Well iirc his whole recruitment came down to Nebraska telling him he would be a big deal there and never paly at Nd. Shame he couldn’t get burn vs USF
Especially after not being able to take advantage of early enrollment. Kid would’ve likely seen a couple more plays if full practices occurred.
Nebraska doesn't use WRs. They hardly play offense. Would be silly for him to leave for that school even if it's the home town honey.
See, I would have went with he needed six went one vote short to Finke because nothing encapsulates him as a QB more than that.
like it or not this is college football nowadays, when a kid sees that he has the talent to start and the coaching staff isn’t even trying to get him on the field they will bail. Especially at wr. This is one of the reason Nd can’t recruit wrs. even claypool was underutilized until his senior year. i would understand if Nd was like bama and we recuit 3-4 studs every single year, if you feel like a kid is not ready and you already have a ton of weapons, If he bails he bails. but Nd is not in that situation, they absolutely needed to let the kids see the field this year.
for sure, im really worried about losing a kid like jordan johnson for this very reason. You should basically never have 5th year receivers starting unless its a scrappy slot receiver. If they are talented enough to be a starter they shouldve played enough early on to get their feet wet. And if they arent talented enough to go pro after max 4 years they have no business being a starter at ND
ND under-utilizing it’s talented receivers early in their careers is a trend under Kelly. Fuller and Claypool got nowhere near the targets they deserved at ND.
If we had a qb that could push the ball down the field, you can put in a young receiver and tell him to run fast down the field. When you are dinking and dunking, wideouts need to win in small spaces and technique matters more than anything. Also, we all knows that Book isn't going to find a wr he doesn't trust anyways with his lack of vision. So much of it comes back to Book.
The offense the last two years was all blocking based, pretty tough to ask a freshman WR to play that style in retrospect once again this WR issue might honestly just be a QB problem
I dont understand why we don't ever rotate guys. But after watching a lot of the film from this year they ask Skronek and McKinley to block LBs quite a bit. To be honest if I'm a young WR I'm not looking at our offense last year and signing up to play at ND. You have usually 2 on the field when all these other schools usually have 3 or 4 and you don't stretch the field. So I get it from their standpoint but still true freshman WRs making an impact is not thr norm
If Watts is that crampy that he wants to leave after his true freshman season because of playing time, let him. He has raw talent but wasn't some phenom like Johnson. If that's his ethic and drive, he's not doing squat at Nebraska, either. Now if it's cultural fit or simply wanting to be closer to home, friends and family, I'm more sympathetic and would wish him well. Leaving any program at any position over playing time as a true freshman is bush-league.
Its one of those circular logic takes where you can't complain that WR are there to be blockers and WR can't get open. They need to rectify this and figure out a way to get talented youngsters on the field.
Considering Coan is a pocket passer, our blocking tight ends (Tremble and Wright) are likely gone, the whole OL is changing Think ND will definitely be chucking the ball next year as its easier to pass block then run block
Sorry to change the subject but what is a realistic timeline for Kelly to leave. Seems like the kind of guy to try to go out on top. I’d say 1-2 years max either way.
My buddys kid is close with Kelly's kid and they're building a new house. He's not going anywhere. Hopefully he just retires in the next 2-3 years.
so all you need to know is this. Alabama had 4 first rounders at receiver last year and still managed 10 receptions to freshmen receivers. For the last ND freshman WR to get a single reception you have to go back 2 years
Kelly not playing young guys isn't new. Kyren did a lot to change his body, but he dropped a pass game one and was benched for the rest of the year. Mayer was an anomaly, and who knows what could have happened had Johnson and Watts gotten snaps. Devotion to seniors is what bothers me about Kelly most and why you know Coan is the starter next year.
He cares way more about limiting downside than maximizing upside. You can see it in everything he does.
or lets look at clemson, probably a more realistic comp in how they manage the team in the last 8 year Clemson has had a freshman wideout catching double digit passes in every year, in almost every year they had multiple and they average about 2.5 freshman receivers catching double digit balls. In the same period ND has had a double digit reception freshman WR (once) less than theyve had season where not a single freshman WR caught a single ball (2) thats absolutely nuts to me
Sounds like he’s still going down to LSU to meet with them, but it will be a uphill battle for the Tigers. Gotta feel good about it considering all the off-field trouble that program is facing.
That is the kind of transfers I want to see. One and done contributor in spots we can see if the young guys step up. Basically a trade for Ovie
We haven't seen enough to know. But he didn't see the field in spite of playing one of the weakest positions on the roster. Maybe a fresh start and different scheme helps.
Probably our only transfer I’m legitimately bummed about. Think he would have gotten playing time for us down the line. We are pretty thin at corner, so that plays into it as well.
Hah. Didn't realize I'd hit "post." I started to say the Irish hiring him would be the perfect gift, but realized any news will probably come later.
While I know we just lost a ton to the portal, I think we’re going to do well in it overall. We’re a top 10 team easily over the last 4 years, kids can come get graduate degrees from one of the best institutions in the country, and we’re one of the higher schools in pro players. yes, all of this should work on top tier players in high school, but many of these kids are short-sighted because they are younger. After someone has been in college 3-4 years, have matured, and they see this opportunity, I think we’ll get some legit transfer opportunities.
Actually, damned message board doesn't scrub messages started in the quick reply field, even when you come back and respond to another post. Glad all I'd typed in was my birthday wish.