Ask Merckxe525 aka Dear Abby

[rtrn2glory]

As I mentioned before: His ability to develop WRs.

This is where we can't just seem the right fit for both. Stuckey obviously turned into a douche but he got some good kids signed. Development them though seemed to be his downfall while Brown right now is the polar opposite

 

[rtrn2glory]

I'm sorry if this has already been asked but is the football department ever going to post an official spring practice schedule?

 

[FireJeffQuinn]

Happy Friday and good morning!



Two things in advance

-I apologize in advance if Big Merckxe already covered some or all of this. I started typing this last night in a Word doc after my last post because I knew it was going to be a long post and I haven’t checked the board

-Some of this information may be so general as to be not useful but short of writing a 2,500 word essay on the topic it would be impossible to cover all the small ins and outs of how any recruiting department runs. So much can change day to day and week to week that it’s nearly impossible to cover. So this will be a VERY high level overview and I’ll try to tie it to ND and the way things currently run..or will run with these new GM positions as best I can. A lot of the below won’t be specific to ND in general, a lot of programs have similar systems and set-ups for recruiting.



First and foremost, recruiting never sleeps. Figuratively and somewhat literally. It might be the only department in a football program that works every single day of the year in much the same way. Are there daily meetings? Yes. Are there weekly meetings? Yes. It’s also always evolving. The department is going to look much different this year with Bowden gone. Merckxe and I covered this but it will be a bit more professional in it’s look and feel and organization. Bowden ran a loose ship. It felt very “college”. Martin will have the department feeling much more like an NFL front office..but trying to meld together the college “fun”/feel.

In regards to meetings, there is always at least one weekly meeting with the coaching staff. During bye weeks or non-game weeks in the offseason there can and will be more, but there is always at least one. There also is and can be weekly meetings with position groups. Freeman is at around..maybe…75-90% of these depending on his schedule. If he’s not there he’s getting updates from them and follows up later. Freeman is always involved. He’s meeting with the recruiting coordinator(s) and the individual coaches to know what is needed from him in respect to a player, a group, or an event. Daily meetings are more common this time of year and heading into signing day depending on how the class is closing out and who/if ND is still chasing.

Most schools (ND included) typically has a “2.5” year board at all times. So right now the boards are ’26, ’27, and kids they are intently watching early in the 2028 class. A kid like Vernon would have been one of those on the “early” board back when he was a recruit. Early boards also usually contain a lot of QBs and RBs. Part of how/why every team gets on QBs so early now.

Recruiting is also working with current commits on messaging they want out, taking the temperature of the class, and having them reach out to recruits. Under Martin my impression is this will be much more organized and the messaging the recruiting office will be putting out will be more targeted, cohesively “branded”, and messaged.

The portal has obviously changed things quite a bit so you have teams of people in recruiting reviewing film every week from around the country, taking and making notes of players, and aligning those players with the board in the office of where ND feels they do or will need help as they watch the recruiting board morph and shift over the cycles. Obviously right now, lots of film of WRs being looked at as opposed to scouting of OL. It wouldn’t surprise me if within….two years?...that ND expands the department and hires a small team/group of professional scouts or talent evaluators simply for this this purpose and that filters down to HS recruiting as well. You may also see ND pulling from NFL personnel scouting departments and getting interns or lower level scouts to come to the college level for a “promotion” in title under Matt Jansen. Jansen has a small staff now..but I’d look for it to expand/grow/evolve with Martin in charge.

I’m trying to think of anything else but…recruiting is A LOT….I can’t stress that enough. At this point I’ve forgotten parts of the question so feel free to follow up on anything I’ll do the best I can to answer but some of it I may not be able to as it’s highly internal.

I remember Freeman saying in 2021 at his introductory press conference that he would be the primary recruiter for every prospect. Is that still his goal? How has his role in recruiting evolved throughout his time as HC?

 

[BuaConstrictor]

I remember Freeman saying in 2021 at his introductory press conference that he would be the primary recruiter for every prospect. Is that still his goal? How has his role in recruiting evolved throughout his time as HC?

I think people took that too literally. He was trying to make the point he would be heavily involved. Yes he is still that heavily involved but people misinterpreted the spirit of that message.

I wouldn't say his "role" has evolved as much as he's learned better how to pitch and message ND to recruits and he's learned fits and profiles that work at ND and how he can elevate the profile of the player ND goes after by leveraging all of those things. I think he also sees that ND can leverage the portal better than nearly any college in the country if ND so chooses.

To the above...a lot of this isn't "special" or unique to Freeman. It's a process most any coach would go through at any school as they grow into the job and institution.

 

[Irish5Saint]

Merck/Bua, regarding sports making money:

Football: always makes money no matter what.

Hoops: are the men making a profit right now even with how bad they are? Are the ladies ever able to turn a profit?

Hockey: does ND make money every year from hockey?

Of the non-revenue sports (baseball, lacrosse, etc.) which one would be the closest to becoming a revenue sport, if you had to guess?

 

[SDIrishFan]

I'm sorry if this has already been asked but is the football department ever going to post an official spring practice schedule?

It seems they've gotten away from this the past couple of years. They are very much trying to keep things under wraps more so than ever. Can't say I blame them but I do miss the days of extensive practice reports, especially in the spring.

 

[JD Irish]

So I’m guessing NC contention isn’t your goal? You just replaced three easier teams with traditionally more challenging teams. This is exactly what every NC minded/competitive team is NOT doing.

Winning a national championship is the #1 thing I care about for ND football.

#2 is playing in big, interesting, and meaningful games with rivals and otherwise high-end teams. The playoff format is more forgiving to allow for losses with the expanded field. Big wins are important to making the field.

If we lose the USC rivalry game, our only remaining annual rivalry game is... Navy? Stanford if that continues? Is that really the schedule we want? The USC game has been great the last few years. Those annual games against Michigan State, Pitt, Michigan, even BC were almost always big, great games. Add in Miami and a rotating big P4 team every year. That is the annual schedule I want.

 

[PolishDomer]

Merck/Bua, regarding sports making money:

Football: always makes money no matter what.

Hoops: are the men making a profit right now even with how bad they are? Are the ladies ever able to turn a profit?

Hockey: does ND make money every year from hockey?

Of the non-revenue sports (baseball, lacrosse, etc.) which one would be the closest to becoming a revenue sport, if you had to guess?

The soccer program has been really growing and been competitive over the last 10 years...my boys are planning to go to the ID camp in July

 

[dublinirish]

The soccer program has been really growing and been competitive over the last 10 years...my boys are planning to go to the ID camp in July

NCAA soccer needs to impose foreign player caps its gotten ridiculous now

 

[Irish#1]

It seems they've gotten away from this the past couple of years. They are very much trying to keep things under wraps more so than ever. Can't say I blame them but I do miss the days of extensive practice reports, especially in the spring.

Ah yes, spring practice where everyone looks like an AA and the upside is unlimited. Then comes fall camp when everyone wonders what happened to ???, because it was reported that he looked great in the spring.

 

[Cackalacky2.0]

With regard to if I'm too good to be true:

I've seen a number of posts in this thread implying that, or posting something like - "I mean no offense, but....".

Look, if my track record, and level of detail provided aren't sufficient at this point, I can certainly stop sharing, especially if there continues to be skepticism about what I'm sharing.

All I care about is if you are “The Gug” or not.

 

[PolishDomer]

NCAA soccer needs to impose foreign player caps its gotten ridiculous now

With the expansion for Men's Div 1 soccer scholarships from 9.5 to 27, its going to get worse...Div 1 is getting heavy with foreign players...tell my boys it will be difficult but have to do the ID camps and market themselves to several coaches...

 

[PolishDomer]

With the expansion for Men's Div 1 soccer scholarships from 9.5 to 27, its going to get worse...Div 1 is getting heavy with foreign players...tell my boys it will be difficult but have to do the ID camps and market themselves to several coaches...

Let me elaborate...the individual school ID camps, not the mega events...

 

[dublinirish]

With the expansion for Men's Div 1 soccer scholarships from 9.5 to 27, its going to get worse...Div 1 is getting heavy with foreign players...tell my boys it will be difficult but have to do the ID camps and market themselves to several coaches...

yeah didnt the starting 22 of the NCAA Div 1 soccer championship game contain like 2 americans and Marshall had zero or something wild like that?

 

[Dale]

Notre Dame plans to be more aggressive

- If this is the plan, when in your opinion would this be enacted? Official visits in June would likely need these type of numbers prepared to be offered ahead of those dates. In other-words, you’ve said this is the plan many times, by June do you foresee yourself saying they are, not planning to, doing this?

- If Brown is such a poor recruiter, is ND planning to make this gap up with cash money?

 

[allenm5333]

- Notre Dame has already been participating in up front NIL for some time now, they’re simply extending it further.

- Notre Dame discusses NIL offers with recruits from the get go.

- Notre Dame will extend NIL offers to select WRs this year.

Could they being doing this to rbs? Maybe 2 from Texas

 

[slick7410]

Question regarding recruiting:
With players being recruited earlier in development + big money handed out + time commitments, how advanced is the body type and growth potential scouting going? Are we talking how tall are the parents or full X-ray scans for growth plates now?

Not to disparage him, but if I as a donor laid out for sophomore Drew Pyne at 5’10” with big offers (and perceived upside) and got college 5’10” college QB - the downside keeps getting more expensive.
…Or is that why we have seen ND steer kids away late in the process at a higher rate?

 

[SeekNDestroy]

Question regarding recruiting:
With players being recruited earlier in development + big money handed out + time commitments, how advanced is the body type and growth potential scouting going? Are we talking how tall are the parents or full X-ray scans for growth plates now?

Not to disparage him, but if I as a donor laid out for sophomore Drew Pyne at 5’10” with big offers (and perceived upside) and got college 5’10” college QB - the downside keeps getting more expensive.
…Or is that why we have seen ND steer kids away late in the process at a higher rate?

Don’t take into account parents height with regards to height of the child. Pyne’s dad is like 6’5”.

 

[GoIrish41]

Don’t take into account parents height with regards to height of the child. Pyne’s dad is like 6’5”.

Yeah but his mom is 22 inches. 😉

 

[IAIrish]

- Notre Dame has already been participating in up front NIL for some time now, they’re simply extending it further.

- Notre Dame discusses NIL offers with recruits from the get go.

- Notre Dame will extend NIL offers to select WRs this year.

Thanks Merckxe.

To take that a step further, do you think that upfront nil to Wrs will increase to account for coach Brown's deficiencies as a recruiter?

Would you go so far to say as nil potentially being a deciding factor in a Wr signing w/ ND?

 

[slick7410]

Don’t take into account parents height with regards to height of the child. Pyne’s dad is like 6’5”.

Yes for sure , but he was kind of the thought basis - and he might’ve been a 7-figure burn for someone nowadays, just a short time in the future.

 

[SDIrishFan]

Hey Merckxe,

Any preview of how the OL will start out in the spring? The assumption many have around here is starting Lambert at LT and Jagusah going to RG. I know Knapp is recovering but will he move inside?

 

[Madmasher67]

More on recruiting:

For several months, I’ve detailed changes coming/implemented with regard to NIL, high school recruiting, portal acquisitions, recruiting department changes, individual NIL donations, underclassman transfer criteria, generalized transfer criteria, and more.

The vast majority of those changes have been confirmed by sites, writers associated with ND, program representatives, and those associated with the collectives. However, rather oddly, I still see some pushback or skepticism from posters on various sites, about these topics I’ve posted about.

When any program makes changes, especially in multiple areas, those changes don’t typically produce results immediately.

So, for those posters who continuously post “I’ll believe it when I see it”, I will point out that you haven’t even given most of these changes time to produce results. Also, frankly, many of these changes would only be perceived as producing results to many posters, if Notre Dame starts suddenly signing 5 stars on a regular basis.

I’m not saying the above to be condescending, but rather, to again ask everyone to be patient, and give the program time to produce more favorable results, under the many new changes/tweaks/evolving approaches.

The program is healthier today than at any time over the past 35+ years, and this past season wasn’t an anomaly - it’s what can be expected regularly, moving forward.

Merck... When you post stuff like this. I pee myself just a little.🤣🤣🤣

 

[Irish#1]

Merck, As been said by myself and many more, you just have to ignore those that question you. Don’t take it personally.

We have some on here that I’m convinced would complain about winning a natty 21-3 because it wasn’t a shutout

 

[BabyIrish]

Merck,
Thanks for all your input! Question: How involved is Freeman in staying in contact with recruits? Is he more involved toward the end of the cycle? Or throughout? How much does he focus on parent interaction as well?

 

[Backer5]

Regarding ND’s deployment of NIL, is it merely a transfer of funds from the collective to the player? If there is an NIL contract, what are the requirements of the player, if any? Performance based incentives? Media appearances? Some insight into what, if any, contractual obligations the player is held to in order to receive the funds would be helpful.

 

[allenm5333]

At least 2 running backs Notre Dame is looking at, will require NIL, and Notre Dame is willing to make offers.

Guessing Texas boys and Walton. Maybe the cali kid

 

[Dale]

I think people retain the right to question responses, especially predictions as long as not disrespectful, which I don’t think anyone has been. There isn’t an infallibility present here as we both know you’ve been wrong before. Which is fine it happens in this insane sport. I agree the NIL thing will take time, which I hope is by June to see tangible results.

I’ll take the boos

 

[NDFAN2008]

Guessing Texas boys and Walton. Maybe the cali kid

Maybe Mickens too I think the staff really wants him

 

[Old Man Mike]

Merck: please continue apace. IE is incapable, as a whole, to phrase responses in "pleasant" and collegial discussion-oriented ways.

I know it's hard (Lord knows I know) but just read your group responses and you'll know that all of this is appreciated.

I've also noticed that it's helpful to picture one's crazier critics in Bozo-The-Clown make-up. (occasionally works anyway.)