Will see what shakes out between now and signing day, but I can't recall a more different finish between on field performance and closing on recruits.
That was a huge point of him being hired
I think from a recruiting perspective, this puts people like Mike Brown and Al Washington on the clock with the 2026 cycle. They need to hit 2026 out of the park at WR and DL, respectively. They can't really afford to take projects, they need blue-chip guys who can come in and contribute immediately. DT is much more of a priority than DE. They need guys with size, not 250 and 260-ish guys that they hope can be 300 pounds 3-4 years down the line.
I'm not sure Downs is the best example for the point you are making. Yes, he was a five star talent, but safety was not a position that ND had a huge need for a starter. They got what they needed there and that was depth.
I definitely agree that Safety wasn't the biggest need, but the beat said they'd definitely get a Safety, which ended up being Heard. When an elite player like Caleb Downs comes available, you have to do everything possible to buy him. Especially since he'd have multiple years of eligibility and had some genuine interest in ND out of HS.
Floyd and Golden were both legit starting NFL receivers, though to be fair neither ended up being the superstar they were in college.
FIFY
Then that's even worse IMO. The blame squarely falls on the staff and not the administration at that point.
"As it stands now, I like USC for a variety of reasons. No doubt in my mind that they have the best NIL package on the table for the coveted in-state talent. This is not a recruit they want to lose and they have put their best foot forward."
247sports.com
Totally understand. Damn it Marcus! Why couldn't you convince the entire university to relocate from South Bend, Indiana, to southern California so we could win this recruitment? Honestly it's a whole university debacle at this point.
You know who has the best NIL for HS recruits right now? The teams grasping for relevance who aren't gonna make the playoff. These are desperation bags that are coming from Michigan, USC, UF, and A&M. Auburn had their desperation period earlier and could end up paying the price for that
Plenty of schools are located in boring/cold locations. They seem to have no problem landing top players. ND has to compensate for its disadvantages through NIL. It doesn't sound like that is happening, at least not enough.
I think we'll be fine with how it currently stands. I don't see any problems with the ACC slate (it's not stronger than this year's, if we struggle with it that is indicative that the team has regressed). USC, A&M, and Boise State being home games helps. Purdue can only go up from here I guess. Arkansas away doesn't scare me too much, they aren't really close to A&M level. Solid but a playoff caliber team should win that game, clearly I would expect the 2024 team to go into Fayetteville and crack skulls.
Oh are you under the impression that this is the only recruit that we were leading for an ultimately lost out on this cycle?
Actually everyone's doing it. Oregon, OSU, Georgia, Texas, Tennessee... but you're leaving those out and the champion will probably come from that group.
You absolutely nailed it here. When a team goes on a title run it usually doesn't boost recruiting until the following class, in this case 2026 class. You da man.