Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/462058
UNDER THE DOME and even secured a commitment from former Irish defensive lineman Louis Nix III during the gap when Notre Dame did not have a head coach in December 2009. Similarly, Cooks has developed into a dynamic recruiter himself. He landed two recruits from Louisiana in this cycle — an area from which the Irish had received zero signings since 1999. He also produced seven sig- natures from Texas in the past three recruiting cycles, from this year's three-star wide receiver addition Jalen Guyton to freshman cornerback Nick Watkins and sophomore wide receiver Corey Robinson. With little recruiting drama on National Signing Day — the Irish received signatures from each of the 22 verbal commitments and added running back Dexter Williams and wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown to the fold — the only chaos surrounding the Irish program that morning was the "news" that former Michigan head coach Brady Hoke would join the Notre Dame staff. That was retracted an hour later. CoachingSearch.com, a typically reliable website that reports on NFL and collegiate coaching moves, re- ported Hoke to South Bend the morning of National Signing Day, but Hoke refuted the report on CBS College Sports Network. "I can tell you, I have so much respect for Brian Kelly," Hoke said. "Brian and I have been friends for many, many years, coaching against each other in the MAC. He and I had a discussion … but I'm not going to be coaching defensive line at Notre Dame." The next day, the Irish added a familiar name to the coaching staff in former Notre Dame cornerback Todd Lyght to replace Cooks as defensive backs coach. Lyght, a Flint, Mich., native who was a two-time consensus All-American for Notre Dame in 1989 and 1990, accepted the job of cornerbacks coach at Vanderbilt only four weeks prior to leaving for Notre Dame. Lyght spent most of his career with the Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams before spending two seasons with the Detroit Lions prior to his retirement in 2002. In 2009-10, Lyght served as defensive backs coach of high school powerhouse Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas, the home of current Irish left tackle Ronnie Stanley and recently signed prospects Aliz'e Jones and Nicco Fertitta. He joined Chip Kelly's staff at Oregon as a defensive intern from 2011-12 before following the coach to the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles. Prior to accepting the position with Vanderbilt, Lyght spent two years with the Eagles. While the final two dominoes had yet to fall with the Irish coaching staff when Blue & Gold Illustrated went to print, there was much speculation that longtime Kelly assistant Jeff Quinn would join the staff. The University of Buffalo fired Quinn from his position as head coach in October, and many have expected that Kelly would hire him if given the opportunity. — Andrew Owens JEROME BETTIS, TIM BROWN MAKE PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME The date Aug. 8, 2015, will unofficially be "Double-Domer Day" in Canton, Ohio. On that day, for the first time since 1963, two Notre Dame representatives will be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in the same year. Running back Jerome "The Bus" Bettis, 42, and wide receiver/return man Tim Brown, 48, were an- nounced on Jan. 31 at the fourth annual NFL Honors Show with seven other former players or front office men (18 were on this year's ballot) to earn the prestigious honor. Joining the Irish tandem this year is a former USC linebacker, the late Junior Seau. That means Notre