Ask Merckxe525 aka Dear Abby

stlnd01

stlnd01

Was away. Now returned.
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Merckxe525 said:
Landed:

Nix, Shembo, Lynch, Ishaq Williams, Daniels, Tuitt, Neal, Shepard, Bryant, Folston, Nyles Morgan, Alize Jones, St. Brown, Brock Wright, Kevin Austin, Foskey, Kyle Hamilton, Botelho, Watts, Kollie, Styles Jr. , Sneed, Tuihalamaka, Wagner, Merriweather, Jagusah, Ausberry, Greathouse, Bowen, Flores, Carr, Kedron Young, Lambert, Faraimo, Dallas Golden.
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Ah the good ol days before BK gave up on swinging for the fences.
 
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Irishdawg

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Merc & Bua your info/insights are much appreciated! I’m sure this has been asked but as a big fan of the TE position what’s your take on Raridon making the jump to the next big time TE at ND? How about one of the Flana/igans? I know Cooper was hurt late last year, any timeline on his return? Larson, the transfer Washington going too contribute? Lastly, I’ve noticed lately a ton of TE offers out. They gonna/want to take 2 in 2026? Thx again fellas!!
 
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NDFAN2008

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I do remembering saying that Thomas Graham who went to oregon was all set on coming here and Kelly dropped the ball on that one
 
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irishu

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Yo Merck, I heard Kyle Hamilton tried to bring Xavier Nwankpa to newfs and ditched him when he didn’t get in. This led to Nwankpa’s interest shifting away from the Irish.

Is this true?
 
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IrishFanForever23

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NDFAN2008 said:
I do remembering saying that Thomas Graham who went to oregon was all set on coming here and Kelly dropped the ball on that one
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I don't think it was Kelly. I thought it was Todd Lyght botched something during the in-home or something like that.
 
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spoonidentity

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IrishFanForever23 said:
I don't think it was Kelly. I thought it was Todd Lyght botched something during the in-home or something like that.
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For all the Loy commentary in the last few pages, I believe this tidbit came from him.

From what I recall, I think they were very full from eating all day and didn't accept the homemade food that Graham's mother made for the dinner she hosted for them at her house. Big no-no
 
zelezo vlk

zelezo vlk

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NDFAN2008 said:
I do remembering saying that Thomas Graham who went to oregon was all set on coming here and Kelly dropped the ball on that one
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The (fake) story I like to tell is Lyght pooped his pants in the Graham living room and refused to acknowledge it. The entire situation was awkward because he wouldn’t admit anything was wrong while a little bit of leakage was getting onto their floor. They had zero shot after that.
 
BuaConstrictor

BuaConstrictor

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Irishdawg said:
I’m sure this has been asked but as a big fan of the TE position what’s your take on Raridon making the jump to the next big time TE at ND?
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I've always been a big believer in Raridon, but I also prefer TE's with his body type/frame. Can he make the jump? Yes. Will he? Who knows. It will have a lot to do with health. If Cooper Flanagan had been healthy that battle in the spring would have been epic. The staff was/is really high on Cooper. I tend not to get into injury and timeline stuff. All kids heal different and especially with an Achilles it can be tricky.

Based on nothing, I've kind of written Cooper off until 2026.
 
rtrn2glory

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Guys appreciate the insight and look behind the scenes.

Watching old tape this week out of boredom but got me wondering....

Is there anybody that you were surprised didn't have a good pro career after they left ND and on the flip side is there anybody that you were surprised did have a good career in the pros whether it be physical or professionally concerns or question marks?

Guy that got me wondering about that was Claypool. Was he really as big of a headache as he turned out to be while he was at ND?

Thanks again for keeping us engaged before spring ball!!
 
MacIrish75

MacIrish75

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rtrn2glory said:
Guys appreciate the insight and look behind the scenes.

Watching old tape this week out of boredom but got me wondering....

Is there anybody that you were surprised didn't have a good pro career after they left ND and on the flip side is there anybody that you were surprised did have a good career in the pros whether it be physical or professionally concerns or question marks?

Guy that got me wondering about that was Claypool. Was he really as big of a headache as he turned out to be while he was at ND?

Thanks again for keeping us engaged before spring ball!!
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I know this question isn’t intended for me, but I am shocked that EQ St. Brown has stuck in the NFL as long as he has.
 
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allenm5333

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rtrn2glory said:
Guys appreciate the insight and look behind the scenes.

Watching old tape this week out of boredom but got me wondering....

Is there anybody that you were surprised didn't have a good pro career after they left ND and on the flip side is there anybody that you were surprised did have a good career in the pros whether it be physical or professionally concerns or question marks?

Guy that got me wondering about that was Claypool. Was he really as big of a headache as he turned out to be while he was at ND?

Thanks again for keeping us engaged before spring ball!!
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The writers always talk about Kizer and his issues. Would love to know more and also about Zaire v Kizer
 
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Steds83

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rtrn2glory said:
Guys appreciate the insight and look behind the scenes.

Watching old tape this week out of boredom but got me wondering....

Is there anybody that you were surprised didn't have a good pro career after they left ND and on the flip side is there anybody that you were surprised did have a good career in the pros whether it be physical or professionally concerns or question marks?

Guy that got me wondering about that was Claypool. Was he really as big of a headache as he turned out to be while he was at ND?

Thanks again for keeping us engaged before spring ball!!
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Best specific story I have is he was half an inch away from completely running me over with his electric scooter on campus (more funny than anything else). I know people that interacted with him outside of ND and he unfortunately was very much a “don’t you know who I am” kind of guy.
 
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FollowTheFreeman

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Steds83 said:
Best specific story I have is he was half an inch away from completely running me over with his electric scooter on campus (more funny than anything else). I know people that interacted with him outside of ND and he unfortunately was very much a “don’t you know who I am” kind of guy.
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Given his antics in the NFL (celebrating a first down when the clock was running, essentially losing them the game), this doesn't surprise me at all.
 
NDBoiler

NDBoiler

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Merck - what does the staff think of Driskell hiding in the bushes to get the inside scoop? Do they admire his hustle, or think he is just a total tool?
 
BuaConstrictor

BuaConstrictor

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rtrn2glory said:
Guy that got me wondering about that was Claypool. Was he really as big of a headache as he turned out to be while he was at ND?
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Early on, yes. Later on, no. Claypool was a complex kid. Busted his ass on ST for years. Became a hell of a WR later on. Effort was never really an issue, it was focus and learning he position. He could have an ego and be a unique personality but ND managed him well....the NFL has not...because once you get to the NFL it's your job to manage yourself.
MacIrish75 said:
I know this question isn’t intended for me, but I am shocked that EQ St. Brown has stuck in the NFL as long as he has.
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Ditto. I won't say EQ was not well liked during his time at ND, he just really isolated himself. Some of that was a result of his dad being an assbag, but EQ didn't have many friends on the team. Just kind of a loner and could come off as aloof or uncaring. I know when he decided to leave the staff didn't really try to keep him around.
allenm5333 said:
The writers always talk about Kizer and his issues. Would love to know more and also about Zaire v Kizer
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NDohio said:
Would be interesting to hear about the locker room dynamics during this fiasco.
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2015 was fine. The issue was heading into the 2016 season, which can be traced back to right after the Virginia game in '15 when BK basically told Zaire the job would be waiting for him when he got back. No one expected Kizer to have the year he had in 2015. Kizer almost quit the program in the spring of 2015 to play baseball.

Zaire came back in 2016 expecting to have his job back (because BK told him he'd have it back)..Kizer expected to have the job because he played so well. Kizer also came into camp ~20lbs overweight. Kizer said it was to take more pounding as a runner in 2016, which..sure..maybe..but it wasn't good weight and came off as lazy. Zaire couldn't be out a "fat" Kizer....BK ham handed the QB competition and let it go on for too long even after it was clear Zaire wasn't the guy.

Was the locker room "split"? Kind of..but most supported Kizer....that team has way bigger issues though and IMO the lockerroom split had less to do with Kizer v Zaire and more to do with the coaching staff being an absolute mess and causing issues all over the team.

Tbh, I could argue the locker room was as split or more split at points in 2009 on Clausen v Crist.
 
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