Fathers Love Talking About Their Sons...
After the ASU game I got talking to a gentleman from Washington, DC (where I presently live) about Ryan Gillis and John Owens, and he beamed proudly. I then suspected he was Ryan’s Dad, and he confirmed. "Don’t believe about the stuff you read in the Blue and Gold or in the other papers about playing the freshmen offensive linemen," Mr. Gillis said. When queried about Jeff Faine, "Faine’s good, but don’t expect to see him play this year. The plan is to redshirt the five freshmen on the line (Faine, Gillis, Milligan, Curtain, Ambron.). For instance, BJ (Scott) played some at Center today, not Faine. Don’t believe the garbage in the paper," Mr. Gillis explained.

I mentioned that I was impressed with Ryan’s high school accolades, that one publication had him ranked higher than any other incoming ND offensive lineman. "CNN-SI had him ranked the #2 offensive lineman in the nation," Mr. Gillis proudly said. "But the whole group of them are good."

When asked about other DeMatha players, Mr. Gillis said ND is after 2 seniors. I mentioned a DeMatha player going to Florida last year, and Mr. Gillis spurted out, "Tony Charles. Tony and Ryan are best friends, and they wanted to go to the same school. Tony wanted ND bad, but ND thought Tony was too small for the D-line. That’s a shame, because he is going to be a star at Florida. A great kid, too, that Tony. Plus, he has never gotten below a B in his life.." So remember that name, Tony Charles. We should wish him well, but something tells me we are going to regret throwing this fish back as were were about throwing another gem back in the sea for Florida to catch: Jerome Kearse.

Speaking about don’t believe what you see in the paper...
One complaint of the common fan is that size, height, and speed measurements are often bloated by recruiting services, newspapers, and to some extent, universities. Well, after what I saw Saturday, believe what the athletic department tells you, but not what the so-called experts tell you in papers and magazines.

Gary Godsey was the first player I noticed (I had the program with the players’ faces.) He is big and tall. He looks like a tough-as-nails Navy Officer. He towered at least 3 inches over my 6’3 head. It’s hard to tell players weight and build with a sport coat on, but he is probably near 250. Therefore, I doubt they will make him an offensive lineman, as some speculated during his recruiting last year.

Jarious Jackson is a legit 6’1, if not taller. Last year ND had him listed at 6’0.. He had shrunk two inches from his 6’2 of high school acclaim, so I was afraid he wasn’t even 6’0, ala Herb Tyler of LSU. But Jarious is definitely 6’1, as the ND athletic department has him listed. One interesting note: Jarious was wearing Adidas sandals with his slacks, shirt, and tie. Turf toe, anyone?

In high school, Arnaz Battle was listed at 6’3. I doubt he would be 6’3 in cleats. Maybe he is 6’1, but he is most likely closer to 6’0.

Merandi and Jim Jones are a good 6’2, 6’3. There was also some worry by fans that these two guys were closer to 6’0, but these two behemoths are just that, behemoths.

Grant Irons was mobbed by fans. If Grant doesn’t make the NFL, he can take his 6’5 frame to Hollywood. Even though some fans were less than polite in asking for autographs, Grant always had a smile on his face. Grant simply has a movie star personality.

Class
There were many other players, but too little space to go over everyone. Every player I saw was nice and courteous toward all of the fans, even the few fans that were a little pushy about getting autographs. Jarious said he would stay around and sign as many autographs as necessary- he did that and more. Everyone and their mother had their picture taken with Jarious. To sum it up in one word- classy. Jarious, and all the other ND players were all class.

Let’s hope they play with class on Saturday against USC.