Irish Add More Secondary Help to 2012 Class
Just like last season, Brian Kelly and his coaching staff are recruiting a big time need. In last season’s recruiting season, the major need was on the defensive line as Kelly and company reeled in one of the most impressive d-line classes in Notre Dame history.
Ever since February, the staff have been hitting the trails hard to seek relief in the secondary. The Irish gained another commit for the unit over the weekend when John Turner picked Notre Dame as his school of choice. Turner joins C.J. Prosise, Nick Baratti, Ronald Darby and Tee Shepard as the DB commits the Irish already have during this recruiting cycle and a few more are expected to be on the way. (more…)
National Signing Day for Notre Dame
Troy Niklas, the 6-foot-7 lineman from So. Cal. was the final piece of ND's recruiting puzzle this morning.
No means no — unless you are a college football recruiter. In a press conference this afternoon, Irish coach Brian Kelly recapped the hectic months leading up to today’s National Signing Day. Kelly thanked his 9-man coaching staff several times for what has been almost universally considered a Top Ten recruiting class for the Irish. More importantly, it addressed some key spots in the Irish line up.
When the fax machine inside the Gug stopped humming just before noon this morning, the Irish had inked 23 incoming freshman for their football team. Fifteen of the players were selected to play in postseason all-star games and most of the talent was concentrated of the defensive front seven. However, Kelly told the media that very few positions are set in stone and he intentionally recruited versatile players that could be used in a variety of ways. Instead of position breakdowns, the Notre Dame staff broke done players based on three categories: Skill, Big Skill and Power. Big skill and power were clearly the focus of this year’s harvest. (more…)
History’s Heavy Load Lifted
For over a decade Notre Dame football has been an unfinished puzzle — all the pieces were there, but no one could see the big picture.
The most dissected team in sports had 100 different diagnoses. The pool of talent is spread too thin, academic standards are too high, it’s too cold in South Bend to attract talent from high school football hotbeds. Yet, the Irish have consistently pulled in top ten recruiting classes in an era when they have no business siphoning top talent away from California, Texas and the Southeast.
The coaching staff has no direction, the team is too soft, there is too much pressure involved with the head coach job, no established coach wants to come to a struggling program. Yet, the coaches have come from great places and moved onto other great places. Ex-Defensive Coordinator Mike Haywood has landed a respectable head coaching job at Pitt only two years after being chased out of Indiana with torches and pitchforks. There is no mistaking the offensive genius of Charlie Weis – take a look at the Kansas City Chiefs. Great coaches will always want to come to Notre Dame. It will always be a marquis job in the world of college football. (more…)
Notre Dame winning with defense
Ian Williams has been a consistent force in the middle on Notre Dame's revamped defense.
With 12 minutes remaining in Notre Dame’s 23-17 win over Pittsburgh, Irish fans caught a fleeting glance of what many people imagine Brian Kelly’s offense will eventually look like.
Dayne Crist and the offense marched 69 yards on 9 quick plays before Pitt had a chance to catch their breath. In less than two minutes of clock time, Crist threw four completions for over 50 yards and four first downs. He made quick decision to get the ball to his playmakers, who in turn made plays. Then the running game kicked in. Cierre Wood and Armando Allen combined to get the Irish into the red zone with another first down.
But then, they sputtered. A short pass to tight end Kyle Rudolph and a few incomplete passes later Notre Dame had to settle for another David Ruffer field goal. It was a great example of the “growing pains” we’ve heard so much about during the first six weeks of Coach Kelly’s regime. Several times Notre Dame had the ball with a great chance to put Saturday’s game out of reach but failed to do so. Luckily, Notre Dame’s defense is growing like a weed. (more…)
Notre Dame needs to learn how to win
Brian Kelly is not a stranger to screaming. But is the loud criticism what the Irish need to 'wake up the echos'?
Notre Dame snapped a three-game losing streak with a 31-13 win on the road Saturday night. It was the biggest win over Boston College since a 52-20 tilt in 1997. The struggling Irish rush defense held Boston College to six yards on the ground in the game and one total yard in the third quarter. It was the first glimpse of a light at the end of the tunnel after Notre Dame’s gauntlet of an opening schedule. And yet no one, especially head coach Brian Kelly, was satisfied.
With little excitement happening on the field, ABC turned its cameras to the sidelines where America watched Kelly rip into virtually every player on the roster during Notre Dame’s largest (by point margin) win since 2008. The coach didn’t discriminate. Everyone from superstars like Dayne Crist and Michael Floyd to punter Ben Turk caught an earful. After the game, Kelly had to answer his own earful of questions from reporters who were worried about the team’s psyche.
“The guys are coming, but our mental and physical toughness, our ability to stay focused and locked in for 76 plays is (not) what we’re getting, and that has to be created on a day-to-day basis,” the coach said in a post-game press conference. “It can’t be left to, ‘I’ll get to it later.’ It’s got to be tended to immediately, and our guys are understanding that and we’ll continue to build that.”
In so many words, Kelly said he inherited a soft football team. A team where losing became an acceptable reality and excuses piled up faster than points. A team, that since Brady Quinn left campus, hasn’t been able to finish a win with authority. (more…)
