*Notre Dame* - On Vacation

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

  1. Red Rover

    Red Rover Neck water faucet, mockingbirds mocking
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    Found my dream girl

     
  2. Druce

    Druce Fuck football.
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    Lmfao. See attachment for gchat convo between my wife and I about 10 minutes ago.
     

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  3. Voodoo

    Voodoo Fan of: Notre Dame
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    In one of the replies she says she’s married. :(
     
  4. Druce

    Druce Fuck football.
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    I absolutely didn't mini-stalk her. She also definitely isn't married to a former ball state football player and pregnant with twins.
     
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  5. a1ND

    a1ND Bold & Spicy
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    Update on the coaching search

    Here's the latest.

    According to a source close to the situation, Mickens is leaning toward accepting Kelly's offer to become the next cornerbacks coach at Notre Dame. I'm told, barring a last second change of heart or a successful final pitch from Cincinnati head coach Luke Fickell, one that is being attempted because Fickell does not want to lose Mickens, or the Irish head coach simply changing his mind, it's looking more likely that Mickens will be at Notre Dame next season coaching in the secondary with defensive pass game coordinator and safeties coach Terry Joseph.

    I'm told a decision has not been made yet, but one is expected to come very, very soon.

    As we stated in our previous update, if things don't work out with Mickens, keep an eye on St. Louis (Mo.) DeSmet highs school head coach Robert Steeples. He would likely be the next coach to interview and potentially land an offer to make the jump to the collegiate level.

    Mickens was a tremendous player for the Bearcats. He was a two-time All-American at Cincinnati during his time there from 2005-2008. He went on to play in the NFL for the Dallas Cowboys, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Cincinnati Bengals. As a coach, he started as a defensive assistant for Cincinnati in 2011 before moving into that same role the following year at Indiana State. He became a cornerbacks coach at Idaho in 2013 before making the move to Bowling Green in that same role from 2014-2017. He's been at Cincinnati since 2018.

    Loy said later in the thread that Micken's decision should come w/i a day
     
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  6. a1ND

    a1ND Bold & Spicy
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    btw, seems like Mickens is a darn good coach and recruiter, I wouldn't mind having him or Steeples
     
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  7. beist

    beist Hyperbolist
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    I'd be totally fine with Mickens if they didn't tease us with the HS coach bringing his top 100 corner with him.
     
  8. Voodoo

    Voodoo Fan of: Notre Dame
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    Given what’s on the roster right now, we really need someone who can come in and coach them up. Top 100 junior corner won’t really help us until probably 2022.
     
  9. beist

    beist Hyperbolist
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    but those stars
     
  10. Bert Handsome

    Bert Handsome I'm sorry, the card says Moops
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    The appeal of a wounded Sparty is short lived with Mel Tucker now recruiting in our backyard.
     
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  11. SD_Irish

    SD_Irish El Mas Chingon
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    I know nothing about Mel Tucker. Why should we be concerned?
     
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  12. laxjoe

    laxjoe Well-Known Member
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    He’s a great recruiter. Was on the UGA staff 2 years ago before moving to Colorado. Apparently has Midwest connections as well, although i don’t know about that. We’ll see how he does at MSU
     
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  13. Bert Handsome

    Bert Handsome I'm sorry, the card says Moops
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    He was one of Kirby's top recruiters his year at Georgia. He's a dud of a coach but can recruit.
     
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  14. laxjoe

    laxjoe Well-Known Member
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    Anyone able to post this?
     
  15. Beeds07

    Beeds07 Bitch, it's Saturday
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    How big a class can they take? They've gotten two good receivers but still have around 20 receivers planning visits. Maybe it's due diligence but I would have thought the take this year was three.
     
  16. Red Rover

    Red Rover Neck water faucet, mockingbirds mocking
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    Styles may end up at CB
     
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  17. Beeds07

    Beeds07 Bitch, it's Saturday
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    That was my thought when Styles and Watts could. It's better to get as many as possible in and figure it out. It's kind of Bizarro Weis so that's cool.
     
  18. IrishLAX2

    IrishLAX2 So you’re telling me there’s a chance
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    I’m all for the Ohio State strategy when it comes to recruiting WRs/DBs.

    Get the fastest, longest, most athletic 6’1 kids possible and figure out where they fit once they’re on campus. They’re the shortstops of football.
     
  19. nexus

    nexus TMB’s TSO
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    Slight adjustment
     
  20. repoocs

    repoocs Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet
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    Plus, it's a strong and deep WR class with guys interested in ND. Fill up when you can, then go the depth chart engineering route you guys are discussing above.
     
  21. nexus

    nexus TMB’s TSO
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    Knowing ND and their track record with 5* RBs a couple of these dudes will end up rushing for over 1000 yards in 4 years when something inevitably happens to Tyree
     
  22. IHHH

    IHHH Well-Known Member
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    good thing he dropped so much that he is no longer a 5 stars then
     
  23. Good Effort! Good Game!

    Good Effort! Good Game! Dallas Clark's biggest fan
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    I know it's been discussed before, but what's the ticket situation for the Wisconsin game?
     
  24. Beeds07

    Beeds07 Bitch, it's Saturday
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    Sounds like the DB coach job is Mickens then Steeples. Mickens if he wants to leave UC and Steeples if he doesnt.
     
  25. Voodoo

    Voodoo Fan of: Notre Dame
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    This whole process is such a joke. How does it take you two months to fill a vacancy you knew you’d have.
     
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  26. Beeds07

    Beeds07 Bitch, it's Saturday
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    It's amazing they are recruiting DBs without a DC coach. All kinds of stupid.
     
  27. a1ND

    a1ND Bold & Spicy
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    from Loy:

    Pete Thamel reporting what we’ve been reporting as well.

    Mickens expected to take the job. Looks like this one will be done shortly. Nice get for BK, as the staff got a top three candidate from day one.
     
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  28. a1ND

    a1ND Bold & Spicy
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    Steeples was very enticing but I think Mickens is the right hire - his CB experience matters a lot to me w/ how important development is this year and he sounds like he'll be an outstanding recruiter
     
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  29. beist

    beist Hyperbolist
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    Between the time Mickens was offered and the time he accepted, Dantionio retired and Michigan State hired a head coach.
     
  30. IHHH

    IHHH Well-Known Member
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    what is really funny is that they try to sell this as we got a top 3 candidate for the job, which is a total lie with how much time it took. And even with that they said top 3 which means you got your third candidate...if not they would sell top 2 or the usual « he was the only guy we wanted »

    and it’s not even done yet
     
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  31. beist

    beist Hyperbolist
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    I don't have any problem with the Mickens hire whatsoever, but it's very on-brand for II to pat ND on the back for hiring its third choice at CB coach.
     
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  32. Killy Me Please

    Killy Me Please I lift things up and put people down.
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    She's fun

     
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  33. Pelican

    Pelican COOL huh
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    That’s the right hire. :twocents:
     
  34. Voodoo

    Voodoo Fan of: Notre Dame
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    Another of my newly discovered favorites from the Coachella lineup:

     
  35. laxjoe

    laxjoe Well-Known Member
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    This isn’t your first rodeo. ND hires always take a long time since the days of O’Leary
     
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  36. IHHH

    IHHH Well-Known Member
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    true, but that was excessive even by those standards
     
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  37. DetroitIrish3

    DetroitIrish3 Well-Known Member
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    I’m excited to see Fat Boy Slim again. Saw him in Ibiza and he was outstanding
     
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  38. Voodoo

    Voodoo Fan of: Notre Dame
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    He was incredible at Coachella in 2014 and had an overflow crowd at the old Sahara. No idea what they’re thinking putting him in the Yuma this year.
     
  39. Voodoo

    Voodoo Fan of: Notre Dame
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    Explosive plays have always been valuable in football, but this college football season it was more evident than ever that those plays matter. A lot.

    The four teams who made the College Football Playoff this season finished 1, 2, 3 and 4 in plays of 20 yards or longer from scrimmage in 2019.

    The team that finished 5th? That would be Alabama.

    Three of the teams who made the CFP the previous season (Clemson, Oklahoma, and Alabama) finished 1, 2, and 3 in explosive plays. Seven of eight Playoff teams the last two years were a cut above the rest at producing those plays on offense. In the previous four CFPs, seven of the sixteen teams were ranked in the top-10 in explosive plays, so you can see where things are trending.

    It’s the same in the NFL. Out of the two teams who just played in the Super Bowl, one had the 2nd most explosive running plays (San Francisco) and the the other tied for the 2nd most explosive passing plays (Kansas City) during the 2019 NFL season.

    This is football today. Running the ball is important. So is having an accurate quarterback. But what trumps both of those things is producing big plays. They are football’s corner 3.

    Notre Dame was the lone team who made it to the Playoff in the last two seasons that wasn’t in the top-4 in explosive plays from scrimmage. They were good at producing those plays (20th), but not elite.

    Being good under Chip Long (they finished 13th, 20th, and 12th in plays of 20 yards or longer) is a big reason why they were able to win 33 games over three years. Being good or even very good isn’t quite good enough, though. They’ll need to become elite to beat programs like Clemson, Alabama, LSU, Oklahoma, and Ohio State.

    How do they get there? Step one is continuing to do some of what they did with Long. The misdirection and confusion created by influence blocks helped free up plenty of plays for the Irish the past few seasons.

    The next step is to better utilize the personnel. It’s easy to say that Braden Lenzy should get the ball more (18.9 yards per touch from scrimmage) or that Kevin Austin has the potential to replicate or even better what Chase Claypool did with explosive plays. The hard part is unlocking the rest of the talent on the team to find more playmakers sprinkled throughout the skill positions.

    With some of the things Notre Dame did well under Long and the personnel they have on the current roster, it probably doesn’t make as much sense to try and emulate LSU or Oklahoma (top-two in explosive plays last season).

    For LSU, Joe Burrow was so exceptional as a thrower with those receivers and the passing concepts that Joe Brady brought with him from the New Orleans Saints and I’m not sure if Notre Dame could duplicate what Oklahoma does with their system. The best team to steal from that fits Notre Dame’s personnel might not be in college football.

    With who they have on the roster right now, I do wonder if Tommy Rees and run game coordinator Lance Taylor will look to the San Francisco 49ers. They finished 2nd overall in the NFL in explosive play rate and finished in the top-six in both the run and the pass.

    They accomplished it with a diverse running game that routinely confused opponents and a passing game that exploited defenses with play-action passes. Kyle Shanahan’s 49ers were old school using a fullback in Kyle Juzsyck who can lead block, but also played the role of a tight end in certain formations. Think of Tommy Tremble doing some of this, but also being a weapon that teams have to account for in the passing game.


    via GIPHY

    Rather than spreading out teams like many in college football have done in recent years to create big plays running the football, they use “constriction to create explosion” as Bleacher Report’s Mike Tanier put it in this terrific piece. Tanier described the issues that the tight formations create for defenses that face the 49ers.

    They create additional run gaps, creating assignment problems that often force the defense to commit an eighth defender to the box.
    Big-play threats like Kittle or the 49ers' fast receivers can end up isolated against overmatched defenders when hidden inside bunch formations.
    They create empty space along the perimeter and over the top of the defense, allowing the offense to attack the deep field and the sidelines with speed.

    Think of Lenzy getting lost in a bunch formation against a safety or Tremble or Michael Mayer getting matched up against a linebacker. Or think of this Lenzy touchdown against USC which involved a tight formation and plenty of confusion for the defense with a design that messed with the keys of the defenders at the second and third level.


    via GIPHY

    There’s a false assumption from some that an explosive offense has to involve slinging the football all over the yard. That wasn’t the recipe for the Baltimore Ravens or the 49ers. Those two teams finished 1-2 in both run play percentage and explosive play rate.

    Notre Dame doesn’t have Lamar Jackson, but they do have talent and speed at the skill positions ,even if they don’t have a true superstar player returning. To be more explosive on offensive, they may need to zag while others are zigging just like the 49ers did.

    2. On the other side of the equation, the defense has to do a good job of preventing explosives on defense. They’ve finished 14th in that category in 2018 and were 7th last season. That’s really good.

    Clemson and Alabama finished tied for 16th in 2019. Ohio State finished tied for 12th.

    When you combine that with increasing the Havoc Rate to 18.4% last season (a top-25 rate), finishing 21st in Stuff Rate (tackles on runs for zero yards or less), and 13th in Sack Rate, the level of defense Notre Dame is playing under Clark Lea is already where it needs to be.

    3. Returning starters always used to be the way to measure what a team had coming back in college football. Then more recently ESPN’s Bill Connelly came up with returning production as a way to look at what teams could improve the most next season (or what teams might take a step back).

    I see it as a valuable tool to evaluate Notre Dame’s upcoming opponents and it’s definitely something that can be important when looking at Notre Dame as well. I also believe that context needs to be involved, though.

    Alabama may be 85th in returning production on offense, but they will have an elite offensive line again, have Jaylen Waddle and Devonta Smith returning at receiver, and Najee Harris will be back to carry the load in the backfield. Whoever the quarterback is, they’re going to be just fine.

    When I look at Notre Dame, they are losing a lot of production in the passing game, but have depth at tight end who should be ready to step up in addition to adding a stud freshman like Michael Mayer. Then there’s the addition of graduate transfer Ben Skowronek at receiver along with Kevin Austin back from suspension.

    The changes on the offensive staff are important as well. That’s not taken into account either.

    So they may be 64th in returning production on offense, but it would not surprise me at all if the offense improved from the 20th ranked offense in SP+ in 2019.

    On defense, the Irish are 102nd in returning production. They were 95th heading into the previous off-season. The defense didn’t take much of a step back despite that. With Clark Lea and the way they have recruited and developed on that side of the ball, something tells me they will be more than fine despite the lost production.

    4. It’s amazing how much things have progressed with roster construction for Notre Dame in only a few short years.

    Back in 2017, they signed 21 recruits. Nine true freshman played that season. In 2018 that number dropped to six with 21 freshman taking a redshirt. In 2019 it dropped again to three of 22 playing.

    That’s 39 players who have redshirted the last two seasons.

    They could do that for a couple of reasons 1) the new four-game redshirt rule helps get players onto the field without wasting a year of eligibility and 2) the roster is now at a point where they don’t have to force a kid into playing when he’s not ready because they missed with evaluations or with numbers in recruiting.

    If someone like Kurt Hinish arrived in 2020 rather than 2017, there is no way he isn’t redshirting and would have had a chance at a fifth year. Jamir Jones would have another year available to him and wouldn’t have played in 2016. It would have helped him have more film to audition for the NFL and helped the team as well.

    It might not seem like a big deal right now, but it could be down the road with players like Howard Cross or Justin Ademilola when they get later into their careers.

    5. Maybe the most interesting thing about the amount of players who kept a year of eligibility is that only two of the 10 who enrolled early last season played as a true freshman.

    One of them was punter Jay Bramblett and he played even though he had a rough spring. It was all because of need. Notre Dame didn’t have options at punter.

    Jacob Lacey was the other early enrollee that played a full season and he had an opportunity because of a need at that position, but also was better than Ja’mion Franklin when he came back healthy in the summer. Ultimately it was more that Lacey won a spot in the rotation than him being forced into it.

    Looking at this year’s crop of early enrollees, there’s a chance that all of them could redshirt.

    Cornerback and running back are the biggest question marks coming into the spring and with Chris Tyree not on campus until June, that only leaves corners like Caleb Offord and Ramon Henderson with a shot to establish themselves as freshmen over the next few months. Xavier Watts could be thrown into that conversation as well if the staff decides to give him a look on defense first, but we’ll see if that’s the direction things are headed.

    Offord and Henderson would have to jump in front of KJ Wallace and Isaiah Rutherford to play this season, but that’s not nearly as daunting of a leap as it would be for Rylie Mills, Alex Ehrensberger, or Jordan Botelho to be in the rotation on the defensive line. Drew Pyne would have to beat out Brendon Clark for the backup quarterback job. Watts and a currently injured Jay Brunelle would have to beat out several talented receivers.

    None of those seem very likely at this point in time. It would not be surprising at all for each one of those players to end up with four games or less this fall.

    If I had to choose one candidate to disrupt the order of things this year, it would definitely be Botelho. Outside of Ade Ogundeji and Daelin Hayes, the edge defenders on the roster are talented, but mostly unproven. Botelho might end up being too good to keep off the field and could push Ovie Oghoufo and Isaiah Foskey to play right away.

    From 2010 to 2016, a freshman like Botelho would have been a lock to play in year one for the Irish. Now he’ll have to make plays like Kyle Hamilton did last summer to have a real chance at cracking the rotation.

    6. A few weeks ago Mike Farrell from Rivals.com posted his top-10 returning quarterbacks and Notre Dame fans were not very happy about the fact that Ian Book wasn’t included.





    I really didn’t have as much of a problem with it as many did. I get that Notre Dame fans are fighting for their guy, but it’s easy to make an argument that every quarterback deserves to be on the list based on things like pass efficiency and QBR aside from Kellen Mond. (I’m not sure there’s much of a justification for including him.)

    Book may be a top-10 quarterback in college football next season. Or he could be what he has been the last couple of years. He’s been a top-20 quarterback and it’s easy to forget that there are several quarterbacks who could breakout in 2020 (Bo Nix comes to mind) or bounce back (KJ Costello with Mike Leach at Mississippi State seems about right). Who knows, some quarterback could be this year’s Joe Burrow as well.

    I see two quarterbacks who I would put a cut above the rest heading into the season: Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence and Ohio State’s Justin Fields. There’s a clump of about 25 returning quarterbacks in the next tier who could join those guys or stay stuck where they are.

    That’s where I see Book at the moment. Whether he’s considered the seventh best returning quarterback or the nineteenth, it will only matter if he can break into that top tier. If he does, then Notre Dame fans can really go to battle for their guy as one of the best in the country.
     
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  40. 40wwttamgib

    40wwttamgib Fah Q, Ohio
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    Went to HS and played with Mickens.

    AMA
     
  41. Druce

    Druce Fuck football.
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    Was he nice?

    will his penis impress single moms on the recruiting trail?
     
  42. Beeds07

    Beeds07 Bitch, it's Saturday
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    The II article on the hiring of Mickens could not suck their own dicks more on how great they covered the process of him and McNulty.
     
    #48842 Beeds07, Feb 14, 2020
    Last edited: Feb 14, 2020
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  43. DetroitIrish3

    DetroitIrish3 Well-Known Member
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    It’ll be packed but it more suits his big house feel I think.
     
  44. DetroitIrish3

    DetroitIrish3 Well-Known Member
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    I’m happy with both of those hires by the way.
     
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  45. Beeds07

    Beeds07 Bitch, it's Saturday
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    I know nothing of the TE guy, but UC always seems to have DBs in NFL and Fickell fought hard to keep him.
     
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  46. 40wwttamgib

    40wwttamgib Fah Q, Ohio
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    Must have been too good of an opportunity to pass up. The DC at UC was his HS teammate as well.
     
  47. Rise

    Rise Well-Known Member
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    Lol 247 is openly saying they take into account the school a kid committed to and the schools ability to help them reach their max potential when doing rankings.
     
  48. a1ND

    a1ND Bold & Spicy
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    um, what? that's ridiculous

    their model is so messed up i don't even know what to say
     
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  49. Rise

    Rise Well-Known Member
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    I can’t get it on my phone but Steve w straight up said in the 5 star article that he picked 2 5 stars since they were going to Clemson/osu and they would maximize their talent.
     
  50. Rise

    Rise Well-Known Member
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