'12 CA DT Aziz Shittu

[Irish Man3]

Defensive Tackle
Atwater, California
Buhach

Ht: 6'3''
Wt: 275
40: 5.2
Bench Max: 320
Squat Max: 400
GPA: 3.8

Rankings

ESPN: NR
Rivals:
Scout:
24/7:

Offers:

Stanrord (Verbal)
Auburn
Arizona
Arizona State
Boise State
California
Colorodo
Florida
Iowa State
Michigan
Nebraska
Nevada
Northwestern
Oregon
Oregon State
Penn State
San Jose State
Tennessee
UCLA
USC
Utah
Vanderbilt
Washington
Washington State

ND Recruiter: Mike Denbrock

 

[koonja]

Nice offer list, nice grades. Any chance we offer him?

 

[Irish Man3]

ISD Freebie:

Irish After Aziz

Should be offered within the next two weeks. ND coaches stopped by to visit this week. Current Stanford commit but will take all five OV. Would be nice to put him under the TJ Jones category for the Irish. I assume the Irish will be hard after Sh!ttu and Noor Davis for the remainder of the process. Stealing one could help with the other.

 

[ndcoltsfan2010]

This is a long shot, but would be amazing if we could somehow pull him away from Stanford.

 

[IrishLax]

No way we get him. But I'll keep dreaming.

 

[Old Man Mike]

I notice that this young man's name is playing with people's heads. I'm wondering on a more serious side if a young player with an arabic name is slightly put off by the thought of the Notre Dame Catholic culture. I sincerely hope not, but it probably doesn't help a lot to have people ragging on his name.

I can only think of one player [Hafis Williams] [there are probably more] with a traditional arabic name on this squad. Young people are concerned about how they'll fit in, so I sympathize with them. Maybe we have a slight psychological deficit to overcome there.

Both names are honorable in the Arabic world. "Hafis" is a title of honor given to one who has read the entire Koran. "Aziz" means "powerful". "Shittu" is a somewhat ordinary Nigerian family name. I don't know it's meaning. I DO know that we also lost our last Nigerian commitment to Oklahoma at the last minute last year, so maybe we need to be as welcoming as possible there too.

I'm not typing this stuff to create irritation by the way. I just try to think about what Coach [in his brilliant all-encompassing style] would like all of us to be contributing to making the Notre Dame family the most comfortable selection on the football planet for these young men.

 

[Legacy]

A 5 star DT ranked #12 overall by Rivals with an offer list that includes three national championship teams and three of the top five teams in last year's final poll and who has a 3.8 GPA! Impressive. The kid's got great talent and is motivated.

Sounds like a RKG to me. Offer him BK. What a DL that would make.

 

[GBdomer]

He says he is for sure going to look into Notre Dame. Says he likes the 100 percent graduation rate for football players. Might take an official.

 

[jason_h537]

I notice that this young man's name is playing with people's heads. I'm wondering on a more serious side if a young player with an arabic name is slightly put off by the thought of the Notre Dame Catholic culture. I sincerely hope not, but it probably doesn't help a lot to have people ragging on his name.

I can only think of one player [Hafis Williams] [there are probably more] with a traditional arabic name on this squad. Young people are concerned about how they'll fit in, so I sympathize with them. Maybe we have a slight psychological deficit to overcome there.

Both names are honorable in the Arabic world. "Hafis" is a title of honor given to one who has read the entire Koran. "Aziz" means "powerful". "Shittu" is a somewhat ordinary Nigerian family name. I don't know it's meaning. I DO know that we also lost our last Nigerian commitment to Oklahoma at the last minute last year, so maybe we need to be as welcoming as possible there too.

I'm not typing this stuff to create irritation by the way. I just try to think about what Coach [in his brilliant all-encompassing style] would like all of us to be contributing to making the Notre Dame family the most comfortable selection on the football planet for these young men.

I really doubt it. Notre Dame does a good job of showing recruits that though they are a school based on Catholic principles, they are not out to force it upon you. There have been a few muslims over the years , as well as other non-catholic christians

 

[jason_h537]

Was talking to the II staff earlier today about this. Wasn't sure if he fit ND's scheme, which is why they had not offered yet. Apparently he may get a look at DE depending on how he fills out. Also Stanfords admission policy may force him to look around just in case. ND is making a push

 

[dshans]

Notre Dame does a good job of showing recruits that though they are a school based on Catholic principles, they are not out to force it upon you. There have been a few muslims over the years , as well as other non-catholic christians

Notre Dame also has a tradition of embracing catholic (lower case, as in "universal") principles.

Were the student body, faculty and administration open only to die-hard Catholics the university would be a poor and parched version of its mission.

Many of my favorite profs there were not Catholics, including some in philosophy and theology. Hell, the most rabid Irish football fan I've ever met was a Jewish kid from Brooklyn who was a year behind me living in Holy Cross Hall.

Satisfying, piquant dishes meld the savory with the sweet. It is in the best interest of Notre Dame to seek, acquire and warmly welcome the finest ingredients available from across the globe; from across the spectrum.

To distill all things theosophical: RESPECT is what it means to me.

To present the Yang side o' the coin:
YouTube - ‪Otis Redding & The Bar-Kays - Respect‬‏

Flipping to the Yin:
YouTube - ‪Aretha Franklin - Respect [1967]‬‏

 

[Whiskeyjack]

I notice that this young man's name is playing with people's heads. I'm wondering on a more serious side if a young player with an arabic name is slightly put off by the thought of the Notre Dame Catholic culture. I sincerely hope not, but it probably doesn't help a lot to have people ragging on his name.

I can only think of one player [Hafis Williams] [there are probably more] with a traditional arabic name on this squad. Young people are concerned about how they'll fit in, so I sympathize with them. Maybe we have a slight psychological deficit to overcome there.

Both names are honorable in the Arabic world. "Hafis" is a title of honor given to one who has read the entire Koran. "Aziz" means "powerful". "Shittu" is a somewhat ordinary Nigerian family name. I don't know it's meaning. I DO know that we also lost our last Nigerian commitment to Oklahoma at the last minute last year, so maybe we need to be as welcoming as possible there too.

I'm not typing this stuff to create irritation by the way. I just try to think about what Coach [in his brilliant all-encompassing style] would like all of us to be contributing to making the Notre Dame family the most comfortable selection on the football planet for these young men.

I obviously can't speak to how accommodating ND is to the average Muslim football player, but as to whether ND's Catholic character turns off players of other faiths/ denominations, the exact opposite appears to be true.

Take Manti Te'o, Kona Schwenke, and Chris Badger. All three players are active in the LDS church, and they all three listed ND's "spirituality" as an important factor in choosing to play for the school.

As far as Christian denominations go, the differences between Roman Catholicism and Mormonism are significant, antagonistically so in some areas, but ND is still pulling top Mormon football prospects because it's the only BCS-caliber program that puts spirituality at the center of its institutional mission.

I'd imagine Muslim recruits might find ND attractive for the same reason.

 

[Sherm Sticky]

I obviously can't speak to how accommodating ND is to the average Muslim football player, but as to whether ND's Catholic character turns off players of other faiths/ denominations, the exact opposite appears to be true.

Take Manti Te'o, Kona Schwenke, and Chris Badger. All three players are active in the LDS church, and they all three listed ND's "spirituality" as an important factor in choosing to play for the school.

As far as Christian denominations go, the differences between Roman Catholicism and Mormonism are significant, antagonistically so in some areas, but ND is still pulling top Mormon football prospects because it's the only BCS-caliber program that puts spirituality at the center of its institutional mission.

I'd imagine Muslim recruits might find ND attractive for the same reason.

Justin Utupo is also LDS. Ryan Harris is Muslim...

 

[Old Man Mike]

Good to hear all that...which I was confident in anyway. My remarks were not so much concerned about how the school really is, but whether our fans present a welcoming appearance on things like football boards [which we've admitted some athletes and families read].

 

[BeauBenken]

So we're unsure if he can translate to NT? And a legit interest sounds fantastic. I'd really like to hear a bit more from NT guys.

 

[IrishLax]

Just to pile on the sentiment of acceptance... when my dad was at ND in the 70s there was some sort of middle eastern prince named Tobi that lived with him in Sorin and used to wear sandals to the shower. He was also best friends with a Jewish student who was a legacy... meaning his dad attended ND in the 30s/40s as a Jew.

If ND is anything it is accepting and embracing of other cultures and religions. Most people consider it a great strength of the University with figures like Father Hesburgh who has always been a huge proponent of equality and acceptance between races, genders, religions, etc.

 

[IrishLax]

So we're unsure if he can translate to NT? And a legit interest sounds fantastic. I'd really like to hear a bit more from NT guys.

He could play NT, but he also has a lot of attributes that, according to people like Rivals, make him a "perfect" 3-4 DE. Guys like this with premier athleticism, and therefor flexibility, are amazing to have because they are quite rare. Think Marcell Dareus if he reaches all of his potential.

 

[BeauBenken]

He could play NT, but he also has a lot of attributes that, according to people like Rivals, make him a "perfect" 3-4 DE. Guys like this with premier athleticism, and therefor flexibility, are amazing to have because they are quite rare. Think Marcell Dareus if he reaches all of his potential.

 

[jason_h537]

So we're unsure if he can translate to NT? And a legit interest sounds fantastic. I'd really like to hear a bit more from NT guys.

****tu can play some inside or outside. It appears the staff just sees him as a playmaker. Put him on the field and let him go, wherever he fits.

 

[NDinL.A.]

Apologies to the joke-makers, but the posts with the play on words with regards to his name were deleted (I did let them stand for 2 days however so they could be read), as it is his thread and more than likely family members and/or friends are reading this. And 2 USC boards had a thread on him and they both turned into nothing but posts making fun of his name, and Lord knows we are nothing like SC pricks.

Anyway, shoot the messenger (me), but let's try to keep it pertinent to this prodigious talent's game on the field. Thanks fellas...

 

[Old Man Mike]

Reps.

 

[irishbird]

Reps.

aziz ****tu decomitt from stanford

 

[johnnykillz]

aziz ****tu decomitt from stanford

shortnd, is that you?

 

[IrishLax]

aziz ****tu decomitt from stanford

When it rains it pours???

Or is this good news for USC.....

 

[irishbird]

shortnd, is that you?

report by 247sports

 

[johnnykillz]

When it rains it pours???

Or is this good news for USC.....

I took this as more of an imperative random statement from Irishbird.

Was this a statement or an imperative context?

 

[johnnykillz]

report by 247sports

Nice.

I owe you.

I repped you twice!

 

[OCIrish]

When it rains it pours???

Or is this good news for USC.....

Maybe its good news for us....

 

[Whiskeyjack]

To cite a source, this comes via TurningP2011 on twitter:

Aziz ****tu decommits from Stanford

As I noted earlier, this guy has yet to be wrong.

 

[johnnykillz]

Who cares. Stanford needs no more studs. Their defense is stacked.