'25 FL DB Ivan Taylor (Alabama Verbal)

[stlnd01]

Yeah safety is probably the weakest position group on the defense but also it includes the guy who is leading college football in interceptions.

We’re talking about one position. Not a “group.” And frankly someone has to be the weakest link on your defense.

O’Leary has been pretty damn good at development, maybe less so at recruiting, but good recruits who want to be developed can look at his track record and make their own decisions.

 

[ColinKSU]

ISD Intel | Behind The Scenes of Notre Dame Recruiting

A look at a pair of top targets who will be on campus next week, an inside peek at Deuce Knight's pitch to recruits, the latest on the 2024 recruiting class and more.

irishsportsdaily.com

Premium from ISD. Some interesting quotes on Taylor. For the O’Leary can’t recruit crowd, Taylor ain’t comin’ if O’Leary isn’t here

Quite the conundrum. He won’t come if he isn’t here, but O’Leary will lose him if he does commit.

 

[DillonHall]

I don't want to take anything away from Watts because he's made the plays. BUT interceptions can be kinda flukey. The first one against USC was lobbed to him because Williams was under pressure from JJB. If it wasn't for the pressure, it probably would've been a 15 yard reception to the TE. The second INT against USC was again with Williams under pressure and his pass was tipped by Rubio. One against Pitt was also just a bad throw that was lobbed to him.

 

[DillonHall]

When O'Leary has had good athletes at his position (Hamilton, Watts), they've played very well. If he got Taylor, I bet he'd become a very good player under O'Leary.

However, he hasn't recruited a top player yet (skeptical about Tae Johnson- he's going to be a project IMO) and he hasn't been able to elevate the play of less talented players

 

[allenm5333]

I don't want to take anything away from Watts because he's made the plays. BUT interceptions can be kinda flukey. The first one against USC was lobbed to him because Williams was under pressure from JJB. If it wasn't for the pressure, it probably would've been a 15 yard reception to the TE. The second INT against USC was again with Williams under pressure and his pass was tipped by Rubio. One against Pitt was also just a bad throw that was lobbed to him.

Ex: Brandon Joseph

 

[Luckylucci]

Watts has played very well down the stretch- the player and O'Leary both deserve credit for his development.

But O'Leary is probably the weakest coach on the defensive side of the ball. Thank God for Watts because there isn't much else on the roster to be excited about.

Especially with safety recruiting the past few years:

Chris O'Leary All Time Recruits

A big part of your job is to go get good players so that's a pretty weak excuse. He hasn't come close to proving he can get top recruits against elite SEC/B1G competition

The worst of a really good group. That’s quite the criticism.

In the last year and a half he’s completely remade the S room. Turned Watts into a fucking star. Brought in two legitimate transfers. And added a scholarship worthy S as a PWO. One that had scholarship offers from two top 25 teams. Folks just can’t get over the bad decisions Freeman and Bowden stuck him with.

Nwankpa or bust and Hillman as Bowen’s replacement were not made at the position coach level. Give him those two spots to recruit even a developmental prospect and things look pretty good.

 

[DillonHall]

The worst of a really good group. That’s quite the criticism.

Yeah, that's 100% true. O'Leary is a good coach- nothing more, nothing less. Hopefully he'll start landing higher level recruits like Taylor to make the job easier for himself

 

[LSWho?]

I would also add: movements from CB to S happen often and are much easier transitions than the other way around. There is a good chance one of the many CB prospects here and coming ends up a very good S.

 

[NDMatt91]

I noticed that O'Leary is following LaMiles Brooks from GT on Twitter. Brooks has another year of eligibility left and will likely hit the portal as a grad transfer. He'd almost certainly be the best grad transfer Safety in the Portal, and he's definitely an NFL player. He's a must get, so hopefully O'Leary is laying some ground work.

 

[irishff1014]

LOL Giddyup you're literally the only person in the world except Parker's wife who thinks he's doing a good job

This is a 7-3 team with three of those wins coming against Navy, Tennessee State, and Central Michigan. Every aspect of this team should be under scrutiny

The the defense have a few bad drives so far yes. But the defense was plenty good enough to put us in the playoffs.

 

[CanadalovesND]

I noticed that O'Leary is following LaMiles Brooks from GT on Twitter. Brooks has another year of eligibility left and will likely hit the portal as a grad transfer. He'd almost certainly be the best grad transfer Safety in the Portal, and he's definitely an NFL player. He's a must get, so hopefully O'Leary is laying some ground work.

Makes me wonder if Brooks is already putting out "feelers" before he enters the portal. O'Leary wouldn't follow him randomly..

 

[irishandy]

Have we ever heard a recruit say good things like Taylor is saying about O'Leary in the ISD story?

MF is big on recruiting and his coaches also recruiting, maybe; just maybe O'Leary is changing his ways of recruiting and it could pay off with Taylor.

 

[Reaper97]

I haven’t drank any Scotch yet today & just finished my morning run, so I’m calm & relaxed.
So what I’m about to say will be less aggressive, but still to the point.

O’Leary is viewed by the players & coaches at ND as one of, if not the best, Coach on the staff at their position.
Saying he hasn’t elevated the Safety play us just too stupid to comprehend.

Saying he hasn’t signed Taylor yet, it’s a long way to 2025, is dumb shit.
NO POSITION COACH has signed ANY 2025 OR 2024 recruit yet. So they all suck too.
Carr hasn’t signed yet!!!

O’Leary has nothing to do with the Bowen or Hillman situations, but still signed TWO 4 Star Safties in that class.
98% if the teams in the country would take two 4 Star Safties in a class, and 100% would after losing two others last second.
ND is going to end up signing 6-7 4 Star Safties in a 3 year span.
And the 3 Star WR is an All American.

The ND Safties are ranked top 3 in the country in efficiency (INTs, PBUs, Forced Turnovers, Tackles, etc…).

Why is this even a discussion?

It seems to me, two people, Dillon & Colin, just can’t admit they are wrong.
They are going to die in this hill no matter what.
So everyone should just discuss O’Leary & Safties & ignore those two.
Like when you talk to your friends about traveling & ignore the dude who is a flat earther. You just hand him an animal cracker & tell him to change his diaper.

 

[irishnd31]

I haven’t drank any Scotch yet today & just finished my morning run, so I’m calm & relaxed.
So what I’m about to say will be less aggressive, but still to the point.

O’Leary is viewed by the players & coaches at ND as one of, if not the best, Coach on the staff at their position.
Saying he hasn’t elevated the Safety play us just too stupid to comprehend.

Saying he hasn’t signed Taylor yet, it’s a long way to 2025, is dumb shit.
NO POSITION COACH has signed ANY 2025 OR 2024 recruit yet. So they all suck too.
Carr hasn’t signed yet!!!

O’Leary has nothing to do with the Bowen or Hillman situations, but still signed TWO 4 Star Safties in that class.
98% if the teams in the country would take two 4 Star Safties in a class, and 100% would after losing two others last second.
ND is going to end up signing 6-7 4 Star Safties in a 3 year span.
And the 3 Star WR is an All American.

The ND Safties are ranked top 3 in the country in efficiency (INTs, PBUs, Forced Turnovers, Tackles, etc…).

Why is this even a discussion?

It seems to me, two people, Dillon & Colin, just can’t admit they are wrong.
They are going to die in this hill no matter what.
So everyone should just discuss O’Leary & Safties & ignore those two.
Like when you talk to your friends about traveling & ignore the dude who is a flat earther. You just hand him an animal cracker & tell him to change his diaper.

Very calm…. Now go have some scotch and go scorched earth.😉

 

[Reaper97]

Very calm…. Now go have some scotch and go scorched earth.😉

I have concerns with coaching at ND, but….

It’s with the HC. Obviously, some bad in-game coaching decisions.
But I don’t rail on it.

I’m not concerned about Safety coaching at all.

And as I’ve said, actual coaching, playing well & winning trumps all recruiting. Nobody is talking about the recruiting classes of the early 80’s (who were #1 in recruiting but .500 in the field), they are talking about winning & losing. Just like no one talks about the 85-86 class that won a Championship. We talk about the actual games & winning.

If ND wins a title, because they developed & coached & bunch of 3 Stars, Great!
I swear some people would rather lose with 5 Stars.
Holtz had 4 straight #1 classes who combined won exactly 0 Championships.
His 2nd lowest & lowest classes won the Championship & runner up.
Go figure.

 

[Lberry]

Latching on to the "I love the position coach" anecdotes don't do it for me. What about the dozens of top recruits who were targeted and don't have that to say. End of the day it's about results, not catching the right recruit at the right time for a sound bite.

I don't dislike O'leary. I think his HS recruiting has been below average but he's shown some promise in the portal, and I value both.

Development has been undwhelming IMO. Brown's never gotten better, Brandon Joseph was better at NW, Henderson hasn't really taken a jump and so on. I don't void all of that just because Watts is a baller anymore than I credit Van Gorder for Tranquill turning into a monster.

 

[Ndaccountant]

Very calm…. Now go have some scotch and go scorched earth.😉

 

[DillonHall]

I haven’t drank any Scotch yet today & just finished my morning run, so I’m calm & relaxed.
So what I’m about to say will be less aggressive, but still to the point.

O’Leary is viewed by the players & coaches at ND as one of, if not the best, Coach on the staff at their position.
Saying he hasn’t elevated the Safety play us just too stupid to comprehend.

Saying he hasn’t signed Taylor yet, it’s a long way to 2025, is dumb shit.
NO POSITION COACH has signed ANY 2025 OR 2024 recruit yet. So they all suck too.
Carr hasn’t signed yet!!!

O’Leary has nothing to do with the Bowen or Hillman situations, but still signed TWO 4 Star Safties in that class.
98% if the teams in the country would take two 4 Star Safties in a class, and 100% would after losing two others last second.
ND is going to end up signing 6-7 4 Star Safties in a 3 year span.
And the 3 Star WR is an All American.

The ND Safties are ranked top 3 in the country in efficiency (INTs, PBUs, Forced Turnovers, Tackles, etc…).

Why is this even a discussion?

It seems to me, two people, Dillon & Colin, just can’t admit they are wrong.
They are going to die in this hill no matter what.
So everyone should just discuss O’Leary & Safties & ignore those two.
Like when you talk to your friends about traveling & ignore the dude who is a flat earther. You just hand him an animal cracker & tell him to change his diaper.

You have poor reading comprehension or you like to take comments out of context. I’ve already stated O’Leary is a good coach.

I said he hasn’t elevated the play of less talented players (like DJ Brown and Henderson). How can anyone argue that? They’re the same players they’ve always been.

The point about Taylor not being signed is to say that being the leader 13 months from signing day doesn’t mean much. When did I say he sucked because he wasn’t signed already? Again, see above. I think O’Leary has been “good” but it’s reasonable to say that he’s still got some things to prove especially from a recruiting standpoint. How did you not learn anything from Bowen/Keeley last year? Any reasonable fan would realize that there’s no guarantee we eventually sign him.

 

[Reaper97]

View attachment 3054841
Sup Reaper… can we get you wound up lol

Wait until about 1400 when I’ve got it in me & decide to discuss why the flying fook, in a thread for Ivan Taylor, one of the best recruits in his class, where he discusses how much he & his dad loves O’Leary, some are talking negatively about O’Leary.
It’s eating paint chips stuff.

 

[DillonHall]

Latching on to the "I love the position coach" anecdotes don't do it for me. What about the dozens of top recruits who were targeted and don't have that to say. End of the day it's about results, not catching the right recruit at the right time for a sound bite.

I don't dislike O'leary. I think his HS recruiting has been below average but he's shown some promise in the portal, and I value both.

Development has been undwhelming IMO. Brown's never gotten better, Brandon Joseph was better at NW, Henderson hasn't really taken a jump and so on. I don't void all of that just because Watts is a baller anymore than I credit Van Gorder for Tranquill turning into a monster.

This is a reasonable opinion but I’m sure there will be people who disagree. That’s cool that “Gug sources” think O’Leary is the best coach on the staff. Because they’re always reliable

 

[NDdomer2]

I wonder how often the team updates their staff ranking

 

[Giddyup]

Don’t worry guys Dillon Hall has his eye test and O’Leary’s safeties didn’t pass. Game over

 

[Reaper97]

I wonder how often the team updates their staff ranking

They talk about it.

But let me fill you in on where 99% of the recruiting, team & overall inside info comes from…
Used to be all GA’s, now with analysts it’s a mix between GA’s & analysts.
Back a few years I got most my info from a GA, who is long gone now.
The Ian Book getting starting reps over Wimbush on 2018 on a Tuesday was leaked by a team manager to his buddies, who put it out to the public.

 

[laughingirish90]

you guys need to stop teasing us recruiting fans thinking we have new news on Taylor and then it ends up being just more talk on the safeties coach.

 

[DillonHall]

They talk about it.

But let me fill you in on where 99% of the recruiting, team & overall inside info comes from…
Used to be all GA’s, now with analysts it’s a mix between GA’s & analysts.
Back a few years I got most my info from a GA, who is long gone now.
The Ian Book getting starting reps over Wimbush on 2018 on a Tuesday was leaked by a team manager to his buddies, who put it out to the public.

So it'd be like me gossiping about the quality of my attending surgeons while I was a medical student?

 

[NDdomer2]

I'm over here imagining a preseason release, weekly staff rankings of themselves aka coaches poll and player rankings of staff aka AP pole.

About week 8 we get a BCS type ranking where coaches, players and the beat writers all get a vote.

Bottom two must pay for next week's sign stealing.

 

[NDFan8349]

Is this the Taylor thread??

 

[IAIrish]

Is this the Taylor thread??

Anyone have any good crabcake recipes?

 

[INLaw]

Officially the contributing to the delinquency of the Reaper thread.

 

[FDNYIrish1]

Very calm…. Now go have some scotch and go scorched earth.😉

listen Reaper junior you did a pretty good job last week yourself. Let’s see a repeat performance.