'11 NM OT Matthew Hegarty (Signed Notre Dame LOI)

[Ben E.]

See, I agree with this. I did not see the Irish dominating on the line very much this year at all. We need better depth and more talent.

no doubt, whether its right tackle or left guard he is probably/potentialy an upgrade up front as a sophmore...

 

[Veer option]

Is there enough depth on next years OL roster to give Hegarty a redshirt for the 2011 season?

 

[BCSorBust]

Is there enough depth on next years OL roster to give Hegarty a redshirt for the 2011 season?

If you read the other posts no, but I see us returning everyone but Stewart and being very deep on the oline next year. We also have another year of strength and conditioning and Kellys coaching

 

[Irish Man3]

Health with the big guys always plays a factor but we should have enough depth to let Hegarty sit and watch for a year. We signed some big boys last year that should make the two deep next year. We just really need to keep upgrading talent.

 

[Sherm Sticky]

Health with the big guys always plays a factor but we should have enough depth to let Hegarty sit and watch for a year. We signed some big boys last year that should make the two deep next year. We just really need to keep upgrading talent.

Agree completely....I bet Lombard makes the 2 deep.

 

[Old Man Mike]

There's plenty of depth for next year. [it's later years which are of greater concern]. Kelly has been trying to fit Watt into the line-up for awhile, and praise has gone out to both Lombard and Nichols. Offensive lines tend not to get a lot of substitution during the season itself, since they need to max out reps to become "five-fingers-on-one-hand".

Kelly could decide that the four returning line starters plus Watt, Lombard, Nichols, Golic, and possibly Romine if given a fifth year [which I think probable], are easily enough. On the other hand, Kelly has continually said that a level of talent might "force" him to get a guy on the field, even though he hadn't planned to.

This happened this year with Shembo, Schwenke [the most spectacular case of a guy Kelly didn't think was ready yet], Spond, Collingsworth, and maybe others. Hegarty is so good, and so perfect for LEFT tackle, and we have a pretty good one there already, that it makes for some interesting guess work.

 

[tadman95]

Another consideration for some of these players has to be whether or not they will stay longer than three years regardless of redshirting (I know, no redshirting). If a player shows pro potential early, do you go ahead and play them as a freshman to get the additional playing time or do you leave yourself just the two years?

More and more players are going pro after three years. The new CBA may dampen that, who knows but hopefully this is a dilemma we will have to deal with because we get more and more of these type of players.

 

[Veer option]

The more big, tough and nasty offensive linemen the better.

 

[irish4ever]

This guy is what ND is all about! I can't wait to see what a stellar career he has w/ the Irish (both on and off the field)!

 

[OCIrish]

Has anyone read how well he dominated today? I don't have the premie over on Rivals but the headline says he was dominate today. Anbody know just how dominate he really was?

 

[TerryTate]

He has been playing with a sprained knee this week. He also does not have his knee brace or shoulder pads because the airlines lost his luggage. Regardless, he's a stud, and it would not surprise me.

 

[Sherm Sticky]

He has been playing with a sprained knee this week. He also does not have his knee brace or shoulder pads because the airlines lost his luggage. Regardless, he's a stud, and it would not surprise me.

Man tough break for him...

 

[Irish Man3]

His knee braces were delivered today and he played well. He was bea on one place on the edge by J. Rasco. Other than that he played guard and did well.

 

[OCIrish]

Yeah-there is a good write up over on ISD for the west's AM practice in which he said Hegarty looked very impressive today. Can't wait to get him on campus and in the Longo system full time.

 

[TerryTate]

Army Practice: West Day Two

It's a freebie

 

[jason_h537]

Moala is a beast, nice to see Hegarty show up with an injury. He is a 5 star talent

 

[Ironman8]

YouTube - US Army All-American Bowl Matthew Hegarty

 

[Veer option]

YouTube - US Army All-American Bowl Matthew Hegarty

Dang I wish I was his size and 18 years old again

 

[NDPhilly]

YouTube - US Army All-American Bowl Matthew Hegarty

How many "you know"s did he say

 

[NDFANnSouthWest]

wow...looks like he has put on some weight.

 

[jason_h537]

Showed up at San Antonio injured but played thru it like a champ. Got beat by some of the best though (the entire West line did).

 

[Polish Leppy 22]

Hegarty needs a few weeks at Longo Beach

 

[NDinL.A.]

Showed up at San Antonio injured but played thru it like a champ. Got beat by some of the best though (the entire West line did).

Hurt and sick like a dog. Felt bad for him out there. That 4th quarter was friggin hard to watch, knowing he wasn't even close to being at full strength and watching those guys torch him. But according to ISD, he had a great week of practice once he got his brace, so that's good to know...

 

[Ironman8]

Free Article on Rivals on Hegarty at the Army game:

Hegarty was an army of one

Tom Bergeron
Rivals High Senior Editor


SAN ANTONIO - He was part of a unit that yielded 12 sacks. He was part of a team that couldn't hold a 10-0 lead. But if you ask Matthew Hegarty of Aztec (N.M.) High, he'll tell you he was a part of something special.

Hegarty was an army of one representing New Mexico.
Hegarty and his West teammates fell, 13-10, in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl on Saturday. But Hegarty was thrilled for the chance to go up against big-time competition and represent the state of New Mexico in a game filled with stud players from California, Texas and Florida.

"It was great to be out with the best guys in the country," he said. "To go up against the five or six best defensive linemen in the country is a great experience. I've seen a lot of them at camps, but to do it here was special."

The Notre Dame-bound Hegarty and his linemates had their hands full with some of the best defensive lineman in the country, including lineman of the year Ray Drew of Thomasville (Ga.) Thomas County, Timmy Jernigan of Lake City (Fla.) Columbia and Ishaq Williams of Brookyln (N.Y.) Abraham Lincoln.

West quarterback Cody Kessler of Bakersfield (Calif.) Centennial went down nine times, but he doesn't blame the guys up front.

"Their D-line is just flat-out big and fast," Kessler said. "Their speed was hard to stop.

"In high school, we are all big men on our campuses. But here, everyone is great. So playing here prepares us for the next level."

Such thoughts likely hold true for Hegarty more than any other player in the game.

He knows New Mexico football doesn't stack up to the power states. He also know he'll take plenty of ribbing about where he plays at events such as these.

"I'm used to all the jokes. 'I didn't even know they played football in New Mexico,' stuff like that," he said. "It's OK. I can deal with it."

Dealing with their size and strength was another matter.

"I haven't seen this level of play for a while," he said. "It's been a year since I've been to camps. It was definitely a step up. I'm looking forward to facing it in college."

By then, he'll be back to having a group of guys he used to being around.

Hegarty joked that he felt like the odd-man out when guys from other states were debating which group was best.

"A lot of guys were talking about their states and hanging out with the groups of players they have, especially the Texas guys," he said. "I wasn't doing that. I couldn't. I was an army of one."

 

[Sherm Sticky]

I actually thought he held his own, especially compared to some of the other West Offense linemen.

 

[BGIF]

Scout dropped him 4 slots to #11 OT. Penalty for playing in an All-Star game while banged up.

 

[jason_h537]

Dropped to #70 on Rivals 100

 

[RyCo1983]

Hegarty will give us 4 years of solid Qb protection.

Can't wait for the fall!
Thank goodness we have NSD and Spring ball yet to come!


200th post!

 

[BGIF]

Dropped to #70 on Rivals 100

Precipitous drop of 32 slots.

Curiously as he was ranked the #5 OT in November and from the Final Top 100 list there are only 4 OTs ahead of him so he's still #5 OT.

 

[rtrn2glory]

Like all olineman he's the type of guy that quietly goes about their business and just stays consistent. Yes, he had a rough week in San Antonio, but with the weight and maturity he will add he's gonna be solid for us.