gold standard Spoiler Coaches On The Road Scoop *** Notre Dame quarterbacks coach Tommy Rees spent time in the Chicago area stopping in at a few different schools during Notre Dame's bye week. He extended Notre Dame's third offer in the 2022 class going out to Kaleb Brown , a 5-foot-11, 183-pound offensive weapon from Chicago (Ill.) St. Rita. Rees saw Brown at practice, and Brown noted to me that the offer came as a pleasant surprise. The day after the Irish offered, Michigan threw their hat in the ring too. *** Rees also visited Bolingbrook H.S. to check on 2021 safety target Justin Walters . The 6-foot-1, 170-pound prospect visited Iowa over the weekend, and I'm told he's looking at getting back to Notre Dame over another visit this fall (visited for the New Mexico game) and wants to see Purdue, Kentucky, Michigan State, and Northwestern. Rees stopped by Walters' practice and they got to get on the phone later that day. The conversation between Rees and Walters went well, as they talked about Walters' upcoming high school game. Quick note: I was told a couple weeks ago that Rees was going to San Diego to see 2021 quarterback pledge Tyler Buchner , but i don't believe he was able to make the trip. *** Notre Dame running backs coach Lance Taylor's first stop was in the East Atlanta area, checking out Lilburn (Ga.) Parkview class of 2021 ball carrier Cody Brown , the No. 52 prospect nationally. I'm told that Taylor was impressed with how Brown ran at practice, and Brown is likely to become the fifth 2021 running back to land an offer from the Irish. Those close to Brown believe that he'll be very interested in Notre Dame. 52 NATIONAL 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;"> 5 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;"> 2 POSITION CODY BROWN RANK 5.9 6'0" | 211 LBS | RB PARKVIEW LILBURN, GA CLASS OF 2021 UNDECIDED *** On Thursday, Taylor went out to Weddington H.S. in the Charlotte, N.C. area. When coaches go on the road, they're only allowed to talk to recruits if they "bump" into them and can have a short greeting. College coaches are allowed to talk at length with the high school coach though, and Taylor had a good conversation with Weddington head coach Andy Capone. Recruiting is not just about swaying the prospect to your school; you have to build relationships with high school coaches, and Taylor has done a great job building a connection with Capone. Of course, Weddington H.S. is the home of 2021 running back Will Shipley , who is Notre Dame's top offensive target on the board. I'm told that Taylor communicated to Capone how much he and the ND staff enjoyed having Shipley on campus and how much they value Shipley and his family. *** On Friday, Taylor made a trip up to the Richmond, Va. and caught up with Chester (Va.) Thomas Dale head coach Kevin Tucker. This is the school of Notre Dame 2020 running back pledge Chris Tyree , the nation's No. 40 prospect and No. 2 all-purpose back. Taylor was accompanied by Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly on this trip. Following their time at Thomas Dale, Kelly and Taylor caught a flight up to Columbus to see recent Notre Dame class of 2021 wide receiver Lorenzo Styles , the No. 28 prospect in the land. *** Brian Kelly was at the University of Cincinnati on Saturday as the Bearcats 2009 team, led by Kelly, was honored. The night before that, Kelly went out to Roger Bacon H.S. to see 2021 running back Corey Kiner , who added an offer from the Irish in September. Kelly stopped in at a couple of commits' schools in defensive back Landen Bartleson at Danville (Ky.) Boyle County and wide receiver Xavier Watts at Omaha (Neb.) Burke. People close to both schools told me just how cool it was to have Kelly make stops at the respective schools. 149 NATIONAL 14 STATE 10 POSITION CEYAIR WRIGHT RANK 5.8 6'0" | 173 LBS | ATH LOYOLA LOS ANGELES, CA CLASS OF 2021 UNDECIDED *** Notre Dame wide receivers coach Del Alexander was in Southern California during the bye week. He stopped at Loyola H.S., home of 2021 Rivals250 DB Ceyair Wright , who Notre Dame offered a couple months ago. Loyola also has a 2021 6-foot-3 defensive back in Zahari Spears on the team, and he has multiple P5 offers already. He gathered some info at Bishop Alemany H.S., which doesn't have any notable 2020 or 2021 prospects, but has 6-foot-3, 230-pound linebacker Niuafe Tuihalamaka , who holds offers from Arizona, LSU, Florida, Penn State, USC, and a few others, as well as 6-foot-3, 170-pound athlete Ephesians Prysock , who holds offers from Florida and LSU. Both are prospects in the 2022 class. *** The key visit for Alexander in Southern California was on Wednesday at St. John Bosco, which is home of elite 2021 wide receiver Beaux Collins . One source close to Collins recruitment told me that Collins thinks very highly of Alexander, but added that Clemson and Ohio State are the clear front runners in his recruitment. *** As I've previously reported, Irish offensive coordinator Chip Long made a trip to Northeast Georgia on Thursday to check in on a pair of Notre Dame 2021 commits in tight end Cane Berrong and wide receiver Deion Colzie . To my knowledge, he didn't make any other visits. - NATIONAL 9 STATE 22 POSITION TREVEYON HENDERSON RANK 5.7 5'11" | 185 LBS | ATH HOPEWELL HOPEWELL, VA CLASS OF 2021 UNDECIDED *** I did some digging on defensive line coach Mike Elston's whereabouts but came up empty. I can confirm that he did not see 2021 recruits Cade Denhoff , Najee Story , George Rooks , or Gabriel Rubio . I'm sure he was out somewhere, but I wasn't able to gather any info on. I haven't been able to track down where offensive line coach Jeff Quinn went as well, but I'll be looking into both this week. *** Irish defensive coordinator Clark Lea was in the Richmond, Va. area. It was reported elsewhere that Brian Kelly visited Hopewell H.S. but that is not true. It was actually Lea, and I imagine that he visited other schools but Hopewell is the only visit I've confirmed. Lea got in Thursday and spent time with Taylor and Kelly that night out at dinner. The following day is when Lea visited Hopewell and Taylor and Kelly were at Thomas Dale. *** I was in Richmond a couple weeks and got to sit down with Hopewell's stud 2021 athlete TreVeyon Henderson , and he didn't have much to say about Notre Dame because the Irish hadn't been in too much contact with him. I'm told that Henderson is really the only potential Notre Dame prospect at Hopewell from an athletic and academic standpoint. A source at Hopewell tells me that Lea's visit to the school made a good impact on Henderson's recruitment, as it showed that they do have strong interest in the 5-foot-11, 185-pound prospect. He could excel at running back or defensive back for the Irish. 89 NATIONAL 3 STATE 4 POSITION DONOVAN EDWARDS RANK 5.9 5'11" | 193 LBS | RB WEST BLOOMFIELD WEST BLOOMFIELD, MI CLASS OF 2021 UNDECIDED *** Notre Dame safeties coach Terry Joseph visited Mater Dei Prep in New Jersey to check on Irish defensive back commit Clarence Lewis . Joseph was expected to visit Pittsburgh defensive back commit Jordan Addison 's high school. Notre Dame offered Addison in the spring but never visited campus. However, a source told me that Joseph was not able to make it in due to some flight issues. *** Cornerbacks coach Todd Lyght spent some time in the Detroit area, and a source told me that he stopped in at West Bloomfield (Mich.) High which is home to class of 2021 running back Donovan Edwards , who ranks as the No. 89 prospect nationally according to Rivals. Michigan and Ohio State are in good early position for Edwards, but I'm hearing that his interest in Notre Dame is stronger than most people believe. Whether or not Edwards gets back on campus for another visit in the near future will be telling. *** Notre Dame special teams coordinator Brian Polian visited California to check out 2020 defensive back target Ramon Henderson , and the Irish are still sitting pretty in his recruitment. Polian also went out to Honolulu, Hawaii, home of Notre Dame drop end commit Jordan Botelho . The Rivals250 four-star recruit followed a few USC recruiting assistants on Twitter, but I'm told that there shouldn't be any worry that Botelho could flip to the Trojans. *** Botelho and his family have communicated to the Notre Dame staff that they are rock solid with their Irish pledge. Oregon and Washington continue to push for Botelho though and are trying to sell him on their Polynesian culture. Botelho's high school team is one of the best in the country, and I doubt that Botelho will have time to officially visit both schools as he focuses on a state title run. And that's even if he wants to visit them, which he may not. I feel confident that Notre Dame will be able to sign Botelho in December, and he will enroll early. 211 NATIONAL 1 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;"> 16 POSITION JORDAN BOTELHO RANK 5.8 6'3" | 230 LBS | OLB ST. LOUIS HONOLULU, HI CLASS OF 2020 VERBAL COMMIT 4/18/2019 NOTRE DAME Notes On 2021 Irish WR Commit Lorenzo Styles I posted a story last week on Pickerington (Ohio) Central class of 2021 wide receiver Lorenzo Styles as he reflected on his commitment to Notre Dame. Here are some extra quotes that I found interesting that I didn't include in the article. *** Styles on how firm his commitment is: "I'm a man of my word. I'm 100% committed to Notre Dame. I don't plan to take any other visits. If I do though, it wouldn't be for my sake. My brother little brother's recruiting process is going to heat up next year, and I know he'll want to take his visits and have big brother with him." *** When I saw Styles Aug. 30, I saw someone who looked just like him standing on the sidelines so I asked, "Do you happen to be related to Lorenzo?" Surely enough, it was his brother, who already is much bigger than Lorenzo, and Alex Styles is just a freshman. The younger Styles is not playing this year due to a fractured tibia. He will look to camp at Notre Dame next fall and impress the coaching staff. 28 NATIONAL 2 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;"> 4 POSITION LORENZO STYLES JR. RANK 6.0 6'1" | 170 LBS | WR PICKERINGTON CENTRAL PICKERINGTON, OH CLASS OF 2021 VERBAL COMMIT 10/13/2019 NOTRE DAME "It's funny because I'm the 'big little brother,' Lorenzo Styles said. "Hopefully he develops into a D1 recruit. I'm super excited for him." *** Styles on Notre Dame's 2021 recruiting class: "We're off to a great start, but we need to make sure we start recruiting hard on defense. We have a few guys in mind and we want to develop a super class together." *** Styles on meeting Deion Colzie , others: "He was really cool. I also met Xavier Watts for the first time. I feel like all of us will fit well together in the Notre Dame offense."
Eh, Miami had all the momentum in the world as a program and was sniffing the playoffs and the 2017 team had already blown its load on the usc/nc state stretch. Still think this is a close one and am fully prepared for a Nico Collins back corner fade over Troy pride as time runs out.
This will be Vaughn’s 4th game, so redshirt is still in play ND stats dept had it wrong initially, he didn’t play against Georgia
nah, you are an optimist, somehow. I think im a top3 sourpuss in this thread prolly, but i make up for it with excessive passion
Bball guys - Do we have any shot with this guy or is he gone? Hopefully if not us, its not an ACC team at least
ND has been on him longer than anyone. It’s us or Michigan I’d say. Duke just offered and he’s visiting there soon but most don’t expect him to end up there Not real confident we land him but hoping Brey’s persistence pays off
I’ve read we were sitting 3-4 and holding on due to being the first in on him, but the recent visit did move the needle for him based on reports. Thought Purdue was in the pole position but he is now off their board. Like Rover said, think we ultimately finish second for another recruit Brey spent far too much time on, which happens all too often. I’m not as enthusiastic as some on this guy and think he is a 2-3 year project but it would be fun to see 4 shooters around a big fucker like that.
The plan I’ve read for him is 2 and turn pro. He knows he’s not a 1 and done guy which may help us here Brey has whiffed hard on big time recruits. Hopefully he has a better read on this one being a DeMatha product
I just don’t see it on the fast track to the pros outside of the size. He has such limited athleticism/power inside that at this point I think he would be overwhelmed inside against the ACC. If you take a SO-JR from even Florida State, especially their flyers they take on huge immigrants and shelve for a few years they totally negate his game. The bigs from the top 3 of the ACC push him around. I love the idea of a 7 footer in the center, but I think for him it will take a little while because correct me if I’m wrong where are the back to the basket highlights? Don’t think he will sign but if he did I could see Elijah Taylor getting more burn than him in the ACC stretch of the season early on due to his athleticism.
At least in the case of ND I think we know what type of team we have. A very good squad that is limited by QB play. Hence we have a high floor but also a reduced ceiling. This is a game ND should win regardless of what UM is going through on their end. I am not sweating it by any means, but Book's lack of progression this season does give me pause. For that reason it is hard for me to get too excited, and frankly it's probably better that way given my expectations.
I'm cautiously optimistic because I'm still not convinced Michigan is any good. I think our offense versus their defense is a wash but I think our defense is significantly better than their offense.
As the guys on the II podcast touched on, the fact that Michigan fought back against PSU was probably enough to keep the fan base fired up for their matchup against us. If they would've gotten blown out last week, the environment Saturday could've been a lot more subdued and easier to play in. The fact that they showed plenty of life in the second half last week probably makes it so that the Michigan fans won't come out with the boo birds quite as easily. Still, if we get off to a fast start I think we can kill the energy in there pretty quickly.
Does anyone have any idea how they will determine the game time for the Duke game? I know they usually set times 2 weeks out but not sure if this will be any different given that it's on the ACC network. if it ends up being a noon start I might go, just for the hell of it.
I thought you were talking about basketball for a second. But I thought 1)I don’t think beist doesn’t like basketball so that’s weird he’s asking and 2) I thought tip times are already set? I just keep forgetting that we play duke this year in football
Ha, yeah no basketball for me. And yes lately I have a strange way of traveling to only the most forgettable Nd football games.
so i really want to beat em bad enough that we can do some poaching. we ended up #2 for a few of their top recruits, who knows if we can make harbaughs job a talking point. but id GLADLY settle for just winning
Both team fan bases understand win or lose Saturday they are still irrelevant in the National Title race. ND still could make playoffs but even they know they would get taken to the woodshed again. the true line opened mich -2.5 and is currently Nd-1 that’s a big swing Heavy money came in on Nd to move a line that much
You've gotta assume there is some insider knowledge that Kelly is gonna sacrifice a kid or two this week to make sure ND gets the W.
Spoiler Tyler Buchner may be Notre Dame’s quarterback of the future, but he won’t rush the journey By Pete Sampson 1h ago 2 LA JOLLA, Calif. — Tyler Buchner jogged toward the end zone, looking to catch a pass instead of throw one. The four-star junior quarterback from The Bishop’s School had already accounted for six total touchdowns and 529 yards of offense in a 40-6 demolition of Tri-City Christian on Saturday night, but one of his final throws had sailed. So Buchner chased down that failed two-point conversion after the ball skipped to a security guard positioned at the corner of the field. The guard tried to deliver a strike back to the Notre Dame commitment, but her toss died five yards short. Buchner fielded it cleanly all the same. “Sorry! Thank you!” Buchner said after scooping up the ball. “Good effort!” This is all in a night’s work for Buchner, who leads all of high school football this season with 3,634 yards of total offense, according to MaxPreps, to go with 50 total touchdowns. Watching Buchner during the game, it’s impossible to miss the talent Notre Dame spotted a year earlier during a summer camp, roughly two months before a torn left ACL ended his sophomore season at four snaps. Watching Buchner after the play, though, is to see a national prospect who doesn’t consider himself a big deal, even locally. Buchner serves as his own ball boy most games, cradling the football on the sidelines while in conference with offensive coordinator Danny Mitchell. As one of the only players at Bishop’s who doesn’t play on both sides of the ball, Buchner spends those breaks on strategy with Mitchell, who treats the coordinator-player relationship as more collaboration than one-way dialogue. That’s how it worked Saturday night, with Mitchell expecting Buchner to adjust to Tri-City’s constant blitzing, which unexpectedly turned the game plan into a series of screen passes with a 90-yard touchdown run thrown in. When Bishop’s grabbed control of the game by halftime, Mitchell and Buchner decided the quarterback needed some variety, so they worked a speed out route to the field side, just because. Buchner hadn’t thrown much of that pass to date, so why not turn high school games into a bit of college prep? “If we’re up by a lot, I’ll mess around and try to throw something that I haven’t thrown a lot,” Buchner said. “I don’t have to throw that, but I just wanted to.” A series later, Mitchell turned the offense over to Buchner entirely, letting the quarterback become the play caller. That’s how it works most weeks, Mitchell trusting a 16-year old quarterback to do an adult’s job. Calling his own plays, Buchner threw five consecutive passes and hit receiver Clay Petry for a 44-yard touchdown. As the offense exited the field, Bishop’s head coach Joel Allen complimented Mitchell over the headset on the call. “I had no idea what the play was,” Mitchell said. “It is collaboration, that is exactly how we do it out there on the field with Tyler. All the success he’s having is all him. A coach told me this once, that the one that’s gonna make the smart decision is the one with the ball, not the one with the clipboard. And this works for him specifically because of how smart he is. “This is not the highest level of football, so you expect a guy like him to play at a high level and dominate. He does that.” There are different ways to measure that. The statistical one is the easiest: Buchner is 158 of 231 passing this fall for 2,746 yards, 34 touchdowns and five interceptions, plus 72 carries for 888 yards and another 16 touchdowns. Bishop’s 8-0 record is another way. So, too, is how the Knights got there. When Bishop’s attempted a field goal in the second half against Tri-City, it was the first series that didn’t end in a touchdown since the third quarter of the season opener. Buchner understands that the competition level he faces at Bishop’s is part of that success, at least statistically. He could transfer high schools and face better talent every week. And he knows the climb in competition when he arrives at Notre Dame, whether that’s for early enrollment in January of 2021 or six months later, will be steep. He’s fine with all that. Buchner doesn’t think twice about his half-hour commute from Rancho Santa Fe to Bishop’s in La Jolla. He jokes that if he could spend the night at his high school, he would be fine on a couch there, a place where nobody seems to think too much about how their quarterback is headed to Notre Dame, even if the defensive coordinator there is former Irish defensive back Shane Walton. Yes, Buchner’s game makes it impossible not to think about what’s next. But no, he’s not in a hurry to get there, in part because he knows what’s coming at Notre Dame in a way few high school kids could. Derek Samuel saw South Bend’s 574 area code pop up on his phone, but the renowned physical therapist in La Jolla was with a client and couldn’t answer. So Samuel, whose patients include Carson Palmer, LaDainian Tomlinson, Zach Ertz and Golden Tate, handed the phone to the NFL free agent who’d stopped by for a checkup. “Is this Derek Samuel?” the reporter asked. “This is Manti.” Buchner’s education about Notre Dame went beyond summer camps, game-day visits and stops at Bishop’s by quarterbacks coach Tommy Rees. And it’s hard to imagine a better ambassador than Manti Te’o, the consensus All-American linebacker and Heisman Trophy finalist, who understands both ends of the publicity spectrum when it comes to being a Notre Dame football player. Te’o has been working with Samuel for almost seven years since being drafted in the second round by the San Diego Chargers after his historic career in South Bend. It didn’t take long for Te’o and Buchner to strike up a friendship, one Samuel facilitated by scheduling their rehab appointments — Te’o from a torn Achilles and Buchner from that ACL — back-to-back during the past year. Buchner and Te’o were even together when Buchner committed to Notre Dame on March 9. “I’ve picked his brain for hours in there, asking him how to handle things,” Buchner said. “Hey, how do you handle publicity? How do you handle people saying things that aren’t true? He’s been great. One thing he said was about confidence. If people are talking about you, good thing. It means you’re doing something right. If you’re on their mind it probably means you’re doing something right that they’re not.” Count working with Samuel among the things Buchner has done right. Roughly half Samuel’s practice is devoted to elite athletes, and much of the other half is high school kids. Buchner might fall in both camps, and the rehab process with Samuel could be considered one of the reasons why. Despite Buchner not being old enough to drive when he showed up at Samuel MPT a year ago, the cocksure Samuel treated Buchner like he was old enough to drive a two-minute drill at Notre Dame. On the first day Buchner showed up, he arrived wearing shoes from that day at Bishop’s — which is to say, non-sporting gear. That has only happened once since, and Buchner was pleadingly apologetic when it did. Samuel made that kind of first impression. “Brother, I know you saw the patient in front of you and I know you’re gonna see the patient behind you, and you come in here in these sorry-ass school-boy shoes?” Samuel told Buchner that day, likely in front of his mother Audrey. “You’re coming to work.” That began a thrice-weekly rehab program where Buchner learned about Notre Dame from Te’o and learned what it takes to make it there and beyond from the NFL talent walking the hallways. Samuel was blunt with Buchner throughout, demanding he accept a nine-month rehab process instead of trying to beat the calendar. If all went to plan, Buchner would be ready for his junior year. “His DNA is a little bit different,” Samuel said. “He’s probably the most gifted high school athlete that I’ve ever worked with. Even with some NFL players, you’ll have to sit there and explain the exercise a few times, but with Tyler you explain the exercise, he figures it out and he’s executing it at a very, very high level. “I put him on the same program as my NFL guys.” Ideally, Buchner would have taken Samuel’s program and worked it in the Bishop’s weight room, but the quarterback wanted to make that time more about lifting with his teammates than squeezing in individual rehab. Maybe that was for the best, considering Buchner was voted a captain as a junior and got more time with Samuel and his clientele. “At Bishop’s they really grind those kids academically, so you’d get rare days where he wasn’t trying to kill himself in the gym here,” Samuel said. “I’d tell him that I wanted him to understand something, to watch somebody like Darren Sproles here. He gets in early. Every single rep, every single task, he does with such extraordinary intensity, it’s like he’s literally trying to kill the exercise. That’s what separates a 15-year NFL vet from a three-and-done guy. “Even if something feels easy, try to find a way to make it hard.” Buchner returned to action in time for preseason with Bishop’s. After the season’s first few games he was ready to lose the knee brace, a decision Buchner’s parents let him make on his own. These days he stops by Samuel MPT before games to get loose, keeping the kind of routine regular for pros and rare for 16-year-olds. “He’s very grounded,” Samuel said. “Sometimes I have to remind myself that I’m talking to a high school kid, not a college kid.” Tyler Buchner and his father Todd were late getting into Notre Dame Stadium a couple weeks ago before the USC game. Most of the recruits on hand had already made their way to the recruiting section when the Buchners came out of the tunnel en route to their seats. For a quarterback used to playing in front of hundreds, seeing tens of thousands pack Notre Dame Stadium underscored what’s coming for a quarterback trying to keep himself from becoming a big deal. That’s why when Notre Dame fans called out his name around the stadium, it turned his head. When he autographed boarding passes, it made an impression. When a fan tweeted out his location, along with senior quarterback commitment Drew Pyne, well, that was just weird. “I don’t get that at home,” Buchner said. “It’s easy to fit in. It’s just normal. I think it will be a little bit of a shock when it really does kick in at Notre Dame.” Buchner doesn’t talk much about Notre Dame among his friends at Bishop’s. Aside from the Notre Dame wristband he wears, he’s not advertising it much. It’s one of three bands on his wrists, another from The Opening and another a blank white band that used to be for USC — the colors have since worn off, so Buchner figures it’s fine to keep it on. Buchner would rather skip over the remaining pomp and circumstance of recruiting, too. While on campus he told Rees that he could stop writing him letters because it was a waste of everyone’s time. Notre Dame seemed to get that by having Buchner recruit for them during the USC weekend when the Irish landed two four-star receivers in Buchner’s class: Deion Colzie and Lorenzo Styles. The quarterback’s work also included reconnecting with five-star running back Will Shipley, a former lacrosse rival from grade school when the two met at an all-star tournament in Colorado. During a skills competition that weekend, Buchner won hardest shot, topping 100 miles per hour. Shipley won the fastest man competition, with Buchner finishing second. Buchner’s lacrosse skills were enough for him to commit to Michigan in the eighth grade, beating an NCAA rule that prohibited contact between lacrosse coaches and prospects before Sept. 1 of their junior year. That rule was being passed during Buchner’s visit to Ann Arbor, which created a false pressure to speed up a process that the NCAA wanted to slow down. The Buchner family was plain that Tyler’s football recruitment to Michigan would run independently of lacrosse. If football turned into a better option, Buchner would take that route. If it didn’t, lacrosse was fine. Michigan football ended up awkwardly recruiting Buchner, too, along with Alabama, Georgia and USC. Still, Notre Dame offered something those other schools did not. “I didn’t want to go to a school where I wasn’t going to be challenged academically and I only went there to play football,” Buchner said. “You can go to an Ivy League school and be challenged academically, but obviously the football is not going to be at the same level.” When Buchner committed to Notre Dame, Stanford quarterbacks coach Tavita Pritchard reached out to see just how committed Buchner was. The quarterback said that short of Notre Dame burning down, he’d be attending college in South Bend. Michigan’s lacrosse coach reached out last month, too. “I’d never talked to this guy. He called me on Sept. 1, ‘Are you still coming here?’” Buchner said. “Yeah, I’m going to Notre Dame. ‘Oh, I just want to make sure.’ It was a really weird situation.” Consider it all just another oddity in the life of Buchner, who’s learning that what once seemed strange may now be becoming regular. Maybe that’s just reality for four-star quarterbacks headed to blueblood programs, especially if they’re leading all of high school football in total offense and counting Heisman Trophy finalists as friends. Still, Buchner would like to push back against this new world just a little bit longer. And he’s got help, too. When he got verified on Instagram a couple weeks ago, his friends mercilessly busted on him, calling out that scintilla of big-time behavior. “I’ve never got made fun of more my entire life,” he said. “If I ever say something that sounds a little arrogant, they’re like, ‘Shut up, Tyler.’ I’m just a normal kid that goes to Bishop’s and I happen to play football with the rest of my friends.” It’s not that simple, of course. It can’t be for a player Notre Dame’s coaching staff believes can be the future of the Irish offense. But that’s all in the future. For now, Tyler Buchner is happy to be his own ball boy, just another kid on The Bishop’s School football team, even if everybody else knows better. (Photos courtesy of The Bishop’s School)
Reasons ND’s recruiting has taken off... - Sustained success on the field - Polian back on the staff - Urban Meyer no longer negative recruiting ND to any kid he’s in contact with
really that's also only the 2021 class. the 2020 class is pretty much done and hasn't anyone worth noting in the last 5 months. To boot we have a bit issue at DB in recruiting. Don't think its really any better (or worse) than it has been for a while now
Tyree and Johnson set this class apart from the others. We have lacked top end skill players for years so hopefully those two live up to their rankings.
Part of it will be hoping some of those 3* kids turn into good players, like we’ve seen at LB this year. If the rumor that a new DB coach is in the works is true, that could help all around.
it would make sense. Recruiting has been on point on most positions, only the DBs (and more specifically the corners) have been subpar in the last 2 cycles. 2021 aint looking ideal anymore at DB either
I guess other than Aaron Lynch, I can't think of a single one of those players ND coulda shoulda woulda had that panned out, unless you want to add Zeke to that list.
are we discussing all transfers and decommits, cuz guys like taylor decker (fuck him), elijah hicks and paulson adebo certainly worked out if we are talking more about the guys not qualifying or having issues i think you can add markese stepp already to the count. Elijah Hood and Analzone were certainly also good but dont really know if they qualify either