Surprise Commitments?

[PLACforever]

It ain't happening now according to him

Makes me think it was for site and twitter hits

agreed

 

[Irish Fam]

what do you guys think of our 3 star commitments? any sleepers in there?

I think Josh Atkinson could become a stud in the secondary.... from what I have read he is a speedster that is not afraid to put a hurt on a ball carrier

 

[Sherm Sticky]

what do you guys think of our 3 star commitments? any sleepers in there?

I think Josh Atkinson could become a stud in the secondary.... from what I have read he is a speedster that is not afraid to put a hurt on a ball carrier

I really also like Jalen Brown, Counsel, Rabasa

 

[MacIrish75]

Nick Martin. I watched him play numerous times in HS while he was at Chatard. He is a dominant run blocker and plays with a HUGE mean streak, which outside of Trev Robinson, I don't know that too many of our linemen possess.

 

[Irish Man3]

Rabasa and Counsell for sure. Very underrated players in this class, and I think they are both studs. They will bring a level of speed and athlete that we are not used to seeing in our front seven.

I also am very high on Josh Atkinson and Jalen Brown. Josh improved a lot throughout his senior season. I hope he continues to develope and at 6'1'' and 185 lbs, he could end up playing safety before it's all said and done.

 

[Old Man Mike]

Cam McDaniel---total workaholic stud, and a never-quit winner.

 

[Old Man Mike]

Regarding whether our current commits will be good surprises: the rating services are all over the map on most of the three stars. Rivals & Scout like Counsell; ESPN not so much. Rivals & ESPN really like Rabasa; Scout not so much. Scout & Rivals really like Grace; ESPN not so much. ESPN likes Brown; Rivals & Scout not so much. Rivals likes McDaniel; Scout medium; ESPN not so much. Nick Martin is rated 38th tackle [pretty darn high given how many good tackles there are] by both Scout & ESPN; only 67 by Rivals. ----well, this goes on. The point of mentioning it is: even these guys who are supposedly good at this can't figure out how relatively good a three-star is going to be. My view of this is that we've got a whole motherload of good players here with lots of upside.

 

[tadman95]

Kids at this age develop at different rates. A 5 star may be ahead of other kids but will he keep developing? Lots of 5 stars are pretty well developed and don't seem to get better. Others just keep growing and continue to excel.

The trick is to determine the 2,3,4 star athletes that still have a lot of development upside, give them the coaching and training to maximize their developing skills.

 

[Ironman8]

I think Bennett Okotcha is going to be a great player.

 

[irishpat183]

Kids at this age develop at different rates. A 5 star may be ahead of other kids but will he keep developing? Lots of 5 stars are pretty well developed and don't seem to get better. Others just keep growing and continue to excel.

The trick is to determine the 2,3,4 star athletes that still have a lot of development upside, give them the coaching and training to maximize their developing skills.

--And I think that's what has killed us in the past few years. Weis wasn't any good a developing talent. He was a 1st stringers coach and only knew how to coach the guys that were already ready. Kelly is a lot better at this and seems to get the most outta guys that normally aren't superstars. The sky is the limit for Kelly with ND's resources...

 

[GoldenIsThyFame]

Kids at this age develop at different rates. A 5 star may be ahead of other kids but will he keep developing? Lots of 5 stars are pretty well developed and don't seem to get better. Others just keep growing and continue to excel.

The trick is to determine the 2,3,4 star athletes that still have a lot of development upside, give them the coaching and training to maximize their developing skills.

I agree with the development of 2-4 star players but you cannot say a 5 star is already developed and doesn't get better. That is blasophemy!

 

[tadman95]

Go back and look at the 5 star recruits from 4,5,6 years ago and see how many of those kids are still that highly rated. Some are, but there are lots of wash outs also.

I guess what I was trying to say was that some kids develop so much earlier than others that they are way ahead of other kids in high school and look like 5 star recruits but as they get older, the other kid's development rate tends to catch up. Example, Joe McKnight was a stud in high school, pretty good player at USC, and is at best a situational back with the Jets. Even Reggie Bush who was a 5 star in college has not been that great of a pro.

Of course, some 5 star kids are absolute studs and continue to develop through college.

 

[irishff1014]

There is a difference between College and Pro bud. Reggie can't has horrible visiob out of the bcak field. He is a screen back and slot reciver and thats it.

 

[jason_h537]

what do you guys think of our 3 star commitments? any sleepers in there?

I think Josh Atkinson could become a stud in the secondary.... from what I have read he is a speedster that is not afraid to put a hurt on a ball carrier

I have read a lot of good things about Golson, Councell, Grace, Okatcha, and Josh Atkinson. The last two will likely be competing for A LOT of playing time

 

[RUDYRUDY]

Cam McDaniel & Josh Atkinson

 

[amgarvey]

I would definitely agree with Counsel and Rabasa. I would really love to see Cam McDaniel blossom, but I kinda get the feeling that he is approaching his ceiling. This is a phenomenon that you often see with Texas kids. They have such great training and facilities at their high schools that what you see is often what you get. Add in the fact that Cam does a significant amount of training on his own time and I think there is a high probability of this being the case. That being said, I hope I'm completely full of ****. He seems like a great kid and is obviously a very hard worker. A welcome addition to the program in any event.

 

[FightingIrishLover7]

I would definitely agree with Counsel and Rabasa. I would really love to see Cam McDaniel blossom, but I kinda get the feeling that he is approaching his ceiling. This is a phenomenon that you often see with Texas kids. They have such great training and facilities at their high schools that what you see is often what you get. Add in the fact that Cam does a significant amount of training on his own time and I think there is a high probability of this being the case. That being said, I hope I'm completely full of ****. He seems like a great kid and is obviously a very hard worker. A welcome addition to the program in any event.

Cam is a workaholic....

He'll get better, he'll be a stud one day in the slot.

Just wait.

Austin Collie/Wes Welker v2.0

 

[jmurphy75]

Cam will suprise some people, I'd put money on it

 

[Zibby32]

Austin Collie/Wes Welker v2.0

Not even the same players, or even close for that matter....

 

[FightingIrishLover7]

Not even the same players, or even close for that matter....

Both undersized slot receivers (where I can pretty much gurantee Cam will play).

Both quick and shifty, make people miss. Need multiple people to drag them down.

Excellent route running.

Soft hands.

How are they so different?

 

[IHateMarkMay]

Both undersized slot receivers (where I can pretty much gurantee Cam will play).

Both quick and shifty, make people miss. Need multiple people to drag them down.

Excellent route running.

Soft hands.

How are they so different?

The way they act outside of the game. The last game he played for the Colts Collie was bitching about how he was only thrown to once. Talk about a team player. As much as I hate the Patriots, Welker is a beast and seems to never complain at all. Playing styles are similar though lol.

 

[Old Man Mike]

My view of Cam McDaniel and his so-called limited upside: well, we're way early yet, so who knows? I mentioned earlier that my Houston-based brother [Olympic weight coach] says that McDaniel is like Craig James with maybe more athleticism---doesn't sound very limited to me. Also, attitude-wise, think Rocky Bleier. This guy is bringing some stuff as far as I can tell.

 

[Ricochet]

The DB's are vastly underrated IMO and while I don't think any of them are game changing stud types they are good high quality type talent and to be honest how many difference maker types are out there?

Cam apparently has an aura about him that suggests he's going to make it big and I hope that's the case but I just don't know enough about him to make that conclusion.

That said the most underrated players in this class from a national POV are Rabasa, Springmann and Councell.

Rabasa is a stud and it's laughable that he's rated as a 3 star prospect. I think the reason for this is because Scout, Rivals, ESPN, 24/7sports etc. don't make a distinction for 3-4 guys when they categorize there rankings.

While Rabasa is a great athlete who's fast and tireless, fearless and hard hitting he isn't initially explosive and that's where I think he gets docked big time from these recruiting guru's and the fact that he's on the short end of what most 4-3 DE's and 3-4's OLB works against him.

Springmann is another who is very, very good and vastly underrated. He's the type that won't get the deserved hype coming into college but will as he's entering the NFL Draft. I think his ranking is effected that he doesn't come from a football power state. This kid is going to be a monster at DE. Tuitt and Lynch (I'm hoping) will get the hype and deservedly so but IMO Springmann isn't that far behind.

Councell isn't there yet, he's raw, very raw but he's got 5 star tools. He's big, fast and athletic. Given some time to be groomed and with the right development his kid has a chance to be special.

 

[Sherm Sticky]

The DB's are vastly underrated IMO and while I don't think any of them are game changing stud types they are good high quality type talent and to be honest how many difference maker types are out there?

Cam apparently has an aura about him that suggests he's going to make it big and I hope that's the case but I just don't know enough about him to make that conclusion.

That said the most underrated players in this class from a national POV are Rabasa, Springmann and Councell.

Rabasa is a stud and it's laughable that he's rated as a 3 star prospect. I think the reason for this is because Scout, Rivals, ESPN, 24/7sports etc. don't make a distinction for 3-4 guys when they categorize there rankings.

While Rabasa is a great athlete who's fast and tireless, fearless and hard hitting he isn't initially explosive and that's where I think he gets docked big time from these recruiting guru's and the fact that he's on the short end of what most 4-3 DE's and 3-4's OLB works against him.

Springmann is another who is very, very good and vastly underrated. He's the type that won't get the deserved hype coming into college but will as he's entering the NFL Draft. I think his ranking is effected that he doesn't come from a football power state. This kid is going to be a monster at DE. Tuitt and Lynch (I'm hoping) will get the hype and deservedly so but IMO Springmann isn't that far behind.

Councell isn't there yet, he's raw, very raw but he's got 5 star tools. He's big, fast and athletic. Given some time to be groomed and with the right development his kid has a chance to be special.

ESPN likes Rabasa a lot. He is 4* and ranked in their top 100.

 

[BGIF]

The DB's are vastly underrated IMO and while I don't think any of them are game changing stud types they are good high quality type talent and to be honest how many difference maker types are out there? ...

With a Front 7 that can stop the run and hurry the QB they don't need to be game changing studs.

 

[rikkitikki08]

The way they act outside of the game. The last game he played for the Colts Collie was bitching about how he was only thrown to once. Talk about a team player. As much as I hate the Patriots, Welker is a beast and seems to never complain at all. Playing styles are similar though lol.

Not to be a **** but that was reggie wayne who was bitching, austin collie hasnt said anything along those lines.....he is actually a complete team player. He knew he was not going to play in the game in oakland yet he went on the trip to help blair white study film on the flight

 

[IHateMarkMay]

Not to be a **** but that was reggie wayne who was bitching, austin collie hasnt said anything along those lines.....he is actually a complete team player. He knew he was not going to play in the game in oakland yet he went on the trip to help blair white study film on the flight

OHHHHHHH ****, my bad. You aren't being a **** at all. I just had my guys screwed up. Thanks for setting me straight.

 

[Ricochet]

With a Front 7 that can stop the run and hurry the QB they don't need to be game changing studs.

Exactly. My point is that they a very good group of DB's that will be just that good and that's what ND needs.

 

[jason_h537]

We now have 2 Wes Welker's on the team according to you guys. Not all white boy's are Wes Welker. Just sayin

 

[connor_in]

We now have 2 Wes Welker's on the team according to you guys. Not all white boy's are Wes Welker. Just sayin

You are right...depending on your age group, they are Steve Largent, Brandon Stokely, Austin Collie...