'09 CA CB Marlon Pollard (UCLA Verbal)

[aaronb]

Great point about the DL. How many DL recruits do we have coming in? You can always flip a WR to a DB but finding mean and nasty DL are very hard to find.

I'd be more concerned about D-line,except for.

1) we play a 3-4 base defense and bring in outside rushers (olb's) on nickel and dime

2) We just brought in 5 DLinemen in last years class. 4 of whom redshirted last year.

So even if Stockton is all we bring in this year. We still have esentially 5 Freshmen Dlinemen next year. No need to flood a postion to the point that people transfer out, or HS prospects will not commit to.

 

[JeremyND07]

The 3-4 defense will not work without a dominant NG!!!!! We do not have that now and are not getting top tier DL recruits! We need 4-5 star type guys that can come in and make a difference year one. Those 4 were redshirted for a reason. The way our DL underachieved this year if they were any good they would of received a shot!

 

[aaronb]

The 3-4 defense will not work without a dominant NG!!!!! We do not have that now and are not getting top tier DL recruits! We need 4-5 star type guys that can come in and make a difference year one. Those 4 were redshirted for a reason. The way our DL underachieved this year if they were any good they would of received a shot!

Got to disagree here

Ian Williams
Tyler Stockton
Brandon Newman
Halfis Williams

Are all pushing 3-Bills and project as NG's. That's 4 guys in the last 2 classes.

 

[goldandblue]

edit.

 

[JeremyND07]

Got to disagree here

Ian Williams
Tyler Stockton
Brandon Newman
Halfis Williams

Are all pushing 3-Bills and project as NG's. That's 4 guys in the last 2 classes.

I hope your right and one of those guys makes an impact but I just do not see it right now! Ian Williams is our best chance!

 

[WeisWeisBaby]

Ian Williams is a stud, he's only a junior next year and is still growing

 

[Irishlew]

I hope your right and one of those guys makes an impact but I just do not see it right now! Ian Williams is our best chance!

go watch Stockton's HL video, that kid gives me hope for the future. ESPN loves him too, they have him ranked 2 at DT.

 

[nthurman]

do you guys think that with a new dline coach, more will get done. Read that oliver was fired today.

 

[NDinL.A.]

The 3-4 defense will not work without a dominant NG!!!!! We do not have that now and are not getting top tier DL recruits! We need 4-5 star type guys that can come in and make a difference year one. Those 4 were redshirted for a reason. The way our DL underachieved this year if they were any good they would of received a shot!

Here's what I'm hoping Rocket: I'm hoping that with a year of learning and getting better, plus an offseason of getting bigger and better, that at least 2 of those guys will see the field next year and might be studs as jr's. I see your point in saying that our line wasn't any good so those guys should have seen the field if they were any good. I agree. But I'm hoping the coaches decided to redshirt them because they wouldn't have been such a big upgrade that it was worth wasting a redshirt on them by playing them late in the year. I'm HOPING that a couple of them showed improvement and are ready to step in next year and contribute in a big way.

I go back to Justin Tuck (my avatar ), who didn't see the field for a minute his freshman year. If I recall correctly, our line wasn't anything special back then. His soph year he was a backup to Kyle Budinscak (sp??) and still recorded 5-7 sacks. By his jr year he was a star, breaking the record for sacks at ND, and he was all-world as a senior.

Justin Tuck didn't play as a freshman, but yet now he is an NFL star and was the borderline MVP of the Super Bowl (1st half at least, according to Peter King). Do we have a Justin Tuck in this group? We don't know, but with a new line coach and a whole offseason of getting bigger and better, I'm hoping we do...

 

[irish812]

if he visits hes gone for sure isnt he? Didnt charlie have a policy that if you visit somewhere else while comitted then you no longer have a place on the team

 

[IrishAddiction]

if he visits hes gone for sure isnt he? Didnt charlie have a policy that if you visit somewhere else while comitted then you no longer have a place on the team

yeah charlie will have to stick to his guns if that happens. hoping it doesnt, but who knows in todays recruiting. then again,it is an LA Times article, and they already told a false story about Stockton visiting UCLA. so, take it for whats its worth unless credible info comes out.

 

[laxkid23]

Charlie doesn't take away the scholarship offer. How many times do people have to say this. If a recruit visits somewhere else, we start looking somewhere else. If the recruit wants to stay, we accept him with open arms.

 

[Freeman Ara]

Don't know if this has been posted yet, but he has been switched to a soft verbal on both scout and rivals. Scout doesn't have him listed in our class as of a few hours ago and lists a visit date of 1/9/09 to UCLA. Just thought I would pass that on.

Ok just rechecked scout, and he is added back into the class but as a soft verbal.

 

[chyrspchuck]

Mother F*CKER......damnit.......this sucks.

 

[fitz_bu47]

Rivals now has him as a solid verbal to UCLA, as of today.

 

[IrishAddiction]

dammit all to hell. why the f*** cant charlie finish anything strong?!!! recruiting, games, blah blah on and on. pisses me off.

 

[sportallyr]

Yep, looks like he's gone. We are fine next year, but we're in big trouble the following year if Gary Gray doesn't come back. If Gray does come back, we'll be OK. Charlie and Co. need to get at least 2 big name recruits in next year's class now though. Mr. Pollard, you just made a big mistake. I am a big UCLA fan (my second favorite team behind the Irish), but I can tell you that they were bad with Dewayne Walker...they'll be terrible without him.

 

[fitz_bu47]

Ya on ESPN another recruit says he committed at dinner at Neuheisel's house. Not interested in having a kid that would go have dinner at another coach's house anyway. Good luck to him, I guess, I can't stand this shit, pick a school and stay w/ it.

 

[fitz_bu47]

Even when it benefits the teams I like, it makes you wonder about the kid. KU just got a kid back in the same situation, committed to KU, then Nebraska, and now back to KU. How do you trust kids that do that stuff? Or their families?

 

[Ultimate Penn St. Hater]

They should wait until they are 100% sure to make a decision. We have to remember that they're still kids. I hate losing recruits, but they're still kids and this is the most important decision they will ever make. Go Irish!

 

[IrishAddiction]

Gray gone, now Pollard. Lets go ahead and offer Campanaro, who is a wake forest committ who was pretty high on us at the beginning of the process. Fast as hell and hits like a brick house, think he will be a good one. Screw academics.

 

[LOVEMYIRISH]

dammit all to hell. why the f*** cant charlie finish anything strong?!!! recruiting, games, blah blah on and on. pisses me off.

Easy sport...this one's not on the coach...Pollard was one a UCLA verbal, he was not exactly reliable to begin with.

 

[OCIrish]

One thing is for damned sure, the f*cking sun will be up in the morning. Holy crap, this isn't the end of the world.

 

[NDinL.A.]

Yep, looks like he's gone. We are fine next year, but we're in big trouble the following year if Gary Gray doesn't come back. If Gray does come back, we'll be OK. Charlie and Co. need to get at least 2 big name recruits in next year's class now though. Mr. Pollard, you just made a big mistake. I am a big UCLA fan (my second favorite team behind the Irish), but I can tell you that they were bad with Dewayne Walker...they'll be terrible without him.

I'm with you Sporty. UCLA is my 2nd favorite team, but I can't say I'm happy. This sucks, but like I said a while ago, he was flip-flopping from the beginning, so i didn't trust him anyways. Oh well, like OCIrish said, the sun will rise in the morning (well, at least out here on the west coast ) But yeah, DAMN!!!!

 

[littlerick77]

One thing is for damned sure, the f*cking sun will be up in the morning. Holy crap, this isn't the end of the world.

Reps for keeping things in perspective.

This happens all the time in recruiting.....you win some.........you lose some, don't take it personally.

 

[NDOM]

So then what happens when we lose Stockton to Ucla too? I mean its only a matter of time before that happens. Recruiting this year is PA FUCKING THETIC! I know rankings dont mean a whole lot but they do. Ummmm people we have 3 2 star recruits and at least 3 3 star recruits. FUCK that shit. Go after 4 and 5 stars only. Recruiting this year is going to make us suck again in 2-3 years from now then the cycle will begin all over again. This is a godDAMN JOKE! Do we have to throw 50 billion dollars to Urban Meyer or Pete Carol so we can sign 8 5 star recruits every year? FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK! Charlie Weis has proven over and over and over again he cant close on recruits and he cant close on games. LOSER!

 

[Freeman Ara]

So then what happens when we lose Stockton to Ucla too? I mean its only a matter of time before that happens. Recruiting this year is PA FUCKING THETIC! I know rankings dont mean a whole lot but they do. Ummmm people we have 3 2 star recruits and at least 3 3 star recruits. FUCK that shit. Go after 4 and 5 stars only. Recruiting this year is going to make us suck again in 2-3 years from now then the cycle will begin all over again. This is a godDAMN JOKE! Do we have to throw 50 billion dollars to Urban Meyer or Pete Carol so we can sign 8 5 star recruits every year? FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK! Charlie Weis has proven over and over and over again he cant close on recruits and he cant close on games. LOSER!

Um, isn't Stockton already on campus and in class? So the likely hood of losing him is nil. We lost a kid that wasn't 100% committed to Nd in the first place apparently, nothing that CW can do about that. If you want to start complaining about CW as a recruiter just think back to previous regimes for comparison and that should put things into perspective. Remember, this class is coming off the back of a 3-9 season and then survived the period where everyone thought Weis would be fired. If we can get all the rest to sign then I think Weis would have done a great job with this class.

 

[NDOM]

Um, isn't Stockton already on campus and in class? So the likely hood of losing him is nil. We lost a kid that wasn't 100% committed to Nd in the first place apparently, nothing that CW can do about that. If you want to start complaining about CW as a recruiter just think back to previous regimes for comparison and that should put things into perspective. Remember, this class is coming off the back of a 3-9 season and then survived the period where everyone thought Weis would be fired. If we can get all the rest to sign then I think Weis would have done a great job with this class.

Forgot about Stockton enrolling early. oops. So then answer me this then. Didnt we supposedly have top 5 recruiting classes the past 2 or 3 years in a row? If so then explain to me why we cant win games? There was NEVER an excuse to lose 9 games last year. Sorry. I dont care how "Empty the cupboards" were.

 

[tko]

Forgot about Stockton enrolling early. oops. So then answer me this then. Didnt we supposedly have top 5 recruiting classes the past 2 or 3 years in a row? If so then explain to me why we cant win games? There was NEVER an excuse to lose 9 games last year. Sorry. I dont care how "Empty the cupboards" were.

it's charlie. until he learns how to put his ego aside and let coaches do what they do this won't change. i realize pollard was first committed to the bruins but charlie's lack of coaching the 2nd half of the season is the reason for marlon jumping ship. uncertainty is a recipe for disaster and now we have to hope we hold on to everyone else. the only solution to this issue is winning. when we consistently win again, the recruits will stay, period.

 

[Freeman Ara]

Forgot about Stockton enrolling early. oops. So then answer me this then. Didnt we supposedly have top 5 recruiting classes the past 2 or 3 years in a row? If so then explain to me why we cant win games? There was NEVER an excuse to lose 9 games last year. Sorry. I dont care how "Empty the cupboards" were.

Hey, I don't think there was a reason to lose 9 games in 07 either but when you are starting and playing that many freshman your going to struggle. However, I do think the only two losses that were kind of unacceptable that year were navy and air force, so even if we had won those we were still going to be 5-7.6-6 that year and Weis would have done a great job,IMO. As far as the recruiting class's go, look at the highly rated players that we lost from the first class? That class is average at best now, this team is being carried by the bottom two class's. But with continued recruiting success we won't have the drop off in talent or lack depth going forward. I don't think most people actually understand how much of a rebuilding process this was. Weis is doing his best to set ND up like SC. Just reload not rebuild, but we had to rebuild first.