'10 UT S Chris Badger (BYU Transfer)

[jason_h537]

He's no Zibby, but i do trust the coaching staff, and Tenuta loves him. If Tenuta see's something in him, who am i to argue?

 

[gocrimson77]

Considering that you're a Stanford family, are you guys a little mad that he's not going to Stanford after all, or is it all love?

Actually, everyone in the family is really excited (expect our older brother who went to Stanford). I was skeptical myself at first but hearing about his visit and seeing the tremendous fan support from Irish fans has really won me over. I think this is a great fit. Go Irish!

 

[gocrimson77]

With all due respect, we don't have any way of knowing who's a family member and who's pulling our chain. It's happened before both ways.

I "met" Joey Getherall's sister on a AOL board in '96. She was actually posting under her real name. I made a similar comment to that poster as the one above I further suggested as a female it may not be wise to use your real name. You don't know who's out there and some posters can be intentionally cruel. At the time I was the recruiting moderator on the Irish Recruiting Journal (IRJ) and had deleted some pretty foul posts about players and their family members. The next day a guy posted on the IRJ claiming to be her father and the recruit's father. He appreciated my comments and wanted to thank me. Joe suggested we swap emails. The first one I got was a thank you note and his phone number. He was an LA detective and appalled his daughter was posting under her own name. We've stayed in touch a couple times a week for 13 years.

Three years ago a current member of the ND team posted on the site while a recruit. He substantiated his bona fides as well.

About two weeks ago a poster claimed he was a current recruit. I sent him a private message about us not knowing if he's real or a provocateur. And suggested he email me or contact any of the broad moderators. I also raised concern about contact between "boosters" and recruits. It can be an issue and we don't want to jeopardize a recruit's status. To my knowledge he's not been back.


So with that preamble. Tons of questions.

Does the individual Mormon young man get to set the timing of the mission or does a Church official say like the Draft Broad, "Greeting's! It's time. Report on such and such a date." ?

Having followed recruiting on ND boards for more than 15 years, I defer to the coaches. They're the professionals, they're the ones whose livilihoods are attached to those recruits they judge to be the best fit. As a fan I'm not locked into a highlight tape (they are "highlights") or measurables (I have more faith in combine results than the player's coach) but they are the only thing fans have to talk about. Most of don't get to go to HS games to see them in action and most don't have a keen enough eye to make a refined judgement if we did much less project body size and position in 2 or 3 years.

From the film I have no doubt he's a hitter. But Div I players are a lot quicker, bigger, and stronger. As I assume you know better than I the whole game is faster. With those qualifiers tell me about his combine results. While some of the people here are dismissing the 40's time due to pads, actual game situation and such, I see them comparable to his peers. Other safeties, other LBs, whatever position he plays. His 40 times (not one but a couple) are on the high side. His vertical leap is on the low side. I don't question his heart that's apparent. "Rudy" had heart. Joey Getherall has a bigger heart but at 5'-7" he wasn't going to outleap may 6-2 safeties for a jump ball.

Chris strikes me as a old time hard nose LB but I understand he supposed to be a safety, hence my questions. I have no doubt he can stop a TE at the goal line with a game saving tackle like Ivory Covington did for ND. Some posters here are comparing him to Tom Zibokowski, a tough but fleet DB. Also a great return man with his superior footspeed. Nobody was tougher on the team but pass coverage was not his forte. He made some great plays on defense but he also got beat badly and too often. Chris also made me think of Chad DeBolt from 5 or 6 years back. A walk-on who was a dynamo on special teams. Not the biggest, not the fastest, but around the ball.

I definitely understand your concerns about identity fraud. But all I can do is provide you with what I know and I think you'll see I'm not pulling anyone's chain.

1) The choice to go on a mission is completely voluntary. Of course young males are "urged" by their church leaders to go. It's almost kind of like a right of passage. That being said however, a significant number of young males choose not to go for various reasons and their standing in the church and community is not affected. Steve Young, a very prominent Mormon, did not go on a mission and instead chose to play college football all 4 years and then play in the NFL.

If one does want to go on a mission they must go through an application process and be interviewed by their local church leader. They put a "starting date" on the application indicating when they are available to start (for example "June 2009"). Church headquaters will then send them a letter indicating where they will be going and what date they will be starting. Missionaries do not receive any financial compensation for the work and actually pay their own way. Again, the potential missionary intiates the process and notifys when he is available.

Bo McNally is a saftey for Stanford and I actually played against him in High School - Timpview won . He played all four years at Stanford and did not go on a mission. He is a great kid and a strong member in the church. I don't know what is situation is now but he could be gonig on a mission after he graduates or he might not.

2) Chris is definitely a game day player - like myself. Like you said, experienced coaches love Chris. Mickey Andrews from Florida State, who coached Deion Sanders among others, merely saw Chris' film and called him and offered a scholarship. Same with Cal, Oregon and some other schools.

His measurables are definitely mild compared to other D1 defensive backs. But his imeasurables are great. Let me try and explain why these are more important in actual games than the "measureables". Say you have a kid that runs a 4.3 on the track and a kid that runs a 4.65. Theoretically the 4.3 kid is quicker and less likely to get beat deep. But in a game situation, there are other factors involved.

Say the saftey doesn't line up right or misreads the other offensive or is caught out of position after the snap - these can translate into .5 seconds or more. So if a kid who runs a 4.6 reads the offense correctly, stays in his proper position and calls the right audible, in actualy game speed he could be running a 4.2 while the 4.3 kid not playing the ball right could be running a 4.8. Hips and foot speed also play a critical role not measured in linear track speed. Jerry Rice and Emmit Smith are among some notable NFL players who ran 4.7s but could not be covered by defenses.

By the time Chris starts with ND his speed will be fine. We're working with a sled, parachute, and ample weight training. The fact is one can improve speed. By correcting running form, building fast-twitch muslces through explosive excercise, ect.

Chris is a very hard worker and passionate about the game. Hope this answers some of your questions.

 

[NDinL.A.]

I love speed, I'm not even going to lie. However, if you have a 4.3 guy running in the wrong direction, and the 4.6 guy always in the right spot, well obviously you take the 4.6 guy, especially if he lays the wood like Chris. Lou Holtz said something to the effect that he'd take 11 4.6 guys running in the right direction than 11 4.3 guys running the wrong way, any day of the week.

Thanks for your input, your brother sounds like a great kid, and we're excited to have him! Post anytime...

 

[BGIF]

...

His measurables are definitely mild compared to other D1 defensive backs. But his imeasurables are great.

... Hope this answers some of your questions.

You answered the questions extremely well, thank you. I've had conversation with a number of Mormon men over the years and my understanding from their explanations was that the mission trip was mandatory. Essentially if a male did not do his mission work his stature in the church community would be greatly diminished. Thanks for correcting my misunderstanding.

The Mickey Andrews offer is impressive.

Your comment on his measurables was tactful yet effectively stated. Better than my words. Your example was quite clear. While the faster man loses a half second due to a misread or a slow adjustment to the alignment, the defender slower by a couple of hundredths can offset the footspeed difference. ND actually experienced the reverse of that situation where S Tom Zibokowski with excellent speed would cheat to protect against the run and bite on play action long enough for this man to get open for sizeable gains.

I like speed providing the player uses it well.

Best wishes to Chris at ND, both on the field and in the classroom be it for 4, 5, or 6 years.

 

[PADOMERNUT]

The more I read about this kid, the more excited I get for him to get into an Irish uniform.

 

[Junkhead]

And if Zibby and McCarthy were on the same team at the same position, Zibby would be starting.

Only if the coach loved blown tackles.

 

[jason_h537]

Dude, Zibby was a playmaker. He tried to make things happen on a defense that lacked talent. He would be apprecatied even more playing along side guys like, hayseed, Blanton, and Walls. He would be able to do so much more as a safety by not being asked to do so much on the field

 

[Junkhead]

Dude, Zibby was a playmaker. He tried to make things happen on a defense that lacked talent. He would be apprecatied even more playing along side guys like, hayseed, Blanton, and Walls. He would be able to do so much more as a safety by not being asked to do so much on the field

Last threadjack. I already said I was a Zibby fan, but he did have his limitations.

 

[BGIF]

Dude, Zibby was a playmaker. He tried to make things happen on a defense that lacked talent. He would be apprecatied even more playing along side guys like, hayseed, Blanton, and Walls. He would be able to do so much more as a safety by not being asked to do so much on the field

He was damned if he did and damned if he didn't.

He had to cheat for run support and help out a secondary that needed help.

Fans blasted him for playing down so close and getting caught on play action. Yes, he did get caught but the coaches didn't move him back. If he was cheating on his own the coach should have been all over his but.

He also played hurt and got little credit for it.

My biggest complaint was his boxing. He bulked up for the ring and I think that impacted his senior year.

 

[gocrimson77]

I just want to say thanks for all the support from the ND fans. You guys are great. BYU fans in Provo are giving Chris heat for his decision. So it's nice to hear what real football fans sound like from you guys.

 

[NDinL.A.]

I just want to say thanks for all the support from the ND fans. You guys are great. BYU fans in Provo are giving Chris heat for his decision. So it's nice to hear what real football fans sound like from you guys.

Thank you. Tell Chris not to sweat it; many jilted fans feel that way. Even Stanford fans are trying to talk themselves into why the safety from AZ that just (soft) committed to Stanford is better than Chris. It's embarrassing and pathetic, and I hate when fans of teams that I like do that.

I heard Chris was going to be on the Power Hour with Mike Frank (he runs a ND recruiting site in case you don't know). It was already recorded, and I look forward to hearing what Chris had to say. I've heard nothing but positive things about the kid. Oh, and you can tell him that many ND fans love his quote about 'wanting to come to ND and play violent". Awesome!

 

[BGIF]

I just want to say thanks for all the support from the ND fans. You guys are great. BYU fans in Provo are giving Chris heat for his decision. So it's nice to hear what real football fans sound like from you guys.

Stop back anytime with updates. We primarily get the media and internet perspective on the players. It's nice to hear the real story.

 

[WabashFalcon]

Thank you. Tell Chris not to sweat it; many jilted fans feel that way. Even Stanford fans are trying to talk themselves into why the safety from AZ that just (soft) committed to Stanford is better than Chris. It's embarrassing and pathetic, and I hate when fans of teams that I like do that.

I heard Chris was going to be on the Power Hour with Mike Frank (he runs a ND recruiting site in case you don't know). It was already recorded, and I look forward to hearing what Chris had to say. I've heard nothing but positive things about the kid. Oh, and you can tell him that many ND fans love his quote about 'wanting to come to ND and play violent". Awesome!

That quote right there just made me go kill a cow. With my bare hands. And eat the red meat. Raw.

 

[BGIF]

[/b]

That quote right there just made me go kill a cow. With my bare hands. And eat the red meat. Raw.

Tenuta wants to go to dinner with you.

 

[irish4ever]

[/B]
And eat the red meat.

As opposed to the white meat on a cow??

 

[WabashFalcon]

I am simply IDing the color of the cow meat. You cheeky bastard.





He he

 

[gocrimson77]

This is an email from Chris' older brother. Got me pumped up just reading it and thought I should share it.







"Not going to bug you again (slow right now during my night shift), so this will be the last thing.

When you work, remember it's not about the time, it's about the intensity. It's how bad you want it.

I need to be telling you to back off being in the weight room. You need to eat, sleep, dream about being in the weightroom. In needs to consume you.

You need to be PISSEd that every single person in this country thinks you can't hold Sean Parker's jock. You need to be pissed that you're viewed as a slow white DB who might, if he's lucky, play special teams. You need to be consumed with proving everyone wrong and PROVING TO YOURSELF, that nothing, and I mean NOTHING, can stand between you and your dreams.

When you are in there, you need to lift with a fire unknown to any one else. Like Rocky, it's not about spending time to train, its about giving EVERY single work out EVERY single thing you have.

If you let up, you ruin an opportunity to get better - with that said, you'll have plenty of time to rest and relax later in life.

You have an AMAZING opportunity RIGHT NOW and ONLY RIGHT NOW. You have a scholarship offer from your dream school and the most recognizable program in the nation. The defensive secondary will be good but extremely thin. If you come in ready, you have a chance to make an impact from day one.

You don't have many opportunities in life to change your destiny. I can work my ass off trying to be a good doctor. You know what. It won't make any difference! No one cares. The trajectory of my life is already set. I won't accomplish anything new from here on out on an individual level. My job now is not for myself, but to be the best husband and dad I can be. That is more important than anything else in the world, and my time for myself is over, and my responsibility lies in improving the lives of my family.

You are different. What you do now can DRASTICALLY change the course of your life. You can work hard and play special teams and get a few starts if someones gets injured. You could work hard and start your last two years. Or you can work harder than anyone who has ever been in that program has ever worked. You can work so hard that when the coaches go home at night, they tell their wives about some freshman DB who was doing sprints on the intramural field at 11 pm at night.

You can work so hard that when you clean out the lockerroom after your 4 years are up, the janitor of the athletic complex shakes his head and says "man, i've never seen a kid work that hard."

You need to let the fire to work consume you. You still might not play, or you might become a 4-year starter and 3 time all-american. You never know. But, But, and this is big, if you give EVERY single thing you have and EVERY single day to this cause, NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS, you'll never have any regrets. You would have laid it all on the field. Nothing more can be expected and nothing more will make you more proud.

However, if you don't give everything you have to every day, to every workout, to every practice, then the rest of your life, you'll regret and be angry with yourself for not pushing it to the next level. It could be one missed work out. One practice where you don't go full bore. That alone (not injuries, not a mission) is why I failed and never became an athlete. It's something you live with everyday the rest of your life and the sad part is, it's something you CAN NEVER CHANGE.

So, bud, every day you look in the mirror and you remind yourself what your mission is. Every HS football player in the country is "working out" with his team, as you are. How many are killing themselves every opportunity they can. How many are killing themselves to get themselves better on every drill, every route, every lift. Who is the first person to the complex, the last one to leave. The one where you're being kicked out. Overtraining is bull shit. A 45 year old weekend warrior overtrains, not a 17 year old kid. I will promise to rest your legs appropriately, but you can kill yourself on your upper body. You can kill yourself on having a solid D1 upper body every single day.

You need to look for that opportunity to destroy yourself every day. You need to bring an intensity to the practice field and to the weight room that rivals no one. You need to outwork every single kid in this country. Trust me, in the end, you'll be more proud of your work ethic and your journey for self-improvement than anything else you ever accomplish on the field or at ND (even if it is a three time All-American).

You have a ton of support. Everyone (besides Brandon ) want to see you succeed at Notre Dame.

However, like in Rocky, "you're going to have to go through hell to get there." But if you do, "you'll be the last one standing."

"This is your time Rocky. This is your moment. Don't let anyone take you away from your moment."

You have ONE shot at this Chris - Make every day, every practice, every work out count. If you do, the rest of your life, you'll be proud that you left everything you had on the field."

 

[jason_h537]

WHOOOOOOO lets go Wreck shit.

 

[NDinL.A.]

HOLY SHI*!!!!!!! THAT WAS UN-FREAKING-REAL!!! I don't know whether to be pumped up or be sad, because I sure as hell didn't do what your older brother wants Chris to do!

Wow, great read, and thanks for sharing. Your older brother should be giving motivational speeches a la Lou Holtz man. I got chills reading it. I'm printing it out and reading it to my athletes. No doubt if Chris follows that he'll be an absolute stud for ND. Can't wait to follow him this year!

And listen, if he needs more motivation, just read a Stanford message board. I went to one of them just to hear what they were saying, and it quickly went from all-love for Chris, to "We didn't want him anyways, we got who we really wanted in Carrington. That's why Chris changed his commitment, because he knew Carrington was better" and "He's too slow, so it's not a big loss". How quickly things change!

Dude lays the wood to anyone and everyone he tackles. There's no arm tackling there. He's always around the ball, and if he gains an extra step through his work outs he'll be a stud for ND, no doubt. Thanks again!...

 

[jason_h537]

Damn he called out Sean Parker too. I wanna hit someone right now. Apparently cant rep you so soon, but ur quickly becoming a favorite here

 

[BGIF]

Is the whole family reading IrishEnvy?

You need to be pissed that you're viewed as a slow white DB who might, if he's lucky, play special teams.

I didn't say anything about "white" nor did I say he'd be lucky to play special teams.


However, if it will serve as a motivating tool blow it up to 48 point BOLD and paste it on the ceiling of the weight room.


GO IRISH!

Go Chris!

 

[WabashFalcon]

Awesome. Just... wow.

 

[DirtySecret]

Is the whole family reading IrishEnvy?



I didn't say anything about "white" nor did I say he'd be lucky to play special teams.


However, if it will serve as a motivating tool blow it up to 48 point BOLD and paste it on the ceiling of the weight room.


GO IRISH!

Go Chris!

You're a lair! You did say he was a slow white DB..

 

[gocrimson77]

Is the whole family reading IrishEnvy?



I didn't say anything about "white" nor did I say he'd be lucky to play special teams.


However, if it will serve as a motivating tool blow it up to 48 point BOLD and paste it on the ceiling of the weight room.


GO IRISH!

Go Chris!

He wasn't referring to anything BGIF said.

 

[BGIF]

He wasn't referring to anything BGIF said.

BGIF didn't think he was. BGIF was being facetious. Not one of his better efforts.

 

[WabashFalcon]

Oh God... now he's gone all third person... "Willie Beman's not pissed. Willie Beman's done what he's gotta do. Willie Beman needs the defense to step up."

 

[BGIF]

Oh God... now he's gone all third person... "Willie Beman's not pissed. Willie Beman's done what he's gotta do. Willie Beman needs the defense to step up."

If reprising a movie role it wouldn't have been Willie Beaman (with another "a") it would have been Billy Heywood.

 

[Jason Pham]

Profile updated

 

[BGIF]

Special Teams Day 1

Special Teams Day 1

I can see this kid getting on the field early on the Kickoff Coverage Team. He's either gonna eat up a blocker or make a tackle. But he is going to have lane discipline and id going to hit somebody.

On Kickoff Return Team, and both Punt Teams he doesn't as having the speed for a deep man nor gunners nor the size for the LOS blockers.

Anybody see a fit other than Kickoff Coverage? Explain.