Happy Signing Day!

Welcome to Notre Dame, recruiting class of 2008!

Maintenance / Quote Post

I've noticed recently that there have been a few good ND athlete alumni blogs popping up around the web, so I thought that I would share them with our loyal readers; check out the links under "Player Blogs." If anyone knows of any other good ones out there, you can let me know using the new "Contact" link found on the sidebar. I recommend everyone check out Trevor Laws' new web site if for nothing more than to look at the cool background.

Now that the maintenance stuff is done with, its time to move onto some actual sports news.

On the hardwood, Mike Brey has said that he is considering mixing up the lineup for the upcoming Villanova game. I don't think he means benching McAlarney or Bam Bam, but I wouldn't be surprised if Jackson and Ayers began playing a little less to give more time to Peoples (and hopefully Nash). Whatever players that will be on the court will need to bring it; Nova is coming off of an unexpected loss to Rutgers last night, and they should be fired up when it comes time to host the Irish.

Moving towards recruiting, Urban Meyer may be in some trouble for illegally recruiting junior college receiver Carl Moore. The basic story goes something like this:

Moore wasn't too interested in moving to the swamp, so Meyer began contacting his girlfriend, offering her a scholarship to do gymnastics for the Gators. Eventually, the girl was convinced and Carl soon followed. However, it is against NCAA violations for the coach of one sport to recruit for another. Additionally, Meyer constantly calling Maranda Smith (the gymnast) would have violated the stipulation that gymnastic recruits can only be called once a week. This story requires me to put up our favorite Meyer picture.

In other recruiting news, it looks like DT Omar Hunter has officially jumped ship, verbally committing to (guess who) Urban Meyer and the Florida Gators. I personally would have loved to see Omar in the blue and gold next season, but now that he's officially with an enemy squad, it seems like it's time to open up on his Irish debunking. Press Register reporter Neal McCready writes:

"Omar Hunter and Urban Meyer should be able to relate quite well to one another.
Meyer once fell in love with Notre Dame before ultimately spurning the Fighting Irish for the sunshine of Florida. Hunter has now done the same thing."

Here's another opinion from Aaron Taylor:

"if you ask me about just how big a loss Omar Hunter will turn out to be, as a buddy of mine did recently … well, I’ll have to be honest and tell you, “Who knows?” What I can tell you about Omar is that it’s clear that he’s not a very good decision maker, so let’s wish him well. Besides, once he’s done playing football he can always go back to ITT Tech or DeVry Truck Driving School and finish his degree."
Continuing with the Irish alumni theme of this post, this week's quote also comes from Taylor, which comments on his 1990 recruiting class and its similarities to the upcoming class:

"That class was truly special, and not just because we went 40-8, including Notre Dame’s last three bowl wins (I still can’t believe that when I write it). No, it was special because we all formed an instant, tightly knit bond ... a bond that has lasted to this day among many of us. And as talented as the incoming class is, it’s the bond between them that has me more excited than anything else.
Instead of running from adversity, these guys are running to the rescue. You’ve got to love that, and the combination of attitude, talent and hunger could take these kids a long way. Or at least it should."

Go Irish

Finals Finally Over

I have to apologize for the brief void in Nasties posts. I was a little pre-occupied saturating my body with energy drinks and pouring over pages of notes, but after taking all of the tests (and watching a few people cry during some of them), I'm finally back in the buckeye state and ready to spread some Irish cheer.

The coaching staff appears to be deciding whether or not a few major changes will be made for next season. Running backs coach Mike Haywood apparently fell short of earning the head coaching position for Houston, losing to Oklahoma State co-offensive coordinator Kevin Sumlin. However, the offensive coaching staff still doesn't appear to be set. Offensive line coach John Latina is rumored to be interested in joining former co-worker David Cutcliffe at Duke. Personally, I could see this situation being an addition by subtraction; Latina's line allowed a Notre Dame record 58 sacks and averaged a league worst 75.2 rush yards per game.

Fortunately, because of Weis' excellent effort to introduce all of the recruits to multiple coaches on the staff, it appears that if Haywood or Latina relocate, their actions would not affect recruiting too much. As national signing day draws closer, take some time to check out this article from the South Bend Tribune and this write up from the Sporting News. Both break down the recruits that are still being pursued by Notre Dame and tells readers how likely it is that the Irish will haul them in.

From reading around the blog circuit, future receiver Michael Floyd is quickly becoming one of my favorite players. Every article I have read about him praises him for his good work ethic and his humbleness. Here, Rise Magazine explains why Floyd is such a good leader, and why Notre Dame should be ecstatic to pick up a man of his character.

Speaking of recruiting, two future quarterbacks have attracted some attention to themselves. Ranked as the 30th best high schooler in the country by ESPN, Dayne Crist has been declared one of seven finalists for the first annual Joe Montana Quarterback of the Year Award. The other QB getting some attention is Montana's son, Nate, who will attend the University of Notre Dame next season as a preferred walk on. Irish fans can only help but be optimistic when looking at the future of the quarterback position; it isn't a stretch that ND could have two signal callers drafted in the next four years.
He doesn't even need to change his uniform

In enemy news, Irish fans would be advised to know that Michigan hired former West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez to replace Lloyd Carr next season. Challenging Louisville/Atlanta/Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino for back-stabber-of-the-year, Rodriguez will look to bring his dangerous spread offense to the U of M. It will be interesting to see how this situation develops; rising sophomore Ryan Mallet, the current quarterback, doesn't draw too many Steve Slaton comparisons as his big body is more suited for a pro-style offense, but if Rodriguez can land the Vince-Young-like #1 recruit Terrelle Pryor, the Wolverine's could see a rise to the top very quickly.

Here's to hoping that doesn't happen. Go Irish.

Irish Land Another 4 Star

Charlie said in his latest presser that he wouldn't be working on anything but recruiting until December 17th, and it appears that this strategy has paid off; the Irish stole yet another recruit from Nebraska in Trevor Robinson, ranked as the third best offensive guard in the country and a top 100 prospect by Scout and Rivals. Following fellow commit Jonas Gray away from the Cornhuskers, Robinson made his decision the other night after an in home visit from Weis and recruiting coordinator Rob Ianello.

While Irish fans still need to wait for national signing day to officially reel in the entire '08 recruiting class, this commitment seems pretty solid; Trevor will be enrolling early to get a head start with college academics and working out with the team. At 6'6" 304 lbs, opposing teams aren't looking forward to this hoss gaining an extra 6 months in the weight room.

In other ND recruiting news, local commit Braxton Cave wrote a nice article for the South Bend Tribune (That's right - Notre Dame recruits are actually writing before they get to college!). The write-up tells the story of Cave's recruiting journey, including some subtle knocks on other coach's recruiting tactics. Here are a few of the texts Cave received while being recruited:

“It’s 85 and sunny here, Big Brax. What’s it like in nasty South Bend?”

“No man should have to live in that weather you got up there.”

“If you come play for us you’ll start right away.”

“We have the biggest stadium in college football, don’t you want to play in front of all those people?”

I can't stand teams that recruit by knocking other schools, especially with weather (the stadium text wasn't a bad selling point, but playing in Notre Dame Stadium isn't exactly a bad thing either), so it was comforting to hear a recruit's opinion on the matter:

"These are just a few of the recruiting pick-up lines that I would receive on a daily basis. Sunny weather, big stadiums and early playing time are all great aspects. Don’t get me wrong, but to me, these capture lines only turned me away from the collegiate powerhouses."

I highly recommend this article not just to gain insight on the recruiting process, but to get to know a member of the Notre Dame family. I can't say how proud I am that a senior in high school took the time to put together such a well written piece for the local paper, and I can't wait to see Braxton on the field for the Irish.

God Bless.

Pressers and Such

Anyone searching for answers about the coaching/gameplanning/freshman alma mater singing will have to wait until December 17th to get any answers. That's because the Weis man will be spending the next few weeks taking full advantage of the time he is given to visit recruits, and despite the commitment that the young Fightin' Irish have displayed up to this point in the year, it is likely that the staff will have their hands full holding on to all of them. Running backs coach Mike Haywood potentially leaving to take a coaching job in his hometown with the University of Houston could potentially weigh in to Jonas Gray's verbal, and any other change in the coaching staff (offensive line...?) could factor in even more; this class currently has four offensive line commits. Because of the potential ensuing changes, it is important that the recruits can get to know not just their position coach, but other members on the staff as well, which is why Charlie is making sure that he and his gang will be taking full advantage of the given recruiting time.

Is Haywood on the move?

14 recruits will be making the trip up to snow covered South Bend to attend the annual post season football banquet. It isn't very difficult to sell the tradition of a Notre Dame football gameday to a highschooler, but sometimes a bad visit back to campus in the offseason can cause recruits to second guess themselves, which is why the entire weekend is stuffed full of special events for them. For instance, the team will be in the Joyce Center on Saturday night to watch the Basketball team win its record-breaking 25th home game against NIU.

Weis mentioned in the presser that he wasn't just looking forward to getting the incoming freshman on the field, but that two current freshman will be healthy enough to play next year. Harrison Smith and Gary Gray were both sidelined this season, and both of them coming back will add some more depth to the rapidly improving secondary.

With ND not playing in a bowl game, the team loses out on about an extra month of practice, but Weis said that the month of December won't be going to waste.

"we're countering that lack of practice time by the increased early start on strength and conditioning"

Good for them. Weis also specifically mentioned Clausen as needing to beef up a little.

Charlie did, however, give insight to the future of one coaching position. This season, Weis divided up the duties of the special teams position, the theory being that everyone would share responsibility, but without a return touchdown this season and the terrible kicking game, Charlie was pretty clear about how he thought his plan worked out:

" it has to be changed. I was not pleased with the way it went," adding on that he could see himself assigning the job to one person if he was the 'right guy.'

Wrapping up this Thursday quote segment, we'll lead into an article about the BCS system. Here's Charlie's thoughts on who got the short end of the stick:

"They (OSU and Georgia) were 3 and 4. Not that I'm a big fan of Ohio State or Georgia or anyone else, but if you're next in line and you don't play, and the two teams ahead of you lose, I think that you move up. I just don't know how you get penalized for not playing. I think right now if I were (Georgia head coach) Mark Richt I'd be out there whining today because wasn't he sitting 4 last week? So he's sitting 4 but now he moves down a spot. He doesn't play, he wins his last six games, one of the hottest teams in the country, and now he gets penalized. I don't think he's a whiner because I know the guy and I like the guy, but I think if anyone has a gripe today, it would probably be him. "

Happy Thursday and good luck to the Woman's Soccer Team, who will be facing off against Florida State in the NCAA semifinals tomorrow at 3:00.

Go Irish. Beat Seminoles.