Who Will be the Next Coach at Notre Dame

I don't think anybody could have predicted Meyer would have the level of success he's had. He's a hell of a coach, but it doesn't hurt that he's at a school that is pretty damn easy to recruit to. I'm guessing UF hasn't missed out on too many of the top players in that state with FSU and Miami being down for a few years.

 

It almost reads like an Onion version of what Charlie Weis would say. I mean, why in God's name would you make those comments about your opposition?

In the long view, Tressel (Fiesta Bowl) and Carr (early in 2006) exposed him. Before that, Weis thought he was coaching against the JV, and never hesitated to make that known.

 

Don't under estimate Meyer's stable of assistants who do the recruiting.

 

Or the recruits that Zook left for Meyer that won the first title.

 

The main guy I can think of from the past couple years after committing to ND is Michael Floyd, who went from 4 to 5 stars a few weeks later. I doubt anyone wants to argue that, though.

I'm with Waylon on his point--ND classes really aren't treated differently than anyone elses. The defensive players who have flopped at ND were wanted by everyone. Here are Weis' defensive recruits (from Rivals info)...

Darrin Walls (2006): 4 star DB, offers from Florida, Penn State, Michigan, Pitt and West Virginia
Raeshon McNeil (2006): 4 star DB, offers from Clemson, UNC, NC State, South Carolina and Virginia
Sergio Brown (2006): 3 star DB, offers from Iowa, Nebraska and Illinois (among others)
Jashaad Gaines (2006): 3 star DB, offers from Oklahoma, Utah and Nebraska
Leonard Gordon (2006): 3 star LB, offers from West Virginia and Penn State (among others)
Morrice Richardson (2006): 3 star LB, offers from Florida, Alabama, GTech, Nebraska, Oklahoma and VTech
Toryan Smith (2006): 3 star LB, offers from Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Michigan and Oklahoma (among others)
Gary Gray (2007): 4 star DB, offers from Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Michigan and South Carolina
Brian Smith (2007): 4 star LB, offers from Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska (among others)
Kerry Neal (2007): 4 star DE, offers from Alabama, Miami, Nebraska, NC State and Wake Forest
Ian Williams (2007): 3 star DT, offers from Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Ole Miss and South Carolina
Robert Blanton (2008): 4 star DB, offers from Georgia, Michigan and VTech (among others)
Sean Cwynar (2008): 4 star DT, offers from Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin (among others)
Steven Filer (2008): 4 star LB, offers from Iowa, Michigan and Ohio State (among others)
Darius Fleming (2008): 4 star LB, offers from Iowa, Michigan, Oklahoma and USC (among others)
Ethan Johnson (2008): 4 star DE, offers from Michigan, Nebraska and USC (among others)
Brandon Newman (2008): 4 star DT, offers from Cincy, Louisville, Ole Miss and Stanford (among others)
Anthony McDonald (2008): 4 star LB, offers from Boston College and Oregon
Dan McCarthy (2008): 4 star DB, offers from BC, Michigan, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Penn State and Stanford
Kapron Lewis-Moore (2008): 4 star DE, offers from Michigan, Texas and Wisconsin (among others)
Jamoris Slaughter (2008): 4 star DB, offers from Clemson, Georgia, Michigan and Oklahoma (among others)
Manti Te'o (2009): 5 star LB, offers from BYU, Cal, Tennessee, UCLA and USC (among others)
Tyler Stockton (2009): 4 star DT, offers from Cal, Penn State, Tennessee, UCLA and USC (among others)
Zeke Motta (2009): 4 star LB, offers from Auburn, Clemson, Florida and Stanford (among others)
Dan Fox (2009): 4 star LB, offers from Iowa, Michigan State, Pitt, Stanford and Virginia
Carlo Calabrese (2009): 3 star LB, offers from Florida, Pitt and Rutgers (among others)

All that was a very long way of saying Notre Dame doesn't have a problem getting recruits. And a lot of those guys were offered by SEC schools, so speed shouldn't be too much of an issue.

The problem was the coaching once they got to campus. With a defensive-minded coach, that will change.

 

A guy I played against in high school went to Notre Dame when Holtz was still there. He was one of those poster-boy types, straight A student, good family. I think the guy is working as a lobbyist in Washington now.

As soon as Notre Dame started recruiting him he immediately became the "best" player in the area, when the truth of the matter was he was just another very good player who fit the Notre Dame mold, as it was. I don't think he ever started a game for Notre Dame, while several other players in the area went on to play in the NFL.

 

Your anecdote from the late 1980's, true as it might be, doesn't stand up to the scrutiny of the way recruiting is covered today. Empirically, it just simply does not.

 

With Patterson apparently staying at TCU and Stoops and Meyer (at least publicly) saying they're not interested, it sounds as if it has to be Kelly from UC, or a lesser light.

Once again, this job is not as attractive to the very top candidates as ND fans believe it to be. Think Stoops or Patterson would listen if Florida had a vacancy? Of course they would.

 

How could the position not be as attractive as ND fans believe it to be, they just paid Weis $18M as a golden parachute. That's more than Belichek will make the next two years at least.

 

Exactly. Horrible comparison, Mizzou. Recruiting coverage in the '80s was absolutely nothing like it is today. Sure, a player's stock is influenced by what program is recruiting him, but it is not as simplistic as it was then. Not by a longshot.

 

I think if Saban loses Saturday, which I predict he will, people will become restless in Bama when they're paired in the Sugar Bowl against another BCS buster. I do agree with that first sentence WFW.

 

There is a kid in my area who is "oh my Tebow" fast. I have seen him in person and I have never seen a high school kid with this speed. He ran for 250 yards as a junior on a handful off carries with a current Va Tech kid playing safety. The coach (my neighbor) said his kid just pulled away from the Tech kid twice on 50+yard runs.

This kid is signed to play at WVU. He has been for two years. He has averaged over 10 yards a carry in the highest level of Virginia high school football. Almost every school in the country cannot recruit him because of his grades. The schools who have looked at him are on a very short list because they are the ones who can get him enrolled. He is a good kid though, just not that smart.

He went to a Nike camp and tested in the top .001 percentile of all athletes they have tested. He went to WVU's agility camp this spring during a visit and destroyed every record they had. WVU got Noel Devine to meet him just so Devine could meet the kid that erased him name from the shuttle runs and all the other crap they do.

The neighbor coach has had many college scouts watch this kid play in person this season tell him that his kid is the best running back they have seen this year. This kid's high school has produced a Big 10 player of the year recently, so they are used to coaching this level of talent.

Where do the scouting services have him? About number #100 among senior running backs. Mind you, he never visited anyone other than WVU and ECU (I think). He has not traveled to USC or Michigan or any of the others. WVU got him, and they got him early.

Maybe they are correct with the #100 ranking. If so, they know what they are doing. If this kid comes out of "nowhere" next season, I will really doubt these recruiting services.