'11 IA ATH Christian French (Oregon Verbal)

[IrishLax]

Judging by several Iowa boards reactions....I don't think he's going there.

Like what?

 

[Ultimate Penn St. Hater]

Yeah, what are they saying?

 

[Riddickulous]

the one hawkeye board said his teams 40 times were released and he had the fastest with a 4.37???? crazy

Good Lord. GET HIM, KELLY.

 

[roc351w]

Good Lord. GET HIM, KELLY.

thats what i was thinking but how reliable our those guys they could just be gassing him up....

 

[InKellyITrust]

He needs to be on the defensive side of the ball. That's where we need that type of athleticism. We have enough athletes on offense.

 

[roc351w]

He needs to be on the defensive side of the ball. That's where we need that type of athleticism. We have enough athletes on offense.

if he plays defense it will take a year or 2 to get him to that size, if he has good ball skills he can play right away on offense, esp. if floyd leaves.

 

[roc351w]

unless we go to a 4-3 or a 3-4 stack more often

 

[IrishLax]

He needs to be on the defensive side of the ball. That's where we need that type of athleticism. We have enough athletes on offense.

I'm not so sure. Our defense is kinda kicking butt and I think I trust Kelly to figure out where he will be a star. I've heard he has hands of stone but we'll just have to see how he develops.

I agree with you that he projects best as an OLB or S though.

 

[roc351w]

project player then, let him develope then destroy

 

[Irish To The Core]

He needs to be on the defensive side of the ball. That's where we need that type of athleticism. We have enough athletes on offense.

I disagree.

A 6'6" kid who runs a 4.4? He wants to try receiver and we take a stand and say no? That is crazy. If he is a basketball player, he almost certainly has the coordination and hands. Why not give him a shot at WR? He can't be much greener than Golden was as a freshman and he turned out alright.

I say let him try WR and evaluate him honestly...if he has the hands and is picking up the technique, maybe you say..."Okay, you can stay at reciever but you are so raw, you will need a redshirt year...or you can see the field right away at lb...which would you prefer?"

 

[NDinL.A.]

if he plays defense it will take a year or 2 to get him to that size, if he has good ball skills he can play right away on offense, esp. if floyd leaves.

He's way more raw offensively than defensively. Make no mistake, it's far more likely he won't play right away on offense than on defense. Not only does he have to pick up a complex offense, he has to work on route running and simply catching the ball, which he hasn't done a whole lot of. From the 2 coaches that I've read, he is very raw offensively.

But BK is doing the right thing by giving him a shot on offense. You never pass up athletes like this kid.

 

[Stoic]

French's dad said ND helped themselves quite a bit on the visit.
Per ISD

 

[IrishLax]

4 more days....

 

[military_irish]

Per ISD, Christian's dad believes he will be a WR at the start of the season if he is to commit to ND. From the conversation with Kelly, but it all depends on how fast he can pick up the offense. As many have said already

 

[ndcoltsfan2010]

Man I really want this kid. Very athletic with unlimited potential whether it be on Offense or Defense. Just get him to South Bend!

 

[CanadianIrish]

It's really coming down to the wire with this kid. Any word from Oregon and Iowa fans about how they're feeling?

 

[IrishLax]

My gut is telling me he is going to be Irish or a Duck. I don't see anything that Iowa offers him besides the proximity to home. The only thing that could scare him away from Notre Dame, in my opinion, is our depth at WR/TE... but at the same time we don't have another guy with his size and speed combination.

What concerns me is that I have heard on Iowa boards that he has "hands of stone." That is usually not something that improves all that much. I'd love it if he worked out at WR to be a Baldwin type guy (really big and fast with OK ball skills) but I think he projects best as an OLB or S if he adds weight. Obviously, he will get a crack at WR first because he does not have the bulk right now to play OLB.

 

[TerryTate]

My gut is telling me he is going to be Irish or a Duck. I don't see anything that Iowa offers him besides the proximity to home. The only thing that could scare him away from Notre Dame, in my opinion, is our depth at WR/TE... but at the same time we don't have another guy with his size and speed combination.

What concerns me is that I have heard on Iowa boards that he has "hands of stone." That is usually not something that improves all that much. I'd love it if he worked out at WR to be a Baldwin type guy (really big and fast with OK ball skills) but I think he projects best as an OLB or S if he adds weight. Obviously, he will get a crack at WR first because he does not have the bulk right now to play OLB.

My intuition is that he'll get a shot at WR, take a look at Atkinson, Daniels, Jones, Goodman, Riddick, Toma, Jackson, Smith, Collinsworth, and say I have a better shot at early playing times using my god given size/speed and bring the pain at OLB.

He'll be an OLB by year's end

 

[Epitome]

For some reason I keep thinking this kid reminds me of Greg Little. If he could polish his receiving skills. This kid could be a monster on the outside. If not he'll make a great LB.

 

[ryno 24]

I agree I see him as Irish but possibly moving olb later if he does not work out depends if he wants to play early more or if he wants play wr more

 

[IrishInColumbus]

You could let Christian come in and devote as much time as he wants for one season at freakin' punter for all I care. Just get somone with his talent on the roster first!

 

[IrishInFl]

If we got French, how intimidating would it be to line up Atkinson (6'2"), Daniels (6'3"), and French (6'6")?

 

[BestBIrish47]

If we got French, how intimidating would it be to line up Atkinson (6'2"), Daniels (6'3"), and French (6'6")?[/QUOTE

Can you imagine the game planning...

"If they go Cover 2 look for the Corner to squat and hit the Corner route, if they go Cover 3 look to the seam...if they are all covered don't worry... toss it up, they will go get it."

 

[WhoDeyIrish]

Heard that he is announcing tomorrow? I'm not sure how accurate that is or not. I saw it on an Iowa recruiting board.

 

[TerryTate]

Dec 9 was the latest date I saw

 

[Irish Man3]

He is deciding December 9th. I think this kid belongs on defense whether it's at OLB or S. I would really like to see him get a shot at safety because of our depth at LB and lack of depth at S. He has the speed and the size and with Hayseed coming back, he can sit a year and watch and learn.

His father said ND helped themselves quite a bit with this list visit which sounds good but still worries me. It just sounds like the typical thing to say to whoever is interviewing you. If we still had that much round to make up then that worries me.

 

[FightingIrishLover7]

He is deciding December 9th. I think this kid belongs on defense whether it's at OLB or S. I would really like to see him get a shot at safety because of our depth at LB and lack of depth at S. He has the speed and the size and with Hayseed coming back, he can sit a year and watch and learn.

His father said ND helped themselves quite a bit with this list visit which sounds good but still worries me. It just sounds like the typical thing to say to whoever is interviewing you. If we still had that much round to make up then that worries me.

He would be the biggest meanest safety ever.

Not sure how well he can cover, but if he can. Put him back there. Anything that makes our D bigger and faster is cool with me.

 

[Irish Man3]

He would be the biggest meanest safety ever.

Not sure how well he can cover, but if he can. Put him back there. Anything that makes our D bigger and faster is cool with me.

Well he has the speed and athleticism to fill the spot. He could have a potential Taylor Mays effect. I think if he can sit and watch for a year behind Hayseed and Slaughter, he can learn.

 

[IrishInColumbus]

I'm taking Diaco's opinion of putting him at OLB over your opinions of putting any athletic fast guy at safety. Sorry guys.

His announcement really needs to hurry the hell up. I'm dying over here waiting!

 

[jason_h537]

Well he has the speed and athleticism to fill the spot. He could have a potential Taylor Mays effect. I think if he can sit and watch for a year behind Hayseed and Slaughter, he can learn.

French has only played football for a couple of years. He is gonna sit for more than 1 year. He is a project, wherever he plays