The fact that we could swing and miss on all of those guys and go 0 for 5 really bothers me. There is a reason why we got throttled in the BCS game.
The fact that we could swing and miss on all of those guys and go 0 for 5 really bothers me. There is a reason why we got throttled in the BCS game.
Booslum31
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I too have been bothered with not landing any of the remaining five...though EV still represents a chance. Is it a question of capacity? I mean did the staff cast a wide enough net where we could have more 4-5 star talent still in play than we do? I know that they hustled their butts throughout this cycle. But it looks like we might not use all the schollies that we have available. is it possible we are talking to someone that we don't know about at this late date? I don't want to throw just anyone into the mix that we don't feel great about...rather have an extra one-two for next year.
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Doubtful. Looks like we'll be bringing back a bunch of dead weight 5Ys instead.
I'm curious to hear what others think went wrong with each of these guys. To the best of my knowledge: (1) AQM got shut out by admissions; (2) for Hollins, we simply got in too late; (3) Fitts was always going to be tough to pull off the west coast; and (4) Prevot is still a mystery to me.
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GBdomer
Guest
It would have been wonderful no doubt but just sit back and from top to bottom this class is loaded. Losing Alex Anzalone sucked I don't care what anyone says. The staff flat out recruited there butts off and couldn't have done a better job. Top 5 class nationally almost four 5*. Staff did all they could IMO
Ndaccountant
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What troubled me was how we let recruiting momentum come to a grinding halt. Obviously the NCG had a lot to do with it, but some of it was self inflicted with BK's flirtation with the NFL.
anarin
They call me Chuck.
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I dont see where you get that. Its well known who they were targeting and the chances of getting these particular players. AA looked for a way out, who else did they miss out in because of self inflicted wounds?
K
koonja
Guest
Is it the consensus that EV picking ND would be a total shock? Has anything pro-UCLA leaked out recently?
Irishman77
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I see it as a good thing. I would hate to have a class of 17 or so next year. That would throw the 4 year plan way out of balance. The 14 class will finally replace the 10 debacle caused by the exit of Weiss.
This class is loaded and ready to go. All is Great!
This class is loaded and ready to go. All is Great!
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Big picture I think the BK situation is one reason. Not so much flirting with the NFL but the silence for a week hurt the momentum. With Hollins I think it came down to position change. I like that the staff was honest with him but I do think the possible position change was too much for Dad. If we had kept Anzalone it wouldnt be as big of a deal that we may miss on our last two targets. Fitts we were too late to the party. But like GB said this class is still very very impressive and has a number of high quality prospects. Lastly, if we do miss on Vanderdoes, that will put an extreme emphasis on Dlinemane next year which will be a good selling point.
Ndaccountant
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It is nearly impossible to prove one way or another, but I find it really harg to believe that him flirting with the NFL did not creep into the minds of the final few guys that came to campus. They may have been long shots to begin with, but BK doing what he did right after the game looked horrible and opened the door for others to plant a seed in recruits heads.
Ndaccountant
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It goes both ways tho, doesn't it? For the guys that say they will not decide until NSD, I would rather get the last word in. For guys that could pop at any time, I agree 100% with you.
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I might be more sympathetic to this argument if most of these guys weren't choosing to play for Mora instead. Kelly's been a college head coach for 20 years; Mora's a tourist who is biding his time until the right NFL job opens up. I'm sure these UCLA kids have been hearing plenty about that.
Booslum31
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I like that...Tourist. I'm going to use that. Thx.
Emcee77
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I don't see anything troubling in that. After the commits at the All-American games, we had met all our recruiting needs from a depth perspective. We made a strategic decision to target just a few recruits who were either of an elite caliber or an ideal fit for us, or both. They were always going to be tough pulls, but they were the only guys that we wanted to use our limited remaining spots on ... if we can't get them, then we're better off saving the schollies for 2014.
It may look like a loss of momentum, but I think the staff deserves more credit than that. They worked their asses off to get a few particularly coveted guys, and if it doesn't pay off, so be it. We still have a great class.
EDIT: I see that I'm late with this post ... anarin, word.
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Ndaccountant
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Is the Mora thing rooted in fact or theory? I know he was contacted by SD this offseason, but I don't recall him actually interviewing.
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Mora's NFL pedigree and desire to return to the League are hardly theories. Regardless of how substantiated that desire has been recently, if you're a recruit who's worried that your coach might bolt for the NFL before you graduate, choosing UCLA over ND would be a very silly thing to do.
Emcee77
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No, not at all. Schrader says SC coaches still think they are in the race -- and we are laughing at him/them, because it appears to be ND, Bama, or UCLA. Sapp still says that ND feels cautiously optimistic, but if there's any consensus it's just that all three of ND, Bama and UCLA have some significant chance at getting EV.
Now Fitts is another story ... I think it would be a shock if he went anywhere but UCLA at this point.
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Grahambo
Guest
Coaching career
1984 - Washington (GA)
1985–1988 - San Diego Chargers (defensive QC)
1989–1991 - San Diego Chargers (DB)
1992–1996 - New Orleans Saints (DB)
1997–1998 - San Francisco 49ers (DB)
1999–2003 - San Francisco 49ers (DC)
2004–2006 - Atlanta Falcons
2007–2008 - Seattle Seahawks (AHC/DB)
2009 - Seattle Seahawks
2012–present - UCLA
What doesn't fit?
Eddie V. was being recruited all along. Until the last month or two he wasn't interested. He was going to USC. When he opened it up, our coaches did all they could to get him on campus. He brought his parents and gave us a great opportunity. The weather certainly didn't cooperate. In fact, South Bend had some of the worst weather of the season. Our coaches went all out. If he chooses UCLA or Alabama, it wasn't because we didn't show enough interest.
The coaches did something similar with Greg Bryant. If they made any mistake at all, it was wasting time with AQM when it appears he couldn't get passed admissions. When they pursued Prevot, Hollins, and Fitts it was after AQM failed to qualify and Anzalone flipped to Florida. Had AQM qualified and Anzalone stayed, there wouldn't be a scholarship available for anyone but Eddie V., and he is worth taking a shot at.
Prevot, Hollins, and Fitts were all players who showed interest late. The coaches responded, but it appears the interest of the recruits was not very serious after all. This is hardly the fault of our coaches. They are dealing with 18 year old kids, who don't think very far into the future.
Our coaches do a great job of recruiting. We should be satisfied with another top 5-10 class. We are getting great players from Texas, Florida, California, North Carolina, Georgia, the Northeast, and locally. That hasn't happened with any regularity since the days of Lou.
Ndaccountant
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Boonton HS (NJ) (assistant)
Morristown HS (NJ) (assistant)
South Carolina (GA/DB)
South Carolina (GA/LB)
South Carolina (volunteer/DE)
South Carolina (ARC)
Franklin HS (NJ)
New York Giants (assistant)
New York Giants (RB)
New England Patriots (TE)
New England Patriots (RB)
New England Patriots (WR)
New York Jets (OC)
New England Patriots (OC)
Notre Dame
After Charlie's first year, this is what his resume looked like. He had been an assistant in the NFL for about 15 years in a row before taking the ND job. Was Charlie a shoe in to go back to the NFL for a head coaching gig?
My point is that while his record clearly tilts to the NFL, his actions speak for themself this year. He rebuffed talking with SEC schools and (i think) didn't talk to the Chargers. We can assume all we want, but the data we have now is no different than what Charlie was after year one.
Old Man Mike
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Any commentary trending towards negativity about our recruiting class and the Staff's efforts "stuns me stupid".
Assuming all the guys send in their letters of intent tomorrow, Kelly gets the best Oline class in the nation, the finest TEs as a pair, a top-ranked QB and TWO top ranked RBs, and four excellent WRs.
In the Dbackfield he gets four guys every one of which looks top quality, including a 5*. At Linebacker there are 3 a$$kickers and would have been four without Anzalone [hardly a staff failure]. A walk-on punter who looks like a gift. And what does that leave? Dline: the toughest place to recruit in the country.
So we get two good ones and "fail" on the shoe-in third, not because Kelly fails but because the kid fails. But we are still trying our butts off --- no reasonable uncommitteds are left, so it's a bunch of West Coast committed players. These guys think that their future is in California, for several months of imprinting. The Staff actually gets back in it with several. ... not working their butts off? Recruiting "momentum" [a peculiar concept when defined in any real-world functioning way, rather than by outsiders sitting streamside watching the media pass by] ?
Anything at all to gripe about and you'll read it on IE.
Coach, you're great. So are your assistants. You and they worked beyond the call of duty on this. Everyone deserves a standing round of applause.
Assuming all the guys send in their letters of intent tomorrow, Kelly gets the best Oline class in the nation, the finest TEs as a pair, a top-ranked QB and TWO top ranked RBs, and four excellent WRs.
In the Dbackfield he gets four guys every one of which looks top quality, including a 5*. At Linebacker there are 3 a$$kickers and would have been four without Anzalone [hardly a staff failure]. A walk-on punter who looks like a gift. And what does that leave? Dline: the toughest place to recruit in the country.
So we get two good ones and "fail" on the shoe-in third, not because Kelly fails but because the kid fails. But we are still trying our butts off --- no reasonable uncommitteds are left, so it's a bunch of West Coast committed players. These guys think that their future is in California, for several months of imprinting. The Staff actually gets back in it with several. ... not working their butts off? Recruiting "momentum" [a peculiar concept when defined in any real-world functioning way, rather than by outsiders sitting streamside watching the media pass by] ?
Anything at all to gripe about and you'll read it on IE.
Coach, you're great. So are your assistants. You and they worked beyond the call of duty on this. Everyone deserves a standing round of applause.
jason_h537
The King is Back
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So where is the 2014 list at? Huh? You guys are ****ing up
STLDomer
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jason_h537
The King is Back
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I could have thrown that together real quick. You're not fooling no one
DomeX2 eNVy
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Can we please get back to the most important discussion of the past four years? We all know Kelly can coach, but will be be able to recruit the 4 and 5 star players we need? His prior history says NO. Discuss . . . Lol
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Grahambo
Guest
Hate to be this guy but does anyone forecast a Tee Shepherd type situation in the coming months with this class?