St. Patty's Prospects - Give and Take

In days like these, it is important for Irish fans to keep one thing in mind regarding recruiting… it could be worse. The Irish football program is currently at a crossroads, which is rarely a good thing for recruiting. The firing of a head coach usually leads to undecided recruits eliminating your school and/or de-commitments from players who previously verbally committed. Unfortunately, both of these situations have materialized in the discourse of the coaching transition at Notre Dame, but that is somewhat expected.

Most people would not expect a player committed to a different school to de-commit from that school and give a verbal commitment to a coach-less program. That is exactly what happened when Louis Nix changed his decision to play for the Miami Hurricanes and committed to Notre Dame.

Let me just say THANK YOU!

As for the rest of the current commits and targeted prospects, let me update you…

Not going anywhere!
These players have expressed their commitment is “solid” even after Weis was fired.

DE Blake Lueders – 4 star
TE Alex Welch – 4star
CB Chris Badger – 4 star
WR Tai-ler Jones – 4 star
WR Daniel Smith – 4 star
OL Christian Lombard – 4 star
QB Tommy Rees – 3 star
WR Bennett Jackson – 3 star
RB Cameron Roberson – 3 star
CB Lo Wood – 3 star

Here for now:
Some of these players have said they are waiting to see whom ND brings in as the HC. Some have said they are still committed but are not as convincing as the above players.

LB Prince Shembo- 3 star – says he is still committed but I can see him leaving based on who comes in as the defensive staff.
CB Toney Hurd Jr. – 3 star – He is waiting to see who is hired.
QB Andrew Hendrix – 4 star – He was looking forward to playing for Weis. Still committed but might bolt if we have a defensive HC come in.
DE Justin Utupo – 3 star – Has said he has a back-up plan in place.
CB Spencer Boyd – 3 star – Taking a visit to Michigan as a plan B.
LB Kendall Moore – 3 star – Keeping his options open now that Weis is gone.
RB Geo Bernard – 4 star – Haven’t heard anything.
DT Louis Nix – 4 star – He is only here because he is a fresh commit who has already bailed on one school. It is likely he will be here on signing day.

No Chance:
These players have once considered ND but have eliminated them from consideration.

DE Chris Martin – 5 star – This one hurts
CB Lamarcus Joyner – 5 star – Top CB in the nation. I really though he was going to come to ND, especially since his teammate Geo Bernard is committed to ND. He said this week he has eliminated ND because of the coaching uncertainty. He also had a hard time with meeting Notre Dame’s academic standards.
WR Kyle Prater – 4 star – He is going to USC

Top Targets
These players are still giving the Irish strong consideration despite the coaching changes.

RB Anthony Barr – 5 star – It is between ND and UCLA. There is a great chance for ND to grab him up soon.

OT Seantrel Henderson – 5 star – We will find out in Feb where he decides to go but the Irish are still holding strong with him. This is a must get for the o-line.

S Dietrich Riley – 4 star – He is deciding between Florida, Tennessee, USC, and Notre Dame. Decision to come in late January.

OT James Stone – 4 star – Irish still strong with him. Other schools: Alabama, LSU, Tennessee, Stanford, and Auburn.

OC Brandon Linder – 4 star – He is the top center on Scout.com. He comes from the same high school as Geo Bernard and L. Joyner. Irish are still strong with him. Other schools: Miami, Florida, and Ohio State.

OT Matt James – 4 star – Visiting ND again on Dec 5th.

DT J.R. Ferguson – 4 star – Chances might be fading to get him but ND is still being considered.

Notre dame needs to make a hire fast so they don’t lose any more recruits. This is a pivotal time for the Irish and a delayed hiring will only hurt the class of 2010. As of right now, I am liking the type of players that are committed. Notre dame is on the short list of a lot of top talent around the country. These prospects are just waiting to see what Jack Swarbrick and co. does and then we will see who is truly considering the Irish.

No pressure.

St. Patty's Prospects - Give and Take