Archive for the ‘Notre Dame Recruiting’ Category

Here’s some video of Notre Dame’s newest commitment - EJ Banks.  He shows some great athletic ability here.  He is projected as either a safety or a corner and in the limited video of him in the secondary here, it looks like he has a lot of potential as a free safety.

Allen Wallace of SuperPrep.com posted an article today about Notre Dame defensive end prospect Anthony LaLota today stating that the New Jersey native might be looking to end his recruiting before the end of the summer.

He says he may make his decision before the start of his senior season. “I’ll either decide right before the season at the end of August or, if I’m not ready, I’ll take a few official visits and see,” he said.

LaLota had some very good things to say about the Irish in the piece and it looks like things are looking pretty good for Notre Dame here.

“I also was really impressed with the facilities,” he said. “Everything there is top of the line and the campus was just nice overall.”

LaLota says he’s confident the Irish will improve on their disappointing 2007 campaign. “I talked with Corwin Brown about it and he said they plan on being much more aggressive this year. He said they are looking to blitz more and just create more havoc.”

LaLota is listed as a five star OT by Scout, but he is being recruited as a defensive end by Notre Dame (and most other schools).   We haven’t had the greatest of luck with five star defensive linemen from the state of New Jersey the past couple years, but for now at least, it looks like we’ll at least be in this one till the end.

On a side note, I feel sorry for any offensive line that has to go up against LaLota’s Hun School defensive line which also sports Notre Dame commit Tyler Stockton this year - that’s a lot of division 1 talent on one defensive line.

Notre Dame commitment Cierre Wood and prospects Zeke Motta and Shaquelle Evans are taking part in this week’s FBU Top Gun Showcase Camp in Florida and none seem to be disappointing.

Wood, Notre Dame’s five star running back commitment, has shown the speed that scouts have been raving about. The more I hear about him, the more I like him. In an interview with Rivals.com, he guaranteed Notre Dame would beat USC the next three years, and the scouting reports from the Top Gun Camp like the one below show that he’s got the skills to back up his statements. From Rivals’ running back evaluations:

Assets: Wood looks like he was shot out of a cannon when he makes his initial burst forward.
What was most impressive at camp: In the hand eye coordination drill with Coach White, he looked like a professional juggler.

Evans might be our best chance of landing an elite wide receiver this year. Rivals lists him as a five star prospect and if is anything like a young Laveranues Coles like the report below suggest, he would be an excellent addition to what is becoming a deep and versatile receiving corps being assembled by Charlie Weis and staff.

Assets: Evans has excellent speed and really can create space with his powerful body.
What was most impressive at camp: He seems to take to coaching very well and is eager to learn.
Areas for improvement: He is a tad stiff and should work on his lateral movement. Sometimes fights the ball when trying to make a catch. He really reminds me of a young Laveranues Coles.

Zeke Motta is an interesting prospect. He is listed by some services as a safety, but he has been working as a linebacker at Top Gun and has turned some heads in the process. He would be a very athletic linebacker prospect if he can gain the additional weight he’d need to play the position on the college level.

Assets: Great lateral movement and excellent ball skills.
What was most impressive at camp: Motta displayed very good closing speed in pass skeleton.
Areas for improvement: Would like to see him concentrate on being a linebacker at the next level. His great frame will surely take 25-pounds of muscle mass.
On the Hoof: Has good height, muscular calves and is really cut. Somebody was calling him Brian Urlacher.

Getting a linebacker with Urlacher-like comparisons would certainly be an excellent addition to this class. If Motta can stay at safety he would also make an outstanding strong safety prospect . Bottom line - he’s a very versatile prospect who could help out our defense in a number of ways.

Cierre Wood surprised some people when he committed to Notre Dame as early as he did with the success the Irish have had recruiting the running back position the past couple years, but it appears that the Southern California native is more than sure of his decision. In a recent interview with Jamie Newberg of Rivals.com Wood says that not only Notre Dame is a great fit for him, but that the Irish will beat USC the next three years.

“We are going to be good and Notre Dame football will be back. And I guarantee that we will beat USC the next three years.”

Now, I know some old time fans won’t like that kind of talk - especially from a high school recruit, but if you ask me, this is EXACTLY the type of attitude that Notre Dame has been missing for years. It’s also the exact attitude that Notre Dame needs more of in order to get back amongst the nation’s elite. We need more players who aren’t afraid of playing schools like USC and who have the confidence in themselves to be able to make such claims.

And he added this about his decision.

“I honestly believe that I made the best decision for me,” he said. “I think I fit in real well there, especially with the scheme they run. It’s something very similar to what we run at my high school. Plus, I can be a good receiver out of the backfield and catch the ball, too. Like I said, it’s a good fit and situation for me, and it’s a place where I feel real comfortable.

The entire article is a pretty good read, and I recommend reading it if you have the time.

Here’s another YouTube clip of Cierre Wood that I hadn’t seen before too.

For the second Sunday in a row, Notre Dame picked up an offensive linemen commitment from a prospect very much on Michigan’s radar in Zach Martin.

Martin (6;5″, 260) is a great pickup for the Irish since we needed at least two tackles in this class and Martin has the athleticism to be a left tackle on the college level.  With Martin, Bullard, and Watt, Notre Dame has an outstanding trio of OL in this class so far with a few more big time prospects still on the board.

It looked like Martin was Michigan bound a couple weeks ago, but a recent visit to ND got the Irish right back in the race.  Originally he was scheduled to visit Michigan last weekend, but that trip got rescheduled and he ended up visiting Notre Dame instead.  He followed up that visit with another this past weekend to seal the deal.

From ESPN’s scouting profile:

“Demonstrates great leg drive and locks hands into the defender’s body; big meat hooks really clamp on. Could give a little more punch but this aggressive football player does a great job of sustaining his block. Alert and picks up inside stunts and blitzes like a seasoned veteran. Very mobile for a big man; pulls with authority and athletic enough in the openfield to lock on to linebackers and defensive backs. Has no trouble getting turned upfield and gives that little bit extra to get downfield block. Very solid at pass protection and anchors down with weight underneath him. Uses his hands very well and delivers a jarring blow on the pass rusher.”

From Mike Frank, who broke the news:

“I just knew I was going to Notre Dame and I didn’t want to lead anyone on anymore,” Martin said when asked why he chose the Irish without taking the scheduled Michigan visit. “I just knew where I wanted to go, so I thought I shouldn’t drag it on any longer.

And here is something from MGO Blog from about two weeks ago that should give ND fans a smile:

You can use your amazing powers of deduction to infer that the visit target is Ann Arbor, and that’s a terrific signal that Michigan has a significant lead. As mentioned earlier, if a recruit is approaching a commitment and one school’s site is the only one breaking news/writing articles, that’s a good sign for whatever school that site covers. And if a recruit is making a second visit to a school he’s already seen before making a decision, that visit is usually a last opportunity to kick the tires. This is all heuristics and speculation, but Michigan appears to be in excellent shape for Martin.

Notre Dame picked up commitment #12 on Sunday in the form of 5-star offensive guard and Chicagoland area native Chris Watt. Watt, Scout.com’s #2 OG, is the second offensive lineman to commit to Notre Dame just the second five star commitment along the OL during the Charlie Weis era (Sam Young was the other).

BGI on Watt’s commitment

“There were so many things to like about Notre Dame. They just offered the best overall package from the obvious academic life to the football life. They are going to be a lot better thus year,” Watt said from his home.

Irish Illustrated on how Watt delivered the news to Charlie Weis

On the beach with his son Sunday afternoon, the Notre Dame head coach received a call from elite offensive guard Chris Watt with news the Irish program had been working to hear for nearly six months. The four-star prospect from Glen Ellyn, Ill., wanted to take himself off the market with a commitment to Notre Dame.

“He had heard that I wanted to talk to him,” Watt said. “He was very excited about the commitment. He was thrilled.”

After the news of Darrin Walls being out for this season on Friday, this is certainly a great way to cap off what was a pretty terrible weekend of Notre Dame news.

This was a huge pickup for Weis and Notre Dame. It gives Notre Dame as good of a guard combo as any team in the country could hope for this year. Now we just need to pray that Weis can convince Xavier Nixon to join this class as well.

Brian Polian has been criticized quite a bit over the last few years for his coaching skills, but he has been getting some props for his recruiting prowess and Jeremy Crabtree of Rivals.com recently declared Polian as an early favorite for Rivals.com’s national recruiter of the year award.

Looking for an early candidate for Rivals.com’s national recruiter of the year? Check out Notre Dame assistant Brian Polian.

Since his arrival at Notre Dame in 2004 from UCF, where he had been that program’s recruiting coordinator, Polian has become one of the top recruiters in the Midwest and West. Last year, he reeled in five prospects: two five-star prospects and three four-star players. This year, he is responsible for five early commitments, including the nation’s No. 2 player in running back Cierre Wood of Santa Clara (Oxnard, Calif.) and talented linebacker Dan Fox of St. Ignatius (Cleveland).

Polian came under fire over the last few years for his work as an assistant coach working with both the secondary and linebackers at times. This off-season Charlie Weis made Polian strictly the special teams coach giving him complete control over a group that was run by committee last year.

His recruiting, however, has been a constant since he arrived at Notre Dame. Here’s a quick glance at every recruit he has been given credit for landing according to Rivals since getting to Notre Dame.

• 2006: Barry Gallup, Konrad Reuland, Will Yeatman
• 2007: Armando Allen, Jimmy Clausen, Taylor Dever, Brandon Walker
• 2008: Dayne Crist, Joseph Fauria, Anthony McDonald, Kyle Rudolph, Dan McCarthy
• 2009: Dan Fox, Marlon Pollard, Ben Turk, Cierre Wood, Nicholas Tausch

That’s a pretty impressive list of recruits. He started off a little slow, but his work the last 2+ classes now has been outstanding. Granted, Weis was recruiting Clausen personally, but Polian was still his wingman.

For as much criticism as he has received on the forums and blogs over the past few years, it is nice to see him getting some props for his recruiting skills.

Marlon Pollard gave Notre Dame its 10th verbal commitment of the year on Monday and on Tuesday the Irish added verbal #11 in the form of Fort Wayne native Tyler Eifert.

From the Fort Wayne Journal:

In spite of the deep black and gold roots of Purdue growing up because his father played four years, including a starter in the 1983-84 season, Tyler had no qualms in choosing the Irish over the Boilermakers.

“It’s about how great the school is and the football tradition they have there,” he said. “It’s just an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. Definitely with John going there and Fort Wayne being such a big Notre Dame town, it definitely influenced me.”

Eifert hails from the same high school, Bishop Dwenger, as incoming freshman wide receiver John Goodman and stated that the thought of playing with Goodman for a few more years was definitely one of the deciding factors for him.

It’s not clear exactly where Eifert will play for Notre Dame.  With his size, it is very likely that he will grow into a tight end on the college level, but if his 4.5 speed is legit, he would also pose an intriguing prospect for wide receiver.  At 6-5, 225 pounds it seems more likely he will go the tight end route, but Eifert told the Fort Wayne Journal Tuesday that he could also end up on defense.

“Their tight ends have gone to the pros over the last couple of years, but I don’t know if I’ll play tight end there,” he said. “I might play defense or I might play (wide) receiver, they’re not sure.”

Eifert had been on the Notre Dame radar but it didn’t look like he would get a scholarship offer originally.  A strong performance at Notre Dame’s camp, however, grabbed the staff’s attention and an offer was soon to follow.  According to Blue and Gold Illustrated:

After surprising the coaching staff with his playing ability during the camp, Eifert needed to wait-and-see what the decision would be following the coaches’ meeting after the one-day camp on June 30.

He placed the call on the Wednesday after camp as requested, and the coaches extended an offer to Eifert as an “athlete” – wide receiver, tight end, or safety.

Notre Dame’s newest commitment told Jill Painter of Inside UCLA today that his decommitment from UCLA to Notre Dame was not a difficult decision because it was where his heart was.

Asked if it was a hard decision, Pollard said:

“I don’t know if it was hard, but it was just the right decision for me. I had to go where my heart was.”

Much will likely be made about Pollard’s commitment to Notre Dame in light of Charlie Weis’s stance on Notre Dame verbal commitments visiting and talking to other schools. Pollard originally committed to UCLA when Karl Dorrell was still the head coach last summer and according to Inside UCLA, had some concerns over whether DeWayne Walker would still be with the Bruins next year.

Notre Dame picked up its 10th commitment (full commitment list) of the year Monday morning when cornerback Marlon Pollard, a one time UCLA commit, made the switch to Notre Dame.

According to Blue and Gold Illustrated:

“I called Coach Weis when he was grocery shopping with his family and told him that I wanted to officially commit to Notre Dame,” the 6-foot-1, 160-pound San Bernardino High School player reported earlier today. “When I got there for the visit and found out some things, I knew that it was the right fit. It was just the feeling I had when I got there.”

Pollard’s commitment is the first in the defensive backfield in this class, but continues an impressive run of defensive backs, especially corners, under Charlie Weis which now includes the four star rated Pollard along with Darrin Walls, Raeshon McNeil, Gary Gray, Jamoris Slaughter, and Robert Blanton the past four years.

ESPN describes his skills by stating:

Pollard may lack some size now, but should develop into a good zone corner at the next level when he fills out. He is tall, very lean but pound-for-pound a strong, explosive kid. Quick-twitched athlete who excels at breaking on underneath balls with good initial speed and force. Reaches top speed quickly when closing vertically and is a strong yet sound openfield tackler (Full Profile)

Most services list his speed in the 4.6 range which could be a concern at corner on the college level and explains why ESPN also projects Pollard as more of an underneath, zone corner - similar to what Shane Walton was in 2002. Walton did not have track speed, but played a great underneath zone. Pollard is also in the same mold as Slaughter and Blanton - none have true “track” speed, but have noses for the football.

With the addition of Jon Tenuta’s blitz schemes the thinking here is probably that opposing quarterback will have less time to set up and will be delivering the ball quicker which will play right into the strengths of these young corners.

Update: Here’s another quote from ESPN from an update today which talks about Pollard’s lack of size.

“Our concern on Pollard is his lack of bulk and strength, and it may have been the issue with other schools early on. However, as more coaches presumably saw his great athleticism, upside and potential for physical development during spring evaluations; his stock rose which hurt UCLA’s chances of retaining the local stud.”