Kelly's Prospects

[irishunclebill]

Now that the quiet period is over I would imagine that we will see quite a few more new names popping up as being looked at by Coach Kelly and his new staff. We might as well keep them all together in one thread as well as setting up individual threads for all of them.

Here are some of the names we have seen so far.

Committed:

KY ATH Austin Collinsworth

FL DE Bruce Heggie

OH QB Luke Massa-

KY OT Tate Nichols

OH ATH Derek Roback-

HI DE Kona Schwenke-

CO ATH Danny Spond-


Committed Elsewhere and Previously Offered by ND:

FL WR Kadron Boone- Boone is still a TT commit, but even prior to the Leach fiasco Alford had continued to recruit him.

Previously listed as having ND interest:

TX QB Scotty Young- Young was a very early commit to Texas Tech but with Leach's firing and Tuberville's choice of an OC it appears to be only a matter of time until he is a TT de-commit.

IL QB Sean Robinson- Camped at ND but Tommy Rees was picked over him by Charlie for an ND offer. Robinson eventually committed to Purdue, but with Hendrix looking at UF the ND staff also approached Robinson to see if he had any interest. Robinson said no.

IN WR Dyjuan Lewis- A commit to Kelly at Cincy, and now uncommitted Lewis has sent his transcripts to ND in hopes of securing an Irish offer.

New names:

FL CB Dionte Ponder- A teammate and cousin of Kadron Boone, the Irish and Alford are now recruiting Ponder although he also does not yet have an offer. 1/27 Update- Ponder gets his offer.

GA LB Michael Taylor- Tennessee commit who will be visited by Alford tommorow. Also does not yet have an offer. Florida commit.

OH DE Jibreel Black- One time IU commit, currently a Cincy Soft Verbal. Kelly is looking to see if he can move Black from the Queen City to Our Lady's campus and Black is looking around as well. Sounds like a perfect match if the mechanics can be overcome.

NJ OT Dan Foose- Has a Cincy offer and an interest in ND. No word yet on whether the interest will be reciprocated.

HI S Jeremy Ioane- Offered 1/20/2010.

TX DT Eric Humphrey- According to his coach ND will be visiting Eric to see if they can persuade him to change one of his final 2 OV's to ND.

TX CB Adrian Lee- Lee has told numerous sites that he has an ND offer. If confirned it will be the 2nd offer of the Kelly era. California commit

GA DE Henry Anderson- Anderson currently falls into the same category as Foose & Ioane above, but if Blake Lueders goes through with his scheduled visit to Stanford on 1/16 look for ND to put a full court press on Anderson as well. A little tit for tat is always a good thing in January anymore.

OH DE Marcus Rush- ND rumored to be in contact with Hendrix's Moeller HS teammate and current Sparty commit.

MO WR Keeston Terry- Kansas commit who is rumored to be possibly an ND target, most likely as a Safety prospect.

HI LB Shaydon Akuna- Considered by Rivals to be the #1 prospect out of Hawaii this year just as you know who was last year. With Jeremy Ioane now being officially offered rumors of an Akuna visit or offer will probably get stronger as Akuna is a cousin of Ioane.

FL WR Shawn Corker- Currently a Texas Tech commit who could be just an insurance policy if Bennett Jackson starts to waver again.

CA OT Michael Criste- Currently a Washington commit, Criste is listed as having an ND offer by Rivals.

FL CB Terrence Brooks- A FSU soft verbal commit who is now listed as having an Irish offer on Rivals.

MO RB Brandon Bourbon- A Stanford Soft Verbal, (is there any other kind) Brandon has been offered by ND.

[Sparks inda Loo]

My computer is gonna overheat this week...and not just from the porn.

[irishunclebill]

Added Jibreel Black to the "new names" category.

[morrdave9]

Could add NJ OT Dan Foose to the list of new names - had a Cincy offer and he sent his recent film to Kelly, although he hasn't talked to him yet. Offers from BC, Illinois, Minnesota, and the obligatory Stanford, among others.

[irishunclebill]

Could add NJ OT Dan Foose to the list of new names - had a Cincy offer and he sent his recent film to Kelly, although he hasn't talked to him yet. Offers from BC, Illinois, Minnesota, and the obligatory Stanford, among others.

I'm going to add Foose to this list but I'm not sure whether he is profile worthy yet. Even with the state of ND OL recruiting right now, Foose seems to be a longer shot even than Ioane right now despite the fact that he has a Cincy offer. My Jersey friends tell me that Foose really does fall into the warm bodies category if ND does end up offering him.

[morrdave9]

That's what some of the comments I saw about him were saying, but thought we should at least put his name out there due to the Cincy offer and him showing interest in ND.

[irishunclebill]

That's what some of the comments I saw about him were saying, but thought we should at least put his name out there due to the Cincy offer and him showing interest in ND.

I agree, plus he has the look of a mob enforcer so we should be careful not to piss him off.

[JMR8]

what about Ioane..?

[morrdave9]

I don't think there has been any contact between the two sides at all yet.

[JMR8]

oh...ok. thanks. hopefully there is soon.

[morrdave9]

I guess add TX DT Eric Humphry to the New Names list:
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=4797465&name=Southwest_Recruiting

"USC and Notre Dame are coming to the school this week," said Parish Episcopal head coach Scott Nady. "USC may be coming by Tuesday. If not it will be sometime this week. Notre Dame is coming in on Wednesday or Thursday. They are hoping to get Eric to switch one of those last two visits,"

[irishunclebill]

I guess add TX DT Eric Humphry to the New Names list:
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=4797465&name=Southwest_Recruiting

Unlike Foose, Humphrey is a big name that is profile worthy, especially if we take his coach at his word that the Irish are coming to visit him.

Humphrey is on the record as saying he would probably commit to TT if they hire McNeill, and that he probably won't if they don't.

[irishunclebill]

Added Adrian Lee & Henry Anderson to the "new names" list.

[IrishCrasher]

Looking at Kelly's list it sure seems like he is recruiting Nationally, 2 GA, 2 FL, 2 TX, a HI. As this list starts growing, I start feeling like maybe we can get the recruiting numbers up to 25 or so. Would love to see him pull James, or Henderson and Riley, Barr, and Gaston Jr. After watching the Loane video, I was impressed. He looked like a man among boys (I know its Hawaii), and he had some serious closing speed. I also liked the fact that he showed his lifting. Did I see 4 - 45 plates on each side of the bar when he Benched??? If so isn't that 405??? If so that is some strength for a Safety. Correct me if I'm wrong.

[irishmarine]

Agreed crasher.

[NDisNCin2010]

if we can hold who we have (real chance for that)...and add James, Barr and Gaston...all these other new kelly guys are icing on the cake and would welocme any and all of them.

but we really need James and Barr this cycle.

[Dayton_Domer]

Looking at Kelly's list it sure seems like he is recruiting Nationally, 2 GA, 2 FL, 2 TX, a HI. As this list starts growing, I start feeling like maybe we can get the recruiting numbers up to 25 or so.

Hope BK can fill the recruiting class...too often CW missed on recruits and did not use all 85 scholarships. Just think back 3 seasons ago, no OL/DL depth = no hitting in practice for fear of injuries. Top college programs do not have this problem.

I think we're all relieved to see new names pop up. Optimism was not high for those remaining names.

[Sparks inda Loo]

I agree, plus he has the look of a mob enforcer so we should be careful not to piss him off.

ND should offer "Big Pussy" oh wait he got whacked and he was an informer not an enforcer. My bad.

[Sparks inda Loo]

Hope BK can fill the recruiting class...too often CW missed on recruits and did not use all 85 scholarships. Just think back 3 seasons ago, no OL/DL depth = no hitting in practice for fear of injuries. Top college programs do not have this problem.

I think we're all relieved to see new names pop up. Optimism was not high for those remaining names.

In BK's first press conferences he made mention of Charlie not filling up his classes. Still he's got to be licking his chops at the talent he has coming back. Add the newbies to the mix and the Blue and Gold game is gonna be "must see TV". Or at least "must see Youtube".

[irishunclebill]

Added QB's Scotty Young and Sean Robinson to the list. Both are being explored because of the Hendrix situation. Young may be interested, Robinson is not.

Also added Hendrix's Moeller teammate DE Marcus Rush, a current MSU commit. Kelly is obviously setting up contingencies for any position that seems the least bit shaky among the currently committed recruits.

[Legacy]

I wonder if Tennessee commit Michael Taylor is now more interested in the Irish.

[publicola]

I wonder if Tennessee commit Michael Taylor is now more interested in the Irish.

see his profile -- committed to florida

[JMR8]

see his profile -- committed to florida

good chance there, but as of now it is just a "rumor"

[Legacy]

see his profile -- committed to florida
Westlake senior linebacker Michael Taylor confirmed to me this morning that he is officially “decommitted from Tennessee” and not committed anywhere else. “I’m open,” he said. Taylor refuted a report he had committed to Florida, where he had an official visit this past weekend.Taylor has offers from at least 17 other BCS schools, including Georgia and Georgia Tech.

http://blogs.ajc.com/recruiting/2010/01/13/michael-taylor-officially-decommits-to-vols-no-word-from-jawuan-james/

[Domer Dog]

I couldn't find a Cole Marcoux thread, but I think given some of his comments and our depleted QB situation, make him an offer. He's committed to Dartmouth so you know he's got the goods upstairs and wants an education. He showed some skills during the AA game, and even though you may not want three QB's in one class, you offer with the understanding that he will definitely be a redshirt. You then have some quality, albeit young, QB's in the stable. Not mention the cool name.

[publicola]

good chance there, but as of now it is just a "rumor"

yeah, i jumped the gun.

[Synoptico]

KY TE/OT Tate Nichols- From what I have seen Nichols is still primarily a message board rumor. I have seen no indication yet that ND is actively recruiting him.


Looks like more than just a message board rumor... plans to visit Friday...

[irishunclebill]

Looks like more than just a message board rumor... plans to visit Friday...

10 days in recruiting time, especially this particular January, is like a lifetime, but it also does show that the guy who actually started the Nichols rumor back then had some solid basis for it.

It's also very interesting that he plans to visit tomorrow since the staff had already set up an in-home visit for next week. That shows even more interest on Tate's part, or at least some indication that an offer might be close to being on the table.

[irishunclebill]

Added two more names to the list.

Dyjuan Lewis, who is not a new name, but it has been confirmed that he is fact trying to secure an ND offer again.

Keeston Terry. a Missouri WR who is committed to KU but started to look around when their troubles started. Terry was supposedly brough to Kelly's attention by Ed Warriner, but ND may be also looking at him as a Safety prospect as well.

[Synoptico]

10 days in recruiting time, especially this particular January, is like a lifetime, but it also does show that the guy who actually started the Nichols rumor back then had some solid basis for it.

It's also very interesting that he plans to visit tomorrow since the staff had already set up an in-home visit for next week. That shows even more interest on Tate's part, or at least some indication that an offer might be close to being on the table.

Is it an official visit or on his own dime this weekend?

[irishunclebill]

Adrian Lee committing to California is the first recruit offered by Kelly as the ND coach to pick another school. That wil be a future trivia question as well as who was his first offer and first commit.

So far Kelly has offered 4 of the guys on this list. One ND commit, one committed elsehwere, and 2 currently uncommitted. Spond looks pretty good for ND, Taylor looks iffy unless he commits to an OV on the 29th.

I'm sure we are still going to hear some other names but of the other guys listed Nichols seems most likely to get an offer, Ponder is still under consideration, and Scotty Young is still not out of the picture either.

We should know by this weekend whether there are any legs to the rumor of a Keeston Terry offer. Henry Anderson and/or Marcus Rush are good bets to get an offer only if Lueders commits to Stanford this weekend.

The remaining guys (Kadron Boone, Sean Robinson, Dyjuan Lewis, Jibreel Black, Dan Foose, Jeremy Ioane, and Eric Humphrey) appear to be out of the picture for various reasons. (committed elsewhere, lack of ND interest or vice versa, and academics)

[irishunclebill]

With the Nichols offer and commit and the Taylor commit to Florida, Kelly has now offered 5 recruits, with 2 commits to ND, 2 commits elsewhere, and only Danny Spond as a Kelly offer uncommitted.

[irishunclebill]

First post updated as Ioane becomes the 6th offer of the Kelly era.

Bolded names are the ones that Kelly has offered.

Also added 2 new names to look out for.


HI LB Shaydon Akuna- Considered by Rivals to be the #1 prospect out of Hawaii this year just as you know who was last year. With Jeremy Ioane now being officially offered rumors of an Akuna visit or offer will probably get stronger as Akuna is a cousin of Ioane.

FL WR Shawn Corker- Currently a Texas Tech commit who could be just an insurance policy if Bennett Jackson starts to waver again.


Of the two Akuna seems more likely to be seeing more interest from ND now so I will be adding a profile for him as well.

[Akron Irish]

Shaydon looks pretty good. He and Ioane are visiting Arkansas together on 1/22. It would be big to get Shaydon to visit with Ioane on the 29th. But he's currently scheduled to visit FSU that day. He's got a nice offer list.

[HoffVir]

Shaydon looks pretty good. He and Ioane are visiting Arkansas together on 1/22. It would be big to get Shaydon to visit with Ioane on the 29th. But he's currently scheduled to visit FSU that day. He's got a nice offer list.

As IUB mentioned in Akuna's thread, Iaone probably isn't taking that trip to Ar - Kansas.

[Griff Cannon]

If Kelly is looking at Corker it might be as a DB, bama had some interest in him in the secondary.

[stonebreakerwasgod]

Shouldn't this thread be called Kelly's Heroes?

[IrishGrizz]

Shouldn't this thread be called Kelly's Heroes?

That only comes after they sign up on NSD.

[stonebreakerwasgod]

Gotcha.

[irishunclebill]

Added a new name to the list.

CA OT Michael Criste.

Criste is a UW commit since 11/27/09 but for some reason he is listed by Rivals as having an ND offer. That does not mean Rivals is correct about it because they will list someone as offered simply because the recruit says he has an offer. The curious thing about this one is there is nothing said on Rivals by Criste, his parents, or his coach about having an ND offer so I don't know where this is coming from. It could be just a mistake so I'm not going to set up a profile for him until I see something more substantive about any ND interest in him.

[irishunclebill]

Looks like Polian had quite a bit of contact with Criste back in October but nothing came of it. Warriner may have revisited his file and took another look considering ND's OL needs this recruiting cycle.

[Akron Irish]

Added a new name to the list.

CA OT Michael Criste.

Criste is a UW commit since 11/27/09 but for some reason he is listed by Rivals as having an ND offer. That does not mean Rivals is correct about it because they will list someone as offered simply because the recruit says he has an offer. The curious thing about this one is there is nothing said on Rivals by Criste, his parents, or his coach about having an ND offer so I don't know where this is coming from. It could be just a mistake so I'm not going to set up a profile for him until I see something more substantive about any ND interest in him.

Scout shows him with an offer too

[irishunclebill]

Scout shows him with an offer too

Criste does not have an offer, but there is another new name on the list.

FL CB Terrence Brooks who is a FSU Soft Verbal and was previously offered by Kelly at Cincy is listed by Rivals as having an ND offer. Waiting for confirmation of the offer and if he will be visiting next weekend if the offer is verified.

[Akron Irish]

Criste does not have an offer, but there is another new name on the list.

FL CB Terrence Brooks who is a FSU Soft Verbal and was previously offered by Kelly at Cincy is listed by Rivals as having an ND offer. Waiting for confirmation of the offer and if he will be visiting next weekend if the offer is verified.

Nice

[irishunclebill]

Add Derek Roback to the Kelly prospects list. Roback is the 10th 2010 recruit offered by Kelly.

[irishunclebill]

Add another name to the list. Is Kelly going after another Stanford commit? Rivals seems to think so. They have MO RB Brandon Bourbon listed as having an Irish offer. More details in an upcoming recruiting profile thread.

[JMR8]

Add another name to the list. Is Kelly going after another Stanford commit? Rivals seems to think so. They have MO RB Brandon Bourbon listed as having an Irish offer. More details in an upcoming recruiting profile thread.

Beat me to it. Yes, he does have and Irish offer and I don't know how seriously he will consider us, but I am kind of shocked with this offer. I mean Yeah we did lose a RB commit, but I didn't really think it was a priority this year. Just because I figured we would be able to snag 1 or 2 next year.

Kid looks to have solid size and speed...along with good stats. Anyone else know much about his kid?

[irishunclebill]

Updated the first post to reflect confirmation of the offers to Schwenke & Ponder.

Kelly has now offered 13 recruits.

[Purebred Irishman]

BK seems to be pulling out all the stops to get as many kids signed to ND in this class as possible. You gotta like what he has done so far and there seems to be a good chance of ND getting 5 or 6 kids committed between now and next wednesday.

[en dee seattle]

He seems to be doing the most with a very short recruiting cycle. I can't wait until he has a full year to sell ND for the 2011 kids.

I think we will see offers to higher rated kids next cycle, in addition to the diamonds in the rough he seems to find.

[Griff Cannon]

Foose was zooked

[irishunclebill]

Scratch Terrence Brooks as any kind of a possibility. He has confirmed that he will not be visiting ND this weekend.

[irishunclebill]

Moved three more of Kelly's prospects to the committed column.

Latest tally:

14 offers, 5 commits

The 9 remaining:

Taylor- ends up at Florida after flipping on Tennesee.

Lee- picks Cal.

Bourbon- flips on Stanford, but ends up at KU.

Ponder- still pondering. Sorry.

Corker- Looks like he will stick with Texas Tech.

Brooks- may not stay with FSU, but will not end up at ND.

Schwenke, Ioane, Spond- looks promising on all 3 for ND after their OV's this weekend.

If Kelly can reel in Spond and the two Hawaiians, he would end up 8 for 14 on his offers. That's a pretty impressive batting average especially when you consider that 4 of the other 6 were all verbals to other schools when contacted by Kelly. The only 2 among those 6 who were not committed when offered by ND are Lee & Ponder, and there is some question as to whether either were actually offered a written ND scholarship. BTW, that also applies to Corker & Brooks as well. In fact at this point in time the only 2 Kelly offered recruits that we know for sure have turned him down are Michael Taylor and Brandon Bourbon.

[irishunclebill]

Foose was zooked

LOL- even Foose couldn't stand the Zook stink. In less than a week he flipped to FSU.

[irishunclebill]

The Final Tally on Kelly's Prospects

It turns out that Corker, Ponder, and Adrian Lee were never given written ND offers.

So Kelly offered a total of 11 recruits and he received LOI's from 7 of those 11. He whiffed only on Michael Taylor, Terrence Brooks, Brandon Bourbon, and Jeremy Ioane.

7 of 11 is a pretty good percentage no matter what, but it is especially good when you consider how little time they had to recruit these guys to Notre Dame. No matter what you think of the quality of the 7 Kelly offered verbals that is a pretty good indicator, along with closing the deal for Matt James, that Kelly and his staff know what they are doing with regards to recruiting.

[Irishlaw]

the other good thing i took away from today came from watching kellys presser. though not insulting this class at all, it was clear that he wasnt satisfied with the results. hes going to hit it even harder next season. and the recruits he did visit all seemed very impressed but simply didnt have time to build those important relationships with our staff. the small class next year should allow kelly to really focus his energies and then we should be off and running

[kjones]

the other good thing i took away from today came from watching kellys presser. though not insulting this class at all, it was clear that he wasnt satisfied with the results. hes going to hit it even harder next season. and the recruits he did visit all seemed very impressed but simply didnt have time to build those important relationships with our staff. the small class next year should allow kelly to really focus his energies and then we should be off and running

It definitely seemed like he was frustrated by the fact that he knows he could have done a better job if only he had had more time. I already had faith in him, but man, it's still music to my ears. He portrays a quiet confidence that doesn't even come close to approaching arrogance that sometimes seems to be rebuilding our integrity as a program before our very eyes. Maybe I wax to eloquent in his praise, but man I love watching him. Should be a good season!

[Purebred Irishman]

The Final Tally on Kelly's Prospects

It turns out that Corker, Ponder, and Adrian Lee were never given written ND offers.

So Kelly offered a total of 11 recruits and he received LOI's from 7 of those 11. He whiffed only on Michael Taylor, Terrence Brooks, Brandon Bourbon, and Jeremy Ioane.

7 of 11 is a pretty good percentage no matter what, but it is especially good when you consider how little time they had to recruit these guys to Notre Dame. No matter what you think of the quality of the 7 Kelly offered verbals that is a pretty good indicator, along with closing the deal for Matt James, that Kelly and his staff know what they are doing with regards to recruiting.

To get 7 kids to sign LOI with ND is a great achievement imo. And looking ahead to the 2011 class and the offers that ND has given out i think ND will be in very god shape this time next year.

If ND can win on the field this year there is no reason that the next recruiting class wouldn't be a great class.