Notre Dame’s 2016 National Signing Day didn’t go exactly how the Irish coaching staff would have liked it to with the Irish batting one for three and losing out on two 5-star recruits – linebackers Ben Davis and Caleb Kelly – in the process. Â Even with Signing Day essentially over, however, Notre Dame still has their eyes set on adding one more 5-star recruit. Â Demetris Robertson.
The recruitment of Demetris Robertson has been interesting to say the least. Â After originally committing to Alabama, Robertson opened his recruitment back up and focused on Notre Dame and Stanford – two schools with reputations for their academic standards and rigors. Â To date, however, Robertson has been admitted academically at Stanford. Â Alabama, Georgia, and Georgia Tech all remain in the mix as well.
In January things started to trend in Notre Dame’s direction and the “Crystal Ball” predictions from 247 Sports started to roll in for Notre Dame. Â By the end of the month, however, the Robertson camp started talking about making a decision after Signing Day and taking the SAT again in an effort to gain admittance to Stanford. Â Those test scores haven’t come in yet and there is still a lot of doubt about whether or not an improved score will do the trick.
Notre Dame has pulled out all of the stops in their pursuit of Robertson. Â When the Irish coaching staff made their final in-home visit with Robertson last week, they arrived in “ND One”, the Notre Dame equipment truck.
https://twitter.com/CoachSanfordND/status/692701347850883073
Needless to say, the Irish coaching staff wants Robertson badly. Â With Davis and Kelly spurring the Irish on Signing Day, Robertson becomes a must have recruit for Notre Dame not just for this season but next. Notre Dame’s class of 2017 is off to a fantastic start already, but losing out on all three 5-star recruits to close out the 2016 can have some lingering effects in terms of killing the momentum the staff had built for next year’s class.
From a pure football standpoint, wide receiver isn’t exactly a position of need. Â Notre Dame landed three really good wide receivers on Wednesday in Chase Claypool, Kevin Stepherson, and Javon McKinley. Â An offense can move the ball pretty damn well with that trio of wide receivers on the field. Â None of the three have the over the top, blow a defense away speed that Robertson possess though. Â The kind of speed that Will Fuller put on display every Saturday the last two falls. Â From that perspective, closing out the class of 2016 with a 5-star receiver who could potentially be a day one starter for the Irish could having lasting recruiting effects for Notre Dame.
Without Robertson, Notre Dame also sits squarely outside the top 10 in class rankings among all major sites and while Robertson alone isn’t enough to push the Irish back into the top 10, it would be the typer of jolt the staff needs to keep the ball rolling for the class of 2017 after suffering the last setbacks on NSD for the class of Signing Day.
As of now, we don’t know exactly when Robertson will announce his college decision, but needless to say the Notre Dame coaching staff will be doing everything it can to secure Robertson’s (e)signature (in case you missed it, Notre Dame finally ditched the old fax machine this year). Â Needless to say that after Signing Day, Notre Dame could certainly use a bit of a good news on the recruiting front as they spring into full on class of 2017 mode.
Is there any update on his school choice? What’s going on?
@”Bill”:
I was being sarcastic. Some on here believe that there’s no relationship at all between top recruiting classes and wins in college football.
I was pointing out that Bama and FSU have had the top recruiting classes of late. Sarcastically, I then said that must have not translated into any NCs.
Of course, my point is that there’s no coincidence that Bama has been on top for so long. Saban does a great job of recruiting and developing NFL talent.
At one time ND did the same under Holtz. Perhaps ND should look at what it was doing then.
Go Irish!
I prefer the “we didn’t want him anyway” classification.
sounds like some of you have the Charlie Weis mentality with recruiting….. “Either you’re with us or you’re not”….. How did that work out for him??? Unfortunately schools have to chase these kids until the very end..
Injuries and suspensions derailed NDs playoff hopes the last two years. You just cant expect to compete at the highest level when your depth on the defensive side of the ball gets hammered with injuries and suspensions. When ND puts together double digit victory totals 3 or 4 years in a row along with playoff appearances and/or major bowl victories then i believe ND will start adding more elite recruits .
i agree,,robertson,,who do u think u are…sign or go bye bye…mckinley claypool,,crob…st brown boykin,,hunter,,cj sanders…holmes and brent..smythe,weishar,,a lize jones we are gooooood..
defense great next year…rochell….j jones….tillery,,trumbetti…..daelin hayes,,morgan…coney..crawford luke tranquill…redfield….also depth at dbs and safety..kareem and jon jones culd start as freshmen…nd 12 and zero
Re: D. Robertson- a lot of wishin’ and hoping here, but I suspect if he wanted ND, he’d be with them already. Georgia also awaits, if Stanford says ‘no’! I’ve seen this before- with Lynch and Vanderhoes and others. If ND isn’t for you- go elsewhere. Good luck and good bye.
Great posts- appreciated the points mentioned in all of the above.
re: recruiting analysis: Round one to Dale, clearly reminding why ND starts at a disadvantage with elite recruits. And,yes, the D’ needs to get much better, and healthier- and will have to do so with most of team 127’s best defenders gone. As Jack and others have said, how well BK and staff develop these RKGs will determine how close we get to that final four goal.
Score early and often- and hang on – might be 128’s road to more than 10 victories.
@Subway,
Actually it’s I who seems to have missed the point of Shaz’s irony. Mea culpa!
Regardless, you make many valid points. Keep up the solid contributions!
Let me just reiterate what I’ve said before. ND needs to revisit whatever it was doing (or not doing!) at the start of the Holtz era. If global warming is true, then it was a lot colder in South Bend in the 1980s than it is now. Yet Lou could get kids from the South and California to come to ND. How’s that? Also, last time I checked ND hasn’t lowered admissions standards since the 1980s. So how exactly did Lou get so many top-tier HS players to qualify for ND? Is it any coincidence that last time ND was a true national power (and won a NC) they were recruiting truly elite talent. What was being done or not being done then? How do we get back to that?!
I just don’t think there’s a commitment to excellence within the ND administration. They’re fine with being 9-10 wins and an occasional bowl win. So long as they can fill Rockne Stadium and be on TV, all well that ends well.
I’m sorry if I can’t get excited about that. I want to see ND compete for the POs every season, realizing it will come short from time to time. ND needs to be in the NC discussion regularly, not just once a decade. For that to happen, BK and staff will have to get a lot more and better talent to S. Bend. Then you also coach it up, like Lou and his assistants did when ND was producing high NFL draft picks regularly.
On a sensitive point. Perhaps I missed the news. Did something happen to Duranko? I disagreed a lot with him but also found him engaged and engaging.
Go Irish! Return All the Way to Glory!
I don’t think the last 2or 3 SDs have been good at all. You’re not going to win a national championship with 13 or 15 ranked drafts. This is ND not a second tier program. When did you see Alabama draft 15th Habough drafted 5th his second try at Michigan
This is bad. If it continues ND will not be competitive. I hope this improves in the future.We need to find spmeone who can close 5 star athletes !
Am I reading this right. Did someone say that Alabama hasn’t won any National Championships since Nick Saban became the coach there ? Actually, Alabama has won the National Championship in 2009, 2011, 2012, and 2015, four of the last seven years. FSU won the title in 2013. How could anyone not know this ?
Only Stanford’s scraps can salvage this recruiting cycle
How many times do you have to say “needless to say”? Needless to say, great writing fellas!
If you listen to the recruiting guru’s they will tell you that a 5 star player is NFL ready. Now look and see how many schools have a 5 star player. Most only get 1 or 2 and I would argue that he players are not NFL ready. Look at the recent 5 star can’t miss players ND has gotten lately, specifically Manti. He went to the combine and all we heard was he has not athletic ability, but coming out of high school ESPN had him ranked as the next coming of the savior. Max Redfield was another 5 star can’t miss and all I see on Saturdays is him missing tackles. Shummate was a hard hitting 4 star out of Don Bosco, but I would argue that Tranquil a 3 star prospect was possible better than both.
Now lets look at 3 star players coming out of high school that either are an ND or in the NFL
Eiifert was a 3 star and just made the Pro Bowl and I would argue is the best TE to play recently at ND
Josh Adams was a 3 star and he looked pretty good to me this year. The key is to look at these players after their four years on campus and it would be amazing what they actually produce. A lot of the three star players at ND and other Universities make their teams championship level teams.
It isn’t only talent that has made Bama awesome, it’s the guy running Bama. He is the best coach in College Football and it shows. Look at ND from 88 to 93 they would have been in the playoff almost every year like Bama. It is about the coach and I think BK is doing a great job, unfortunately he’s not Saban, Ara, Holtz, Urban, Carrol ( I just threw up in my mouth), or Bryant. You need a great coach not a good coach to win an NC. BK needs to get the playoffs in the next year and either win it or make the NC game or he will be the Danny White of ND.
@subway
If anyone is an expert on tongue-in cheeks I ‘m sue it’s you.
@ Shazam… I’m surprised that a sharp one-line contributor like you couldn’t see the tongue-in-cheek irony in SteelFanRob’s comments. Or, maybe not.
@Dale…your 5 categories can be condensed into two, IF (a big if), we develop defensive players the way we develop offensive players, we’d be vying for a NC again. With a NC (or near NC), we’d get those 5 star defensive guys and continue on a yearly quest for repeating NC’s. The two remaining categories would be a) who wants a class A education with a shot at a NC or b) who doesn’t. I’ve spoken out against Brian Kelly many times both here and in BR. And, while i’m still not a believer in his offensive ‘genius’, i have got to give him props for his recruiting acumen. C’mon, you’ve got to admit, he’s got an uphill battle…gotta go to class, gotta maintain a higher grade point average, gotta not cheat, gotta withstand the winters, gotta look at co-eds dressed in parkas 8 months outta the year. What’s to like?? Vie every year, win a few…they’ll come regardless of the negatives.
There isn’t a true fan out there who doesn’t believe that all we need is a top 10 defense to reach the final four. Although I’ve been begging for VanNo to go, I think Kelly had to stay with him through this recruiting season. I’m still predicting, short of a replacement, he’s bringing in some help as in ‘Assistant DC”. Unfortunately, in VanNo’s case, DC stands for “Defensively Challenged”.
Enlighten?
4 is less than 6.
Your welcome.
Signed: The math Wizard
Perhaps I am, Shaz. So many seem to be hearing the opposite voice, however. Namely, that recruiting and winning have nothing to do with each other. But I apologize if I misread your words.
Shaz, enlighten me, please. You handle stats so well. How many titles have FSU and Bama won over the last six years? How many has ND won over that same time period? Then tell me how many times the Tide and Noles have signed the top class over the same time period. Finally, relate that to how many times ND has come out number one on NSD. I’m not the math wizard you are but it seems pretty clear that, sticking to NCAA football success and not what happens on the NFL level, that there’s a close correlation between recruiting success and winning a lot of games and titles.
You must be hearing voices…
I never disputed your point…. just your math.
So, between FSU and Bama they’ve won the NSD 6 times. Too bad they haven’t been to the POs or won a NC over that time period!
I love the apples and oranges comparison rendered above, though. Why compare apples to apples and look at the relationship between elite recruiting and on-field success in the NCAA. Instead, to change the metaphor, I’ll chase rabbits down holes and bring up irrelevant NFL draft stats.
That helps explain why out of 9000 college players only 215 make the NFL … or roughly 2.4%
I’m tired of the “cold weather” argument. Anyone who uses that argument to not attend ND doesn’t have realistic expectations of playing in the NFL. Over half the NFL teams are in cold-weather cities. If they are that soft, they have no prayer in the NFL.
Actually, Alabama has won the NSD Title 4 out of the last 6 years with FSU claiming the other 2…. but who’s counting.
Alabama was won the consensus NSD title the last six years. Too bad that hasn’t translated into any national titles or major bowl wins for Nick Saban, who apparently can recruit but not develop NFL-caliber talent.
ND on the other hand has repeatedly proven it can win national titles and major bowl games by recruiting a plethora of 3 star talent and coaching it up to NFL level.
There’s absolutely no correlation between recruiting success and on-field success. The respective cases of Bama and ND convincingly establish that point beyond a shadow of a doubt.
I think Jerry needs a Hug.
I love BK and the job he is doing at ND, but lets face it, we will never be an elite program in football again with the way things are. The chips are too stacked up against us. We will be pushing/hoping/praying for top a top 10 finish each year. We will be solid not elite on offense, but we would have to be elite (Oregon) on offense to outscore our defense. Every class since 2012 is the same, a couple good four stars and then development players. I think as ND fans to expect a national championship is unrealistic with the way things are going. Above average finishes (5-15 finish in the CFP) is the reality and should be the expectation if you pay attention to recruiting what so ever.
This sure isnt going to get us to the promised land. No defense next year.
Dale, your right totally on point. K
Responses are so hilarious with regards to this class. People like Dale are all upset about it as if the class is terrible. We missed out on Caleb Kelly and Ben Davis. So what!? There were 125 other FBS schools that missed out on them as well. Who cares about the “star” rankings? If we go by that, we might as well sit Josh Adams next year. No point in playing him anymore. Just a loser little 3 star recruit that sucks. Give me a break. Some recruiting sites have us as having two 5 star recruits this class (Hayes and Kraemer). Everyone needs to calm down lol. Yet another top10 class under Brian Kelly. A lot of returning players for next year and a very solid recruiting class. And for the people that want to talk about how they’ve seen ND recruit top players 50 years ago….that’s great. The entire landscape of college football has changed since the 1960s. Not every kid needs to go to ND to get on TV and get noticed for the NFL. Now they can stay closer to home, get the exact same kind of exposure as every other school in the nation. The recruiting job that Brian Kelly has done has been nothing short of spectacular. If you say that the top talent isn’t smart enough to get in, some kinds don’t like the cold, some kids like the beaches and girls, some kids like the celebrities….then ok. But then also note how Brian Kelly still busts out top10 classes even with all of those obstacles. Oh, and we’re competing at a high level on the field too. It’s just signing day folks….you are acting like this is ND’s superbowl. The people that get all concerned about signing day are the fans of teams that are totally struggling on the field and/or rebuilding. That’s not us. we’re fine. our team is fine. our university is fine. and we will be fine without Caleb Kelly and Ben Davis.
Let’s not lump ND/Rice/Duke/Vanderbilt/Northwestern in with Stanford. Stanford’s academic standards for athletes, as evidenced (as just one example) by the Robertson SAT problem, are at a much higher level than the rest. Robertson is at least 100 points away from gaining acceptance to Stanford, while the othe “academic” schools would admit him in a heartbeat with his current test scores.
I would argue that Stanford’s standards – for athletes – are at least as high as an IVY League school. In fact, there have been recruits denied admission to Stanford who landed at places like Princeton and Harvard.
Notre Dame is a great academic school, but when it comes to major college sports, its academic standards (for athletes) are closer to say, Alabama or Ohio State, than Stanford.
When Paul Hornung complained about ND’s tough admissions, I’m sure any Stanford was thinking “cry me a river.”
My “take” on the whole high school “Recruit Profile” is as follows. Group A. Do not have the academic standard to consider ND. Group B. Can meet the academic standard required but for whom a Degree is “not” a significant priority for various reasons. Group C. The group who may meet the academic standards but for whom the whole “cold climate/too far from family scenario is a turn off. Group D. The NFL bound “top priority” 3 and done kids for whom it is about playing in an NC and in the NFL going to class is not a PRIORITY. So having said the above let us say a kid like Caleb Kelly gets it down to ND/OU. Having lived for 2 years with a guy who played basketball at OU going to classes was not a life or death priority and he says there would have never been a hint of the whole Academic hoopla of last year for almost any reason much less for getting help on a SINGLE paper from some outside source. So if you are smart enough to get into ND but A Don’t like the cold and B Don’t want the academic pressure of ND then OU/ Georgia/Texas/USC etc here they come. Now all of those schools have reasonable academic institutions eg not a Duke/Stanford/Rice/Vanderbilt/ND etc but if you are an 18 year old kid heading for a football career at college level WHY DO YOU WANT TO BREAK YOUR NECK WORKING JUST TO STAY ELIGIBLE. Answer “Sorry ND Thanks for all the freebies and the opportunity to skite to my friends that ND is chasing me and I have seen the Grotto et al but in reality like Ben Davis hey I was always Bama’ bound like my Dad from day ONE, Sad byt true, Even Robertson who is Group E eg Ticks all the boxes and is 5 star and happy to live a long way from home he wants to get into Stanford so Equipment Truck or not see you later BK thanks for the truck coming to impress my friends at school. Just an opinion from a 50year ND fan who has seen the whole Signing Day circus too many times with the same result.
Any reason that we gave to curse in the article?
Still not over the recruiting hump; still missing out on the elite players that push us into national championship range year after year. Meh. Pretty tired of ‘just missing out.’