Its nice to see ND's recruiting pick up a little momentum.

I also love it when ND's recruits are described as physical players of the game.

Good pickup for ND.
atepesm | Email | Homepage | 06.30.09 - 11:08 am | #

what about mc neil?
San Diego Irish | Email | Homepage | 06.30.09 - 11:33 am | #

I see, he's out of eligibility next year.
San Diego Irish | Email | Homepage | 06.30.09 - 11:34 am | #

Say what you will about Wesis, but he can recruit, The 2010 class is looking good. I'd like to see some more OL in the 2010 class.
NOEL | Email | Homepage | 06.30.09 - 11:51 am | #

Very satisfying to see so many recruits jumping on board pre-season. I have to admit I was getting a little concerned, despite people saying that many of our "gets" are/were likely to wait till late in the game simply b/c of their elite status, &/or till they'd seen our results on the field this fall. Even with that in mind, all the early talk about 2010 setting up to be a special class, 09's haul ending up just fine once we pulled in more numbers/talent this year, etc, had me on edge a bit. Obviously we still have a long way to go, but the recent momentum is a great step forward.

Is it September yet?
baIrish | Email | Homepage | 06.30.09 - 12:05 pm | #

Just picked up another commit, a Safety named Badger who originally signed committed to Stanford.
I'd like to see us sign a few more hogs as well. With Lombard already on board, Sentreal Henderson would a perfect piece bookmarking the other end of the line. Apparently, he is good friends with Michael Floyd, which could work in our favor. Any one hear of any other's that are close to committing?
Eddy | Email | Homepage | 06.30.09 - 12:37 pm | #

Seantreal Henderson had recently announced his short list and unfortunately it doesn't include the Irish.
borromini | Email | Homepage | 06.30.09 - 1:12 pm | #

ND didn't make Henderson's top 8. As far as lineman, ND appears to be in good shape with Matt James (ND, OhSU), Brandon Linder (ND, Fla, Mia), and James Stone.

On offense, we are going hard after Prater and McCay at WR but so are many big time programs. Prater is probably a more likely option than McCay but I'm not sure we get either. Tai-ler Jones, who committed to Stanford, is still OV'ing for the SC game and wouldn't be surprised if he ended up flipping at some point. Brandon Coleman is also a potential option. I would think we are done at TE and that maybe grab a RB (Dyer or James).

Defense seems to be where we are in really good shape with some recruits including ATH Corey Cooper (currently committed to Illinois), DE Chance Carter (ND and Nebraska probably lead but his list is fluid), LB Kendall Moore (probably ND vs UNC vs FSU), DE/LB Prince Shembo (ND appears to lead), CB Spencer Boyd (ND leads), S Kacy Rodgers, and S David Amerson. Also, ND is in on 3 big time west coast guys in Sean Parker, Dietrich Riley, and Anthony Barr. All 3 recruitments have been close to the vest so hard to get much info. Barr's connections to ND seem to be overwhelming.
jason | Email | Homepage | 06.30.09 - 1:13 pm | #

i love the quote from badger (btw, wonder if wisconsin was interested in him?): "older brother and dad especially were sceptical of ND (they both played at Stanford) but after a day on campus dad was wearing a 'play like a champion' t-shirt..."
and the rest is history.
ha ha ha.
bet jim harbaugh loved that too.
oakvilleIrish | Email | Homepage | 06.30.09 - 1:32 pm | #

I have a question about the Nickel package that is relevant since this is a cornerback depth chart:

Why would we put in Sergio Brown as the nickel back instead of playing our 3 really talented corners (Walls, McNeil, Blanton)? I'm not knocking Brown, just wondering if there is some other safety-like characteristic needed of the nickel back. I would think that coverage skills would be more important, but perhaps the scheme is different in the nickel.
Erik '04 | Email | Homepage | 06.30.09 - 2:02 pm | #

jason--good to see us leading for so many fine DB recruits. We're also one of the leaders for Joshua Shaw, a very underrated CB/S prospect in CA, according to what I've heard.

Erik '04--my understanding is that the Nickel plays more of a hybrid safety/corner role since he's often expected to cover a TE or come up in run support as well as cover receivers. So the coaches must think Brown is a little better suited for that than a smaller guy like Blanton or Gray.
Ryan | Email | Homepage | 06.30.09 - 2:54 pm | #

Lo Wood is gonna be good.
cant wait till September.

cant wait for NCAA 2010 either.
Mexican Leprechaun | Email | Homepage | 06.30.09 - 3:30 pm | #

Erik,

Basically, it would depend on the style of nickel you are playing. If ND goes up against some high flying offenses, don't be suprised to see us put all 3 cover corners on the field.

But I think the basic idea in our nickel is not so much to cover, as to provide pressure through the blitz. Someone above was spot on that in this style of nickel, you want a nickel back who can give you some run support, blitz, and cover areas that a linebacker would traditionally cover. I think in our system, it makes more sense to have a guy like Sergio on the field at nickelback. That way, the two cover corners can man up and run all over the field with receivers, and keep fresh legs at the corner spot by rotating Blanton, Walls, and McNeil in there.
That's my guess at least.
Brad | Email | Homepage | 06.30.09 - 5:02 pm | #

If we get off to a good start in the fall, the recruiting picture should fall into place nicely. Corwin is quietly working wonders, and all that's missing is some solid on the field success to give this staff the credibility to recruit lights out. A mere 9 weeks! Just enough time for a trip into town for a bottle of whisky and a digital TV converter.
indy | Email | Homepage | 06.30.09 - 5:02 pm | #

http://news.cincinnati.com/ artic...healthy+balance
Good article about Ndukwe encouraging others to eat healthy. I have no idea of what ND players eat but I would suspect it is not too healthy. Food can make a big difference in individual production. Maybe sometime the people in charge of diets will make a change to more organic, Ayurvedic diet that heals instead of just providing calories.
GB | Email | Homepage | 06.30.09 - 5:57 pm | #

Erik '04, regarding why the coaches would opt for Sergio at the Nickel back (over whichever CB ends up being the odd man out), the one thing I'd add is that I suspect the large amount of experience Brown gained at that position last year while Walls was out gives him an edge. If I remember right, his presence at the Nickel last year was more about "putting the best 11 on the field" than about not having an adequate 3rd CB.

Other than that, I second the previous comments - scheme and position are key.

Go Irish!
baIrish | Email | Homepage | 06.30.09 - 6:45 pm | #

Maybe in Wood's case he'll be similar to Anello. Anello sure as heck isn't the fastest player on the team but on kickoffs and punts he manages to be the first guy to touch the returner. The Rocket was lightning fast, but he wasn't Jerry Rice. 40 time doesn't always make a great football player. Just my opinion.
Rome | Email | Homepage | 06.30.09 - 7:47 pm | #

167 lbs? Kinda small, ain't he? Let's hope he can bulk up a bit without losing speed, otherwise NCAA level receivers will simply manhandle him, no matter how closely he covers.
Nate | Email | Homepage | 06.30.09 - 8:25 pm | #

the good news is Wood's baptism will include healthy doses of Michael Floyd. that'd expedite anyone's learning curve.

feeling pretty good about Leuders and Martin on the edge but...

Can anyone give me an idea of where we stand with D Tackle recruits? It's one of the glaring needs in this class and I'm not seeing much traction or really even that many offers out. Did Louis Nix's visit this past weekend? Any word on how that went?
ColoradoIrish | Email | Homepage | 06.30.09 - 8:54 pm | #

Excellent read on Irish Sports Daily about the possibility of an offer to Bruce Gaston, 6'3" 304 lb., DT from St. Rita HS in Chicago (same school as Darius Fleming). Watch for that possibility if the Irish offer.

Regarding the size of any high school recruit, that can take care of itself in the weight room and with diet. Mike Anello isn't a giant, so there is also something about heart and desire to succeed that plays a role in college success.
Anonymous | Email | Homepage | 06.30.09 - 10:36 pm | #

Sorry, forgot a couple guys in my recruiting post including Josh Shaw as Ryan mentioned above. He named a top 3 of USC, ND, and Washington. Also, Cody Riggs of St. Thomas Aquinas in Florida (same school as Sam Young, Dan Wenger, Ben Turk, and Jordan Cowart) originally had ND as his leader but are now part of his top 5 and he says Georgia leads.

At DT, Louis Nix, a Miami verbal is/was visiting. Getting him up here for a visit was a bit of a surprise so he must seriously be considering us. If he doesn't commit...I would think Bruce Gaston and Beau Allen would be possibly getting offers at some point.

Lastly, LB Kendall Moore is announcing this Saturday and has cancelled all his officials. I would suspect he is ND based on his glowing review and us being his last visit but who knows.

This all being said...given the number of verbals switching and committed recruits visiting other schools, all the verbals don't mean much until February.
jason | Email | Homepage | 07.01.09 - 9:09 am | #

Can you guys recall when our DB, where a joke. I use to fear the deep ball. For the past two years our DB's to me are the best in the Nation. The 09 DB's will set us apart from the 05 irish. Just think if 4-9 happens this time I say its a pick six. GO IRISH GO.
GOD BLESS THE USA. Happy 4th of JUly.
stadiumdudenamedchip | Email | Homepage | 07.03.09 - 10:52 am | #

You left out Raeshon McNeil and Mike Anello from your CB chart. That's twice you have left off players. Safety and CB. Come-on Pat let's get with it.
Ska | Email | Homepage | 07.03.09 - 5:35 pm | #