'19 TX LB/DE Nana Osafo-Mensah (Notre Dame Signee)

[Sherm Sticky]

The 19' season, it's going to be fairly crowded at WDE, if all players are still at the position. However, we lose the top 2 after the 19' season so that will quickly open up minutes. Goal should be for Nana to be up to starter quality play by his sophomore season.

^This.

 

[ab2cmiller]

Freebie from 247
https://texas.rivals.com/news/nana-osafo-mensah-breaks-down-his-texas-visit-where-things-stand

Shocker, he's still 50/50

Prior to last weekend’s Texas official visit, top defensive end/linebacker Nana Osafo-Mensah said he was truly torn between his two finalists – the Texas Longhorns and Notre Dame. Coming out of his Texas visit, Osafo-Mensah said he still has some thinking to do before he makes a final decision.

“It’s still 50/50 for me, honestly,” Osafo-Mensah said.

The Fort Worth Nolan Catholic product will announce his decision on May 19, and said he’ll lean on the input from those close to him to help him finalize the decision.

“I’m just going to be talking to my family a lot over the next couple weeks, where do I see myself enjoying the next three to four years? I’ll look at the education, the business school, the culture of each school,” Osafo-Mensah said. “I’m going to talk to my coaches at my high school too, just talk about it with people close to me, pray about it and try to come up with the best decision.”

Osafo-Mensah visited Notre Dame in early April and gave that trip high marks. He said his trip to Texas was also impressive and allowed him to get a closer look at what life is like for a student-athlete in Austin.

“I loved it a lot. It was a lot of fun, being able to hang out with the players. Everybody there was pretty cool. I got to see what it was like as a student-athlete at UT,” Osafo-Mensah said. “That’s what I was looking forward to. I wanted to see how it was …, how they’re socially together, how they do things outside of football."

The 6-4, 215-pound Osafo-Mensah said the Texas and Notre Dame visits compared favorably to one another.

“Honestly, the visit at Texas was awesome. I loved all of it. There was so much fun we had, there wasn’t a moment where we were ever bored. I enjoyed everyone’s company,” Osafo-Mensah said. “Being able to see that, enjoy time, it was kind of like when I was at Notre Dame. I got to hang out with the recruits, down here at UT, hang out with Tyler Johnson, DeMarvin Leal, see that environment of people I could play with. That was a lot of fun.”

A big factor for Osafo-Mensah will be the input he receives from his family. He has noted in previous updates that his parents are very fond of what they’ve seen from Notre Dame, but said following his Texas visit they were also impressed with what UT has to offer, including academically.

“They liked (Texas) a lot too. They were also impressed with McCombs Business School. They were really excited about that,” Osafo-Mensah said. “They got to talk to some of the professors, witness it first-hand. We got to walk through it, see the professors, talk to them so that was very impressive.”

A four-star prospect, Osafo-Mensah is a Rivals250 member. He’ll announce his final decision at Nolan Catholic’s spring game later this month.

 

[arrowryan]

Pete Sampson on the II podcast said that he is hearing that NOM is as solid as you can be without actually saying "I'm going to Notre Dame".

 

[dad4aa]

So how far does his Composite #71 drop once he commits to ND?

 

[Luckylucci]

So how far does his Composite #71 drop once he commits to ND?

Well, he's #118 now, so it's already started, lol.

 

[ab2cmiller]

Several more CB's for ND today, including the last Texas analyst holdout. Daniel Seahorn flipped it to ND tonight.

 

[snoopdog]

Several more CB's for ND today, including the last Texas analyst holdout. Daniel Seahorn flipped it to ND tonight.

Well I guess that officially makes NaNa a two star.

 

[NDMIA]

Well I guess that officially makes NaNa a two star.

LOL. I will say Kyle Hamilton & Andrew Kristofic have a tiny chance of becoming 4*’s now even though it’s a no brainer that both of them should be. It’s the opposite affect of Ohio State who beat out Colorado State for QB Matt Baldwin and within minutes he’s a 4*.

 

[Luckylucci]

LOL. I will say Kyle Hamilton & Andrew Kristofic have a tiny chance of becoming 4*’s now even though it’s a no brainer that both of them should be. It’s the opposite affect of Ohio State who beat out Colorado State for QB Matt Baldwin and within minutes he’s a 4*.

I don’t normally care about rankings if it’s close. I mean.... who cares if it’s #247 or 300. But it is a let peeve of mine if it feels lazy. Which Hamilton’s ranking feels as such.

 

[Crazy Balki]

Is it just me or are the Big Four of recruiting REALLY declining in quality...or I suppose Big Three now since Scout apparently doesn't do recruiting profiles anymore.

It seems like there has been a massive dip in quality across the board, with the exception of ESPN which has towing the line of hilarious incompetence they've ridden for years.

It just seems like their drops are nonsensical and yes, ND targets/commits appear to be the primary targets of said nonsensical drops.

 

[NDMIA]

I do know that most sites right now put way way way too much stock into the camp circuit. That’s always been the case.

 

[Crazy Balki]

I do know that most sites right now put way way way too much stock into the camp circuit. That’s always been the case.

True, but it seems like highlight film is valued far less now than it once was.

Jurkovec had one of the best tapes I've seen from a QB prospect and it didn't garner him sh*t, because these guys are camp jockeys.

So did NaNa drop that far because he didn't go to the Opening in Canton? I get really tired of guys not being fairly rated because they decide not to attend effing camps. They mean next to nothing especially in regards to linemen.

 

[Mavericknyc1980]

Wow how things change, but it looks good for the Irish.

 

[jspags10pg]

True, but it seems like highlight film is valued far less now than it once was.

Jurkovec had one of the best tapes I've seen from a QB prospect and it didn't garner him sh*t, because these guys are camp jockeys.

So did NaNa drop that far because he didn't go to the Opening in Canton? I get really tired of guys not being fairly rated because they decide not to attend effing camps. They mean next to nothing especially in regards to linemen.

He went to the one in Dallas and got the D-line MVP I believe.

 

[Irish#1]

Several more CB's for ND today, including the last Texas analyst holdout. Daniel Seahorn flipped it to ND tonight.

Drink the kool-ade Nana. Everyone else has.

 

[stlnd01]

Is it just me or are the Big Four of recruiting REALLY declining in quality...or I suppose Big Three now since Scout apparently doesn't do recruiting profiles anymore.

It seems like there has been a massive dip in quality across the board, with the exception of ESPN which has towing the line of hilarious incompetence they've ridden for years.

It just seems like their drops are nonsensical and yes, ND targets/commits appear to be the primary targets of said nonsensical drops.

So there's really just two. Rivals and 247. ESPN is trash at this.

I get why the sites value camp performance. It is the best way to see top recruits side by side. The competition they play against in high school is so uneven, recruiting analysts can't get to very many games and highlight film doesn't show what a kid doesn't want it to show. But camps aren't football.

So, I don't know. Maybe the problem is individual player rankings in the first place. Call them 3, 4 or 5 stars and leave it at that? To me, a kid's offer list says a lot more than whether he's the 8th or 12th ranked defensive end.

 

[Domina Nostra]

So there's really just two. Rivals and 247. ESPN is trash at this.

I get why the sites value camp performance. It is the best way to see top recruits side by side. The competition they play against in high school is so uneven, recruiting analysts can't get to very many games and highlight film doesn't show what a kid doesn't want it to show. But camps aren't football.

So, I don't know. Maybe the problem is individual player rankings in the first place. Call them 3, 4 or 5 stars and leave it at that? To me, a kid's offer list says a lot more than whether he's the 8th or 12th ranked defensive end.

Sure, that's part of it. But they primarily value camp stuff because its part of their marketing plan. If you won't play ball with them, they don't play ball with you. If you help them create buzz and headlines, they reward you for it.

 

[Luckylucci]

Also, keep in mind that they admittedly don’t properly evaluate or evaluate at all, a lot of prospects. C’Bo last season is most recent. A leading rusher in the state of GA didn’t even get “evaluated” until he committed to ND. It’s just a flawed system with a lot of group think mentality.

With that said, let’s get back to Nana. A DL class of Nana, Lacey, Spears, and Cross is pretty darn good. Hopefully add in a DiCosmo + Townsend/Ojabo/etc.

Getting Nana, Lacey, and Spears on campus early is also huge.

 

[longliveautrydenson]

Also, keep in mind that they admittedly don’t properly evaluate or evaluate at all, a lot of prospects. C’Bo last season is most recent. A leading rusher in the state of GA didn’t even get “evaluated” until he committed to ND. It’s just a flawed system with a lot of group think mentality.

With that said, let’s get back to Nana. A DL class of Nana, Lacey, Spears, and Cross is pretty darn good. Hopefully add in a DiCosmo + Townsend/Ojabo/etc.

Getting Nana, Lacey, and Spears on campus early is also huge.

Is DiCosmo your favorite amongst the WDEs that we have offered?

 

[Luckylucci]

Is DiCosmo your favorite amongst the WDEs that we have offered?

No, but of realistic targets, he's pretty high up there. As of today, Nana is a WDE/Drop target. So, Nana would be #1. And Ellison could play both DE spots (in the future) but he'd probably start there as well. So he's #2. However, I would gladly add DiCosmo as the #2 WDE in this class and be happy with it.

I liken DiCosmo to Julian Okwara. He's certainly on the small side, at this time (might always be), but he's very quick. Also, similar to Okwara, I think his strength might become somewhat surprising. For example, Okwara pretty much walked back one of our OT during the Spring game, into what would've been a sack or a big hit on the QB, at the very least. Converting speed to power, is easier, when that speed gets the OT off balance.

His pairing with a more stout WDE would give it an Okwara/Hayes like combo. Nana/Ellison play early/rushing downs at WDE with Cross at SDE. Passing downs slide Cross down to 3T, Nana/Ellison to SDE, and bring in DiCosmo to WDE. And in due time he probably builds strength and is able to play all downs like Okwara is getting pretty close to doing.

 

[ResLife Hero]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Honored to receive an invite to play in the Adidas All-American Bowl <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/3StripeLife?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#3StripeLife</a> <a href="https://t.co/GzLREfenGt">pic.twitter.com/GzLREfenGt</a></p>— NaNa Osafo-Mensah (@NaNaOsafo2) <a href="https://twitter.com/NaNaOsafo2/status/995022667223851008?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 11, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[StPaul_Irish]

Saw a photo on the Twitter machine today (will someone smarter find and post?) showing Nana a camp of some kind wearing Texas gloves and shorts. He was also throwing up the "hook em" horns in a photo. Not sure what that means, but you know, didn't make me feel good...

 

[Luckylucci]

Saw a photo on the Twitter machine today (will someone smarter find and post?) showing Nana a camp of some kind wearing Texas gloves and shorts. He was also throwing up the "hook em" horns in a photo. Not sure what that means, but you know, didn't make me feel good...

Those are of Nolan Catholics spring practice.

 

[StPaul_Irish]

Those are of Nolan Catholics spring practice.

Sounds about right..... I think it was retweeted or tweeted by a Texas recruitment guy. Timing seems interesting. Maybe it because ND has a lot of momentum right now and its a grasp at straws. I sure hope so anyway

 

[ResLife Hero]

Sounds about right..... I think it was retweeted or tweeted by a Texas recruitment guy. Timing seems interesting. Maybe it because ND has a lot of momentum right now and its a grasp at straws. I sure hope so anyway

Yeah, a bunch of pictures from practice got retweeted by the team's Twitter.
https://twitter.com/NolanCatholicFB

This was the one I saw with the gloves, but I wouldn't read too much into which gloves he wore to practice that day.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The man, 4* DE/LB <a href="https://twitter.com/NaNaOsafo2?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NaNaOsafo2</a>, was in full force today. The edge-rusher was popping pads. It’ll be Texas or Notre Dame soon. <a href="https://t.co/51LMZJhgGx">pic.twitter.com/51LMZJhgGx</a></p>— Justin Wells (@justinwells2424) <a href="https://twitter.com/justinwells2424/status/994772576277860355?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 11, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[ResLife Hero]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Blessed to be named a Pro Football Hall of Fame All-American!!! See y’all in Canton!! <a href="https://t.co/2iEsq5kkD6">pic.twitter.com/2iEsq5kkD6</a></p>— NaNa Osafo-Mensah (@NaNaOsafo2) <a href="https://twitter.com/NaNaOsafo2/status/995345212405964800?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 12, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[beryirish]

Could be absolutely nothing - could be he wants to wear out some nice new gloves before he won't be able to wear them anymore (with the assumption he commits to ND).

Also, maybe he's aware of his own recruitment buzz and sees people saying it's all said and done that he's coming to ND. So he wears the gloves to keep things spicy and people talking and speculating like we are right now.

In the end I just think he wants to wear new gear.

 

[StPaul_Irish]

Could be absolutely nothing - could be he wants to wear out some nice new gloves before he won't be able to wear them anymore (with the assumption he commits to ND).

Also, maybe he's aware of his own recruitment buzz and sees people saying it's all said and done that he's coming to ND. So he wears the gloves to keep things spicy and people talking and speculating like we are right now.

In the end I just think he wants to wear new gear.

You could be spot on... I was more worried about the combo of the gear and the "Hook Em" hand gesture he was throwing up. The post I saw came from a Texas 247 guy I think.

I do not know when that photo was taken, was that before or after the OV to Texas or who knows. Just seemed odd, but as you said, it could be much to do about nothing.

I try not to get attached to recruits but sometimes its hard, and this guy is one of my favorites, and a must get, so I am invested in him.

 

[Irish#1]

Terry Jillery was wearing LSU t-shirts all the time and seemed to spend most every weekend on the LSU campus.

 

[Luckylucci]

Could be completely wrong but I think he's just having fun at this point. This would be a huge curveball to the industry if he committed to Texas. And the reason that doesn't happen often, is because word gets out on the decision. Then the writers tell each other. That seemingly already happened here. I guess we'll just have to wait until Saturday.