'11 NC OLB/DE Ben Councell (Signed Notre Dame LOI)

[NDFANnSouthWest]

Hi....I am Ben Councells uncle...live in Asheville and am his biggest fan. Met with Mike when he visited earlier this week and I just got a text from his Mom who went to ND this weekend with him and she loved it and Ben met with Coach Kelly and I quote "said he is fully committed"
So there you go...he is truly under rated...uncanny lateral agility, vertical jump and height to block with (blocked last second field goal attempt in state championship game last year) a true 4.4 speed in pursuit who hits hard and a smart kid who knows intuitively where the play is going...he will fit right in @ the "dawg" position Mike is talking about for him. He is a leader on and off the field, hard working and a burning desire to win and give God the credit for his amazing talent....you guys will love him, His Uncle Bruce

Welcome Bruce....I am really excited to have your nephew wearing a Gold helmet.

 

[Ultimate Penn St. Hater]

Hi....I am Ben Councells uncle...live in Asheville and am his biggest fan. Met with Mike when he visited earlier this week and I just got a text from his Mom who went to ND this weekend with him and she loved it and Ben met with Coach Kelly and I quote "said he is fully committed"
So there you go...he is truly under rated...uncanny lateral agility, vertical jump and height to block with (blocked last second field goal attempt in state championship game last year) a true 4.4 speed in pursuit who hits hard and a smart kid who knows intuitively where the play is going...he will fit right in @ the "dawg" position Mike is talking about for him. He is a leader on and off the field, hard working and a burning desire to win and give God the credit for his amazing talent....you guys will love him, His Uncle Bruce

Welcome Uncle Bruce. Thanks for the post. Go Irish!

 

[TerryTate]

Hi....I am Ben Councells uncle...live in Asheville and am his biggest fan. Met with Mike when he visited earlier this week and I just got a text from his Mom who went to ND this weekend with him and she loved it and Ben met with Coach Kelly and I quote "said he is fully committed"
So there you go...he is truly under rated...uncanny lateral agility, vertical jump and height to block with (blocked last second field goal attempt in state championship game last year) a true 4.4 speed in pursuit who hits hard and a smart kid who knows intuitively where the play is going...he will fit right in @ the "dawg" position Mike is talking about for him. He is a leader on and off the field, hard working and a burning desire to win and give God the credit for his amazing talent....you guys will love him, His Uncle Bruce

Welcome to IE Bruce. I will enjoy hearing your input over the next few years as Ben dominates at LB.

Councell reaffirming his commitment is essential for this class. He is a gifted athlete, and that combination of size and speed does not come around often. I will look forward to Councell, Rabasa, Grace, Teo, Calabrese, Shembo, and Moore forming our linebacker corps.

Intimidating lineup

 

[NDFANnSouthWest]

Welcome to IE Bruce. I will enjoy hearing your input over the next few years as Ben dominates at LB.

Councell reaffirming his commitment is essential for this class. He is a gifted athlete, and that combination of size and speed does not come around often. I will look forward to Councell, Rabasa, Grace, Teo, Calabrese, Shembo, and Moore forming our linebacker corps.

Intimidating lineup

You just got my fired up...wow...NOW were loaded at LB!

 

[ryno 24]

could have Ishaq too wow

 

[Old Man Mike]

To Uncle Bruce: your nephew not only is a great talent and a good fit for Diaco's defensive scheme, but he is EXACTLY the talent that this defense has been missing [one of the FEW things we've been missing, by the way; the young man is going to have some terrific teammates]. We need the closing speed, the flat coverage, the blitzing pass-rush. A Match made in Heaven."Welcome" hardly says it.

 

[OlympiaIrishFan]

Man, that got me jacked up. Thanks!!! Go Irish!!

 

[rocket31]

REAL glad he confirmed his commitment to us, the negative recruiting by other schools makes me sick sometimes.

 

[bruce007]

Welcome, I just moved to Hendersonville and have been following him in the citizen-times. I have been hoping that he remained fully committed and am really excited he is.

No doubt...he is wearing the ND jacket today, bruce

 

[bruce007]

Welcome to IE Bruce. I will enjoy hearing your input over the next few years as Ben dominates at LB.

Councell reaffirming his commitment is essential for this class. He is a gifted athlete, and that combination of size and speed does not come around often. I will look forward to Councell, Rabasa, Grace, Teo, Calabrese, Shembo, and Moore forming our linebacker corps.

Intimidating lineup

Thanks...I will keep you updated from this end, Bruce

 

[bruce007]

Welcome Bruce....I am really excited to have your nephew wearing a Gold helmet.

Thanks...you guys are gonna love him

 

[tankjeep]

Hi....I am Ben Councells uncle...live in Asheville and am his biggest fan. Met with Mike when he visited earlier this week and I just got a text from his Mom who went to ND this weekend with him and she loved it and Ben met with Coach Kelly and I quote "said he is fully committed"
So there you go...he is truly under rated...uncanny lateral agility, vertical jump and height to block with (blocked last second field goal attempt in state championship game last year) a true 4.4 speed in pursuit who hits hard and a smart kid who knows intuitively where the play is going...he will fit right in @ the "dawg" position Mike is talking about for him. He is a leader on and off the field, hard working and a burning desire to win and give God the credit for his amazing talent....you guys will love him, His Uncle Bruce

welcome uncle bruce, thanks for the insight. glad to see your nephew in the golden dome.

go IRISH!!!

 

[TerryTate]

Rave reviews from the Shrine Bowl coverage

"Hell on wheels"

"Wreaking havoc in the backfield and not allowing quarterbacks to even get a good look down field."

He's going to be such a stud

 

[NDFANnSouthWest]

wheeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwww!

 

[IHateMarkMay]

The local paper finally had a big front page write up on him reaffirming his commitment. His coach seems very high on ND. One of the quotes was "I've dealt with a lot of di fferent colleges but never one quite like Notre Dame. It's not the school, it's the media. They're covered by so many people that every time Ben sneezed, I'd get a call from someone in California asking if he had a cold. It was crazy." He also said Ben made a good decision.

 

[IHateMarkMay]

Found in online:

Reynolds' Councell sticks with Notre Dame
Andrew Pearson
Email to a friend Share on Facebook

Ben Councell never really wavered per se, he just needed to be certain.

Ben Councell

The Reynolds senior reaffirmed his commitment to play linebacker for Notre Dame during an official recruiting visit last weekend.

Councell had begun to consider overtures from South Carolina, and the reigning Mountain Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year had been to Columbia, S.C., in recent weeks.

"I'm a firm (Notre Dame) commitment now," Councell said Friday.

"Before, I had committed, but I wasn't sure. Just getting to sit down with all the coaches and the players, it was a good three days, and I really got acclimated. There's been a lot of pulling from different ends (through recruiting), and I just kept trying to focus on football and school. But these past few months have been a blast."

Councell will be the only Western North Carolina player involved in the Dec. 18 Shrine Bowl in Spartanburg, S.C.

The 6-foot-5, 225-pound senior made 117 tackles (19 for a loss) for the MAC 4-A champion Rockets (12-2).

Councell is one of only two WNC football players who have made a college commitment -- West Henderson linebacker Kevin Thomas (Wofford) is the other. Asheville High defensive end Jeoffrey Pagan decommitted from Florida late last month and is on a visit to Georgia this weekend.

Councell had more than a dozen scholarship offers when he committed to the Fighting Irish in June. He can sign a national letter-of-intent on Feb. 2.

"For Ben's sake, I'm glad that (recruiting) is over and he's solid. He made a good decision," Reynolds coach Shane Laws said.

"I've dealt with a lot of different colleges but never one quite like Notre Dame. It's not the school, it's the media. They're covered by so many people that every time Ben sneezed, I'd get a call from someone in California asking if he had a cold. It was crazy."

 

[The Polish Irishman]

Monday Shrine Bowl Roundup

Rivals.com Football Recruiting - Shrine Bowl notes: Cold rules first day

 

[Sherm Sticky]

I like how Golson put up the best performance of the QB's on monday!

 

[NDFANnSouthWest]

The new kids coming in are very explosive....

 

[sportallyr]

Interesting how they said that Golson looks more like 5'10" than his listed height of 6'. Maybe he'll grow a few inches between now and when he steps on campus. Glad to hear he's tearing it up in practice. I'm sure he's glad that Clowney is on his team for this game. That guy is a beast!

MOD's, I just realized that I put this comment in Councell's thread, so I duplicated it in Golson's thread. Feel free to delete it here if you feel it's not relevant to this thread.

 

[InKellyITrust]

I'd be the first to tell you that I don't know a single thing about this kid, but I've read a lot of really impressive things about him.

Would he be a redshirt candidate or someone who could contribute right away?

I'm excited to see Kendall Moore's impact on defense/special teams in the fall. Kelly mentioned him as someone that has stood out during bowl practices.

 

[Sherm Sticky]

I'd be the first to tell you that I don't know a single thing about this kid, but I've read a lot of really impressive things about him.

Would he be a redshirt candidate or someone who could contribute right away?

I'm excited to see Kendall Moore's impact on defense/special teams in the fall. Kelly mentioned him as someone that has stood out during bowl practices.

I could see Councell seeing playing time next year, especially with his speed on Special Teams. Also, you have to remember Neal and B Smith are graduating.

 

[rtrn2glory]

I'm new and not trying to be a smart a**, but are those times he has truly legit?

6'5" 230 and runs in the 4.4 range!!?? Why wasn't every SEC, Big Ten, and Big 12 school all over this kid.

He looks like a stud and if those measureables are legit we got a steal!!

 

[bornready85]

I'm new and not trying to be a smart a**, but are those times he has truly legit?

6'5" 230 and runs in the 4.4 range!!?? Why wasn't every SEC, Big Ten, and Big 12 school all over this kid.

He looks like a stud and if those measureables are legit we got a steal!!

I love Councell as a prospect....but his 40 time probably isn't anywhere close to 4.4.

 

[aubeirish]

I love Councell as a prospect....but his 40 time probably isn't anywhere close to 4.4.

I wouldn't be so sure. From what we hear, he is very fast.

 

[IrishLax]

I'm new and not trying to be a smart a**, but are those times he has truly legit?

6'5" 230 and runs in the 4.4 range!!?? Why wasn't every SEC, Big Ten, and Big 12 school all over this kid.

He looks like a stud and if those measureables are legit we got a steal!!

The same reason Chris Johnson was a 0* recruit running a 4.2...

I'm telling you right now the reason why I am so high on this class is that Ben Councell and Jarrett Grace are both SO underrated. I can't wait until they're both dominating in a couple years.

 

[IrishLax]

And fwiw, I'm pretty sure Lebron runs a 4.5 or something like that and he's 6'8"... and Usain Bolt is 6'5" and probably runs somewhere around a 4.1.... it's not as impossible as you all are making it sound.

 

[aubeirish]

The same reason Chris Johnson was a 0* recruit running a 4.2...

I'm telling you right now the reason why I am so high on this class is that Ben Councell and Jarrett Grace are both SO underrated. I can't wait until they're both dominating in a couple years.

I agree with you. I'm not sure how you can underrate a guy with the kind of offer list that Jarrett has. It is impressive.

 

[IrishMoore1]

If that 40 was hand timed, it's probably more like a 4.6

 

[bornready85]

And fwiw, I'm pretty sure Lebron runs a 4.5 or something like that and he's 6'8"... and Usain Bolt is 6'5" and probably runs somewhere around a 4.1.... it's not as impossible as you all are making it sound.

From what I recall....Councell's time in the 100 meter(which is more beneficial for taller players with longer strides) was around 11.00 which is very fast for a DE/OLB prospect...but not even close to a guy like George Atkinson or Miles Shuler.