ESPN released their latest Top 150 list Monday and Notre Dame is well represented both in terms of current commitments and prospects still interested in them.
ESPN 150 Notre Dame Commits |
||||
| RANK | NAME | POSITION | STATE | GRADE |
| 14 | Dayne Crist | QB | CA | 86 |
| 36 | Omar Hunter | DT | GA | 83 |
| 56 | Jamoris Slaughter | S | GA | 82 |
| 83 | Ethan Johnson | DE | OR | 82 |
| 95 | Darius Fleming | DE | IL | 81 |
| 102 | Kyle Rudolph | TE | OH | 81 |
| 150 | Anthony McDonald | OLB | CA | 80 |
Among the Notre Dame commitments in ESPN’s list, a couple things stand out. First off, this is the lowest I’ve seen Kyle Rudolph ranked. Rudolph is a five star prospect from both Scout and Rivals. On the flip side, Omar Hunter and Dayne Crist are both ranked much higher here than either Rivals or Scout. Many people feel Omar Hunter is under rated elsewhere based on the impressive list of offers he collected and these rankings seem to back that up. Crist is a top 100 prospect on both Rivals and Scout, but is on the other half of 50 on both.
The only prospect who is in both Scout and Rivals’ top 100 lists missing from ESPN’s is offensive lineman Lane Clelland. Robert Blanton, also missing from ESPN’s list, is on the Rivals Top 100. Below is a side by side comparison of how ESPN’s rankings matchup against Scout and Rivals.
ESPN 150 Notre Dame Commits |
|||
| NAME |
ESPN Rank
|
Rivals Rank | Scout Rank |
| Dayne Crist |
14
|
63 | 51 |
| Omar Hunter |
36
|
N/A | N/A |
| Jamoris Slaughter |
56
|
Top 250 | N/A |
| Ethan Johnson |
83
|
48 | 24 |
| Darius Fleming |
95
|
Top 250 | 89 |
| Kyle Rudolph |
102
|
22 | 40 |
| Anthony McDonald |
150
|
Top 250 | 75 |
Also for fun, here’s a look at some remaining Notre Dame prospects who are ranked in ESPN’s 150 and where they stack up against Scout and Rivals.
ESPN 150 Notre Dame Prospects |
||||
| NAME | POSITION | ESPN | Rivals | Scout |
| Brice Butler | WR | 16 | 66 | 36 |
| Etienne Sabino | ILB | 19 | 76 | 62 |
| Jonathan Baldwin | TE | 26 | 28 | 76 |
| Ryan Williams | RB | 27 | 55 | N/A |
| Marcus Forston | DT | 28 | 29 | 19 |
| Mike Floyd | WR | 41 | 52 | 30 |
| Carlton Thomas | RB | 50 | N/A | N/A |
| Cyrus Gray | RB | 54 | Top 250 | N/A |
| Jonas Gray | RB | 74 | Top 250 | N/A |
| Matthew Patchan | OT | 108 | 33 | 34 |
| Steve Filer | ILB | 110 | 34 | 28 |
| Kenny Tate | WR | 128 | 71 | 56 |
| Jeremy Brown | CB | 139 | N/A | N/A |
All of the above prospects have at least some interest in Notre Dame and among them, Sabino, Floyd, Filer, and Brown all look like they very likely could end up with Notre Dame. Among the four running backs listed, Notre Dame should also land one of them – likely Thomas or Williams. If that scenario were to unfold, Notre Dame would end this class with 12 of ESPN’s Top 150 this year.
As with the comparison of Notre Dame’s commitments, a couple rankings really stand out. For instance, how on earth does ESPN have Matt Patchan ranked outside the top 100 when most consider him one of the elite offensive tackles in this year’s class? ESPN also has Steve Filer (110) quite a bit lower than either Scout (28) or Rivals (34) who both have Filer as a five star prospect.
ESPN also ranks Carlton Thomas much higher than either Scout or Rivals. Last year ESPN did the same thing with Golden Tate who is a similar player. Both are smaller players who have elite speed and it looks as though ESPN’s rankings, compiled by Scouts, Inc., place a much greater emphasis on speed in their rankings than either Rivals or Scout.
frank,
1. to complete the magnificent nd 2008 recruiting on defense, nd needs only to look at dt solomon koehler of hawaii, ranked just behind forston at dt by rivals and just a little lower by scout.
2. forston is and will be great, but he always knew that he was not going to nd.
3. koehler has the talent, the intelligence, and the integrity that makes him perfect for nd.
with some work on technique, he will easily be better than forston will ever be.
4. all he needs is the attention from nd. charlie and corwin brown did not miss identifying very many of the recruits that met nd’s standards in 2008, but they sure have missed koehler so far.
keep up the great work,
bob gilleran
frank,
1. the real question about anything put out by the espn.com is where the espn/usc support group have put the usc commits vs rivals and scout.
2. ivan maisel and some of the other con artists at espn.com have been illegally using espn/disney funds to promote usc and to bash nd,the buckeyes, and usc’s competitirs since 2002. they will not stop until they get fired and held financially accountable.
3.kyle rudolf is the no 1 te in the us and awarded 5 stars by both rivals and scout. the espn bash ranking of kyle is just another illegal attempt to trash nd and usc’s competitors.
4. i do not know of anyone, with the exception of their friends at usc, who takes maisel and his colleagues at espn.com for anything but the con artists that they have been since we started tracking their activities in 2002.
5. of course, if ivan thinks that i am falsely accusing him, he can try to sue me for libel. since he is a public figure and he knows that i have the proof of his activities. of course, if he should start anything in the courts, i will hit him with a cross complaint.
6. in addition to being intentionally dishonest, maisel still is the ugliest sportwriter i have ever seen. there are good reasons why espn has never given him a tv gig. he looks even more butt ugly in person, even though that is hard to imagine.
7. i understand that, by posting my comments, you and your site are by no means endorsing what i have written.
8. aside from checking on espn.com to keep track of the activities of maisel and some of the other jerks over there to collect more evidence, my friends and i simply ignore their rankings and other comments. they lost their credibility years ago.
keep up the great work,
bob gilleran
I have watched all the videos, and I agree with ESPN over the others.
Crist and Hunter are CLEARLY the class of this group. Seriously, have you seen their video? They are both dominant forces. Hunter is especially underrated.
How is the world we landed Crist, is beyond me (with Clausen already on board).
I thought Filer was a Rivals 4-star (6.0), however. Did this recently change?