Let's move the discussion from the other thread to here...

yeah good call...

anyway, from what i have heard smith and richardson have looked good and fit well for this new scheme

So what's the word on Hiben?

I'm pretty sure he just stopped playing football... As far as I know he stayed enrolled because he cared enough to get his degree in architecture...

"Hey, you! We, the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame, are giving you a full scholarship to play tight end for us! You're a 4-Star recruit and could have signed anywhere, but we sacrficed time, money, and effort to bring you here! Welcome!"

"Great! But hey, I'm gonna quit after a year to focus on building bridges."

Go to hell, Joey Hiban.

Yeah not sure I understand that one...I mean even David Wolke decided football was worth going somewhere else for, And I think Hiben could have at least competed for some PT with Reuland and Yeatman, before of course Mike Ragone showed up

I'm blanking here but I think Crum was out of position this past year... I think he would make a decent OLB... Good God could Chris Donald have helped us out this year...

Crum did play out of position as a MLB in the 4-3 but i think thats where he translates for this 3-4 because Charlie is looking for that hybrid style OLB and I am not sure crum is big enough to fill that spot. I think he will be better suited in this system. And I don't want to talk about Chris Donald. That AA game was kick in the junk that just wouldn't end

Telling you guys, Vernags will be a great OLB this year, just you wait and see.

The reason they decommitted was because they'd heard Minter was on the way out... For those committing, they are asked to tell who they'd verbal to earlier in the week, but then switched after finding out the news... To be quite honest, I trade Donald, Martin, Edwards, and Trattou for Corwin Brown any day of the week... Minter was absolutely horrible... Give it a year or two and we'll have a defense that can actually contend...

And I never said anything about Vernaglia not being good this year... I'd been calling for him to get more playing time...

I didn't say Vernaglia doesn't have the talent to play, but there is a reason we had to move our second leading rusher to OLB and it isnt because Vernags just needed some time off

I am pretty sure that Hiben transferred back to Minnesota, maybe to be closer to home. Either way, he isn't playing football any more.

ND gets two verbals this weekend for the 08 recruiting class....Braxton Cave a solid OL/DL prospect with an offer from Michigan and lots of attention from Florida...John Goodman a 6'5 WR who naturally because he is tall, lanky, white, and from Indiana is being compared to Samardzija...

Good start to recruiting so far...I'd say we are in a much better position this year then any other time in the Weis era...

Flynn, any more info on these last 2...I havn't heard or seen much on them, other than that they verballed.

Irish also get a commit from DT Shawn Cwynar. Position of need, he had offers from MSU, Purdue, and Wisconsin among others.

Don't know anything about the other two commits, but Cwynar is a good get. He should be a 4 star.

Any word on how Michael Floyd's trip to ND went?

Havn't heard anything much about Floyd visiting since his unofficial in the fall. He did tell Irish Eyes.com that ND is in his top 5

I can"t wait for Lil' Poz to sign with ND. I know Brownie will be ok, but I know plenty of PSU homers who are going to be freaking out and crying.

When ND first started recruiting little 'poz I figured we had no chance cause of who his brother is, but the more the more I believe we have a real good shot at him....

And I know all about those PSU people, I'm an ND diehard that has been born and raised in PA....you just can't escape people's JoePa boners around these parts

My guess with Floyd is that it comes down to Notre Dame, Minnesota, and Ohio St., in that order. I would be shocked if he went anywhere else.

That's my feeling's also...He said he "grew up cheering for Notre Dame" so that always is helpful in recruiting...Those were among the schools he listed in his top 5 to Irish Eyes

1. Cwynar is as big of a get as anyone else in the country... Finding a true 3-4 end is as hard as it gets to for an incoming freshman... He possesses good speed and the mentality we need... He's embracing this scheme, which is something not many are able to do... He has good speed, especially for someone his size and a great nose for the ball... He's going a big time replacement for losing out on Justin Trattou last year...

2. I'll be somewhat surprised if we don't get Michael Floyd... He was one of the first to get offered this year and he's said in the past that he has a ton of interest in ND... He's also said that someone's going to have to do alot to overtake us... I really like him, but I don't see him as a 5* player... He'll be on the cusp of 5*'s, somewhere in the range of 30-35... He is drawing Larry Fitzgerald comparisons and that seems to be accurate from the little I've been able to see...

3. Lil Poz is an interesting situation... He's supposed to be an ND lean, but he's getting alot of interest from PSU and is under alot of pressure from his brother as well... However, David was a major ND lean and supposedly the only reason he didn't go to ND was because he was never offered... His parents also wanted David to go to ND, so I really am not sure as to where he ends up, but I give ND a better than 50/50 shot... ND's LB class this year will be amazing...

4. Cave is a sleeper prospect in this stage... He's not getting the pub he should be, because from the reels I've just seen and the measurables, he's without a doubt one of the top C/G prospects in the country... Weis loves mobile lineman and Cave moves extremely well... He gets to the second and even third levels well... He pull nicely and gets into space to block on screens nicely... He's clearly a strong prospect... I like the fact that even with a nose on him, he's able to drive his man back with ease... I love to be able to pound the ball right behind the C when you need that yard and he seems like he'll give us that capability... He and Wenger make me feel very comfortable about where we stand over the next few years for the C position... Also, Golic may end up being a G or a DE... We're addressing many needs along the line, which is a good sign...

We ended up surpassing my expectations from the Junior Day... I really only expected to get Goodman, who I've seen nothing on... Cave and Cwynar are both 4* opinions in my opinion... Cwynar is that first prospect we needed to get the ball rolling in terms of a big time DL prospect... I'm really hopeful we get Ethan Johnson from Oregon soon... On top of the verbals, we're in good shape with top LB Eric LeGrand, a very good LB prospect out of Jersey... He says we're in his top two, even without an offer... He'd be a really nice get to fill a void at ILB...

My sources are saying that our next commit will be a LB within the next few weeks...

Thanks for the info Flynn. I too have no idea about Goodman, I wasn't even aware we had offered him. I am very excited about the way this class has started.

Spring practice tomorrow, lots of questions to be answered.

Info I read or heard after the first day of spring practice

Travis Thomas is starting the spring back at running back

John Sullivan will be playing center and will not be moving to guard

OG Chris "One Big Mac Short of 400lbs" Stewart is starting the spring at Nose Tackle

Jimmy Clausen and is aparent arm injury are aparently much ado about nothing as Coach Weis said today Clausen is 100%

WR DJ Hord is back to 100% after a freak weight room incident in which he tore his achilles and missed the entire 2006 season

OT Sam Young who has been predicted by many to be moving to LT to replace the graduated Ryan Harris is aparently staying at RT to start the season according to coach Weis.

QB Demetrius Jones, considered by many to be the front runner to replace Brady Quinn has requested to wear #3 the most heralded number at Notre Dame

I really don't want to see Thomas at RB... I really do appreciate what he did for the team, moving to unselfishly like that... But he's stunting the future development of studs like Munir Prince, Armando Allen, and most notably, James Aldridge...

I had heard that Brown was ecstatic when he took over and pencilled him in as starter from day one... He has tremendous quickness for a kid 340 lbs... He needs a double team and will be an absolute terror at NT...

There was an article in ESPN the Magazine saying that the supposed bone chips in his arm were nothing... Jimmy at some point, unless Jones, Frazer or Sharpley play perfect football, will be the starter of this team...

Had to love the verbal beat down Weis gave to Jimmy Clausen Sr. and to some extent Armando Allen...

"From now on I will be the one speaking on the injury status of our players"


As for Travis Thomas, I have always liked him as a running back, I really see him splitting carries with Aldridge and Allen getting some carries the way Munir Prince did last year. I can see Prince moving to a slot receiver or maybe even DB basically because Armando Allen is Munir Prince only better and faster. I think its a good idea to have Travis back in the offensive backfield, but I do expect Aldridge to get at least half the carries