'18 OH MLB Dallas Gant (Ohio State Verbal)

[Luckylucci]

Now I know how teasers get to that point. But I saw it coming and extricated myself, I think.

I purposely avoided meeting with or talking to several people this week.

There is business that needs to be done that doesn't involve me, or more precisely I don't want a sniff of involvement with.

About the who and what :
A) Everybody knows the number of awesome recruits ND is involved with.
B) Conversely, everyone knows the relatively few numbers ND has allotted to linebacker recruits this year.
C) I don't know about any other candidate, but Dallas Gant has a 3.96 GPA at a school that has been recognized consistently as one of the top couple hundred prep schools in the nation. One that has a curriculum that puts his current performance on par with a lot of sophomores and juniors in college. And this kid is an exceptional leader. Has it built into the DNA. Seriously.
D) I haven't seen all the tape, and I wouldn't argue if you saw someone you liked better, especially if it was that kid from Bishop Gorman. But, what is the likelihood of ND getting anyone off your list? Let alone someone as accessable, with as many off the field skills, let alone one that you can take to the bank has a real college educational plan first?E) And to boot, I can guarantee that I watched Jaylon Smith twice in high school, and have seen Dallas enough, that the differences between the two as juniors isn't that great.
F) As far as range, have you seen Dallas' lateral movement?
G) So I think things are moving forward. And things can only move so far forward. It is kind of like where the sales process is after the third objection is overcome. So I want to stand back and not speculate.

Again, as I stated a couple of times now. I wasn't inferring I wouldn't take Gant, I wasn't inferring the staff wouldn't take Gant, I wasn't saying that I didn't like Gant. I was simply ranking the players based on how I view them as prospects. If I had a big board, Wilson and the Bishop Gorman LB, would be ahead of Gant.

IMO, Smith was a better prospect. Maybe not by much, but its the difference between a top 5 pick, and a second day player.

 

[Bogtrotter07]

That's what I'm saying haha. He seemed generally pleased at the offer, and it was nice to see ND on an elite player early for once, but his profile has essentially been crickets on actual news.

We've had all the "2018 Recruiting Class Primer!!!!!!" articles put out, and his thread hasn't been bumped since before '17 NSD... and he's an elite prospect, where the talk usually explodes even when there's little chance.

But then again, the only LB we've really talked a lot about is Gant, and that's probably because we already have one/two committed. Perhaps IE and the staff are just slowly building a relationship, consider LB recruiting might already be getting tight, and since we have a new staff in place.

Junior Day Preview With Updates On Jones, Gervin, Hawkins, Lenzy, Gant & More | Irish Sports Daily

Gant Staying True to Himself | Irish Sports Daily

http://irishsportsdaily.com/forums/1/topics/3311

http://irishsportsdaily.com/forums/1/topics/3193

 

[EddytoNow]

If Dallas wants to commit to Notre Dame at some point, the Notre Dame coaches should say "Yes" without any hesitation. We can't afford to turn away student-athletes of Gant's quality. His football playing speaks for itself. And if he is maintaining a 3.96 g.p.a. at St. John's Jesuit High School in Toledo, then there can be no doubts about his ability to succeed academically at Notre Dame.

 

[GBdomer]

https://notredame.forums.rivals.com...rvations-about-notre-dames-recruiting.104560/

Driskell likes where ND stands I guess

 

[IrishFanForever23]

Seems to have enjoyed himself. Dad was looking for a room to stay the night as Dallas was out with the other players and commits.
Junior Day Buzz | Irish Sports Daily

 

[rtrn2glory]

This eerily had the feeling of a kid who knows he should go to ND but at the end of the day chooses the more popular school in this case OSU. Kind of like many of the Cali kids from the past three years

 

[zelezo vlk]

This eerily had the feeling of a kid who knows he should go to ND but at the end of the day chooses the more popular school in this case OSU. Kind of like many of the Cali kids from the past three years

Or Hilliard?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

 

[NDdomer2]

https://notredame.forums.rivals.com...rvations-about-notre-dames-recruiting.104560/

Driskell likes where ND stands I guess

Bogs has told us as much

 

[Domina Nostra]

If Dallas wants to commit to Notre Dame at some point, the Notre Dame coaches should say "Yes" without any hesitation. We can't afford to turn away student-athletes of Gant's quality. His football playing speaks for itself. And if he is maintaining a 3.96 g.p.a. at St. John's Jesuit High School in Toledo, then there can be no doubts about his ability to succeed academically at Notre Dame.

Hesitating would be epically dumb.

 

[Bogtrotter07]

Here is all anyone needs to say and think.

SLB 35 Chris Worley ...............................................6-2, 235, Jr.
17 Jerome Baker................................................ 6-1, 225, So.

MLB 5 Raekwon McMillan...................................6-2, 243, Jr.
38 Craig Fada...................................................... 6-1, 225, Sr.

WLB 17 Jerome Baker........................................... 6-1, 225, So.
33 Dante Booker..............................................6-3, 236, Jr.
48 Joe Burger ..................................................... 6-2, 230, Sr

Overview: Justin Hilliard battled through a couple of injuries during his true freshman campaign of 2015 and ultimately red-shirted the season … he took part in some spring drill activity but did not tackle … is exploring majors … Hilliard was a 5-star recruit by both 247Sports and ESPN and one of the top linebacker prospects in his recruiting class … rated as the No. 1 outside linebacker by ESPN and No. 2 by 247Sports, and the No. 1 inside linebacker by Rivals … also held lofty overall rankings of No. 17 on the ESPN 300, No. 30 by 247Sports and No. 45 on the Rivals 250 … PrepSports ranked him No. 32 nationally and a member of its 150 Dream Team … Hilliard was a finalist as a senior for the Dick Butkus Award and he was an Associated Press all-state selection and its Division I defensive player of the year … helped lead coach Steve Specht’s St. Xavier team to a 10-3 record in 2014 and a state semifinals appearance after recording 71 tackles and five quarterback sacks … had 76 tackles, four sacks and seven passes defensed in 2013 … committed to Ohio State on July 3, minutes before Jashon Cornell committed to be a Buckeye some 800 miles away in Minnesota … named a U.S. Army All-American but did not play as he was recovering from a knee injury … is the son of Diane and Carl Hilliard … older brother, C.J., is a running back for Ohio University … he will sit out this season after transferring from Iowa.

Haven't heard from Cornell either!

What I would say? I don't think the quality of character is the same. My grouping for character (only.)

Manti Te'o, Jaylon Smith, Dallas Gant (All high) versus Justin Hilliard and his little buddy Cornell.

And Dallas has three inches on Justin, anyway!

 

[Bogtrotter07]

Here is a public article Wiltfong just posted :

Toledo (Ohio) St. John's Top247 linebacker Dallas Gant returned to Notre Dame, Saturday, for a small junior day gathering where Brian Kelly and the staff could get a lot of time with some of their top targets.

Ranked by 247Sports as the nation's No. 2 outside linebacker, Gant has been at the top of Notre Dame's board since the summer.

"Great!" Gant said of his latest experience. "I had a fun time with all the recruits, current players, and coaches."

Also considering offers from Ohio State, Michigan State and Penn State among others, Gant wanted to see how he vibes with new ND defensive coordinator Mike Elko and linebackers coach Clark Lea.

"Great guys and I think they are going to help out this Notre Dame team tremendously with their scheme and the way they coach."

Gant continues to feel comfortable at Notre Dame.

"The tradition and the culture there is unlike any other," Gant said. "I come from a catholic school so ND in a way is very similar so I think that's pretty cool."

With some the 'great' and 'fun times seems off-putting. But it is just the calm, cool way everything gets communicated. His comment about Lea and Elko, 'helping out' is very significant. He mentions scheme and coaching style.

That followed up with his final quote, is all of it.

 

[Bogtrotter07]

Hey, apparently Elko and Lea told Dallas quite a bit. They apparently have him penciled at Buck. But he stressed they wanted him to be trained inside, and outside.

They mentioned both his frame, and his athleticism. I believe he said they called them (the traits) elite.

He had a long chance to sit down and talk to Kelly. Kelly told him about massive plans for the Gug, upgrade. And told him about the 40 year decision. Dallas wasn't impressed by the Gug upgrade (everywhere he may go has great facilities - so his mom!), but he and his parents really liked the 40 year decision.

 

[IrishFanForever23]

Hey, apparently Elko and Lea told Dallas quite a bit. They apparently have him penciled at Buck. But he stressed they wanted him to be trained inside, and outside.

They mentioned both his frame, and his athleticism. I believe he said they called them (the traits) elite.

He had a long chance to sit down and talk to Kelly. Kelly told him about massive plans for the Gug, upgrade. And told him about the 40 year decision. Dallas wasn't impressed by the Gug upgrade (everywhere he may go has great facilities - so his mom!), but he and his parents really liked the 40 year decision.

Where's this coming from? Kind of surprised he said he doesn't care about facilities.

 

[clashmore_mike]

Where's this coming from? Kind of surprised he said he doesn't care about facilities.

He said he doesn't care in the sense that all programs have great facilities and he's not going to choose a school because they have waterfalls and putt putt courses in their football building.


http://irishsportsdaily.com/s/1945/junior-day-update-dallas-gant

 

[beryirish]

He said he doesn't care in the sense that all programs have great facilities and he's not going to choose a school because they have waterfalls and putt putt courses in their football building.


Junior Day Update: Dallas Gant | Irish Sports Daily

Or a slide for that matter...(Clemson) lazy

 

[Cackalacky]

Hey, apparently Elko and Lea told Dallas quite a bit. They apparently have him penciled at Buck. But he stressed they wanted him to be trained inside, and outside.

They mentioned both his frame, and his athleticism. I believe he said they called them (the traits) elite.

He had a long chance to sit down and talk to Kelly. Kelly told him about massive plans for the Gug, upgrade. And told him about the 40 year decision. Dallas wasn't impressed by the Gug upgrade (everywhere he may go has great facilities - so his mom!), but he and his parents really liked the 40 year decision.

RKG

 

[zelezo vlk]

Yeah but did Elko and Lea say that Gant can be the next Percy Harvin?

 

[NDPhilly]

He said he doesn't care in the sense that all programs have great facilities and he's not going to choose a school because they have waterfalls and putt putt courses in their football building.


Junior Day Update: Dallas Gant | Irish Sports Daily

But how are we supposed to compete with this?

 

[Bogtrotter07]

Where's this coming from? Kind of surprised he said he doesn't care about facilities.

He said he doesn't care in the sense that all programs have great facilities and he's not going to choose a school because they have waterfalls and putt putt courses in their football building.


Junior Day Update: Dallas Gant | Irish Sports Daily

Clash is so right!

I almost feel bad saying this, a bit creepy. But Dallas' family is outstanding, and very accomplished. One of the traits you see is personal responsibility. To the 'n'th degree!

With one of his parents in particular, you see the same kind of statement. It is an expression of independence, and independence of though.

What Dallas said is Coach Kelly told him all about the plans for upgrading the Gug, [you know the not publicly disclosed until now plans I knew about over a month ago], and he said that wouldn't make the difference in recruiting.

It was just like if a car salesman pushed to get a sale by emphasizing a particular models fancy wheels, and someone responded, "Yeah, but all the cars I am looking at have four wheels!"

He is telling everyone that he is making a responsible decision for the future, and that facilities certainly isn't the hot button issue for him.

The only reason I say this is if you take his series of quotes to the end, he talks with great respect about the time he and his family spent with Brian Kelly, and he didn't say that about the 40 year decision! He spoke of it. He spoke of it's importance to him.

That is a tell. His differing reaction to both. A tell to his character, and to what his decision making process is.

 

[Ironman8]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="und" dir="ltr">&#55357;&#56384;&#55357;&#56384; <a href="https://t.co/Mu5UBrwVTV">https://t.co/Mu5UBrwVTV</a></p>— Dallas Gant (@dallas_gant) <a href="https://twitter.com/dallas_gant/status/831340790970458112">February 14, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[ND Fan Vancouver]

I may as well say it here. To finish the class, give me Gant, Tisdale, Simon, PJ Mustipher, Vann, Hawkins, Griffith and an above average tall, big framed WDE and I would be the happiest man in the world.

Give us Austin, Jones, Lenzy, and some HH picks a at OL and either a TE or a RB.

I'd be so ecstatic with this.

There's plenty more that I love - Pledger, Hightower, Hollifield etc etc....Jahan Dotson......so many guys we seem to be in good with.

 

[KizerWilhelm]

I may as well say it here. To finish the class, give me Gant, Tisdale, Simon, PJ Mustipher, Vann, Hawkins, Griffith and an above average tall, big framed WDE and I would be the happiest man in the world.

Give us Austin, Jones, Lenzy, and some HH picks a at OL and either a TE or a RB.

I'd be so ecstatic with this.

There's plenty more that I love - Pledger, Hightower, Hollifield etc etc....Jahan Dotson......so many guys we seem to be in good with.

You left off Amon-Ra! He's higher on my list than Jones, Lenzy, and even Hightower.

 

[Bogtrotter07]

Apparently Mike Frank wrote a follow up on a few recruits from last weekend, and said that ND feels they really helped themselves with Dallas and his family. Like there may be some news in the next month or two.

He tried to quell that with the disclaimer that even if Dallas picks the Irish, Urban won't quit, so this thing will go to signing day, but it was totally outstanding from anything else I had seen written by anyone about Dallas.

 

[BobbyMac]

Apparently Mike Frank wrote a follow up on a few recruits from last weekend, and said that ND feels they really helped themselves with Dallas and his family. Like there may be some news in the next month or two.

He tried to quell that with the disclaimer that even if Dallas picks the Irish, Urban won't quit, so this thing will go to signing day, but it was totally outstanding from anything else I had seen written by anyone about Dallas.

Can't wait for someone to file a restraining order against a coach / program.

If I were him and wanted to go to ND, I'd commit, publicly shut down the process and then transfer to IMG to get away from the BS that comes with rejecting the Buckeyes.

Plus he'd become a better player from a coaching/training/competition standpoint.

Do him a favor Bogs... pass along my plan to the Gantfam.

 

[Bogtrotter07]

Can't wait for someone to file a restraining order against a coach / program.

If I were him and wanted to go to ND, I'd commit, publicly shut down the process and then transfer to IMG to get away from the BS that comes with rejecting the Buckeyes.

Plus he'd become a better player from a coaching/training/competition standpoint.

Do him a favor Bogs... pass along my plan to the Gantfam.

Well I'll do my best. Or, not!

Listen I am a SJJ graduate. I can't talk against it. I know you are mostly kidding about him going to IMG anyway.

The problem in my mind isn't Urbie. Urbie 'pounded' on DeShone, after he committed to the Irish. And that was without even having an OSU offer! Kizer(s) shut him down. And Urbie is no dummy.

My worry is the fans. And St. Johns has put some guys into the Buckeye program, including Jack Mewhort. (A great guy, by the way, as is his family.) This is serious Big Ten territory, so there are a lot of people that get really upset if local kids pick anything other than BigTen or MAC. May be more of a problem than Kizer from Central picking the Irish over the Buckeyes.

As far as high school. I bet Dallas could graduate this year if he really wanted. My point, and I don't know this 100% to be true, is that his parents want his four years to be as 'normal' as possible. Remember, as important as football is to us, some people really do place education as a higher priority than sports.

I just hope things go smoothly for Dallas, his mom, and his dad, no matter what path they follow.

 

[NDinBoston]

Can't wait for someone to file a restraining order against a coach / program.

If I were him and wanted to go to ND, I'd commit, publicly shut down the process and then transfer to IMG to get away from the BS that comes with rejecting the Buckeyes.

Plus he'd become a better player from a coaching/training/competition standpoint.

Do him a favor Bogs... pass along my plan to the Gantfam.

The Gants also need to cut down all the trees, fill in the pool, and seal the windows shut.

 

[BobbyMac]

Well I'll do my best. Or, not!

Listen I am a SJJ graduate. I can't talk against it. I know you are mostly kidding about him going to IMG anyway.

The problem in my mind isn't Urbie. Urbie 'pounded' on DeShone, after he committed to the Irish. And that was without even having an OSU offer! Kizer(s) shut him down. And Urbie is no dummy.

My worry is the fans. And St. Johns has put some guys into the Buckeye program, including Jack Mewhort. (A great guy, by the way, as is his family.) This is serious Big Ten territory, so there are a lot of people that get really upset if local kids pick anything other than BigTen or MAC. May be more of a problem than Kizer from Central picking the Irish over the Buckeyes.

As far as high school. I bet Dallas could graduate this year if he really wanted. My point, and I don't know this 100% to be true, is that his parents want his four years to be as 'normal' as possible. Remember, as important as football is to us, some people really do place education as a higher priority than sports.

I just hope things go smoothly for Dallas, his mom, and his dad, no matter what path they follow.

I'm not kidding in the least bit. I've not researched IMG's academic rankings but they were founded on smartypants sports, tennis then golf. I'm sure they've invested heavily in academics to keep those people happy.

The fact is, if Dallas Gant is an NFL level talent, a year of IMG would be beneficial to him. One year of IMG wouldn't erase 3 years of Jesuit indoctrination.

 

[BobbyMac]

The Gants also need to cut down all the trees, fill in the pool, and seal the windows shut.

Buckeye pressure = zombie apocalypse?

 

[Bogtrotter07]

The Gants also need to cut down all the trees, fill in the pool, and seal the windows shut.

No, they keep the pool but empty it. That is where the burning pit goes.

 

[Bogtrotter07]

I'm not kidding in the least bit. I've not researched IMG's academic rankings but they were founded on smartypants sports, tennis then golf. I'm sure they've invested heavily in academics to keep those people happy.

The fact is, if Dallas Gant is an NFL level talent, a year of IMG would be beneficial to him. One year of IMG wouldn't erase 3 years of Jesuit indoctrination.

Yeah, yeah, yeah!

Did I ever tell you I met the Berrigans?