WR's in 2006 recruiting class

[jjsccer2]

We have George West rarely seeing the field since he's been to ND, Robby Paris showing a decent amount of potential, and I can't recall if I have ever seen Richard Jackson or Barry Gallup on the field. Besides these four we have DJ hord who was the diamond of Weis's first recruiting class and has been surpassed by underclassmen on the depth chart. With all this new talent that we have recruited the past 2 years at WR, which of these players do you think will ever see playing time in a major game and the chances anyone can ever remember their names after they graduate??

 

[BDIrish4ever]

My money would be on Robby Paris to contribute if he can solve his occasional case of the "drops".

 

[jonesman]

Here are the situations with these receivers.
West - He is a good third receiver and will remain as a slot receiver.
Parris - He has decent skills, but started to struggle second half of 2007. He will likely get decent amount of playing time in 2008.
Jackson - Was a special teams regular in 2006. Medical redshirt in 2007 due to hand injury. Will get look in 2008, but could get lost in shuffle.
Gallup - Great kid. Not talented enough to really ever see the field at ND except maybe on special teams.
Hord - He had serious skills. He looked good on special teams in 2005, but blew up his achilles in 2006 training. He does not seem to have totally regained his speed and confidence since the injury. If he can recover totally for 2008, he could be a major factor on the depth chart. I am hopeful for him since I believe he could be a solid player.

 

[Irishknight1023]

I think people sleep on West too much, he makes good plays when the balls in his hands. Just like I think Grimes is a perfect slot/#3 reciever that's how I think of West. I think it'll be Kamara, Parris and Grimes/West as the starting 3 this year.

 

[jonesman]

If Parris is to hold down his starting role, he will need to seriously improve on his late 2007 performances.

 

[IrishRamMan10]

I love the West end around TD his freshman year against Purdue.. it was a thing of beauty... i could see him gettin some solid slot reciever PT next year

 

[KamaraPolice]

Is David Grimes no longer at Notre Dame? Where's the love. Jackson was hurt this year in fall camp, so he has 3 years of eligibility left. And then therre's George West. He hasn't done much in games to date, but when you get the ball in his hands, he's elusive. I saw West putting on some good moves in games at the end of the season that made me wonder where it had been all season long.

With that said, remember that Stovall, Shark and McKnight didn't come along until their junior seasons. Receiver, more so than runningback, seems to be a position where it takes some time to get acclimated before excelling.

 

[Moostache]

West is not as advertised back in '06. He was supposed to be a burner, a real game-breaking type player...he was Golden Tate before Golden Tate but he did not have any real electric moments like Tate flashed ever so fleetingly in 2007....

I see ND's WR corp in terms of role they fit:

#1 WR-types = Kamara / Floyd
(The "go-to" guys and potential consistent playmakers..also if you have two of these type of guys at the same time...think Shark/Stovall or Shark/McKnight combos...you have match-up problems for the opponent all day long!)

#2 WR-types = Hord (when healthy) / Walker / Tate
(The WR that gives a team fits when they spend too much time worried about doubling the #1 WR...some guys like Tate can be in here with gamebreaking ability or speed and others become USC's Smith to their Jarret type players...)

#3 / Slot types = Grimes / West / Jackson
#4 / Slot types = Parris / Goodman
(Slot guys can be either possession types with great hands or quickness players who are a tough match-up for the nickel backs or LBs...)

#5 WR-types = Gallup
(usually in the ND offense we won't see too many times that the TE is taken out of the game as a potential receiver, so these are the guys least likely to play...

 

[Irishknight1023]

Hord whenever I did see him looked rather slow and dropped some balls. He really has taken steps backwords since his injury IMO

 

[piyachi]

Nice post moose - as usual I'm going to nitpick because news is slow.

1 - agree

2 - Goodman/ D Walker/ Tate - I think Hord is done with being a top-line player, but who knows we haven't seen him healthy in a long time. Goodman deserves to be up here because he is almost as fast as Tate and has a big lanky body and good open field moves. Comparison with Parris is irrelevant other than they are both as pasty white as me.

3 - agree
4 - Put Hord here along with Parris. Both could move up - Parris if he can catch the ball higher and gain some position in the air. Hord if he can further recover from his injury.

5 - agree

 

[aaronb]

Richard Jackson was the highest regarded of the 2006 receivers comming in. The injury was to his wrist, not the legs. So his speed should still be intact. He has Kamara/McKnight type size. All this leads me to think he will be the suprise contributor in 2008. Call it a hunch.

 

[Golden_Domer88]

Honestly I see this roster for next year. (Starters)

WR: Kamara/Floyd

WR: Walker/Goodman

WR: Grimes/West

 

[jonesman]

I am very hopeful for two players to realize their talent in 2008. Richard Jackson looked every bit the part of a seriously talented WR coming out of high school. He has the size and speed to be really good. DJ Hord looked really fast his freshman year. He should flashes of elusive speed. The injury really took its toll on him. Jackson should be 100% recovered and DJ will have had two years to regain his speed. Spring ball will speak volumes about these two players. They can either solidify a spot in the rotation or will see their careers at ND come to an abrupt end. If they can show the injury is behind them, their is a wide open spot at one of the WR slots. Kamara will occupy the #1 spot, Grimes will have the slot which leaves the #2 spot wide open. I would love to see these guys step up because then we could ease Floyd, Walker and Goodman into the game, not a crash course.

 

[Golden_Domer88]

Yeah they better step up their game if they want to play because the freshman will be pushing hard for the second year in a row. The power of recruiting.

 

[jjsccer2]

Honestly I see this roster for next year. (Starters)

WR: Kamara/Floyd

WR: Walker/Goodman

WR: Grimes/West

what about TATE? he is hands down the most athletic and gifted wr we have. i know he is still adjusting but he has to get playing time next year or else i think we could lose this guy.

 

[goldandblue]

That's a question I have too. If tate is not going to be on the field as a receiver, how can we utilize this guy? Where can he see the field to help N.D. I'm not saying that he should be a starting reciever or high on the list. I just think he is an explosive player and is there any where he can be used other than receiver if he doesn't pan out there?

 

[notredomer23]

Jackson will explode next year as the 3rd WR

 

[GoshenGipper]

Jackson - Was a special teams regular in 2006. Medical redshirt in 2007 due to hand injury. Will get look in 2008, but could get lost in shuffle.

The hand/wrist injury was mostly a cover. Yes he had one, but it was fully healthy by mid season if I remember correctly. From what I heard he had a knee injury that was never disclosed to the public and that was the real reason he sat out the whole year.

 

[irish4ever]

Honestly I see this roster for next year. (Starters)

WR: Kamara/Floyd

WR: Walker/Goodman

WR: Grimes/West

Goodman (a freshman) over Tate, I doubt that! Tate is definitely an athlete and just needs some experience to show what he's worth! Goodman is gonna have to "grow" into the position (needs to add some much needed muscle for one).

 

[Golden_Domer88]

Ok here:

#1 Kamara/Floyd/Hord

#2 Walker/Tate/Jackson

#3 Grime/West/Goodman

 

[IrishGrizz]

Alright- 1 uninformed generic comment by me-

the overall depth and following fierce competition by the previous mentioned receivers is going to make this class a factor of 10 better than last year. With any improvement in the O line and the continued play calling and we will be making alot of :jawdrop: