Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1246464
www.BLUEANDGOLD.com JUNE/JULY 2020 5 FAN FORUM BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY In the May edition of Blue & Gold Illustrated, both Todd Burlage and Lou Somogyi said in "Point/Coun- terpoint" there's a possibility we might not see football this year. The people responsible for Notre Dame football and college football at large, hopefully, will be careful enough to consider the facts of medi- cal experts and governing institu- tions, including last but not least the NCAA. One important fact is Notre Dame has student-athletes from many states, each with specific medi- cal experiences with COVID-19. ESPN's Mike Golic's opposite reac- tion (page 8) I can understand from a fan, media and athlete's standpoint. Yet when he takes the blinders off, he must realize the entire future of each individual who puts on a uniform or cheers for a team pales in compari- son to controlling this deadly virus. Over 80,000 American lives lost (through May 10) are worthy enough to keep at bay our immediate yearn- ing for high-profile sports competi- tion, unless the testing, treatments and vaccine development allow us to safely return in 2021. Notre Dame's athletics director Jack Swarbrick has stated the games have to have students and fans in the stadiums for football to return. Con- sider too, the medical doctors are not all on the same page on all COVID-19 issues. How can college football then plan to return? That makes football in 2020 less likely because the people coming to South Bend are from coast to coast. Vince Mackiel Perth Amboy, N.J. NEW STANDARD I have been reading Blue & Gold Il- lustrated for over 35 years now. In all the years, I have not read a bet- ter article than The Fifth Quarter in the May edition entitled "A New Genera- tion Primed To Overcome." It was well written and hit the nail on the head. I look forward to BGI every time. Thank you. Go Irish! Kelly Reid Miles City, Mont. 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 After a strong start to the 2021 recruiting cycle that had Notre Dame ranked No. 1, head coach Brian Kelly hinted a couple of days before the victory over Iowa State in the Camping World Bowl Dec. 28 that he has changed his stance from 2017 that the school's distinctions will prevent it from regularly ranking among the top 10. From 2014-20, Rivals ranked the Fighting Irish classes No. 11, No. 11, No. 13, No. 13, No. 11, No. 14 and No. 23. "We want to break out of the 15th ranked or the 10th ranked, and we want to get into that next echelon," Kelly said. "I think we have some things that we're going to implement that will allow us to do that." However, top running back target Will Shipley committed to Clemson May 5 and Notre Dame fell back temporarily to No. 11 — with schools such as Alabama, Georgia, LSU, among others, that usually finish with a flourish still behind them. Here were some reactions on BlueandGold.com: Alfarouq1: The worst part is to Clemson he's just another recruit while to ND and its fan base it's much different. Honeypot1234: Tough pill to swallow. Will make it sweeter when we beat them in the Bend. RPM912: At Clemson, almost guaranteed to get to the Final 4 and legit chance to win a national championship — versus a team that usually gets embarrassed in big games and hasn't won a national title in 32 years. Kcndmis97: Geography probably had a lot to do with it. Also, path to the NFL is easier at Clemson, can't blame the kid. I thought maybe Lance Taylor could sway him with his history with Christian McCaffrey, but in the end it seems another top skill position kid opts for a football factory versus being a true student-athlete. Clemson is a decent academic school and the weather is better. Shabak: Another disappointing year recruiting. Someone needs to overhaul how we do things. Lucio: Small class, most likely limited recruiting visits due to the corona, kids wanting to stay closer to home due to uncertainty, etc. All that on top of the limited top players ND can offer. Soco24: Losing that huge recruiting weekend in March plus the spring game in April because of COVID-19 has done ND no favors. Spf84Sell: ND will have a good recruiting class and a good season, besting the teams they should and losing to Clemson. Johnmichie: When ND can offer a few soft stay eligible majors, no foreign language mandate, get undergrad degree in 5 years versus 4, it will level the playing field for a few top-5 classes. The recruiting base for ND has shifted considerably over the years. The strong Catholic high school programs are smaller and no longer locks. The southern states are now the strong areas of elite kids. ND will still recruit solid kids but not frequent elite players. Most blue bloods have considerably more elite in-state talent to lock in. FROM THE WEBSITE JOIN THE CONVERSATION! GET A 60-DAY FREE TRIAL WITH CODE IRISH60 .com The possibility we won't see fans in the stands at Notre Dame Stadium this fall is very real. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA