As I digest all the sites, rumblings, rumors, and heresays of National Signing Day, I can come away feeling good as an Alumnus of Notre Dame. Coach Weis addressed the needed "problem" areas and added raw talent to what is billed his best class to date. All 23 signees gave the Irish some very good ratings by the recruiting services, with most of them ranking Notre Dame #2 behind Alabama. That pretty much was everyone's sentiments, except for our favorite subsidiary of the Disney Company.
ESPN must be in their glory, because today is the start of the Chinese New Year. The Worldwide Leader of ___________ (you fill in the blank) is embracing the Year of the RAT! Those pesky varmints from Mark May and all the way down the line to Colin Cowturd will do anything to bash Notre Dame. I guess they need to make a buck someway, right? Well the biggest rat of them all, recruiting-wise, Todd Luginbill had the honor of slipping the Irish all the way down to the 9th best class! Yes, 9th!
Here’s what old Loogie had to say about the Irish’s class,
“After an abysmal 2007 season, Charlie Weis bounced back with a top-10 recruiting class. While some programs might boast more elite prospects, top to bottom this class holds some of the best overall quality and finally some defensive help is on the way. Elite receivers Michael Floyd (Saint Paul, Minn./Cretin-Derham) and Deion Walker (Christchurch, Va.) should have Irish fans smiling after watching an anemic offensive performance last fall while tight end Kyle Rudolph (Cincinnati/Elder) also has excellent receiving skills. No. 2 quarterback prospect Dayne Christ (Canoga Park, Calif./Notre Dame) has the arm strength to challenge Jimmy Clausen early in his career for reps. Center and defensive end were key areas of need and filled with good quality.”
Before I discuss ESPN's rankings, I just want to point out that Rivals.com, Scout.com, and CSTV.com, had the same # 1 and #2, Alabama and Notre Dame. They also gave much love to the class as well:
“The Irish needed an influx of young talent. Charlie Weis and his staff brought in players from all over and look to have upgraded team speed.”~ Bobby Burton (Rivals)
“Charlie Weis and Notre Dame showed that he has a lot of power by checking in with the No. 2 recruiting class in the country, even though he had a 3-9 team this past season. He corralled the players he wanted and was able to keep all but one, with DL Omar Hunter (No. 41) who went to Florida.
Currently 11 Top 100 players in class, this is the group that adds to the Irish's pieces already in place and brings them back to their winning ways. Well-balanced group with Michael Floyd the most immediate potential superstar.
Its best class in 18 years. Helped themselves at every position, with 15 All-Americans coming in.” ~ Tom Lemming (CSTV)
“This was the class the Irish dramatically needed right now if Charlie Weis is to re-establish the Irish as a power. It's a superbly balanced effort featuring elite athletes such as TE Kyle Rudolph, WR Michael Floyd, DE Ethan Johnson and LB Steven Filer. Weis lost DT Omar Hunter to Florida but he was otherwise very successful in restocking the offensive and defensive trenches.” ~ Allen Wallace (Scout)
Alabama, by far, had the most signees with 33 players. Hopefully good old Nick Saban will be around long enough for half of these kids to earn their degrees! I guess teams down South just sign as many kids as they want and hope for the best, because you know damn well that most of won't qualify by Prop 48 standards. I say good luck with that.
Well here is the rundown of recruiting rankings:
Scout.com
1. Alabama 6 (Top 100), 3 (5*), 17 (4*), 10 (3*), 3.61 (avg.)
2. Notre Dame 7 (Top 100), 4 (5*), 14 (4*), 5 (5*), 3.96 (avg.)
3. Miami 7 (Top 100), 4 (5*), 7 (4*), 18 (3*), 3.33 (avg.)
4. Georgia 4 (Top 100), 3 (5*), 10 (4*), 10 (3*), 3.70 (avg.)
5. Florida St. 3 (Top 100), 3 (5*), 10 (4*), 11 (3*), 3.29 (avg.)
6. LSU 2 (Top 100), 1 (5*), 11 (4*), 14 (3*), 3.50 (avg.)
7. Ohio St. 8 (Top 100), 5 (5*), 7 (4*), 6 (3*), 3.84 (avg.)
8. Michigan 4 (Top 100), 1 (5*), 13 (4*), 8 (3*)), 3.54 (avg.)
9. USC 8 (Top 100), 4 (5*), 9 (4*), 5 (3*), 3.84 (avg.)
10. UCLA 4 (Top 100), 2 (5*), 11 (4*), 10 (3*), 3.65 (avg.)
Rivals.com
1. Alabama 3 (5*), 19 (4*), 8 (3*), 3.72 (avg.)
2. Notre Dame 3 (5*), 16 (4*), 4 (3*), 3.96 (avg.)
3. Florida 4 (5*), 12 (4*), 4 (3*), 3.82 (avg.)
4. Miami 2 (5*), 15 (4*), 8 (3*), 3.33 (avg.)
5. Oklahoma 3 (5*), 12 (4*), 5 (3*), 3.81 (avg.)
6. Georgia 2 (5*), 13 (4*), 8 (3*), 3.67 (avg.)
7. USC 2 (5*), 13 (4*), 4 (3*), 3.89 (avg.)
8. Florida St. 2 (5*), 13 (4*), 8 (3*), 3.33 (avg.)
9. Ohio St. 3 (5*), 9 (4*), 7 (3*), 3.79 (avg.)
10. Michigan 0 (5*), 17 (4*), 5 (3*), 3.63 (avg.)
CSTV
1. Alabama 6 (Top 100)
2. Notre Dame 11 (Top 100)
3. Florida 6 (Top 100)
4. Ohio St. 8 (Top 100)
5. Oklahoma 7 (Top 100)
6. Georgia 4(Top 100)
7. Texas 3 (Top 100)
8. USC 7 (Top 100)
9. Miami 5 (Top 100)
10. Clemson 3 (Top 100)
ESPN
1. Miami 12 (Top 150)
2. Clemson 10 (Top 150)
3. Alabama 6 (Top 150)
4. Florida 11 (Top 150)
5. Georgia 7 (Top 150)
6. USC 8 (Top 150)
7. Ohio St. 7 (Top 150)
8. Oklahoma 8 (Top 150)
9. Notre Dame 10 (Top 150)
10. Texas 9 (Top 150)
So what the heck is Luginbill talking about when he said that other schools might have more elite players? According to his Top 150, Notre Dame is tied for the third most. Doesn't make much sense to me either.
When you average it out all together, Notre Dame actually has the better star power overall with 3.96 (star average) and 9.3 (Top 150/100 player average). And when you average in all four of those recruiting rankings, the Irish are a solid # 2! Below is the overall combined average of all the recruiting services:
1. Alabama 1.5 avg.
2. Notre Dame 3.75 avg.
3. Miami 4.25 avg.
4. Georgia 5.25 avg.
5. Ohio St. 6.75 avg.
6. USC 7.5 avg.
7. Oklahoma 7.75 avg.
8. Clemson 8.75 avg.
9. Florida St. 9.0 avg.
10. LSU 10.25 avg.
11. Michigan 10.75 avg.
12. UCLA 13.5 avg.
When it is all said and done, the Irish got what they wanted, and it shows. A great class, with great athletes, and lots of great memories and moments to be had in the next four or five years from these Fighting Irish! It's definitely good to be an Irish fan, that's for sure.
Sorry, but we're not taking any reservations for the Notre Dame bandwagon just yet.
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