Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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current Major League Baseball pitcher Jeff Samardzija. • Charlie Weis' described his 28- man harvest in his second recruiting effort (2006) as a "killer" group, and it too was ranked among the top five to 10 classes in the nation. And then there was Brian Kelly's 24-man group in 2011, which was pro- jected to have the balance and depth to return Notre Dame to at least regular top-10 status. ATTRITION ATTACK That 2011 freshman class was head- lined by what had been Notre Dame's single most difficult area to recruit the previous 20 years: dominant defen- sive linemen and game-changing pass rushers. The group was led by three five-star prospects: linemen Aaron Lynch and Stephon Tuitt, and outside linebacker Ishaq Williams. They were augmented by Chase Hounshell, Tony Spring- mann, Brad Carrico and Troy Niklas. Four years later as seniors, the only one still on the 2014 Fighting Irish ros- ter as of Aug. 19 was Hounshell — who was sidelined the last two foot- ball seasons because of a torn labrum and is attempting to crack the two- deep. • Lynch was a Freshman All-Amer- ican, but he transferred to South Flor- ida — near his home in Tampa, Fla. — in 2012 and turned pro after his junior year in 2013. • Tuitt earned All-America notice as a sophomore in 2012, but he was slowed by hernia surgery last season before opting for the pros this spring and getting selected in the second round of the NFL Draft. • A foot injury that affected his mo- bility ended Carrico's football career by 2012, while Springmann was side- lined in 2013 with an ACL tear and then ruled out for good this year be- cause of persistent back problems. • Niklas was a regular at outside linebacker as a 2011 freshman before shifting to tight end and developing into a second-round draft pick, like Tuitt, as a junior. • Williams, who has one career start and made the transition to defensive end this spring, was in limbo in Au- gust because of an academic fraud in- vestigation. In February 2011, the natural reac- tion among Notre Dame faithful likely was: "This could be one of the best de- fensive lines ever by the time they're seniors in 2014." Potential pitfalls are seldom taken into account on National Signing Day. Also gone from the 2011 recruit- ing harvest is running back/return man George Atkinson III. The speed- ster rushed for 916 yards the past two seasons, but he found himself losing ground to classmate Cam McDaniel and sophomores Tarean Folston and Greg Bryant — so he opted to try his hand in the NFL rather than return for his senior season. Finally, wideout DaVaris Daniels, whose 80 career catches are almost five times more than anyone on the 2014 roster, also found himself in the same limbo as Williams this August. Alas, a lot can transpire over four seasons, and what you saw in Febru- ary 2011 is not what you will necessar- ily get in August 2014.