He looks like a mega douche in this video https://irishsportsdaily.com/s/9950/video-protect-this-house-workout 11 seconds in
Haha Heebs texted me a picture, and yes he is the douche you want as QB1, Wasn't going to share that but yeah since he posted I can confirm.
Heebs showing dominance over QB1 with the subtle lean in and locked eyes. No wonder Book never got off the bus in Dallas.
gold standard Spoiler Scoop From Prime 21 — Holland *** This weekend’s Prime 21 camp gave me an opportunity to see three offered 2021 Notre Dame targets in action in four-star Plant City (Fla.) wide receiver Mario Williams, four-star Denton Ryan (Texas) athlete Billy Bowman and four-star Kennedale (Texas) safety JD Coffey. The Prime 21 camp is always loaded with major talent from the South and is one of the best events of the summer. Along with getting to watch these guys live, it also gave me an opportunity to get more intel on their recruitments. *** Of the three prospects, Notre Dame has the best chance to get Bowman as things stand right now. Bowman visited Notre Dame for multiple days during the weekend of Irish Invasion last month. The visit to South Bend was a game changer. Bowman is a very family oriented kid and gets it done in the classroom. Notre Dame is an extremely appealing option to him and his father, Billy Sr., who is the varsity wide receivers coach at his high school. Bowman is already building a strong relationship with the staff and said the Irish are in a good spot to receive an official visit down the line. I also spoke to Billy Sr., who raved about the environment on campus and the Notre Dame network. *** Right now, I would say the three schools at the top of Bowman’s list are Alabama, Notre Dame and Texas. Bowman’s last visit before the dead period was to Alabama, and the family had a blast in Tuscaloosa. It’s Alabama, so it’s not hard to see why they are excited about the program. Texas offers high-level academics and an opportunity to play closer to home. The Longhorns are giving him the opportunity to play on either side of the ball, which is definitely appealing to Bowman. I would say he has a slight preference to play wide receiver, but he’s willing to play either position hence why he worked out at both at the Prime 21 camp. 88 NATIONAL 13 STATE 6 POSITION BILLY BOWMAN RANK 5.9 5'10" | 170 LBS | ATH RYAN DENTON, TX CLASS OF 2021 UNDECIDED *** From talking to a source close to Bowman, Notre Dame has had some discussions with Bowman about playing some wide receiver at the next level as well. Right now, Notre Dame is recruiting him on the defensive side of the ball as a slot corner/nickel type. Again, Bowman is willing to play on either side of the ball, so it’s not going to make or break his recruitment. But having the flexibility to play on both sides as opposed to settling on one right now is a plus. *** While Notre Dame is in a great spot with Bowman early on, it has a lot of work to do if it wants to be a contender for fellow Texas native Coffey. Buzz coming out of the camp is that Texas is the clear favorite for Coffey. I actually put in a FutureCast in favor of the Longhorns this weekend. Coffey camped with Texas earlier this summer and received an offer, which was a game changer. The Longhorns have made him a priority for next cycle, and he will actually be on campus this coming weekend, which I’m hearing will have some fireworks for UT. - NATIONAL 22 STATE 4 POSITION JD COFFEY RANK 5.8 6'0" | 175 LBS | S KENNEDALE KENNEDALE, TX CLASS OF 2021 UNDECIDED *** Coffey told me he just doesn’t have the relationships with Notre Dame right now. Yes, it’s still early and yes, it’s the dead period, so you can’t really fault the Irish. But again, if ND wants to have any chance in this recruitment, it needs to make a stronger push and be in constant contact once it’s legal for the Irish to initiate contact. Coffey has never been to South Bend, so getting him up for a game this fall is a must. *** When it comes to Williams, his recruitment really is wide open at this point in the process. Williams didn’t make many visits this offseason as he spent his time playing club baseball. The Rivals100 prospect is actually an elite center fielder and is attracting some pro looks. Getting an opportunity to play baseball at the next level could be a big factor in his recruitment, so it’s something the Irish need to sell. ND has a good baseball program and can point to a guy like Jeff Samardzija as a guy that got it done on the field and on the diamond. 29 NATIONAL 5 STATE 7 POSITION MARIO WILLIAMS RANK 5.9 5'10" | 165 LBS | WR PLANT CITY PLANT CITY, FL CLASS OF 2021 UNDECIDED *** Williams said he has a really good relationship with Notre Dame wide receivers coach Del Alexander. In fact, Williams hits him up from time to time, which shows he has legit interest in the program. Williams would really like to get to South Bend for a game this fall. I asked Williams about distance, but he told me that’s not really a factor. Along with Notre Dame, Williams is also looking to see schools like Alabama, Georgia, LSU and Oklahoma this fall. Intel On 2021 RB Recruiting — Singer For last Week's Gold Standard, I included notes on future running back targets for the Irish with Chris Tyree locked up in the 2020 class. I gathered more notes on 2021 running backs specifically. *** One of the bigger recruiting items to come out of last week was 2021 Matthews (N.C.) Weddington running back Will Shipley revealing that he plans to unofficially visit Notre Dame on October 12 when the Irish host USC. Shipley informed BGI that he loves running backs coach Lance Taylor because "he talks about more than just football. We have a really good relationship, and I can only see it getting better." I talked to a source on the Notre Dame side of things that was really fired up about Shipley scheduling the unofficial visit, and Irish sources really, really like Shipley. *** As for Shipley's recruitment, I'm told that his recent Clemson offer will be huge in his recruitment. High academic institutions in Northwestern, Notre Dame, and Stanford are very much in the picture, and the likes of NC State, South Carolina, and Duke are high on Shipley's list as local schools. It's too early to say where he may be leaning, but I'd say Clemson and NC State (where his parents went to school) may be the frontrunners to land him. 57 NATIONAL 3 STATE 1 POSITION WILL SHIPLEY RANK 5.9 5'11" | 200 LBS | APB WEDDINGTON MATTHEWS, NC CLASS OF 2021 UNDECIDED *** West Bloomfield (Mich.) running back Donovan Edwards, the nation's No. 85 prospect, is really high on Notre Dame, from what I'm told. Edwards lives about 45 minutes to an hour away from Michigan, and the Wolverines are certainly a big contender to land Edwards. His high school coach also played at Michigan, so it seems pretty logical to assume that UM may be the team to beat for Edwards, but a source tells me that people close to Edwards believe that he is a "Notre Dame type kid." Look for Lance Taylor and Co. to push hard for Edwards this fall. I think Notre Dame has a better chance here than most believe. *** Notre Dame hosted five star running back Camar Wheaton from Garland (Texas) Lakeview Centennial in June. Wheaton is tough to read, but sources on the Notre Dame side of things were very pleased with how well his visit went. The source noted that it was "shocked" with just how good of a visit Wheaton had. I'm told that Wheaton committing to Notre Dame still may be a long shot, but the Irish definitely made a strong impact during the visit. 5 NATIONAL 1 STATE 1 POSITION CAMAR WHEATON RANK 6.1 6'1" | 190 LBS | RB LAKEVIEW CENTENNIAL GARLAND, TX CLASS OF 2021 UNDECIDED *** Notre Dame has only put out three 2021 running back offers thus far to the aforementioned Shipley, Edwards, and Wheaton. Don't be surprised if the Irish expand the board though, and this could happen in the near future. Two names I'm continuing to hear that Notre Dame is high on are Evan Pryor and Cody Brown, a pair of Rivals100 prospects from the Southeast. Backstory On Berrong's Commitment — Singer On Saturday, I attended a Terrence Edwards WR Academy workout, which Notre Dame 2021 tight end commit Cane Berrong attended. I was able to gather several interesting tidbits on Berrong and how his commitment to Notre Dame came together. *** I was originally under the impression that Berrong's recruitment came down to Alabama, Georgia, and Notre Dame, but in reality, Berrong wanted to leave the South. It came down to Michigan, Notre Dame, and Penn State for the four-star recruit. Georgia was also involved, but were not as seriously considered as the other three were, and Athens is only about 45 minutes from Berrong. Miami was the early favorite in Berrong's recruitment but never clicked with the staff there. It was a very fast recruiting process for Berrong, as he didn't land his first offer until January of 2019. He visited around 10 schools in the past six months. *** Probably the biggest factor in Berrong's recruitment was scheme fit. Not only did Berrong and his camp want him to find a school where he'd be utilized as a pass catcher but also as a blocker. Berrong didn't want to be a glorified receiver but looked for a place where he could put his hand in the dirt at times as a more traditional tight end. Notre Dame uses a good bit of 12 personnel (one running back, two tight ends) which will allow Berrong to showcase all of his abilities and see the field earlier in his career. *** Berrong visited Notre Dame for Irish Invasion and left South Bend wanting to commit to the Irish. It took him a couple of weeks to announce his commitment, as he was praying and thinking over the decision and talking with various people about Notre Dame. The Berrong camp knew that some coaches act one way during the recruiting process but then can be completely different people as coaches. Berrong did his research on Irish offensive coordinator Chip Long, who he loved communicating with. Berrong had a two-hour phone conversation with kicker Jay Bramblett and talked with others about the Notre Dame staff and only heard great things about the Irish. He and his family felt very comfortable with the coaching staff. - NATIONAL 17 STATE 6 POSITION CANE BERRONG RANK 5.8 6'4" | 225 LBS | TE HART COUNTY HARTWELL, GA CLASS OF 2021 VERBAL COMMIT 6/21/2019 NOTRE DAME *** Berrong really wanted to visit Michigan when they play Notre Dame this fall and take a visit to Penn State to experience those game day environments. It speaks to how much Berrong loves Notre Dame when you consider how much he wanted to visit those schools but committed before his junior year. Berrong will visit Notre Dame for the USC and Virginia Tech games, and I'm told he will probably visit South Bend three or four times this fall. *** During Berrong's recruitment, he was involved in a group chat with class of 2021 Notre Dame recruits -- both committed and uncommitted prospects. Berrong is actively recruiting 2021 Athens (Ga.) Academy wide receiver Deion Colzie, who is also in this group chat. "When Blake Fisher committed, Tyler Buchner went on there and asked who was committing next," Berrong said. "I talked to [Buchner] before I committed and told him that I think I'm going to commit to Notre Dame but I didn't know when." *** One final quick but important note: Berrong is already working towards enrolling early at Notre Dame. This is something that he and his family feel is very important and will set Berrong up for success if he's able to get on campus right away. Berrong's commitment was pretty interesting, i was quite surprised he wanted to leave the south so badly
Clark Lea Interview Part II...we've come a long way from Tenuta and BVG Spoiler BGI: Shayne Simon began the spring outside at Rover but ultimately moved inside. How has his development been? Clark Lea: “I think moving him into the box was a huge plus for us and for him. I think it fits what he’s growing into. When you look at him right now in the weight room, you see what a linebacker should look like. He’s 6-2, 232 pounds yesterday and rock solid. He’s got the physical tools. “His growth is more in learning the new things that he’s never had to do because of position, because of his enhanced skill set against the competition, things physically he has to do without hesitating. That honestly comes from exposures, because with Shayne he is as focused and mentally tough a player as I’ve been around. Matt Balis calls him ‘The Silent Assassin.’ That from Matt Balis means a lot to me. “When his performance wasn’t where we wanted it, where he wanted it, he and I were able to have direct conversations about it. You know immediately this guy is not interested in faking anything. He is desperate to be an elite player, and I’ve got a ton of confidence in where that guy’s game is going to go.” Get a FREE 60-day trial and four FREE copies of the BGI digital magazine using promo code Irish60 BGI: At Rover, Simon seemed to be robotic, meaning he was thinking too much and not reacting. Does the move inside help him think less and be more natural? Lea: “That observation is not off. When you’re playing that way out in the field space it creates challenges because there can be no hesitation out there, because the minute that ball gets outside your radius it’s breaking. The coverage components, the amount of ground you need to cover to make the plays you need to make, there’s a lot there. “But once you tighten the spaces down, you really allow for a guy to play and use the skill sets that made him effective. Just take some of the ground out of it. The thing with Shayne, and I don’t know all the specifics, there were five practices at rover and the sixth was at Buck, seven thorough 14 he was a Mike, and then in 15 we moved him back to Buck. He handled that like a pro. Though inconvenient in the immediate evaluation, that is going to pay dividends for him and us in the long term, because we’re going to have some flexibility with him.” “Jack Lamb played Mike for us in our dime packages in the spring … He’s played zone coverage in that position … I don’t feel trapped into a set of six guys that are competing with each competing for one slot. I feel like there is some transference there. "The questions that need to be answered is who can do what we need them to do to win games, and what positions can we put them in to have them do that? I feel we can do that. These guys can do that. They’re smart too. Shayne Simon is smart. Jack Lamb is smart. They pick up on things quickly. It gives you flexibility.” BGI: How is Bo Bauer coming along? Lea: “Bo, I thought developed a ton in terms of his use of hands. He brings a little bit of a different presence at the line of scrimmage. He’s such an attack-minded personality on the field. Has great straight-line speed, (but he has to) continue to work on lateral agility… It’s just playing where every movement can’t be 100 miles per hour extreme. There has to be the fluctuation between. Sometimes that has hurt in coverage. “But I thought he made strides in terms of awareness of efficiency, addressing his deficiency and brought a level of physical play for us that makes me excited about seeing how this [comes together]. You’re still dealing with a guy that even though he was an early enrollee, he’s still in his first year in the program. “The fun of college football to me is these guys will go through the summer and they will spend time in the film room and spend time together on the field. And you’ll go to fall camp and see the ground covered from spring until the first practice in the fall, the mastery of the scheme but also the physical adaptations. That’s really exciting.” BGI: Jordan Genmark Heath is a former safety that has been a linebacker for just a year. How has he adapted to the position? Lea: “I have seen growth. Obviously, he has skills that allowed for him to play safety for us and he played a lot in that bowl game for us in ’17, and played well. He’s added weight and I think he’s learning how to play with that added weight, and adjusting to that added weight to make sure that it’s going to be a positive gain for him. “Again, you’re talking about a smart player, a physical player. Really for Jordan, the difference between closing a 10-yard gap and making a tackle through the thigh and having a twitch and play square and press off a block to make a tackle — those are very distinctly different scenarios. “I think we started the spring really seeing accelerated growth. I thought we hit a wall in the middle and late part of spring. But it allowed for us to step back and say, ‘Hey these are the things we really need to focus on moving forward.’ He’s a conscientious guy who will work toward that, things like body positioning at the point of attack, running my feet through finishes, some of those things that just take time, take more than a year to learn and grow. “ … He played intermittently through the year but played a significant role in our game against Northwestern. He has game experience that will help him also.” BGI: Drew White has been banged up a lot during his career, so he has a lot of work to do. What does he bring to the defense when healthy? Lea: “Honestly in the first two practices (this spring) — and the third one he had a test that conflicted, and then he got hurt in spring break — he showed instinct. His movement efficiency is as good as anybody we have. I was excited about Drew and I still am. He’s 230 pounds right now, which is heavier than he’s been. There’s just a lot of unknown. He’s got a lot of ground to cover in terms of how he’s going to play with pads on, how he’s going to finish, but there’s reason to be excited.” “The injuries he’s sustained … the foot injury, he’s beyond it. They’re kind of isolated incidents to me. Here’s a guy who came in the Navy game … we had a linebacker get hurt in our preparation for Navy, and so in anticipation of wanting to train at least two guys at each spot, we pulled Drew (from the scout team) and went through individual … he was so impressive in bending and playing off cut blocks in drill work that as we were transitioning to start half line, option fit stuff, he then over the course of that week, his instinct and his pad level, he established himself as the next man in at either position. “When (Drue) Tranquill went down early in that game, here’s a guy who ended up being thrust on to that stage. He made mistakes, no game is going to be perfect … he played well.” “He then continued to factor into sub-package situations that we didn’t really get to. Part of the challenge for him is … starting to take ownership of how good do you want this to be for you? If you want to be a contributor, if you want to be a starter here, what are you willing to sacrifice to put yourself in the best position?’ “Here’s another guy that is super smart. The other thing about Drew is he’s super aware of what his strengths are and what his weaknesses are. To have that level of self-awareness allows for me and him to have really good conversations about how we compensate for areas where he falls short. When you start having those conversations with one of your players, you ‘re staring to direct things toward how he becomes an effective player in the system.” BGI: How do you feel about your Rover depth chart at this point? Lea: “I feel great about it. First of all, for the first time I think we’re playing with guys that fit and were recruited to fulfill that role. You’re always talking about moving down or moving in, so you’re always going to have an open mind to safeties that grow into that position, or rovers like Shayne that grow into being more box players. “But Jeremiah (Owusu-Koramoah) is a guy that we recruited for that specific position. He was a safety/athlete in high school that we knew could run. What I saw from him this spring is his conceptual understanding, his ability to execute, he really made strides in those areas. “Being that this is his third year, everything’s just kind of calmed down for him. He’s gotten into a rhythm in the classroom, he understands the day in and day out responsibility he has here as a football player. He needed reps to gain confidence and execute the defense.” “And then moving Paul Moala — he’s a very natural football player who has strike and tackle ability. Paul got here and was way behind from a conditioning standpoint last summer, and he worked his way into a special teams role, played very admirably in that role and became a guy that was looked upon as a really good football player. “At safety, the big space and some of the things you have to do at safety from a cover standpoint can be challenging. Moving him down, tightening his spaces down, putting him at closer proximity to the point of contact will be a huge benefit to him. “ BGI: Another player at Rover is freshman Jack Kiser. Would you like to get him in the mix this season or will he be a guy you plan to redshirt? Lea: “Jack Kiser is a guy that, outside of watching him practice, everything that he’s done since he’s been here has been at a very high level. He’s 218 pounds right now and he’s working his way back to full go. He’s going to find himself on the field in some capacity. “My conversations with Jack are your mindset is that you’re playing, and not just that you’re playing but when we talk about who are the starting linebackers going to be, play to the level that puts you in competition for that conversation. “We’re going to put all the pieces on the table and say ‘what fits best where?’ He’s smart enough, he’s proven that he will put the time in to study and learn. We’ll see where he is physically once we get into fall camp. There’s reason to think he can help us, especially over a long season.”
I know you now have the Ian book connection, so you might not need me anymore, but presale starts tomorrow if you're still interested. Let me know
I'd like two por favor. I don't want to lean on my new best friend until he's in his second contract.
I know friend, I am just fucking with you. One of my best friend used to lift a lot and he hated when people talked about his legs. He was putting in the work but for some reason it didn’t give the result he wanted. It’s a known thing that guys who lift sometimes disregard the lower body.
My team plays vs Billy Bowman. That whole team is freaks. I watched the game vs us last year on film. I also live about 20 mins away from that Kennendale-JD Coffey
then we definitely expect full scouting reports and for you to be the bag man for both of those players
Clark lea part 3 Spoiler BGI: How does that impact your run defense? Lea: “It’s a lot how you feel like teams end up attacking you. These guys are really, really good with defending cross-action blocks, with playing through kick-out block, to push the ball out on the edges. “They’re really good at discouraging the quarterback running the football unless it’s a dynamic athlete. We have guys that we can play and put in really compromising positions because there aren’t a lot of [quarterbacks] that are going to pull the ball and try to outrun Julian Okwara. That’s just not where offensive success is found. “I think we have to develop through the middle and the interior defensive linemen. We need to see growth in the summer and fall camp in those positions to feel like we can get to the point where we did at the end of last season where you’re really discouraging the run game. Let’s focus our attention on how we’re going to play the perimeter. “I felt like last season we got to the point, even in the Clemson game, outside of the touchdown run in the second half which was a missed execution point and was really a deviation from where we’ve been all year, but outside of that run you didn’t sense like they wanted to run the ball on our front. “With our edge player, they’re going to discourage a lot of things that teams are going to want to do, or a lot of base things that teams have in their package. If we can grow those middle bodies to be stout inside, I think we can start really, really talking about how we best defensive the perimeter and best take away RPO and best change leverages out there to discourage the quick game stuff.” BGI: In each of the last two seasons you’ve had freshmen that had to play out of necessity. How does that experience prepare that group this season, especially sophomore Jayson Ademilola? Lea: “I think the game experience will pay dividends for us now, but you’d rather have a more veteran guy taking meaningful snaps as we go through the heart of our season. “I think one of the first things that has to happen, especially for a highly recruited player as they come in, they need a little bit of a shock to the system. You can go through high school at times when you’re talented and just rely on your talent to outpace your competition. “The fun then is in being a dominant player. That shifts when you get to college, and you have to learn that the fun is in the hard. Working hard to build your craft so you can have success on Saturdays. Sometimes you have to take your lumps early in your career, you kind of wake up to this idea that, ‘Wow, I have a lot of work to do.’ “There were flashes last year when Jayson really showed an ability to be a dynamic player for us. His challenge now is finding a consistency, and that will be found in hard day in and day out.” BGI: One advantage that freshman DT Jacob Lacey has on the guys from the 2017 and 2018 class is he gets to enroll early. How does that benefit a young guy like him? Lea: “To be dropped into the winter workouts and to thrive in what is probably the most challenging segment of training that we have; the summer training is challenging but it’s different, it’s conditioning for the season, the winter conditioning is conditioning for the sake of becoming tougher. “To go through that in January and February, and then to be acclimated to the process of going through practice. To have a comfortability with the people, the coaches, the rhythm, the routine all while you’re handling your academic class load, then to break from it in May and return with the veteran players for the early segment of the summer, with confidence that you know exactly what to expect, you know exactly where to go, where your resources are. “You can’t put a value on that for a guy like Jacob Lacey. The way we think about Jacob Lacey right now is not like he’s a freshman, it’s really more like he’s a second-year player. “Now, he’ll make freshman mistakes and he needs to be given room to make freshman mistakes, we’re not going to lose patience with him. But we put more stock in what we know about him then what we don’t know about the guys that have yet to come, and all of them have potential to be good players for us. But we know more about where Jacob is in his progression than we do the guys who haven’t shown up yet.” BGI: Do you expect injured sophomore DT Ja’Mion Franklin and freshman DT Hunter Spears to be ready to go at some point this season? Lea: “I hope that they’re both healthy enough by the time fall camp comes around that we’re looking at them and seeing what they can do to help us win. Hunter is an early enrollee and one that was injured, has had less ability to show what he can do on the field. But he’s impressed early in runs, and the way he attacked his rehab was really impressive. “You can start to see signs of a guy that has something special to him in terms of his substance. “We know a little more about Ja’Mion because we got to see him before he got injured. I want both of those guys to get meaningful reps in fall camp so we can see who can help us do what as we get into the meat of the season.” BGI: It’s been reported that prior to his injury, Ja’Mion was really starting to flash. What did you see from him leading up to his game four injury? Lea: “We knew from evaluations of him in high school that he’s got twitch, and he’s got movement ability, and he’s an explosive player. I think when you play the interior defensive line, in particular in college fall camp, the skill of the players you’re going against, it’s very difficult to rely on just speed and athleticism. There has to be the use of hands and a get off that will stop the charge of a double team. There are things involved that you have to learn about yourself physically and train physically before we’re seeing flashes of what we think can be a winning football player. “I think Ja’Mion through fall camp was learning how to adapt his game to this level, and once we started to see him do that you felt like okay, that’s the guy we remember and up until he got hurt he was starting to come into his own. “He’ll have to reset like everyone will and get back at it and compete and earn what he’s going to get, but there’s reasons to believe he can be impactful for us.” BGI: You guys made a hard recruiting push for Hunter Spears. What did you see that made him such a priority recruit? Lea: “We loved the way he moved when he watched him in person. His movement skill, … we were really impressed with his size, his physical attributes, and his agility. I think early on we’re seeing flashes of that as he gets back healthy and you’re seeing a frame that’s impressive. He’s got an imposing frame, so we’re excited to see as he really digs into this college training that he’s going through where his ceiling will be.” BGI: What are your early impressions of Isaiah Foskey and where do you see him ending up, strongside end or drop end? Lea: “There’s a guy again, just the raw ability, he will grow into something and will be something. He will have to develop, and I’d imagine his development will take time like most guys do. I think we’re going to use the summer for observation and make sure he gets enough of both spots to feel like he could plug in where we need him to. “And then kind of get a feel for how he moves, his agility level, and from there make a decision based off what the roster needs. You’re excited to have a guy that can do either/or because of the flexibility. That’s huge.” BGI: What are the skills/traits you saw from Foskey that made him a guy you pushed so hard for? Lea: “When you meet him in person — I can still remember the first time he walked through that door — ‘Oh my gosh, that’s what they look like!’ Length, height, broad-shouldered, big frame, big-boned, strong, muscular, combined with what is evidenced from an athletic standpoint. “At the time I think he was still deciding whether he was going to be a tight end or a d-end. For us it’s not a matter of being polished. You see some raw get-off and some raw pass-rush ability, but you know once [Defensive line coach Mike] Elston gets his hands on him and starts to train him, you can just see the building of an elite rusher. “Combined with this physique that you say, ‘Wow, this guy can be physically imposing too, and he’s a fit. He’s a De La Salle kid. It’s a Notre Dame environment. He’s got a quiet confidence about him. He just strikes you as a Notre Dame guy.”
chip long on recruiting Spoiler FORT WAYNE, Ind. — Notre Dame offensive coordinator Chip Long spoke to the Notre Dame Club of Fort Wayne at Orchard Ridge Country Club Monday evening about a variety of topics. Naturally, there was some intrigue about the Fighting Irish recruiting efforts, which currently has Notre Dame listed in the Top 5 in 2020 and 2021 of the 247Sports Composite Team Recruiting Rankings. Irish Illustrated and 247Sports were on-site for the event and will provide some quotes provided by Long in article one of this multi-part feature. "I love recruiting at Notre Dame,” said Long, when asked about how things are different while recruiting in South Bend compared to other schools he has worked at in the past. “You can sell education. The reality is that you've got to find 12 really damn good offensive players in the country. You can do that as long as you're just not a lazy ass. I think that's what our guys have done. They're gone out there, grinded, and we're always two years ahead. We're already on the 2021 class right now. I think if you have something to sell, like education, and obviously, you can combine great football with an Ivy League education, you'd be crazy to turn that down. Just the power this place has when you're done playing, it's unbelievable. I think it's a gold mine and I only think it's going to get better and better.” Long has done a tremendous job of developing relationships out on the recruiting trail, but it’s about more than just targeting the recruit himself. He touched on that, as he was asked about the people he talks to most when he’s recruiting an individual prospect. "Everybody. Anybody who can possibly help that young man make his decision, we're going to know everything about him,” said Long. “I like to talk to the parents as much as I talk to him, so we're all on the same page. The the last thing you want to do is, and that's the good thing about Notre Dame, you don't have to have a sales pitch, because you got to work. That's one thing we do guarantee. When that kid comes here and it's nothing like you said it's going to be, he's going to struggle and he's not going to make it. I think that's a big difference, especially offensively, with just fit. What I mean by fit is if I'm taking a kid and we're not quite sure about him, and it really usually comes down to toughness, especially our skill guys on offense, if he does not play defense, we're not taking them. You can really tell that in high school, if a kid plays defense and offense, well, he's going to have some type of grit to him. He's going to work it out and figure it out. If they're just one dimensional, unless they're just an elite guy, you're chances of missing on him go up. I think we've hit on that quite a bit with a lot of guys that might have been an in-between guy, but a great defensive player too, it just helps him transition them a lot offensively. We cut down on missing on certain guys.” Notre Dame isn’t for everyone. Those closest to the program and university, alumni, everyone knows it’s different. It’s challenging academically and the schedule for its student-athletes is very difficult. There’s always some negative recruiting that takes place, but Long says that’s not something that occurs too often against the Fighting Irish because he doesn’t believe it would make too much sense to do that. "Nobody really negative recruits Notre Dame. There's not much bad stuff you can say other than it's cold,”said Long with a laugh. “You don't want to go play for New England or Buffalo or the Jets in the NFL? Good luck to you. They can say all they want to say, but at the end of the day, they're saying it because they're scared. We don't have to do it because we have so much to sell about Notre Dame. They try to put a little fear in. If a guy is scared to have to work hard then we don't want him. Like I said, a lot goes into knowing that kid and what he's about and if he can make it here or not. If he a guys is struggling all the time, he's never going to reach his full potential. You've just got to make sure you're taking tough, gritty players who can run. Then we can develop them and make them good players.” A fan of the process and a relentless recruiter on the trail, Long would like to see one thing changed when it comes to the big picture of recruiting. When asked for one rule he’d change, he quickly responded. 3COMMENTS "With the way that things have been sped up so much, I wish they would make May a contact period,” said Long. “Offensively, we were done in the middle of July, and there were a couple of guys that, if I could have just gotten to them in May, got in front of their mom, get them out a little bit earlier, I think that what have made a difference. But you know, offensively, our staff did a tremendous job. We hit on every single position from the moment we got done with Clemson. We had to upgrade, we had to have that type of talent, and from offensive line, running back, receiver, tight end, we hit our top guy. We are very, very fortunate to have a great staff and they did a great job and we were able to close strong. I think the way they sped up recruiting, if we can make May a contact period instead of it being an evaluation period, that means I can go into the room home, as opposed to seeing them at their school and a possible 'bump.' If they're going to speed things up, they should allow us to see them in May. Obviously that opens up a can of worms to because they're playing a lot of different sports and now you're pulling out of class all the time, so you know, that's the one thing I would like them to do.” this was hilarious to me The reality is that you've got to find 12 really damn good offensive players in the country. You can do that as long as you're just not a lazy ass.
The reality is that we’ve also had some brutal/lazy recruiters under Kelly previous to this established coaching staff.
That was my take away from the Tyree recruitment.... there wasn't any interesting back story on him or mushy stuff about "fit", the staff just worked really hard and they got him. Props to the staff for that, but I'd like to get to a place where that doesn't feel like a fluke.
He seems like the cocky type i like. The comment about only negative recruiting ND because you are scared seems like a shot at someone.
Looks really nice, though my favorite part of the video is the player flexing for the camera. Thought that was some solid clowning.
so not that much to consider with the new top247 but Michael Meyer losing his #1 spot when the only new data was him being Opening Offensive MVP as a friggin TE feels kinda weird to me
ow i fully agree. At least Johnson ( a rivals camp) and Tyree (very good, maybe not great in the camp) i sort of get. Winning the offensive MVP as a Tight End is some OJ Howard kinda shit. Dude is not just a #1 TE, He is the best TE in the last few years id say
but he's not 6'8 and he's not from the SouthEast and doesn't run a 4.6 so there is no way he belongs in the top 50 of the rankings despite being the MVP and dominating everyone in 1 on 1
He did go up in the rankings, just another TE passed him. I'm more salty about all of the guys that tumbled down the rankings tbqh
midweek musings Spoiler Midweek thoughts about the Notre Dame football program, its recruiting efforts and college football. BREAKOUT STARS FOR THE NOTRE DAME OFFENSE IN 2019 Every year there are players that go from solid contributors or rotation players to stars. Sometimes – like we saw with Miles Boykin last season and Will Fuller back in 2014 – a player goes from rarely used to dominant in just one season. If Notre Dame ends up being as good as the preseason magazines say it will be, that being a Top 10 program, there will be players on the roster that emerge as stars for the Irish this season. Only senior right guard Tommy Kraemer is considered a preseason All-American, but there are other players that I expect to finish the season as Notre Dame’s best players. Robert Hainsey/Liam Eichenberg, Offensive Tackle – I expect the Notre Dame offense to be fueled by outstanding line play this season, and junior right tackle Robert Hainsey and senior left tackle Liam Eichenberg will be the driving forces. Hainsey wasn’t named to the Outland Trophy Watch List (Eichenberg and Kraemer were), and it is Kraemer that is getting all the preseason All-American love, but the Irish right tackle was clearly Notre Dame’s best offensive lineman last season after Alex Bars went down. Now a junior entering his third season as a starter, expect Hainsey’s game to explode this season. A source told me recently that Hainsey knocked out 29 reps of 225 pounds during summer testing. That added strength will be the driving force behind his jumps this season. I was told two years ago from someone tied into the Notre Dame offensive line that the consensus was that the only player along the Irish line with more natural talent than Liam Eichenberg was Quenton Nelson. Eichenberg flashed that at times last season, but inconsistency and a lack of experience kept him from playing at a high level. Sign up today to get 50% off an annual membership plus a FREE digital copy of the 2019 Notre Dame Football Preview magazine! With a year of experience under his belt my prediction is that Eichenberg is going to have a monster season, and he will combine with Hainsey to form one of the nation’s best – if not the best – offensive tackle tandem in the country. Chase Claypool, Wide Receiver – Claypool has teased Notre Dame fans with his unique skillset from the moment he arrived on campus, but a lack of focus and consistency kept him from turning his potential into top-level production. During the second half of last season, however, Claypool started to show far greater consistency. In fact, he caught one more pass than Boykin during the season’s final seven games. Like Boykin a season ago, Claypool took his game to another level during his final spring. He was absolutely dominant during spring practices, and in the few instances where he struggled with execution his effort and focus never took a step back, which was a tremendous sign of improvement. Claypool now moves to the W position, which means his targets will likely see a big jump. He is expected to become the main force in the Irish pass attack, and if he plays in the fall like he did in the spring he’ll not only be Notre Dame’s top receiver, he’ll develop into one of the top big receivers in the country. Jafar Armstrong, Running Back – In his first season as a running back, Armstrong showed himself to be a quality all-around weapon out of the backfield. He rushed for 383 yards and caught 14 passes for 159 yards, scoring seven touchdowns on just 86 touches. Armstrong was on pace for 1,079 all-purpose yards and 16 touchdowns prior to his knee injury and the return of Dexter Williams. Now the lead back role will fall to Armstrong, and from all reports he’s worked hard this offseason to put himself in position to not only hold up for an entire season, but to thrive. Armstrong has explosive athletic skills that make him a big-play threat, and his ability to run routes and catch the ball like a receiver are rare. If Armstrong can stay healthy, he will develop into an even more impactful player than Notre Dame’s last two running backs – Josh Adams and Dexter Williams. The reason is Armstrong is every bit as explosive with the ball in his hands, but he’s a significantly better pass catcher. That will make it much harder for defenses to key on him, even when the ground game is going well. Cole Kmet, Tight End – Kmet showed flashes of being a big play threat last season, hauling in 15 passes for 162 yards as the backup tight end, and if not for him missing almost three full games with an ankle injury that slowed him down all season, his production would have been even better. Kmet led the offense with an 83.3 completion rate on throws where he was targeted. The next closest number was 69.0 percent from Chris Finke, to show you how good that number is. That 83.3 rate was based on my breakdowns, but Pro Football Focus had his completion rate at a mind-boggling 88.2 percent catch rate. That catch rate will naturally decline as he gets targeted more frequently, but the fact is Kmet’s combination of elite size, athleticism and ball skills makes him a tough matchup for linebackers and safeties, and if the spring is an indication of his role in the offense he’ll be a focal point of the pass game. TOP 5 RECRUITING NEEDS FOR 2021 Notre Dame is all but done with its 2020 class, and with the exception of the secondary the class has been outstanding. The Irish have arguably the best offensive haul of Brian Kelly’s tenure, and the front four added another strong group of players. The Irish will be light on numbers in the class, so there will be a burden placed on the 2021 class to not only add more impact players, but it will also have to add quality numbers across the board. We will have a lot of content on the 2021 class over the next year, but the primary needs for the class are already starting to take shape. Here are my top five early needs for the 2021 class: Impact Corners – I have used this space in the past to talk about how I believe Notre Dame’s cornerback recruiting has been better than many perceive it to be. There are a pair of high-upside players in the 2020 class, but both Landen Bartleson and Clarence Lewis are also guys who need a lot of work at the position. That means the odds of them not panning out is higher than they are for a player with a higher floor. But just because I think corner recruiting has been better than people think doesn’t mean I think it’s as good as it can be, or as good as it needs to be. Notre Dame absolutely must get its cornerback recruiting on par with other positions, and it will have a chance to do that in the 2021 class. Landing St. Louis (Mo.) DeSmet corner Jakailin Johnson would be a huge, huge step to making that happen, but getting him in the class won’t be easy. Safety Help – Notre Dame’s 2018 and 2019 safety classes added big-time players, even with Houston Griffith moving to cornerback. I can’t remember the last time Notre Dame added talented players like Derrik Allen (2018) and Kyle Hamilton (2019) in back-to-back classes. There are still holes at the position, and that begins with depth. Unless Notre Dame can land a 2020 safety not currently on the board, or someone currently committed to another school, the 2020 safety class is going to be a weakness of that class. Notre Dame needs to land a couple of athletic safeties in the 2021 class, whether they be hybrid players like Griffith (corner and safety skills) or pure safeties doesn’t matter; what matters is landing the kind of playmaking ability the defense needs at the position. Notre Dame needs to land players that are talented enough to push the older players that will already be on the roster. Strong And Deep OL Class – Notre Dame landed one of the nation’s premier line classes in 2019, and the 2020 class added two more talented blockers. Phoenix (Ariz.) Pinnacle offensive tackle Tosh Baker is a true five-star upside player with elite upside, and Mars (Pa.) High School blocker Michael Carmody brings toughness and versatility. Choosing to take just two players in the class means Notre Dame needs a bigger class in 2021, but it also needs a class loaded with impact players. Line coach Jeff Quinn is off to a great start when it comes to making that happen, landing the nation’s No. 14 overall player in Avon (Ind.) High School star Blake Fisher and Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy four-star blocker Greg Crippen . 14 NATIONAL 1 STATE 3 POSITION BLAKE FISHER RANK 6.0 6'6" | 330 LBS | OT AVON AVON, IN CLASS OF 2021 VERBAL COMMIT 6/15/2019 NOTRE DAME The key now is what two or three blockers can Notre Dame add to the class. If Crippen ends up being in the bottom half of the line class it will be special, but if he remains the second-best blocker in the class Notre Dame won’t quite meet its need for impact depth. Speed Rushers – Notre Dame has landed some really talented defensive ends to the roster in recent seasons. 2019 signee Isaiah Foskey is extremely talented and has all the tools to develop into a star, and his classmate NaNa Osafo-Mensah is another talented player. 2020 commit Jordan Botelho is a Top 100 caliber recruit and fellow 2020 commit Alexander Ehrensberger is raw but has a lot of upside. Rylie Mills – a Rivals250 recruit – could end up playing end in college as well, but I still contend his best position is ultimately inside at three-technique. My concern, however, is that most of Notre Dame’s recent edge pickups have been power players. In 2021, the Irish must add some speed to its defensive end depth chart. Botelho is more of a pure drop and brings some quickness as a rusher, but even he is more about power, moves and playing with a high motor than he is about pure speed like we see from Julian Okwara. Adding at least one speed rusher is needed, and if the staff can add a couple that would be a home run. Running Back – Landing Chris Tyree in the 2020 class was an absolute grand slam home run for new position coach Lance Taylor. Tyree gives Notre Dame a player with rare speed and explosiveness, something the staff desperately wanted – and needed – in the backfield. The next step for Taylor is being able to repeat his first-year success and establishing himself as a coach capable of landing impact players year after year. IRISH ENDS GETTING EARLY NFL DRAFT LOVE A number of publications have mentioned Notre Dame ends Julian Okwaraand Khalid Kareem as potential high draft picks, with Okwara being a potential first round pick and Kareem being a player mentioned as a possible day two (rounds 2-3) selection. One analyst that is especially high on Okwara is Dane Brugler of The Athletic, one of the few analysts who I actually pay attention to. Brugler named Okwara No. 1 and Kareem No. 6 as his pre-season senior edge rushers when looking forward to the 2020 NFL Draft. Brugler had this to say as part of his evaluation of Okwara: "... I didn’t choose 'pass rush athleticism' for his best trait. Instead, I went with 'athletic versatility' because of his ability to rush from different angles or drop and cover space. Against Michigan in last year’s season opener, Okwara showed off that versatile athleticism dropping, covering the tight end corner route and having the awareness to turn and make the interception." Brugler goes into greater detail about what he likes about Okwara and what areas need the most work. Notre Dame fans that read my breakdowns and analysis will find his "areas for improvement" quite familiar. To read that click on the link above (NOTE: It requires a membership to The Athletic). TWEET OF THE WEEK This week the Notre Dame players got their first chance to practice in their new indoor facility. Notre Dame Football ✔@NDFootball New Year. New (Indoor) Home. #GoIrish 1,860 7:27 PM - Jul 22, 2019 Twitter Ads info and privacy 312 people are talking about this FILM TO WATCH Notre Dame is done with its 2020 offensive line class and already has two talented commits in the 2021 class. The next few weeks I am going to use this space to include film of a number of the top 2021 linemen on the board for Notre Dame. Up next on the list of 2021 OL film to watch is Clarkston (Mich.) High School offensive tackle Garrett Dellinger .
Watched quite a bit of the opening highlights and haven’t seen an Irish commit stand out so much amongst his peers probably since I’ve been following recruiting (2003ish). Not sure how much more his frame can handle but honestly wouldn’t feel crazy thinking he has the ceiling to surpass all of the great tight ends we’ve had. Seems to have the perfect amount of meathead to live up to the Gronk comparisons too. Spoiler until he goes streaking thru the quad into the gymnasium
I literally just realized I won’t be able to see the opener against Louisville due to being at Burning Man.
Also, my grandpa passed away last week. Funeral is tomorrow. These are the songs we’re playing at mass: