Decision on 5th Year Seniors

[Shamrocks and Shenanigans]

No, our budget calls for only five figures, but they get their choice of two or three dancing girls.

OK, dancing girls are always good, especially when they come it sets.

 

[Old Man Mike]

The absence of Romine on these lists of returnees boggles me. If this is true [i.e. for whatever reason he's not accepted back], it leaves me speculating why-the-heck-not?? Nuss was used last year as a rightside back-up. Romine was our Left Tackle back-up. You REALLY don't want problems at Left Tackle. Wildly guessing, one wonders if our young gun and quintessential "good-feet" Left Tackle prospect Matt Hegarty has anything to do with Kelly's plans for the two-deep O-line.....or has he the idea that Zach Martin might be backed-up by little brother Nick?? None of that is ringing particularly true for me, but I'm desperate. Maybe Romine is approved afterall.

 

[Ironman8]

The absence of Romine on these lists of returnees boggles me. If this is true [i.e. for whatever reason he's not accepted back], it leaves me speculating why-the-heck-not?? Nuss was used last year as a rightside back-up. Romine was our Left Tackle back-up. You REALLY don't want problems at Left Tackle. Wildly guessing, one wonders if our young gun and quintessential "good-feet" Left Tackle prospect Matt Hegarty has anything to do with Kelly's plans for the two-deep O-line.....or has he the idea that Zach Martin might be backed-up by little brother Nick?? None of that is ringing particularly true for me, but I'm desperate. Maybe Romine is approved afterall.

Maybe BK believes either Lombard or Nichols could be a LT back-up, and values Nuss' versatility more than Romine's one positional value.

 

[BGIF]

The absence of Romine on these lists of returnees boggles me. If this is true [i.e. for whatever reason he's not accepted back], it leaves me speculating why-the-heck-not?? Nuss was used last year as a rightside back-up. Romine was our Left Tackle back-up. You REALLY don't want problems at Left Tackle. Wildly guessing, one wonders if our young gun and quintessential "good-feet" Left Tackle prospect Matt Hegarty has anything to do with Kelly's plans for the two-deep O-line.....or has he the idea that Zach Martin might be backed-up by little brother Nick?? None of that is ringing particularly true for me, but I'm desperate. Maybe Romine is approved afterall.

Don't have any numbers but Romine seemed to have a lot of injuries over the years. Plus when Rudolph was a freshman and blocked like one, Romine was put in at END not OT to replace Rudolph and he got beaten worse than Kyle did.

 

[Bogtrotter07]

The absence of Romine on these lists of returnees boggles me. If this is true [i.e. for whatever reason he's not accepted back], it leaves me speculating why-the-heck-not?? Nuss was used last year as a rightside back-up. Romine was our Left Tackle back-up. You REALLY don't want problems at Left Tackle. Wildly guessing, one wonders if our young gun and quintessential "good-feet" Left Tackle prospect Matt Hegarty has anything to do with Kelly's plans for the two-deep O-line.....or has he the idea that Zach Martin might be backed-up by little brother Nick?? None of that is ringing particularly true for me, but I'm desperate. Maybe Romine is approved afterall.

Nichols.

 

[BGIF]

... Wildly guessing, one wonders if our young gun and quintessential "good-feet" Left Tackle prospect Matt Hegarty has anything to do with Kelly's plans for the two-deep O-line.....or has he the idea that Zach Martin might be backed-up by little brother Nick?? None of that is ringing particularly true for me, but I'm desperate. ...

Hegarty at 265 and Martin at 260 need a lot of weight, strength, and probably technique. Neither is a plug in for next year. As sophs or jrs.

 

[Old Man Mike]

I'll buy all that...Kelly DID put Romine in when Dever went down though...But I'll go with Lombard as back-up both at LT and LG; Nichols I thought was more a RT type, but....would love to hear coach explain it, though.

 

[irishdiehard]

Ok here’s the numbers breakdown as i see it after Kelly’s press conference. I posted this several days ago but it never got approved by MODs and I wasn't at my 10 post minimum yet. I looked at everything pretty carefully but feel free to edit if you catch any mistakes.

23 Current Commitments

19 Freshmen- 23 signed minus Roback, Badger, Boyd, and James

15 Sophomores- 18 signed minus Bullard, Banks, and Evans

22 Juniors- 23 signed minus Rudolph and Fauria but adding Montana who Kelly seemed to say scholarship was safe

79 Total

4 5th years should be safe- Kelly said today that Ruffer is getting a scholarship and CB Gary Gray, SS Harrison Smith, and TE Mike Ragone are safe according to this board.

83 Total

That leaves 2 scholarships open for either new recruits (Niklas, Huggins, Hyanes) or 5th years from the 3 remaining (assuming no transfers):

OT Taylor Dever
OT Andrew Nuss
C Wenger

These 4 are gone according to reports
OT Matt Romine
DE Emeka Nwanko
LB Steve Paskorz
K Brandon Walker

 

[irishdiehard]

Mods approve my post... its the 3rd time if tried to post it in the last week!?

 

[NewEnglandGuy]

My 2 cents on O line two deep:
LT - Martin(Jr), Lombard(So)
LG - Watt(Jr), Nuss(5th)
C - Cave(Sr), Golic Jr(Sr)
RG - Robinson(Sr), Nuss(5th), Clelland(Sr)?
RT - Dever(5th), Nichols(So)

By Class:
5th: 2
Sr: 4 (3 5th year eligibility)
Jr: 2 (both eligible)
So: 2 (both eligible)
Fr: probably move 4 maybe 5 guys over here...probably all will keep redshirt year too.

Bringing back Romine would have been nice, but with this depth Kelly seemed to want to add a guy like Niklas instead. Hopefully we are not struck with injuries and the gamble pays off.

 

[Old Man Mike]

That depth chart is fine; it's just that, formerly, I was of the impression that Kelly rated Romine a touch higher than Nuss, due to the fact that when Dever went down, instead of just moving Nuss up, he moved Romine to LT and Martin over. Seemed like he made a choice there between the two, and picked Romine [even risking the tackle shift of Martin.] But I obviously have difficulties recognizing the difference between third base and certain posterior anatomical features here.

 

[Sherm Sticky]

That depth chart is fine; it's just that, formerly, I was of the impression that Kelly rated Romine a touch higher than Nuss, due to the fact that when Dever went down, instead of just moving Nuss up, he moved Romine to LT and Martin over. Seemed like he made a choice there between the two, and picked Romine [even risking the tackle shift of Martin.] But I obviously have difficulties recognizing the difference between third base and certain posterior anatomical features here.

Old man Mike I agree with you onj Romine.

 

[rtrn2glory]

Like other posters on here it looks like this move really shows Coach Kelly and the staff's faith in Lombard and Nichols. I would think Nichols is more than capable of manning the position from an athletic standpoint...He did play a little te in high school and Coach Kelly has not been shy about raving about these type of guys in the past.

 

[jonesman]

Guys,
If you want to watch Nuss play significant snaps, go watch the Sun Bowl. He played many snaps at Guard in place of Trevor. I was very impressed. The kid has aggression and good feet. He moved really well. I am happy with the decision to keep him.

I wish all those that did not get invited back the best of luck in their future. You will always be part of the Irish Family.

 

[Riddickulous]

Dan Wenger's future is up to the NCAA. It's not up to our staff.

 

[IrishLax]

Dan Wenger's future is up to the NCAA. It's not up to our staff.

Indeed, and I honestly hope he never plays another snap. It's just not worth it in the long run to risk more damage to his brain. I understand why someone would want to keep playing football as long as possible... but with all of the research on concussions pointing towards very bad long term effects I would much rather he hung up the pads than sustain another head injury.

 

[Riddickulous]

Indeed, and I honestly hope he never plays another snap. It's just not worth it in the long run to risk more damage to his brain. I understand why someone would want to keep playing football as long as possible... but with all of the research on concussions pointing towards very bad long term effects I would much rather he hung up the pads than sustain another head injury.

I agree. I love his passion for the game, but obviously safety should take precedence.

 

[Ironman8]

I agree. I love his passion for the game, but obviously safety should take precedence.

Hard to tell a player to stop doing the thing he loves most though. I agree with you his safety should be the #1 concern, I just feel for the kid if doctor's tell him he can't play the game anymore. Kind of like the Marc Savard situation in Boston, or possibly the future awaiting Aaron Rodgers in a few years. Once you have had a couple, you become extremely vulnerable to repeat concussions and long-term consequences.

It's easier for us to stand at a distance and say they have to give it up for their safety, but for those individual's (in the pros) it's their life, their careers, and how they earn an income and support their families. If they don't have anything to fall back on (like Wegner will have in his ND degree), how can you really tell someone to stop supporting their families financially? It's an extremely tough situation, and a lot of people won't be told when to quit by anyone else.

 

[rtrn2glory]

If he's cleared by doctors and the NCAA ok's it than I'm all for it...agreed it's tough to know when enough is enough.

 

[Ironman8]

BK said in the presser Romine is out. No final decision on the extent of the fifth years.

 

[BGIF]

BK said in the presser Romine is out. No final decision on the extent of the fifth years.

I just posted some thoughts on that in the Bennett discussion we had yesterday regarding timing.

Kelly noted he gotten in trouble once before and wasn't discussing 5th years further at this time. I think his faux pas was the annoucing the scholarship for Ruffer and other comments on who was coming back. At other schools that is the head coach's domain. At ND, there's a faculty committee that decides academically who get to come back for a 5th year.

 

[irishff1014]

The only thing i will say about this deal is we better be able to fill that spot some how if not that is a wasted chance to get another player in this recruiting class

 

[BGIF]

The only thing i will say about this deal is we better be able to fill that spot some how if not that is a wasted chance to get another player in this recruiting class

I just posted some comments on this in the Matt Romine thread. ND's (read that the Administration not the head coach) policy on 5th years is unique. At the football factories the head coach determines who gets a 5th year. As ND expects student athlete to complete their undergraduate work in 4 years the Administration looks at a 5th year as a graduate school year. At Bama you only have to be academically eligible. At ND you have to be bona fide grad school material. A 2.0 at Bama gets the 5th year. Won't happen at ND.

This is part of the reason ND is frequently under the 85 team maximum. ND is going to open the doors to JUCOs from Carson City Community College (or comparable schols) and not all ND graduates are going to be admitted by ND for graduate school. Another obstacle that a ND head coach has to deal with.

 

[Sherm Sticky]

I agree with this, but priority needs for them would be RB and OL. Also, don't sleep on Jordy Nelson!

I told you guys not to sleep on Jordy Nelson!

 

[IrishLax]

I told you guys not to sleep on Jordy Nelson!

haha while he had a huge day.... the man needs to put some stickum on his gloves because those were some BAD drops.

 

[Sherm Sticky]

haha while he had a huge day.... the man needs to put some stickum on his gloves because those were some BAD drops.

He did have a couple of bad drops, but the one in the end zone was a tough play.

 

[irish4ever]

So has it been finalized which of the 5th yr. seniors that make the cut?
Ragone, Gray, Ruffer, H. Smith and Dever?

 

[NewEnglandGuy]

So has it been finalized which of the 5th yr. seniors that make the cut?
Ragone, Gray, Ruffer, H. Smith and Dever?

And Nuss.

 

[OchoShayneO]

um question....

could ND take a 5th year guy from another school that has graduated already and gets accepted into grad school at ND? (wait till this stud comes around)

ex: say Myron Rolle wanted to go to law school or something instead. nah mean?

 

[Old Man Mike]

I think you can do it if he changes sports a la Powlus at Syracuse. [basketball to football].