Recruiting to 85: Reading the Tea Leaves

I agree with your take on the QB situation. I’ve read Massa isn’t interested in transferring, and that he might switch Safety; he apparently played basketball in high school as well and is pretty athletic. Montana’s pretty mobile; perhaps he’ll find a role on special teams.

Unless there’s an injury crisis at RB, I doubt BK turns Riddick back into a traditional RB. I’m sure we’ll see lots of Riddick being motioned out of the backfield, but he really hit his stride midseason. Ultimately, it probably just comes down to getting our best playmakers on the field together.

I could see Nuss coming back as a G if we get snubbed by all three recruits still on the board, but I doubt that happens. Where did you read that Ragone got offered a 5th year? That wouldn’t make much sense with the depth we have currently. This is Jake Golic’s window; Welch and Koyack will be pressing him hard, and if he can’t break the 2-deep, he probably won’t ever see significant minutes.

I expect we’ll see some transfers before the summer program starts. Deion Walker and the two DEs you mentioned are prime candidates.

If we get Niklas, he probably gets his pick of DE or OT, and Carrico and/or Springman switches accordingly.

We’ve had plenty of QBs play Safety, some pretty well – like Tommy Z and Kyle McCarthy.

Leaving RB open (vs Huggins, Cam McDaniel or Theo) would be attractive to a talented 2012 RB prospect who wants early playing time on a big stage. Johnathan Gray, Keith Marshall or Barry Sanders, Jr. would be ideal.

Should we get two of the three recruits left, that fills our numbers except for transfers. Then Nuss, Romine, Ragone and Wenger give us depth with experience. Ragone’s fifth year offer hit the message boards after the awards show. I think it is a rumor.

We have been averaging an attrition rate of two or three players a class. Weis liked to leave room, while Brian Kelly fills out each class. Our low point was 75 players after Weis’s first spring with only a handful of offensive linemen.

Thanks for the comment, jack.

Nice summary. Sure, there will be transfers. A lot of guys have real talent and see a line of others in front of them. Parents who want their boy to get a chance to play can be contacting coaches that were recruiting their son can be doing the spadework. If you came to ND because you expected to go pro, you will probably want to move. If you came because of the education and the lifestyle, you don’t want to go. You will sit on the bench for the scholarship. In my experience there are a lot of guys willing to do this.

Nice job Michael.

I’m kind of shocked that Wenger applied for a sixth year to begin with and I don’t see him contributing even if he does come back, which it doesn’t seem likely.

What really needs to happen is someone needs to have an exclusive 1 on 1 interview with Luke Massa and see what’s going through his head. It would clear up some issues for us hardcore bloggers.

Guessing the transfers is always fun. I bet Brian Kelly makes it really hard for them to do so, just because of his intensity and positive vibes he gives off that this program is headed for good things.

Kind of a catch-22 there.

It would be awesome, and they would be even bigger Irish heroes, if Joe Montana and Mike Golic Sr. stepped up and offered to pay the boys way at ND. That could free up a little room for good of the team. GO IRISH!!

Based on the attrition rate over the past year, I really don’t see many transfers. Bullard left to be closer to his family, EJ Banks because he needs to figure out his priorities. Only Shaq Evans left due to depth chart issues. I personally don’t see Walker leaving (he will be a senior in 2011 and seems to enjoy being part of the program—look at the picture at the end of the Sun Bowl, he is right next to Floyd) or Newman, who will be done after 2011 as well.

Massa said ND was his dream school, so look for him to switch to another position. At 6’4" he could grow into a LB or play S. Don’t forget that Matt James was one of his closest friends, so I think he wants to be at ND because of that as well. Montana is athletic enough to play another position, I will just have to wonder where he would be if he played more football growing up. That has really hampered his development.

Dever has to be a shoe-in for a 5th year. Why wouldn’t you bring back your starting LT? The announcement was delayed on all the 5th years, probably because BK wants to be sure about everyone signing the dotted line first next Wednesday.

That leaves two scholarships for Niklas and Huggins. With no Huggins (which we are all prepared for, I would think), perhaps Haynes gets a closer look, but I think you are right saying he is waiting to see how the numbers look first.

In addition to RB for 2012, OC has to be a HUGE priority. Behind Cave you have Golic Jr and that is it. Watt practiced there a bit in the fall, but you only have the one true C (Cave) on the team. Also S would be high on my list and NG. But that is just me.

As far as Riddick moving back to the backfield, I think Kelly realizes that he is a special player and will commit to getting the ball in his hands any way possible in 2011. I would move him back to RB because then you can move him all over the field trying to get mismatches. Riddick on a safety or LB? You have to like that option, especially with Floyd drawing extra attention most of the time. Then if you can have Bennett Jackson and TJ Jones stretch the field, it will be fun to watch….

Thanks, Eric.

As far as Golic and Montana paying their sons way, I see transfers as more likely.

Good summary, Jim. Good point about why Massa would stay, so I see him switching positions, probably Safety. If you have finished Junior year, you would rarely leave ND, especially if you felt we verged on something special. I’d bet on Newman and D. Walker staying to finish their degree, as Joe said.

I also agree with Jim on the advantages of moving Riddick to RB. Huggins would supply a running style we do not yet have. TR, SH and Bennett J would give us a definite New Jersey flavor to our attack.

We’re running out of transfer possibilities, though. Spring practice may make up some minds.

What, no signing day switches to ND, no surprise transfers?

Hmmm, signing day switches. I believe the last one was Kapron Lewis-Moore a few years back, and that worked out well for the Irish. Ja’Juan Story (current Florida commit) was one name that was thrown around a few weeks ago, but seeing as how he never visited, I doubt that would happen. USC seems to keep on losing people, so it is possible that Carlisle would switch, but not likely.

Surprise transfers? By definition, that would be difficult to predict. I could see one or two after the spring two-deep has been announced. Looking through the sophomores and juniors, most have seen significant playing time in one form or another, and as you said it is doubtful that a 2011 senior would transfer.

There have been a few rumors floating around that Jordan Prestwood wants to leave FSU after only a few weeks of classes. Don’t know if that is true, so it will be interesting to see if anything further develops there.

Prestwood is just another rumor. He’d have to sit out a year as a transfer first, since he is already enrolled. Drew and Story are other rumors without substance, since they have not visited. Carlisle seems strong with USC.

If you looks for positions of need, include only those recruits who visited and had some strong interest in Notre Dame and have not enrolled, how about Jordan Walsh or Brendon Austin?

Haynes is reportedly down to two – Notre Dame and Ohio State are presumed to be his final two, though no confirmation.

Can’t another lineman learn how to long snap? I’ve always found those LS scholarships pretty dumb. Especially when we already have one on campus.

Did Walsh ever get an offer? He was a former HS team mate of Chris Watt, correct? Jay Whitmire is another name you could throw in that hat, but I don’t see any of them switching.

I will maintain that C is a huge need now and next year. I am not sure about Kelly’s perspective on that, but in the spread running shotgun/pistol, you need a pretty good guy in the middle.

I assumed that the Prestwood thing was just a rumor as well, but you never know. The only thing that fueled the Ray Drew rumors was his friendship with Tuitt. Once he decided he wouldn’t visit ND, they were out of the mix. The Story rumors only surface after Urban decided to leave and before they hired Muschamp. You have to think he has seen what Weis did with Stovall, Samardzija, McKnight, Tate, and Floyd and figured it was best for him to stay at Florida.

If Niklas commits, I would expect him to get a first shot at DE (like Hounshell) and then you probably see Carrico/Springmann move over to OT. Regardless, BK has 3 true OL in this class (Hegarty, Hanratty, Martin) with the possibility of moving 3 more over if needs be (Carrico, Sprinmann, Hounshell). You have to love that kind of flexibility.

I agree on LS, Eric, to a point. You need a good one. Tenths of a second can be the difference between a FG and a blocked one. However, do you use your last scholarship on the best one with another LS on the roster? If Cowart is transferring, that’s another story.

Golic, Cave and Wenger were all centers in h.s. Why can’t you move a OG to Center, though? Walsh is about Golic’s size, comparing h.s. hts and weights. Walsh never got an offer, Jim. Speculation was that he would accept right away. He was a teammate of Chris Watt and attended a Junior Day, a Summer Camp, the Blue and Gold Game and a visit for the BC game in ’09. He committed to the Hawkeyes in August, ’10.

I love the flexibility Kelly recruits in big men. All three of his top teams are recruiting him at different positions – Stanford (TE), USC (OT), ND (DE). He needs to add weight and more muscle, but he is the kind of athletic, versatile big man Kelly loves. He could easily switch to the offensive side.

Crabtree at Rivals says Huggins has dropped ND and will choose between Rutgers and UNC. His announcement has long been planned for tomorrow.

Niklas won’t announce until NSD.

Haynes does not have an actionable scholarship offer for 2011 anymore from UNC. Kelly is talking with him today, possibly about whether ND has room. He may be in the same situation with Ohio State – a numbers crunch. Harvard always has been a possibility for Haynes, though they do not offer athletic scholarships. Haynes could announce tomorrow, too.

Interesting review of the past 25 #1 overall recruits from ESPN (soon to appear in the magazine):

http://insider.espn.go.com/ncaa/recruiting/insider/news/story?id=6062100

The best one has to be Ricky Watters. Once he started getting all the attention, his mom told him he was either going to South Bend or West Point. End of discussion.

I had a large number of expert comments to make regarding the situation but you guys all beat me to it.

Imagine that.

terry,
   You’ve got to be fast on this board. Huggins chooses Rutgers. Drew to Georgia, as we expected. Only Haynes and Niklas, who is visiting ND now, are left. The Orange County Register reports Niklas was not accepted at Stanford and is now down to ND and USC.
   As far as fifth years, Mike Frank reports that both Mike Ragone and Andrew Nuss have been approved in addition to Dever, Hayseed and Gray. That’s 85, gents.
   Two transfers? Some parent picking up the tab? Stay tuned.

Courtesy of whiskey (& ISD): http://www.irishsportsdaily.com/football/football-articles/4056-fifth-year-applicants-announced

Haynes to Ohio State.
http://twitter.com/RubioSnapping

And then there was one….

Or, Tressel forced the commitment or he would withdraw the scholarship. Waiting for ND to NSD did not seem like a good idea, since if ND was full, he would miss out on both. Reportedly, ND was his first choice. So, if Kelly finds room, will Haynes switch on NSD?

Michael Collins;

Interesting handle – historical reference? Niklas is on campus this weekend – any news?

There was some question about whether or not Kelly could recruit with the big boys. That question has been answered. He’s the right man for the job. Even if we stop at 23 this is an outstanding class.

Mr. Collins —

I haven’t seen that announcement of the approval of Ragone and Nuss. I thought they were just the other two of the six applicants for a 5th year. With Haynes headed to Columbus, Niklas is the only one left on the board. There have been wispers that his #1 is USC, but I don’t know if I believe that. I guess we find out on Wednesday. Also, some rumblings indicate that Nuss would be taken before Ragone. It makes sense with the depth at TE (and Ragone’s injury history), but is complicated by Rudolph leaving early. Do you want a known commodity as a blocking TE? We shall see…

terry,
   This coaching staff has done a terrific job recruiting for the Irish. Chuck Martin has been a great recruiting coordinator. For every offer that dropped the Irish from their list, the staff quickly moved to their next man. They were able to close out on some of the top players, get decommitments from schools players originally committed to, and securing players who switched their commitments to ND or seemed to be wavering.
   Kelly’s staff has filled all our top immediate needs and has positioned us for success in the immediate future. With our depth and returning starters, these prospects are placing themselves in an ideal situation with time to work on technique, bulk up and get some playing time behind seniors.

Jim,
   You are, of course, right about the fifth years. Ragone and Nuss have not been announced as being granted a fifth year yet. I would take Nuss before Ragone if Niklas were to commit, because of Nuss can play OG or OT and because we would be set at TE even without Ragone.
   Servite historically has sent players to USC. Chris Gallipo and Matt Kahil are a couple of recent ones. But I expect Niklas to make his own decision. It may come down to which side of the ball he wants to play on.

Anyone have anything solid about an offer to Remound Wright (RB)? He has been tweeting about it and canceled his trip to Iowa this weekend. Possibly just a rumor.

Wright had multiple visits to ND, is from Bishop Dwenger in Ft Wayne, which has sent Goodman, Eifert and Springmann to the Irish, but has been just outside of the offer limelight and professed he is solid to Stanford, though he scheduled the trip to Iowa.

I heard over the summer that if ND offered Wright, he would commit on the spot. As far as if he got an offer or not after missing out on Huggins, I don’t know. It doesn’t look like it, but who knows.

Oklahoma seems to be making a late push for Bennett Okotcha. It has been reported that he visited there over the weekend. Not sure how much truth there is to that rumor. Depth-wise, he will probably see some action in the fall at ND, while the Sooners have a lot more at the DB position.

Now that the dead period has started, I think it is wait and see until Wednesday.

Okotcha needs to stay. I don’t want to see any DB recruits jump on NSD. We desperately need bodies there like it’s nobody’s business.

Okotcha is gone to OU it appears. But Bennett Jackson makes a switch to corner…good move by the coaching staff.

When has a Texas player not listened to the enchantment from the Sooners? Guess we trade one Bennett for another, and move it up a priority notch in recruiting for 2012. Another scholarship saved – for a walkon like Schmidt or for 2012.

Yes!! Troy Niklas signs his LOI with ND. All LOIs are in except Jalen Brown. Haynes signed with Ohio State.

Next, announcement on 5th years.

Room for two 5th years? Nuss and Romine?

Niklas is a great add. Weather has been dicey in Texas with rolling blackouts. Perhaps that is why Brown’s isn’t in just yet.

Maybe its a coin flip between Romine and Ragone. Who knows…