Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1491978
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM MARCH 2023 7 FAN FORUM MAKING A 'STATE'MENT? Notre Dame has a long history of winning many big games with Ohio and Pennsylvania (especially Western Penn- sylvania) players. So does Ohio State, Penn State and Pitt, for that matter. I noticed that only two players in the Irish's 2023 class and one targeted for 2024 class are from Ohio. None from Pennsylvania. I've noticed this trend over the past decade really. Kids from everywhere but there. I know there is talent everywhere and ND has a national recruiting base, but give me a team made up of Ohio and Pennsylvania kids. Throw in a couple Florida, New Jersey and Texas kids, and I can beat most anyone! Is this snub deliberate? By accident? Cannot compete with Ohio State? Just curious. Thoughts? Thank you. Greg Iaderosa Mr. Iaderosa, per Blue & Gold Illus- trated's research , Notre Dame signed 226 prospects from 37 states, Washing- ton, D.C., and two additional countries from 2013-22. Here is a breakdown of the states from which the Fighting Irish signed the most prospects during that 10-year stretch: Rk. State Signees 1. Florida 24 2. California 22 3. Illinois 15 Ohio 15 5. New Jersey 14 6. Georgia 13 7. Texas 12 8. Indiana 11 Pennsylvania 11 10. Michigan 9 Virginia 9 "Notre Dame will sign anywhere from two to three players from Ohio in a given class," Blue & Gold Illustrated recruiting insider Mike Singer said. "The two they signed in 2023 [safety Ben Minich and de- fensive lineman Brenan Vernon] is on par with the norm, and the Irish already have one commitment from the Buckeye State in 2024 [cornerback Karson Hobbs]. As for Pennsylvania, they're regularly recruiting in the state but it's tough to beat out Penn State for many of those prospects. "It's much more important for Notre Dame to seek out the most talented stu- dent-athletes across the country than it is to make sure they hit a quota in a couple specific states." BE HEARD! Send your letters to: Letters Blue & Gold Illustrated P. O. Box 1007, Notre Dame, IN 46556 or e-mail to: sdowney@comanpub.com On Jan. 19, news broke that Notre Dame men's basketball coach Mike Brey would step away at the end of the season. There were no shortage of opin- ions expressed by Fighting Irish fans. Here is a small sampling of what they had to say on our message board at BlueandGold.com. Irishchef3: With Mike Brey stepping down it occurred to me how stable the Notre Dame basketball program has been for nearly 50 years. Since 1972 Digger Phelps first season, ND has had four head coaches during that time. Digger, John McCloud, Matt Doherty and Mike Brey. Matt Doherty was only at ND for one season. So, it's really been three head coaches in 50 some years. There has been rare longevity with the coaches Notre Dame has hired for the men's basketball program. During those 50 years ND has made one Final Four, has one conference championship and is 40-41 all time in the NCAA Tourna- ment. So, for me what is the ceiling for Notre Dame basketball? The woman's program has proved you can compete at the highest level in basketball. Can the men's program approach something like that with the right coach? I always appreciated the job Mike Brey did at Notre Dame. He was able to take an academic school and make it competitive in two basketball-heavy conferences — the Big East and ACC. That is easier said than done. I am still convinced that if the 2015 team was not screwed over in the seeding process by the committee ND had a shot to win a title that season. That 2015 team had a unique chemistry that made them special. Brey's legacy would be perceived differently if that happened. Two straight Elite 8s is impressive, though. Curious to what Notre Dame men's basketball becomes in the post-Brey era. fishboat: Creighton and Xavier feel akin to the level of program Brey was running before bottoming out, no? They have same number of tourney ap- pearances and fewer Elite 8s than ND since 2010, with pretty similar seedings. SALittleGinat513: I think that is correct. Absent a top-tier coach the pro- gram is at its ceiling or was. Make the tournament over 50 percent of the time, if you catch lighting in a bottle you make a deep run but aren't a real threat to get to the end. Lot of wins overall but that is it. ndlaw95: I agree it was time for Brey to retire. However, I hope that the posters who've wanted Brey out for the last several years don't regret it. Digger left my senior year (and I was glad he did), but the 1990s were not kind to the Irish. Xavier/Creighton is realistic, but current Georgetown is more than conceivable if they don't get the right guy. As I tell my wife: It can always get worse. CincyIrish1964: It can and most probably will get worse initially. With graduation and possibly kids transferring it could be really rough. Willing to take that gamble. The team wasn't going anywhere with Brey next year. One thing I guarantee I will never say is I yearn to go back to the Brey golden years. Barbaro2232: I will write a post filled with apples and oranges. I don't care. It's been frustrating viewing the decline of Notre Dame basketball the past 5-6 years when I was fortunate enough to come of age watching Austin Carr play. I refuse to give up hope that it cannot once again reach the Final Four. More realistically, 20-win seasons and Sweet 16 appearances should be well within reach. I aspire to more than Creighton, regardless of their success. There is little comparison to the ND women's team save for one thing: go- ing after it on the recruiting trail. Yes, they probably have a better product to sell and a broader market to whom it will appeal, but when you're up against Geno Auriemma, Dawn Staley and Kim Mulkey, you still have to sell and work your butt off doing it. In next year's class the Irish women got three five-star recruits — one from N.J., one from Florida and one from Quebec. Like Marcus Freeman, we don't yet know how good an overall coach Niele Ivey is, but like Freeman there's no question that she gets after it on the recruiting trail. Citing the famous quote from "Glengarry Glen Ross," Freeman and Ivey get coffee. The men's team needs the same, now. Brey's cup had been filled with decaf for too long. FROM THE WEBSITE .com .com Defensive lineman Brenan Vernon is one of two Fighting Irish 2023 signees that hail from the state of Ohio. PHOTO COURTESY ON3.COM