Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com AUGUST 2019 5 FAN FORUM TITLE ROLES Your 160-page 2019 Football Preview is phenomenal. I especially enjoyed the "Title Search" piece which spoke of periods between national champi- onships among traditional powers. Here in Penn- s y l v a n i a , t h e N i t t a n y L i o n f a n s ( 1 9 8 6 ) and Pittsburgh (1976) fans do n o t w a n t t o speak about it — and I sus- pect neither do Michigan S t a t e f a n s (1965) or Colorado (1990) fans. I doubt the Tennessee and Ne- braska followers do either — al- though their last championships are just over 20 years ago. When many other major football programs are taken into consider- ation — Texas A&M, Stanford, West Virginia, Baylor, UCLA, Wisconsin, Oklahoma State, Purdue, etc. — how many of them have been in the BCS playoffs or even played in a national championship game, yet alone won one? For Notre Dame to have two 12-0 regular seasons in a span of seven years is laudable. With a limit of 85 scholarships, the "margin of error" is narrower than ever. John Lushis Allentown, Pa. Mr. Lushis, it would be interesting to take a reader survey of how many Notre Dame followers believe the Fight- ing Irish can win another national title in the next 10 years or so after having last achieved it in 1988. Thank you for the kind feedback — and the opportunity to remind everyone that it's not too late to order the full glossy 2019 Blue & Gold Illustrated Football Preview to get you ready for this season. Visit BlueGoldOnline.com to order or call 800-421-7751. BE HEARD! Send your letters to: Letters Blue & Gold Illustrated P. O. Box 1007, Notre Dame, IN 46556 or e-mail to: lsomogyi@blueandgold.com In the last month and a half alone, Notre Dame has picked up 10 verbal pledges for the 2020 and 2021 classes (see more on pages 32-41). Yet because of numbers, the likelihood is the Fighting Irish will likely finish in what has become its usual "10 to 15" area nationally — which prompts angst on whether Notre Dame will ever catch up to the Alabamas, Clemsons, et al. A subscriber on Blue- andGold.com had his own take on such rankings. Escalibore: For the first time ever, I don't care where Notre Dame ends up in the team recruiting rankings. For the first time in a very long while, ND has a system and a plan on both sides of the ball. For so many years in the last two decades, I bemoaned the fact that we seldom seemed to have an identity, or any one area where we could hang our collective hat and say, "Here we are. You know what we're going to do. Try to stop us." Because we now have an offensive and defen- sive identity and have built some core compe- tencies, ND better knows how to recruit toward that. Notre Dame finally has a coaching staff that is more than competent, and most members are very good to excellent. The 2020 class has met every offensive need with kids good enough to make a significant impact: My grades, based on what we are able to know (videos, camps, etc.) … QB: A Drew Pyne is perfect for the ND system. I per- ceive him as Ian Book with a little more "It" factor. The way he came in for relief in the 7 on 7 and flourished was inspiring. RB: A Chris Tyree was just what the doctor ordered and is a perfect complement to what we already have on campus. WR: A Two studs in five-star Jordan Johnson plus Xavier Watts, and a "Chris Finke on steroids" with Jay Brunelle. Great haul! TE: A This is not up for debate. OL: B+ B+ due to numbers, but "A" according to need. This is an elite offensive class. Now, on to de- fense … DL: A-/B+ Add a pass rusher and it would be an A. LB: No grade. We have a lot on campus, though I'd have of- fered Cody Simon (Ohio State). DB: C+ I love the athleticism and length of these kids, and I trust Kelly and his defensive staff. This class will not rank highly but that will simply be because it will be low on numbers. We'll have at least 6 kids at 5.9 or higher on the Rivals rating system. That is 50% more than Michigan, who is ranked higher. There are few teams with whom I would agree to switch classes. The bottom line is that we have met our needs with impact players. Great job by BK and staff. 2021 is off to a great start as well. If ND can turn in a good season, I think we can get to the level set by Clemson and Alabama. SJB75: The most important recruiting marker are two-year groupings. If you miss out two years in a row in a certain area, then worry. Otherwise, follow the two-season analysis of recruiting. Recruiting balance is far more im- portant over two seasons. AZIrish69: The Tyree verbal is huge, as I can't recall the last time Notre Dame signed the nation's No. 1 all-pur- pose back. 5-star WR Jordan Johnson appears to be a stud. Safety seems to be stacked so I am not especially wor- ried about recruits filling that position. One 4-star true cornerback and a top 4-star weakside end, and this will be a Top 5 class. FROM THE WEBSITE Wideout Jordan Johnson potentially helps make the 2020 Notre Dame recruiting haul one of the nation's most explosive. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM 2019 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ISSUE $12.95 ✦ WWW.BLUEANDGOLD.COM ARMS RACE Senior quarterback Ian Book and the Irish strive to produce more offensive firepower in pursuit of another College Football Playoff berth