Notre Dame Football 2011: The Brian Kelly Era...Ascends?

• bababooey

  

  freshman jersey numbers:
  
  RB/WR - George Atkinson #4
  DB - Josh Atkinson #43
  K - Kyle Brindza #27
  CB - Jalen Brown #21
  OL - Brad Carrico #56
  OLB - Ben Councell #30
  WR - Davaris Daniels #16
  WR - Matthias Farley #41
  QB - Everett Golson #5
  MLB - Jarrett Grace #59
  OL - Conor Hanratty #65
  S - Eilar Hardy #34
  OL - Matt Hegarty #77
  DL - Chase Hounshell #50
  TE - Ben Koyack #18
  DL - Aaron Lynch #19
  OL - Nick Martin #72
  RB - Cam McDaniel #33
  DL - Troy Niklas #58
  OLB - Anthony Rabasa #56
  DL - Tony Springmann #69
  DL - Stephon Tuitt #7
  OLB - Ishaq Williams #1
• Tobias Fünke

  

  “If Dayne Crist never injures his knee last year, are we even having this conversation?” Kelly said, referring to a season-ending ruptured patellar tendon that knocked his No. 1 starter out of the final four games.
  
  &#8220robably not. But it did happen, and it’s led us to an interesting place.”
  
  Actually, it led Kelly to former Florida coach Urban Meyer. When Meyer came to ND to speak at Kelly’s coaching clinic last spring, Kelly took it a step further in private.
  
  Specifically, Kelly wanted to know about the “Tim Tebow package” Meyer sprinkled in around starter Chris Leak’s longer stretches during the Gators’ 2006 national title run.
  
  “Nobody really wants to play more than one quarterback,” Kelly said. “But in college football - more than you do in any other sport - sometimes you have two guys who have a skill set that can help you win. In Urban’s case, Chris Leak was very good, but he was not complete.
  
  “If I had (Stanford’s) Andrew Luck, then there’s no question. We’ve got one guy, and all the other guys can watch from the sideline. But we don’t have that situation at Notre Dame. Neither did Urban, and he still won a national championship.”
  
  Kelly has devised two offensive packages for the four quarterbacks. Offense “A” is for Crist and sophomore Tommy Rees, the latter being the most lightly recruited of the four and the quarterback perceived to have the lowest ceiling among them.
  
  Offense “B” is for the spread offense prototypes, sophomore Andrew Hendrix and early-enrolled freshman Everett Golson.
  
  “I never work with four quarterbacks in the fall,” Kelly said, “but because they’re so close, we’re going to develop all four of them. The thing about Andrew and Everett, in time, they may become that quarterback who can do everything. But they won’t be that guy when we open on Sept. 3.”

  http://www.southbendtribune.com/sports/sbt-notre-dame-football-the-evolution-of-brian-kelly-20110702,0,1015542,full.story
• athlete37

  

  Got my alumni tickets for the Michigan game wasn't so lucky with the USC game
• karen lotz

  

  Not bad, didn't know you could get away tickets through alumni tickets. If you happen across another ticket, I may know someone interested.
• athlete37

  

  karen lotz;821936 wrote:Not bad, didn't know you could get away tickets through alumni tickets. If you happen across another ticket, I may know someone interested.

  
  Will do bud
• sherm03

  

  karen lotz;821936 wrote:Not bad, didn't know you could get away tickets through alumni tickets. If you happen across another ticket, I may know someone interested.

  athlete37;822098 wrote:Will do bud

  
  He meant me.
• vball10set

  killer_ewok;818075 wrote:My sister-in-law was required to have one after her first and only DUI.

  
  just curious--was that here in Ohio? if not, what state??
• killer_ewok

  

  vball10set;822444 wrote:just curious--was that here in Ohio? if not, what state??

  
  No. West Virginia.
• bababooey

  

  BEAVERTON, Ore. -- The shamrock and the "Irish" carved in the back of South Bend (Ind.) Washington linebacker David Perkins' hair say it loud and proud.
  
  Notre Dame is back, and it has a visible presence at Nike's The Opening showcase.
  
  Perkins is joined by Irish commits Justin Ferguson (Pembroke Pines, Fla./Flanagan), Mark Harrell (Charlotte, N.C./Catholic), Tee Shepard (Fresno, Calif./Central) and Deontay Greenberry (Fresno, Calif./Washington Union) at the event.
  
  "It's nice to get know all of them before the season starts; it's the first time I've met the other recruits," Harrell said. "And it's nice to talk with them and get familiar before we step on campus, especially in an environment like this."
  
  Shepard has been wearing his Notre Dame hat from the minute he stepped off the bus, and Greenberry has one of his own.
  
  While these two players aren't alone in sporting the colors of their future home, it's a sign of how far Notre Dame has come with top-flight recruits since Brian Kelly was hired in December 2009.
  
  "A lot of people are trying to show us love now," Greenberry said. "Back a few years ago, people weren't really high on Notre Dame. But now they see me and Tee representing the school and performing at a high level, and it's a different reaction."
  
  The reason for that reaction, according to Harrell, is Kelly and the culture he has quickly created in South Bend.
  
  "Coach Kelly has won everywhere he's been," Harrell said. "He's recruiting some great talent and developing a nice culture in the program.
  
  "When he stepped in, a lot of people started respecting the program more because he won a lot at Cincinnati and he's going to bring a lot of wins to Notre Dame. People realize that, and they want to be a part of it."
  
  Any recruit who goes to Notre Dame also accepts the academic responsibilities that go along with it, and that appealed to Shepard, an ESPNU 150 defensive back.
  
  "I chose Notre Dame because I looked at football and academics," Shepard said. "I'm a good student and I want to get into the engineering program up there.
  
  "We want to let people know it's possible to do the right things in the classroom and still go out and get crazy on the football field."
  
  Shepard and Greenberry are cousins, and their decision to attend Notre Dame together extends the family atmosphere Kelly has created within the program.
  
  "I know half the team already," Shepard said. "I've met some, and others we talk on Facebook and stuff. The coaches and the players are what makes the program for me."
  
  One would expect the two West Coasters to be worried about the sudden change from the hot California weather, but Shepard is looking forward to it.
  
  "I like cold weather; it's too hot in Fresno, to be honest," Shepard joked. "I also wanted to get away from home a little but still be in a comfortable place."
  
  The next step for these commits is to have a strong week at The Opening to let other recruits around the nation know that Notre Dame is heading back to the top. Harrell said the expectations have already grown after the Irish ran off five straight victories to end the season.
  
  "It's already started with the wins over USC and Miami," Harrell said. "That got a lot of people's attention."
  
  Both Greenberry and Shepard believe championships are in the near future.
  
  "It's exciting because once ND comes back up, it's over for everyone else," Shepard said. "We're going to compete for championships and beat the best every week."
  
  "We have good talent coming in with the quarterbacks and the linemen and now my group with the speed players," Greenberry added. "Tee is going to make it happen on the defense, and I'm going to do it on the offense with the other incoming receivers like Justin Ferguson."
  
  Still, there's no substitute for the emotions Notre Dame can bring out of some people. Shepard proudly admits that he got caught up in the moment.
  
  "The first time I walked to the stadium, I cried, it was so nice," Shepard said. "I love that school. I wear green and gold proud."

  http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/recruiting/football/news/story?id=6750819
• karen lotz

  

  Good article, read it earlier today. Pretty good showing by the 5 commits at The Opening.
  
  
  ND target Bryce Treggs committed to Cal tonight which sucks, but he is going to take an official visit to ND for the USC game so it isn't a done deal yet.
• Tobias Fünke

  

  
  
  So cheesy and awesome.
• karen lotz

  

  Irish pick up #12 tonight. Romeo Okwara DE/OLB from North Carolina committed tonight after visiting last week.
• killer_ewok

  

  Recruiting is going quite nicely.
• Little Danny

  

  Tobias Fünke;820594 wrote:http://www.southbendtribune.com/sports/sbt-notre-dame-football-the-evolution-of-brian-kelly-20110702,0,1015542,full.story

  
  Nice story and all, but BK actually did this at UC long before having Urban speak at ND. In 2008 UC went through five QB's during their first Big East title run. In 2009 Tony Pike went down with an arm injury he switched gears with Zach Collaros.
• Tobias Fünke

  

  Debatable.
  
  I'll be happier when the recruiting services update their stars and Notre Dame is in better position. Not that I really give a shit, but truth be told none of us have a freakin' clue how any of these guys will pan out, so we might as well feel good about who we have compared to everyone else.
• Tobias Fünke

  

  http://collegefootball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1238729
  
  Notre Dame coming in at #14 in the last ten year's recruiting. Just goes to show you, player development makes or breaks a program.
• killer_ewok

  

  Tobias Fünke;827177 wrote:http://collegefootball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1238729
  
  Notre Dame coming in at #14 in the last ten year's recruiting. Just goes to show you, player development makes or breaks a program.

  
  That was painfully obvious under Weis.
• Tobias Fünke

  

  WE NEED SOME FUCKING FOOTBALL NEWS.
• athlete37

  

  Was overlooking the stadium Friday at a wedding rehearsal dinner from the Purcell balcony. Does that count as news? lol
• WebFire

  Tobias Fünke;832606 wrote:WE NEED SOME FUCKING FOOTBALL NEWS.

  
  46 days until kickoff.
• bradmaynard

  

  I'm nervous about the NT situation. Williams is way undersized to be playing such a critical role on the line. Don't get me wrong, I love the prospect of Lynch and Nix being out there together for the future. However, with so much hype on this year and an unforgiving schedule putting two guys with zero college ball on their resumes out there together constantly could prove costly for us.
• Tobias Fünke

  

  Welcome to the huddle---errr, the OC.
  
  Hafis Williams may just be ~285, but Louis Nix behind him is 340 pounds of Floridian foulness. Plus Cwynar is in there too. Some depth but no proven studs, although there is lots of hype around Nix in particular and I hope he backs it up.
• karen lotz

  

  Brandon Newman will also be in the mix at NG. Cwynar and Hafis filled in well last year when Ian Williams missed time. Nix has the most potential if he can stay on the field.
• bradmaynard

  

  Thanks for having me. I really like what Nix brings to the table with his size his ability to plug the center and guard. I'm hoping he is a beast for years to come. Newman is 300+ right? Let's hope they throw it all together well because this has got to be the most pumped I've been for watching an ND defense in some time.
• vball10set

  nice article on the recruitment of William Mahone
  
  http://www.irishsportsdaily.com/recruiting/notre-dame-recruiting/5091-faith-a-a-mothers-love-part-iii?catid=110%3Afootball-recruiting

  “I absolutely love that the players have to room with other students and are not coddled or treated like they’re so much better,” she said. “I don’t think I understood what you gained with a degree from Notre Dame. Since coming back, everyone’s said, ‘Oh my gosh, if he goes to Notre Dame, he’ll be able to go anywhere and get a job.’