In today’s Pittsburgh Post Gazette Pitt head coach Dave Wannstedt talked about his month long recruiting trip and mentioned how kids are receptive to his NFL ties. Wanny, however, conceded that Notre Dame and USC are still the best places for recruits to go if you want to reach the next level.
“Nowadays, it is a different kind of kid, and they all want to know about getting to the next level and they know, outside of maybe USC and Notre Dame, there is nobody out there that can prepare them better for that than me.
Thanks Wanny, it makes it a lot easier to sell kids on getting to the next level when opposing coaches tout your program as one of the top 2 places in the country to go to get there.
A clever fan from Detroit (hmmm, wonder what his favorite team is) posed the following question to Darius Flemming today during an ESPN.com chat today - “How does Notre Dame sell Independent v. Conference? Once ND loses a few games, they have nothing to play for - i.e. a conference title. ”
Flemming’s answer?
“That’s a good point, but I chose Notre Dame because the teams that they play are very competitive. Most of the programs they play are very good. I’m looking more for a national championship than a conference championship.”
“Me and him talked about more than just football. We had a strong relationship. They always say that you need a strong relationship with your position coach. Plus he’s from Chicago. “
On if he will enroll early
“I have thought about it, but I think it will be hard for me to do that. I’m not even sure if it’s possible for me to do. I’ll look into it. “
On Corwin Brown as a coach
“I love his energy. He’s like he’s on the field playing himself. That’s what a lot of players like about him. We like his style. We’re looking forward to playing with him. He’s a friend in person, but a coach on the field. “
I think Darius is going to fit in very well in Notre Dame’s new defense…
Recruiting news has been fast and furious during this early stages of this young recruiting season. With 10 commitments before the end of April, here is a quick recap of the 10 prospects who have already committed to Notre Dame.
Mike Golic Jr - OL - 6′5″, 265 Golic was the first commitment of the year for the Irish back in February and was a pretty good start to this year class along the offensive line. He’s got a ton of room to grow and will need to add plenty of weight between now and when he eventually reports to South Bend next summer. The level of competition he plays against is not great so its likely Golic will need to spend a lot of time with offensive line coach John Latina working on his technique. Right now he can just physically dominate his opponents because of superior size - that won’t be the case when he gets to Notre Dame. He’s not the kind of prospect who will come in and immediately challenge for playing time like Sam Young in 2006, but he’s the type of prospect that can really develop into a pretty good lineman for the Irish. Check out a post I made shortly after Golic committed for some more info with quotes from local papers.
John Goodman - WR - 6′3″, 185 - 4.5
Goodman came to Junior Day back in March and committed along with Braxston Cave shortly after. Because he is a white wide receiver with good height he is automatically going to get comparisons to Jeff Samardzija and strictly based on their high school careers the similarities aren’t completely off base. Samardzija was probably faster than Goodman coming out of high school, but like Samardzija, Goodman is a big and tall target who can use his body well. Goodman grew up watching Notre Dame and jumped at the scholarship offer that Weis extended to him. Getting Goodman was a good start for Notre Dame at wide receiver this year, but Weis will need to add a stretch the field type of receiver or two to compliment Goodman’s skills.
Braxston Cave - OC - 6′4″, 290
Cave was the second offensive lineman to commit to this year’s class and like Goodman he grew up rooting for the Fighting Irish. Michigan offered Cave right before he committed to Notre Dame and our old buddy Greg Mattison was starting to recruit him for Florida around the same time. Cave will most likely play center for the Irish and at 290 lbs as a junior, he’s got great size. Cave was recently given a three star rating by Scout.com.
Sean Cywnar - DE - 6′3″, 285
The first really big commitment of the year came from defensive end prospect Sean Cywnar. Cywnar committed to Notre Dame a few days after Junior Day in March and was a major pickup for the Irish after the troubles they’ve had recruiting defensive linemen over the last few years. Cywnar was recently ranked the 92nd overall prospect in Scout’s initial Top 100 released last week. Most recruiting services projected him as a defensive tackle, but int he 3-4 defense, he projects as a defensive end. Cywnar has a really nice burst off the line and has the size and quickness to be very effective from the defensive end position. For some more info on Cywnar with some good quotes about him improving his game check out this post.
Kyle Rudolph - TE - 6′7″, 235 - 4.7
At the time he committed to Notre Dame, Scout.com listed Rudolph’s weight at 220, but in their recent update his weight is up to 235 which is a good sign. Rudolph was also made a five star prospect by Scout as their 25th overall rated prospect and second rated tight end. This kid is a HUGE target and is a standout basketball player which should give you a little clue about his athleticism. His size will result in a lot of depth chart engineering going on across the Notre Dame boards about him becoming a tackle prospect, but its very likely tight end will be where he stays. We posted some videos of him a few weeks back that are pretty impressive.
David Posluszny - LB - 6′2″, 214 - 4.6
As the brother of Paul Posluzny, many felt he would be a lock for Penn State, but the Lions slow played the younger Posluszny and he committed to Notre Dame over Easter weekend. He missed most of his senior year because he suffered a separated shoulder and hairline fracture in his collarbone. Prior to his junior year he played primarily safety, but was going to make the move to linebacker before the injuries. Right now, Posluszny is a bit small to play at the weakside inside linebacker spot that he was recruited to play, but he’ll have plenty of time to bulk up. His brother was a bit under sized in high school as well, but he turned out alright. Speaking of Paul, apparently he would have loved to get an offer from the Irish, but unfortunately an offer never came.
Anthony McDonald - LB - 6′3″, 225 - 4.55
McDonald’s father Mike was a standout for rival USC, but the Trojans slow played Anthony, just as Penn State did Posluszny, and he jumped at the Notre Dame offer. McDonald is the 43rd ranked prospect overall by Scout.com and is a big time talent for Notre Dame. He looks a lot bigger than his listed weight of 220 pounds and has the type of frame that can handle additional weight. He’s got the speed to drop into coverage when needed and is very fundamentally sound. This was a huge pickup for the Irish.
Dayne Crist - QB - 6′5″, 225 - 4.7
The biggest commit on the offensive side of the ball so far this year came from Scout’s 66th overall prospect - Dayne Crist. Crist committed to the Irish last Thursday over LSU and USC. His commitment was a huge statement for this recruiting class because of the talent and depth Notre Dame already has at quarterback. Weis was able to secure a commitment from one of the West Coast’s top signal callers before the end of April over the likes of USC and LSU despite landing one of the most highly rated quarterbacks to come out of high school in years last year in Jimmy Clausen. Crist is as big as Brady Quinn is now as a junior in high school and can move around pretty well for a guy his size.
Darius Fleming - OLB - 6′3″, 230 - 4.55 Fleming committed to Notre Dame prior to the Blue-Gold game Saturday after spending a lot of time on campus this spring. Fleming would most likely be a defensive end in a traditional 4-3 defense, but in a 3-4 he projects as an outside linebacker. He is one of ESPN’s Top 150 prospects and as a junior he collected 105 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, and 9 sacks. Fleming will fit in very nicely at outside linebacker because he’s got the speed to drop into coverage as well as the ability to rush the passer with his hand on the ground.
Joseph Fauria - TE - 6′8″, 250 - 4.7
Fauria was also in for the Blue-Gold game and ended his recruiting during the trip. As the second tight end in this class, the Irish are likely done at the position. Like Rudolph, he is a huge target at tight end and will likely be talked about possibly moving to tackle on all of the Notre Dame message boards over the next year. Fauria is the nephew of NFL tight end Christian Fauria who played under Weis with the Patriots.
Notre Dame got another commitment on Saturday in ESPN Top 150 Linebacker Darius Fleming. Fleming, a Chicago native, had spent a ton of time at Notre Dame this spring and made his commitment official on Saturday. I’ll have a full report up tomorrow on Fleming and how he fits in Notre Dame’s defense and how this affects the rest of Notre Dame’s recruiting efforts.
“I like everything about Notre Dame. I can’t think of one negative,” said Posluszny, who also has played defensive back and fullback at Hopewell. “At Notre Dame, you get an Ivy League-type education. Every year, you’re competing for a national championship. So I really don’t think you can beat that.”
“He’s not afraid to put his hat on you,” Blackhawk coach Joe Hamilton said, which in football parlance means Posluszny will wallop ballcarriers when given the opportunity.
Hopewell coach Dave Vestal hand-delivered videos of older brother Paul to Notre Dame coaches in 2002 but the Irish never showed interest.
“Paul always had a strong interest in Notre Dame,” Vestal said. “… After seeing Penn State, though, I don’t know if he would have chosen Notre Dame. But it is funny his little brother is ending up there.”
Vestal said he talked with Paul a few weeks ago about whether David should accept the Irish’s offer.
Notre Dame is everything I’m looking for,” Posluszny said Friday from his home in Aliquippa, Pa. “You can get an Ivy League education and compete for a national championship every year. I don’t think anyone can match that.”
A second-team Class AAA all-state selection as a sophomore who missed much of last season with an injury, there is some feeling among scouts that he could eventually grow into a linebacker, like his brother, Paul. He is listed as one of Rivals.com’s top 100 prospects for 2008.
“I just had a feeling inside of me that that was where I belonged,” Posluszny said.
Penn State did not put an offer in writing to Posluszny, but the school did make a verbal offer. Official offers came from Wisconsin, Northwestern, Louisville and Georgia Tech.
“But overall,” he said, “I just didn’t think that anyone could compete with Notre Dame.”
“They look the same and they play the same,” said Lemming, who rates Posluszny a four-star recruit on his five-star scale. “I think Notre Dame could have caught lightning in a bottle.”
In looking for some info on David Posluszny for a blog I plan on posting later tonight, I came across this quote from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review about how Posluszny’s brother, All American and Butkus and Bednarik Award winner Paul, was pulling for his brother to pick Notre Dame…
“Everyone was really happy,” David said. “Everyone wanted me to pick Notre Dame. Even Paul was pulling for Notre Dame because it’s such a prestigious school. He said when he was in my position, he would have liked to have had an offer from Notre Dame.”
Notre Dame didn’t offer Paul a scholarship, and David didn’t get an official offer from Penn State. Penn State verbally offered a scholarship to David in September but never followed up on it. Regardless, David said he didn’t give the Nittany Lions serious consideration.
I’m sure Penn State fans will be happy to see that Paul was pulling for Notre Dame and that he wished he had gotten an offer from Notre Dame when he was being recruited.
Speaking of Paul wishing he had an offer from Notre Dame, whose fault is that he never received an offer from Notre Dame? I’ll give you three guesses, and the first two don’t count. I guess I can see why he wasn’t offered though, he was only a four star recruit who listed Notre Dame as one of his favorites the summer before his senior year and Notre Dame was loaded with talent at linebacker in that class already with Mitchell Thomas (3 stars), Nick Borsetti (2 stars), and Joe Brockington (3 stars) - a group that has started a combined 13 games for the Irish.
Notre Dame’s offensive line recruiting took its first blow of the season Saturday when news broke that Trevor Robinson committed to home state Nebraska over Notre Dame and Michigan.
Robinson, a 6-foot-5, 300-pound offensive lineman from Elkhorn High School, has given Nebraska coaches his verbal commitment to accept their scholarship offer. Notre Dame and Michigan also were on his final list of choices.
“The big thing is, Nebraska’s close to home,” Robinson said Saturday. “There’s nothing I can do football-wise at those other places that I can’t do at Nebraska.”
Statements like show Notre Dame didn’t do anything wrong to lose Robinson, but rather, he just wanted to stay close to home. Getting kids out of states like Nebraska where there is such is faithful following for the local school is always tough and Robinson is just further evidenced.
Still, this stings a bit since Notre Dame looked in good shape here and Robinson is really a big time talent and could be a five star guy when all is said and done. Nebraska got themselves a heck of an offensive lineman.
The silver lining here is that Robinson got his commitment out of the way early so Notre Dame has plenty of time to pursue other offensive linemen to join Braxston Cave and Mike Golic Jr. in this class.
In doing some research tonight on Notre Dame’s most recent verbal commitment, Kyle Rudolph, I came across a bunch of videos of him on Google Videos show casing his talents on the gridiron and the hardwood. To see all of them check out the Google Video search results for “Kyle Rudolph”. There are 25 videos in all, but here are some of the choice ones - I hope you enjoy them… I took me two freakin’ hours to find a plugin that worked to show Google Videos
Touchdown near the Goal Line
Two Point Conversion in the corner of the End Zone
Notre Dame’s latest commitment could end being one of the more important recruits in this year’s class because he is a big time talent at a position where the Irish have a big time need. I posted an article up on the main site with my thoughts on Cwynar, but I did a little more research on him tonight and figured I’d share some good quotes I found about him tonight.
Here’s a good one about him improving his speed from the Northwest Herald:
Marian Central serves as a prime example. After the Hurricanes’ Sean Cwynar (6-3, 275) saw the rewards Bulaga reaped from speed training, he took it up himself with Craig Kastning, one of the trainers who works with Davis. Bulaga and Cwynar anchored the offensive and defensive lines for Marian’s Class 5A state runner-up football team this season.
“I really got serious about it when I heard about Bulaga doing it last spring,” said Cwynar, who likely will wind up as an offensive lineman at an NCAA Division I school. “Bulaga dropped his 40 time to 4.8, and I was amazed they could drop somebody’s 40 time that much.
“A lot of kids lift, but what they’re missing is the speed. I could run with linebackers this season. Last year, I was a defensive tackle because I was too slow. They gave me the speed that I could chase down kids.”
And on a fourth-and-goal from Marian’s 1 in the closing minutes of the game, Casey Crosby was stopped short of the goal line by Marian two-way starting lineman Sean Cwynar.
Cwynar drove back to South Bend on Tuesday morning to shake Weis’ hand in person and commit to the school on a football scholarship. Cwynar (6-foot-4, 280 pounds) will not sign for another 11 months but saw no need to wait any longer.
“I knew I’d come here, eventually,” said Cwynar, an offensive tackle and defensive end on Marian’s IHSA Class 5A state runner-up team. “There was no reason to lead other schools on. I called about 50 coaches and told them, ‘Thank you for recruiting me, but I’m going to Notre Dame.’ ”
“I really wasn’t a follower that much,” he said. “But when you come here, you feel something special. It’s really unexplainable. The history and fan following is just amazing. I’m their first defensive recruit, so I’ll have an early opportunity to start, I’ll get an Ivy League-like education and be on TV every week. It’s really the whole package.”
Here are some quotes from around the web on Mike Golic Jr.’s decision to commit to Notre Dame yesterday. Golic, a 6′5″, 260 lb offensive line prospect became the first commitment of the year for Charlie Weis and based on the quotes below, there shouldn’t be any question that Golic fits into Charlie Weis’s idea of a commitment after this year’s signing day fiasco.
Because the younger Golic promised to commit to the Irish whenever Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis extended a scholarship offer — even if the offer came while the son is in Italy this week on a class trip.
”The group is scheduled to go to Rome Wednesday, to the Vatican,” the elder Golic said. ”My son told me, ‘I’ll step outside to talk to Charlie if I have to. I’ll take Charlie over the pope for those few minutes.”’
Golic is projected as an offensive lineman, although his father said he also could play defense. Mike Golic said his son, a center, plays with a defensive mentality and a bit of a mean streak.
“And I kind of like that,” he said.
“He’s a kid that was born and raised Notre Dame,” CSTV recruiting analyst Tom Lemming said. “A good overall catch for Notre Dame.”
“You make sure that you commit. It’s more than just committing. It’s a life lesson on giving your word on something. I know circumstances can change, but you want to be known as a guy on your word.”
It was the point Golic stressed to his son – important considering Weis made a similar philosophy known during his signing day news conference less than two weeks ago about how he’ll handle recruiting in the future.
Tyler said Golic will have no problem filling out to as much as 300 pounds in the next couple of years. He wants to come into Northwest’s camp in August at 280. Golic was a captain as a junior, which Tyler said is very rare at Northwest. Tyler described him as a great leader and hard worker in the weight room and on the field. “Everything he does is first class, really, top-notch.”
“Offensive linemen nowadays, they want these guys to be able to bend at the hips and at the knees and at the ankles, and he’s very flexible,” Tyler said. “He does all that very, very well. He’s got real quick feet and he knows how to get position. He’s very smart. He helps make all our calls on all our line plays and actually our plays in general. He and the quarterback, they switch plays right at the line of scrimmage.”
(1 votes, average: 4 out of 5)
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