Megan Whitt New Coordinator of Recruiting

[ulukinatme]

Meh, good luck. In comparison to JR I don't think she was quite as good, but it seems like she did well enough her first year. Damn if ND hasn't been a stepping stone this year, lot of people in the football program have moved on to bigger things.

Still think we should have brought JR back in as TE coach and recruiting guru and moved Booker to something else...maybe the water boy.

 

[PANDFAN]

Meh, good luck. In comparison to JR I don't think she was quite as good, but it seems like she did well enough her first year. Damn if ND hasn't been a stepping stone this year, lot of people in the football program have moved on to bigger things.

Still think we should have brought JR back in as TE coach and recruiting guru and moved Booker to something else...maybe the water boy.

by all accounts she has been one of the best at ND in terms of setting up irish invasion, visits etc...this is an actual loss

JR was a big presence w/ the pot of gold and tweeting stuff

 

[dublinirish]

by all accounts she has been one of the best at ND in terms of setting up irish invasion, visits etc...this is an actual loss

JR was a big presence w/ the pot of gold and tweeting stuff

II might have been a huge development for ND recruiting but it was hardly anything revolutionary. SEC schools/OSU and the likes have been doing similar (and better) events for a long time. Not saying she didn't do a good job but folks like her who can organize recruiting for schools are quite plentiful i would imagine.

 

[TheTurningPoint]

Whitt and Sandlin had different jobs.

Whitt did a good job at putting together events and bringing the Ambassador program back into current times. There are things a place like Notre Dame can always get better at and hosting recruits is one of them.

 

[PANDFAN]

II might have been a huge development for ND recruiting but it was hardly anything revolutionary. SEC schools/OSU and the likes have been doing similar (and better) events for a long time. Not saying she didn't do a good job but folks like her who can organize recruiting for schools are quite plentiful i would imagine.

just pointing out that yes other schools have been doing it BUT she is the one that finally got ND to do it!!
The newest development is this weekend’s Irish Invasion summer camp, an invite-only event that puts a new spin on the traditional summer camp for current Notre Dame commitments, targets and yet-to-be-offered prospects.

Wiltfong pointed to Florida as the first program to turn a summer camp into a marquee event, as the Gators did with their "Friday Night Lights." Though other schools have followed suit, Wiltfong said Notre Dame—like other elite programs—has the ability to lure bigger names and higher-profile prospects to its campus.

So why, all of a sudden, is Notre Dame branding its summer camp as the Irish Invasion and going as far as to open up the two-hour Friday-night session to media? As Megan Whitt, Notre Dame’s coordinator of recruiting operations, mentioned Thursday night, the idea just came about recently.

"You always want to try to keep up with the curve and be a trendsetter,” Wiltfong said. “Notre Dame is just keeping up with the Joneses in this regard."

In part, yes, the Irish are simply keeping up. But Wiltfong reiterated that Notre Dame generates a certain buzz that not all schools can.

"Again, anytime Notre Dame does something—and it’s not just Notre Dame, but a high-profile program like Notre Dame—it certainly attracts more attention and eyes than when other BCS programs that aren’t as highly regarded do the same thing," Wiltfong said.

Wiltfong added that Notre Dame will be calling on that high-profile stature throughout the camp:

"Notre Dame will bring these kids in before the camp and they’ll get a chance to get a taste of Notre Dame and learn about the school," he said.

Notre Dame Football: How Brian Kelly Is Changing His Recruiting Strategy in 2014 | Bleacher Report

 

[Rocket89]

Meh, good luck. In comparison to JR I don't think she was quite as good, but it seems like she did well enough her first year. Damn if ND hasn't been a stepping stone this year, lot of people in the football program have moved on to bigger things.

Still think we should have brought JR back in as TE coach and recruiting guru and moved Booker to something else...maybe the water boy.

No one comes close to being as overvalued within the ND program over the past decade than Sandlin. One year of social media work and you're handing tight end jobs to him.

Yikes.

 

[NDdomer2]

II might have been a huge development for ND recruiting but it was hardly anything revolutionary. SEC schools/OSU and the likes have been doing similar (and better) events for a long time. Not saying she didn't do a good job but folks like her who can organize recruiting for schools are quite plentiful i would imagine.

She actually was doing this at OSU before ND.

 

[ulukinatme]

No one comes close to being as overvalued within the ND program over the past decade than Sandlin. One year of social media work and you're handing tight end jobs to him.

Yikes.

I'm not saying Sandlin would be our #1 coach with TEs, but Booker hasn't exactly been lights out with TEs and Special Teams. Any success Booker has had has come from the foundation likely put in place by Bernie Parmalee, all of our best TEs came under his tutelage.

JR Sandlin, like some of our recent new coaches, doesn't have a lot of experience in coaching, just one season coaching TEs. That isn't much different from Lyght and Denson though. I assume experience isn't as much of an issue with Kelly, he can mold the young coaches. Sandlin has the benefit of prior knowledge of Notre Dame's situation and the kind of kids they recruit, he was great in that respect. I'm not saying there wouldn't be better candidates out there, but the nice thing with Sandlin is he has that recruiting background to go with it.

 

[Old Man Mike]

As to Ms Whitt: God Bless You and Thank You for a fine top-quality service to our school. ... and please forgive the fact that people exist everywhere who can't say much good about anybody. Most of us on IE, I would suppose, are graciously thanking you for all you've done for our program. God's Speed and resounding success.


"He who finds fault in everything, finds himself."
Mountain William.

 

[Booslum31]

As to Ms Whitt: God Bless You and Thank You for a fine top-quality service to our school. ... and please forgive the fact that people exist everywhere who can't say much good about anybody. Most of us on IE, I would suppose, are graciously thanking you for all you've done for our program. God's Speed and resounding success.


"He who finds fault in everything, finds himself."
Mountain William.

Well said OMM!

 

[Irish#1]

I always have an appreciation for anyone who has helped make the Irish a special place. This is not to demean her work or what she accomplished in her short stint at ND, but I do believe Dublin has a point. Call me what you want, but this type of a position is best left to a woman's touch and I won't be surprised one bit if her replacement is also a female. The key skills required for this position are organization, attention to detail and adding the little things that separate one from the other. I have a lady on my staff who has these traits and I take full advantage of them and she loves doing the little things that make things stand out.

Best of luck in your new role Megan.

 

[Grahambo]

So...can I apply?

 

[ulukinatme]

As to Ms Whitt: God Bless You and Thank You for a fine top-quality service to our school. ... and please forgive the fact that people exist everywhere who can't say much good about anybody. Most of us on IE, I would suppose, are graciously thanking you for all you've done for our program. God's Speed and resounding success.


"He who finds fault in everything, finds himself."
Mountain William.

I don't want to say that Megan's work was unappreciated. She certainly did fine work for us in the year that she stepped in. It would be nice if we could retain a Coordinator for longer than a year, that's the frustrating part about her leaving.

To me, when I think about a Recruiting Coordinator I think about a guy like Vinnie Cerrato who changed the game, was revolutionary, and came up with innovating ways to attract talent to Notre Dame. So, if I sound disappointing with Megan it's not because of a lack of effort, it's because...in her own words, she helped us to "Keep up with the Jones's." That's great, but I was more impressed with a guy like Sandlin that created buzz, used social media in a whole new way and pushed the envelop in that regard, and created the Pot of Gold that was something unique to ND (Even if some other programs had sent out some form of mass mailers in the past). That's communication on the level that the recruits are currently using, and the Pot of Gold is something flashy that appeals to the kids and makes us stand out.

So yeah, not saying Megan worked out poorly in any way, I just hope the next coordinator we get is innovative...and hopefully sticks around longer than a year.