Classic Corwin's gambit: DE to LB3. Check.
indy | Email | Homepage | 04.23.07 - 9:37 am | #

Nice pickups this weekend.

1 correction in your article though: David Posluszny is slated for the "Jack" or Weak Inside Linebacker position, not the outside. At least, that's what he said during his power hour interview 2 weeks ago after his commitment.
Tom S | Email | Homepage | 04.23.07 - 9:38 am | #

Thanks Tom S. I missed that.
Pat | Email | Homepage | 04.23.07 - 9:44 am | #

Yep, that's what the power hour said. Besides, as a safetly/LB, he's more of a cover guy than a rush guy, and it's hard for me to imagine him at OLB.
Kyle | Email | Homepage | 04.23.07 - 9:55 am | #

I hear Brey is goin to talk to Weis about letting him use Fauria a little bit at post come winter time. 6-8 240?! thats a big boy. ND has quickly become Tight End U, not to mention QB U
Mike | Email | Homepage | 04.23.07 - 10:33 am | #

Another thing these earlier commits do...turn the tables on recruits. They've got to make a decision on a position before they are all taken. Might not change the timeframe of a talent like Arthur Brown, but it sure would make a 4 star tight-end jump earlier. Hopefully you pull into September with 4 to 6 schoolies left...Texas has this to an art with their in-state recruits.
Yago | Email | Homepage | 04.23.07 - 11:26 am | #

I can't fathom how quickly this class is materializing. I think what really excites me is that the coaching staff will now have time to focus their energies on less players, and really work on some of these upper echelon guys.
Carl | Email | Homepage | 04.23.07 - 12:05 pm | #

It is nearing the end of April and we have 10 commitments. I believe last year we reached 10 commitments around November. Charlie is getting this train rolling quickly. Hopefully his definition of "commitment" holds true until LOI.
ND101 | Email | Homepage | 04.23.07 - 12:09 pm | #

Oh, how quickly the (minor) disappointment of the class we just signed has faded. I love this class so far! I wonder if Sherman Oaks and Encino play each other this fall. It looked like Fauria's team was playing ND-Sherman Oaks (Crist, McDonald) in one of those clips. Might go watch them play.
Jeff | Email | Homepage | 04.23.07 - 12:24 pm | #

I cannot believe how far ahead we are recruiting and making offers. College basketball coaches have been watching eighth, ninth and tenth graders for years, but I never thought that college football would become like that. I thinks it's great, just so long as several slots are reserved so that CW might get a few of the kids that jump up out of nowhere and have great senior seasons, or grow six inches and gain 60 pounds over the course of a summer. I think the folks at Hammes Bookstore ought to create a T-shirt for toddlers that has the ND football logo on it and also says "Solid Verbal Commit for 2023".
Voice in the Wilderness | Email | Homepage | 04.23.07 - 12:34 pm | #

Voice, that's an awesome idea. I'd buy a couple for my three-year-olds.
Fitzwater | Email | Homepage | 04.23.07 - 1:26 pm | #

Charlie Weis = God
Ian | Email | Homepage | 04.23.07 - 1:34 pm | #

To whomever asked if Fauria and Crist/Mcdonald play each other

Fauria goes to Crespi hs, the other two to Notre Dame...these 2 schools are BITTER, HATED DESPISED rivals, so yes they will play and it is usually the biggest game in the area. Both teams are loaded, look for a good one. The game should be for the league championship this year.
celt pride | Email | Homepage | 04.23.07 - 1:52 pm | #

It's no surprise to me that ND is bringing in top TE and QB talent. Look what happened with Fasano, Carlson, and Quinn. Each have developed into All-America caliber players with great NFL prospective under the tutelage of CW and the assistant coaches. Now, bring in Corwin Brown and generate some excitement around the defense and we land top LB recruits. It's been magical to watch.
Erik '04 | Email | Homepage | 04.23.07 - 2:11 pm | #

I was at a wedding on Saturday and met a Gator alum...he was stoked and very proud of the the entire athletic program. When talked football 2007, he told me he expects ND and UF to rebuild and that SC is the only elite team. Then he started jocking Urban and how he recruits, telling me ONE stud recruit from Florida has already committed. When I told him CW had 9 verbals, including the top QB in CA and Posluzny's brother, his jaw dropped and he said, and I quote: "Man, ND is going to be good again really soon. Michigan fans must be sweating."

Hope he's right.
Felipe | Email | Homepage | 04.23.07 - 3:36 pm | #

Thank You Urban!

Lots of folks would still be licking their wounds and sulking after your ploy with Justin Trattou, but you delivered what's proving to be a very valuable lesson to your former employer.

The scope,timeliness, intensity and fruitfulness of this year's Notre Dame recruiting and commitments is eye-opening, even by the best of Irish standards.

Broken record, but to see what's coming you always need to look back (which is why the great sports reporters all get twisted on history). In this case, your ruse with JT conjures the reaction of a great warrior when all those around him wildly celebrated the (apparent) destruction of an enemy: 'We have awoken a sleeping giant.'*

-Admiral Yamamoto, after Japan's December, 1941 attack on a U.S. naval outpost at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii

Here's hoping that the young Mr. Trattou can play a number of positions for you at All American level. Best of luck in the future.
We're back.

Go Irish


* Made for great PR, but it was Hollywood scriptwriters, not the great Yamamoto, who came up with that line.
Bill H. | Email | Homepage | 04.23.07 - 4:17 pm | #

There is some speculation that the recruiting haul for the week is not quite over. You boys at BGS are going to have to quit your day jobs to keep up.

I just can't believe how much progress we have made this year. you can attribute it to two things, I think: Corwin Brown and a deeper, better class of players from which to recruit. I will be interested to see how many of the top DL recruits ND pulls in. I say "how many", not "if" because we seem to lead on a few and be close to closing on one in particular (Newman). What is really amazing is that not only is D recruiting turning around, but we are adding depth to our strengths (QB, TE) as well (clearly we can sell more than early PT). This is how you build a dynasty, gentlemen!
Thundershaker | Email | Homepage | 04.23.07 - 4:55 pm | #

JC or Crist are going to need some top WRs to throw to, so here's hoping Weis is reaching out to the top 4 or 5 star receivers.

It should be a easy sell. Any of these top receiver recruits should realize what a mistake Benn made last year and that the opportunity to play right away with either of the top California QBs of the last two years is there for the taking.
Andy | Email | Homepage | 04.23.07 - 4:57 pm | #

I really hope that I'm wrong but....

Other than the fact that players have committed earlier and with a new definition of "commit" we will see less attrition, could someone explain to me why there is so much optimism around this class? Now hopefully the recruiting gurus are wrong, but most of these guys are barely in the average of Top 100 rankings. For example, we have 3 LBs (one of the most crucial positions for us) and the most touted one is 49 or 146 depending on who you ask. Overally, last years class is generally the same. Also, I love seeing relatives of ND players come here, but generally I don't think relatives of famous football players work out, obviously though it is a pretty complex subject. However, again with an ND connection that is special and I think it must be nurtured.

In other words, assuming the recruiting gurus are right, why does this class seem so much better than last year?

Thanks.
Max | Email | Homepage | 04.23.07 - 5:04 pm | #

you have to remember that alot changes between now and when the final recruit rankings. Kerry Neal was nowhere to be seen this time of year in the ESPN 150 but he ended up there. Clausen was the de facto #1 this time last year but some recruiting services had him @ #2 or #3 at the end of the year. Point is that things can and will change. I tihkn Charlie has gotten some big, fast guys with big time potential. A 230 lb LB that can run a 4.5, that's something to get excited for.
PM | Email | Homepage | 04.23.07 - 5:09 pm | #

Wow.
What a different style in coaching management.
Last coach played golf and talked about “young men” all the time and never really recruited.
This coach hustles recruits away from tier one schools.
How many days until September 1?
Subway Alumni | Email | Homepage | 04.23.07 - 5:24 pm | #

Max: To draw from your comments about LB, we only secured one 4 star guy, in Kerry Neal. The rest looked like 3 star guys. It looks like this year, we've snagged three 4 star guys. And the comment before mine is right: its early, and the rankings will change.

Think about where they're getting some of these kids. They're taking care of their back yard. Getting four of the best guys from Indiana and Illinois (particularly Chicago, with Fleming) is big, because while these states are nothing like Texas or Florida, they're places that ND SHOULD be getting commits from when the talent emerges.

Then they go out east and pick up a blue chip athlete from OSU country, and get two legacies from Golic Jr and Posluszny. Solid ND guys, the both of them.

Then, we take a trip to USC's backyard, and come back with the state's top LB and QB, and get a 6'7" TE while we're at it.

Point is, I think people are excited not just about the talent we're getting, but how we're getting it. Particularly the California kids are something to perk up about, after the way USC has recruited in years past.
Carl | Email | Homepage | 04.23.07 - 5:35 pm | #

"Could someone explain to me why there is so much optimism around this class?"

Uhhh, because these are the guys that Weis and Brown want . . .
Just throwing that out there.
24 hour | Email | Homepage | 04.23.07 - 6:10 pm | #

To chime in on Max's comments:

There's 22 positions on the field, not including special teamers. Now, I know it's not all spaced evenly, but getting the #49 recruit (let's remember that's purely subjective, based on a kid's junior year and perceived potential, but I digress) means he's probably in the top 1-10 in the COUNTRY at his position. If it was spaced out, he'd be the #3 recruit at that position. Even "grouping" by position, he'd still be in the top 12 for a 4-deep position like linebacker (or top 6 if you divide it into OLB/ILB).

Now, I don't know about you, but while it's nice to get "#1", the vagaries of recruiting are such that #12 might BE #1. The fact that we've got recruits flocking to us is something to be ecstatic about. Normally it takes Mack Brown's hospitality girls to get such enthusiastic commits.
Anonymouse | Email | Homepage | 04.23.07 - 6:48 pm | #

Max - Fleming isn't ranked as the 49th best linebacker in the class. He's ranked as the 49th best recruit in the country, regardless of position. In other words, he's the highest ranked linebacker recruit ND has landed since at least Mike Goolsby. And Anthony McDonald isn't too far behind.

And even better than recruit rankings are things like the fact that schools like USC, who is positively loaded at linebacker with the cream of the crop recruits from years past, decided to offer Fleming. That's a pretty good sign he's talented.

Most of the optimism around this class centers on the fact that very talented defensive players are already eager to jump on board with many more very interested.
Pat | Email | Homepage | 04.23.07 - 7:46 pm | #

I'd just like to throw out their that ALL of these ratings systems are highly subjective. I'd much rather trust our recruits under the "Charlie Weis" system of rating them rather than Scouts, inc.
Chris | Email | Homepage | 04.23.07 - 9:12 pm | #

Absolutely Chris.
Pat | Email | Homepage | 04.23.07 - 10:31 pm | #

Chris & Pat- I'm going to beg to differ about the rating systems. I know they're different than what happens in actuality, but there still isn't any proof that Weis knows recruits better than Scouts, inc.

For the people at recruiting services such as Scouts, this is their only job. Football recruiting is it. They have been doing it for years. Wheres the proof that a guy thats been doing this for two and a half years compares with someone who has been doing it for the past 25 years+?
None of Weis' recruits have really done anything unexpected, at least in my book. Yet.

I'm not saying that Weis is doing a bad job at all. But I'd have to say that there is an equal amount of merit in what recruiting networks say compared with what Weis has to say.

Can anybody really think of a Weis recruit that has performed beyond expectations? I'm curious, because nothing really pops out at me. Maybe we just need more time to tell.
Keenan | Email | Homepage | 04.23.07 - 11:49 pm | #

Keenan - very valid points. I think what can be said in Weis's favor at this time is that the recruiting is unquestionably headed in a positive direction. On the other side of the ball, we didn't see notable improvement on the field in '06 versus'05. While the #2 pre-season ranking was ludicrous, what transpired on the field clearly evidenced that the team/talent peaked a year earlier.

As for the rating systems, good coaches can put together good teams with talent that is less than good. They know how to coach, and have systems to effectively employ. We'll probably see a notable improvment on defense. On the other hand, if CW truly is an offensive genius, the offense will be no less than 'efficient.' No reason that it shouldn't be.

Again I raise the question that sends them all scampering to the shadows: what's taking place with special teams? Reading between the lines, I doubt too much is happening. STs are the fastest, most efficient way to transform and positively progress a team. I thought that with Bernie P, we'd be notably good last year in this area. Both of the honorary coaches at the BG game attained great success off of STs. It's coaching.

To wrap up the scouting services: CW is winning the recruiting wars when everyone he's getting verbals from are also being pursued by Michigan, PSU, USC, FSU, et al. So far, that's been the story. Again, only 30 to (no more than) 40 of anyone's 'Top 100' will ever see much playing time in college. Before that, it's all fun speculation (like that CSU Dr. Gray who predicted 17 hurricanes last year. There were ....5? And he is clear-cut the 'best' so....
Hurricanes?

Go Irish
Bill H. | Email | Homepage | 04.24.07 - 12:25 am | #

I like how the recruiting class is shaping up, and I'm especially glad we have some new LB's. One highly recruited LB out of PA is Andrew Sweat, who some consider the best in the country. I have a friend in Pittsburgh who follows HS football closely and he says this guy is all-world and a difference maker. Everybody is after him. He says his downside is that he's a bit of a "head case," whatever that means. Talent is important, but the biggest asset a young athlete can have is the ability to function as part of a team.

Does anyone have any insight into this guy?

Does CW have a shot at him?
Is he as good as represented?
Anyone know anything about him personally?

Thanx
gwzimm | Email | Homepage | 04.24.07 - 7:25 am | #

Coaches dont look at recruiting services. These guys make their livings off of fans who want to know how many stars their recruits are getting. This all started with a ND grad named Joe Terranova back in the 60s and 70s. These recruiting services contact coaches and find out who is being recruited, they evaluate talent and they rate them by what coaches are saying at camps and combines. The true measuring stick that a lot of coaches use is the MARS report that gets generated out of camps. This report gives all the vital information on a kid and coaches look at how that report places a kids ability. I would say dont get all caught up in these recruiting services and how they rate kids, believe that if the kids that Charlie offers are the kids that he feels he will win with, not who Tom Lemming or Allen Wallace or Scouts or anyone else feels that he can win with, believe me I do have first hand knowledge of recruiting as I went through the process with my son.
Doug | Email | Homepage | 04.24.07 - 7:34 am | #

Keenan - You have it backwards. Weis first got noticed by the Giants for his player evaluation skills while breaking down film for the assistant coaches. Many other successful coaches got a very similar head start. That was 17 years ago, and before that Weis was the assistant recruiting coordinator for South Carolina. He's been judging football talent for far longer than two and a half years.

Some of the evaluators for Scout and the other services have far less experience and certainly no where near 25 years worth. Tom Lemming, the graybeard of recruiting, was a letter carrier for the post office before deciding to rank high school kids. Some of the guys on scout.com and rivals.com where hired based on the fact that they were very popular posters on the message boards. Others might have a decent grasp of football, but are far too biased in terms of favoring one school/conference and let that overly influence their ratings.

The recruiting rankings at the very top end, say Top 25 or so, do a solid job of predicting great players. But after that it's a crapshoot and I'd put my money on a coach that has been immersed in football for normally over 20 years versus a recruit ranker with usually an average of 5-10 years experience and a slight bias towards the region of the country they cover.

If you want examples of "overacheving" recruits, start with John Ryan. A 3-star guy that many analysts assumed would have to bulk up and play defensive tackle. Instead, he worked his way to the 2nd team behind Victor Abiamiri as a freshman and now is going to be a starting outside linebacker. Toryan Smith and Morrice Richardson are two more "3-star" guys who might beat out more experienced players and start as sophomores.
Pat | Email | Homepage | 04.24.07 - 8:20 am | #

I personally think that the "losers" of the tight end battle between Ragone,Fauria,and Rudolph will end playing different positions. Fauria or Rudolph could end up playing offensive tackle, much like Eric Steinbach of the Cleveland Browns. Steinbach was recruited by Iowa as a TE, but was converted to tackle when he got there......and you all know how he turned out. Fauria and Rudolph have the prototypical size to be a tackle, and Ragone has potential to be a linebacker in the 4-3 with his size and speed.

Just a matter of time Irish Fans.

RB
Robbie | Email | Homepage | 04.24.07 - 9:12 am | #

I mean the 3-4.
Robbie | Email | Homepage | 04.24.07 - 9:13 am | #

gwzimm, I believe Andrew Sweat was at the Ohio State spring game, if that means anything.
Gabe | Email | Homepage | 04.24.07 - 9:36 am | #

In response to Robbie's comment about a TE moving over to OT - Andy Heck, anyone? He lasted 12 years in the NFL as a Tackle, after converting from TE.
JohnF | Email | Homepage | 04.24.07 - 9:58 am | #

Robbie and JohnF...
In much rarer instances, offensive tackles become tight ends. Pro Football Hall of Famer and ND All-American Dave Casper was a starter at tackle before Ara slid him out to end.
Believe it or not.

Regarding Fauria...he could be pushing seven feet tall by the time he gets to ND. A measly three
or four inch growing spurt, and voila, you have the tallest tight end in history. Might block a bunch of field goals, too. Weapons. Me likes the weapons.
Voice in the Wilderness | Email | Homepage | 04.24.07 - 10:17 am | #

I agree with the comments about recruiting analysts. They don't get a good look at the thousands of HS players so their opinion doesn't usually mean much.

My only question about the LB Sweat from Pittsburgh was based on comments a friend of mine who lives there gave me. He is supposedly being highly recruited by anyone and everyone, and in that case it seems that usually close to home schools have an initial advantage, so it wouldn't be a great surprise if he chose PSU or OSU.
gwzimm | Email | Homepage | 04.24.07 - 10:31 am | #

Regarding Andrew Sweat: For a while, his distinct top two were Florida and OSU, followed by ND. If you want I can try to dig up the interview from scout.com. Once he received the Penn State offer, however, things seemed to change for him, and we've heard a little less about Florida. Whether he's started to lose interest in them, or his interviewers simply haven't asked about Florida, or he hasn't visited and can't add more commentary, I'm unsure. Either way, it looks like Notre Dame is a distinct 3rd in a best case scenario, or a distant 4th in worst (and most likely). Granted, it could all change, but the point I'm trying to make: to anyone who wondered about our chances with this kid, don't get your hopes up.

FYI, it looks like the only LB that is high on ND and thinking of committing somewhere in the near future is Steve Filer. That one looks like an ND/Michigan derby, with Illinois and Wisconsin being the wildcards. Didn't end up going to Ohio State's spring game, for what it's worth.

Anyone else that's been offered currently is looking to wait until just before their seasons start at the earliest to commit.
Carl | Email | Homepage | 04.24.07 - 11:29 am | #

Thanks Carl,

I'm not so concerned about getting Sweat. From what I understand he's a bit of an individualist, and I'm not sure he would fit well at ND anyway.

I like what we have so far.
gwzimm | Email | Homepage | 04.24.07 - 12:27 pm | #

When ND and Michigan and SC get a commitment from a guy, they move up in the rankings. In the past, guys who were not ranked but signed with a big program, all of a sudden were ranked.
captain jack | Email | Homepage | 04.24.07 - 2:23 pm | #

I think recruiting services can totally miss when it comes to prospects. If you looked back at the top 100 players from 2002, I bet most of you never heard of half of them. That year Ohio State got 2 LBs, a 5-Star (Mike D'Andrea) and a 3-star (AJ Hawk). Guess which one did nothing and which one is in the NFL. Another player Nick Mangold was a 1-Star and he now starts for the NY Jets.
Anonymous | Email | Homepage | 04.24.07 - 4:49 pm | #

You can measure a guy's height and weight, but you can't measure his heart. You can measure his speed but not his "wantto", Mike Kovaleski comes to my mind all the time, look and see where he was listed and where he ended up. Give me players that want to be Irish and not someone who wants to play games until the 11th hour. Many of these kids are full of themselves. As Bobby Knight once said to a group of basketball campers. "You are about half as good as your parents think you are." Great statement.
Doug | Email | Homepage | 04.24.07 - 11:42 pm | #

I agree that the recruiting gurus are frequently wrong. However, remember that the schools that are dominating right now are the schools that have been recruiting most of the gurus' top picks, and finishing high up in the recruiting rankings. You can be a great coach, but you can't throw a pass, block, run or tackle. You've got to have some horses. You don't need to finish #1 every year, but you probably need to be up there.

What excites me is that, for the first time in several years, we're up there. And the phenomenon appears to be snowballing a bit in terms of ND's ability to recruit players who, a few years ago, wouldn't have looked at us, or if they did, would have kept us on their "favorites" list, only to put another hat on when they announced. Another exciting development is that this class has more defense coming in. I assume that is the work of Corwin Brown.

Let's hope they all sign their LOI's.

Go Irish!
Bernie P. ND '74 | Email | Homepage | 04.24.07 - 11:49 pm | #

I think what's most important is to look at who the Irish offered first or second. Sometimes, there's some strategy, and there are going to be players that come on the scene only in their senior years, but generally, whats more important than getting the guy that rivals ranks high, is the guy they offered right out of the shoot.

I think Rudolph was their first offer at TE. Posluszny was a very early offer at LB, even before the highly touted Fleming. Crist was their 2nd offer at QB. Cwynar was one of their earliest offers on DL. Point being, the coaching staff is landing guys that they labeled early on as good fits for the Irish.
Carl | Email | Homepage | 04.25.07 - 2:09 am | #

Who was the first offer at QB? Pryor (sp?), I'm guessing?
Jon | Email | Homepage | 04.25.07 - 4:04 pm | #

Good point, Carl. I don't get the feeling that Weis is settling for guys he thinks will commit, as opposed to guys he really wants. So as long as he offers, I don't see what the problem with them accepting is. Although our last class ended a little disappointing, it was still one of the best in the country. The only difference seems to be how quickly they are committing, not whether they are good recruits. Also, who is ranked number one at a position might not fit best in our system and thus wouldn't be number one in Weis' book. But notice that he certainly isn't scraping the bottom of the recruiting barrel when he offers someone not as highly touted. These are all solid players that I expect to produce, and I think we will see Urban Meyer calling most of them next January, which is when he seems to do most of his recruiting. we're just getting a good early start.
JM | Email | Homepage | 04.25.07 - 7:29 pm | #

In response to WAY up there, Keenan, I think the truth of the matter is, I trust Weis football knowledge 1000000000 times more than those guys at scout. I'm sure they know a lot about the sport and are good enough at evaluating talent, but If they really knew the game all that well, they'd be getting paid millions and millions to coach it.
Chris | Email | Homepage | 04.26.07 - 4:40 pm | #

It would be awesome if these guys decide they still want to be at Notre Dame come February. No more of this leaving at the last second nonsense.
Fighting Binny | Email | Homepage | 04.26.07 - 7:15 pm | #