'11 CA DE/OT Troy Niklas (Signed Notre Dame LOI)

[Old Man Mike]

I read Kelly's comments like Terry did. Kelly has this, apparently flatly honest, view that he is recruiting personnel rather than specific position [at least most of the time]. Somehow he is effectively selling that idea to the kids. He said several times in recent interviews that it is only once in a while that a kid is insistent that he is only a specific position player [particularly when it comes to the "Power" category of recruiting] and when he runs into that, they move on. That these young men are easily buying into that is a bit amazing to me, and one hopes that they won't mind when the staff shifts them out of their preferred spots and into something else---Bennett Jackson seemed to take his recent similar shift happily. So, OK, Coach, get them all out there and let them see who they are.

 

[PLACforever]

Looks like Ironman posted this, but it didn't seem to be working...
Troy Niklas Signing Day Video - Recruiting | UHND.com

Troy is very well spoken for HS, seems to be an all-around good kid, he'll be a great addition to ND.

 

[johnnykillz]

I read Kelly's comments like Terry did. Kelly has this, apparently flatly honest, view that he is recruiting personnel rather than specific position [at least most of the time]. Somehow he is effectively selling that idea to the kids. He said several times in recent interviews that it is only once in a while that a kid is insistent that he is only a specific position player [particularly when it comes to the "Power" category of recruiting] and when he runs into that, they move on. That these young men are easily buying into that is a bit amazing to me, and one hopes that they won't mind when the staff shifts them out of their preferred spots and into something else---Bennett Jackson seemed to take his recent similar shift happily. So, OK, Coach, get them all out there and let them see who they are.

I'm cautiously optimistic about this scheme. I am certainly cautious though. It has worked everywhere else, and a recruiting scheme certainly doesn't change much within a coaches tact...

I guess I'm trying for the glass half-full perspective. So far, personnel have lined up well with reported targets, I think. The day Dorial Green-Beckham plays NG, I'm gonna flip my lid. lol.

 

[Old Man Mike]

Yeh, Johnny, I'm with you on that general thought. Kelly says that "versatility" stuff, but it's only partly true. He definitely recruits to specific need while preferring versatility alongside. In his "Power" category he has, "theoretically", a bunch of guys, but they are hardly interchangeable parts. Whereas Niklas might be developed in a variety of ways, Lynch surely won't, nor would Nick Martin you wouldn't suspect. Still, who knows, maybe some day we'll see not Ben Koyack at nose tackle but Conor Hanratty. But I doubt it.

Kelly DID say once, and he only seemed half joking, that if could get 22 "big skill" guys of the 6'4" 240lb. and 4.5 variety, he'd put them all out there and totally confuse the enemy who'd never know who was where.

 

[Ironman8]

Yeh, Johnny, I'm with you on that general thought. Kelly says that "versatility" stuff, but it's only partly true. He definitely recruits to specific need while preferring versatility alongside. In his "Power" category he has, "theoretically", a bunch of guys, but they are hardly interchangeable parts. Whereas Niklas might be developed in a variety of ways, Lynch surely won't, nor would Nick Martin you wouldn't suspect. Still, who knows, maybe some day we'll see not Ben Koyack at nose tackle but Conor Hanratty. But I doubt it.

Kelly DID say once, and he only seemed half joking, that if could get 22 "big skill" guys of the 6'4" 240lb. and 4.5 variety, he'd put them all out there and totally confuse the enemy who'd never know who was where.

Sign me up for that.

 

[JDAtlanta]

I think it is an easy way to figure out if,

I think it is an easy way to figure out if,

I read Kelly's comments like Terry did. Kelly has this, apparently flatly honest, view that he is recruiting personnel rather than specific position [at least most of the time]. Somehow he is effectively selling that idea to the kids. He said several times in recent interviews that it is only once in a while that a kid is insistent that he is only a specific position player [particularly when it comes to the "Power" category of recruiting] and when he runs into that, they move on. That these young men are easily buying into that is a bit amazing to me, and one hopes that they won't mind when the staff shifts them out of their preferred spots and into something else---Bennett Jackson seemed to take his recent similar shift happily. So, OK, Coach, get them all out there and let them see who they are.

a kid is a RKG. If the kid is willing to change his position going in, he probably is a team player. If not, he probably is not an "RKG". The categories fit a few positions. It's not like Kelly is going to make a CB move to OG. The kid that was a huge TE and said he did not want to be a OT came to mind when he said that during the PC.

 

[Old Man Mike]

To Atlanta: yes, that's exactly what Kelly is saying in the ideal case, so he tries for it when that makes sense. Obviously he's always the "smartest guy in the room" so he is pretty sure when he has an exact positional fit also [ex. Golson; Councell].

 

[irishandy]

In my Irish Sports Report they have profiles of every recruit and it asks every recruit the moment I knew I wanted to be Irish. I like Troy's, "I came back from Notre Dame, then got on YouTube and looked up 'Here Come the Irish,' music video, and I watched it and I was like, 'Yeah, you know what, I found the right place."

 

[BeauBenken]

In my Irish Sports Report they have profiles of every recruit and it asks every recruit the moment I knew I wanted to be Irish. I like Troy's, "I came back from Notre Dame, then got on YouTube and looked up 'Here Come the Irish,' music video, and I watched it and I was like, 'Yeah, you know what, I found the right place."

God that song sends shivers down my spine and makes me ready for all the good to come...

<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/oGHdeEXH7js" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[NeuteredDoomer]

FSPrimeTicket is showing Servite vs. Edison Chargers game from 9/24/10 here in SoCal. Can't find Niklas yet.

EDIT: Nevermind. I found him. He is wearing #55 at D.E. He is also playing left guard on O. It is 4:19 left coast time as I type this. 40 minutes left in the broadcast. Fox Sports Prime Ticket (part of basic cable here...)

 

[koonja]

Any update on this kid? He seems to be forgotten about given the Lynch/Ishaq/Tuitt fever (and deservingly so)... Has anyone heard where he'll try out this summer? Seems to be a log jam at DE. At least for this class.

 

[TerryTate]

Any update on this kid? He seems to be forgotten about given the Lynch/Ishaq/Tuitt fever (and deservingly so)... Has anyone heard where he'll try out this summer? Seems to be a log jam at DE. At least for this class.

Like Houndshell, he'll get first crack on the defensive line. I haven't heard any updates on him yet though.

 

[Sherm Sticky]

I want to see this kid at TE or Tackle...Also I think Chase will end up at NT down the road, kid has a mean streak.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Niklas seems to be the most athletic of our utility guys, so I expect he'll stay on the D-line with Springman.

I bet Hounshell ends up at OG.

 

[Who'saWildManNow]

Troy is a top notch athlete to be primed for the LT position. I still see Chase as a DE backing up Lynch.. Very dangerous depth in this class. As much as I respected him, the John Ryan DE era at ND is over.

 

[GBdomer]

I want him at left tackle. Unreal athletic ability. If not on the D line.

 

[Domina Nostra]

God that song sends shivers down my spine and makes me ready for all the good to come...

<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/oGHdeEXH7js" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I wonder why ND took down the official video? I loved it too.

 

[Ricochet]

I'm a huge fan of Troy Niklas and I don't thin many realize how special of an athlete that he is.

The kid is a stud, right up there with Lynch and Tuitt. He can be a great DE or OT.

I personally want him on defense. I want what my NY Giants type DL rotation at ND, sure it's a different defense but when you've got that kind of talent with depth less is more as it keeps everyone fresher which in turn makes them that much more fierce.

I'm telling you, Troy is special and the more I see the more I think he's the Vikings Jared Allen. Take a talent like that put him with the likes of Kona, Lynch and Tuitt let alone the likes of Springmann and Hounshell as well as the elite talent that they hopefully land in '12 and this goes from a position of weakness to one ridiculous strength.

 

[koonja]

I'm a huge fan of Troy Niklas and I don't thin many realize how special of an athlete that he is.

The kid is a stud, right up there with Lynch and Tuitt. He can be a great DE or OT.

I personally want him on defense. I want what my NY Giants type DL rotation at ND, sure it's a different defense but when you've got that kind of talent with depth less is more as it keeps everyone fresher which in turn makes them that much more fierce.

I'm telling you, Troy is special and the more I see the more I think he's the Vikings Jared Allen. Take a talent like that put him with the likes of Kona, Lynch and Tuitt let alone the likes of Springmann and Hounshell as well as the elite talent that they hopefully land in '12 and this goes from a position of weakness to one ridiculous strength.

Yeah, I feel like we all selfishly want him to end up at LT so that Tuitt amd Lynch can be the DE's. But what's to say he doesn't come out and show up Lynch/Tuitt at DE? I don't know how it will work out, but I hope they all 3 will be on the field at the same time.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Yeah, I feel like we all selfishly want him to end up at LT so that Tuitt amd Lynch can be the DE's. But what's to say he doesn't come out and show up Lynch/Tuitt at DE? I don't know how it will work out, but I hope they all 3 will be on the field at the same time.

Zack Martin's got three more years of eligibility.

Given Diaco's propensity for cycling the d-line to keep everyone fresh, I think Niklas sees the field sooner as a DE.

 

[koonja]

Zack Martin's got three more years of eligibility.

Given Diaco's propensity for cycling the d-line to keep everyone fresh, I think Niklas sees the field sooner as a DE.

I'm focusing on more down the road though.... Let's say in 3 years, all 3 of the guys mentioned above are all-american type players (possible?). I, along with everyone else, probably wants all 3 of them occupying a starting spot, not rotating at DE. I think that's why everyone pegs him as a LT, or RT (Next Sam Young?), assuming Tuitt and Lynch end up starting at DE.

 

[Bogtrotter07]

Funny you guys are talking about the Packers. One of Troy's cousins starts for the packers. I wouldn't write a lot of things off for Troy. His 4.7 second 40 is a misnomer, too. He is functionally faster if not in actuality. Check his old game films.

I think there are a lot of positions that Troy could play, including linebacker. You know he has the genetics for it; his cousins, his uncle and his grandfather aren't (weren't) too shabby. His dad wasn't either.

 

[Ironman8]

No matter where he plays, I have a feeling Troy will be one of my favorites in this class.

 

[NDinL.A.]

Any update on this kid? He seems to be forgotten about given the Lynch/Ishaq/Tuitt fever (and deservingly so)... Has anyone heard where he'll try out this summer? Seems to be a log jam at DE. At least for this class.

You don't hear about him because he RARELY talks to the media. His recruitment was the same way. He's simply not a 'me' guy, not an attention hound. He doesn't give many interviews, he doesn't post public opinions on his facebook, and he doesn't tweet.

But that doesn't mean that hardcore ND fans have forgotten about him - with his talent and work ethic, he should be a solid contributor for several years for the Irish...

 

[Old Man Mike]

This is Niklas' thread and I don't want to contribute to a high-jacking, so I'll begin by saying that I am simply in a state of blind trust that Troy is really good. I say this because I don't have the knockout evidence for him that I got when Lynch/Tuitt/IWilliams ran roughshod over their "All-American" opponents. If Niklas is in their class, then magnificent. I know he's good; is he crazy good?

But I think that I do know something about his "competition". Lynch is a freak. He IS CRAZY good. Diaco would be nuts to do anything with him but teach him the proper keys to watch out for, and a few more techniques. Lynch's freak talents are going to make up for the alleged smallish size, in abundance. He's a problem that will require two blockers on every play that's anywhere in his vicinity. 3-4...4-3...psycho-millaround...won't make a difference. He will disrupt you.

And...Tuitt in his different way is going to be another freak. CRAZY powerful. Maybe Reggie White powerful. I can't imagine what opponents are going to do with those guys.

Niklas needs to be crazy good himself to run with those monsters. I hope that he is. Maybe we'll be the collegiate coming of Strahan, Tuck, and Umenyiora [or however it's spelled]. Lynch, Tuitt, and Niklas --- yep G-men destroyers all.

p.s. thanks to the guys below for having my back on the spelling error, and apologies to Big Michael. That gets my lifetime total of spelling errors into the seven figure range, so it's cause for some odd sort of celebration.

 

[Ironman8]

Strahan my man.

 

[BeauBenken]

Nails Umenyiora, but whiffs on Strahan...

 

[Bogtrotter07]

If Niklas is in their class, then magnificent. I know he's good; is he crazy good?

Take a look at his highlight film. Watch some of his "O" work. Look at what he does with the ball. Then figure how important he was to SC; how bad they wanted and needed him. Then realize he is a relatively late bloomer. Then please note that the "Mathews" have had quite a bit of football success, from Dallas to Cleveland to Green Bay and back to Sc.

 

[rtrn2glory]

imo the key to where these three guys end up (Niklas, Springmann, and Hounshell) will depend the level of defensive lineman we bring in next year...for instance if we continue to bring in elite d linemen expect prolly 2 of these guys to end up on the offensive line...good news is all 3 have the skill set to play anywhere on the field and be effective, but the question is where can the be most effective and beneficial to the team.

 

[IrishLax]

Supposedly being looked at for OLB according to mom.