guess that source was wrong.

I think we're shooting for two linebackers. We took five two years ago, and we took at least two last year(we took three safeties, but one of them has the size and demeanor to become a linebacker depending on how his body reacts to the weightroom).

We only have one senior starter this year. Lil' Animal might leave early, but other than that we return the rest of our linebackers, and most of them appear ready to make an impact. We're actully so deep at linebacker, that there was talk that if Zordich verballed he would likely be tried at fullback first, so suffice to say depth isn't a huge issue(but it's always nice to bring in linebackers because of their special teams ability and some linebackers are better at coverage while others excel at run stopping, so they're rotated a lot).

Anyways, I never realized his sister lived near Columbus...

You'd have to consider that a plus in our column, right?

Only if his sister is hot

 

[irishunclebill]

Hey Buck,

Now that we are off of the mind numbing discussion of NCAA grad rates, I actually have to come to Columbus for a wedding on July 1, and yes, both the bride and groom are Buckeye graduates, and no I will not wear a red suit, but would you mind sending me a Private Message on some decent places to stay and eat. Thanks in advance.

 

[GoshenGipper]

4) He made a quick and unplanned trip to Notre Dame this past weekend after a short talk with Corwin Brown. Now, maybe he just made that trip to convince himself that OSU was his choice, but that’s an awfully long car ride to make just to do that. The point being that how can anyone completely write Sweat off as an ND recruit when he is willing to make that effort on the spur of the moment.

Rumors:

1) Sweat was supposedly turned off by the OSU boys on the last trip that he made to Columbus when most of the OSU commits were there.

He actually stopped back by O$U on his way home from ND, which made it his 8th trip to O$U. I have said for a long time that I think he'll be a Buckeye, and I still fully expect to be right come tomorrow. Remeber I did call M.Austin to UNC a week or two earlier than most of the so called experts.

 

[irishunclebill]

He actually stopped back by O$U on his way home from ND, which made it his 8th trip to O$U. I have said for a long time that I think he'll be a Buckeye, and I still fully expect to be right come tomorrow. Remeber I did call M.Austin to UNC a week or two earlier than most of the so called experts.

GG- What's your point. Did I say that Sweat was an ND lock because he visited ND last weekend. All I said was based on his recruiting history, IMO, it 's premature to write Sweat off as an ND recruit, I didn't ask anybody to agree with me. Also, according to Sweat himself he did not stop at OSU to see any coaches on his way home from South Bend, and while were on the subject of number of visits, how many times did Trevor Robinson visit Notre Dame before committing to Nebraska.

Also, why did you quote the first rumor in your post without commenting on it. What does that mean?