ND will always be average to max good with BK there. He just doesnt develop the players. ND has been blessed with getting tons of talent...I think that is more the school andkesst he coach. Weis had more talent than 90% of the teams ND played when he was there. Tell me one win, with the exception of a terrible Navy team in Ireland, that ND crushed? Believe it or not, other teams struggle with youth and injuries too. ND just never delivers. The NC team won by shoestrings week in and week out. No way was a true top 5 team and it showed.
Explain me how Mich St with its 3 stars could beat or take to to the wire ND every year? Navy? How is it a terrible UNC team can get rolled by a .500 NC state team yet take ND to the wire? IT is embarrassing to say the least.
Fact is that Kelly cant develop teams. He knew Cinn was done when he left and took the opportunity just like Strong did at Texas. The only reason Golson developed was because he spent a year with a QB guru, not because of anything BK did.
Boys, we have the wrong coach. I do not know who the right coach is but this guy isnt it.
The number of players Brian Kelly has sent to the NFL Draft has increased each year at Notre Dame..1, 4, 6, 8.
Those are the number of Notre Dame players drafted under head coach Brian Kelly’s watch in South Bend.
The rising figure highlights the program’s improved player development in recent seasons. For the Irish to compete with college football’s elites, it’s a number that need to stay strong.
“I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Notre Dame began a legitimate contender on the national scene the past few years and all of the sudden they have eight guys drafted,” DraftCountdown.com’s Scott Wright said. “You look at the flipside of that coin, Texas has been struggling and nobody from that program gets drafted. It doesn’t take too much to read between the lines that the best teams have the most talent.”
Notre Dame’s quick ascent to the BCS National Championship Game in Kelly’s third season led to raised expectations in year four, but a 9-4 campaign tempered the good feelings a bit. This draft haul makes the non-BCS season even more frustrating for Irish faithful when you take into account how much professional-caliber talent was on the roster.
Nonetheless, the NFL trend is one Kelly will be quick to point out on the recruiting trail.
“The key now for Notre Dame and Brian Kelly is to build on this,” Wright said. “You’ve got the ball rolling and you can take this to recruits and say, ‘Look, here’s what we do. We just sent eight guys to the pros this year alone. Do you want to be next?’
“It’s nice to happen. You see it happen with a lot of programs, but the key is to do it year after year like Alabama and USC at one point. We’ll see if they can continue that. Certainly it’s a huge positive sign for the program having that many guys drafted.”
Defensive backs coach Kerry Cooks posted a not-so-subtle brag on his Twitter account when he tweeted, “ND x 8, we can get cha there” with a screenshot of an ESPN.com headline: “No Longhorns drafted for first time since ’37.”
It’s momentum the program needs to carry into the season, even if next year’s draft class is not projected to come close to the monster 2014 haul.
For too long, Notre Dame had fallen off the radar of NFL relevance.
The eight selections this year were the most in 20 years.
In former Irish head coach Charlie Weis’ final three years at the helm, a total of nine players were drafted. Twice in the previous five years just one Notre Dame player’s name was called.
At his National Signing Day press conference, Kelly complained about the trend of underclassmen declaring for the NFL Draft. This year, three Irish players passed up their senior seasons to go pro, but none of the decsions stung more than the surprising departure of tight end Troy Niklas.
“When we were having this opportunity to recruit a young man, they had to have a passion for wanting to get a degree from Notre Dame and winning a national championship,” Kelly said. “If they want to come here just to hang their hat to play football and go to the NFL, we passed on some pretty good players, because I don't want guys to come here and not finish their degree.
“I want guys to come to Notre Dame, get their degree, help us win a national championship, and be the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft. That's what I want, if that's what they want.”
Ideally, players will stay in school for four years, but that’s not completely realistic in 2014. It’s difficult to blame Niklas for grabbing the money now when it’s a sure thing. While he could have moved up the draft board by staying in school another year, the money would not have been that much different.
Players leaving early isn’t a bad thing. Notre Dame was in the same sentence as LSU and Alabama (the other schools with the most draftees, with nine and eight, respectively), and that hasn’t happened enough lately.
If the Irish can continue to pump out NFL talent, it means Kelly and his staff are doing something right in South Bend.
