My observations about NSD Commits

[wfeldmann]

I have followed national signing day and recruiting throughout the years and one thing has always stood out to me about recruits that commit to ND.

1. A high ranked recruit varely rarely waits till NSD to sign with ND. (Rare exception was Manti Teo) If a recruit says they are waiting till NSD to commit and ND is one of the teams involved it is a 95% chance they are going somewhere else.
2. Don't know if some of you have noticed but there is a difference between a defensive player and an offensive player that is why ND gets the offensive type of recruit, but lose out on most elite defensive players. Compare an offensive lineman to a defensive lineman. Offensive lineman need to be in control while defensive lineman play aggresively and at the line of being out of control at times. Most offensive players play under control and have complex schemes to learn. Defensive players need to play with a mean streak.
3. Most recruits that are interested in going to ND commit shortly after visiting. Mainly because they just get a feeling it is the right place for them.
4. Most highly ranked recruits are not looking into the future regarding education, because they have for most of their lives been the best player on their team or in the conference and they believe they can rely upon their althletic ability to earn their way through life. Why do you think numerous 5 star players wait till the last day to announce. How many 3 star players do you see do this?
5. In the current college football landscape and how ND sticks to its academic criteria ND will never be able to convince certain kids to take on the challenges that ND has. Put yourself in their shoes and say you are presented with playing for a program that has easier academic requirements, you are segregated from the majority of the student body, and all you have to do is focus on football to make it to the next level. Compare that to a situation where you are required to take calculus and other high level classes, live among the student body and are required to budget your time between football and the many other obligations required. Which would you select if you were an 18 year old kid?
6. ND will occassionally have a top 5 recruiting class, but they will never have a consistent top 5 class no matter how hard or how many hours the coaches put in. It just cannot happen in the current college football landscape.
7. I think this years class is a very solid class. I believe the coaching staff did a great job assembling the class they have. It was not like they didn't go head to head with Alabama, Oklahoma, Texas, and many other programs.

 

[Nocalirish]

Face it the $EC pays much better than ND.

 

[greengael]

"If you're lookin we're lookin!" sounds almost Weisian? Unfortunately the defense and development piece wasn't there.

 

[twalsh]

Compare an offensive lineman to a defensive lineman. Offensive lineman need to be in control while defensive lineman play aggresively and at the line of being out of control at times. Most offensive players play under control and have complex schemes to learn. Defensive players need to play with a mean streak.
/QUOTE]

Next to QB, offensive lineman are generally the smartest guys on the team, defensive lineman are the polar opposite. That's why we seem to be able to accumulate highly ranked offensive linemen whenever we want to, but we struggle with d-linemen. Offensive linemen are attracted to what ND has to offer, D-linemen, even if they qualify, not so much.

 

[88ND]

It's like Steve Wiltfong told Eric Hansen this afternoon. Brian Kelly could care less about stars and what recruiting services say about players. It is why ND will accept lesser star players when bigger fishes are still swimming around in the lake. When McKinley and Jeffrey McCulloch wanted to commit to ND but still take visits, Coach Kelly told them to take their visits before committing anywhere. If we had accepted McCulloch's verbal then and he decommitted today--we would have lost out on Jonathan Jones too! Coach Kelly wants players who get ND. They have a hunger in their belly's to win on the field and in the classroom. He knows that those type of players can be developed into better players under the watchful eyes of his coaching staff. Some ND fans may not like it, but that's his philosophy and style.

I think that is a great mindset to have provided the coaches keep up their end of the bargain. I believe for the most part the offense does keep up its end of the deal but the defensive coaches I believe are failing to develop and get the most from the players.

 

[Classic Irish]

I have followed national signing day and recruiting throughout the years and one thing has always stood out to me about recruits that commit to ND.

1. A high ranked recruit varely rarely waits till NSD to sign with ND. (Rare exception was Manti Teo) If a recruit says they are waiting till NSD to commit and ND is one of the teams involved it is a 95% chance they are going somewhere else.
2. Don't know if some of you have noticed but there is a difference between a defensive player and an offensive player that is why ND gets the offensive type of recruit, but lose out on most elite defensive players. Compare an offensive lineman to a defensive lineman. Offensive lineman need to be in control while defensive lineman play aggresively and at the line of being out of control at times. Most offensive players play under control and have complex schemes to learn. Defensive players need to play with a mean streak.
3. Most recruits that are interested in going to ND commit shortly after visiting. Mainly because they just get a feeling it is the right place for them.
4. Most highly ranked recruits are not looking into the future regarding education, because they have for most of their lives been the best player on their team or in the conference and they believe they can rely upon their althletic ability to earn their way through life. Why do you think numerous 5 star players wait till the last day to announce. How many 3 star players do you see do this?
5. In the current college football landscape and how ND sticks to its academic criteria ND will never be able to convince certain kids to take on the challenges that ND has. Put yourself in their shoes and say you are presented with playing for a program that has easier academic requirements, you are segregated from the majority of the student body, and all you have to do is focus on football to make it to the next level. Compare that to a situation where you are required to take calculus and other high level classes, live among the student body and are required to budget your time between football and the many other obligations required. Which would you select if you were an 18 year old kid?
6. ND will occassionally have a top 5 recruiting class, but they will never have a consistent top 5 class no matter how hard or how many hours the coaches put in. It just cannot happen in the current college football landscape.
7. I think this years class is a very solid class. I believe the coaching staff did a great job assembling the class they have. It was not like they didn't go head to head with Alabama, Oklahoma, Texas, and many other programs.

Excellent post.

 

[South Bender]

I have followed national signing day and recruiting throughout the years and one thing has always stood out to me about recruits that commit to ND.

1. A high ranked recruit varely rarely waits till NSD to sign with ND. (Rare exception was Manti Teo) If a recruit says they are waiting till NSD to commit and ND is one of the teams involved it is a 95% chance they are going somewhere else.
2. Don't know if some of you have noticed but there is a difference between a defensive player and an offensive player that is why ND gets the offensive type of recruit, but lose out on most elite defensive players. Compare an offensive lineman to a defensive lineman. Offensive lineman need to be in control while defensive lineman play aggresively and at the line of being out of control at times. Most offensive players play under control and have complex schemes to learn. Defensive players need to play with a mean streak.
3. Most recruits that are interested in going to ND commit shortly after visiting. Mainly because they just get a feeling it is the right place for them.
4. Most highly ranked recruits are not looking into the future regarding education, because they have for most of their lives been the best player on their team or in the conference and they believe they can rely upon their althletic ability to earn their way through life. Why do you think numerous 5 star players wait till the last day to announce. How many 3 star players do you see do this?
5. In the current college football landscape and how ND sticks to its academic criteria ND will never be able to convince certain kids to take on the challenges that ND has. Put yourself in their shoes and say you are presented with playing for a program that has easier academic requirements, you are segregated from the majority of the student body, and all you have to do is focus on football to make it to the next level. Compare that to a situation where you are required to take calculus and other high level classes, live among the student body and are required to budget your time between football and the many other obligations required. Which would you select if you were an 18 year old kid?
6. ND will occassionally have a top 5 recruiting class, but they will never have a consistent top 5 class no matter how hard or how many hours the coaches put in. It just cannot happen in the current college football landscape.
7. I think this years class is a very solid class. I believe the coaching staff did a great job assembling the class they have. It was not like they didn't go head to head with Alabama, Oklahoma, Texas, and many other programs.

Not to mention I saw teams like Alabama and OSU ('m sure there are others) sign
5 star JUCO players who will play IMMEDIATELY and have huge impacts for their
team. ND just can't compete with that. (and I'm OK with that)

Its like tying to run a race against Usain Bolt, but you've got your ankles tied
together and he doesn't. The playing field just isn't level.