Recruiting tidbit
Re 5 star 2021 QB JJ McCarthy. From a ND insider. Take it fwiw.
It’s ok that JJ was their #2 QB, I vehemently disagree but there will be doubters, there will be people and teams that like other guys. That’s ok but ND never told JJ he was #2, they handled him like he was #1, they hinted at offers and asked him to drop everything multiple times to use him to pressure Buchner. They told JJ they were offering when he visited, then Buchner committed. Everything was calculated and JJ was used as a pawn. It’s ok for them to like Buchner more, they’re wrong but the honesty would have gone a long way. Heck if something happened down the road JJ would have had interest. Now he’s dying to beat ND and I don’t blame him. JJ is 16, he’s not a business man, he can’t buy cigarettes or join the army. He’s a kid, I have issues with him being used as a bargaining chip. I’m not here to sway people’s opinions of Kelly. It happens at most places but as an ND fan it’s pretty disheartening to me, hence my disappearance. You guys wanted an explanation so there it is, not asking anyone to join me.
They evaluated Buchner as their #1 guy and they landed him so it worked out. That lends credence to not offering JJ, that’s not where my frustrations lie. There was absolutely no reason to lead him on there. He would have been on the hook without an offer if they simply would have said they were waiting to see how things transpired with Buchner. JJ doesn’t have an ego where he needs to be told he’s #1, he will make what he deems to be the best decision at the end of the day and if his offer is committable at that time he won’t care if he’s QB1 or QB6. I hate this everyday but the guy who’s been the most transparent and has done the best job recruiting him has been Harbaugh and that’s why he’ll land JJ.
You weren’t there for a meeting, don’t tell me it’s on a 16 year old kid. Did Buchner think he was behind Preston Stone? No ND told him he was their guy, as did a certain coach from ND. He told Wisconsin’s QBC (Jon Budmayr) a different story. Just be honest, that’s all.... it’s the business but that doesn’t make it ok and that doesn’t mean I have to tell my kids that’s ok either. Like I said there won’t be a current kid at Naz that will go to ND and that’s because of relationships, the 2022 WR will be top 50 and their family won’t consider it. If you guys are ok with burning bridges and chalking it up as collateral damage that’s fine, but I expect better. Admittedly I can do better to “take my emotions out of things” but if you mistreat my kids I’m not just gonna say “oh well that’s business” because I was previously an ND fan.
JJ was told to visit and he’d be offered, point blank. The hope was JJ would tell his QB Coach Greg Holcomb, he did btw, and Greg would tell his cohorts in Cali who would tell Tyler. He did and they did, Tyler had pressure without it coming from Rees and Kelly. If you don’t care about JJ McCarthy you applaud this as a savy move that got TB to expedite the process. It worked and ND got their man. I do care about JJ and his dream school dangling an offer to bait another kid doesn’t not sit well. I’m biased, sure, but you guys don’t care about JJ the person either so your opinions are also jaded. It was a low tactic and one that doesn’t sit well with JJ’s family. It will inevitably spill over to those he has relationships with because that’s how this works. I hope we all move past this in the future but for now it hurts to get out classed by Harbaugh, that’s a tough look for someone like me who’s put ND on a pedestal.
Silly Fig Things...
No clue if all this is true but with Kelly nothing is surprising.
Nobody died at least. That’s saying something with fuckhead Kelly.
*yet
*recently
That's right... forgot... wasn't there an incident years ago with one of the coaching stands or whatever they are, that fell and hit some people?
Anyone recall the facts on that, I vaguely remember something like this...
It feels like we have so many QBs on scholarship and seem to still take two every year. We still seem to draw legitimate interest from top ranked players despite the challenge for early playing time.
It doesn't feel to me like we take two QBs every year or that we have so many on scholarship. We're down to four with Peters leaving, which I'd say is the minimum any program should want. Anything less is potentially a serious problem.
yeah not sure where that comments coming from.
QB is arguably the most impactful position in sports...underrecruit it at your peril
Or, if you're Brady Hoke, at your successors peril.
You can't tell me how to feel.
Harbaugh hasn't taken two QB's in a class since he's been at Michigan.
And when he’s tried to take two, it’s one guy who’s as highly ranked as possible and then a second project guy.
It would make no sense to take 2 anyway. We have 4 scholarship QBs on the roster even with Peters gone.
Harbaugh hasn't ever taken 2 QBs in a class at Michigan
In the poster's defense, he has if you count transfers.
Gentry and Malzone say hello.
That actually ended up being a ZERO QB class, in the end
Typically take 1 per cycle, Chief.
You have to take a QB in every cycle. Every team does, so it doesn't typically change interest from recruits since it will be the same wherever they go.
He's got ND on a pedestal and this is what finally rustles his jimmies regarding BK???
Without even getting into practice cameramen on scissor lifts in windstorms; has he watched him coach a game yet? #purplepeopleeater
Clearly THIS was his last straw, not the kid dying taping practice or going purple in the face screaming at kids, because of some pre-existing relationship with the player or his HS that superceded his love of ND.
Maybe the "Naz" HC is his brother or something ??♂️
This probably happens more than it should, but Jesus Christ, i agree with this gentleman. I hate this and everything he states. I’d be equally as upset if our staff did this. The Swenson thing bothered me at the time for similar reasons
What the staff did with Weaver was way, way more egregious than what happened with Swenson.
I disagree with all of this... at any given time a recruit can go back on his word, and the programs cannot... cannot have it both ways...
and recruits do the same thing and play programs off of each other....they use them, too... it goes with the territory based on the current rules.
I thought that if the recruit went so far as filing with financial aid office that this locked the school in? My recollection of this is hazy tho so someone please correct me if I’m wrong.
That's backwards. A recruit can arrange for financial aid with multiple schools and not be bound until he signs a LOI. The school would be bound to give the financial aid but have no obligation to give him a spot on the team.
Gotcha. Thanks for clearing that up.
Why grown men get worked-up about 10th grade QB's finding their way to full-time rides is as upsetting as any perceived mistreatment. Totally agree w/ Alumnus93, it all goes both ways and should,.. and the parents and HS coaches should not be oblivious to this. You have to just keep performing.
Shit happens for a reason, not unlike kids applying their book smarts for possible academic rides or top tier schools. They don't always get what they want or what they might deserve. There might actually be someone smarter or who in the end checked more boxes who gets the spot. It's a long road and it's misguided and naive to have any other perspective. I mean crap, enough have sat in specialized recruiting/performance camps since their kids were 10 years of age to see and be told how it works.
Why would croots need to play programs off each other, as you state Alum93?
If you're highly sought after you can do pretty much whatever you want, and if you're not it doesn't matter much how you try to manipulate the situation.
I mean, right?
Now, they may very well accept an offer from their 2nd tier of preferred schools while hoping to get 1 from their 1st tier.
That's the game, for sure
Weaver looks pretty decent to boot.
Swenson happened because Drevno is a fucking asshole. I’m pretty sure if Swenson was dealing with anyone other than Drevno, he would have gone to a camp and had a committable offer. Drevno didn’t like him and made no bones about.
Genuinely curious, when did it come out that Drevno was the main culprit behind the Swenson fiasco? I had not heard anyone blame him until recently, way after he left UM.
Well, he was the OC/OL coach. Who should be responsible?
I mean, if JH really loved the kid he could've ridden Drev harder to bring him into the fold. But refusing to camp for the new staff was a pretty major red flag to me that this was another entitled Hoke-era croot who was NEVER gonna exude the passion JH requires.
That said, neither did Drev apparently!
The evidence that its Drevnos fault is:
A.) Drevno is no longer here, so he's a good scapegoat. And
B.) Drevno is no longer liked, so he's a good scapegoat. And
C.) Drevno was bad at developing players, so he's a good scapegoat.
Point B would imply that he was liked at some point. I am not sure that this is true.
He sucked as an OL coach and as a recruiter his entire UM tenure.
D) All of the Above + a side of an OT would be DIRECTLY under the OC/OL coach's responsibility.
Swenson was too entitled, but Drevno AND Harbaugh handled his "processing" like jerks. And Weaver's. Lessons learned, I do believe.
On the other hand, one of their 1st scholarship offers just graduated after spending his entire career as a walk-on despite having been offered the schollie at one point. And not one peep has ever been made about it. So it is also up to the player & his family how they choose to handle it!
This is big boy business. Weep quickly if you must and move on.
Maybe my reply was over embellished as a result of having that bitter taste from reading the post still in my mouth, I just prefer the no bull shit approach.
I blame Drevno for the ‘Swenson situation’ (as I do for most things he could plausibly be blamed for). That fucker couldn’t coach, recruit or communicate effectively.
Dyn-o-mite!!!
Irishzen? Yet another NDFigBlog username, huh?
Guy list credibility when he acknowledged putting ND on a pedestal. Poor judge of a lot of things.
In fairness, other than their head coach (which is admittedly a huge part of the program), the institution itself takes the academics more seriously than almost any other P5 school. They've suspended multiple starters in the past for academic violations, including (if memory serves) their starting QB for a year (Golson). You think Tua would be suspended if he had a tutor take a final for him?
Tua’s tutor would get put on academic probation for allowing Tua to take an exam on his own.
If only they kept the same energy when Prince Shembo raped a girl, threatened her, had a teammate threaten her, and then continued to slander her after she committed suicide. To hell with Notre Dame.
Brian Kelly being an ass? Shocker
It sucks that they toyed with him to manipulate another player. Unfortunately this goes on everywhere and will continue to get worse as we move closer to treating these recruits like professional athletes and not student-athletes.
The opportunity to get a free college education, experience, and the opportunity to experience new ideas and meet all types of people is quickly being devalued by the almighty dollar.
JJ seems like he still values all of these things. luckily for this young man he is not lacking opportunities. However there will likely be some kids that do get this opportunity taken from them with this type of recruiting practice.
One of my pet peeves of late is the whole "it's a business" mantra people seem to be blithely throwing around. You'll see all sorts of deceitful, unethical, immoral, illegal, and otherwise shitty behavior being somehow excused by saying "it's a business". As someone who runs a business, doing those sorts of things are a very poor way to run a business in the long term. While it may lead to temporary successes, it poisons the well.
I'm particularly irritated that this "business" mentality is approached by coaches when their future employees are actually more aptly titled indentured servants and are teenagers. If it's a business, at least pay the kids what they are worth above the table.
/end rant