*Notre Dame* - On Vacation

Discussion in 'The Mainboard' started by Thoros of Beer, Feb 3, 2016.

  1. CTownND

    CTownND Well-Known Member
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    I made that same mistake when I initially saw it, they beat some team called "Mater Dei Catholic" when the real Mater Dei beat someone 63-7. My guess is this JV Mater Dei probably isn't that good, but still impressive to do that even against a scout team.

    https://www.maxpreps.com/high-schools/mater-dei-monarchs-(santa-ana,ca)/football/schedule.htm
     
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  2. laxjoe

    laxjoe Well-Known Member
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  3. Bert Handsome

    Bert Handsome I'm sorry, the card says Moops
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    Notre Dame Fighting IrishMilwaukee Brewers altMilwaukee BucksGreen Bay PackersTiger Woods

    ND moved up to #t15 in USNews rankings from 18, so that's cool I guess.
     
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  4. Rise

    Rise Well-Known Member
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    Slowly climbing for a while
     
  5. a1ND

    a1ND Bold & Spicy
    Donor

    Gold Standard

    From The Road: Insider Notes On 2021 WR Deion Colzie
    *** I'm not quite at the point of putting in a FutureCast pick in for Athens Academy (Ga.) class of 2021 wide receiver

    Deion Colzie
    to choose Notre Dame, but I'm getting awfully close. I'll explain my reasoning for that shortly. But after talking with Colzie and his family on Friday, it was clear to me that Notre Dame is what they are looking for in a school and Colzie would be a great fit for the Fighting Irish.


    *** Of course, the biggest news coming out of my trip to Athens was learning that Colzie has set a visit to Notre Dame for the massive October 12 weekend when the Irish host USC. You have to give huge credit to Del Alexander for getting Colzie locked in for that weekend as well as Pickerington Central (Ohio) stud receiver

    Lorenzo Styles
    . Both visits were set up last week. Colzie's mother, Yolanda Jackson, told me that they've already booked the plane tickets and hotel room, so their visit is very much set in stone.


    *** The vibe in speaking to Mrs. Jackson was that Notre Dame is the team to beat in Colzie's recruitment. She loved talking about Notre Dame and didn't light up quite the same when I asked about Georgia. She is making sure her son knows that academics are the most important thing to consider when picking a school. Here's a quote from Mrs. Jackson about Notre Dame:

    "In my visits to the school, I really appreciated the academic strategy that they have in place for their athletes," she said. "It feels like where he is now [at Athens Academy]. It's a small, private school but education is key. I remember when we visited for the very first time [spring of 2018], Deion said that it felt like home."

    [​IMG]
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    0" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; height: 10px; width: 7px; background: url("https://cdn.rivals.com/production/a...bfb264f545034d3f8a342e9632778ca65a3af8278.svg") left center no-repeat; margin-bottom: 3px;"> 9
    STATE
    0" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; height: 10px; width: 7px; background: url("https://cdn.rivals.com/production/a...bfb264f545034d3f8a342e9632778ca65a3af8278.svg") left center no-repeat; margin-bottom: 3px;"> 6
    POSITION
    DEION
    COLZIE


    RANK
    5.9
    6'4" | 180 LBS | ATH
    ATHENS ACADEMY
    ATHENS, GA
    CLASS OF 2021
    UNDECIDED
    *** I learned one really interesting note about Colzie. People talk about the local pull with Georgia being so close to Colzie, but he's actually not from Athens. He grew up in Atlanta and his family is actually still based in Atlanta, although they are regularly out in Athens as well (about 90-110 minute distance from their home to Athens). Colzie started school in Athens as a 9th grader, so it's not like he grew up in Athens. Now granted, the Metro Atlanta area is still very pro-Georgia, but his ties are not deep-rooted with the Bulldogs at all.

    **** His family is very open to Colzie going to Notre Dame from a distance standpoint. Here's a quote from Mrs. Jackson about proximity to home as a factor in her son's recruitment:

    "We haven't really considered the distance," she said. "We're looking at it from an educational standpoint -- and I'm not saying that he can't get a good education at Georgia -- but that's the first thing we're looking at. I'm not a fan of the cold, but I'll brave the cold should he end up at Notre Dame. The distance doesn't really matter for us."

    *** Wide receivers coach Del Alexander has done a great job in recruiting Colzie, per Mrs. Jackson:

    "He's been the main contact," she said. "If I had to sum it up, my experience with Coach Alexander would be 'genuine.' He never sugar coats anything with us, even before when we got the offer. He was honest with us and told us that he was evaluating everything and Deion had time to grow. He's always been genuine, honest, and open with us in the contact that we've had with him so far."

    [​IMG]
    Mike Singer@BGI_MikeSinger



    Notre Dame, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, and Tennessee are big players in the recruitment of 2021 Rivals100 WR Deion Colzie https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2021/deion-colzie-226303 …

    [​IMG]

    55

    9:22 PM - Sep 6, 2019
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    23 people are talking about this



    *** Finishing up on these insider notes on Colzie, I do want to go back to why I haven't put in a FutureCast for him yet. Everything I'm hearing from Deion's family is that Notre Dame is the team to beat, and sources on the Notre Dame side are very high on Colzie. If Colzie wanted to commit to Notre Dame today, he'd be welcomed with open arms. Also, Colzie is considering making a commitment this fall, which seems to bode very well for the Irish as he's visiting ND in October.

    *** However, Clemson is looming around and that offer could be huge for him. I was told recently that the Tigers may top his list even though he doesn't have an offer from Clemson. To recap, his mom seems to want him at Notre Dame and I am very close to putting in a FutureCast pick, but Clemson makes me nervous. Colzie visited Clemson on Saturday, and so far he hasn't received an offer. Other schools are involved here, but this is a Notre Dame vs Georgia battle with Clemson looming.

    *** One final note on Colzie's recruitment: he is expected to enroll early at his school of choice.

    [​IMG]
    Mike Singer@BGI_MikeSinger



    4th and 7 — Deion Colzie
    (@almightydeion_) hauls in a 31 yard TD on the post pattern. @AthensAcademyFB leads 7-0.


    [​IMG]


    15

    6:44 PM - Sep 6, 2019
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    See Mike Singer's other Tweets



    *** On the field, Colzie had quite the performance when I got to see him on Friday. In the first quarter alone, he had touchdowns receptions of 31 and 37 yards and also had an interception at cornerback. In the 49-19 win over a school in a higher classification, Colzie caught six passes for 105 yards and three touchdowns. When I was walking up to the stadium, I saw a giant specimen, and I thought to myself, "That must be Deion Colzie." He was very easy to spot. I'm 6-foot-3, and he looked about 6-foot-4 or 6-foot-5.

    *** Colzie is deceptively fast. He's definitely a long strider and his speed really picks up after 10 yards. He's a very easy target with just how big he is. Colzie caught everything very cleanly and with his hands. Overall, I was very impressed with Colzie. I didn't get to see much of his lateral quickness and agility, but his movements as a receiver were very smooth and natural. He actually reminds me of McDonough (Ga.) Eagle's Landing Christian athlete

    Justin Robinson
    , a 2020 Georgia commit who ND is still recruiting. Both guys are big, tall receivers who are both faster than they appear. Colzie, to me, has more upside and is a better pure receiver.


    *** Colzie is listed as an athlete on his Rivals profile, but I don't see him playing defense at the next level, although things can change as he develops as a player the next two years. For the game on Friday night, Colzie was tasked with one-on-one coverage the entire night against the opposing team's best receiver, and while Colzie did have a nice interception on a jump ball situation, Colzie was beat a few times. Playing on an island as a cornerback isn't an easy thing to do and I'm not knocking Colzie's skills as a defensive back, but it was evident to me that his future is at receiver.

    Nuggets On 2021 Four-Star Notre Dame Targets
    *** There are currently five FutureCast predictions in for Lititz (Pa.) Warwick class of 2021 offensive tackle

    Nolan Rucci
    , the nation's No. 30 recruit and No. 5 offensive tackle, to pick Penn State. And right now, I do think that the Nittany Lions are the team to beat in his recruitment. However, Notre Dame has a better chance in this recruitment than most believe.


    *** Fall visits will be tough for Rucci, as his dad, Todd Rucci, a former NFL offensive lineman, coaches Rucci's high school team, and if Rucci's older brother, Hayden Rucci, starts seeing the field as a true freshman tight end at Wisconsin, then they'll likely head to Madison for some Badgers games. The elder Rucci played his college ball at Penn State, and again, they will be tough to beat for the 6-foot-8, 270-pounder, and Wisconsin is up there as well with his brother on the team. The only visit Rucci currently has set this fall is actually this weekend, to visit Penn State, a local option, when they host Pittsburgh.

    *** On September 1, all 18 schools that have offered Rucci + Oregon, Oklahoma, Florida, and Louisville were in contact with him. He got on the phone with the likes of Penn State, Maryland, and Oregon last week, and while he didn't get on the phone with Irish offensive line coach Jeff Quinn, they did have text message conversations and are setting up a time to talk in the near future. They might have even talked over the weekend but I haven't heard anything on that.

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    2
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    POSITION
    NOLAN
    RUCCI


    RANK
    6.0
    6'8" | 271 LBS | OT
    WARWICK
    LITITZ, PA
    CLASS OF 2021
    UNDECIDED
    *** Rucci told me that he's in "tight contact" with Quinn, adding that his conversations with Quinn prior to the September 1 phone/text message contact period were more frequent than other coaches in his recruitment. It's also evident that Rucci values getting to Notre Dame this fall, although he doesn't have any visits planned just yet.

    *** Added Rucci: "I've been talking to Coach Quinn a lot. We've definitely been building that relationship up. I can't wait to get out there for game day and watch him coach. That's what I'm really excited for."

    *** Notre Dame 2021 offensive tackle commit

    Blake Fisher
    from Avon (Ind.) has been doing a great for the Irish on the recruiting trail. He's been making it a priority to recruit Rucci. Here's Rucci's quote on Fisher ... "It's been great. We've had a few conversations over the past few months about how great of a recruiting class Notre Dame has in 2021 and how they're going to continue to build. It's really exciting.


    *** Carrolton (Ga.) OLB/DE

    Chaz Chambliss
    , the nation's No. 235 recruit and No. 19 outside linebacker, is one of my favorite recruits in the 2021 class. When I went to see him in August, I was blown away with his work ethic, size, strength, and motor as a pass rusher. Selfishly, I was hoping Notre Dame would get more involved in his recruitment as I'd love to cover him closely the next year or two.


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    STATE
    19
    POSITION
    CHAZ
    CHAMBLISS


    RANK
    5.8
    6'3" | 225 LBS | OLB
    CARROLLTON
    CARROLLTON, GA
    CLASS OF 2021
    UNDECIDED
    *** On September 1, Chambliss received messages from Irish head coach Brian Kelly and director of player personnel Dave Peloquin, which is pretty standard. Kelly and Poloquin reached out to a ton of recruits. The recruits who the assistant coaches reached out to were more of the top priority guys. Defensive line coach Mike Elston got in contact with Chambliss, and I'm told they discussed how Chambliss' junior season is going thus far and general small talk. I'll be keeping my eye on Chambliss and Elston looking to build more of a relationship this fall.

    *** Chambliss' recruitment is pretty wide open at this point. His parents went to Mississippi State, but I'll be surprised if the Bulldogs make much movement in his recruitment, based on what people close to Chambliss tell me. A source on the Notre Dame side seems to indicate that the Irish on high on Chambliss' skills. He'll be an interest recruit to track moving forward.

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    74
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    14
    POSITION
    CRISTIAN
    DIXON


    RANK
    5.9
    6'2" | 185 LBS | WR
    MATER DEI
    SANTA ANA, CA
    CLASS OF 2021
    UNDECIDED
    *** I already have a FutureCast pick in for Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei playmaker

    Cristian Dixon
    to pick the Irish. I don't feel overly confident in it right now, and not because Dixon doesn't want to be at Notre Dame. In his mind, I definitely believe the Irish are the frontrunner.


    *** On the Notre Dame side of things, the Irish are still evaluating him. With his offseason transfer to Mater Dei, he is now playing against stronger competition, and the coaching staff is keeping an eye on how he performs early in his junior season. So far, Dixon has just four catches for 38 yards and a touchdown through three games this season. Obviously, those aren't great numbers, but Mater Dei's receiving corps is loaded, Dixon is the "new guy," and they've had three blowout wins so far this season. This weekend, they face Baltimore (Md.) St. Frances Academy which will be a really good matchup. Can Dixon have a strong night and impress the Notre Dame staff?

    that Colzie and Styles WR combo sure would be nice if they can get it done
     
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  6. Druce

    Druce Fuck football.
    Donor
    North Carolina TarheelsNotre Dame Fighting IrishAtlanta BravesDetroit LionsBarcelonaSneakers

    Did the writer sneak a pic of his 12 y/o kid in the article?

    [​IMG]
     
  7. a1ND

    a1ND Bold & Spicy
    Donor

    the Kmet news is really good...I'd like him to play a handful of snaps this weekend just to get him some game action so that he's ready for UGA
     
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  8. a1ND

    a1ND Bold & Spicy
    Donor

    lol...that's a 6'8 270 lb giant of an OT that looks like a baby
     
  9. laxjoe

    laxjoe Well-Known Member
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    San Diego State AztecsSan Diego Padres

    there is no way that person is 6'8" in that picture. right????
     
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  10. a1ND

    a1ND Bold & Spicy
    Donor

    Loy on Colzie...kind of a re-hash but it would be nice if he commits after the USC visit, along with Styles

    Back on Aug. 19 I tossed in a new 247Sports Crystal Ball pick for Notre Dame and after gathering some new information this week, I wanted to share an update on where things stand.

    The player I’m referencing is Athens (Ga.) Academy four-star wide receiver Deion Colzie, one of the Top100 players from the class of 2021. To put things clearly, I still feel good about the Fighting Irish and as of today, expect Notre Dame to land him.

    The 6-4, 195-pounder has a ton of quality options. Notre Dame, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Duke, Florida, West Virginia and many others have already offered. After seeing what he does during his junior year, even more schools will jump into the mix. There are a couple of options that could be impactful if he lands those offers. From what I’m told, Clemson, Auburn and USC could all play a role in his decision if they jump into the mix. Those are highly-coveted offers.

    However, in talking with a couple of sources, the offer from Notre Dame still remains the “dream offer” and it meant a ton to Colzie and his family when the Fighting Irish extended the offer.

    In addition, regarding the family, I’m told his mother is a diehard Notre Dame fan and has loved the Fighting Irish for a longtime. I’m not sure of the connection, but that’s a fact. She wants her son to be happy and to choose the school he wants, but she is clearly high on Notre Dame and would love to see him end up in South Bend. There are clearly no issues with distance, especially when it comes to the family.

    The whole group will be back at Notre Dame on Oct. 12 for the matchup with USC. All of the plans are set in stone, the flights and hotel are booked. In talking with a source close to the situation, a commitment that weekend, if all goes well, isn’t being ruled out. This will also be the second time Colzie sees Notre Dame this fall, as he’ll be in Athens for the Georgia game as well. The Fighting Irish are hoping those two performances and the red carpet treatment at home will result in Notre Dame landing his commitment. Again, the Irish staff badly wants to land both Colzie and Lorenzo Styles Jr. and there is a very real possibility that happens.

    Per the 247Sports Composite Rankings, Colzie is the No. 51 overall player nationally, No. 7 wide receiver in America and No. 6 prospect in Georgia from the 2021 class. 247Sports lists him as the No. 55 recruit next cycle, No. 6 player at his position in the class and No. 4 target from his home state.
     
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  11. Bert Handsome

    Bert Handsome I'm sorry, the card says Moops
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    For some reason in my head I thought they have always been 18 my entire life. Maybe they've moved around more and I haven't noticed.
     
  12. Rise

    Rise Well-Known Member
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    I thought they were around 24 in 08ish but could be wrong
     
  13. laxjoe

    laxjoe Well-Known Member
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    San Diego State AztecsSan Diego Padres

    Fuck totally forgot it's a 230 kick this weekend:angry:
    We'll be in our normal spot at pole 15 for anyone in town. Got a brisket to go on the smoker Friday
     

  14. in case anyone is not watching the game, will fuller is pretty good at football
     
  15. IHHH

    IHHH Well-Known Member
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    Should’be been a td, very bad throw

    Although it was still 55 yards, Fuller is just so fast
     
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  16. DetroitIrish3

    DetroitIrish3 Well-Known Member
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    I’ll be there this weekend with the girlfriend. May visit someone’s tailgate!
     
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  17. laxjoe

    laxjoe Well-Known Member
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    San Diego State AztecsSan Diego Padres

    feel free to PM me on saturday. we'll be out there early
     
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  18. Beeds07

    Beeds07 Bitch, it's Saturday
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    Notre Dame Fighting IrishSt. Louis CardinalsSt. Louis Blues

    Same
     
  19. Druce

    Druce Fuck football.
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    North Carolina TarheelsNotre Dame Fighting IrishAtlanta BravesDetroit LionsBarcelonaSneakers

    We should all try to meet up
     
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  20. Wicket

    Wicket Fan: ND, PSV, Pool FC, Cricket, Urquel, Dog Crew
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    230 kickoffs are fucking perfect for me. Just afted dinner so i can be sociable with the wifey till dinner and then switch to football-autistic-wicket
     
  21. Good Effort! Good Game!

    Good Effort! Good Game! Dallas Clark's biggest fan
    Donor

    IHHH, Beeds07 and VoodooChild5 like this.
  22. Wicket

    Wicket Fan: ND, PSV, Pool FC, Cricket, Urquel, Dog Crew
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    fun story. If you use FPI bowling green is almost exactly as bad as ND is good. Both would play about a 19.3 point spread game against the average FBS team (the tulane-duke lovebaby)
     
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  23. beist

    beist Hyperbolist
    Donor

    If Tulane and duke had a baby would you call it the blue wave or the green devils.

    I like green devils because waves are already blue so that’s sorta boring.
     
  24. Bert Handsome

    Bert Handsome I'm sorry, the card says Moops
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    There is an article up on the Athletic about the coaching staff under Davie and how successful they were since. Really it's all Meyer and the guys he had with him at Florida providing a multiplier on titles.
     
  25. beist

    beist Hyperbolist
    Donor

    I just came to post it. Good article. Lots of tidbits in there, such as Dabo Swinney applied for the wide receiver coach that opened up after Urban left for Bowling Green and he was turned down.

    https://theathletic.com/1197616/2019/09/10/bob-davie-notre-dame-era-coaching-staff-urban-meyer/

    Seven future college head coaches, 14 future national titles, four future Super Bowls.

    Those are the numbers from the men who made up one of the greatest coaching staffs in the history of college football — at least that no one knew about at the time. Those would be the assistants of the Bob Davie era at Notre Dame (1997-01).

    “Wow,” Urban Meyer said when told of those accolades. “I haven’t really had much time to reflect until recently, and I’m glad that we had this phone call because I am sitting here reflecting now. I never really have.

    “But that was an elite coaching staff, an elite place, and I just have so much respect for Bob Davie. He’s one of the best football coaches I’ve ever been around.”

    Those numbers, and that collective coaching brainpower, get lost when talking about Davie’s tenure with the Irish, considering his teams went just 35-25 and he was fired after five years. The 64-year-old Davie was supposed to return to South Bend, Ind., this Saturday for his New Mexico team’s game against the Fighting Irish, but he will not travel with the Lobos after a serious medical incident that occurred after their Aug. 31 opener.

    Davie has been back to Notre Dame just once since he coached there, in 2008 for the funeral of the Rev. James Riehle, the team chaplain.

    “Going back to (Texas) A&M where I was an assistant, going back to Pittsburgh, that’s one thing, but going back to Notre Dame, that is something,” Davie told The Athletic last month, before the medical incident altered his plans.

    With his program entering Notre Dame Stadium this weekend, and with 18 years and three Irish coaching regimes having passed since Davie roamed the sidelines near Touchdown Jesus, it is worth re-visiting just how talented the coaching staff that he helped assemble was, especially through those men’s eyes.

    [​IMG]

    Notre Dame has always, in one form or another, been a central figure in college football history. When it comes to setting the landscape for the two decades to come, though, the place was an absolute incubator during the late 1990s/early 2000s.

    It was not just the coordinators (Greg Mattison), position coaches (Meyer) or strength coaches (Mickey Marotti) who went on to have great careers, either; the Irish’s graduate assistants at the time included the likes of Dan Mullen and John DeFilippo, who paid their dues via never-ending work days and ended up in the positions they hold today: as an SEC head coach and a Super Bowl-winning assistant coach, respectively.

    What went right during that time? What went wrong? The Athletic tracked down many of the central figures of that forgotten stretch of Irish history to try to piece it all together. (Each individual is identified by his position at Notre Dame at the time.)

    [​IMG]

    Steve Addazio and Bob Davie (Jonathan Daniel / Allsport / Getty Images)
    ‘A hub’
    Would Notre Dame be what it is without the coaches who worked there? Would the coaches — or athletic directors, for that matter — be where they are today without having that “ND” on their résumé? It is an age-old debate, but one thing there is no doubt about is the validation each of these coaches gained throughout their careers once they landed in South Bend.

    Charlie Strong (defensive line, 1995-98): It was an unbelievable group of coaches, and at that time, if you think about it, everybody was going to Notre Dame so they could go get a head coaching job. But now the landscape has changed where a lot of guys get jobs from a lot of different places. But at that time, that’s why you worked there. Everybody was trying to get there.

    Steve Addazio (tackles/tight ends/special teams, 1999-01): How about the ADs, man? And the assistant ADs. Kevin White was the AD; he’s one of the best in the country, and I had a great relationship with Kevin. And then Bubba Cunningham, really close with Bubba, the AD at North Carolina, and then Sandy Barbour at Penn State, Bernard Muir at Stanford and Jim Phillips (Northwestern). I was with all those guys! We used to all hang out together. … I just look back and I’m like: Holy crap. We were all close friends, all hanging out, all young assistant ADs, ADs, and all those coaches who have gone on to be head coaches, who have gone to be top coordinators. So it was really cool.

    Urban Meyer (receivers, 1996-00): I think it prepares you. Also, when I got the phone call to go coach at Notre Dame with Lou Holtz in 1996, my career changed. Instant credibility, once you have that golden dome on your résumé and you can say you’ve been a part of Notre Dame football. That’s instant credibility. Your name starts to get mentioned for head coaching positions. So I think more than just getting you ready, it’s just instant credibility, and that’s not regionalized. You’re talking about national.

    Kevin Rogers (Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks, 1999-01): I had three opportunities that year. That was (Donovan) McNabb’s senior year coming out Syracuse and we had a really good team offensively and I had three opportunities: Oklahoma, Michigan State and Notre Dame. Being an Irish Catholic in New York, I chose to go there, which probably if I had to do it over again wasn’t necessarily a great decision, at least at that point in time, because we were still involved in the age discrimination case with Joe Moore and we had the NCAA stuff going on. So it was not a great time to be at Our Lady’s University.

    Kirk Doll (assistant head coach/linebackers/special teams 1994-01): It was different, and I don’t mean that to be ugly, OK? But every year was like a new year almost, in terms of how recruiting was and just a lot of stuff. But the accomplishments, I think it showed that as all the assistants went through that situation that they grew a great deal and were able to handle problems that maybe at some point at different places you might not have known until you were actually in the heat of battle. I think there are a lot of good reasons why Urban and Steve Addazio and those guys have been excellent head coaches.

    Mike Sanford Sr. (quarterbacks, 1997-98): I think a lot of really talented guys (were on staff). I also think there are certain places in the country that give you a platform, I would say, to progress as a head coach, and I think Notre Dame is one of those, for sure. I think there was a ton of talent on that staff during that time Lou Holtz and Bob Davie were there. I also think there’s something special about Notre Dame and the opportunities that coaches get going from Notre Dame to other places.

    Addazio: I mean, oh my gosh, man. I’ll tell you what: At that time, that was still a place, a hub, that I think that a coach wanted to have an opportunity to have an experience at. That might’ve been the close of that, that that kind of era there just in terms of — because that was still, at that time, that was the most media-focused, all the deal that went on with that job. I’ve probably over-talked about what you asked me, but a couple of fond memories made me think of those things.

    [​IMG]

    Roomies
    So many of these guys were in the early part of their careers, before they had families of their own. So, like most young workaholics with nothing to lose, they shacked up with one another, bonding through the long hours and long days of their jobs and, of course, by watching football. Some of the finer details have gotten lost to history, but there is no mistaking how tight most of these assistants were with each other.

    Jay Sawvel (GA, 1996-98): Urban Meyer got hired at Notre Dame, and he does his time in the hotel room and does a little bit of that as far as they put you up in a hotel for a while. And it gets to spring recruiting and he was having a house built, they haven’t moved yet or anything like that, but my apartment became his home base. So, like, Urban lived with me for a little while. That would’ve been when Coach Holtz hired him. Then a couple years later, Mickey Marotti lived with me for like six months. Mickey, Mike (Vorkapich, an assistant strength coach) and Aaron (Hillmann, another assistant strength coach) lived with me for a while. And then when Mickey moved out, Aaron and Mike lived with me for that year I was there with all of them. It was a good time. We had a good time.

    Dave Borbely (offensive line, 1998-01): We were all about the same age, and we had a lot of fun. Urban and I used to hang out. We were all kind of neighbors. We all kind of lived either in the same subdivision or next door. Urban’s kids were the same age as mine. We’d go up to one of those amusement parks up in Chicago. Steve and I hung out quite a bit. We all hung out a lot together. Greg Mattison and I drank a ton of Jack Daniel’s together, and we had a lot of fun with each other. But it’s funny because Notre Dame’s one of those places — if you win it’s just kind of total relief, and when you lose it’s just devastating. We never really hung out much after a game because everybody just wanted 12 hours to themselves to kind of be with their families. But it was a bunch of great guys and I had a great time there and a bunch of good friends.

    Meyer: We just had a very close staff. I was actually hired by Lou Holtz and then Coach Davie became the head coach and kept me on and we all lived, most of the coaches lived in one of those communities out there. I think it’s called Knollwood. Greg Mattison lived right across the lake. We got really close. Charlie Strong was on that staff, became close, stayed close to this day. Then we hired Mickey Marotti, my strength coach, and he became our strength coach there, so we were all very close.

    Sawvel: We all were working all the time, so it wasn’t like there was a lot of “sit around in the apartment” talk. We all worked and we just weren’t home and we kind of would watch a little bit of TV or something and then go to bed. That’s kind of the way it was. Back in those days, we had a DirecTV dish nailed to like a wooden plank board that we had to bring in and out every night because we weren’t allowed to have satellite at our apartment.

    [​IMG]

    Steve Addazio, Bob Davie and Urban Meyer (Courtesy of Bob Davie)
    The Urban Effect
    Much of the Davie coaching tree stems from the Meyer branch. In fact, four of the other six future head coaches among this group ended up getting their head jobs immediately after serving under Meyer. Moreover, 13 of the aforementioned 14 national titles that this group accounted for are a result of three Meyer-coached teams.

    Bob Davie (head coach, 1997-01): So much of this profession, as you know, is opportunity. Opportunity. And the success that Urban had kind of gave those guys a springboard to — Dan Mullen was with Urban, Steve Addazio was with Urban, Charlie Strong was with Urban, then Greg Mattison. Greg Mattison was my defensive coordinator that I hired from Michigan. He had been with me at (Texas) A&M. But I guess the point I would make is those guys are really talented and really good coaches, but there are other guys who are really talented, too, like right now, like on this staff I have here at New Mexico. Now they may not get those same opportunities to branch out with like an Urban Meyer and hit it right, (but) there’s not that big of a gap.

    Lou West (safeties, 1998-00): Working with Urban, he’s intense, OK? But when you’re around him — we played basketball. I went over to his house. I ate dinner over at his house. You wouldn’t think how fun he could be to be around. He’s a jokester. You look at him now and I think the people see him and they see him as an intense football coach, but he’s a great person to be around. And like I said, he’s a jokester and tells some funny jokes and stuff. When it’s time to do your business, he’s business.

    Sanford: There’s certain people that just have a DNA to be a great football coach, and that’s what Urban has. There’s no question about it.

    Sawvel: You never know that it’s gonna pan out the way that it does. But by the same token, when you’re in the moment a little bit — I always had that famous picture of one of those Jimmy Johnson staffs (in my mind) and where they’re all at now after winning the Super Bowl with the Cowboys. So you look at something like that. Obviously it’s not the same type of thing, but when you think about — you knew Urban Meyer was outstanding. He recruited hard. He recruited well. He was energetic. He was smart. You knew he was really, really good. Did you know that he would win three national championships as a head coach? No. Nobody knew that. But you knew he was really good.

    Bob Chmiel (tight ends/recruiting coordinator, 1994-97): (Meyer) was the most IT-savvy. He knew his way around a computer. I don’t even know if anybody else did at that time. But you could tell that he was the leading edge in everything. He communicated with recruits on the computer before anybody that I ever knew did that, and he was a phenomenal recruiter. We hung out together a lot. We spent a lot of weeks off together. He stayed and babysat for us when my girls were little. When he was at Bowling Green, I’d go visit him and he had us come there and talk to his staff about recruiting. But for a recruiting coordinator, he was a recruiting coordinator’s dream.

    Meyer: I remember that I became very intrigued at Colorado State with how to use a computer, playbooks, recruiting, and I brought that with us to Notre Dame. And it’s hard to imagine that we just really weren’t using it. And so yeah, I kind of took that with me. Then Dan Mullen became my graduate assistant. We were kind of the young guys on the staff and we started really investigating the spread offense when no one was really doing it. It was really a lot of fun when you look back. I haven’t thought about this in so long, but those film rooms at Notre Dame was where a lot of these great ideas about recruiting as far as how to use technology and also just the evolution and the conversation about a spread offense.

    Doll: I mean, we were excited to get cell phones at Notre Dame. I want to say (it was) the last year at Notre Dame with Coach Holtz that we finally got cell phones and that I’d be stopping every time to get a pay phone to call a recruit and that type of thing. Bob made a number of strides at Notre Dame as being a head coach in terms of that kind of stuff, moving forward in terms of the video and how to make sure you’re hitting your optimum number of high schools when you’re out recruiting. Because when you’re a national recruiter, you can’t waste much time. Every place you go to, you’ve got to hit and you’ve got to make sure it’s for the right reasons.

    Rogers: When Urban left Notre Dame, (Dave Clawson) was the guy I recommended for Urban’s job. And we played USC last game of the year out in California, Urban was already going to Bowling Green and we beat USC and we were kind of a king of the earth kind of deal. We were 9-2. We had started the season 2-2 and then we played Oregon State in the Fiesta Bowl and got our butts handed to us, and all of a sudden it wasn’t my decision to make who was gonna come, and obviously I wanted Dave Clawson. We ended up hiring Joker Phillips.

    (Note: A just-fired receivers coach named Dabo Swinney applied for the opening, as well.)

    Rogers: Unfortunately we didn’t take either one of them.

    [​IMG]

    ‘We just weren’t very good’
    Davie’s tenure got off to an ominous 1-4 start in 1997, and things were uneven in each of his five seasons in South Bend: 7-6, 9-3, 5-7, 9-3, 5-6. That second-to-last season saw the Irish make the Fiesta Bowl, but they were blown out by Oregon State, 41-9. Meyer left to become Bowling Green’s head coach, and two other assistants left, too.

    Davie had been given a five-year extension after the 2000 season, but the worst September in school history sealed his fate. After eight total years with the Irish — including his first three as Holtz’s defensive coordinator — Davie was fired. He became an ESPN commentator for the next 10 years before taking over at New Mexico in 2012.

    Sawvel: I really thought the team that we had in 1998 was outstanding. That was a really good football team. We weren’t good the first year of Coach Davie being a head coach. I don’t know if that year could’ve started off any worse than what it was. We opened the new (renovated) stadium with Georgia Tech, who was just OK, and we had to beat them late and it’s like 17-13. We got Ron Powlus, and everybody always had the hype about Ron. And Ron was a good dude, but we didn’t really have just the great skill players around him receiver-wise, all those things that you need to support a quarterback like Ron. And we were trying to be a team that threw the ball a lot. So we beat Georgia Tech, then we lose like the next four, so that was a really low point. You’re 1-4 at Notre Dame, he’s in his first year; that would’ve been a lot of pressure on him at that time. So we finished that year in the Independence Bowl, we lost to LSU, and he made some changes.

    Bill Sheridan (safeties/special teams, 2001): We lost to Michigan State in Week 2 (in 2001) and in that third game we lost to Texas A&M, so we started the season out 0-3 and that really shook us. And we battled back and finished about .500, but it wasn’t good enough and they decided to move on from Coach Davie. But it was a good experience, and I enjoyed my time there very much.

    Rogers: I’m gonna tell you what: What that guy went through at Notre Dame those three years was brutal. I mean brutal. I mean, they were all over him. I remember my first game, we’d go to church in the Basilica and then we’d walk over to the stadium and it was a really great tradition that Notre Dame had, and there would be people all over the campus. And I remember my first game, we opened with Kansas, it was the (1999) Eddie Robinson Classic, and there were people out there with “Dump Davie” signs (laughs). I’m thinking: Oh yeah, I haven’t coached a game yet and they’re already saying “Dump Davie.”

    Davie: When I first left I was like: Man, I don’t want these suckers to win, you know? I’m man enough to admit that. But pretty soon after that, I got over that kind of initial deal to the point where I root for them every week. I am really proud that I had a chance to coach there. I am really proud of that.

    Rogers: The other thing to look back on: We just weren’t very good. We didn’t have very good players at the time. If you make a comparison to the players we had at Syracuse to the players we inherited at Notre Dame, it wasn’t very close at the time — Marvin Harrison and Donovan McNabb as opposed to, I bet you can’t name four names that made it to the NFL in those three years we were there, you know?

    Doll: (The Fiesta Bowl) was a pretty good bowl. Now we played awful, but I think it showed how well we coached that year, because we weren’t as talented as some people might have thought. There were some good moments, there was a lot of good things that happened. They always talk about academics and all that, and the year we were let go there was 100 percent graduation rate if I’m not mistaken. So some things come out both sides of your mouth — what you want, what you don’t want. And as always there were some things not talked about that happened in terms of injuries and different things like that. That’s kind of in the past and you just kind of moved forward.

    Sawvel: That game (the Fiesta Bowl) led to the collapse. I don’t know how history changes if we got to the Fiesta Bowl in ’98 with that team. Those are the things you just don’t know. It never helps when you have a lot of coaches leave. The flip side of it’s like how do you fault them for leaving? Nobody really left laterally. They all left for something that was a big improvement.
     
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  26. NDfanPSUgrad

    NDfanPSUgrad Well-Known Member
    Penn State Nittany LionsNotre Dame Fighting Irish

  27. SD_Irish

    SD_Irish El Mas Chingon
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    Just putting Shea Pattereon and Kedon Slovis on notice. Don't anyone get too comfortable.
     
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  28. AHebrewToo

    AHebrewToo Albino Hebrew Extraordinaire
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    Lil Nas - Old Town Road.
     
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  29. Rise

    Rise Well-Known Member
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    So Stanford is falling apart. Little the ot is taking the year off to recover. As long as usc doesn’t hire urban we may be looking at a pretty good run.
     
  30. Juke Coolengody

    Juke Coolengody One name. Two men?
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    Before the season I would've said that there a 90%+ chance that USC goes after Urban. Now with this new QB and the PAC12 being horrid, Helton may have a solid record this year.

    We just need to take back some of the top tier talent that Stanford has managed to snag on the west coast before USC starts hitting on all cylinders again (with Helton or with Urban coming in).
     
  31. Voodoo

    Voodoo Fan of: Notre Dame
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  32. NDfanPSUgrad

    NDfanPSUgrad Well-Known Member
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    Georgia adding 500 seats to the ND game. Will be a record setting crowd (if it wasn’t going to be already)

     
  33. Wicket

    Wicket Fan: ND, PSV, Pool FC, Cricket, Urquel, Dog Crew
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    so i cant even say how psyched i am for saturday. I just for once, really want to murder a team. Score 50+ and/or blank a team
     
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  34. beist

    beist Hyperbolist
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    I'm just ready to watch ND on a Saturday afternoon. It feels like our season hasn't even started yet.
     
  35. Wicket

    Wicket Fan: ND, PSV, Pool FC, Cricket, Urquel, Dog Crew
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    thats where i am. Ive watched 3 weekends of football and ive yet to see ND on a saturday or the saints on a sunday. It really feels weird
     
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  36. theregionsitter

    theregionsitter Well-Known Member
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    Repeat of Umass would be nice
     
  37. IHHH

    IHHH Well-Known Member
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    I will be a bit disapointed if the defense looks as bad as it looked against umass in 2015. That game was telling of the shortcomings of that team and bvg
     
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  38. 40wwttamgib

    40wwttamgib Fah Q, Ohio
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    I'd like to Jurk it the whole second half.
     
  39. beist

    beist Hyperbolist
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    Yeah even the UMASS game was less of a blowout than the 63-0 type of games that most top 10 teams manage to put up once a season. I think we had a game like that against Rutgers in the mid 90s but outside of that we literally never do that to anyone. It would be nice to have one of those.
     
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  40. SD_Irish

    SD_Irish El Mas Chingon
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    I'm most interested in seeing whether Book shakes his happy feet syndrome and finds his pocket presence or not. Second to that, I'd like to see how the defense plays in game 2. Do the LBs progress and play sound football? Do our DEs feast off the edge? Finally, how does a Jafar-less RB stable perform?
     
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  41. 40wwttamgib

    40wwttamgib Fah Q, Ohio
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    [​IMG]
     
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  42. repoocs

    repoocs Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet
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    I do that anyway. Oh wait. You meant...

    :in-n-out:
     
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  43. laxjoe

    laxjoe Well-Known Member
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  44. Voodoo

    Voodoo Fan of: Notre Dame
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    Just got a phone call from the ticket office trying to sell tickets. Wonder if our sell out streak is in danger.
     
  45. beist

    beist Hyperbolist
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    oh fuck.... my mind works like Darren Rovell. I need an intervention.

     
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  46. laxjoe

    laxjoe Well-Known Member
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    Absolutely it is. I'll be shocked if it makes it through that first week in October
     
  47. laxjoe

    laxjoe Well-Known Member
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    If what is being reported on the ticket website is accurate, I'm actually surprised how few tickets are available this weekend. There's hundreds probably, but that's thaway bettern we were doing at this point 2 years ago
     
  48. Rise

    Rise Well-Known Member
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    Just a really shitty home schedule
     
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