Eric Shrive to Penn State
Notre Dame received the first blow to its 2009 recruiting class Thursday when Eric Shrive made a surprise commitment to Penn State.
West Scranton offensive lineman Eric Shrive, one of the top offensive line prospects in the state, committed to Penn State’s 2009 class Thursday, according to a report in the Scranton Times.
The addition of Shrive is somewhat of a surprise, as most recruiting experts believed Notre Dame was in the the lead for his services.
Shrive is considered one of the best offensive linemen in the country and was thought to be at the top of Notre Dame’s wish list. Tall, athletic tackles like Shrive are hard to come by and are a hot commodity in football as evidenced by the Dolphins taking Jake Long #1 overall in last month’s draft.
What makes matters even more disappointing is that Shrive was considered to be all but a lock for the Irish just a couple months ago.
With Shrive off the board, Weis and staff will most likely have the full court press on Xavier Nixon as their top tackle.
I updated our 2008 Recruiting Board with Shrive’s commitment.
Frank Vitovitch has been Co-Owner and Editor in Chief of UHND.com since joining forces with Kyle Flavin in 1999. Since that time, he has written over 2,000 articles covering Notre Dame football, recruiting, and basketball. He also works with all staff and external writers on all articles published on UHND.com. Frank's love for Notre Dame football started at a young age watching Rocket Ismail give opposing coaches ulcers in the late 1980's. By day Frank works in marketing and holds a degree in Digital Media from Drexel University. Frank's work has been cited by online/print editions of NBC Sports, ESPN, and Sports Illustrated and has been quoted on air by ESPN's Collin Cowherd. He's conducted interviews with Notre Dame legends Rocket Ismail, Randy Kinder, Lee Becton, Reggie Brooks, Michael Stonebreaker, and Ned Bolcar among others over his 20+ years of covering Notre Dame football. He's also been published in the print edition of USA Today Sports Weekly and the USA Today College Football Preview multiple times. Other Published Works/Citations for Frank Three Reasons Notre Dame Will Beat Alabama - USA Today Notre Dame Suspends WR Kevin Stepherson, RB C.J. Holmes Indefinitely - Bleacher Report Notre Dame / Ohio State Fiesta Bowl Preview - Eleven Warriors Brace Yourself: The Fighting Irish are Relevant Again - Sports on Earth Interviews with the Enemy: A Q&A with Frank Vitovitch of UHND - Yahoo! Sports Five Good Minutes: Notre Dame Football Preview With UHND.com - BC Interruption Vicious Electronic Questioning with UHND - MGO Blog
He was never a ND fan if he committed to State Penn.
No, you can’t get everybody you go after, buy you have to lock up the kids who grew up rooting for you – especially when they are 5 star talents and are at your biggest position of need.
This was a pretty big loss, even though it’s early. Shrive was almost gift wrapped for us, and he ended up at PSU.
you can’t get everybody you go after,especially this soon,otherwise all the hype would end to quick.
ND could also get Nick Alajajian but it looks like he wants to stay in his home state
Yes it does, let’s hope we get Xavier Nixon who some believe may be better than Shrive. Still a huge blow to lose a kid who grew up rooting for ND this freaking early.
that sucks