Aaron Lynch to Transfer from Notre Dame

aaron lynch transfer
Aaron Lynch has decided to transfer from Notre Dame after earning Freshman All American honors a year ago as a frosh. (Photo - Matt Cashore / USPresswire)

The recruitment of Aaron Lynch was one of the most unique, drama filled recruitments we’ve seen since we began covering Notre Dame recruiting in 1997.  The saga continued on Friday when Brian Kelly announced the rising star defensive end will be transferring from Notre Dame.

“Aaron recently approached me about his desire to leave Notre Dame and return to Florida,”  Kelly said on Friday before adding, “I’ve always known and appreciated the affinity Aaron has for his home in Florida,  however, the stark reality is you can’t make it at Notre Dame if your head and heart are not here.”  Kelly also went on to say, “I am proud of the effort Aaron made in the classroom and on the field at Notre Dame. I wish him all the best in the future.”

And now Notre Dame is out one extremely talented playmaker along a defensive front seven that had the opportunity to be one of the best the school has seen in years prior to the news of Lynch’s desire to transfer.

Lynch had left Notre Dame last week after a practice altercation with offensive lineman Tate Nichols, but at the time Kelly expressed optimism that Lynch would not be transferring at the time.  Lynch did return after the weekend, but decided at some point this week his return to campus would not be permanent.

Current speculation as Lynch transferring to South Florida where we would be playing for Skip Holtz, son of Notre Dame coaching legend Lou Holtz.

UHND will have more on the loss of Lynch and how it impacts what the Irish will have to do to overcome the loss of one of the most truly dynamic players on the Irish roster.

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115 Comments

  1. I see where our old friend, John L. Smith, from Michigan State fame, has taken over as head coach at Arkansas.

    I can still remember Charlie Weis claiming that one of Smith’s players slapped him during the course of an out of bounds play when Weis’s Irish squared off agianst Smith’s MSU team.

    Smith, during his post game interview demonstrated a face slap that was so funny that it ran for weeks as a loop video on you-tube.

    Funny stuff. Really funny stuff!

    Speaking of Weis, he is a man on a mission when it comes to cleaning up that KU program.
    13 players dismissed from the program, and a few more suspended for the start of the 2012 season.
    Ol charlie is tearing through that program like it was a free bucket of Chicken – n – waffles!

    Does anyone know if Kansas plays Arkansas this year?
    I’d love to see the 2012 version of the “Slappy-Weis” show!

  2. Losing Lynch stings, but, it’s time to see who will take over. He made his decision, he’s responsible. Keep in mind, there may be other “unstated” reasons he left besides the ones already mentioned. TR looked about the same in the spring game. Sure did like what I saw in E Golson & George A. Theo also looks like he definitely has hit the weight room.

    Go Irish

  3. A different perspective:

    I’m really not bothered by turnovers in the spring game.
    This will be the last time the players will put on the pads until August.
    I would rather they make their mistakes here and in this scrimage.
    Now they have to carry those mistakes with them for the next 3 months, and that should keep them motivated thoughout the summer.

    I think we all had a pretty good idea on what Golson could bring to the table. He didn’t disapoint.
    I like the fact that he plays with a smile on his face.

    Gunner Kiel looks like a dang fullback from the waist down.
    I don’t ever remember a ND QB that was that big in the waist, hips, and legs. On one of the final plays of the day, he ran the ball right up the middle. And right over and through the middle linebacker!
    (Just wish he would adjust his helmet so it’s not right down on his eyes)

    Number #18, Ben Koyack, made a couple of key blocks that sealed off the edge on some nice running plays by both Wood, and Atkinson.
    His blocking has improved!

    Riddick appears that he has finally matured physically. His overall muscle tone looks better, and he is playing more physical.
    Perhaps this will allow him to stay health for the entire year.

    Not real confident about our corners and saftey’s at this time.
    While they were in good posistion, and their coverage was decent, they still haven’t learned to turn their head and look for the ball.
    But at least their tackling was solid.

    Would have liked to see a little special teams play, but I guess with the time constraints, it’s understandable that not everything is going to be covered.

  4. It’s obvious that we are going to continue to have problems with turning the ball over at the quarterback position…so why not put in Golson, who won’t have anymore turnovers than Hendrix or Rees, but will add a whole other dimension to the offense.

    And what was up with the second half clock. I went to take a leak, and the second half was over

    1. They played 8 or 10 minute quarters (something like that) where the clock ran continuously (even through commercial breaks). NBC had to finish coverage of the game by a certain time due to the soccer game they were broadcasting in the afternoon.

  5. I know everybody wants to talk about the qb’s but i wanted to point out how well i thought our db’s did fighting for the ball. on all the fade routes they were in position to contend for the ball, with some more coaching on leverages and coverage this could be a good young group.

    1. That sure is an interesting take. Maybe the DBs will surprise us this year…. in all honesty, they scared the crap out of me on Saturday. Our entire secondary scared me. These guys are going to have a wakeup call when they face some elite talent during the season. Our WRs are only going to test the secondary so much in practice.

      As an aside, that Freshman Darling looked pretty good out there at WR.

  6. it takes two great quarterbacks, to win a national championship, we have them now, give it to the man golson, and let him run, after some time kiel will be our coley obrien, win for us when golson is hurt or exhausted from scoring too much, the offensive line has to learn now, no sacks, finally no but no one showed such cool as tommy rees did last year, when he was asked to step in with not enough time to prepare, he deliverd the best he could . he never ever quit or looked for another team, a true domer. thank you tommy. god be with us

  7. i don’t know how anyone who saw that game yesterday can say with a straight face that TR is even on the same planet as golson. This competition is over. I know i know it was the spring game. I know we have seen a bunch of guys have great spring games only to disappear in the fall. But i know what i saw yesterday. I saw a kid that can do things the other 3 are just capable of doing. The pass to koyack on the one touchdown where he sees the corner blitz rolls away to give himself more time. The blitz was picked up but still pretty smart. But this is about the throw. He is fading away has a defender in his face a linebacker 5 yds up up field and the db is on the inside shoulder of the te. Where does golson put the ball? Inside shoulder of his big te away from the defender where only his guy is going to get it. TOMMY REES WILL NEVER MAKE THAT THROW. EVER. Like mayock loves to say “you either wake up with that or you don’t” i’m not meaning to trash rees here as none of the other 3 guys are making that play either. Its just i just don’t see how rees or gunner are in this competition right. Gunner needs time. He looked lost out there but he should be anning for prom right now not studying cover 2 defenses. Hendrix could be good but as many have said he lacks the command and is not as gifted as golson. If atkinson can cure his case of the dropsies, he is gonna be unreal. Size speed vision.

    Did anyone else notice theo riddick is stacked. He must have hit the weight room hard in the offseason. Dude has some serious guns and he is obviously stronger. He threw collinsworth’s face in the dirt on that one stiff arm when he bounced outside. Whoa. I actually felt a little bad for collinsworth on that play as he got shucked like a junior high kid.

    1. J… I noticed the same thing about Riddick. He looked jacked out there in the spring game. That was one of the first things I mentioned to my wife at the start of the scrimmage. He was running extremely hard too and gave quite a “pop” to defenders on contact instead of trying to dance around them. We have a lot of offensive weapons. We just need to execute now. Golsen will be the starter. No question. For some reason BK is extremely loyal to Rees. I don’t understand it, because the guy isn’t that good, but I think we have seen the last of him (barring injuries)

  8. I just watched Kelly’s press conference and he was not happy about the QB play from any of them. It made me think back to last year when all we heard about was how good Crist and Rees were doing even though they both looked terrible in the spring game.

    I think he realizes that Rees, Hendrix, and Golson can play, but he is not going to give any of them the impression they have arrived. He knows this team is a QB away from being really, really, good and he is looking for a QB that has the guts to step up and take this position mentally.

    This is no longer about physical ability, this is mental with all of them. He knows that with the weapons on this team, he can win a lot of games if the QB does not turn the ball over. The stat they showed during the game that made me sick was the QB was responsible for 23 of the 29 turn-overs last year. This team is so close to being a 10-11 win team and it truly is on the shoulders of the QB.

    As far as Golson goes, it sounds to me like he needs to quite relying on his talent and learn the system, because if he does, BK will turn the keys of the offense over to him.

  9. You are right Jack, Golson does have IT. Kelly needs to put his best athletes on the field and let them develop. Look at Michigan with Robinson, he gives defenses fits. After watching Golson, he is a much better QB than Robinson and can give ND another weapon on offense.

    One thing for sure, ND does have some talent on both sides of the ball.

  10. To me its the two players that should be considered are Hendrix and Golson. The difference between the two is Golson has IT. IT is something that cant be defined. Hendrix seems to up tight and rigid. He seems to let negativity hang with him. To play QB you need a short memory and Hendrix does not. You can’t develop that and that is a problem for Hendrix and was the same problem Crist had. Golson just doesnt get raddled and has the tools to be real good. He needs more repts with the first team and more time to learn the offense. Between Golson and the faster smaller backs and receivers this offense could be really hard to stop.

  11. Without question the Irish need to solidify the quarterback position. If they can do that (and reduce the number of turnovers) they can be a very good football team. That being said, Golson is the better fit for this offense (I discount Kiel from consideration right now because clearly he needs a year to develop). The sooner this is recognized and Golson is provided with more and more reps and allowed to develop with the first team offense, the better off the Irish will be. Clearly, he can do things that Rees and Hendrix cannot. Invest in Golson and the benefits will be immeasurable. I don’t say this to cast a negative light on any of the quarterbacks – they are all great kids and I’m glad they are part of the Irish Family; but, bottom line folks, we need to name a starting quarterback and stop this four-way quarterback battle. The team needs to understand who their offensive leader is (this is important)- and the sooner the better. In this case, I firmly believe it’s Golson. Let’s get him the work he needs to be successful and develop the offensive system around him. Go Irish!!!!

  12. After watching the post game videos, Golson has talent that no other QB on the roster has. Definately Golson has the tools to start Jack. The trick will be to give Golson more time with the 1st team without running off any of the others.

    Scav, your right about Rees, wow….zero improvement over last year. Rees is nowhere close to Golson’s accuracy or arm power.

    Bj, I’m with you, seems like it’s time to start smiling a little with a chance like Golson.

    JTrain you were right, we have some serious new guy talent on both sides of the ball. Actually, this is the best blue – gold game we’ve seen in show casing Kelly’s idea of a spread offense and improving defense.

    Seems like we are heading in the right direction guys! Go Irish!

  13. If Kelly could “Dummy Down” the offense for Rees when he was a freshman, he can do the same for Golson. This kid is the real deal and just needs experience. We start off next season with Navy and Purdue before the schedule gets really tough.

    I can not bear the thought of Rees starting unless Golson and Hendrix are hurt. I agree with Jack, Keil needs to sit for a year and be the scout team QB. Rees just isn’t getting any better, Hendrix is too iffy, and Golson looks like a play maker. He has a cannon for an arm and is a threat to run. I know the big knock on him is game management, but I would rather have a play maker develop into a game manager instead of a good game manager that will never be a play maker.

  14. Here is my analysis of the game.

    Atkinson should go to clas everyday with the ball
    I like how all the running backs and TE are being used. It will be interesting to see three of them on the field at one time. We didn’t even see Amie.

    Daniels looked good. Riddick looks like a a beast and is running like a beast.
    Now to the QB’s

    Reese: same mistakes different game. Three years and still trying to throw the same coverage he tried to in the bowl game. His throw to Daniels was not good in the endzone

    Hendrix: looked good at times but lacks something. I am not sure what it is but he needs it if he wants to be a starter. Bad read on the interception.

    Holdin: teach him to run the offense. If he is lacking as much as BK says than put some time and energy into him and teach him to run the offense. Also needs to take care of the football better with the fumbled. Other than those things which are easily corrected he is your QB.

    Keil: had no clue and should be redshirted.

  15. EVERETT GOLSON, THE REINCARNATION OF TONY RICE, I DID NOT THINK IT COULD BE TRUE, HE CAN PASS, HE CAN RUN, HE IS A QUICK DROP BACK FROM CENTER, IF HE CAN PUNCH LIKE TONY IN THE MIAMI GAME (SOURCE THE ROCKET), WE HAVE A FIGHTING CHANCE, I HAVE NOT BELIEVED THAT SINCE USC STOLE THAT NIGHT GAME FROM US IN 20005. GO GOLSON

  16. Has anyone heard (or seen) how Springman, Spond, and Grace are progressing during the spring? I see these guys as capable of stepping up and being major factors on the defensive side of the ball this year. I understand that they are very talented.

  17. The Mich game was awful last year, yes. But let’s place the blame where blame is due. GARY GRAY. Robert Blanton had a great career in my opinion. One of the better CB’s in recent ND history, possibly dating back to Shane Walton, I might venture to say. Now as for this year, the fact that they’re trying Slaughter out at CB, moving from safety cannot be a good sign. Plus they moved Cam McDaniel to CB, also cant be a great sign. I think Jackson and Atkinson will be very good too, but Atkinson is not going to be the first game’s starter. Lo Wood obviously isn’t getting it done. And Zeke Motta is mediocre at best. Don’t forget about Zeke. Then you have the McCarthy kid who hasn’t played one meaningful minute as safety. Who knows… maybe Collinsworth will be good. Tough schedule this year.

    1. George,
      Before Walton had such a great year he was a soccer player. Moving slaughter to corner is for depth and when teams spread them out. Motta is better than you think and Bennett is pretty good. All of the game experience and didn’t help Gray against Michigan. They will do fine against most teams except SC and Oklahoma. They both have great QB’s and that is what I am worries me.

      1. It sounds like your main point is that experience is not very important, as you reference Gray and Walton. I wasn’t making that argument either way. It really varies at the college level anyway. All I’m saying is that I’m not hearing too many good things about potential starter Lo Wood, and I don’t see Zeke being a big time player. Slaughter played awesome in the bowl game. Maybe Jalen Brown or Hardy will make an impact. I don’t see any easy wins this year, except MAYBE Purdue and possibly Wake. But yes, USC and OK will be the toughest. Hell, we don’t even have a QB right now

  18. Something that has really annoyed me in all the team breakdowns and previews is people are talking about our secondary like we are going to have helen keller back there in zone coverage. Give me a break. Yea not much experience but gray and blanton had a ton and we know how much that helped in the mich game. Bennett jackson is a phenominal athlete. He is gonna be good. Atkinson is a good athlete as well. In fact i think all 4 of those guys are better athletes than the guys we had last year.

  19. Just read that lynchs mother is asking Justin tuck to speak with Aaron about the transfer. She’s clearly NOT supportive of her son leaving Notre Dame.

      1. Twitter is a wonderful thing. No i don’t post everytime i go the bathroom or what i’m eating for breakfast. Very good news source. I follow a lot of the players on there too. Kinda cool to see whats on their minds day to day.

      2. Yeah I agree. I actually hide Aaron lynch on Facebook lol. He came off as a whinny little girl at times. Couldn’t take the high school emotional thinking he often talked about.

  20. How in the world does notre dame loose lynch?? are you kidding me are best player on the D is gone first darby greenberry & shepeard now lynch wtf!

  21. 2 things guys.
    Ragone was used mostly as a blocker. Welch had developed into a good blocker.
    If one of those TE develops to be a good pass catcher, you can always move Niklas back on D and put him at DE.

  22. Why are people talking about Ragone? His transfer was the most irrelevant occurrence in the history of ND football. You might as well as be crying about Derek Roback transferring.

  23. I have watched some of those practice videos and I have noticed that Tommy is running more. He might not be that bad if he starts to run. Defenses dropped eight into coverage a lot against him because they knew he was not going to run. Even the threat of him running will break down the defense.

    I know that Martin likes to run the ball and I think even if Rees is QB, he is going to run more. That tells me there is depth being developed at the QB position and they are not afraid for one of them to get hurt.

    It will interesting to see this play out on Saturday because the QB’s are going to be “Live”.

    1. After the pounding he (Rees) took last year I would encourage him to run more too!
      Not to mention being able to duck, dodge, and slide.

      And maybe we outfit him with a pair of “slick shoes” for all those who will be chasing him down.

      1. Yeah, especially with some of those 320 pound Huey’s that can run 4.7! It becomes a real horrific thought. Does pretzels come to mind?

        Am I the only one worried about depth and injuries? And when I talk about depth, I’m not talking about just throwing the next available warm body in there.

      2. JC,

        Weis, who inherited depth issues from the previous coaching staff, went “easy” in practice so as to avoid injury and be able to field the best talent available.

        While he was able to keep his team relitivly healthy, it was clear that they could’n tackle, couldn’t run the ball, had difficulty protecting the QB, and preformed poorly throughout the last month of the season.

        While I feel Kelly has added more quality depth accross the board, getting your team properly prepared, while avoiding injuries is probably mostly luck.

        Not too much anyone can do about that except keep your fingers crossed.

  24. If you subscribe to the notre dame athletics channel on youtube you’ve probably seen the practice videos but they just did a feature on the dline guys and though the loss hurts i think we will be ok. Tuitt is gonna have a big year, he looks beasty. Day, nix, schwenke all look pretty impressive

    1. Yeah I think your spot on. I’m just overly worried about injuries this year.

      I liked Ragone for his WR speed. But, may not be that fast now due to past multiple injuries. But, like you say would have been great for the young guys too.

      Kudos on Tuitt and the dline looking good.

      Thanks for your input!

    2. Jtrain,

      I have also watched those videos and I thought that Tuitt in the one bag drill look like a monster. Also Khona look like a monster. Danny Smith, Davarius Daniels and Roby Toma looked really good. Finally, I thought the person that look the best was Theo Riddick. He looked like he has another gear again.

      Out of the QB’s I hate to admit it but Rees looked the best. Hendrix is still to tenative and makes to many mistakes, Golson carries the football like a loaf of bread and looks to run to much, and Keil looks lost.

  25. My understanding on cwynar was he was offered but declined. But yea that has proven to be bigger than it seemed at the time. I definently think we should have kept ragone even for at least guidance for the young guys. Mcdonald barely ever saw the field in 4 years so if we had much of a depth issue at his position it hasn’t shown over the last 4 years.

  26. Relax guys those were lyrics to a song..an blah was an autocorrect of bam on his phone. I follow him on twitter. Its all good with nix.

    1. JTrain,

      What’s your opinion on our depth? Do you thing we were hasty not to bring back Cwynar, Mc Donald and Ragone?

  27. Now Louis Nix is tweeting his thoughts. “hoping on delta to Florida might never come back”. “still at Notre dame…..blah”.

    what is going on?! I usually Don’t expect the worse but Louis has been very outspoken about being in the program in the past. Losing both lynch & nix would be terrible! I don’t even know hat to think at this point.

  28. When BK stops coaching by divisiveness and starts blending the new and existing players together to win a Championship. Only then, Notre Dame Football will begin to come out of the doldrums.

  29. Is it possible that he wasn’t doing great in the classroom? Sad to see him go he is a true beast reminds me a lot of Julius peppers at unc and I think he will be as successful unfortunate it won’t be in south bend. I may be wrong but don’t expect BK to be successful the next 2 maybe 3 years he is in SB. Can’t say I’ll be sad to see him go though. Ahh well we’ll bout the way I feel about ND football anymore

  30. Here is a thought to keeping high profile athletes like Lynch at South Bend… Give a scholarship to one of his good high school buddies. Now I know about the drawbacks to this, limited scholarships, favoritism, unethical. Look at the Manti Te’o-Roby Toma situation. I don’t have the inside baseball on the recruitment of Te’o, but to me giving Toma a scholarship to play at ND was a big factor for Te’o choosing ND over SC and BYU. Coming from Hawaii, being far away from his family, it has to be very comforting to have Roby Toma with Te’o the last three seasons. That has to contribute to Te’o living up to the hype and being one of the best linebackers in the country. Lynch leaving the program sounds like a case of homesickness. It is terrible to read this knowing that Lynch was set for big things at ND. Would a very close football friend from his HS helped Lynch stay at ND? I’m sure it would of helped.

  31. Steel Fan,

    I appreciate your comments and I agree that the past 20 years have been very frustrating. I just thought last year I saw a real improvement from the Irish. No, it didn’t result in a 10-win season, but a noticeable improvement nonetheless. I guess that gives me some cause for optimism moving forward. Kelly has had really good recruiting classes over the past 2 seasons and I believe that will translate into more and more success on the field very soon. I see an improvement defensively, more team speed (something that was really lacking), an improving offensive line, more depth at most positions with the exception of cornerback, and some really talented skill players. Yes, there is a ways to go, but I see a bright future. Then again, maybe I’m an eternal optimist…… Go Irish!

  32. Todd,

    I hope you’re right, I really, really, do!

    But I’ve been hearing about ND returning to greatness for over 15 years. At other points many of us thought — like you — that we were seeing improvement, only to be fooled and disappointed.

    As for the Lynch issue, it’s greater than just about one kid transferring. It’s about a persistent and disturbing trend of losing the kind of athletes ND needs to return not only to the top 10, which is a start, but to NC contention. Just look at the most recent athletes ND has lost out on: Darby, Decker, Greenbery, Shepherd, Lynch. These guys would be the core of a great team a year or so from now. No underestimating these loses for a program that, despite your opinion, isn’t nearly as talented as you think.

  33. The Irish will be fine without Lynch! I don’t understand why people are losing their minds over Lynch. Yes, he was a talent but one person does not make a team. ND still has a lot of talent at the position (defensive end) and they will be OK. ND is making progress and will be a top 10 program soon. Last year, I saw a much improved team over previous years – particularly on the defensive side of the ball. I do agree that a decision needs to be made on a quarterback soon – and it needs to be one that fits their style of play. If the Irish can solidify the quarterback position, they can be very, very good right now!

  34. Well Jack,

    We can always Water Board a loud mouth USC fan for entertainment while having a beer and watching the game. I’m just a senior citizen at 281 pounds and can still hang on to someone for dear life while you rough them up of course! Hahahahahaha!

    Go Irish!

    1. Go Irish!!!! Let’s be loud and rowdy at home games to let those players know we are behind them and opposing teams like USuC know how much we hate them!

  35. Yes, I would agree Jack,

    Only I would rephrase: the “hottest coach on the market” with no Division I National Championship Credentials. My point is the waiting! Certainly, we will now know what kind of coach we have in BK this year. We already know about his sharp tongue belittling the players in the media. This year will test his coaching skills regardless of the lip service. So if he runs the table he’ll be our hero(highly unlikely)! On the other hand, No National Championship this year or next year or the next. Boring as usual and then a bad hire.

    However, I agree with Rob on all the worthless excuses for next year. The fact of the matter is Ara all most won a National Champsionship with a 2-7 team his 1st year finishing 9-1. NO EXCUSES! NO BLAME GAME! He then won a NC the next year and a 2nd during his stay.

    The real problem is….BK is no Ara. It’s somebody elses fault. So don’t tell me we don’t know a good coach when we seen one. If you haven’t won a title in your second year you might as well pack your bags and quit kidding yourself. Be a man an resign and quit collecting paychecks you haven’t earned. I digress, sorry…need warmer, gentler and gee whiz attitude with our heritage?

    Yes jack it was all about the total package for Urban including admissions. So why did they bother to fuel the jet? They already knew what he wanted. So did they expect Urban just to do it for the love of ND? If so, they are still living in the days of Rockne concerning football. From the looks of Swarbrick’s Bio pointed out by Bj we are!

    Without question, the admistration hold the keys to a National Championship. My approach would be “pay the big bucks” and you got two years to win a title or your gone! I bet we would find or create a NC coach in a hurry. So the question remains the same; how bad does ND want it? Well, unfortunately 23 years speaks for itself.

    1. Only I would rephrase: the “hottest coach on the market” with no Division I National Championship Credentials.

      Urban had no titles when UF hired him, Stoops didn’t when Oklahoma hired him, Carrol didn’t when USC hired him, Tressel didn’t when OSU hired him, Saban didn’t when LSU hired him, Spurrier didn’t when UF hired him and so on and so on and so on.

      1. Well, after 23 years we might want to consider a proven Championship Coach if BK doesn’t work out. However, probably not on this board.

      2. Oh Come on Shaz,

        Are you having your man period? Have a beer with me and Jack!

        Ooops, yeah Saban recruited 37 players with his unique revolving door. Your slipping Shaz. Gee, with your list what about Lou? He’s way younger than Jo Pa. Hahahahah.

      3. Beer is like potato chips, you can’t have just one…. case!
        (lets get delta in here, he has the hard stuff, and some pretty good meds that makes everything look green!)

        Yes Lou is younger than JoePa,
        he isn’t taking the eternal dirt nap, and has way better vision, but he does make up for it with his “Mark May just pissed me off” lisp!

        Saban that muck-sucker, he doesn’t recruit… he rents!

      4. I like it, let’s add Everclear and Wild Turkey to Delta’s Jack Daniels and see how many laps he does around the Stadium?

      5. Only the NHL had more suspensions than Meyer did while at Florida.

        Stoops is considered a bridsmaid for how many times he lost in the big game.
        (second place is nothing more than the first loser)

        Saban is a money grubber, slime-bellie who could care less about graduation rates and the future of his players, or for that matter, loyalty for anyone who can meet his price.

        Carrol is a liar and a cheat who brought discrace and sanctions down on USC.

        Tressel is a liar and a cheat who brought discrace and sanctions down on OSU… while wearing a red sweater vest.

        Spurrier is… well hell .. Spurrier! Nuff said!

        Maybe it’s been 23 years because there are no Honest, high integrity coaches left to hire!

      6. OK Shaz,

        Don’t tell me there’s not one ounce of forgiveness in you?

        Who on your National Championship HC list would be the one who you would forgive to coach at ND?

        Hmmmm….testy eh?

      7. JC,

        That’s an easy one…

        Stoops!

        He has the least amount of baggage, has shown loyalty, and runs his program with a respectable amount of integrity.

        (By the way, I’m not really being testy or angery, I just enjoy ripping unethical head coaches that lie and cheat, and get paid millions for doing it! I have kind of a sick, twisted, sence of humor when it comes to things like that!)

        Also, I really love Lou. But I just can’t help but laugh when Mark May gets him going and then the spittle starts flyin!

      8. Shaz,

        Just kidding on testy. Your the least testy person on this board for sure!

        I’m with you, Bob Stoops being a very good choice if we needed to make a serious effort to convince a NC coach to come here!

        Albeit, he’s turned us down before, we would need to know what would be the motivating factor to make that happen? Timing is everything. Then again he may very well be content to stay where he is.
        Somethings you just never know.

        I was just curious to know your opinion, since you are very articulate on the matter.

        Thank you!

    2. JC,

      I would agree that BK needs to get the job done in the next two years on he needs to go. I disagree with measuring every coach against Ara. Ara’s time was different and not like today. There are many more choices today than during Ara’s time. The also had a ton of scholarships to give out during Ara’s time.

      I can’t say at this time whether the BK hiring was right or wrong. I can tell you for a fact if you hire Saban he could give two you know whats about the alumni and will tell them that. I think that the administration needs to take more chances on players like Lynch and others that academically are not up to the standards of the normal ND student. I also think they need to accept Junior College transfers. Most of these coaches that are winning NC’s in two years have one or two JC transfers sprinkled in to fill in the lack of recruitment by the prior coach. Look at what Weis is doing at Kansas, three JC transfers.

      The other issue is that under Holtz ND was the only team that was on TV all the time, which was a recruiting advantage. That advantage is gone and NBC sucks as far as telecasting games. I mean Pat Haden as an announcer for ND, why don’t you just smack us in the face.

      Finally, I hate the Wine and Cheese crowds at these games. It’s bs and a smack in the face. The game day atmosphere is like a polo match. Go to other venues it is a mad house. No home field advantage with the wine and cheese crowd. The only rowdy section in that stadium is the students. This also needs to change. I also want to state this for fact for both you and BJ, I am not part of this crowd that wants to wait until next year. I think the undoing of BK will be his handling of the QB situation. If this team had a good QB last year they would have been 10-2, but the didn’t and he totally screwed up in his handling of the situation. That is what will get him fired. As I always say a good QB can take a 7-5 team and make them 10-2.

  36. FACT, Lynch committed 1-15-2010 and then decommit in the fall in favor of FSU! At that point, what was our 1st clue? SORRY! We should have moved on!! He was never all in! It should have been obvious to our recruiter!!!

    Irish’94 Yes, ND is relevant from a National and International perspective. It does not take much to entertain Europe and the rest of the soccer world. Europe is still watching “I Love Lucy!”

    In College Football World we are relevant with an empty wallet and still have people loving it and laughing about it. Oh poor Notre Dame! Don’t tell me when flew to Utah to see Urban that the money was there! No dam snow or not…..money talks and BS walks! (There’s still snow in Columbus Ohio, right?) So who stiffed who? Tell me who really blew the negotiations? Answer: The idiot who bought the jet fuel!!

    It is the administration that favored the harvard campus look! It does not look like the ND I remember in 1970 how about you?

    Fact of the matter, money talks in the 21st Century whether we like it or not. You want to win a National Championship NOW? You better be prepared to pay for it and quit whining. Do you hear Alabama whining two years in a row?

    The big name Head Coaches are not stupid, you want me; here’s what I want! It’s just that simple. Otherwise, you end up with long term mediocre HC’s and must painfully live with it while history and heritage is flushing down the toilet! Can’t you hear the 23 years still flushing?

    Does anybody really believe we would be talking conference if we won a National Championship last year? No, our stones would be at full mast.

    Now that the University has it’s preppy look, isn’t time to buy back our real heritage?? It’s definately not going to happen until we make that decision, and stop buying work-in-progress wishful thinking HC’s? Ahhhh, THE NEXT YEAR GUYS!! Suuuuuuuuuuuure! How’s that been working out for us for 23 years!

      1. May not have too the way it’s been going. The QB derby may be the deciding factor. And whether he want’s to play or redshirt. Only BK’s knows what he’s promised to Kiel.

        Was this a trick question?

    1. JC,

      The administration needs to get it’s head out of it’s rear end. They need to realize the only reason they are able to look like Harvard is the football program. The only point that I disagree with you on is the fact that BK was a bad hire. At the time he was the hottest coach on the market. ND went and got him. Now if you want ND to get some stones, if BK doesn’t work out you go after a big named coach at a program and offer some big bucks. That will show they are serious about their program. Urban shunned ND not for the money, but because ND wouldn’t relax the admissions standards. His old boss whined all the time that it was the fact that Admissions caused his firing and not his lack of being a good head coach.

  37. And one more point. Let’s leave Lynch alone. So the kid wasn’t happy and wanted to go back to Florida. I’ve spent many a winter in South Bend. There’s no sun for 5 months and it’s cold. It clearly is not Florida. One guy doesn’t make a program. So thank him for his contributions and wish him well.

    Another point about transfers. It happens everywhere! ND is not some special home to transfers. In fact, here is the headline from the Alabama sports page in the summer of 2011.
    Alabama Football: Are Transfers from Bama’s Football Team Hurting the Program?

    1. I-94,

      I agree that we should thank Lynch for an outstanding preformance as a freshmen.

      He worked hard on the field and in the classroom.

      He stayed out of trouble and didn’t do anything to embarress his University or himself.

      He is certainly free to make choices that are in his own best interest.

      But on the flip side, when Kelly recruited him he put all the ND cards on the table.

      There was no sugar coating anything.

      AL new what he was getting, new what he was getting into, and knew the rules and what was expected of him.

      ND and Alabama are night and day in their approch to recruiting and how they percieve the student athlete.

      When ND makes a scholarship offer it is ALWAYS a full four (sometimes 5 ) year agreement with emphisis placed on successfull graduation.

      ND gives their “Word” on this, and exspects the same level of commitment in return from the student athlete.

      The: “Are Transfers from Bama”s Football Team hurting the Program” headline is misleading.

      Alabama under Sabin always over-recruits year after year.
      In order to meet the required number of scholarship players allowed by the NCAA, they “Pull” an exsisting scholarshipS (normally from the previous year) and give it to a more talented incoming freshmen.

      This practice of “culling” young people, or in this case, student athletes, goes agianst everything that Notre Dame stands for.

      ND never has, and never will do business that way.

      And for that, I am thankfull!

  38. Irish ’94,

    1) The Big 10 Network isn’t NBC!

    2) How long has it been since ND’s been relevant?

    3) How many coaches has ND been through in that time?

    4) So who’s the right coach?

    I grant you that BK still has a chance. I have gone on record and said so in the past. However, I don’t take anything about ND football for granted anymore. I’m tired of the wait-til-next year crowd (since next year seems never to come!) and of the ND has all it needs to compete already crowd. Both are very naive. ND is for today’s HS superstar old news. An afterthought. Yes, ND can still recruit. But what about after another decade of mediocrity. Do we really want to wait and see how relevant ND will be after 10 mores of futility.

    Or do we want to see ND get better right away. More and more, I’m beginning to think about the wisdom of joining a conference and having something to play for other than a NC every year. ND has to do something different to change its fortune. Fortune favors the bold!

    Let’s hope BK is the man for the job. If not, ND’s running out of options. Not only do the big-names not want the ND job, but ND shouldn’t want them. Last thing I want to see 2 years from now is Bobby Petrino being introduced as ND’s new football coach! (I’m stretching the point for effect!)

    1. I’m not saying the Big 10 network is NBC I am merely just making the point that the NBC deal isn’t what it used to be. There is so much TV money to go around now that being on NBC isn’t an advantage.

      And good or bad, ND is still completely relevant. It amazes me every day. I graduated years ago, basically, the last time we were good and to this day nobody gets talked about more than ND. We are basically the equivalent of Purdue on the field but nobody captures more hate or love than ND football.

      We can and will be good again. Maybe this year, maybe next but it will happen. Look at Stanford. Just need the right coach and right QB and we are Top 10 again. The glory days are over, but they are over for everybody. Nobody will every win all the time every year. Look at Oklahoma, USC, Alabama, FSU, Miami. Great for a decade and then fall off. They will cycle back up and then cycle down.

      Look, I’m tired of waiting too, we are due for some success. But I will never give up and say it’s over. All of these excuses I see on this board just drive me nuts. Excuses are for losers. It’s clear why we haven’t won since I was there. Bad coaches. Davie, Willingham, Weis. Same reason Oklahoma was bad before Stoops, USC was bad before Carrol and why Miami has been bad lately. Alabama was bad before Saban. The difference between ND and all those programs is when we are bad we are still RELEVANT for some crazy reason. Florida was bad for the first time in a while last year and they stopped selling out home games. Never happens at ND and we barely go .500 for 20 years. It’s the ND nation!!

      I for one believe in BK. I think he is trying to build an entire program from the ground up. This thing was in shamble when he got here. He had to tear it down and sacrifice short term winning for the long haul (in my opinion). Otherwise we would have had Weis all over again. Short term winning but then the whole thing crumbles on itself.

      Anyway, enjoy the debate.
      Go Irish!

      1. Irish ’94:

        Good points.

        I agree that the NBC deal isn’t what it used to be. But the powers that be at ND clearly disagree with us and see things differently. So I guess there must be something that we’re not factoring in there.

        ND is relevant today. Yes. But my point, Irish ’94, is will it continue to be relevant after another decade of futility. Case in point. Our game against Navy is a 9 am kick off! Last time we played Navy in Ireland it was a more suitable afternoon game. For goodness sake, ND-Navy will be kicking-off at 6 am on the West Coast! That’s a measure of how much significance ND has lost.

        If ND keeps on losing it will cease to be a factor. Irish ’94: Look at the Montreal Canadiens in hockey (ironically, they last won the Stanley Cup in ’93, the same year ND competed for a NC). They are to hockey what the Irish are to college football. However,even in Canada (with the exception of Quebec), the Canadiens are increasingly becoming an after thought. Lose and people stop caring one way or the other.

        Excuses are for losers. So let’s stop making them, Irish ’94. Let’s not bring up the mediocre coaches, staffs, play-calling, bad breaks, etc.

        All the programs you mention above play in conferences. So even during those stretches of time when they weren’t playing for a NC, they were making regular bowl appearances. They were winning bowl games. ND hasn’t done that since ’93. We’ve won 2 bowl games since that time! Keep that up for another decade and let’s see how relevant ND football will be.

        And, the Cubs sell out Wrigley Field every game. How’s that worked out for them? Perhaps if Cubs’ fans stopped showing up and demanded more and better of that organization, things might change on the North Side. Perhaps ND fans should demand excellence lest we become as irrelevant as the Cubs.

        Let’s hope BK proves he’s up to the challenge. Because I don’t know of where to go next. Skip Holtz? A young up and coming coordinator? An NFL guy? It seems we’re running out of things we haven’t tried. Of course, the one thing ND hasn’t done since Lou Holtz is bring in a big-name, proven winner.

        Go Irish!

  39. Some recruits these days have huge egos and are IMMATURE!

    Kelly and company are doing a great job recruiting, but some kids today are immature.
    They have way more given to them then the players of 10/20 years ago. plus their being babied by their parents even after they left for college and it delays their maturing process. they feel entitled with everything they do and its a shame. Some can stick it out and reap the rewards for the rest of their life, while others want things NOW and jump ship. And who can blame them, they are celebrities b4 they even play a college game.

    The problem with Lynch was many things…from what has been said. Fiance back home, moms home cooking, it all snowballed and was just be too much to deal with for him.

    Maybe Lynch is thinking this:
    —–leave Notre Dame hmm..
    – Dont have to put so much studying in…
    – Go back home, see my girl…
    – Mom will wash my clothes and feed me more often…
    – Hook up with local college in Florida, put some work in…
    They say im gonna be a top NFL draft pick anyway..So i’ll play for a year…Ball up and declare for NFL draft. $$ CHA-CHING!!…All from sunny Florida.

    OR….Stay at ND and contribute to the tradition and work towards a National Championship?

    NAHHHH—screw tradition man, i gotta get mine…Im gonna be a millionaire within 2 years…Might as well go home..Live large!

  40. Lynch is a huge loss. With an inexperienced secondary we needed our best
    pass rusher more than ever. It looks like 7-5 or 6-6. Someone said power
    run. Do you see any large running backs out there that can do that?

  41. Golson and Kiel looked very good in practice #14 video. Goodman said in his opinion Rees looked liked he was winning the derby so far. Rees actually looked good running 8-10 yards in practice. Amazing! But, did any 300lb lineman rough him up? Hahaha!

  42. I just don’t understand the mind set of some of these kids.

    You get a free ride to one of the top schools in the country.
    A chance to have your name placed along side some of the greatest college football players of all time.

    A chance to travel, and see the world.

    And this kids’ priority is that ne misses his girl friend, home, and mommy???

    It wasn’t all that long ago that kids that came to ND got to call home once a week. Think about that. Once a week!

    There were no cell phones, text messaing, lap-tops, facebook or twitter accounts.
    It was an exclusivly all male school that took high school kids and made men out of them.

    Kids came here to grow up, get an education, experience independance, and become a part of a very special football legacy.

    In that regard, ND failed number #19…. or maybe #19 just didn’t have the maturity and backbone to begin with.

    1. agree! i think it also shows the immaturity of these players that left. people say “well they’re still kids @ 18/19” but what about the ones that stick it out and challenge themselves? they have a maturity level these guys dont have….and maybe its best for ND, talented player with loads of up-side…but ND will move on.

    2. Shazamrock,

      You need to understand all these kids think they are going to the NFL. They are so hyped up by recruiting services and college coaches and Rivals, 247 and Scout camps that by the time they reach a college campus they figure three years of college football and off to the pros. The problem is they are still on injury away from being a guy with no degree and back to square one if they don’t focus on the education. I blame the NCAA for that. If the NCAA was serious they would attach graduation rate to scholarships, but they don’t. Most SEC schools average betwee 40 to 50% graduation rates. Until more emphasis is placed on developing Student Atheletes ND will ha ve trouble.

      1. Shaz,

        Absolutely spot on!

        ND fans need to realize that we’re at a disadvantage. The NCAA favors the corrupt and illegal.

        I, for one, find it hard to believe ND will ever be a contender again given the current climate created by the NCAA. We may compete for a BCS bowl every decade or so but won’t really be able to regularly compete for a NC.

        Either the NCAA changes or ND somehow changes. I don’t foresee either happening anytime soon. So we might as well get used to the new reality of ND as a 2nd tier program.

        With time, even ND’s heritage will be forgotten and ND football will truly become irrelevant. No more sweet TV deals, no more football financing the athletic dept., no more anything we as ND football fans have taken for granted. Nothing!

        As you an tell, I’m just very discouraged by what I see as ND’s troubles getting and keeping big-time talent. The kind of talent ND needs to regain its past (and rapidly fading) glories.

        I hope that the ND administration does something to make ND more attractive to kids like Zorich, Rice, Waters, Bettis, etc. All these guys were at risk kids. All became ND legends.

      2. Indiana make more from the Big Ten Network than ND does from NBC so the sweet TV deal argument doesn’t hold up anymore.

        ND can win, it just takes the right coach leading the program. BK could still be the guy we just don’t know yet.

  43. Good point. Hopefully they can set him up with a good looking co-ed on campus to reduce transfer risk.

  44. Another fine example of BK’s wordsmith skillset over on NBCsports.com Notre Dame Central.

    “When Everett got here it was the unconscious incompetence,” Kelly said. He didn’t know he did’nt know. And then he’s grown to a conscious competence, but it’s so hard for him every day to be that guy. But he’s trying so hard. He wants to do it. He will do it. We just wish it was sooner, but it’s going to come.”

    WOW, I wonder if BK is related to Les Miles. How do you polish either t_rd? Unimaginable word selection: “unconscious incompetence” YOU GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! Suuuuuure BK, how do we know we know, duh? I wonder if the same holds true for BK when he 1st got here? Never mind we are ALREADY on Plan B with fingers crossed!

  45. JC,

    I agree with u with the comment CLASSLESS. Unfortunately, my friend keeps telling me I told u so. Refering back how Kelly Left Cincy in a BIG 4 Game.

    Last Yr ND had a chance for a National Championship or Atleast a top ten finish…

    They Lost Crist- Jonas Gray- Floyd- Smith- Blanton- Flemming among others. now include lynch

    They were stack and we played like a divided unit. Not as a team and we bench our best QB potential superstar after the first half mostly due to Jonas Gray fumble. Classless, CLueless, and loyalless <— not a word but fits

    1. I imagine every ND fan will be pulling for Crist this season. But dont blame BK. Crist also fumbled away a score vs USC for a 14 pt swing. And had been injured or overthrowing passes for 1.5 yrs under BK. It was time Crist started producing in order to gain loyalty.

  46. Kelly is going after elite high school talent who he knows deep down are fringe ND caliber student athletes, in that they may not be able to handle the workload and general life (or lack-thereof) in South Bend. In the future he’ll either learn how to get them to actually stay enrolled once they sign, or he’ll give up and pursue the typical player who can handle the classwork and is usually mediocre on the field. ND should just join the Big East or whatever BCS conference is the weakest and try excelling vs. inferior competition. There’s really no point in scheduling Oklahoma and Miami when we typically get it handed to us by Mich and USC annually. Not to mention constant struggles with MSU and Stanford. Oh, and dont forget about Navy, BC and Pitt. This year doesn’t look good. Eifert is going to basically play WR. Kelly thinks he’s going to be a Grokowski. Plus our secondary is going to get eaten alive. Fox is awful, Carlo is mediocre, and Ishaq will prove to be way overrated.

    1. George,
      Why don’t ND just compete in conference USA. The administration needs to realize without that football program they are the St. Mary’s of Indiana. They need to figure out a way to compete again. They need to stop looking at themselves as the castle on the hill and realize their roots. They are the Fighting Irish. A little school that was originally the under dog. They need to still go after people like Lynch and get them there and see if they flourish like Rice and Zorich.

      1. I agree. If they’re not going to do what it takes to compete at the highest level, then quit acting like a high level team! Its like they expect big time wins to just happen. They think, “lets just keep doing what we’ve been doing and someday things will get better.” WRONG.
        Conf USA is a good idea. The only problem is that we already know ND cannot handle Tulsa, and I also wouldn’t like our chances against Houston or SMU. Oh well… as long as they keep televising the games, I’d be ok with it.

  47. Scav,

    That’s what I like about your posts you get right to the tough questions.
    To be honest with you, my choice probably won’t arrive for awhile by way of running a big time program as the next step. Therefore, my hope is Kelly cleans up his PR skills concerning the players to instill goodwill.

    As you already know, football is about attitude so with the right attitude anything is possible. I am not against Kelly, I am however against his sharp tongue in the media against the players. As we all know the blame game does not resonate very well with the players! (i.e., Teo’s facebook comments: “I’m now playing for my bro’s”).

    Now to answer your question: In approximately 3 years after BK’s contract is up; with or without a Championship. I would like to see Skip Holtz here for I believe he has Championship blood and ND character in him. And we will probably find out soon whether he can operate a big time program such as Arkansas. More than likely he will be heading to Arkansas with a program built to go. If not there it will be somewhere else and eventually to ND I pray.

    By the way, there is no such thing a Messiah Coach to compare to the coaching position at ND. All colleges have a different modus operandi, so it is difficult to claim Urban and Saban somehow don’t deserve their Championship Titles by not winning at ND. Sorry, let’s not be bitter because they don’t want to coach here. We are not their problem and their paychecks are not signed by ND. But guess what, they are the new gold standard of NCAA college football at the moment whether we like it or not!

    Before talking about being independent, lets talk about South Bend’s wonderful Haha “Florida” weather! I just recently moved from good old South Bend because of the lousy weather! And I moved South I might add: Warm, Warm and Warm! Love it!!!

    Which leads to the statement I agree with you 100% “Winter’s suck in South Bend.” Amen brother Scav, however, one must realize when in “Rome do like the Romans!” Urban took the Florida job so he did not have to recruit out of the state of Florida! Urban knew after 6 years recruiting for Lou; winter’s really suck in “South Bend!”

    We can’t expect these warm weather young men not to get COLD FEET! I believe we need to refocus our recruiting efforts primarily in the cold weather states! I would be willing to bet serious money that translates into less transfers!

    I also agree non-conference independence is a problem. As I stated in past posts ND needs to be proactive in creating their OWN conference before they are forced into one. The benefits are far greater by taking a proactive roll!

    Finally, I do not feel sorry for BK on the QB quagmire. Jack posted a brilliant synopsis on the QB derby strategy on how he would handle it coming from an ex-QB perspective. I’m sure you read his post. So on that note we will have wait and see who starts.

    Scav great post and questions, thank you.

  48. I’m tired of all the blame being put on BK. This kid is an obvious talent, BK is paid to get kids like this and he delivered. If the kid is homesick, how is that his fault? Let’s talk about what BK has done… Recruited highly touted kids on both sides of the ball, developed depth, and DEVELOPED these kids he is getting. He is doing things that his three predecessors couldn’t do, develop a team year in and year out. I do think BK will win and be successful here, it’s the beginning of year 3, not year 5…I wish nothing but the best to Lynch, 18 year old kids make mistakes, Good Luck Aarron. GO IRISH!!

  49. Michael,

    BK put it writing above he knew full well Arron was highly likely to get home sick. Then turned it around as Arron’s fault! Classless, again in the media! Imagine that! When the fact of the matter is the young man was over sold on ND. Otherwise, he would still be here period.

    I understand your point of view, however this is a pattern of not recruiting the correct profile for a ND football recruit. Counting stars only vs indepth profile assessment is flat not doing your job period! Personal issues are or should be at the top of any recruiters list if they expect to keep their job and the recruit! I’m sure ND nation loves being embarrassed like this on a remarkable regular basis with Kelly in charge!

    As to the past, I referenced to validate the present. I can’t remember the last time we have had a FOUR man race for the starting job of QB! Believe me when I tell you I am indeed looking forward. However, not looking forward to the culmination of the QB derby the way it is being implemented.
    Which yields a fair amount of light on current player revolving door frequency. Not good news! If your not genuine there is no foundation.

    By the way, I enjoy your posts keep them coming.

    1. JC,

      I agree with you on a lot of your points and maybe Kelly isn’t the man for the job. But if he isn’t than who is?

      Each year it is becoming more and more clear that it’s ND’s fault that this team is no longer competing for BCS bowl berths and the NC. You see, I think it would be hard for any coach to win at ND these days.

      Being independent is making it harder and harder each year to qualify for a BCS bowl. These kids don’t have a conference championship to play for, winter’s suck in South Bend, they are expected to actually go to class and graduate, and everyone is on TV now. So, the kids that look for a ticket to the NFL are not coming to ND.

      Everyone talks about how great Meyer and Saban are, but they have not proven themselves by winning at ND. Kelly won big at Cincy, why isn’t he winning big here? I believe he is handcuffed by the past of ND. He has so much pressure to win right away that he will not even try the QB that actually fits his system.

      So while he is not blameless, it’s time we start looking at ND as a whole and ask ourselves is 8-5 who we are or is there a Messiah coach we haven’t found yet. I just don’t think ND is going to be what we want them to be until they get into a conference.

      Just my opinion

  50. Can’t wait to see who’s NOT the blame when the over-crowded circus QB derby blows-up! Yeah, Urban and Saban run these wonderful and ubiquitous QB’s contests all the time! Suuuuure! 2nd year in a row for Mr. Blameless. Boy, Mr. Blameless sure was an outstanding 1/2 game loyal to the QB derby winner last year. Amazing, now that’s keeping your word to your new starter! I’m sure all these guys are looking forward to starting atleast a one full game at ND!

    OK Plan B, lets play all four QB’s and blame the cheerleaders if it don’t work out. Or better yet, lets blame the stadium ushers they should know better!

    Can’t imagine Mr. Blameless is clueless on who his starting QB should be after 2-1/2 years. Especially with only one real spread QB on the roster? But hey, let’s go out and recruit a (non-fit) non-spread QB because we don’t have enough recruits this year. But quess what, all those pretty stars look like brownie points and certainly looks fashionable for ND.

    But duh? why do we have transfers?? It can’t be Mr. Blameless?

    But, Shhhhhhhhhhh! Let’s tell these guys they all got shot so we don’t lose anyone. Plus we’ll dummy down the play’s so it’s fair to everyone to be convincing!

    Definately a rock solid foundation for success heading in the right direction!

    Go Irish!

    1. Who’s to blame for a kid unhappy w/South Bend while missing his girl friend and the Florida scene? No one.

      Who’s to blame for recruiting the #1QB this year when he had no clear cut future QB @ ND? BK, I guess-if blame is the right word.

      But JC, I’ll give you what appears to be a desperate BK who believed Rees would be adequate enough to win the most with Rees (and would have had won 9) if our”D” not blown the Michigan game. But I,too, believe Crist could have as well.

      Let’s move forward and quit looking back.

    2. Gunner is a great fit for Kelly’s spread. Perfect in fact. Big, strong, accurate, smart, played the spread in high school, & can easily break off 8-10 yard gains with his feet. I’m all in!

  51. If Kelly is so bad, why did Floyd, Teo, and Eifert stay instead of going pro? Kids transfer all the time and it seems this is more about a girl than about Kelly or Notre Dame.

    The problem is there is no such thing as commitment anymore with the younger generation and a lot of them think about today only. They do not realize that life is connected and decisions made today will affect the future.

    However, this team is not made up of one person, it is a program. I think Kelly is laying a solid foundation for the program and is heading in the right direction.

    1. Scav,

      In answer to your question.

      Floyd and Eifert both recieved a third round grade from the NFL’s underclassman advisory panel. Which more than likely threw a wet blanket on coming out early.

      As for Teo, a friend of the family posted right here on uhnd: “Kelly had nothing to do with Teo staying.”

  52. Lynch’s transfer is really disappointing. I think he is making a big mistake and throwing away the opportunity of a lifetime – a degree from Notre Dame. Who is giving advice to this kid? I guess the education is really not important to a lot of kids and that is really sad. Very, very few of these kids will play professionally.

    Lynch appears to be very talented but not committed to the Notre Dame family. I believe he will one day truly regret this decision.

    Enough about Lynch. I look forward to seeing those kids who are committed to playing for Notre Dame this upcoming season! Go Irish!

  53. Notre Dame is relevant, and always will be. People like Kelly help it to be, and to stay, truly relevant.

  54. I’m sick of people blaming Kelly for this. And also blaming Kelly for Tee, Deontay, and Darby. They r all kids making grown up decisions and lets face it ND doesn’t exactly draw people in anymore. 18 year olds wanna go to the beach not do school work and win championships. And none of those fit ND. That is why ND will never b relevant again. Not because Kelly lost out on 4 players

  55. Just doesn’t seem like a well thought out decision by a player with a very good chance of leaving early for the NFL.

  56. A very disturbing trend for Kelly.He recruits key players, but then they defect on signig day, or transfer out.Guess we need to get used to 8-5 as the new Gold Standard.

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