Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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90 MARCH 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED T wo words tend to dominate every current Notre Dame football re- cruiting conversation: "fit" and "landscape." They are the popular responses to the most-asked inquiries about Notre Dame recruiting these days: Why can't the Irish land more elite, five-star pros- pects that can take it to the Alabama, Clemson, et al. level? Why can't Notre Dame be as consistently great in football as it was from 1964-80 or 1988-93? Mindful that Brian Kelly and Co. do currently have a top-10-caliber pro- gram that has included two 12-0 regu- lar seasons in seven years, the desire becomes more pronounced to no longer just be in the conversation for titles but finish the task for the first time in 31 years. (This year marks the 100th an- niversary of the first of 13 NCAA-rec- ognized football national titles by Notre Dame in the 70 seasons from 1919-88.) Kelly is on record that the school's "distinctions" will generally keep Notre Dame more in the No. 5 to No. 15 area of recruiting — still good enough to vie for championships, depending on impact at crucial areas. Whether one wants to agree with that or not is not the point. There is always room for improvement. However, a closer inspection reveals two realities about fit and landscape. With regard to fit, in 247Sports' 2019 composite individual rankings — which combines 247Sports, Rivals and ESPN — there were 34 players listed with five stars. Fourteen were reportedly offered by Notre Dame. The Irish tendered 10 of Rivals' 30 five-stars. An automatic assumption often tends to point to academics. It would be arro- gant, and inaccurate, to point to that as a sole reason, but it is a factor. More and more, football recruiting is taking on an element of men's basket- ball recruiting where top-of-the-line prospects are foremost looking at po- tential financial NFL windfalls. Aca- demics can be a distraction toward such an endeavor, so taking a path of lesser resistance in that regard is plausible. What stands out more to me, though, is the shift in geography. Among the 30 five-stars listed by Rivals, 27 were from SEC or warm-weather area states, as were 80 of the top 100. Compare that to: • Among the 22 starters on offense and defense for Notre Dame's 1973 na- tional champions, 20 were either from "Big Ten states" (Ohio, Michigan, Indi- ana, Wisconsin …) or the Northeast, a Fighting Irish base. The exceptions were defensive tackle Mike Fanning from Oklahoma and fullback Wayne "The Train" Bullock from Virginia. • The 1977 national champs had simi- lar demographics. Among the 22 starters on offense and defense, the lone figures outside "cold weather" regions were Tennessee defensive end Willie Fry, Texas center Dave Huffman and North Carolina flanker Dave Waymer. Guard Ernie Hughes was from Boise, Idaho — not a football recruiting hotbed. • The 1988 national champs were be- ginning to get more of a Sun Belt flavor and included South Carolina quarter- back Tony Rice, Louisiana linebacker Michael Stonebreaker, and Florida products such as Mike Heldt, Pat Terrell and Derek Brown. Still, the heart and soul of Notre Dame's recruiting excel- lence was the Midwest and Northeast. The defensive front, for example, had Chris Zorich and Jeff Alm from Il- linois, George Williams from New Jer- sey and Frank Stams from Ohio, while the game-breakers on offense included Pennsylvania natives Raghib "Rocket" Ismail and Ricky Watters. Now contrast that with the defenses on the 2012 and 2018 outfits. The 2012 front line featured Stephon Tuitt (Georgia), Louis Nix (Florida), Kapron Lewis-Moore (Texas) and Prince Sh- embo (North Carolina). It could have included Florida's Aaron Lynch, but it was the "wrong fit" for many reasons. Elite linebacker Manti Te'o (Hawai'i) and top defensive back Zeke Motta (Flor- ida) also came from warmer climates. Last year's top linemen included Jerry Tillery (Louisiana) and Julian Okwara (North Carolina), the top tackler was linebacker Te'von Coney (Florida), while Alohi Gilman (Hawai'i) and Jalen Elliott (Virginia) greatly upgraded the secondary. The ultimate bonus is when more lo- cal three-star figures such as All-Amer- ica cornerback Julian Love (Illinois) and two-time captain/linebacker Drue Tranquill (Indiana) are ideal fits with the school and are also superbly developed. Notre Dame signed three players who received a fifth star by at least one na- tional outlet from 2014-18, and all are from " base" regions in the Midwest or Northeast: Quenton Nelson (New Jersey), Daelin Hayes (Michigan) and Tommy Kraemer (Ohio). Landing a Kyle Hamilton (a five-star per 247Sports) from Georgia this year was a coup. It's not about just "letting anybody in" to get to the next level. One has to want to be here, too — and beyond just a football realm. It's a different recruiting aisle, and often times for so many great southern prospects, staying in provincial football- power quarters rather than embarking on the road less traveled is more appealing. Over a five-year period, Notre Dame recruits at a cumulative top-10 level, and it is showing more on the field, too. However, to reach the highest level, the "stars" truly do have to be aligned in more ways than one. ✦ Many impact players for Notre Dame come from warmer regions of the country, including standout defensive tackle Jerry Tillery (2015-18) of Louisiana. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA BEST OF THE FIFTH QUARTER ✦ LOU SOMOGYI ✦ MARCH 2019 College Football Landscape Tilts To The South EDITOR'S NOTE: The late, great Lou Somogyi possessed an unmatched knowledge of Notre Dame football, and it was his mission in life to share it with others. Those of us at Blue & Gold Illustrated would like to continue to provide his wisdom and unique perspective from his more than 37 years covering the Fighting Irish for this publication.