First of all, outside of a few games involving a few too many drinks, I'm not one to get too high or too low during Brian Kelly's tenure as HBC at ND. The 2016 class, which ranks between 9th-15th across the services is a glaring example of Kelly's stead approach. Would he have liked to land 3-4 five star players? Of course. But that continues to be difficult at ND, so he did the next best thing and get a slew up four star players. With the exceptions of a few guys (whose names I won't mention out of respect for their big day) I even thought a lot of the three star players ND signed are guys that have good, quality, upside.
Here are some random and not-so-random thoughts about the 2016 recruiting class.
1. Mike Denbrock got another great haul at WR this year with Javon McKinley, who reminds me a great deal of Michael Crabtree. I'm not saying he's going to be that productive in college, but he possesses that type of playmaking ability, especially with the ball in the air. Kevin Stepherson is a nice player and the strangest compliment I can give him is that he will have balled out if he ever sees meaningful minutes at ND with the receivers already on campus, the ones coming in this year and the likely additions in the future. Stepherson reminds me a lot of Corey Holmes in that he can play, but he might not get the chance. He's a quality football player and he'd play for a lot of teams. If ND had to put him on the field I'd be confident that he could get the job done a couple years from now. I have no problem with ND taking a kid like this in every class. A 4 year guy, who wants to be at ND and wants to compete, but might never make a huge impact, or could prove the critics wrong and develop into a really good player. Finally, the sky is the limit for Chase Claypool. At 6'5, 222lbs (per Mike Denbrock this morning), it's simply going to be a matter of Claypool adjusting to American competition. Could be Kelvin Benjamin? Maybe. Could he get to ND at 230lbs and the coaches decide to groom him in the Aliz'e Jones mold of a slit end? I could definitely see that too. I think Claypool's body will naturally determine where he plays. Longo might keep him a trim 220lb receiver, or he could easily bulk him into a 240+lb TE. Overall, the group is diverse and outstanding. Add Demetris Robertson (the best of the bunch) to the mix and you have the best WR class in the country, playing for arguably the best WR coach in the country.
2. The offensive line class is a typically awesome haul by Harry Hiestand. Kraemer is the best OL I've seen in the country this year and he could play guard from day one if needed and will likely be cross trained ala Alex Bars and Quenton Nelson. I would shocked if he isn't among ND's top 7 OL as freshman and he's a virtual lock to play as a sophomore when McGlinchey and Elmer leave after the 2016 season. Liam Eichenberg prototype, 6'6 offensive tackle and I think he'll need two years to be ready, but a lot like Mike McGlinchey, he's going to be a good one once he develops and adds some size and strength to his long frame. Parker Boundreaux is an ass kicker. A bigger version of Ruhland from a year ago, he'll get in the mix at guard down the road and should contribute while he's at ND. Overall, ND's awesome line is in great shape and 2017 already looks to be shaping up just as well.
3. I'm not thrilled about running back, but I'm content with the two player ND landed. Tony Jones is the type of combo back rarely has and he reminds me of a taller Julius Jones in that he's physical at the point of attack, but he's deceptively fast at the next level as well. Deon McIntosh is an interesting prospect. It s no surprise ND battled West Virginia for him as he 's exactly the type of player that school (Steve Slaton) and that Holgerson has used in his offenses in the past (Kendall Hunter). It's hard to project that exactly how good Deon is going to be because it will be based on opportunity but I have my fingers crossed hoping he'll Steve Slaton or Kenjon Barner. Overall, ND did alright in a year they didn't need to land a "star" back. Look for them to make a big splash in 201, with a top guy. Make no mistake though, Jones will play for sure and McIntosh will be at least special teamer. Both have skills.
4. Ian Book is exactly what ND needed in the cycle. A low maintenance, spread-oriented facilitator that will likely stay at ND for 4-5 years and be a steady backup (who could develop into a starter) when 1-2 of the current QB's transfer (that's how it works with QB's that can play these days). I've got great faith in Mike Sanford as an evaluator of QB's he wants , so I could be cautiously- lukewarm on Ian, but instead I'm going to compare him to another underrated QB that did pretty damn well for himself at the college level. I'm not going to say that he's going to leave college the all time NCAA wins leader, but he reminds me so much of Kellen Moore as a player. Overall, I'm pumped about Book in a year that I didn't expect ND to do much in the way of recruiting at quarterback.
Edit Note: I actually typed up a long Part 2, which focused on the defense, but in typical computer fashion some kind of an error occurred despite me checking that it was saved (3 times) and the info has been deleted. It was about double the length of this first half and unfortunately I don't have the time (nor the desire) to start from scratch. My apologies for this half of a post, especially given that I put a lot of time and focus into the defensive write up given that it seems to be the side of the ball under much more scrutiny.
Here are some random and not-so-random thoughts about the 2016 recruiting class.
1. Mike Denbrock got another great haul at WR this year with Javon McKinley, who reminds me a great deal of Michael Crabtree. I'm not saying he's going to be that productive in college, but he possesses that type of playmaking ability, especially with the ball in the air. Kevin Stepherson is a nice player and the strangest compliment I can give him is that he will have balled out if he ever sees meaningful minutes at ND with the receivers already on campus, the ones coming in this year and the likely additions in the future. Stepherson reminds me a lot of Corey Holmes in that he can play, but he might not get the chance. He's a quality football player and he'd play for a lot of teams. If ND had to put him on the field I'd be confident that he could get the job done a couple years from now. I have no problem with ND taking a kid like this in every class. A 4 year guy, who wants to be at ND and wants to compete, but might never make a huge impact, or could prove the critics wrong and develop into a really good player. Finally, the sky is the limit for Chase Claypool. At 6'5, 222lbs (per Mike Denbrock this morning), it's simply going to be a matter of Claypool adjusting to American competition. Could be Kelvin Benjamin? Maybe. Could he get to ND at 230lbs and the coaches decide to groom him in the Aliz'e Jones mold of a slit end? I could definitely see that too. I think Claypool's body will naturally determine where he plays. Longo might keep him a trim 220lb receiver, or he could easily bulk him into a 240+lb TE. Overall, the group is diverse and outstanding. Add Demetris Robertson (the best of the bunch) to the mix and you have the best WR class in the country, playing for arguably the best WR coach in the country.
2. The offensive line class is a typically awesome haul by Harry Hiestand. Kraemer is the best OL I've seen in the country this year and he could play guard from day one if needed and will likely be cross trained ala Alex Bars and Quenton Nelson. I would shocked if he isn't among ND's top 7 OL as freshman and he's a virtual lock to play as a sophomore when McGlinchey and Elmer leave after the 2016 season. Liam Eichenberg prototype, 6'6 offensive tackle and I think he'll need two years to be ready, but a lot like Mike McGlinchey, he's going to be a good one once he develops and adds some size and strength to his long frame. Parker Boundreaux is an ass kicker. A bigger version of Ruhland from a year ago, he'll get in the mix at guard down the road and should contribute while he's at ND. Overall, ND's awesome line is in great shape and 2017 already looks to be shaping up just as well.
3. I'm not thrilled about running back, but I'm content with the two player ND landed. Tony Jones is the type of combo back rarely has and he reminds me of a taller Julius Jones in that he's physical at the point of attack, but he's deceptively fast at the next level as well. Deon McIntosh is an interesting prospect. It s no surprise ND battled West Virginia for him as he 's exactly the type of player that school (Steve Slaton) and that Holgerson has used in his offenses in the past (Kendall Hunter). It's hard to project that exactly how good Deon is going to be because it will be based on opportunity but I have my fingers crossed hoping he'll Steve Slaton or Kenjon Barner. Overall, ND did alright in a year they didn't need to land a "star" back. Look for them to make a big splash in 201, with a top guy. Make no mistake though, Jones will play for sure and McIntosh will be at least special teamer. Both have skills.
4. Ian Book is exactly what ND needed in the cycle. A low maintenance, spread-oriented facilitator that will likely stay at ND for 4-5 years and be a steady backup (who could develop into a starter) when 1-2 of the current QB's transfer (that's how it works with QB's that can play these days). I've got great faith in Mike Sanford as an evaluator of QB's he wants , so I could be cautiously- lukewarm on Ian, but instead I'm going to compare him to another underrated QB that did pretty damn well for himself at the college level. I'm not going to say that he's going to leave college the all time NCAA wins leader, but he reminds me so much of Kellen Moore as a player. Overall, I'm pumped about Book in a year that I didn't expect ND to do much in the way of recruiting at quarterback.
Edit Note: I actually typed up a long Part 2, which focused on the defense, but in typical computer fashion some kind of an error occurred despite me checking that it was saved (3 times) and the info has been deleted. It was about double the length of this first half and unfortunately I don't have the time (nor the desire) to start from scratch. My apologies for this half of a post, especially given that I put a lot of time and focus into the defensive write up given that it seems to be the side of the ball under much more scrutiny.
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