This is old news! Bring on Ethan Johnson. Hahaha...

Jamoris is an excellent pickup next to Blanton. I almost hope he ends up at safety, but I'll take two cornerbacks over 6 feet tall any day of the week... well, so long as they're good - which both Blanton and Slaughter certainly look like.

Exciting times on the recruiting trail, for certain.
Carl | Email | Homepage | 06.28.07 - 6:46 pm | #

Both Blanton and Slaughter have the size to play the bump, and I think they'll have the speed to play the run part as well. Really excited for the next few years of Irish football.
Erik '04 | Email | Homepage | 06.28.07 - 7:06 pm | #

I have liked our recruits, but when you stack it up, it blows my mind how Southern Cal stocks up year after year after year with top quality and it runs 2-4 deep at positions.

Two years from now will tell the tale of Charlie's recruiting abilities.
Noter Dame! | Email | Homepage | 06.28.07 - 7:08 pm | #

I was hoping for a reference to Slaughter, the 80's hair band. This might be the first time I have ever been disappointed in BGS.
Brian | Email | Homepage | 06.28.07 - 8:53 pm | #

The sun's gonna' shine on my back door someday...soon.
Jim '72 | Email | Homepage | 06.28.07 - 8:57 pm | #

I tried Brian, but "Fly to the Angels" just isn't a great post title.
Pat | Email | Homepage | 06.28.07 - 9:08 pm | #

Our All-Name team really laments the fact we lost out on both Sweat and Stoneburner to The Ohio State.
KelleyCook | Email | Homepage | 06.28.07 - 10:12 pm | #

see, all i can think of is sgt. slaughter. let's just hope our man has the same kind of mastery of the camel clutch. i'll wager he has one waiting with manningham's name on it.
tyler | Email | Homepage | 06.28.07 - 10:17 pm | #

Since Jamoris is in the secondary, what about the Slaughter album "Stick it to ya"? Too obscure, I assume.

Regardless, you can't go wrong with the GI Joe/WWF reference.
kmf | Email | Homepage | 06.28.07 - 11:42 pm | #

sgt. slaughter, ha, that brings back some childhood g.i. joe memories, and wasn't there a wwf wrestler?
nd apparel | Email | Homepage | 06.29.07 - 1:29 am | #

If we finish with another top-10 recruiting class this year that will mean beginning next year, and definitely by 2009-10, we will have a legitimate TOP FIVE TEAM. Can anyone else tell me what teams will have had three back-to-back-to-back top ten recruiting classes? USC, ND and who?

I will be "Up ALL Night" with anticipation after I "Spen[t] My Life" in College Football pergatory (well at least the past decade). After all the "Burnin' Bridges" done by Ty Willingham, it's good to know we have someone like Charlie Weis who can pick up good players like young Slaughter who can "Fly To The Angels."

Yes, that was kind of pathetic and I was a Slaughterhead back in the 80s and early 90s. But like all good things, even my once long hair, they recede with time.
JackBourassa | Email | Homepage | 06.29.07 - 2:19 am | #

JackBourassa

I think Florida, Georgia and LSU have brought in some pretty good classes the past 3 years and are expecting a good haul this year also.
GB | Email | Homepage | 06.29.07 - 3:14 am | #

Tucker might not have many (or any?) disciplinary problems with Principal Jackson to enforce the rules.
dbldomer7375 | Email | Homepage | 06.29.07 - 7:50 am | #

What I have found interesting, and we've pointed it out before, is a specific part of information as to the fact that Charlie has been bringing in a lot of true-blue Midwest boys. The number of recruits from Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, and Pennsylvania (I know, not Midwest, but I have always considered W.PA as the same kind of football breeding ground as the Midwest) is impressive.

But what blows my mind is the number of recruits Charlie has brought in from Indiana. It used to be every other year or so ND would give out a scholarship to some Indiana kid, but I cannot remember any time in recent history that ND has been bringing in this many (though I know 5 really isn't that much). I just find it interesting, thats all.

NOTE: With Slaughter and Blanton, combined with Walls and McNeil, we now have 4 legit corners who are 6'-6'1". Gary Gray isn't too small either at 5'11". Pretty impressive.
Brad | Email | Homepage | 06.29.07 - 8:44 am | #

all i can think of is sgt. slaughter. let's just hope our man has the same kind of mastery of the camel clutch.

The camel clutch was the Iron Sheik's move.
irishru2 | Email | Homepage | 06.29.07 - 8:53 am | #

Florida State is stacking up commitments for a real nice '08 signing group. The coaching staff shake-up has incredibly energized the program.
Voice in the Wilderness | Email | Homepage | 06.29.07 - 8:55 am | #

JackBourassa,

Seven teams had top-10 recruiting classes for 2006 and 2007:

USC (1,2)
Florida (2,1)
Texas (5,5)
LSU (7,4)
Georgia (4,9)
Notre Dame (8,8)
Auburn (10,7)

USC, Texas, Georgia and Notre Dame are virtual locks for another top-ten class this year. Florida and LSU have some catching up but they will have a good chance. Auburn probably won't be a top ten class.

Others of note - FSU was top 3 in 2005 and 2006, and will be top 5 this year. Oklahoma was 3,9, and 14 in the last three years, and will be top 10 this year.

Interesting to note - only two schools have been in the top ten for the last three years. They are USC, with a streak of 5 years, and Georgia, with a streak of 6+ years (I'm not sure how far it goes back because Rivals only goes back to 2002).

Notre Dame had top ten classes in 13 of the 14 years between 1986 and 1999.
Steve R | Email | Homepage | 06.29.07 - 8:59 am | #

Steve R
Does your data go back to '81, '82, '83, '84, '85? I'll bet that ND was Top 3 each of those years. Of course, Gerry Faust could not have won with any amount of talent in college. The amount of talent he had at Moeller was obscene, and even his idiocy could not prevent them from winning nearly every game. Tom Lemming and Joe Terranova started all of this recruiting hysteria in the late 70's, and thus, at least their data goes back that far if anyone knows how to access it.
Voice in the Wilderness | Email | Homepage | 06.29.07 - 9:08 am | #

It's going to be great in another year or two to have the confidence that we can actually win the national title every year and not just pretend that we can. The staff is in place and the talent is getting there.

Nice job of recruiting by Coach Weis and Co. Here's hoping they all sign in February.
Fighting Binny | Email | Homepage | 06.29.07 - 9:18 am | #

Brad....interesting comment regarding western PA. I grew up the first part of my life in Erie PA.

Having lived in other parts of the country, subsequently, that part of PA all the way down to Pittsburgh has a certain midwestern feel {people wise}. I would even include the State College area in that category.
Dana Payne | Email | Homepage | 06.29.07 - 9:48 am | #

I'll take Cobra Clutch for 100
Jason | Email | Homepage | 06.29.07 - 9:54 am | #

I'm not sure if anybody has seen it, but Rivals is reporting that Ethan Johnson has officially committed to the Irish!

The 6'4" 266 lb. monster of a DE is rated as high as No. 24 OVERALL.

http://oregon.rivals.com/viewpro...sp? Pr_Key=54548


Ethan listed ND's academics as the key reason in picking the Irish.
Brad | Email | Homepage | 06.29.07 - 10:01 am | #

Is that Ryan Harris's long-lost twin?
kmf | Email | Homepage | 06.29.07 - 10:19 am | #

re: sgt. slaughter's finishing move

while the cobra clutch was slaughter's move of choice during his heyday in the 1980s, he also employed the camel clutch as a sign of his new dedication to the middle east during his memorable-if-not-terribly-good stint as an iraqi sympathizer in the early 1990s.

the second picture on this page, a still from the hogan v. slaughter match from wrestlemania VII in 1991, illustrates my point:

http://www.wrestlingworld.it/ Spe...tlemaniaVII.htm

italian aside, there it is. ironically, during that time, he was teamed with none other than the iron sheik, who was operating under the guise of col. mustafa. guess we know where he learned the move.

so, in summation, everyone's right.
tyler | Email | Homepage | 06.29.07 - 10:24 am | #

It does look like a Harris clone, even his size is very similar @ 6-4.4 & 265lbs
MD | Email | Homepage | 06.29.07 - 11:38 am | #

Voice in the Wilderness - I meant to mention that. My data only went back to 1986. I think that it was from an old SBT article a couple years back that showed the rankings since 1986 in a sidebar. I wrote them down since that info is kind of hard to find.
Steve R | Email | Homepage | 06.29.07 - 12:34 pm | #

Steve R- Ten Four. Thanks.
-Voice
Voice in the Wilderness | Email | Homepage | 06.29.07 - 3:16 pm | #

Steve R

USC, Texas, Georgia and Notre Dame are virtual locks for another top-ten class this year. Florida and LSU have some catching up but they will have a good chance. Auburn probably won't be a top ten class.

Florida is waiting until January to poach everyone else's recruits.
GB | Email | Homepage | 06.30.07 - 3:12 am | #

This is my first post on BGS and I want to first commend Pat/Jay and everyone else who contributes to the site--I've truly enjoyed the content and banter the past year since I found BGS. Even the comments from the UM/tOSU trollers provides for good comical entertainment. Keep up the great work.

I'm really excited about the Ethan Johnson commitment. I live just outside of Portland and it was good to show proof to people here that ND was making some huge noise in 2008 recruiting. My brother-in-law, relocated from LA and a huge USC fan, wasn't too happy with the news. I've been telling him the tide was turning and this committment showed it.
josend | Email | Homepage | 07.01.07 - 3:26 pm | #

Ok. Let's make this the number one class in the country by finishing up with Art Forst (OL), Mike Floyd (WR), Brice Butler (WR), Steve Filer (LB) and Dan McCarthy (S).
Fighting Binny | Email | Homepage | 07.01.07 - 8:07 pm | #

frazer to uconn

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/ne...tory? id=2922773
Anonymous | Email | Homepage | 07.01.07 - 9:17 pm | #

Good for Frazer...I think that's a good place for him to be. They really are trying to build a program there to compliment basketball. I wish him well.

Also, on a completed unrelated note - I always wonder why people type out "anonymous" as their name on message threads like this. Really, your real "name" is just as anonymous. I could be 1 of 1,000,000,000,000 Chris's. I like to get used to people's comments and personas on here...i.e. how I know (kind of) what some of Voice in the Wilderness' general opinions are. But I digress. Anonymity is inherent to the internet. And that is my 2 cents that no one gives a rat's a$$ about.
Chris | Email | Homepage | 07.01.07 - 10:08 pm | #

That's stupid Chris...
Anonymous | Email | Homepage | 07.01.07 - 10:57 pm | #

ZING! Now thats what I call humor.
Carl | Email | Homepage | 07.01.07 - 11:06 pm | #

"'Zach really feels he can go to UConn and win a Big East title,' Dave Frazer said."

I give Zach a lot of respect for battling this year and transfering with class, and certainly wish him all the best, but I don't think anyone outside of the university believes they can win a BE title ever, let alone in the next few years.
Erik '04 | Email | Homepage | 07.02.07 - 10:10 am | #

Erik, much as a BE title for the Huskies seemed preposterous a short time ago, don't bet against it. Not soon, for sure, but eventually.

The idea of UConn b-ball ever gaining national note was much further 'out' at one time. The fact that a school like Louisville can be competitive on the gridiron (the Schnellenberger factor) will pretty much make UConn an eventual lock for gridiron success.

The "not quite good enough for BC" talent pool is plentiful in the Northeast (We'll stay away from that for now). While you may laugh, the name Skip Holtz was, at the time, a big deal for these guys. It worked to open an eye to the program. I doubt that UConn will ever be playing for a NC - BE title? Give it about a decade.

Go Irish
Bill H. | Email | Homepage | 07.02.07 - 11:40 am | #

Florida State is scouring the Panhandle county by county contacting high school coaches. More emphasis on discovering nearby talent than luring distant known talent.
Judge60 | Email | Homepage | 07.02.07 - 1:12 pm | #

Judge, I'm sure that's a lot easier on their travel budget, too. :)
Erik '04 | Email | Homepage | 07.02.07 - 2:37 pm | #

Rutgers demonstrates that anything is possible. All it takes is a charismatic, hard working coach and players who buy into his system and a conference title is certainly attainable. Look at Northwestern under Barnett. I agree with Bill H, UConn will start to build it's program along with USF....in fact I am getting more and more excited about playing three BE teams a year in the near future. I enjoy our traditional Big11-Midwest rivals as much as the next fan, but it is always nice to see ND travel to new locales and play new teams......so Kevin White- let's get Louisville on the schedule and get another home and home series with WVU.
PM | Email | Homepage | 07.02.07 - 2:41 pm | #

Most of you know that Rivals released its first recruiting rankings last Thursday and Notre Dame was #3.
Today, Scout.com released their first rankings and with the addition of Ethan Johnson (5 stars on Scout, 4 on Rivals) Notre Dame now sits at #1.
bgregor4 | Email | Homepage | 07.02.07 - 2:48 pm | #

Part of that just has to be the sheer number of kids that are committed to ND already, though, right?
MOC | Email | Homepage | 07.02.07 - 3:39 pm | #

Speaking of Ethan Johnson.... :)
Erik '04 | Email | Homepage | 07.02.07 - 4:00 pm | #

MOC,
that is part of it, but there aren't many schools with a higher "average stars" than ND. In the 15-20 recruits range we are significantly better than others. And the few schools with a higher average stars may come down some just due to the diminishing number of 5 star players left. In the end, our 3.94 average is going to stack up better than all but maybe 1-3 teams...and ours may go up if we bring in a couple more 5 star players ourselves.
bgregor4 | Email | Homepage | 07.02.07 - 4:24 pm | #

Erik '04: what does that mean? Have you heard something about Ethan Johnson?
bgregor4 | Email | Homepage | 07.02.07 - 4:26 pm | #

bgregor4: No, we haven't heard ANYTHING about Ethan Johnson. He and Slaughter committed on the same day, and there's still no BGS write-up about it. ;)
Erik '04 | Email | Homepage | 07.02.07 - 5:09 pm | #

Ah, Ok, good. I've been wondering why no write-up either.
Erik'04, you had me scared there for a minute.
bgregor4 | Email | Homepage | 07.02.07 - 5:21 pm | #

I think it's likely that given the way things are going that we will finish with a top 3 recruiting class this year. A 3.94 average is stunning given how many players we've already recruited.
JackBourassa | Email | Homepage | 07.02.07 - 8:36 pm | #

Erik,

No needling the bloggers, please. They are to be encouraged and praised for giving us mooks something to do.
Hal | Email | Homepage | 07.02.07 - 9:22 pm | #

I, for one, welcome our new BGS overlords...
Brad | Email | Homepage | 07.03.07 - 8:18 am | #

PM,

Agree, if UM bolts, we will need Louisville AND WVU on the schedule.

Here are the Scouts avg. stars per commit & totals (July 3, 2007 830 EST)

T-1) U$C 4.11 & tOSU 4.11 (9 each)
3) Hawaii (1 commit)
4) ND 3.94 (17)
5) UM 3.90 (10)
6) Okla 3.87 (15)
7) FSU 3.75 (12)

For a team w/~17, only Okla is close. Here are the others with ~ 17 commits.

9) UGA 3.59 (17)
10) TX 3.50 (20)
13) UCLA 3.43 (21)

Tiiiime . . . . is on my side . . . yes it is . . .
ThE LoSt BoY | Email | Homepage | 07.03.07 - 8:40 am | #

You're right Hal. Things have been really slow at work so I have nothing better to do than wait for new BGS postings. :)
Erik '04 | Email | Homepage | 07.03.07 - 10:58 am | #