National Signing Day 2017

[Domina Nostra]

Best part of today: this is not going to create a hole that scares off a new coach next year, if ND goes in a different direction.

 

[IrishLax]

Finished with 249 points on 247 composite... same exact number as last year, despite going 4-8 and firing half the staff. Does that mean we did a crappy job of recruiting last year or a good of keeping the class together this year? Or both?

Not a single one of the late adds is in the top half of our class, but I like a lot of the players.

 

[tussin]

Finished with 249 points on 247 composite... same exact number as last year, despite going 4-8 and firing half the staff. Does that mean we did a crappy job of recruiting last year or a good of keeping the class together this year? Or both?

Not a single one of the late adds is in the top half of our class, but I like a lot of the players.

Both -- I am pretty impressed with the hustle from the new staff. Hopefully that carries into next year and we can grab a killer class. We have a great start to the class as is.

 

[BoredIrish]

by the way...bk just mentioned...jafar was on our board from day 1...pouncey committed but later decommitted which is why we then went back after him and offered

Not to be a hater... but that probably had more to do with Grunhard than it did anything else.

 

[greyhammer90]

Finished with 249 points on 247 composite... same exact number as last year, despite going 4-8 and firing half the staff. Does that mean we did a crappy job of recruiting last year or a good of keeping the class together this year? Or both?

Or that ND coaches sell the school first and that the year record didn't have any effect?















lol jk

 

[phgreek]

My read is the negative recruiting had a little bit of an effect.

But considering the season and post season coaching turmoil, I think this is a little better than I expected.

I was thinking between 25 and 18 national rank for this class. 13ish is pretty good.

I expect that number to be 5-8 next year given the folks recruiting...could get better with on field success.

 

[NDdomer2]

this years "projects" dont see as project-y as some in the past. Would have have liked to see some more elite talent on D. Ewell is only one I put in that category. The 0 CB thing is just fucking terrible. but appears we have hit every other position group.

This was a nice push here at the end by the new staff but hard for it cover-up the miscues.

WR and CB need hit out of the park in 18 cycle, and it sure would be nice to get a high caliber WDE. No offense to who we currently have.

 

[beryirish]

Is ND closed now or are they trying for any miracles?

 

[NDdomer2]

Is ND closed now or are they trying for any miracles?

i think they already pulled a miracle off as is.

 

[zelezo vlk]

I really hope the staff brings this kind of energy to '18 crootin'.

 

[phgreek]

this years "projects" dont see as project-y as some in the past. Would have have liked to see some more elite talent on D. Ewell is only one I put in that category. The 0 CB thing is just fucking terrible. but appears we have hit every other position group.

This was a nice push here at the end by the new staff but hard for it cover-up the miscues.

WR and CB need hit out of the park in 18 cycle, and it sure would be nice to get a high caliber WDE. No offense to who we currently have.

Yea, no argument here...team got some talented versatile players this year...but there are holes. D-line seems to always be hard for ND...I think the standup athletes (corner, saftety, WR) will come...I still worry about the big boys on D.

 

[IrishLax]

The funniest thing to me about all of this is the "Hiestand sucks" crowd that was small but vocal this year...

Besides producing NFL players at an insane clip and generally putting an elite product on the field (besides this past year, which was bad) his recruiting shames basically every other coach on the staff. If every other coach recruited as well as he did we'd finish in the top 5 every year.

Since his first class in '13 he has signed seven top 100 players. The rest of the positions combined in those classes include ten top 100 players. Proportionally, if other coaches recruited like Hiestand to fill out a starting 22, they would've signed 31 top 100 players.

 

[BobbyMac]

Not to be a hater... but that probably had more to do with Grunhard than it did anything else.

Yes, Grunhard was on the phone with ND last year. But even without Grunhard, JA's at the Catholic football power in KC, he's all state football at least 3 years and a 2 time (already) sprint champion. That's the kind of kid who has to be on your radar. Those are mashables that scream look at me.

Oh, and his QB is a ND baseball recruit.



.

 

[NDdomer2]

The funniest thing to me about all of this is the "Hiestand sucks" crowd that was small but vocal this year...

Besides producing NFL players at an insane clip and generally putting an elite product on the field (besides this past year, which was bad) his recruiting shames basically every other coach on the staff. If every other coach recruited as well as he did we'd finish in the top 5 every year.

Since his first class in '13 he has signed seven top 100 players. The rest of the positions combined in those classes include ten top 100 players. Proportionally, if other coaches recruited like Hiestand to fill out a starting 22, they would've signed 31 top 100 players.

so the question(s) is(are) what is Heistand selling that our other coaches arent?

Is it the early NFL returns he has had? Is it the type of kid that typically plays oline? Does he have a message he is selling that our other positional coaches could "steal"?

 

[tussin]

247 currently has us at #10. Two months ago I would have guessed we would finish around #20-25.

 

[PANDFAN]

Not to be a hater... but that probably had more to do with Grunhard than it did anything else.

so jafar decommits from mizzou because his HS teammate is going to be a walk on at ND and that made him flip?

i don't even know what gif to use

 

[PANDFAN]

so the question(s) is(are) what is Heistand selling that our other coaches arent?

Is it the early NFL returns he has had? Is it the type of kid that typically plays oline? Does he have a message he is selling that our other positional coaches could "steal"?

biggest thing is OLINE generally don't need the spotlight of recruiting, and certainly helps when you toss out martin who could be one if not best olineman in the game, then stanley who i think was being mentioned or did win rookie of the year as a f ing lineman...and graded out as the top lineman the 2nd half of the year...he molded those guys...not to mention the pub big mike, nelson, in addition to nick martin...ok i will stop

 

[NDdomer2]

so jafar decommits from mizzou because his HS teammate is going to be a walk on at ND and that made him flip?

i don't even know what gif to use

could be he was talking about the walk-on's dad who is his coach and a all time great.

 

[Bogtrotter07]

so the question(s) is(are) what is Heistand selling that our other coaches arent?

Is it the early NFL returns he has had? Is it the type of kid that typically plays oline? Does he have a message he is selling that our other positional coaches could "steal"?

Or is it who is he selling it too. Remember offensive linemen are generally among the most cerebral football players. I hate truisms, but this one seems to be generally true!

 

[NDdomer2]

biggest thing is OLINE generally don't need the spotlight of recruiting, and certainly helps when you toss out martin who could be one if not best olineman in the game, then stanley who i think was being mentioned or did win rookie of the year as a f ing lineman...and graded out as the top lineman the 2nd half of the year...he molded those guys...not to mention the pub big mike, nelson, in addition to nick martin...ok i will stop

so how does any of that apply to our other positions? my point was more of how can we translate his success to all position success.

 

[Dizzyphil]

should get better with Kofi Wardlow

 

[NDinBoston]

a BIG F#ck you to all the negative PEOPLE on here that were saying we wouldn't get anyone else...more decommits and kelly is on vacation

+1

 

[koonja]

I give our close in the last month a B.

If we got another rush DE, or a corner back, or a WR, I'd give it an B+.

If we got 2 of the above, I'd give it an A-.

If we added another rush DE, WR, and corner, I'd give it an A and I don't think you can argue it wouldn't have been an A.

Overall I can't complain.

 

[greyhammer90]

so the question(s) is(are) what is Heistand selling that our other coaches arent?

Is it the early NFL returns he has had? Is it the type of kid that typically plays oline? Does he have a message he is selling that our other positional coaches could "steal"?

Id say oline is a unique beast. They are the least prima donna position on the field. There's a reason most of the good ones are committed way before signing day.

 

[phgreek]

The funniest thing to me about all of this is the "Hiestand sucks" crowd that was small but vocal this year...

Besides producing NFL players at an insane clip and generally putting an elite product on the field (besides this past year, which was bad) his recruiting shames basically every other coach on the staff. If every other coach recruited as well as he did we'd finish in the top 5 every year.

Since his first class in '13 he has signed seven top 100 players. The rest of the positions combined in those classes include ten top 100 players. Proportionally, if other coaches recruited like Hiestand to fill out a starting 22, they would've signed 31 top 100 players.

Was never part of the Hiestand sucks crowd...I didn't think the O-line was great in '16, and certainly did not live up to preseason hype. Rather scheme, situation, or play calling impacts things, I don't like the absence of running it down someone's throat consistently... I think '15 had a bunch of quick hit TDs, and '16 had some, but I haven't seen the O-line just take over a truly meaningful game in some time.

But I do think O-line play overall is better than its been since Aaron Taylor was in a gold helmet.

 

[PANDFAN]

so how does any of that apply to our other positions? my point was more of how can we translate his success to all position success.

it doesn't...his no nonsense approach is dynamite to a no nonsense player on oline....different personalities to each position...def think lea will be great for linebackers, alexander for wr although denbrock's personality matched them well as well...big thing for me is elston on the line..too easy going...need a mean son of bitch ...they set the tone

 

[NDdomer2]

it doesn't...his no nonsense approach is dynamite to a no nonsense player on oline....different personalities to each position...def think lea will be great for linebackers, alexander for wr although denbrock's personality matched them well as well...big thing for me is elston on the line..too easy going...need a mean son of bitch ...they set the tone

and this is what i was afraid of

 

[koonja]

If you're not happy with the class, keep in mind, although some classes are smaller, and technically schools can still add people, we're currently ranked ahead of the following teams on 247:

Texas A&M
Miami
Stanford
Florida
PSU
Clemson
Tennessee
UCLA
South Carolina
Oregon
V Tech
Texas
Ole Miss
MSU

 

[IrishLax]

so the question(s) is(are) what is Heistand selling that our other coaches arent?

Is it the early NFL returns he has had? Is it the type of kid that typically plays oline? Does he have a message he is selling that our other positional coaches could "steal"?

I think it's a little bit of everything. He has great NFL pedigree (before and at Notre Dame), he's recruiting a kid that's receptive to his style and ND, and his message is no nonsense. But more than his message it's that:
1. He's generally recruiting the Midwest hard from the beginning. Other coaches don't do that as much, I think in part because they have certain guys covering certain "regions" rather than being totally responsible for recruiting their position.
2. He evaluates guys early and goes after verbals early. He locks down the vast majority of his eventual signees before the season.
3. He meshes well with the OL personality, much like Alford/Denson a RB. Other coaches... for example, Elston on the DL or Diaco/BVG/Elston at LB, are not necessarily the correct personality match. I'm still skeptical that Lyght has what it takes to get it done recruiting elite DBs.

It's certainly easier to recruit a Midwest OL than a Florida DL to ND, so there is only so much that can be done to demand that other coaches produce similar results. But Michigan and Ohio State certainly have no trouble recruiting outside of the Midwest for defensive talent and they have a very different type of defensive staff than and recruiting approach than ND takes for those positions.

 

[Dizzyphil]

Id say oline is a unique beast. They are the least prima donna position on the field. There's a reason most of the good ones are committed way before signing day.

Dick LeBeau was on the radio here in Nashville the other day and said he wishes sometimes he would have been OL coach or OC because of the demeanor of O-Linemen. He says they do their jobs and walk on and off the field. They show enthusiasm but, it is usually only in the last 45 seconds of the game and you only see it when they are on the field doing the victory formation. But on the other hand, you can have the five best on their knuckles on the line and if they don't gel together, you got sh*t no matter how hard you coach them. They have to know, like, and sense each other in so many ways.