Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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Under the Dome Five Questions With … 247Sports Head National Recruiting Analyst JC Shurburtt ▼ JC Shurburtt was one of the first hires for 247Sports in May 2010. He assumed the role of director of recruiting in August 2011 and has been running the department ever since. Before his position at 247Sports, Shurburtt worked at ESPN.com from 2007-10 as well as Rivals.com from 2004-07. Blue & Gold Illustrated: How does Notre Dame stand nationally right now in terms of recruitment? Shurburtt: "There are some needs that Notre Dame has on the defensive line and on the interior, in particular. But it's still a very good class. It's ranked No. 9 in the country by 247Sports [as of Nov. 7]. Offensive linemen like Quenton Nelson, Sam Mustipher and Jimmy Byrne are guys who in time will develop into outstanding interior players, so I really like the offensive line group that they've got. "I think outside of the big interior Louis Nix-type, they've done well evaluating defensive linemen that they can develop: Grant Blankenship, Matt Dickerson, Richard Yeargin. I think the quarterback they have, DeShone Kizer, is a potential difference-maker in time." Blue & Gold Illustrated: What is unique about Notre Dame's upcoming class so far? Shurburtt: "The thing about this class that may be unlike other Notre Dame classes is this class is not full of guys who will play right away. There are a lot of developmental guys who in two or three years will be very good. "An exception to that are the receivers, Corey Holmes and Justin Brent." Blue & Gold Illustrated: What do you think is the most effective recruiting technique for today's coaches? Shurburtt: "What the better recruiters nowadays are doing is communicating with players in the method in which players communicate, whether that's social media or emails. They are loaded with information on the kids and Shurburtt building relationships externally through using the same communication methods." Blue & Gold Illustrated: How will the new NCAA recruiting rules affect the recruitment game? Shurburtt: "The all-star game deal is a situation where, do I support that rule? Yes, anything that will get coaches more time with their families, I'm all for. I think there are two things there that pushed that through. "One, there were some coaching staffs that frankly didn't want to go do it. Second, the NCAA is fundamentally opposed to any sort of coverage on recruiting, and that coincides with their pseudo-academia college athletics. "The reality is that [recruiting] is a big business. They will do everything they can to diminish it because it's something they have zero influence over and no ability to monetize." Blue & Gold Illustrated: Do you think there needs to be an early signing day? Shurburtt: "Absolutely. I think this is one thing the NCAA could do to make rules that actually help recruiting. They could let players go ahead and sign in August and make it a cut-and-dry criteria where a coaching staff leaves or gets fired or there's a fundamental change in the program. "That lets kids get it out of the way and lets them focus in the classroom and field senior year, and the coach doesn't have to worry about his players being taken by another school. That would help everyone involved." — Staci Gasser Click here to listen to Blue & Gold Illustrated's complete interview with Shurburtt.