Archive for the ‘Notre Dame Recruiting’ Category

Notre Dame picked up its first commitment for 2010 today in Christian Lombard - a 5 star offensive tackle from Illinois. Lombard had offers from virtually everyone and will be on everyone’s top 100 lists next year.

Considering our lack of success recruiting offensive tackles this year outside of Zach Martin, this is outstanding news.  Lombard will be the highest rated offensive lineman the Irish have received a commitment from since Sam Young three years ago.

The class of 2010 has quite a few elite prosepcts which the Irish appear to be in the driver’s seat for early in the process and Lombard was one of them.  If Weis can right the ship and get Notre Dame back in the Top 10 next year, we could see another banner year in recruiting like last year’s top rated class.

This was a huge first commitment for the Irish which could give us a little momentum in rounding out this year’s class as well.

Former standout NFL wide receiver Andre Rison is an assistant coach for the Mainland team in the Hawai’i/Polynesia vs. Mainland Bowl and had some high praise for Notre Dame wide receiver commitment Shaquelle Evans.

“There are guys who run like deers, but a guy like Shaq — who is already 195, 200 pounds — is hard to find,” Rison said. “Football is the one sport where physically, you cannot jump from high school to the pros. But these two kids, when you look at their bodies, they look like they could play pro ball already.”

Rison went on to compare Evans to NFL star receiver Andre Johnson.  Considering Johnson is considered by some to be one of the best wide receivers in the NFL, that is pretty high praise from a guy who knows a thing or two about the position.

Rison’s assessment of Evans makes me think even more that Evans will see the field for Notre Dame next year and will combine with Golden Tate, Michael Floyd, and Deion Walker to give Notre Dame an outstanding group of wide receivers that should be a matchup nightmare for any defense.  Now… will the offensive line improve enough so that we can actually use 4 wide receiver sets without Jimmy Clausen running for his life?

The annual Football Banquet is usually a important weekend for recruiting and this is no exception.  On top of several committed players, who will likely need some reassuring after the week Charlie Weis has had, Notre Dame will host a couple of uncommitted players as well.  Here’s the list of visitors as reported in today’s South Bend Tribune.

• Davon Custis (DE) - Uncommitted (heavy Boston College lean)
• Toben Opurum (FB) - Uncommitted
• Alex Bullard (OG) - Notre Dame verbal
• Tyler Eifert (TE) - Notre Dame verbal
• Jake Golic (TE) - Notre Dame verbal
• Zach Martin (OT) - Notre Dame verbal
• Dan Fox (LB) - Notre Dame verbal
• Chris Watt (OG) - Notre Dame verbal

Custis is a key recruit because there aren’t any defensive end recruits in the class and after Custis there aren’t any left on the board for Notre Dame.  Custis said a few weeks back he was 90% sure that he would end up at Boston College, but a weekend on Notre Dame’s campus could always change that.  Getting a DE like Custis sure would be nice and would give us a little momentum after a few rough weeks.

Five star linebacker Jelani Jenkins was at one time scheduled to visit this weekend, but it doesn’t appear as though he is going to be visiting.

According to Bill Kuerlic’s Midwest Recruiting Blog over on ESPN, Notre Dame commitment Chris Watt is still firmly committed to Notre Dame despite the uncertainty surrounding Charlie Weis’s future.

“Some coaches have called,” Watt said. “But I told them I’ve committed to Notre Dame. They’ve all said they respect my decision, but if anything changes to let them know. I’ve been told by the Notre Dame coaches that coach Weis will be the coach next year.”

When asked if he would reconsider his decision if Weis was not back at Notre Dame next season, Watt said, “I would definitely stay committed. I would see who the next coach is of course. But I’m committed to Notre Dame.

Watt is a pivitol recruit to this year’s class after the way the offensive line has performed the past two seasons so hearing that he is firm with his commitment to Notre Dame is reassuring.

Unfortunately, it will be open season on Notre Dame commitments until Weis and Swarbrick meet next Monday for “yearly evaluation of the program” and definitive word is given about Weis’s future.  While Swarbrick hasn’t hinted that Weis will be gone yet, he hasn’t exactly given word that Weis will definitely be back either.  Until he does make such a statement, opposing coaches will be out in force trying to poach some of our commitments.

The hits keep coming for Notre Dame this week.  Chris Bonds, the highest rated defensive lineman left on the board for Notre Dame commited to Alabama on Sunday after narrowing his choices down to Notre Dame and ‘Bama last week.  He told the State:

“Everything just fell into place,” Bonds said. “With me getting hurt, they kind of stuck it out with me through thick and thin. I’m a big fan of their nose guard and how he anchors the line. Coach Burns talked to me about playing defensive tackle and defensive end.”

The loss of Bonds is significant because the Irish currently have just one defensive lineman in this class - Tyler Stockton - and just one left on the board - Davon Custis.  Custis, meanwhile is reported to be favoring Boston College.   Bonds is also an elite talent when he is healthy and would have been an excellent addition to this class.

Notre Dame’s room for error along the defensive line is lessened even more with Bonds heading to Alabama.  If some on last year’s defensive line recruits don’t pan out, we will find ourselves in a rather precarious situation along the d-line again very soon.

One of the more important recruiting trips of the year for Notre Dame will take play this weekend when Hawaii native and linebacker extraordinaire Manti T’eo, aka Baby Seau, travels to South Bend.  T’eo is one of the best linebackers in the country and would be the biggest recruit at the position for the Irish since the 5-stared Carlos Pierre-Antoine committed to Notre Dame a decade ago.

ESPN recently rated T’eo the second best run stuffing linebacker in the country.

A tackling machine, Te’o is just a supreme blend of size, speed and intensity as a run supporter. He will offer his future defensive coordinator great scheme versatility with his ability to blow up the run between the tackles or slide out and chase down faster skill players in space with excellent burst. He has earned the nick name “Baby Seau” amongst the Scouts Inc. staff, rare to find an LB with both his great physical and mental attributes.

Greg Biggins had an update on Gaffney’s upcoming trip to Notre Dame today.

“I’m going to Notre Dame and I’m pretty hyped up about it,” Gaffney said. “It’s my first time there and I can’t wait to see the program up close and see what the school is all about.

“Obviously, Notre Dame has great tradition and I’ve heard great things about the place. Obviously we have to take care of business first on the field Friday but then I’m excited to get to South Bend and see what the school is all about.”

Gaffney, by the way, has been tearing it up for Cathedral Catholic in San Diego and had another monster game last weekend.

Gaffney ran for 225 yards on 26 carries to lead Cathedral Catholic. The senior said he threw up five times on the sidelines during the game because of the flu.

“He is just not going to slow down,” said Cathedral Catholic coach Sean Doyle. “He is not going to give up. He is good. Very good.”

It’s been a long time since we’ve had some playmaking ability at fullback.  Raeshon Powers-Neal started off the 2005 season in grand fashion, but after being suspended following the Purdue game his season was over and the Irish haven’t had a playmaker at the position since.

Came across this video today courtesy of Jeff of Shaquelle Evans committing to Notre Dame and then talking about why he committed to Notre Dame. Pretty good stuff from one of the biggest recruits in this year’s class.

An ESPN recruiting update listed Notre Dame defensive tackle commit Tyler Stockton as the DT with the most upside in this year’s crop of defensive tackles.  Here’s what their report had to say.

In Stockton’s evaluation, we said he possesses one of the most explosive get-offs in this class, but after watching video of close to 200 defensive tackles thus far, we can say the New Jersey native may be the most explosive. There are some big men who can get moving in this class, but Stockton seems consistently to explode out of his stance. His game has many strong points, but it all starts with his ability to get off the ball. Because he can get moving so quickly, he can beat blockers to the punch and knock them back. He does a good job with his hands and staying low, and he is tough to block because he is so explosive. On film you can actually see him sometimes violently snap his opponents’ heads back because he gets into them with excellent quickness and power. This ability makes him tough against the run and pass. The nation’s No. 2 defensive tackle is a great pickup for Notre Dame, and he should bring some real explosiveness to the interior of the Irish defensive front.

If you watch any video of Stockton, his burst off the line is very noticeable and it is something he is much better at at this point of his career than last year’s haul of DT’s.  Stockton is listed as ESPN’s #2 DT already so to hear that they think he also has the most upside is very encouraging.

In doing a little more research on Cierre Wood’s performance last night I cam across this blurb from the Ventura Coutnry Star.

What hurt the most was Santa Clara lost Wood to an injury less than three minutes into the fourth quarter. He had to be helped off the field.

Hopefully the injury is not serious because Wood’s a very talented running back and like I said in my last post, he’s got the kind of skills which are perfect for this offense and should see the field next year.  I’ll see what else I can find regarding Wood’s injury and post an update when I find one.

Running back commit Cierre Wood was finally held in check Friday night by Jimmy Clausen’s high school alma mater Oaks Christian.

There was a thought Oaks Christian High might finally be challenged Friday against Santa Clara of Oxnard, which came in riding a 18-game winning streak and featuring Notre Dame-bound running back Cierre Wood.

Didn’t happen.

Oaks Christian defeated the visiting Saints 49-6 before a standing-room only crowd and a Fox Sports Net television audience.

Wood broke off a couple of nice runs on the first series but was held in check, finishing with 119 yards in 23 carries, including just 45 yards over his final 16 carries, and he did not score a touchdown.

It’s always nice to see that a 119 yard, 23 carry performance is labeled a disappointment.   Right now I’d kill for a Notre Dame running back to have a stat line like that.  Oaks Christian is one of the better teams in California and remains undefeated on the season so it shouln’t be seen as any indication that Wood isn’t as good as many think.  Wood remains one of the best high school running backs in the country and if the Irish stick with a spread style offense like we’ve seen at times this year he will very likely see the field for the Irish next year.