'09 CA CB Marlon Pollard (UCLA Verbal)

[Polish Leppy 22]

NDOM...read stuff before you post. Make sure things add up( Stockton leaving). I'm not a Kool Aid drinker but you may need a little to stop from jumping off the cliff. Save some embarrassment, my man.

 

[NDOM]

NDOM...read stuff before you post. Make sure things add up( Stockton leaving). I'm not a Kool Aid drinker but you may need a little to stop from jumping off the cliff. Save some embarrassment, my man.[/QUOTE]

No embarrassment here lol. The embarrassment is this years recruiting class. At least 5 maybe 6 out of this class wont even see playing time. Thats just the way I see it. We not able to get these big name guys that we need. I'm quite worried for 2-3 years from now when we have holes all over the depth chart.

 

[NDinL.A.]

NDOM...read stuff before you post. Make sure things add up( Stockton leaving). I'm not a Kool Aid drinker but you may need a little to stop from jumping off the cliff. Save some embarrassment, my man.[/QUOTE]

No embarrassment here lol. The embarrassment is this years recruiting class. At least 5 maybe 6 out of this class wont even see playing time. Thats just the way I see it. We not able to get these big name guys that we need. I'm quite worried for 2-3 years from now when we have holes all over the depth chart.

You can survive one mediocre class, but not 2. Teams have survived mediocre classes as long as they surround them with outstanding classes. We've done that, and even this class has some real studs, guys we're gonna LOVE IMO. And we're not done yet. Already you hear reports of quality guys suddenly looking at us.

The problem becomes if we stay at a top 20 class only, and if we perform poorly next year and fire CW, then we'll be in deep shit. The new guy will have to scramble just to get guys to stay committed, and you know he won't be able to keep them all. Then we're screwed. But if we perform well next year and with the list of guys we're already lined up for 2010, I'm not even worried.

And think about, not all the top schools get a top 5 class every year. It's impossible. There's too many top schools.

Texas, Ohio St, Oklahoma, USC, Florida, Michigan, Alabama, Georgia, Miami, Auburn, LSU, Florida St, Penn St, etc all expect top 5 classes every year, but it just doesn't happen that way. There's too many top schools, and the you have schools like North Carolina (6), SOuth Carolina, UCLA, etc that sneak in. Penn St is 23 so far, and Florida is 13th. It happens. What we need to do better is coach'em up better, like they do at USC and FLorida...

 

[Irish74]

NDOM...read stuff before you post. Make sure things add up( Stockton leaving). I'm not a Kool Aid drinker but you may need a little to stop from jumping off the cliff. Save some embarrassment, my man.

Yeah dude, just be a homer, ND is the best school ever, our recruits are the best every year under Weis, why would anyone want to jump ship from a program who thinks beating the rainbow warriors on Christmas Eve is comprable to winning the BCS title game. Rankings on Scouts and Rivals mean nothing, even though most of the teams who are loading up on 4 & 5 star recruits (USC, Florida, Texas, OU, OSU) are always in the title hunt. This is ND, we're great because we won a bunch of titles before the forward pass was even invented.

 

[NDinL.A.]

Yeah dude, just be a homer, ND is the best school ever, our recruits are the best every year under Weis, why would anyone want to jump ship from a program who thinks beating the rainbow warriors on Christmas Eve is comprable to winning the BCS title game. Rankings on Scouts and Rivals mean nothing, even though most of the teams who are loading up on 4 & 5 star recruits (USC, Florida, Texas, OU, OSU) are always in the title hunt. This is ND, we're great because we won a bunch of titles before the forward pass was even invented.

Wait, so are you a fan or a troll? Because you certainly don't sound like a true fan. Have you been reading the board, or even following the thread? All the guy said was basically that the world isn't coming to an end because we lost one recruit. If you think so, then you're more stupid than the people thinking that the Hawaii Bowl was bigger than a BCS game.

We all know that ND has a helluva hill to climb to get back on top, but some of us see the talent that is there, the 4 and 5 stars that you're talking about. You have a problem with the freshman and sophmore talent out there? Remember, this thread is about recruiting, not coaching. I'm interested to hear your response...

 

[The Polish Irishman]

Apparently, Pollard is reconsider his reconsideration....sounds like Milton Knox from last year.

 

[jonesman]

Where in the world did you hear this?????

 

[phork]

Milton Pollard.

 

[big daddy]

blah blah blah, lets get over this. He's not coming to Notre Dame. Let's move on.

 

[LOVEMYIRISH]

blah blah blah, lets get over this. He's not coming to Notre Dame. Let's move on.

He might, but then he might change his mind in the middle of a game.

 

[jonesman]

Agreed!!!!! I think this recruiting season should teach Charlie a big lesson. Do NOT accept commitments from de-commits. They have burned us 3 years in a row. Little and Little were decommits who then decommited from us. Hunter decommited from UM to then commit to UF. Now we have two this year. Looks like a freakin pattern here. If CW is to be faulted for one thing, it is low numbers of offers and late offers. We came up short on numbers in 2007 and 2009.

 

[big daddy]

Charlie should tell decommits to take their official visits before they commit to Notre Dame. After they have done so then he should interview them and see if he wants them.

 

[NDinL.A.]

Charlie should tell decommits to take their official visits before they commit to Notre Dame. After they have done so then he should interview them and see if he wants them.

I'm sure he's done that with some of these guys, and they've said all the right things like they all do. But we're dealing with 17-18 kids, and they have TONS of people in their ears telling them this and that. And they change their minds. It's happened to Carroll and Meyer too, and they are THE premier recruiters in the country for the 2 premier programs in the country. Every school in the country has guys on their roster that de=committed from another school, and they are huge parts of their teams. If we say no to de-commits, now we aren't taking: guys that can't meet our super high entrance requirements, JC transfers, and de-commits. That would put us at an even greater disadvantage than we already are.

I feel your pain, believe me. It sucks as fans because we basically fall for a guy (in a platonic way LOL), only for them to break our friggin' hearts. But there's more at play here than Charlie being a poor closer. He wasn't a poor closer with 5-stars like Floyd and Jimmy, and he wasn't a poor closer with last year's class, the #1 class in the country. And I'm not gonna call him a poor closer until we see how everything pans out on the 4th.

But yeah, some of this crap is pissing me off, that's fo' sho'...

 

[jonesman]

My issue is that we keep coming up short in class size. CW needs to face the decommit facts and increase his target size.

 

[OCIrish]

I'm sure he's done that with some of these guys, and they've said all the right things like they all do. But we're dealing with 17-18 kids, and they have TONS of people in their ears telling them this and that. And they change their minds. It's happened to Carroll and Meyer too, and they are THE premier recruiters in the country for the 2 premier programs in the country. Every school in the country has guys on their roster that de=committed from another school, and they are huge parts of their teams. If we say no to de-commits, now we aren't taking: guys that can't meet our super high entrance requirements, JC transfers, and de-commits. That would put us at an even greater disadvantage than we already are.

I feel your pain, believe me. It sucks as fans because we basically fall for a guy (in a platonic way LOL), only for them to break our friggin' hearts. But there's more at play here than Charlie being a poor closer. He wasn't a poor closer with 5-stars like Floyd and Jimmy, and he wasn't a poor closer with last year's class, the #1 class in the country. And I'm not gonna call him a poor closer until we see how everything pans out on the 4th.

But yeah, some of this crap is pissing me off, that's fo' sho'...

Great 1st paragraph. I totally agree with that sentiment. Reps.

One thing to keep in perspective here, we're fans. These kids are making the decision of a lifetime. I'm sure that none of you other fans changed your mind when you of that age.

 

[IrishGrizz]

My issue is that we keep coming up short in class size. CW needs to face the decommit facts and increase his target size.

Now that I can get behind, jonesman.

 

[IrishGrizz]

Agreed!!!!! I think this recruiting season should teach Charlie a big lesson. Do NOT accept commitments from de-commits. They have burned us 3 years in a row. Little and Little were decommits who then decommited from us. Hunter decommited from UM to then commit to UF. Now we have two this year. Looks like a freakin pattern here. If CW is to be faulted for one thing, it is low numbers of offers and late offers. We came up short on numbers in 2007 and 2009.

Lets remember that we have signed other good players before that were de-commits - last year T Rob and I think Walker and possibly KLM, and before them I think B Smith was too.

I do agree that there should be some level of confidence higher than w other recruits these flippers need to reach to get a committment accepted.

I am also with you, jonesy we need more offers put out.

For the 2009 recruits the Staff put out 80 offers to get the 16 commits currently (possibly 1 or more left). I don't know what that compares w other teams. I do know that this year, for the 2010 class we currently stand at 24 (?) offers. On the Scout site, Stanford stands at 49!! Now I know they are on the high side, but I think we are getting there.

 

[chyrspchuck]

BSmith for sure was, he was headed to Iowa.....then whoop.....we got him cause his pops played for us in 80's.

 

[IrishGrizz]

Yes, sometimes it just takes more "Due-dilligence" to ensure they are sure this time. If not, I would rather have our name in the list of the last 2 or 3 schools with the knowledge that we might not get him (like w Starling, Moore and Te'o) instead of a de-commit 1 month before signing day.

 

[JeremyND07]

Pollard not out yet. It is Lemming so take it for what it is worth:

Don't rule him out, yet," CBS College Sports Network recruiting analyst Tom Lemming said Monday. "If they do get Byron Moore, now they've got three of the guys that he knows from his Los Angeles area. That could also help Notre Dame convince him that he would have friends there," Lemming said. "That could be enough."

 

[NDinL.A.]

Here's the link that he's referring too:

South Bend Tribune: Recruiting down to the 11th hour

Article goes all over the place, and if was anybody else but Lemming I'd be pumped. But it's Lemming so you take it with a grain of salt. The funny thing is the Toma kid. Does he even have an offer? Is he just saying he'll come as a walk-on? Are we going to offer him as a 2 for 1 shot with Te'o? Pretty funny. Tomorrow can't some soon enough...

 

[JeremyND07]

If it would help I say offer him! Here are his stats:

Roby Toma WR

Ht: 5-foot-9
Wt: 160 lbs
Forty: 4.45 secs
Vertical: 34 inches
Shuttle: 4.22 secs

 

[bornready85]

Pollard is transfering from UCLA. Can't say I'm surprised.

The Daily Bruin | Redshirt freshman cornerback Marlon Pollard to transfer from UCLA

 

[ACamp1900]

WOW really??.... I looked forward to scouting him (I live 30 minutes from Cajon High SChool and scout and have scouting that area all the time for my local High School Team) when he was committed to us... then when he flipped to UCLA I at least could say it was to the Bruins...

now he's backed out of BOTH of my family teams?? From here he'll prob. transfer to Kansas and then back away from them after a year... why not go for the triple diss...

lol

 

[IrishLax]

Would it be a shock if he transferred here? Writing is on the wall with Neuheisel's quote that he wants to go to a place with a short depth chart.... and we all know our DB situation.

 

[military_irish]

Would it be a shock if he transferred here? Writing is on the wall with Neuheisel's quote that he wants to go to a place with a short depth chart.... and we all know our DB situation.

I highly doubt he will come here for a couple reasons.

1) ND rarely takes transfers, although they do, it doesn't happen very often.

2) Although we are short this year at DB, if he were to transfer he would still have to sit out a year and by that time, ND would have signed a few DB's (hopefully) and so there is no difference between a redshirt transfer freshman and an actual freshman. When it comes to potential.

 

[bornready85]

2) Although we are short this year at DB, if he were to transfer he would still have to sit out a year and by that time, ND would have signed a few DB's (hopefully) and so there is no difference between a redshirt transfer freshman and an actual freshman. When it comes to potential.

You had me up until this part.

Let's assume that Gary Gray has a good year on the field,graduates,and then decides to test his luck in the draft(not probable but definitely possible). This would leave us with Lo Wood & RJ Blanton as the only returning corners. Would you play a 20 year old whose spent an entire year practicing against D-1 athletes and working with a professional strength and conditioning coach....or an 18 year old who shows up on campus in the summer and doesn't even go through a full 30 days of practice before the season opener? I don't know if Pollard fits the "RKG" mold or the ND standards for transfers but just about every coach would rather have the more experienced player if it came down to it.

 

[military_irish]

You had me up until this part.

Let's assume that Gary Gray has a good year on the field,graduates,and then decides to test his luck in the draft(not probable but definitely possible). This would leave us with Lo Wood & RJ Blanton as the only returning corners. Would you play a 20 year old whose spent an entire year practicing against D-1 athletes and working with a professional strength and conditioning coach....or an 18 year old who shows up on campus in the summer and doesn't even go through a full 30 days of practice before the season opener? I don't know if Pollard fits the "RKG" mold or the ND standards for transfers but just about every coach would rather have the more experienced player if it came down to it.

they both still have the same potential. their have been many freshman that unseat seniors.

So strength and conditioning can only take talent so far

 

[IrishMoore1]

He might go to michigan. They need db's badly

 

[BGIF]

I highly doubt he will come here for a couple reasons.

1) ND rarely takes transfers, although they do, it doesn't happen very often.

Primarily because most transfers didn't have the academic wherewithal to pass ND Admissions in the first place and many of the rest went somewhere were academics were not encouraged (see Harbaugh comments about UM). Bemenderfer was one of those that successfully transferred into ND.

Pollard had a 3.5 GPA in HS and was accepted by ND Admissions. I don't know what courses he took at UCLA but the UCLA Media Guide notes he made the Honor Roll in Fall '09, Winter '10, and Spring '10. I'll hazard a guess he's admissable.

2) Although we are short this year at DB, if he were to transfer he would still have to sit out a year and by that time, ND would have signed a few DB's (hopefully) and so there is no difference between a redshirt transfer freshman and an actual freshman. When it comes to potential.

Pollard was a redshirt at UCLA in '09. and would have to sit out of football for a year per NCAA which would leave him 3 years of eligibility. NCAA allows 5 to play 4. Actually sitting out a year might sit well with ND Admissions so he could focus on academcs.

As for a taking a 20 year old man with 2 years of college conditioning, 2 years of college competition (even if it's only scout team) and more years of maturity and comparing him to a incoming freshman 30 days out of his high school, bornready85 nailed it. It's not a redshirt freshman versus a freshman it's a two year difference. And it's not 2 years away from a football training and academics. Thinking they are the same and that many freshman beat out seniors indicates you may have spent too many days on the grenade range without a helmet.

The physical growth, man v. boy, is why so many programs jump at the chance to take JUCOs. It's a plug in player rather than a see ya next year developmental player.

Pollard may not be considering ND, I have no idea. Pollard was a 4 star CB and ND was happy to get his verbal at the time. Considering the dearth of CBs I'd expect they'd be interested.

The question is, is Pollard?

I don't recall if Kelly recruited or any of his assistants recruited him previously. So Dave Peloquin is probably the only one on the football staff he's ever dealt with. I'm not positive but believe Pollard would have to pay his own way while sitting out the NCAA mandated year. The Pollard family may not have $50K in the family budget to underwrite that luxury. Then again he may have decomitted from ND when he learned about midwest winters. That hasn't changed.