In doing a little more research on Cierre Wood’s performance last night I cam across this blurb from the Ventura Coutnry Star.
What hurt the most was Santa Clara lost Wood to an injury less than three minutes into the fourth quarter. He had to be helped off the field.
Hopefully the injury is not serious because Wood’s a very talented running back and like I said in my last post, he’s got the kind of skills which are perfect for this offense and should see the field next year. I’ll see what else I can find regarding Wood’s injury and post an update when I find one.
There was a thought Oaks Christian High might finally be challenged Friday against Santa Clara of Oxnard, which came in riding a 18-game winning streak and featuring Notre Dame-bound running back Cierre Wood.
Didn’t happen.
Oaks Christian defeated the visiting Saints 49-6 before a standing-room only crowd and a Fox Sports Net television audience.
Wood broke off a couple of nice runs on the first series but was held in check, finishing with 119 yards in 23 carries, including just 45 yards over his final 16 carries, and he did not score a touchdown.
It’s always nice to see that a 119 yard, 23 carry performance is labeled a disappointment. Right now I’d kill for a Notre Dame running back to have a stat line like that. Oaks Christian is one of the better teams in California and remains undefeated on the season so it shouln’t be seen as any indication that Wood isn’t as good as many think. Wood remains one of the best high school running backs in the country and if the Irish stick with a spread style offense like we’ve seen at times this year he will very likely see the field for the Irish next year.
Here’s some random thoughts coming off the bye week.
Looking back at the UNC game for a minute… Was the first half of that game the best coached half of football under Weis since the 2005 USC game or was it just me? The game plan coming into the game and the play calling in the first half was perfect. We came out firing and spreading the field out and when UNC adjusted, we had a counter. Wish we would have continued to run the ball more in the second half though.
Cierre Wood is going to be an absolute perfect fit for this offense. As I watched the UNC game a second time and saw the four wide receiver sets with a lone back in Armando Allen behind Jimmy Clausen I couldn’t help but think about how nice a fit Wood is for this offense. Wood has him run speed and can catch the ball very well out of the backfield.
Michigan is bad. Really bad. I don’t think that they will continue to be this bad under Rodriquez if he can get the athletes he needs in Ann Arbor. Michigan simply doesn’t have the personnel for either the offense or the defense Rodriquez has installed and he hasn’t adapted his systems. In the long term that will turn out to be a good thing, but in the short term they are staring at a 3 win season.
We really need to close strong recruiting on the defensive side of the ball. Getting Manti Te’o or Jelani Jenkins would be ideal. Getting a Chris Bonds would be pretty darn nice as well. One thing that stuck out to be watching the UNC game was that we’re still smaller and slower on defense than elite teams. There’s plenty of reinforcements in the freshmen and sophomore classes, but it’s going to take another couple very good defensive classes to get this defense to the elite level.
Jimmy Clause is scary accurate. If he can cut down on the interceptions in the second half of the season his stats at the end of the year are going to be better than any Notre Dame quarterback’s whose name is not Brady Quinn.
James Aldridge has looked much, much better than he did last year. He’s running harder and with more authority than we’ve seen out of him. He is reminding me a lot of the Green Bay Packers version of Ryan Grant right now. He attacks a hole, but doesn’t have the laterally mobility to something out of nothing. It’s a shame that Aldridge hasn’t been able to regain his full agility after his knee injury his senior year of high school, but as we’ve seen with Grant in Green Bay, that type of runner can be very successful with a good offense line.
Hats off to john Latina. I don’t care who we’ve played, the offensive line was a nightmare last year and has been vastly improved this year. Pass blocking has been night and day this year compared to last year. If the line’s run blocking continues to improve, the only defense we’ll face capable of slowing this offense down will be USC.
Players I’d like to see more of on offense in the second half of the season (excluding starters) – Trevor Robinson, James Aldridge, Matt Romine, Jonas Gray, Evan Sharpley.
Players I’d like to see more of on defense in the second half of the season (excluding starters) – Mo Richardson, Ethan Johnson, Kerry Neal, Darius Fleming, Steve Filer, Emeka Nwankwo, and Robert Blanton.
Running back commitment Cierre Wood flashed his big play potential this weekend in Santa Clara’s last minute win over Nordhoff with a 70 yard touchdown reception with just over a minute to go to put his team ahead for good. Wood got off to a slow start. After gaining 0 yards on his first 11 carries, Wood raced 58 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter.
Wood’s game shows the big play potential that he possesses and in a way highlights how good of a fit he is for the Notre Dame offense we have been seeing the last few weeks. Having a big play back who can make plays in the receiving game is a perfect scenario for this offense. We’ve seen Armando Allen start to establish himself as a real threat catching the ball out of the backfield over the last few games and it appears the only threat of a running game will be coming in multiple wide receiver formations.
Both of Notre Dame’s current running back commitments had big weekends for their respective high schools. Riddick racked up over 300 all purpose yards and Riddick ran for 269 and had a game changing interception to lead his team to victory.
Theo Riddick saw the ball floating toward the end zone and knew that if he did not make this play, the Immaculata High School football team would no longer be in just a fight. It could be on severe upset alert.
Riddick reached up and came down with the pivotal interception that turned around Friday’s rivalry game, sending Immaculata to a 35-19 victory against Bridgewater-Raritan.
Oh yeah, his 269 rushing yards and four touchdowns played a big role, too.
“You can’t beat him,” Spartans quarterback Adam Burke said. “He’s down, he’s broken, he’s had his helmet ripped off, he’s been hit in the head with his helmet off, and he’s still going. You’re not going to see anyone like that in this league.”
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.
Notre Dame picked up a huge commitment early Saturday when five star running back Cierre Wood picked the Fighting Irish over UCLA. Wood is listed as a five star back on both Rivals and Scout and had offers from the likes of Auburn, Cal, Florida, USC, and Oregon among many others.
Notre Dame will have four scholarship running backs for the ‘09 season - James Aldridge, Armando Allen, Robert Hughes, and Jonas Gray - so it’s likely that Wood could be the only running back the Irish take this year. If anything, i would guess that any other back ND pursues would be someone who could play multiple positions.
C-Dog said: Well Ann Arbor is 30 minutes from Detroit metro area, so if GM and Chrysler bite it, old Big Blue is going to look like West Virginia, but with less to look forward to. As... on: Michigan is Doing Just Fine
C-Dog said: Haywood seems like a good guy and who knows how he’d do on his own. Probably pretty well. I’d think another ND to Washington connection would be... on: Haywood Interviewing for Ty’s Old Job
bleednd82 said: I hope they never win another game. I hate Michigan and all their fans. PayRod is a crook (WVU). He tells his fans “to get a life”. Who does that? Boo Blue on: Michigan is Doing Just Fine
Paul said: I’m not saying it makes up for our brutal season last year but it sure helps seeing scUM be so so bad. Misery loves company. on: Michigan is Doing Just Fine
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