Not as true as when Meyer was being lured. Restrictions are still tough, but not as bad. BK has proven you can bring top kids in. That along with the upgrades shows other coaches that ND is serious about fielding a top team.
Not so. I've tracked grades and test scores from the Holtz era to Kelly. Willingham had a very talented recruit with an 800 SAT who starred on the field and got an ND degree in 4 years. That was the lowest I was aware of. There were a number of sub 900.
After ND's one time Prop 48 experience President Malloy put the kibosh on it happening again. Not because the student-athletes couldn't maintain eligibility and graduate but because during their freshman year they were essentially locked in study hall when not in class. They were not allowed to practice with the team nor participate is other activities. They put real meaning into the term "full-time student". Monk felt that wasn't fair to the students and that the Prop 48 students were missing out on the full ND experience that was designed to transform HS students into well rounded adults. It was also noted that the Prop 48's were pariahs among many of their classmates because of special treatment and isolation.
During the Holtz era, Lou and Cerrato clashed regularly with Admissions. In '95 Holtz tried to force two recruits passed Admissions. Admissions said NO! and although they sent in LOI's were NEVER admitted academically to ND.
Davie didn't rock the boat and challenge Admissions. Willingham was much the same. BUT both still had some recruits with low test scores/GPAs.
Weis for all his faults understood the antagonistic relationship between Holtz/Admissions and ND's curriculum. Weis met with Admissions personnel to get an better understanding of how Admissions made their determinations and what they looked for on a transcript (core courses/GPA). When his staff went into HS for recruiting they knew what core courses kids needed to get into ND (it was more than the NCAA minimum). They focused on encouraging HS underclassmen to take the ND required classes earlier in their HS years rather than wait until their senior year and try to cram them in.
I probably knew about Meyer's recruitment by ND before most. Early that fall, Urban had offered an ND grad a position on his Utah staff. The young man seriously looked into it but ended up during him down. A month or two later, the same young man got a call from Meyer noting, "I know you some concerns and weren't excited about moving to Salt Lake City. How would you like to go home ... to South Bend?" Shortly thereafter Fr Jenkins flew to Utah. In the interim, between the job offer and the ND plane landing in Utah the UF President, Urban's former boss at Utah, preempted ND's offer. Urban took the ND interview but the die was cast. Meyer knew from his history at ND that the request for a half dozen academic exceptions a year was a deal breaker before he made it. He tactfully made the demand as a facing saving reason for both sides mutually not reaching an agreement.
