'12 MD ATH Ronald Darby (Florida State Signee)

[koonja]

ND still offers a lot of advantages over both FSU and LSU. If Kelly's in-home goes well, I could easily see him flipping back.

You wouldn't be referring to ROI now, wouldja? LSU and FSU offer great track, football, weather, and women, though. Think like a 17-year old for a minute.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

You wouldn't be referring to ROI now, wouldja? LSU and FSU offer great track, football, weather, and women, though. Think like a 17-year old for a minute.

We offer better academics (far better in FSU's case), closer proximity to home, the reported support of his parents and coach, and the redemption of honoring his long-standing commitment to us.

Not saying we're a slam dunk to flip him by any means, but ND's got more than enough working in its favor for Kelly to flip him back.

 

[koonja]

We offer better academics (far better in FSU's case), closer proximity to home, the reported support of his parents and coach, and the redemption of honoring his long-standing commitment to us.

1) I really, really hope that does matter for him. But I imagine it's easy enough for an athlete that could potentially have two professional athletic careers to say graduating from any college is good enough for me.

2) How much does that really matter when you'll be hopping on a plane to go home, no matter which of the 3 schools you choose?

3) That's worked in the past! I wasn't aware his parents were pushing for ND but I hope so.

 

[Domina Nostra]

You wouldn't be referring to ROI now, wouldja? LSU and FSU offer great track, football, weather, and women, though. Think like a 17-year old for a minute.

I am not sure I know of too many non-football players who would turn down a $150k full ride to a top 25 school to go to State U.

You are probably pretty confident that you are going to do fine with girls whereever you go as a D1 football player. No doubt you can plow through more random girls at a big state school, but that is not every kids goal. In fact, my experience is that grown men are a little more cynical in that regard than teenagers.

The sun is great, but a lot of people prefer people. Fitting in with your teammates is the biggest thing.

 

[Bogtrotter07]

Someone in the Bang Bang ND Gang group posted "Darby tweeted "wish I could chop myself in three and go to ND LSU and FSU."

I dont think darby has a twitter and this wasnt his fbook status so idk where it came from, but if true definitely a strong sign that were still in it.

Since we're psychologizin, if the quote is true, and I ain't saying its all scientifical, but how I would have read it, is that he didn't say clone himself in three. No, chop was the word. And that denotes (self) punishment. Like as in regret. Like as in Momma and Poppa liked the way things were headin' and the only real support I had is gone. I would close him hard, carefully, but hard.

If I was still interested.

I am no great shakes, but I have made a buck or two off human nature.

Oh yeah, and my closing would start with the fact that ND offers a four-year scholarship, (LSU a one), FSU I cannot speak to, but at any school that overbooks and offers one-year scholarships, it has to lower the stress over need to succeed, and allow for greater player development. I'm just sayin' . . .

 

[Irish YJ]

The in-home should have the following....

Kelly
Diaco
Piane (track head coach)
Turner (track sprint coach)
Up the game with - Fitz Coleman or Glen Mills

Bonus - a couple ND T&F hotties... yes there are some!

 

[Whiskeyjack]

The in-home should have the following....

Kelly
Diaco
Piane (track head coach)
Turner (track sprint coach)
Up the game with - Fitz Coleman or Glen Mills

Bonus - a couple ND T&F hotties... yes there are some!

If we're dreamin' big, let's add (1) Skylar Diggins; (2) Rocket Ismail; and (3) Touchdown Jesus.

 

[irishog77]

The in-home should have the following....

Kelly
Diaco
Piane (track head coach)
Turner (track sprint coach)
Up the game with - Fitz Coleman or Glen Mills

Bonus - a couple ND T&F hotties... yes there are some!

Bring along Skylar Diggans for the trip too!

 

[IrishLax]

You wouldn't be referring to ROI now, wouldja? LSU and FSU offer great track, football, weather, and women, though. Think like a 17-year old for a minute.

I don't know any 17 year olds, besides some football players, that choose a college for weather and women over better academic choices.

Why ND over LSU or FSU? Well, for one, LSU hasn't even offered. Secondly, FSU coaches suck, lie and underachieve with perennial top 5 classes. Have him talk to Prestwood and Lynch. BK also has an excuse for an 8-5 season this year... and it's a hard schedule + Tommy Rees. What is FSU's excuse for being a top 5 pre-season team and then finishing a whopping 4 points better than ND at the end of the year with 4 losses in the JOKE of a conference that is the ACC? FSU lost to very "meh" Oklahoma, Wake Forest, Virginia, and a team that gave up 70 points to WVU. ND had a comparable record with a win over #10 MSU and losses to the #5, #6, #11 and #20 teams. You tell me who has better football.....

FSU has great sprinting recently because of Walter Dix, sure. But everyone acting like ND has "bad" track needs to do some research. We routinely win the Big East and we have plenty of Olympic level athletes that have come through ND. Yes, FSU is better than ND at track (if you can quantify "better".... track is what you make of it as an individual sport) and it's almost on the level of Oregon and Baylor historically... but seriously, there are as more or many reasons to choose ND as there are to choose FSU.

 

[IrishLax]

PS. Loftus was the best and is still one of the best indoor tracks in the whole country.

 

[irishog77]

Damn Whiskey-- ya beat me!

 

[IrishLax]

1) I really, really hope that does matter for him. But I imagine it's easy enough for an athlete that could potentially have two professional athletic careers to say graduating from any college is good enough for me.

2) How much does that really matter when you'll be hopping on a plane to go home, no matter which of the 3 schools you choose?

3) That's worked in the past! I wasn't aware his parents were pushing for ND but I hope so.

It does NOT take a plane to get home to MD. Not even close. It's an easy 8 hour drive. I've made that trip tons of times. Florida is about twice as far... and that's a huge deal.

 

[Irish YJ]

If we're dreamin' big, let's add (1) Skylar Diggins; (2) Rocket Ismail; and (3) Touchdown Jesus.

I'm thinking to re-land him, we're going to have to step up the game on the track and field side. Hell, I'll pay for a round trip ticket from Jamaica if they can lock up Coleman or Mills

 

[IrishInFl]

It does NOT take a plane to get home to MD. Not even close. It's an easy 8 hour drive. I've made that trip tons of times. Florida is about twice as far... and that's a huge deal.

Yep, it took me 7 1/2 hours to get from Tallahassee to Charlotte, NC. Imagine going to Maryland.

 

[Rocky2820]

I am not sure I know of too many non-football players who would turn down a $150k full ride to a top 25 school to go to State U.

You are probably pretty confident that you are going to do fine with girls whereever you go as a D1 football player. No doubt you can plow through more random girls at a big state school, but that is not every kids goal. In fact, my experience is that grown men are a little more cynical in that regard than teenagers.

The sun is great, but a lot of people prefer people. Fitting in with your teammates is the biggest thing.

In Darby's case I think this statement is definitely relevant. He said repeatedly that choosing ND was a 40-year decision, so the value of the ND degree was certainly part of his thought process. Given the support ND has had from his parents and his HS coach, I am cautiously optimistic that our in-home can sway him back to the Irish.

 

[NDinFL]

Yep, it took me 7 1/2 hours to get from Tallahassee to Charlotte, NC. Imagine going to Maryland.

According to the iPad maps...

15 hours 10 minutes from Tally to Baltimore (910 miles)

 

[koonja]

I don't know any 17 year olds, besides some football players[/B], that choose a college for weather and women over better academic choices.

Why ND over LSU or FSU? Well, for one, LSU hasn't even offered. Secondly, FSU coaches suck, lie and underachieve with perennial top 5 classes. Have him talk to Prestwood and Lynch. BK also has an excuse for an 8-5 season this year... and it's a hard schedule + Tommy Rees. What is FSU's excuse for being a top 5 pre-season team and then finishing a whopping 4 points better than ND at the end of the year with 4 losses in the JOKE of a conference that is the ACC? FSU lost to very "meh" Oklahoma, Wake Forest, Virginia, and a team that gave up 70 points to WVU. ND had a comparable record with a win over #10 MSU and losses to the #5, #6, #11 and #20 teams. You tell me who has better football.....

FSU has great sprinting recently because of Walter Dix, sure. But everyone acting like ND has "bad" track needs to do some research. We routinely win the Big East and we have plenty of Olympic level athletes that have come through ND. Yes, FSU is better than ND at track (if you can quantify "better".... track is what you make of it as an individual sport) and it's almost on the level of Oregon and Baylor historically... but seriously, there are as more or many reasons to choose ND as there are to choose FSU.

1) We are talking about a football player, no?

2) With him tearing last week (or whenever the all-star game was), I'd be surprised if LSU doesn't offer. Kind of funny that Darby has LSU in his top 3 and doesn't have an offer, no?
MAYBE he knows something you don't know, and the LSU coaches and him have talked. Pretty funny to have a team in the top 3 if you're an elite player if they aren't going to offer you. He could already have an offer but he hasn't tweeted or told anyone it yet. It will come out eventually, if he does.

3) And 9-4 FSU doesn't? If ND (like FSU) started 4 true-freshman O-lineman, we'd be pointing directly to that as to why we underachieved. There'd be excuses all over the place.

 

[NDPhilly]

According to the iPad maps...

15 hours 10 minutes from Tally to Baltimore (910 miles)

I think he lives outside Washington DC in like Oxon grove or something like that.

 

[ND NYC]

if kelly gets the visit arranged with darby, this is where he needs to MAKE HIS MONEY.
for his team.
for his university.
he is the HFC at Notre Dame. this one is on him. not the departed Molnar. not Cooks. not alford. kelly needs to get this done.

the return to glory starts and ends on the recruiting trail.

all the great HC in college football throughout the years had one thing in common-they could close the deal on the guys they really wanted and needed. they fond a way.

some by hook and some by crook, but they got them to their school.

this darby is no dime a dozen type of recruit. guys like this dont come around that often and when they do we are usually not even in the mix. review his tapes-rewatch the UA game. he was jogging and keeping up with the elite players in the land. he is a program changer.

does kellly have it in him to get this guy to Notre Dame?

we shall see

 

[Domina Nostra]

FSU has great sprinting recently because of Walter Dix, sure. But everyone acting like ND has "bad" track needs to do some research. We routinely win the Big East and we have plenty of Olympic level athletes that have come through ND. Yes, FSU is better than ND at track (if you can quantify "better".... track is what you make of it as an individual sport) and it's almost on the level of Oregon and Baylor historically... but seriously, there are as more or many reasons to choose ND as there are to choose FSU.

I agree with everything except the part questioning FSU track superiority, they are better in the way that people judge every sport: they win a whole lot more. They are awesome at track and have been for a while.

The main thing to me is that unless you are going to train year round, the marginal advantages to having such an awesome track team are gone. You can't train to be a world class sprinter and a pro football player at the same time. They require differnt bodies. What you can do is train to be one or the other, and play around in the other. If you go to FSU, you will get to dabble with one of the best track teams in the country. If you go to ND, you get to dabble on a great team, dominate a conference, and still get a world class degree.

The one thing that a lot of these kids fail to realize is that if ND gets back to Championship level, the whole college football world will go crazy, either for or against us. No one knows who Walter Dix is, but people know who Rocket Ismail is. LSU v. Alabama got the lowest ratings of any BCS Champtionship ever because it was a regional affair that just wasn't that interesting to the rest of the country, despite the number of future pros on the feild. Notre Dame vs. Alabama or USC or Miami is a bonanza. We are a national school with a story. We sell out minor bowls in days.

 

[NDinFL]

I think he lives outside Washington DC in like Oxon grove or something like that.

14 hours 19 minutes

871 miles

 

[rtrn2glory]

any merit to sending in diaco for an in home before he leaves for the official (like he did with ishaq) first and then last weekend send in kelly? that might be illegal too idk how the in homes work.

p.s. if he wants to go to lsu they'll take him.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

some by hook and some by crook, but they got them to their school.

Lots of the "hooks and crooks" other HCs use to "close" big recruits are illegal and/or unethical.

does kellly have it in him to get this guy to Notre Dame? we shall see

It's no accident that Carlisle, Lynch, Tuitt, and Prestwood all slipped away before coming back to ND; our staff can be extremely persuasive, and ND sells itself in a lot of ways. But let's remember that this is ultimately Ron's decision, and 17-year-old kids aren't known for their wisdom.

I'm not about to set Darby's recommitment as the "make or break" test for Kelly as a coach.

 

[Rocky2820]

Darby is now #16 overall on 247's board. This is up from #64 previously.

If this has already been posted, sorry for reposting. If it hasn't already been posted, sorry for depressing you on the heels of his decommitment.

 

[IrishLax]

I agree with everything except the part questioning FSU track superiority, they are better in the way that people judge every sport: they win a whole lot more. They are awesome at track and have been for a while.

The main thing to me is that unless you are going to train year round, the marginal advantages to having such an awesome track team are gone. You can't train to be a world class sprinter and a pro football player at the same time. They require differnt bodies. What you can do is train to be one or the other, and play around in the other. If you go to FSU, you will get to dabble with one of the best track teams in the country. If you go to ND, you get to dabble on a great team, dominate a conference, and still get a world class degree.

The one thing that a lot of these kids fail to realize is that if ND gets back to Championship level, the whole college football world will go crazy, either for or against us. No one knows who Walter Dix is, but people know who Rocket Ismail is. LSU v. Alabama got the lowest ratings of any BCS Champtionship ever because it was a regional affair that just wasn't that interesting to the rest of the country, despite the number of future pros on the feild. Notre Dame vs. Alabama or USC or Miami is a bonanza. We are a national school with a story. We sell out minor bowls in days.

Hold on, I put them almost on the Oregon/Baylor tier and said "yes, they are better than ND"... not questioning their superiority. Not in the least.

 

[IrishLax]

1) We are talking about a football player, no?

Touche.

2) With him tearing last week (or whenever the all-star game was), I'd be surprised if LSU doesn't offer. Kind of funny that Darby has LSU in his top 3 and doesn't have an offer, no?
MAYBE he knows something you don't know, and the LSU coaches and him have talked. Pretty funny to have a team in the top 3 if you're an elite player if they aren't going to offer you. He could already have an offer but he hasn't tweeted or told anyone it yet. It will come out eventually, if he does.

Doesn't have one right now, almost sure to get one though I agree... just pointing out that we've been recruiting him far longer and that usually has an effect.

3) And 9-4 FSU doesn't? If ND (like FSU) started 4 true-freshman O-lineman, we'd be pointing directly to that as to why we underachieved. There'd be excuses all over the place.

No, FSU does not have an excuse. They CHOSE to start those frosh over upperclassmen because they were better... and they've had Jimbo Fisher at the helm for years who's responsible recruiting and building the team... whereas Brian Kelly inherited his awful QB situation. He took a QB in his first recruiting class (Everett Golson) and will just now get a chance to play him. Judging Kelly on borrowed player compared to Fisher who had squandered tons and tons and tons of talent against an easier schedule year after year is really a stretch.

 

[Me2SouthBend]

Or Prestwood.

Or Diaco.

 

[koonja]

Touche.



Doesn't have one right now, almost sure to get one though I agree... just pointing out that we've been recruiting him far longer and that usually has an effect.



No, FSU does not have an excuse. They CHOSE to start those frosh over upperclassmen because they were better... and they've had Jimbo Fisher at the helm for years who's responsible recruiting and building the team... whereas Brian Kelly inherited his awful QB situation. He took a QB in his first recruiting class (Everett Golson) and will just now get a chance to play him. Judging Kelly on borrowed player compared to Fisher who had squandered tons and tons and tons of talent against an easier schedule year after year is really a stretch.

I'm sure when BK took over at ND he expected Crist to be the starter for 3 years, which gave him plenty of time to find his future QB (Golson). But Crist didn't work out (let's not even go there, lol). So how's that different than Fisher starting freshman over upperclassmen on the line? I'm sure when Fisher recruited the current upperclassman O-line, he expected some of them to be future starters.

Anyways, let's just land Armstead and Darby in the next week, eh? If that happens, I'll be so drunk I won't be able to see my feet.

 

[NDinFL]

I'm sure when BK took over at ND he expected Crist to be the starter for 3 years, which gave him plenty of time to find his future QB (Golson). But Crist didn't work out (let's not even go there, lol). So how's that different than Fisher starting freshman over upperclassmen on the line?

Anyways, let's just land Armstead and Darby in the next week, eh? If that happens, I'll be so drunk I won't be able to see my feet.

I believe Crist was a junior when BK got here

Either way, I'll throw down some shots with ya if we land both Armsteads

 

[irishfanjho15]

I believe Crist was a junior when BK got here

Either way, I'll throw down some shots with ya if we land both Armsteads

But if Crist would of worked out he very possibly could have been a fifth year this up coming season, meaning three years at the helm. I believe this is what he was referring to.