Montana Doesn’t Continue Family Tradition

Nick Montana won’t continue the family tradition of playing quarterback for Notre Dame.  The Oaks Christian signal caller committed to Washington and new head coach Steve Sarkisian according to the Seattle Times.  Montana, one of the top targets on the board for Notre Dame at quarterback, picked the Washington over traditional power houses like Notre Dame, LSU, Ohio State, and Alabama.

“He’s an awesome coach,” Nick Montana said. “You just have to look at all the guys he’s put into the pros.”

“He [Sarkisian] is going to get the place turned around,” Montana said.

Montana said his father had no complaints that his son wouldn’t follow his South Bend footsteps, saying “he’s pumped up as well.”

With Montana off the board, look for Notre Dame to put the full court press on Andrew Hendrix who visited Notre Dame this week.   Hendrix won’t bring the fanfare with him that Montana would have, but some believe that Hendrix has more upside than Montana.  In fact, Brian Smith recently wrote on the Irish Sports Daily blog that Hendrix sits atop his priority list of remaining recruits.

Yes, I believe Hendrix to be a better player than Montana, not that Montana is a slouch by any stretch of the imagination. If not Hendrix, then Montana goes into this slot. Notre Dame needs a big-time signal caller for this class.

While it would have definitely be great to have another Montana line up under center for the Irish, Weis and staff will have to move on and focus on landing a top notch quarterback like Hendrix for this class after not signing a quarterback last year.

Another name to look out for is Luke Massa.  Massa visited for the Blue/Gold game and is a teammate of offensive tackle recruit Matt James.  Massa does not yet have an offer from the Irish, but with prospects like Montana, Jake Heaps, and Austin Hinder off the board for the Irish, Notre Dame might have to widen its search for a quarterback for this class.