ND Recruiting: A Ten Year Recap (Part V)

WeNeverGraduate's week long five part series analyzing the last ten years of Notre Dame Recruiting draws to a close today. In the final installment we examine the last two classes inked by Brian Kelly. It's impossible to assign an exit score for these two groups because the Class of 2010 has only had a year to make an impact while the vast majority of 2011 is still sitting in high school history classes jockeying for prom dates.

We'll take a dive in nonetheless, but before that here's a quick ranking of the contribution percentages and exit scores of the previous eight classes per the request of Piper.

Contribution Percentage
1. 2003 (71%)
2. 2007 (66%)
3. 2008 (65%)
4. 2009 (61%)
5. 2005 (53%)
6. 2002 (50%)
7. 2006 (43%)
8. 2004 (25%)

Exit Score
1. 2008 (48)
2. 2003 (45)
3. 2007 (39)
4. 2009 (32)
5. 2005 (25)
6. 2002 (21)
7. 2006 (18)
8. 2004 (5)

What to draw from these stats? There are a few things.

First of all, the Class of 2004 was epically horrendous and is the root cause for the 2007...I just spent three minutes trying to think of a word that's 10x stronger than disaster, catastrophe, and apocalyptic event rolled into one. There's a Lindsay Lohan joke that's just hovering in the meat of the strike zone but we're just going to let it go.

Another key takeaway helps explain why Weis ultimately failed: the Class of 2006 was a colossal, momentum killing bust. I've heard some accounts that Charlie saw what was coming in the '07-'08 seasons due to the recruiting crater left by the '04 and '05 classes. The low numbers (even before transfers) essentially acted as a self-imposed scholarship probation; the lack of talent across the board deepened the hole.

His three year plan to reemerge hinged on laying a strong foundation in his first full recruiting effort. He came out with guns blazing and landed a class huge on numbers (28) and high on hype (first Top 10 class in years). It was pegged to be the foundation of the rebuilding effort. When it crumbled and less than half made any contribution (while not one person emerged as a star...only class in this study where that was the case) it helped drive the nail in Charlie's coffin.

The good news is that the classes that followed that one have made larger impacts and have had far more significant contributions. It appears things are headed in the right direction not only in terms of bringing in highly touted classes but seeing that hype translate into productivity and ultimately wins. The players in the Class of 2008 are only just now rising seniors yet their Exit Score is already higher than the vaunted Class of 2003's. The Class of 2009 already has a 61% contribution score and they're only rising juniors!

All in all things are looking up. Now let's get to the final two classes.

Class of 2010

THE HYPE
Rivals Ranking: #14
Number of Recruits: 23
5-Stars: 0
4-Stars: 10
3-Stars: 12
2-Stars: 1
Arrival Score: 55 (#4 since 2002)

THE REALITY
Superstars: 0
Major Contributors: 1
Contributors: 4
Non-Descript/Liability: 4
Transfers/Never Played: 18
Contribution Pct.: Too early to fairly assess
Current Score: +15, -2 Transfers, -1 Matt James

Cat 1 – NONE
Cat 2 – Rees
Cat 3 – Schwenke, Jones, Jackson, Shembo
Cat 4 – Spond, Collinsworth, Smith, Wood
Cat 5 – Boyd, Roback, James, Moore, Nichols, Nix, Massa, Lombard, Hendrix, Heggie, Badger, Roberson, Utupo, Welch

Brian Kelly's first recruiting effort was light on superstars and heavy on what he infamously called "RKG's," which is an abbreviation for "Right Kind of Guys." He stocked the class with athletes that fit his system even if they weren't necessarily recognized as the most elite by the recruiting services.

When he'd finished he'd amassed a solid if not spectacular class that infused much needed numbers and depth to the roster. Three quarterbacks enrolled including Tommy Rees who would lead the Irish to four straight victories to end the season when starter Dayne Crist was knocked out. On the defensive side of the ball Prince Shembo and Kona Schwenke both earned playing time as the year wore on, showing that they would be capable of contributing earlier in their careers than many anticipated.

This class has already lost three members and most likely will lose one or two more to transfers, but early reports show that a significant amount fit Kelly's system and are poised to make their mark whether it be next year or when they're upperclassmen.

Here are some quick hit predictions for guys who vault themselves from Category 5 to Category 1 or 2 in the next couple years:

* NT Louis Nix...the immovable object is penciled in as a starter by coaches and as superstar by fans.
* OT Tate Nichols...one of the lowest rated recruits of the class, he's a athletic freak who will find a way into the starting lineup on the O-Line.
* OT Christian Lombard...word is that he's been extremely impressive and like Nichols is poised to make an impact.
* LB Kendall Moore...he was scout team defensive player of the year and is a perfect fit for inside linebacker.
* S Chris Badger...a forgotten man since he's on a Mormon mission, but he's a smart player who will step in and provide immediate (and crucial) quality depth when he returns in 2012.

Class of 2011

THE HYPE
Rivals Ranking: #9
Number of Recruits: 23
5-Stars: 2
4-Stars: 8
3-Stars: 12
2-Stars: 1
Arrival Score: 57 (#3 since 2002)

THE REALITY - Impossible to assess.

Brian Kelly has answered a lot of the critics that didn’t believe he could recruit on a national level this off-season by delivering a consensus top ten class. A highly touted group of high schoolers pledging their commitment to ND isn’t something that’s particularly new—Charlie Weis brought in some huge and even higher rated hauls—but what has Irish fans especially excited is the fact that this class is loaded with potential difference makers on the defensive side of the ball.

The three stories that accompany the three commitments of Stephon Tuitt, Aaron Lynch, and Ishaq Williams show exactly why this staff deserves nothing less than an A for this year’s recruiting cycle. All three seemed bound for other schools—in fact, two were well publicized Notre Dame decommitments—but relentless work by Bob Diaco, Chuck Martin, Tony Alford, and the big man BK himself ensured that all three ended up in blue and gold.

With Tuitt, the trio of Diaco, Martin, and Kelly were in his living room within 24 hours of his decommitment from Notre Dame and by the time they left he was back in the fold. Aaron Lynch was ready to enroll in Florida State just days before Tony Alford was able to sway him back to Notre Dame. And perhaps most famously, Bob Diaco paid Ishaq a 4:30am visit the morning he was supposed to visit Penn State and convinced him to head to the Midwest instead of central Pennsylvania.

The class itself is not flawless which is why it’s not an A. There are holes that must be addressed quickly in the next recruiting cycle (CB, RB, NT) and some stinging misses, but this was a serious “mythbusting” class.

The myth that Notre Dame couldn’t recruit top defensive talent was debunked by landing three of the top five defensive ends in the country according to Rivals. The myth that Notre Dame was forever doomed to lose every major defensive line recruit that gave a verbal commitment was busted. And perhaps most importantly (at least in the mind of skeptics among the Irish Faithful), the myth that Brian Kelly was too “small-time” to handle national recruiting was proved completely false thanks to his effort and the staff’s entire body of work.

Things are snowballing in South Bend—and for once the momentum is headed in the right direction.

ND Recruiting: A Ten Year Recap (Part IV)

The recap rolls on with the fourth of five installments. For a recap of the class of '02 and '03 along with a layout of the rating system refer to Day #1. Day #2 and Day #3 are also available.

Today we examine the rising juniors and seniors that arrived on campus in the summers of '08 and '09. You'll notice an uptick in the contribution percentage; the 65% and 61% lag behind only the class of '03 (71%) and '07 (66%) since 2002.

What does that mean? We hope it will translate to better results, but it should equal better depth as these classes mature as upperclassmen. These are the first two classes in this 10-year period we're examining to have more than 60% of its players make any sort of impact (and obviously there's still plenty of time for more to emerge).

Class of 2008

THE HYPE
Rivals Ranking: #2
Number of Recruits: 23
5-Stars: 3
4-Stars: 16
3-Stars: 4
2-Stars: 0
Arrival Score: 68 (#2 since 2002)

THE REALITY
Superstars: 3
Major Contributors: 6
Contributors: 6
Non-Descript/Liability: 7
Transfers/Never Played: 1
Contribution Pct.: 65%
Exit Score: 48

Cat 1 – Floyd, Rudolph, T. Robinson
Cat 2 – Blanton, Fleming, E. Johnson, Lewis-Moore, Slaughter, Cave
Cat 3 – Crist, Cwynar, Filer, Goodman, H. Williams, Gray
Cat 4 – McDonald, Walker, Posluszny, Newman, McCarthy, Golic, Cleeland
Cat 5 – Fauria

According to the recruiting services, this was the highest rated class Notre Dame inked since Lou Holtz's 1995 off-season campaign. It fell just short of the Class of 2006 in terms of Arrival Score in this metric (69 to 68), but that's only because the '06 group had 10 more players than this one. What made this far and away Weis' most impressive recruiting effort was the fact it came on the heels of a 3-9 disaster that fall. His plan to restock the talent in South Bend was uninterrupted by the lack of success on the field.

Headlining the class was a trio of five-star offensive studs: wide receiver Michael Floyd, tight end Kyle Rudolph, and quarterback Dayne Crist. The first two stepped in right away as freshman and seized starting roles while Crist was groomed as the heir apparent to Jimmy Clausen. There most likely will end up being five players who earn the title four year starters when all is said and done (Floyd, Rudolph, T. Robinson, E. Johnson, and Lewis-Moore).

This was a surprisingly well rounded class for how small it was. It contained a potential three-year starter at quarterback, two potential first round picks in the receiving core, two four-year starters on the defensive line (and solid interior depth with Cwynar and Williams), and major contributors in the secondary. By the time they leave campus they may have made a serious run at the Class of 2003 for the most productive group of the last ten years.

Class of 2009

THE HYPE
Rivals Ranking: #21
Number of Recruits: 18
5-Stars: 1
4-Stars: 9
3-Stars: 5
2-Stars: 3
Arrival Score: 44 (#8 since 2002)

THE REALITY
Superstars: 5
Major Contributors: 5
Contributors: 3
Non-Descript/Liability: 3
Transfers/Never Played: 4
Contribution Pct.: 61%
Current Score: 32

Cat 1 – Te’o, Riddick, Martin
Cat 2 – Watt, Calabrese, Eifert, Motta, Wood
Cat 3 – Toma, Fox, Tausch
Cat 4 – Stockton, Cowart, Turk
Cat 5 – Evans, Banks, Bullard, Golic

This class is where it gets a bit tricky in terms of "The Reality" column because they're only rising juniors, but there have still been plenty of contributions from the 2009 haul during their two years on-campus.

This was not nearly as highly rated a class as Weis' previous three efforts, but it provided the most thrilling victory of all when Hawaiian superstar Manti Te'o selected Notre Dame over Southern Cal in front of a national audience on signing day. The monumental recruiting upset was the culmination of an extraordinary effort from Weis and his entire staff. In two short years Te'o has gone a long way in living up to the monumental hype that accompanied him from the Pacific. He's established himself as one of the country's elite linebackers and thrived in a leadership role on the defense.

Two other players that fall into Category #1 (and perhaps we're projecting a bit here) are running back/slot receiver Theo Riddick and left tackle Zach Martin. Riddick is a gamebreaker no matter where he lines up. In the end the coaching will determine whether he does his damage at running back or receiver. He began to flourish in the slot position after a bumpy start to the season, but he's poised to be a superstar no matter where he lands. Martin was the most consistent offensive lineman as a redshirt freshman and seems ready to follow in Sam Young's footsteps as a four years starter (albeit a more consistent one than Young based on early returns).

This was yet another class that was a little low on numbers. There's plenty of time for players to emerge but already 11 of the 19 have made a contribution. When this group writes its final chapter there's a good chance that another 3-4 players could bump up into the top tier which speaks to the potential this team has moving forward over the next couple years.

ND Recruiting: A Ten Year Recap (Part III)

The Recruiting Recap Series rolls on! Today we examine Charlie Weis's first two full recruiting cycles, the classes that were supposed to be the building blocks to a sustained "Return to Glory."

Class of 2006

THE HYPE
Rivals Ranking: #8
Number of Recruits: 28
5-Stars: 2
4-Stars: 10
3-Stars: 15
2-Stars: 1
Arrival Score: 69 (#1 since 2002)

THE REALITY
Superstars: 0
Major Contributors: 4
Contributors: 8
Non-Descript/Liability: 3
Transfers/Never Played: 13
Contribution Pct.: 43%
Exit Score: 18

Cat 1 – NONE
Cat 2 – Young, Stewart, Walls, Olsen
Cat 3 – Wenger, Aldridge, Brown, T. Smith, Ryan, Richardson, Parris, McNeil
Cat 4 – West, Gordon, Gallup
Cat 5 – Burkhart, Carufel, Frazer, Gaines, Jackson, Jones, Mullen, Prince, Reuland, Schmidt, Wade, Webb, Yeatman

Fans may be surprised to see that the Class of 2006 checked in as the highest rated incoming class in terms of the grading metric we're using. A big reason for that was the fact that there were a whopping 28 recruits in this haul thanks to a chance in Notre Dame policy that allowed for the first group of early enrollees.

This group was much ballyhooed by every recruiting service and reestablished the Irish as players on the national recruiting scene. Charlie Weis secured two Rivals Top 100 quarterbacks, added six highly rated offensive linemen (including 5-star Sam Young from Florida) to a position in dire need of reinforcements, and landed highly rated skill players on both sides of the ball.

Unfortunately this group turned out to be the most highly overrated group of the last ten years. The attrition it went through was staggering: a whopping 13 players either transferred or never saw the field and less than 50% made a noteworthy contribution. This was an instance where the recruiting services whiffed on their evaluations and the coaching staff failed in helping the players overachieve.

When their time on-campus was complete there was not one play who fell in the "superstar" category, the only group since 2002 (obviously other than 2010 and the current one) that failed to produce one. The minimal impact of what was supposed to be a key class in the resurrection and rebuilding of the program set the table for the failures of 2008 and 2009.

Class of 2007

THE HYPE
Rivals Ranking: #8
Number of Recruits: 18
5-Stars: 1
4-Stars: 12
3-Stars: 4
2-Stars: 1
Arrival Score: 49 (T-#5 since 2002)

THE REALITY
Superstars: 3
Major Contributors: 5
Contributors: 4
Non-Descript/Liability: 5
Transfers/Never Played: 1
Contribution Pct.: 66%
Exit Score: 39

Cat 1 – Clausen, Tate, Allen
Cat 2 – I. Williams, G. Gray, B. Smith, H. Smith, Dever
Cat 3 – Hughes, Kamara, Neal, Ragone
Cat 4 – Romine, Paskorz, Nwankwo, Nuss, Walker
Cat 5 – Nagel

Almost an entire year before signing day 2007 Notre Dame landed its biggest recruit: the nation's top-rated signal caller, Jimmy Clausen. This was significant not only because Charlie Weis had reeled in the #1 player in the country, but he plucked him from Southern Cal and Pete Carroll's backyard. Weis would pull similar robberies in Florida (Armando Allen) and Tennessee (Golden Tate and Harrison Smith) which seemed to further validate the fact that Notre Dame was more than capable of hanging with the big boys on the recruiting trail.

The combination of Clausen and Tate dazzled fans before they both took their talents to the NFL after their junior years. In their final year in South Bend, they each had arguably the best season in Irish History for their respective positions. On the other side of the ball the quartet of Ian Williams, Brian Smith, Gary Gray, and Harrison Smith all started three years (Gray and Harrison are penciled in to start their third in 2011) and played key roles in turning around a dreadful defense during their senior season.

The most surprising bust of the class was most likely offensive tackle Matt Romine. Irish fans had high hopes for him to step in right away and challenge for a starting spot after a stellar performance at the Army All-American Bowl, but injuries and inconsistency derailed him and he never made a significant impact.

This group was low on numbers but relatively high on contribution. With the exception of the 2003 class, 2007 had the highest contribution percentage of the last 10 years at 66%. It's just a shame ND fans were robbed of the senior years of one of the three most prolific duos in Irish passing history (along with Quinn-Samardzija and Huarte-Snow).

ND Recruiting: A Ten Year Recap (Part II)

It's time for installment two of five in the ten year recap of Irish Recruiting. Today we examine the classes of 2004 and 2005. After reviewing them you'll begin to understand why everything went horribly wrong in the '07-'08 campaigns.

Click here to read the first part of the series that outlines the scoring system for "Hype" and "Reality" and breaks down the 2002 and 2003 classes.

Class of 2004

THE HYPE
Rivals Ranking: #32
Number of Recruits: 16
5-Stars: 0
4-Stars: 3
3-Stars: 9
2-Stars: 6
Arrival Score: 33 (#9 since 2002)

THE REALITY
Superstars: 1
Major Contributors: 1
Contributors: 2
Non-Descript/Liability: 3
Transfers/Never Played: 9
Contribution Pct.: 25%
Exit Score: 5

Cat 1 – Walker
Cat 2 – Crum
Cat 3 – Lambert, J. Brown
Cat 4 – Vernaglia, Jabbie, Ferrine
Cat 5 – Banda, Bragg, Duerson, Hoskins, Incarnato, Kadous, Nicholas, Talley, Wolke

Here is where the wheels came off for Ty Willingham.

After suffering through a losing season punctuated with a beat down in the Carrier Dome in the final game, Willingham earned the dubious distinction of landing one of the worst classes in Notre Dame history. When they arrived on campus there was little-to-no hype. By the time they left, they had somehow found a way to crawl under the bar despite it being set almost comically low.

Darius Walker and Maurice Crum were the only two players to make a significant contribution during their time on campus. Walker burst onto the scene in the second game of his freshman season when the Irish upset a top ten ranked Michigan team. He ended up holding down the starting job for three years before entering the draft early (he was not selected). Crum surprisingly emerged as a starter his sophomore season and evolved into one of the quiet leaders of the defense.

When perusing the list of names in this class Notre Dame fans can't help but shake their heads. This failure was the root of the 2007 disaster. When less than 13% of a class fails to make a significant contribution and more than half either transfers, quits the team, or disappears on the depth chart then there are going to be serious repercussions. Unfortunately those repercussions reared their ugly heads when this class entered their senior season to the tune of nine losses, the most in Notre Dame history.

Class of 2005

THE HYPE
Rivals Ranking: #40
Number of Recruits: 15
5-Stars: 0
4-Stars: 2
3-Stars: 11
2-Stars: 2
Arrival Score: 30 (#10 since 2002)

THE REALITY
Superstars: 2
Major Contributors: 4
Contributors: 2
Non-Descript/Liability: 4
Transfers/Never Played: 3
Contribution Pct.: 53%
Exit Score: 25

Cat 1 – Bruton, McCarthy
Cat 2 – Duncan, Turkovich, Kuntz, Grimes
Cat 3 – Herring, Schwapp
Cat 4 – Hand, Quinn, Sharpley, Smith
Cat 5 – Hiben, Washington, Hord

If the wheels came off in the 2004 recruiting cycle then the resulting tailspin manifested itself in 2005. When Charlie Weis walked in the door, Notre Dame was in the midst of a dreadful recruiting class–and that was before the national media storm that engulfed South Bend after the "racially driven firing of Ty Willingham."

The few highly touted recruits Willingham had seduced over the phone on the back nine of his rounds at the Warren Course (Lawrence Jackson, Brandon Harrison, etc) quickly fled, leaving Weis with the recruiting equivalent of the Hindenburg wreckage to survey.

Rather than stack the class with low level prospects late in the game, he decided to cut losses and signed only 15 players. From this small group a surprisingly solid core emerged. Safeties David Bruton and Kyle McCarthy both helped anchor Irish secondaries from '07-'09, Paul Duncan and Mike Turkovich both emerged late in their careers as solid starters, and Patrick Kuntz evolved into one of the hardest working, productive, and like-able defensive linemen of the decade.

Unfortunately those small contributions did not make up for almost half the class making impact whatsoever. The class was so small it was almost like Notre Dame was on self-imposed probation. When seven of the fifteen recruits flopped it combined with the Class of 2004 to create a crater that set the program back at least 2-3 years.

ND Recruiting: A Ten Year Recap (Part I)

National Signing Day is without a doubt one of the most backwards days in American sports. It's an all-day event when teenagers hold press conferences, college coaches that make millions hold their breath, and middle aged men take off work to watch and scream and yell at the television depending on which hat the 18-year old decided to put on his head.

The dust has settled from 2011's edition of this bizarre ritual and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish have emerged from the roller coaster as one of the clear winners of the day.

In Survivor-esque fashion, Coach Brian Kelly and his staff outwitted, outlasted, and outplayed schools like Florida State, Penn State, and Georgia Tech to land a haul for the ages along the defensive line. Whether it was defensive coordinator Bob Diaco meeting with Ishaq Williams at 4:30am the morning he was supposed to head to Penn State or assistant Tony Alford patiently waiting out Aaron Lynch in the hotel at the Army All-American Bowl, the staff went above and beyond to ensure the bedrock of an Irish Revival was put in place.

The accolades from this class are rolling in and nearly every scouting service has Notre Dame placed squarely in the Top 10 classes in the country. Irish fans are ecstatic and of course the superlatives have begun to fly when describing the haul.

Greatest ever? Greatest of the past decade? It's time to put it in some context in regards to recent history.

In this exercise we're going to look back at every Notre Dame recruiting class since Ty Willingham took over in the 2002 off-season. It's nearly impossible to rank truly rank the more recent classes because some are still only rising sophomores and juniors and haven't been presented with the opportunity to contribute yet.

Still, what I've attempted to do is create some semblance of objectivity by devising a point system to compare the hype of the class coming in against the reality of production and contribution once they arrived on campus. When you look back at the classes and how they panned out it offers very clear evidence as to why the bottom dropped out in '07 and why Charlie just couldn't quite get over the hump in '08 and '09.

Here's the breakdown of the point system:

The Hype...This is what the classes perceived value was when they signed on NSD. I've assigned point values to each player of the class based on their Rivals rating.

5-star = 4 Points
4-star = 3 Points
3-star = 2 Points
2-star = 1 Point

The Reality...This is what the class actually contributed while at Notre Dame. Each player is individually assigned a point value on a scale of 4 to -1.

4 Points - Superstar (One of the best players of the decade for ND)
3 Points - Major Contributor (Solid multi-year starter or someone who made an undeniably large impact)
2 Points - Contributor (Someone who played a relatively significant role but was unspectacular)
1 Point - Played with No Impact or Was a Liability (Pretty self-explanatory)
-1 Point - Transferred or Never Played (Once again, self-explanatory)

Instead of subjecting everyone to about 10,000 words all at once we're going to break down this analysis into five installments of two classes each over the course of this week. Let's get to it!

Class of 2002

THE HYPE
Rivals Ranking: #24
Number of Recruits: 18
5-Stars: 0
4-Stars: 12
3-Stars: 4
2-Stars: 2
Arrival Score: 46 (#7 since 2002)

THE REALITY
Superstars: 3
Major Contributors: 2
Contributors: 4
Non-Descript/Liability: 2
Transfers/Never Played: 7
Contribution Pct.: 50%
Exit Score: 21

Category 1 – Stovall, McKnight, Fasano
Category 2 – Morton, Landri
Category 3 – Richardson, Santucci, Frome, Freeman
Category 4 – Leitko, Jenkins
Category 5 – Bonelli, Carney, Mattes, Olsen, Raridon, Ryan, Schiccatano

Willingham's first effort on the short recruiting cycle wasn't a bad one at all. The headliners of the group were clearly the highly-rated receiving tandem of Maurice Stovall and Rhema McKnight, two gamebreakers that he snatched up late in the process. The way he picked up the pieces and reeled in two explosive offensive athletes while picking up the pieces of Davie's class gave Irish fans hope that he would find a way to bring the talent on the offensive side of the ball that Davie had failed to do.

It's amazing that a class with that had 12 4-stars rated as only the 24th best class on Rivals, but you have to remember that's right when the website was getting its start. If you look at that year's ratings they tended to hand out 5-stars with reckless abandon. Rivals really tightened up their system the following year.

In any case, this class proved to have a few big hits and a lot of big whiffs.

Stovall and McKnight emerged as big threats once Charlie Weis came to town while Bob Morton turned into a four year starter. The biggest surprise was probably Mike Richardson stepping up and becoming a starter after being the lowest rated recruit in the class.

Unfortunately though, the contributions of the Class of 2002 were counteracted by the fact that half never made any sort of significant contribution on the field during their four years (in fact, seven literally never saw it in any meaningful capacity). Even if a class isn't full of star it needs to provide quality depth when the recruits mature as upperclassmen. The fact that it didn't happen here shows how the drop-off between starter and backup became so steep in the middle of the decade.

Class of 2003

THE HYPE
Rivals Ranking: #12
Number of Recruits: 21
5-Stars: 1
4-Stars: 6
3-Stars: 13
2-Stars: 2
Arrival Score: 49 (T-#5 since 2002)

THE REALITY
Superstars: 8
Major Contributors: 2
Contributors: 5
Non-Descript/Liability: 2
Transfers/Never Played: 5
Contribution Pct.: 71%
Exit Score: 45

Cat 1 – Quinn, Samardzija, Harris, Abiamiri, Laws, Carlson, Zbikowski, Ndukwe
Cat 2 – T. Thomas, Sullivan
Cat 3 – Price, Wooden, Brockington
Cat 4 – Anastasio, McConnell, M. Thomas
Cat 5 – Borseti, Gardner, Hedgemon, Parish, Stephenson

This might have been called "The Year of Irish Fools Gold, presented by Ty Willingham." After a season that saw Notre Dame ascend to the top five in the country despite having an offense that relied on the golden right foot of Nick Setta, Willingham inked the best of his three classes while in South Bend.

As the Irish Faithful soon found out, the successes on the field and on the recruiting trail were nothing more than mirages.

A late surge (and some compliance issues with the Maryland coaching staff) plopped highly touted recruits Victor Abiamiri and Ambrose Wooden into Ty's lap very late in the recruiting cycle. It ultimately salvaged what was shaping up to be a mediocre class on the surface.

By the time this group left campus, they'd carved their niche as the most successful since the Lou Holtz Era. Quarterback Brady Quinn shattered just about every Notre Dame passing record in the book. His leadership and charisma captured the attention of the nation and the hearts of Notre Dame fans. Quinn's battery mate Jeff Samardzija was on the receiving end of many of his throws as he did his part to mark his mark in Irish Lore.

Ultimately nine players would go on to play in the NFL and that didn't include Samardzija, who undoubtedly would've been a first day draft pick had he not chosen to sign with the Chicago Cubs instead.

This group won't be remembered as one of the greatest in Irish history for two reasons. First of all, almost 1/3 of the class never made any impact. This largely contributed to the dearth of depth Notre Dame faced in the middle of the decade. Secondly, their cumulative record despite two BCS berths was rather pedestrian.

It doesn't belong at the top of the Pantheon, but it shouldn't diminish just how big an impact this class had and what place it holds in fans' hearts. This was the bedrock class for a pair of BCS seasons which proved to be two of the few true bright spots in a dark, dark decade.

Top Ten Irish Recruiting Classes of All-Time

Brian Kelly has come out this recruiting season with guns blazing, landing a consensus top ten class loaded with elite prospects along both sides of the ball. The recent stretch of success where three five-star prospects along the defensive line pledged their commitment to the Irish has led fans to break out the hyperbole and start talking about how this may be the greatest class in Notre Dame history.

Only time will tell how great this class turns out to be, but today we'll examine the ten classes they'll be measured against when their time on campus is complete. If it finds a way to crack this list there's a good chance Notre Dame will be back in the upper echelon of college football's elite.

#10 - CLASS OF 1999

Headliners: Julius Jones, Gerome Sapp

Four-Year Record: 29-19

Crowning Achievement at ND: Earned berth in 2000 Fiesta Bowl…10-win season in 2002

Post-ND Achievements: One First Rounder (Faine)…One Second Rounder (Jones)

Bob Davie’s best recruiting effort ironically helped set up Ty Willingham’s year of success in 2002. The backbone of that “Return to Glory” defense was entrenched within the class of 1999. Linebacker Courtney Watson, safeties Gerome Sapp and Glenn Earl, and defensive linemen Cedric Hilliard and Darrell Campbell were all starters that arrived on campus that offseason. Perhaps the most shocking member of the class was Sapp, a top ten national prospect that the Irish managed to lure out of Texas.

On the offensive side of the ball Julius Jones brought a game-breaking home run threat at running back Notre Dame had lacked since Reggie Brooks graduated. He would go on to break the school single game rushing record in his final season against Pitt before being drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the second round of the NFL Draft.

Helping to pave the way for him were center Jeff Faine and fellow offensive lineman Brennan Curtin. Faine would go on to become a three year starter and eventually a first round draft pick.

This class even had two elite specialists! Kicker Nick Setta turned out to be a one-man offensive powerhouse in 2002 while Joey Hildbold provided consistent punting for four straight seasons—something Notre Dame fans have pined for (and not received) in quite some time.

The fruits of Davie’s labor ultimately laid the foundation for a ten win season and one of the best defenses in recent Irish history. The only problem was he wasn’t around to see the harvest.

#9 - CLASS OF 1995

Headliners: Kory Minor, Autry Denson

Four-Year Record: 33-15

Crowning College Achievement: 9-3 season in 1998

Post-College Achievements: Rosenthal went on to an 8-year career in the NFL

The Class of 1994 was Holtz’s weakest recruiting effort at Notre Dame when he failed to land a single Parade or USA Today All-American. He answered that hiccup with a monster class in 1995 where he landed a whopping 11 members of the combined aforementioned All-American teams—and that doesn’t include the verbal commits he couldn’t get by admissions like Randy Moss and James Jackson.

The biggest catch in this class was USA Today Defensive Player of the Year Kory Minor. His mother famously gave the following quote when he told her that he didn’t want to go to Notre Dame on his visit because the weather in South Bend was too cold:

“Kory, do you see that man walking over there? Do you see that young lady over there? Do you see those students over there? They can handle this weather and so can you. I can buy you a coat; I can’t buy you a Notre Dame education. You WILL tell Coach Holtz you’re coming to Notre Dame.”

In the crew that accompanied him to campus was a trio of All-American linemen (Mike Rosenthal, Jerry Wisne, Tim Ridder) and running back Autry Denson. By the time Denson left school he’d broken one of Notre Dame’s most revered records: most all-time rushing yards.

Unfortunately this class’ accolades in the press didn’t lead to an overly success tenure on the field. Lou Holtz left town after the 1996 season and in the next two seasons the Irish went to two mid-to-lower level bowls before bottoming out at 5-7 in ’99.

Many would argue that Bob Davie was the reason that this highly touted group underachieved, but it must be noted that many of the players that were so highly regarded turned out to be overrated.

In any case, this group sneaks on the list partially for the fanfare it received when it was signed and partially because they deserve the benefit of the doubt (after all, Davie was their coach when they were upperclassmen).

#8 - CLASS OF 1988

Headliners: Rocket Ismail, Rodney Culver

Four-Year Record: 43-7

Crowning College Achievement: 1988 National Championship…National Runner-up in 1989…Three major bowl victories (’89 Fiesta, ’90 Orange, ’92 Sugar)

Post-College Achievements: One First Rounder (Derek Brown)…Ismail signed the largest contract in North American football history out of college ($18.2 million over four years).

The 1988 class didn’t have a slew of superstar performers that other recruiting hauls had, but it had one man that more than made up for it: The Rocket.

Rocket Ismail burst onto the scene as a freshman, helping Notre Dame secure its 11th national championship. His electrifying speed dazzled fans and earned him two All-American honors as well as second place in the Heisman voting behind Ty Detmer in 1990.

Other major contributors included linebacker Devon McDonald, running back Rodney Culver, tight end Derek Brown, and cornerback Rod Smith. All spent time in the NFL and played large roles in notching the most wins over a four-year period in school history.

#7 - CLASS OF 1989

Headliners: Rick Mirer, Demetrius Dubose

Four-Year Record: 41-8

Crowning Achievement at ND: Three Major Bowl Victories (’89 Orange, ’91 Sugar, ’92 Cotton)

Post-ND Achievements: Two First Rounders (Mirer, Smith)…Two Second Rounders (Dubose, Brooks)

Lou Holtz used the momentum from the 1988 National Championship to help land one of the nation’s highest rated classes the following spring. The gem that landed on campus in August was the best quarterback in the country, Rick Mirer. Despite the fact that he was a dropback passer that was sought after by almost every major school, Mirer chose Notre Dame’s option attack for the education and the chance to chase championships.

After playing understudy to Tony Rice during the ’89 campaign, Mirer quickly emerged as a leader and seized the starting position for his last three years on campus. After taking Notre Dame to three major bowls as starter and setting a slew of passing records, he moved on to the NFL and was picked #2 in the 1993 Draft.

His battery mate in the backfield was classmate Reggie Brooks, brother of former Irish running back Tony Brooks. He wasn’t nearly as highly touted as Tony, but Reggie handed in one of the most spectacular seasons in Notre Dame history his senior year piling up 1,372 yards at a staggering 8.0 yard per carry. He would join Mirer in the NFL, getting swooped up by the Washington Redskins in the second round. Jerome Bettis, Mirer, and Brooks actually ended up 1-2-3 in rookie of the year voting their first year in the league, the only time three players from the same school ever swept the top three slots.

On the opposite side of the ball Demetrius Dubose and Junior Bryant helped anchor a defense that shut down Steve Spurrier’s high-flying attack in the Sugar Bowl after the ’91 season. After productive careers in South Bend they both went on to log substantial time in the NFL.

This class was essential to Holtz continuing the momentum he’d built in his first three years in South Bend and provided key building blocks to Notre Dame piecing together a six year run where they were arguably the best program in college football.

#6 - CLASS OF 2003

Headliners: Brady Quinn, Victor Abiamiri

Four-Year Record: 30-19

Crowning Achievement at ND: Earned back-to-back berths in BCS Bowls (’05 Fiesta, ’06 Sugar)

Post-ND Achievements: One First Round Pick (Quinn)…Two Second Rounders (Abiamiri, Laws)

This was Ty Willingham’s only recruiting effort that would land in the Top 100 All-Time Recruiting Classes at Notre Dame. Riding the wave from a successful 2002 campaign he reeled in elite prospects from coast-to-coast and the Irish surged to one of the highest rated classes in the country.

The jewel of the class was defensive end Victor Abiamiri. A five-star prospect by every recruiting outlet, he would go on to become a solid two-year starter for the Irish before being drafted in the second round in the NFL Draft. Joining him along the line was Trevor Laws. In his redshirt season of 2007 he was about the only bright spot for arguably the worst year in school history. He notched the best statistical season for a Notre Dame defensive linemen since Ross Browner, registering 112 tackles.

Also on the defensive side of the ball in the class of ’03 was the safety tandem of Chinedum Ndukwe and Tom Zbikowski. Both had a slew of highlight reel plays in the secondary and the return game and have been contributors for their respective teams in the NFL.

While Abiamiri was the big name coming to campus, the biggest name at the end of four years was undoubtedly quarterback Brady Quinn. A four-year starter, Quinn rewrote the Irish passing record books under the guidance of Charlie Weis. He finished in the top four of the Heisman voting during his junior and senior seasons while engineering back-to-back BCS berths.

Fellow classmate Jeff Samardzija was on the receiving end of 27 of Quinn’s record 95 touchdown passes. The receiver did plenty of his own rewriting of the Irish record books in two prolific seasons under Weis.

While this class was the foundation for back-to-back major bowl berths it was not a harbinger of prolonged success. The bottom fell out the year after most of this class graduated and the result was the worst three-year stretch in school history. The Class of 2003 didn’t permanently launch Notre Dame back into the national championship landscape, but the steep fall the followed highlights just how impactful and strong the class really was.

#5 - CLASS OF 1987

Headliners: Chris Zorich, Ricky Watters

Four-Year Record: 41-8

Crowning Achievement at ND: 1988 National Championship

Post-ND Achievements: One First rounder (Lyght), Two Second Rounders (Watters, Zorich)

When Lou Holtz was recruiting after his first season at Notre Dame he approached prospects with this simple line:

“Son, you have two options: you can join me and take part in Notre Dame’s return to glory or you can watch it on television.”

Dr. Lou’s pitch landed a well-rounded group blended with hard-nosed grapplers and talented skill players. On defense, the duo of nose tackle Chris Zorich and linebacker Michael Stonebreaker stepped in as major contributors as sophomores on the 1988 national championship squad. Both helped transform on to earn All-American status by their senior seasons.

On offense the running back duo of Ricky Watters and Tony Brooks helped ignite the Irish offense, filling the void left by Heisman Winner Tim Brown. Watters led the national championship team in receptions and the next season was the second leading rusher behind Tony Rice as he shuttled between receiver and running back.

This class was the first clear indication that Notre Dame was going to be a force on the national recruiting scene under Lou Holtz and set the stage for a five-year stretch of highly acclaimed hauls. The result was a 23-game win streak, a national championship, and the removal of all doubt that Notre Dame could be a power once again.

#4 - CLASS OF 1973

Headliners: Ross Browner, Luther Bradley

Four-Year Record: 38-8*

Crowning College Achievement: National Championship in ’73 and ‘77*

Post-College Achievements: One First Rounder (Browner)

*= Browner and Bradley were among five players who played a fifth year in 1977, the year they won the national championship.

In 1972 the NCAA ruled that freshman were eligible to compete in D-I college football. Ara Parseghian seized that opportunity shortly thereafter and corralled a slew of instant impact players on the defensive side of the ball that would help push his Fighting Irish over the top and earn his second national championship.

The keystone of the class was defensive end Ross Browner, who made his presence felt instantly as a freshman. He actually scored the first points of the 1973 season as a freshman when he blocked a punt that went through the back of the endzone for an Irish safety. By the time he left South Bend he’d pieced together one of the most productive and dominant careers in Irish history, racking up 340 tackles—including 77 tackles for loss—and the Outland and Lombardi Awards en route to being selected in the first round of the 1978 NFL Draft.

Defensive back Luther Bradley went on to set the Notre Dame record for interceptions in a career with 17. Defensive end Willie Fry was a standout contributor as well. When the trio of Bradley, Browner, and Fry wrapped up their careers they had won a pair of national championships, the only group of players to do it since Frank Leahy left town.

#3 - CLASS OF 1963

Headliners: Alan Page, Kevin Hardy

Three-Year Record: 25-3-1*

Crowning Achievement at ND: 1966 National Championship

Post-ND Achievements: One NFL Hall of Famer (Page), Four First Rounders (Page, Hardy, Regner, Seiler)

* = Were not eligible to play as freshman in ‘63

The groundwork for Ara Parseghian ultimate “return to glory” in 1966 was actually laid the year before he arrived when Hugh Devore lured four stellar linemen to campus: Alan Page (DL), Kevin Hardy (DL), Tom Regner (OL), and Tom Seiler (OL).

The Class of ’66 burst onto the scene during Parseghian’s opening campaign in ‘64, the first year they were eligible. They contributed greatly to Notre Dame’s record turnaround from 2-7 in ‘63 to 9-1 in ‘64. Under Ara’s guidance they breathed life into a sleeping giant and immediately reestablished Notre Dame’s presence on the national stage.

Two years later Page, Hardy, and fellow classmate Jim Lynch anchored a dominant defense that allowed only 38 points the entire 1966 season. Meanwhile on the other side of the ball, Regner and Seiler made life a easier for sophomore quarterback Terry Hanratty and helped pave the way to a consensus national championship.

The 2011 recruiting class certainly has an impressive group of offensive and defensive linemen committed, but they have a lot to live up to if they are going to surpass the success and sheer dominance of the ’63 group.

#2 - CLASS OF 1990

Headliners: Bryant Young, Jerome Bettis

Four-Year Record: 40-8-1

Crowning College Achievement: 11-1 season and #2 final ranking in 1993

Post-College Achievements: Five First Rounder (Bettis, Bryant, Taylor, Burris, and Carter)…One Future NFL Hall of Famer (Bettis)

Lou Holtz’s greatest recruiting class was chock full of superstars on both sides of the ball. Quarterback Kevin McDougal was the sparkplug and leader of the ’93 squad that controversially finished runner-up to Florida State in the polls. His main target was big-play wide receiver Lake Dawson, who averaged almost 18 yards per catch over the course of his career.

The most well-known member of this class is without a doubt “The Bus, ” Jerome Bettis. As a fullback in Holtz’s option attack he punished the middle of defenses to the tune of 5.6 yards per carry. His performance in the ’92 Sugar Bowl where he decimated Steve Spurrier trash talking Florida Gators down the stretch has a special place in Irish lore. Clearing the way for Bettis was 1993 Lombardi Award winner and All-American offensive tackle Aaron Taylor, one of the best Irish linemen ever, and long-time NFL starter center Tim Ruddy.

On the defensive side of the ball the squad had three future first round picks: defensive tackle Bryant Young and defensive backs Jeff Burris and Tom Carter. Defensive linemen Jim Flanigan and Oliver Gibson were

Top to bottom this was a loaded class that was full of superstars (Bettis, Young, Burris) and valuable role players alike. When all was said and done, 14 of its 21 players landed in the NFL. They never brought home a national title, but many consider the ’92 squad to be the most talented Irish team in the last 50 years to fall short of the championship and the ’93 outfit was essentially robbed of their rightful title.

What they won’t be robbed of though is their rightful title as the best Notre Dame recruiting class of the last 60 years.

#1 - CLASS OF 1946

Headliners: Leon Hart, Jim Martin

Four-Year Record: 36-0-2

Crowning College Achievement: What, 36-0-2 isn’t achievement enough? Included in those 36 wins were three national championships (’46, ’47, ’49)

Post-College Achievements: #1 overall pick of the NFL Draft (Hart)

This wasn’t just the best class in Notre Dame history, but by just about any metric used it’s the greatest class in the history of all college football.

Four years. Three national titles. Zero losses. Not even Notre Dame fans could find anything wrong with that!

The cherry on top? Defensive end Leon Hart won the Heisman Trophy in 1949, which earned him the distinction of being one of only two linemen to ever win the award.

If you’re talking about production on the field in college then this class will always be the gold standard. There’s only one chance to top it: go undefeated and untied for all four years. Good luck with that…

GOING 'ROUND THE WORLD

The Irish regular season is over but that didn't mean it wasn't an action-packed weekend of college football. The Miami series renewed a couple years ahead of schedule, Irish recruiting victories, Cam Newton's ridiculous season continues, and the FAIL to end all FAILS. Let's go around the college football world for some quick hits.

I feel it'd be too much to ask Bill to do back-to-back Two Dudes, One Posts so I'll tackle them myself. ONWARD!

Catholics vs Convicts in El Paso

Most people thought ND would be spending the holidays in Disney World, but in a somewhat surprising move the Champs Sports Bowl passed up the Irish which sent Brian Kelly's boys to the Sun Bowl. The happiest person in America? The President of the Sun Bowl, Amen Ayoub, whose prayers were answered when two big name programs landed in his lap. Amen--a man short on consonants but long on hyperbole--said at the press conference to announce the matchup, that "this is absolutely unbelievable, this is the greatest game we've ever put together here in 77 years of the game."

I know that Oregon State's 3-0 victory over Pitt in the 2008 Sun Bowl set the bar pretty high, but please Amen, you're making us blush. Are we really expected to top when the Southwestern US beat the entire country of Mexico in the 1945 edition of the game???

Enough gushing from Amen. I'll admit I wasn't giddy at first about facing the Canes when the matchup was announced. The only reason is the fact that we have them on the schedule in a couple of years and I would've liked to have faced off against a different team we haven't played and aren't supposed to play in the future (perhaps a shot at revenge against Jon Tenuta?).

But the more I thought about it the more excited I became. The Irish and the Canes is a fun matchup and who knows? Maybe there will be an incident that provides a spark that reignites the fire of hate that once burned hotter than any other in Notre Dame's football history (yes, even more than Southern Cal). Am I rooting for a brawl or anything like that? No, but I'm hoping this is a heated contest that provides a preview to what could be a mega-showdown in 2012. The matchup at Soldier Field could be a watershed "look how far they've come under their new coaches" moment for two programs mired with problems the past five years.

Miami is a very, very talented team. Randy Shannon has left the cupboard relatively full and if they can lure a high quality coach then they should have a quick rebound in a conference full of mediocrity. The Irish are going to have their hands full in this game and my early thought is that if nothing else the Under (46) looks pretty damn good.

It's Morning in Notre Dame

I don't know how many of our readers check out the blog House Rock Built, but you should add it to your favorites because they pick up steam with every video they make. This week's is worth reposting. A tip of the cap to the puppeteers that put Jim Henson to shame.

Cam Newton: The Devil outbid Mississippi State and Auburn for his services

I realized something during SEC Championship right after Cam Newton completed a Hail Mary pass at the end of the half that effectively shot a cannonball into the bow of the Gamecocks' sailboat. The reason there was allegedly only money discussed with Mississippi State and not Auburn in this Newton Pay-for-Play Scandal is the fact that before Auburn could offer Cecil Newton accepted a fat, Alex Rodriguez level deal with the devil. Isn't that the only explanation for what's been happening over the past three months?

There are FBI wiretaps that caught the shopping of Killah Cam. There's a mountain of evidence (topped by common sense) that says he knew what his father was doing. The NCAA has acknowledged in its preliminary findings that Cecil Newton clearly partook in attempted to obtain money for the services of his son. Despite all of this Cam found a way to break yet another tackle--this time the attempted tackler was the law, so this is far and away his most impressive escape of the year--and against all odds maintained eligibility.

This temporary absolution by the NCAA has cleared the way for one of the biggest landslide Heisman Trophy victories in history and War Eagle storming Glendale for a National Championship showdown. He has had an undeniably spectacular year on the field. His statistics are jaw-dropping, his highlight reel mind-blowing, and his performances in pressure packed situations were spectacular. This should go down as one of the greatest individual performances in the history of college football.

Unfortunately the chances all his feats are eventually stricken from the record books is far greater than the chances they remain. The NCAA laid the smackdown on Southern Cal for their transgressions this spring, they need to do the same at Auburn. And honestly, from the sounds of it the things that have transpired at Auburn are worse than what happened out in LA.

Isn't it truly sad that we're going to have to deal with two vacated Heismans in six years and they're two of the most dazzling ones of recent memory? Why couldn't it be Jason White that had his vacated? The only memorable thing from his Heisman campaign was how epically terrible he was in his final two games against Kansas State and LSU.

Irish Recruiting Upswing

After a month of bad news on top of bad news on top of horrible news, it seems Brian Kelly has found a way to get momentum going the right direction on the recruiting trail as well as the field. Over the past couple weeks Notre Dame has locked down two solid prospects from deep in the heart of Texas, positioned themselves well down the stretch with some 4-star athletes, and poached the guy many are calling the Quarterback of the Future from the Tar Heels.

I love snagging Cam McDaniel and Bennet Okotcha from Texas and I'm pumped about our chances with some other big names (come on down Ishaq Williams!), but let's focus with the anointed QB of the Future, Everett Golson. He's got gaudy stats, a great presence, and some serious wheels. The only reason he hasn't been ranked high by the recruiting services is his slight stature (6'0", 175lbs), but that hadn't stopped powerhouses like Florida, Ohio State, and Michigan from offering him a scholarship. The fact that he's enrolling early has led some to proclaim that he's going to emerge by the fall as the starter since he's the "best fit" for the spread among the quarterbacks we have.

Irish fans need to pump the breaks a bit on this one. I'm very excited to get Golson and he is a great fit, but he's going to need some serious time in the weight room to build himself up to handle the beating he's sure to take when he finally does get under center for Notre Dame. Everyone seems to forget that current freshmanAndrew Hendrix has apparently looked great in practices and possesses a rocket arm and underrated mobility. And oh by the way, Dayne Crist will be back with two years of eligibility remaining and current Golden Boy Tommy Rees will be there with three.

Golson makes the water even murkier for who will emerge as the starting quarterback for an offensive unit with boatloads of potential for next season. At the very least this battle will provide The Observer with a fun Irish Insider cover where Rees, Golson, and Hendrix are all touching a football that Crist is holding in his hospital bed as Nate Montana fills out his walk-on papers in the background. It'll also give The Guru and me unlimited ammo for our spring ball phone conversations.

Quick! Somebody Call a Doctor! This Kid is Experiencing Life Failure!

I love the Dr. Pepper halftime gimmicks in the SEC and Big 12 championship games. Always have, always will. There have been some pretty exciting victories and some pretty terrible attempts. In this year's SEC Showdown we had one of the most epic fails to date. Let's head to the tape:

Yes, poor Matt from Kentucky not only lost to a girl, but lost to a girl that threw her footballs LIKE A BASKETBALL CHEST PASS. If you watch the video at the 31 second mark you'll see him glance over at her once he's exhausted his supply of 10 footballs. The girl (Nikki) has one ball left and with victory already in hand delivers an "EFF YOU" victory chest pass straight into the heart of the giant Dr. Pepper can.

Matt got to see the EFF YOU chest pass which means he got a good look at what he lost to. At the 32 second mark you can see reality sink in for young Matthew as he looks on in disbelief: not only has he blown the chance at $123,000 in tuition money, but now he'll have to endure never-ending ridicule from his friends for losing to this chest-passing girl who attacks her chewing gum like it tried to steal her purse. If I were him I'd just cut bait and find new friends, there's just no coming back from this one.

Here's hoping when ESPN rolls out another documentary series for its 50th anniversary that they do one on how this kid's life turned out. There's an 80% chance it'd be more interesting than the "30 for 30" on the origin of Fantasy Baseball, which could've been done in approximately eight minutes on E:60 and saved me 52 minutes of my life.

The Guru Breakdown: Clay Burton

After a brief hiatus we bring back a little GUUUURRRUUUUU! This week we hone in on Florida recruit Clay Burton.

Clay Burton
Position: DE/LB
Height/Weight: 6'3 - 230lbs
Forty Time: 4.8
Hometown: Venice, Florida
Stats: 80 tackles, 13 sacks
Offer List: Tennessee, LSU, Clemson, Boston College, West Virginia, South Florida

Strengths: Plays with a ton of aggression and passion....has great size, athleticism, and strength.....good use of hands....moves well laterally.....great burst off of the line of scrimmage and plays until the whistle is blown....can track down plays from the backside....good combination of speed and power of the edge.

Weaknesses/Areas of Concern: A bit of a tweener.....plays Defensive End in HS but will likely be an OLB when he arrives at ND....tackles too high at times....The other concern with him is that he may get to big to be an OLB--his HS coach said he is an animal in the gym and could bulk up to 270.

Overall: Burton plays with a very high motor and is very athletic for his size. Burton fits perfectly into the Irish defensive scheme and should be a major contributor throughout his career. As Florida Varsity analyst Michael Langston has inferred, look for Clay's recruiting ranking to soar over the next six months. A great, underrated (at least for now) get for the 2011 class.

Comparison: I actually thought he was very similar to Kerry Neal (when he was coming out of Bunn HS). He does not have the burst like Darius Fleming has, but he is probably more athletic overall. I'm hesitant to compare him to Neal though because I think he will be more successful.

The Guru Breakdown: Ben Koyack

We decided to do a little renovating to the site so that we looked slightly different than the 5,000 blogs with the same exact format and color scheme. I think it looks better. Bill will give his opinion too I'm sure if he ever visits the site again.

It's been a pretty active June for the sport of college football. The expansion wheel finally stopped turning, Southern Cal had the smackdown laid upon them by the NCAA, and Mike Garrett opened his mouth and proved that he eats a steady diet of paint chips...but before we touch on those things with an inevitable Two Dudes, One Post, it's time FOR A LITTLE GUUUURRUUUUU!

Ben Koyack
Position: TE
Height/Weight: 6'5 230
Forty Time: 4.59
Hometown: Oil City, PA
Stats: 41 Catches 748yds 6tds (In 7 Games)
Offer List: LSU, Ohio State, Penn State, Oklahoma, USC, Virginia Tech
Of Note: Scout rates him as 5-star, #2 TE overall...Rivals rates him as a 4-star and #5 TE overall

Strengths: Explosive off the line of scrimmage...Will be a match-up problem for Linebackers...Adjusts well when the ball is in the air...Catches the ball away from his body...Good use of the stiff arm in runs after the catch...Has the physical ability to earn those YAC...Very agile for a TE...Deadly in the redzone...Has experience running routes from the slot which will come in handy in Kelly's offense...Good all-around athlete (excelled in both basketball and track).

Weaknesses/Areas of Concern:
His level of competition is questionable at best...Will need to add strength and weight to block at the collegiate level....Will need to work on his ability to run option routes....Not much film of him blocking from the TE position.

Overall: Koyack stood out at State College Nike Camp and several other camps in which he attended. Bob Linchtenfels (a Scout.com analyst) has scouted Nate Byham, Kyle Rudolph, and Aaron Hernandez over the years and believes that Koyack has the potential to be as good as any of them. That's very high praise from someone who has seen him in person. This was a great pickup for the Irish.

Comparison:
Koyack seems to fit the mold of current Irish tight end Tyler Eifert. Depsite the fact that Eifert has made little impact up to this point, he's received high praise from the coaching staff seemingly from the moment he stepped on campus. I think Koyack will come in and do the same, only he should make a difference on the field quicker than Eifert has because he's physical a little farther along than Eifert was when he arrived in South Bend. He is a big athletic kid who can step in and immediately be a quarterback-friendly target in the Red Zone.

Where he fits in:
If there is one position that Notre Dame has recruited well over the past 5 years, it's tight end. I think we've taken the throne from Miami and should be considered the new Tight End U. Our current Roster (including incoming freshman Alex Welch) contains a 5-star, a pair of 4-stars, and two more 3-stars for good measure.

Assuming Kyle Rudolph stays for his senior season (please God, answer our prayers), Koyack will have a tough time seeing the field as a true freshman. The most likely scenario is that he'll have to wait his turn behind Eifert (sophomore) as well. Eventually Koyack will see the field as an upperclassman paired with incoming freshman Alex Welch. They should perform a Carlson-Fasano-esque dynamic duo by the 2012 campaign.

***Disclaimer***
The fact that Koyack has made it known that his favorite basketball player is JJ Redick has in no way impacted my evaluation of his film. Redick was the most hated college basketball player for his 4 years at Duke. Why? Because he went to the most polarizing school in college basketball and was a little weiner who publicly admitted he liked to write poetry. I guess Koyack will have the opportunity to follow in his hero's footsteps and play for the most one of the most polarizing teams in his own sport during his four years at Notre Dame.

And for the record, McAlarney was a better shooter than JJ.

The Guru Breakdown: Kyle Brindza

There's a lot going on in the college football world right now--from sanctions to conference implosions to commissioners slapping together "superconferences" without much thought about anything but increasing the coffers. We'll address that all in due time...but first, A LITTLE GUUUURRUUUUU!

Kyle Brindza

Position: Kicker

Height/Weight: 6'2 195
Hometown: Canton, Michigan

Stats: 6 for 10 FG's

Offer List: Michigan

Of Note: Rated Top 5 Kicker Nationally

Strengths:
Lots of power....Kicks the ball through the uprights on kickoffs...Will definitely be able to get touchbacks when kicking off from the college starting point (30 yard line)...Also claims to have made a 64 yard field goal in practice...Good footwork on field goals.

Weaknesses:
Seems to struggle with accuracy as a field goal kicker (6 for 10)...Also does not get the lift he needs to avoid getting blocked on field goals...His leg power on kickoffs does not transfer to punting...His punting is also very inconsistent--he can boom a kick 60 yards and then have the next kick go 35 (so think a rich man's Eric Maust--Maust used to boom a kick 45 yards and shank one 20).

Overall:
Our last four kickers/punters that we've given scholarships are Nick Taush, Ben Turk, Brandon Walker, and Ryan Burkhart. With the exception of Taush's first 13 field goals, this crew has struggled miserably. I would rather have offered a scholarship to Dip as a "Hype Man" than have wasted a scholarship on Burkhart or Walker. Does Craig Hentrich have a kid yet????

Prediction:

Brindza will have the kickoff duties from the moment he steps on campus but will remain a backup for field goals and punting at least for a few years. His quickest way onto the field for field goals may be as a long-distance field goal specialist. There's plenty of potential with Brindza, but if the last slew of kickers we've given schollies has taught us anything it's that nothing is even remotely guaranteed.

We Never Graduate presents: The Recruiting Guru

Because I'm feeling a bit frisky (and attempting to carry Billy's carcass on this site) I thought it'd be a good time to introduce another feature we'll run weekly every Thursday or Friday until the season starts.

Recruiting has taken on a world of its own in college football. There are so many sites devoted to it now--Rivals, Scout, MaxPreps, ESPN--and the list seems to be continually growing. Grainy film of 17 year olds is used to formulate rankings and grown men pay $9.95 a month to read about other grown men dissecting the potential of these 17 year olds ad nauseum (and in Rivals' case, $9.95 to read Barry Every writing about these kids' bodies in a manner that makes you wonder if Chris Hansen will suddenly interject in one of his paragraphs).

So here at WNG we're going to help you wade through the quagmire of the recruiting sites. I've enlisted the help of the best talent evaluator I know. For anonymity's sake we will call him The Guru.

Little background: The Guru is an '08 Notre Dame grad, a former high school and interhall football star, a future coach, and probably has the record for most total Rivals film watched over the past six years. He's a go-to guy when it comes to getting a true read on a prospect and a true die-hard fan. Our freshman year we used to break down the depth chart every Calculus class and I'm totally convinced if you would've taped all those conversations they were identical every single time.

During the Washington game last season he changed all his clothes four times over the course of the contest and ended up grasping a chain with no shirt on by the end. There's little doubt in my mind that neither of us will be allowed to watch ND games at age 40 due to doctor's orders.

To kick this series off we'll start with 2011 recruiting class verbal commit Matthias Farley.

Matthias Farley

Position: ATH (WR/CB...most likely CB)
Height/Weight: 6-2 185

Forty Time: 4.5

Hometown: Charlotte, NC

Stats: 37 Catches 900 yds 12 Td's

Offer List: Duke, Illinois, Maryland, North Carolina, NC State, UCLA, Wisconsin

Strengths:

Good burst off the line of scrimmage and seems to be a legit 4.5 receiver...good feet (former soccer player)...good body control and shows the ability to catch the ball at the highest point...soft hands- catches the football with his hands (rarely lets the ball get into his body)...Not much film on defense (only shows him playing as a safety in a cover 2 defense), however his soccer background leads me to believe he has good hips and good feet which are very important skills to have at the cornerback position...He has a brother that played football for East Carolina.

Weaknesses:

Doesn't use his hands to fight the jam at the line of scrimmage(he can get away with this at the HS level because of his quickness but will need to develop this skill to be successful in college if he ends up on the offensive side of the ball)...shows that he has the ability to make moves in the open-field however he does not seem to run with power (think of your boy Neon Deion Walker)...will need to improve his strength...tackles too high...only his first year of football (he is not a kid that grew up loving the game).

Overall:
My evaluation for his overall contribution is based heavily on the fact that he has good feet and hips, an assumption based on the fact that he was a former soccer player.

His HS coach describes him as a physical kid that is coachable, has raw athletic ability, and can flat out fly. Notre Dame is recruiting him as a cornerback despite that fact that he played very little defense in his only year of football. He's probably the hardest prospect to evaluate due to the fact that he has only played one year of football and the Irish are recruiting him at a position he has played very little (and which there is virtually no film available to evaluate him from).

I question his toughness but it is clear that he has the athleticism to be a Division I player. The fact that he his first year of football can be looked at as both a positive and a negative. The positive is in only one year he managed to impress numerous D-I coaches. The negative is he's not the type of kid that grew up loving the game.

Comparison:
Initially I wanted to draw comparisons to Shane Walton due to the soccer background. However, after evaluating his strengths and weaknesses I would compare him to Darrin Walls. He is a three-star prospect with four-star potential. I think that if he buys into Kelly's system he will develop the strength that he needs to be a successful collegiate cornerback. He will never be a big-hitter or a corner that is known for his tackling ability, but he has the potential to be a great cover-corner.

Where He Fits:

Assuming Gary Gray and Robert Blanton both stay for their final years, he will not see the field as a freshman (he'll need the red-shirt year anyway). Both corner back spots should be open his sophomore year. Will he be ready? Probably not, but the only other corners on the depth chart are Spencer Boyd, Lo Wood, and EJ Banks so who knows. Shane Walton came from farther in left field than Farley will be coming from so anything can happen.