Tee Shepard Recruiting Story

[ThePiombino]

Already posted: No Access

I had a bad title on my thread. No worries. Mod, please merge.

My apologies. I did a quick scan and thought it hadn't been posted yet.

 

[TDHeysus]

Unbelievable. And to think that when Deontay flipped I blamed Denbrock, assuming that he, like Cooks, had failed to check in often enough.

I have always put everything on Deontay, NSD was all his baby.

 

[Irish Houstonian]

Donny was a good recruit for Houston, but he was no where near Greenberry. Donny was a three star WR, ranked #91 receiver in the country by scout. Greenberry was the 7th best receiver and a five star.

Apples and Oranges

The original question was to name a UH receiver who recently made it to the NFL. Had nothing to do with recruiting rankings.

If anything, your point just makes attending UH seem like an even better decision -- if a lowly "#91" can crack the top of the 2nd round, imagine what DG will do.

 

[woolybug25]

The original question was to name a UH receiver who recently made it to the NFL. Had nothing to do with recruiting rankings.

If anything, your point just makes attending UH seem like an even better decision -- if a lowly "#91" can crack the top of the 2nd round, imagine what DG will do.

Donnie Avery went to Houston because it was his best offer. He wasn't a 5-star stud with offers to anywhere in the country, he chose his best overall option. The original question wasn't "who from Houston went to the nfl", it was:

Originally Posted by irishpat183
Name ONE other UofH WR that has done what you have just summerized in your post....

and this is what was summarized that he wanted him to name:

Originally Posted by IrishLax
PS. Greenberry saved our asses. No idea what exactly happened on that visit to Houston, the more I look at this decision, the more I get it. 3 years at Houston starting and destroying Conference USA in an air raid offense => NFL. It's a football first decision.

Donnie Avery didn't choose Houston because he knew it was a place where the offense would allow him to take advantage of less talented players in a pass happy offense. He didn't pick it because he thought it was the easiest route to the NFL. Shoot, he didn't even choose it because of an "air raid offense" (it wasn't that type of offense in 2003). He chose it because it was his best option to play college football. Deontay chose it for a completely different reason.

 

[Irish Houstonian]

Wolly, either going to U of H helps DG get to the NFL or it doesn't. Just pick a side a join the discussion.

 

[greyhammer90]

No national exposure vs. national television each week. QB questions versus 1 rated QB coming out of high school. Immediate playing time vs. Immediate playing time. Houston doesn't help him get anywhere. Next question?

 

[OlympiaIrishFan]

Tate, Floyd, shark if he wanted, Rema, Arnaz, Maurice Stovall, Grimes (practice squad). All wr thst got to or will get to the NFL.

Houston. Only Avery?

Just another way to look at it.

 

[irishpat183]

Donnie Avery. #33 pick in the draft a few years ago.

Touche'....but he's nothing to brag about. Can't get PT in TEN, which is pretty pathetic.

 

[irishpat183]

Tate, Floyd, shark if he wanted, Rema, Arnaz, Maurice Stovall, Grimes (practice squad). All wr thst got to or will get to the NFL.

Houston. Only Avery?

Just another way to look at it.

Exactly. It's as if we don't send guys to the NFL at the WR position.......

Hmmmmm...Play for UofH immediately in ConUSA and get 100 catches a year in front of high school like crowds every weekend with no shot at a nat title? Or play for ND(and there is a chance to start), get a better education, play on a national stage every week, possibly play for a nat title in a few seasons and get better exposure?

No brainer. UofH all the way. Again, something is screwy here. There is no good reason why he'd go to UofH.

The grumblings i've been hearing ALREADY, is that there were some "promises" made. Some shady ones. Some having to do with class work.

 

[irishpat183]

Donnie Avery went to Houston because it was his best offer. He wasn't a 5-star stud with offers to anywhere in the country, he chose his best overall option. The original question wasn't "who from Houston went to the nfl", it was:



and this is what was summarized that he wanted him to name:



Donnie Avery didn't choose Houston because he knew it was a place where the offense would allow him to take advantage of less talented players in a pass happy offense. He didn't pick it because he thought it was the easiest route to the NFL. Shoot, he didn't even choose it because of an "air raid offense" (it wasn't that type of offense in 2003). He chose it because it was his best option to play college football. Deontay chose it for a completely different reason.

Thank you.

 

[Irish Houstonian]

I think I tend to agree with you guys -- the only reason to go to a "lesser" school over ND, from an NFL perspective, is if you might get buried on the ND depth chart. From his projections though that seemed unlikely.

 

[beryirish]

Exactly. It's as if we don't send guys to the NFL at the WR position.......

Hmmmmm...Play for UofH immediately in ConUSA and get 100 catches a year in front of high school like crowds every weekend with no shot at a nat title? Or play for ND(and there is a chance to start), get a better education, play on a national stage every week, possibly play for a nat title in a few seasons and get better exposure?

No brainer. UofH all the way. Again, something is screwy here. There is no good reason why he'd go to UofH.

The grumblings i've been hearing ALREADY, is that there were some "promises" made. Some shady ones. Some having to do with class work.

Wasn't one of his or his main reason for leaving for Houston the tight relationship he had with the WR coach??? Lots of players pick their schools based on their position coach.

 

[Grahambo]

I am honestly just waiting for that WR coach he has a connection with to leave for a better gig. Would make it even funnier if he found a job before the season even began.

 

[connor_in]

I am honestly just waiting for that WR coach he has a connection with to leave for a better gig. Would make it even funnier if he found a job before the season even began.

As I recall, the guy JUST got there along with the new head coach in the last few weeks or so

 

[Grahambo]

As I recall, the guy JUST got there along with the new head coach in the last few weeks or so

It's the profession, these guys always looking for a bump up.

 

[stlnd01]

The grumblings i've been hearing ALREADY, is that there were some "promises" made. Some shady ones.

Why do we have to continue to make nefarious suggestions about this? I agree that it's rather mind-blowing that Greenberry chose Houston over Notre Dame, but maybe, just maybe, it went down as he's said it did?
This is a kid who committed to Notre Dame before he ever visited, largely because his cousin wanted to go there. From at least some people's descriptions, he may not have been the personality type who'd naturally gravitate to a program and university like Notre Dame. Then, his senior year, his recruiting stock blew up and he started getting other offers.
He stayed committed, because of Tee, because he didn't like USC, because he felt like he should. He said all the right things. But he kept taking visits. Arizona State. USC. Maybe UCLA. As discussed, that's not what you do if you're really solid. Late in the process, his feet start getting colder. Maybe this "our way or the highway" coach at this Catholic U in northern Indiana isn't for him. This coach he likes at Houston is on him to visit. It's low-stakes, not like USC or a last-minute flip to some big-name program. He visits. And, lo, decides he's more comfortable in the smaller pond of Houston, where he can be a stud but not in the spotlight. Do it on his own, instead of following his cousin. Play a few years, and go for the league. Why not?
I don't know. I've no inside knowledge at all, just what I've read. But I can see this scenario in the mind of an 18-year-old. I'd like to think the best of him. It happens. And, really, doesn't suggesting that "promises" are the only reason Greenberry might flip make us seem a little cheap? Notre Dame's not for everybody, and maybe Greenberry realized that. So let's go win with the guys we've got, no?

 

[Emcee77]

Why do we have to continue to make nefarious suggestions about this? I agree that it's rather mind-blowing that Greenberry chose Houston over Notre Dame, but maybe, just maybe, it went down as he's said it did?
This is a kid who committed to Notre Dame before he ever visited, largely because his cousin wanted to go there. From at least some people's descriptions, he may not have been the personality type who'd naturally gravitate to a program and university like Notre Dame. Then, his senior year, his recruiting stock blew up and he started getting other offers.
He stayed committed, because of Tee, because he didn't like USC, because he felt like he should. He said all the right things. But he kept taking visits. Arizona State. USC. Maybe UCLA. As discussed, that's not what you do if you're really solid. Late in the process, his feet start getting colder. Maybe this "our way or the highway" coach at this Catholic U in northern Indiana isn't for him. This coach he likes at Houston is on him to visit. It's low-stakes, not like USC or a last-minute flip to some big-name program. He visits. And, lo, decides he's more comfortable in the smaller pond of Houston, where he can be a stud but not in the spotlight. Do it on his own, instead of following his cousin. Play a few years, and go for the league. Why not?
I don't know. I've no inside knowledge at all, just what I've read. But I can see this scenario in the mind of an 18-year-old. I'd like to think the best of him. It happens. And, really, doesn't suggesting that "promises" are the only reason Greenberry might flip make us seem a little cheap? Notre Dame's not for everybody, and maybe Greenberry realized that. So let's go win with the guys we've got, no?

Yep, I think there is probably a lot of truth in this, and the bolded is the key. He just didn't want to go to Notre Dame, and for whatever reason he didn't realize that for sure until he visited Houston. It's a very unusual situation -- the weirdest thing about is how into ND he seemed to be -- but not implausible. Ultimately ND is just not for everybody.

 

[NDMontana]

Why do we have to continue to make nefarious suggestions about this? I agree that it's rather mind-blowing that Greenberry chose Houston over Notre Dame, but maybe, just maybe, it went down as he's said it did?
This is a kid who committed to Notre Dame before he ever visited, largely because his cousin wanted to go there. From at least some people's descriptions, he may not have been the personality type who'd naturally gravitate to a program and university like Notre Dame. Then, his senior year, his recruiting stock blew up and he started getting other offers.
He stayed committed, because of Tee, because he didn't like USC, because he felt like he should. He said all the right things. But he kept taking visits. Arizona State. USC. Maybe UCLA. As discussed, that's not what you do if you're really solid. Late in the process, his feet start getting colder. Maybe this "our way or the highway" coach at this Catholic U in northern Indiana isn't for him. This coach he likes at Houston is on him to visit. It's low-stakes, not like USC or a last-minute flip to some big-name program. He visits. And, lo, decides he's more comfortable in the smaller pond of Houston, where he can be a stud but not in the spotlight. Do it on his own, instead of following his cousin. Play a few years, and go for the league. Why not?
I don't know. I've no inside knowledge at all, just what I've read. But I can see this scenario in the mind of an 18-year-old. I'd like to think the best of him. It happens. And, really, doesn't suggesting that "promises" are the only reason Greenberry might flip make us seem a little cheap? Notre Dame's not for everybody, and maybe Greenberry realized that. So let's go win with the guys we've got, no?

I agree with what you said and point out that this is the way the country has devolved in the last twenty years. Self first, self only. Many people--not just kids but adults, too--don't care to be a part of something, they want to be the thing independent of other parts. I know a lot of young people and I think one of the best ways this can be illustrated is by asking who their favorite team is in any given sport. You will most often find the answer to be that they don't like any teams, just certain players.

I watched the Namath documentary on HBO the other night and wondered to myself if Namath was perhaps the genesis of the phenoma of self above all else.

 

[Grahambo]

I agree with what you said and point out that this is the way the country has devolved in the last twenty years. Self first, self only. Many people--not just kids but adults, too--don't care to be a part of something, they want to be the thing independent of other parts. I know a lot of young people and I think one of the best ways this can be illustrated is by asking who their favorite team is in any given sport. You will most often find the answer to be that they don't like any teams, just certain players.

I watched the Namath documentary on HBO the other night and wondered to myself if Namath was perhaps the genesis of the phenoma of self above all else.

If they do like teams it's the Yankees, the Lakers, the Heat, Cowboys, etc.

 

[NDLS_USMC]

A little personal story which I get the urge to share every year around NSD.

Background: Long time reader, first post. Haven't posted b/c you guys do such a great job w/ the info and (mostly) evenhanded dialog. ND Law grad, USMC veteran. Love love love Notre Dame.

When I was 17, I had enrolled at Univ of Illinois on a full scholarship, had a dorm room w/ deposit on it and was to room w/ my best buddy from high school. The week before classes started, I switched to Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT)...with zero logical reason.

Back then IIT was surrounded by the worst ghetto in Chicago. Male-female ratio of undergrads was 19:1. So no chicks. IIT was rated about 75 spots below UofI for my major. Further, about 25 kids from my high school (whom I liked a ton) were going to UofI. Zero to IIT.

But UofI just didn't feel right. My folks were disappointed. My buddies were disappointed. UofI Engineering folks called me three times to remind me of how college rankings worked. Didn't matter. Irrational as it was, I just didn't want to go.

Awesome decision in retrospect. Could list the reasons, but it improved me and my life so much more than I could have imagined.

I think of this experience each year when kids flip to or from us. And always want to share it w/ the board and especially with the guys who freak out on here.

They are kids. Emotional and hormonal, not logical. With very rare exceptoin, these guys aren't thugs or idiots, or ND wouldn't be recruiting them. Blessings on them, and have a nice life. Bye.

Blah blah. Too long a post, and I appreciate that most of the hardcore guys on here already have this perspective. But always wanted to share it, so I did.

Basically, to quote an awesome Catholic mystic: "All shall be well and all shall be well and all manner of things shall be well."

Hope you all have a good Wednesday!