I have an employee who played for the University of Tennessee and is from that area of California. We were talking football and recruiting and why he choose Tennessee over other schools and why more kids from that area of California don't come to Notre Dame. His choice of Tennessee was due to a coaching relationship that went back to his childhood that made the decision simple. What was most important to most of the guys he played with was, what are the dorms like and what is the campus atmosphere as it related to chicks and school. They don't want to stay in male only dorms, his take was why would anyone want to do that when coed dorms are the norm in many places. Now I understand he's only one person but what he was telling me was that in his opinion the only people that go to ND are people who's parents make them attend or that ND was their dream school. He said most of the other guys are looking to play ball and enjoy being a star while on campus. He does have a Master's Degree from UT and he's intelligent and thoughtful when answering my questions that he finds hilarious about why more kids from that area don't pick ND. The flash of Oregon and SC along with the PAC 12 which is what they all grew up watching and places that they want to play I think are much larger factors in landing kids than the after football opportunities offered by ND. I found that thinking to be short sighted but I'm an Irish fan so I'm biased and my opinion doesn't carry much weight with kids from an area like that. I wanted to post this because of Caleb Kelly who I hope chooses Notre Dame but have a strong feeling that he isn't going to. It will only take one or two players from this area to choose Notre Dame to change the attitudes of many folks in the area, here's to hoping Caleb Kelly is the first.,
