Samardzija will have another stellar year next year, provided that he his planning to play football instead of baseball for the pro's. I think that will be a big factor. Will he want to risk injury if he is riding on baseball for his career? In my opinion, with all the hype and attention that he is receiving for football, it's practically a no-brainer. But, there will definitely be baseball scouts whispering in his hear considering that he is 6'5 and can bring 95+ mph.....Should be interesting to see what the Shark decides.
ND101 | Email | Homepage | 01.25.06 - 10:39 am | #

Sharks post ND options certainly pose an interesting question, but being a good football player at Notre Dame vs. Being a good baseball player at Notre Dame . . . . Isn't it obvious where the greater potential lies?

I guess the question becomes . . . Does the Shark know Bo?
atepesm | Email | Homepage | 01.25.06 - 10:52 am | #

From what little I have heard about the Shark, apparently he really enjoys playing football. He could make big money in either sport, but you get richer, faster, by playing football, especially with the honors he has received and by playing under Weis at ND.

On the other hand, he could probably pitch until he's 40+ if he doesn't blow out something on his pitching arm. . . I would say that I would hate to make that choice, but who wouldn't want to have to decide between making millions playing either in the NFL or MLB.
JohnWA | Email | Homepage | 01.25.06 - 11:33 am | #

correction: Bill Fischer did not play for Notre Dame in 1942-1943. He started in 1945 so he was probably All-American in 1947-1948.
jim loeffler | Email | Homepage | 01.25.06 - 12:39 pm | #

As far as injuries go, a nasty injury in football could easily reck a career, but I don't think the same would be true in baseball. What I mean is that even if Shark played football and, God forbid, something happened, its quite possible that he could still pitch. Either way you never know.
Brad | Email | Homepage | 01.25.06 - 1:14 pm | #

"After we wondered aloud about the possibility earlier last year, Jeff Samardzija was ultimately named a 2005 Consensus All-American wide receiver."

BGS has the power to make JS an All-American.

Sit down fellas and relax a little.
Phil Hancock | Email | Homepage | 01.25.06 - 1:23 pm | #

Phil, it was just a way to link back to a previous post that explained the process by which a player earns the "Consensus" label and just exactly what All-American awards Samardzija had already won. That's it. We're certainly not patting ourselves on the back over anything.

Jim, nice catch. Thanks.
Pat | Email | Homepage | 01.25.06 - 2:30 pm | #

Jesus, Phil. You thought we were taking responsibility for JS's award?
Jay | Email | Homepage | 01.25.06 - 4:07 pm | #

stonebreaker was 88 and 90... what about 89? i don't remember back quite that far.
tjf | Email | Homepage | 01.25.06 - 4:13 pm | #

The only thing BGS is going to take credit for is emailing Weis and having him correct Quinn's stance behind center. Oh, and we also convinced Notre Dame to start accepting early enrollments. And we're pretty sure that this blog is primarly responsible for the great recruiting this year.

But other than that, I don't know why people would assume we're taking credit for anything.
Pat | Email | Homepage | 01.25.06 - 4:51 pm | #

From what I understand, Jeff really isn't an upper level pro prospect in baseball. Yes, he's had some success pitching for ND, but this past season was his first as a 'weekend pitcher' and it was up against Big East competition, a mediocre league.

Pro baseball is all about the tools, and correct me if I'm wrong, but I've never seen anyone else claim that Jeff can bring it at 95+. I thought he was much closer to 89,90. There's a ton of rhp's out there that can do to that.
Shuttlesworth | Email | Homepage | 01.25.06 - 4:56 pm | #

As I recall, Stonebreaker sat out '89 after getting injured in a car accident. He would have been a senior in '89 but was redshirted and ended up playing as a 5th year in '90.
Paul | Email | Homepage | 01.25.06 - 6:04 pm | #

You guys gotta put up "Clip Show" as "Best of BGS". Not just put it up, but put it at the top.
Dozier | Email | Homepage | 01.25.06 - 9:55 pm | #

Shuttleworth is absolutely correct about Shark- he's high 80s to 90 which are pretty much a dime a dozen in college baseball and the low minors. Football is his ticket to stardom/wealth.

Brad, I have to take umbrage with part of your post: "What I mean is that even if Shark played football and, God forbid, something happened, its quite possible that he could still pitch."

Are you freakin' kidding me? Dude, have you ever pitched? If so, at a level above high school? Pitching is brutal on the body, not just the arm. I pitched one year at ND and ended up with a serious arm injury b/w frosh and soph year from all the throwing. Plus, pitchers need to have their legs to be effective. The run a ton (at least most do; David Wells obviously is only running to the buffet). A serious leg injury (and obviously arm injury) most likely means diminished performance and for a marginal prospect at best like Shark, his MLB dreams would be over.
Irish Rat | Email | Homepage | 01.26.06 - 12:22 am | #

Irish Rat, don't get me wrong. I'm merely blowin some wind for the sake of it. All I meant was that an injury which could ruin a football careers, for a reciever, would most likely not coincide with the type of injury that could ruin a baseball career. Thats all. My cousin's a pitcher in the MLB, so I know that stuff can seriously ruin your body. It's just that baseball injuries and football injuries are different due to the different stresses they place on the body.
Brad | Email | Homepage | 01.26.06 - 8:33 am | #

...and what IS Charlie Weis' email address??
Tom | Email | Homepage | 01.26.06 - 1:30 pm | #

Tom,

JeebusChristPartDeux@Secondcoming.com
Brad | Email | Homepage | 01.26.06 - 2:19 pm | #

Hey Brad...in the fiesta bowl would Jesus have...

1. Given the momemtum back to OSU by going for it (yet again) on 4th down?

2. Berated the side-judge mercilessly for an (admittedly bad) holding call...thus insuring bad calls (or no calls) against the Irish all evening long?

Charlie Weis is certainly an upgrade...no question...but he is unproven when it comes to calling him elite. He has not even beaten a top-25 team. From the comment to end the MSU pep rally...to the Fiesta bowl gaffs, Charlie Weis has proven that he needs to mature in order to become a great head coach. I'm pretty sure that he will...but until then, let's save the deity status for those that have accomplished someting great.
Charlie | Email | Homepage | 01.26.06 - 3:01 pm | #

Incidently, doesn't it seem strange all the accolades a WR is getting after his embarassingly bad performance in the Fiesta bowl? (For my money, he shouldn't even have been playing in the game...but that's another story. From ND's perspective, it would have been better if he hadn't been playing.)
Charlie | Email | Homepage | 01.26.06 - 3:03 pm | #

Charlie (aka CCC)--

Are you saying you don't think Samardzija should have been playing in the Fiesta Bowl? Whyizzat?

Sure, he dropped some passes, and in a big game no less. But that shouldn't take anything away from the solid defensive effort put forth by the Buckeyes.
c-stone | Email | Homepage | 01.26.06 - 4:42 pm | #

Ah, yes...Charlie "Samardzija taunts like Miami circa '87" returns...
Nate | Email | Homepage | 01.26.06 - 7:15 pm | #

Is this the same Charlie who thinks Darius Walker sucks and that Travis Thomas should be getting most of the carries?

Well, no matter. I actually agree w/Charlie on Weis's 4th down call. We shoulda kicked the FG or given a delayed handoff to Darius. More generally, I'm baffled why we abandoned the run when we were ripping off 6 yard scampers every time DW touched the ball. I'm not saying that OSU's stellar run D wouldn't have clamped down eventually, but we'll never know.

I'm as big a Weis booster as they come. You can put it in stone that he'll bring us at least 1 NC in the next decade. But I think he let his ego get the best of him in the Fiesta. How else can you explain his repeatedly forcing the issue with an ineffectual passing game when the running game was eating up chunks of yardage? I still think CW's ego and cockiness will win a sh*tload of games for us, but Charlie's not totally wrong that it might lose us some games too.
scott | Email | Homepage | 01.26.06 - 10:46 pm | #

For one, CW isn't a God. It was a joke, so chill out. Secondly, I really don't disagree terribly with his decision to keep going for it. I mean come on, his defense was on pace to set records for poor play, and OSU literally was ripping off 60-80 yard touchdowns left and right. Without being able to stop tOSU, I really think that since our passing game had been our strength all year long, why not take your chances trying to turn the game into a shoot-out when the other side is already putting up big points and numbers. I mean at least that strategy would (theoretically) give us the best shot. Thoughts?
Brad | Email | Homepage | 01.27.06 - 10:14 am | #

Brad, I love the fact that CW is agressive unlike BobTy Davingham. The loss to BC in 2004 was the absolute worst display second half conversative play calling with the lead I've ever seen. I agree with you, ND will win more than it loses with this style. When I think about CW's style, I love the fact he was throwing the ball with 2 minutes left on 3rd down against Michigan with a 7 point lead.

That being said, there's a difference between agressive and stupid. Michigan was agressive; tOSU was stupid and reckless. Scott's right (by the way, great post- I agree with everything you said); we should have taken the points there. While ND had a great year, there's room for improvement from everyone, including CW. His biggest area of improvement is to knowing the difference b/w agressive and stupid.
Irish Rat | Email | Homepage | 01.27.06 - 1:40 pm | #

You know, speaking of being aggressive with play calling, I believe the boys here at BGS actually did a segment on Charlie's tendency to "out coach himself through aggression" or something similar to that right after his hiring when they did a profile on him. How prophetic.
Brad | Email | Homepage | 01.27.06 - 2:15 pm | #

So Jay, Pat, et. al? Where can I find the piece Brad refers to? I'd love to read it.
Irish Rat | Email | Homepage | 01.27.06 - 3:07 pm | #

If the Irish would have scored a touchdown on that 4th down play, no one would have second guessed him at all. Hand it to the Buckeyes for shutting them down. Charlie Weis' play-calling did not lose the Fiesta Bowl - the poor Irish defense did. Charlie will also be the first to say that he learned a lot this year, and he will improve his coaching from this 1st year experience.

That being said, I would have kicked the field goal, but the Irish still would have lost. Ohio State was the better team.
Domer97 | Email | Homepage | 01.27.06 - 3:08 pm | #

Here's some quick comments for now:

1. I don't personally know any individuals who have adequate credentials to second-guess a football coach who has 27 years of experience at every level, high school through the NFL...and with great success.

2. I presume Weis knew more about OSU's capabilities than most of us, combined, would ever...and he probably knew then what many of us realize now: that on that particular day in the desert, it was going to take more than FGs to beat Ohio State.
c-stone | Email | Homepage | 01.27.06 - 3:47 pm | #

Rat, I'm not sure which piece Brad is referring to. I'm sure something we wrote mentioned the fact that at times Weis might be a bit too creative for his own good. In all likelyhood it was a quote from a Pats fan summing up their opinions on Weis.
Pat | Email | Homepage | 01.27.06 - 3:58 pm | #

c-stone and Domer97, I agree w/your larger point that it would've taken a hell of alot more than a 4th down call to beat OSU that day. I'm just saying that I'll never understand why we got away from the run when it clearly had OSU on their heels. While the defensive schemes (not to mention the overall quality of the OSU D) were pretty different, watching the game I felt like alot of Gator fans must've felt in the 92 (?) Sugar bowl when Spurrier stubbornly kept on trying to pass against us, even though the run was wide open.

At the end of the day though, I wouldn't trade CW for any other college FB coach. I really can't wait to see what he does w/a few top 5 recruiting classes to play with!
scott | Email | Homepage | 01.27.06 - 4:42 pm | #

The Chicago Trib had a piece the other day on the Top 10 recruiting classes. I don't remember them all, but:

1. Florida
2. USC
3. Texas
4. ND
Rest of the Top 10: LSU (I think 5), Penn St. (8), Alabama (10), Florida State (I think 7), and I can't remember the other 2.
Irish Rat | Email | Homepage | 01.28.06 - 8:08 pm | #