Ask Merckxe525 aka Dear Abby

[NDShark]

Merck. Why did Salmin pick Clemson over ND?

He chose to swim up a different stream, it seems

 

[rtrn2glory]

Put in action in what way?

If you’re talking about the program:

- The new facility is now in excess of $200,000,000

- The indoor facility is among the top 3 in the country.

- The football program has no hard cap on spend.

- Salary levels are top 3.

- NIL across all collectives, has in excess of $30,000,000 on hand.

If you could be a bit more specific, I can provide further clarity.

He later clarified his stance but I get the feeling that some people aren't going to be happy until we're giving high school kids huge bags before stepping on campus. I'm not for that but recruiting seems to stand alone in how the "state of the program" is being perceived on the outside.

To your point I love that indoor facility. I've been to 3 and only Michigan would have a legit argument of saying there's is better but I still prefer ours.

 

[Irish8248]

He later clarified his stance but I get the feeling that some people aren't going to be happy until we're giving high school kids huge bags before stepping on campus. I'm not for that but recruiting seems to stand alone in how the "state of the program" is being perceived on the outside.

To your point I love that indoor facility. I've been to 3 and only Michigan would have a legit argument of saying there's is better but I still prefer ours.

I think this fan base is conditioned to believe the University will not do everything in their power to be superior rather their content being competitive or comparable. Pulling back the curtain and seeing the flush amount of cash, there's no reason to be held back. I think that's where the majority of these type of questions stem from.

Throw bags at studs, take that risk.
Get a #1 or #2 recruiting class every year.
Start beating the OSUs and SEC teams with roster building and 5🌟
Buy the best FAs.
Get the top assistants.
Have the best facilities.

The fan base wants to be superior, not so much settle for competitive or comparable.

 

[NDFAN2008]

- Internally housed sports science, and research department.

- Internally housed holistic wellness center.

- The largest training table in the country.

- The largest physical therapy, and injury prevention department in the country.

- Fully staffed kitchen, with the ability to handle all tailored nutritional needs.

- Internally housed AI department.

Etc, etc.

In regards to Physical therapy and Nutrition duke is right there at the top in the country I hope we succeed that

 

[CoachB]

Didn't know where to put this, but this is a popular thread. I was just looking through the upcoming mock draft and OSU had 11 players getting projected in the top 4 rounds, while we had 2 (with one not playing a whole lot this year). Pretty remarkable that we were that competitive. OSU was freakishly talented. Looking forward to those super teams being a thing of the past.

 

[Me2SouthBend]

In regards to Physical therapy and Nutrition duke is right there at the top in the country I hope we succeed that

Your posts literally make this board dumber.

 

[BuaConstrictor]

If it's not money, what is preventing us from signing top classes?

ND will always deal with geographic and academic limitations. ND can and should be consistently around a Top 5 team in recruiting, FWIW, internally the program feels they have been under Freeman. To expect ND to constantly be the top team in the nation in recruiting is foolish....but they don't have to do in order to compete and win national titles.

ND also plans to better supplement HS recruiting with increased portal flexibility (which you are already seeing)

 

[Irish5Saint]

He later clarified his stance but I get the feeling that some people aren't going to be happy until we're giving high school kids huge bags before stepping on campus. I'm not for that but recruiting seems to stand alone in how the "state of the program" is being perceived on the outside.

To your point I love that indoor facility. I've been to 3 and only Michigan would have a legit argument of saying theirs is better but I still prefer ours.

My post came off that way but I’m not necessarily the biggest fan of bag dropping myself either.

I just want ND to get its Plan A guys, regardless of rankings.

 

[irishu]

Yo Merck,

What are Notre Dame football’s use cases for an internally housed AI department?

 

[Rockin’Irish]

Your posts literally make this board dumber.

Yep but you have to admire the grammar and sentence construction…….

 

[irishu]

Yo Merck and Bua,

Do you know who each other are? I like to imagine you two are trying to make the other and question everyone you pass by in the gug

 

[NDFAN2008]

Your posts literally make this board dumber.

Are you disagreeing because you sound like a clown. They have some of the best physical trainers and nutritionist on staff for their athletic department

 

[Fbolt]

@Merckxe525 @BuaConstrictor

Been out of pocket the last week and just spent an hour combing through this thread for your nuggets. Insightful and appreciated.

 

[Irish2155]

Put in action in what way?

If you’re talking about the program:

- The new facility is now in excess of $200,000,000

- The indoor facility is among the top 3 in the country.

- The football program has no hard cap on spend.

- Salary levels are top 3.

- NIL across all collectives, has in excess of $30,000,000 on hand.

If you could be a bit more specific, I can provide further clarity.

I think what he is trying to ask, when will it equate to a National Championship.

 

[NDpendent]

Yo Merck,

What are Notre Dame football’s use cases for an internally housed AI department?

Making sure all student athletes are fluent in using ChatGPT so they can focus more on the field and less in the classroom

 

[irishnd31]

Are you disagreeing because you sound like a clown. They have some of the best physical trainers and nutritionist on staff for their athletic department

Coming from the biggest idiot on this site, you are the worst.

 

[Kingbish01]

Yo Merck and Bua,

Do you know who each other are? I like to imagine you two are trying to make the other and question everyone you pass by in the gug

My guess would be "no", Merck made a comment that leads me to believe he is not in South Bend. 🤔. Obviously huge odds I'm wrong, but I would make this long shot bet!

 

[BuaConstrictor]

I think what he is trying to ask, when will it equate to a National Championship.

Obviously the program wants to compete for one every season, but internally the feeling for the next cycle up is '26.

 

[NDRock]

- Internally housed sports science, and research department.

- Internally housed holistic wellness center.

- The largest training table in the country.

- The largest physical therapy, and injury prevention department in the country.

- Fully staffed kitchen, with the ability to handle all tailored nutritional needs.

- Internally housed AI department.

Etc, etc.

What an absolute 180 from the Weis years when ND didn’t even have a training table for its athletes. I’m not saying Charlie would have been successful today but he really was handcuffed by the University and Ty’s recruiting. Guy brought in some absolute studs and would have benefited greatly from the portal. Glad we’re at the forefront again with regards to the football program.

 

[BuaConstrictor]

I’m not saying Charlie would have been successful today but he really was handcuffed by the University and Ty’s recruiting

Weis also handcuffed himself in a lot of ways. I generally like Weis but he was just never going to be a fit as college coach...anywhere for a long term hire.

 

[NDRock]

Weis also handcuffed himself in a lot of ways. I generally like Weis but he was just never going to be a fit as college coach...anywhere for a long term hire.

Curious why you think that (I probably lean more towards agreeing with you). He seemed to be really well liked by his players. Today's college football programs are obviously run much more like NFL teams (we have a GM for goodness sake). I think a guy like 2005 Weis (highly regarded NFL OC) has a much better chance of being successful in college than ever before.

I just feel the 2005 ND job was going to be very difficult for whoever took that job.

 

[TheProspector]

He won two top 10 games his first year at LSU, including a win over Alabama.

If the argument is he needs to do it more consistently..of course...but he's shown the ability to do it.

4-9 versus ranked opponents at LSU. The argument is not that he can’t beat a top 10 on occasion. The argument is exactly that he doesn’t do it consistently which has held true at both ND and LSU.

 

[BuaConstrictor]

Curious why you think that

Weis, while a good/great recruiter of offensive players because of his pedigree...never really "got it" on the defensive side of the ball or larger recruiting strategy.

Aside from seeming to cycle from DC to DC and system to system way too much(He had three DC's in five seasons and even switched from a 4-3 to a 3-4 BACK to a 4-3 in five years *insert Michael Scott SNIP SNAP gif here*)......which that alone makes recruiting difficult....he was very much too into putting all his eggs into one basket.

Weis never seemed to have backup options for players he missed on. When he got a guy, it was a hell of a get...but when he missed his guy the fall off was disastourous . Way too much feast or famine.

He just never saw or felt the need to truly develop a holistic approach regarding how the defense complimented the offense....which was really odd given the pro team he came from.

Weis was obviously limited by some things at ND at the time, but ND's lack of flexibility with Weis isn't why they went 3-9 in 2007 and lost to teams like UCONN on senior day in 2009. He was really disorganzed.

EDIT: Even in this era...I don't think he'd have any success over any extended period of time.

 

[bumpdaddy]

Weis, while a good/great recruiter of offensive players because of his pedigree...never really "got it" on the defensive side of the ball or larger recruiting strategy.

Aside from seeming to cycle from DC to DC and system to system way too much(He had three DC's in five seasons and even switched from a 4-3 to a 3-4 BACK to a 4-3 in five years *insert Michael Scott SNIP SNAP gif here*)......which that alone makes recruiting difficult....he was very much too into putting all his eggs into one basket.

Weis never seemed to have backup options for players he missed on. When he got a guy, it was a hell of a get...but when he missed his guy the fall off was disastourous . Way too much feast or famine.

He just never saw or felt the need to truly develop a holistic approach regarding how the defense complimented the offense....which was really odd given the pro team he came from.

Weis was obviously limited by some things at ND at the time, but ND's lack of flexibility with Weis isn't why they went 3-9 in 2007 and lost to teams like UCONN on senior day in 2009. He was really disorganzed.

EDIT: Even in this era...I don't think he'd have any success over any extended period of time.

Not that I have any inside knowledge - I don't - but one of Weis's biggest failings was a lack of emphasis on strength and conditioning, which led to poor physical development generally, but mostly among the OL and DL.

I wish I had saved the article, but soon after BK took over, he had the team go through some basic strength and conditioning tests - bench press, squat, deadlift, etc. The one result that stood out was that only 1 player could bench over 400 lbs - Braxton Cave. In comparison, Michigan had something like 20 players who could bench over 400. It was obvious Weis never took any kind of general accounting of how strong and fit his team was, especially in comparison to other programs.

That explains why Weis's OL recruiting was good overall, but his OL's seemed to get manhandled frequently throughout his tenure. It also explains why his teams frequently played decently for 2 or 3 quarters but gassed and blew leads in 4th quarters.

 

[BuaConstrictor]

Not that I have any inside knowledge - I don't - but one of Weis's biggest failings was a lack of emphasis on strength and conditioning, which led to poor physical development generally, but mostly among the OL and DL.

I wish I had saved the article, but soon after BK took over, he had the team go through some basic strength and conditioning tests - bench press, squat, deadlift, etc. The one result that stood out was that only 1 player could bench over 400 lbs - Braxton Cave. In comparison, Michigan had something like 20 players who could bench over 400. It was obvious Weis never took any kind of general accounting of how strong and fit his team was, especially in comparison to other programs.

That explains why Weis's OL recruiting was good overall, but his OL's seemed to get manhandled frequently throughout his tenure. It also explains why his teams frequently played decently for 2 or 3 quarters but gassed and blew leads in 4th quarters.

You're spot on. This wasn't just a failing of Weis, but the entire football program in general. In the final Weis season, OL and DL were losing nearly 20lbs a year, especially late in the season, due to lack of a proper nutritional plan.

 

[lefty5258]

Merck - qq around the ACC new rev share and buyout price (assuming ND wants to leave in 2030 as well). Any idea what that will look like for the program? Do they get any upside in TV money given that Clemson, Miami, and FSU are going to be rotating through the schedule more often for better TV matchups?

 

[Irish#1]

Not that I have any inside knowledge - I don't - but one of Weis's biggest failings was a lack of emphasis on strength and conditioning, which led to poor physical development generally, but mostly among the OL and DL.

I wish I had saved the article, but soon after BK took over, he had the team go through some basic strength and conditioning tests - bench press, squat, deadlift, etc. The one result that stood out was that only 1 player could bench over 400 lbs - Braxton Cave. In comparison, Michigan had something like 20 players who could bench over 400. It was obvious Weis never took any kind of general accounting of how strong and fit his team was, especially in comparison to other programs.

That explains why Weis's OL recruiting was good overall, but his OL's seemed to get manhandled frequently throughout his tenure. It also explains why his teams frequently played decently for 2 or 3 quarters but gassed and blew leads in 4th quarters.

Didn’t need S&C when he had a schematic advantage.

 

[Irish8248]

Didn’t need S&C when he had a schematic advantage.

Ill take his schematic advantage and Charlie cheeseburger BS over anything Golfingham served up. CW made us believe again, even for just a minute.

Like the old adage, you have to learn to crawl before you walk and walk before you run.

CW was the crawl. BK taught us to walk. Hoping MFMF is CFBs Usain Bolt lol.

 

[Free Manera]

- Internally housed sports science, and research department.

- Internally housed holistic wellness center.

- The largest training table in the country.

- The largest physical therapy, and injury prevention department in the country.

- Fully staffed kitchen, with the ability to handle all tailored nutritional needs.

- Internally housed AI department.

Etc, etc.

This sounds incredible for the kids. Does ND have any sports that say a 40 year old dad could earn a scholarship for? He has all 4 years of eligibility left.

 

[PolishDomer]

It has a Euro-club feel to it @PolishDomer.
I think if it wasn't tied to the old man in a bus commercial, it wouldn't be as hated.

In case you were curious