Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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football recruiting or five years.��� The in-state Buckeyes are always difficult to beat for local talent. Despite the fact that Byrne was the first recruit officially on the board for Ohio State, the draw to Notre Dame was too difficult to top. ���I saw Notre Dame as a place that I could go coming out of that first visit,��� he said. ���There have been former players at St. Ignatius [former Irish wide receiver Robby Parris and defensive end John Ryan] that went to Notre Dame and were successful both on and off the field. I knew that heading into the visit. ���It was really exciting for Ohio State to be my first offer, and I was really high on them for quite a while. I was looking for the Notre Dame offer, and after I got that I looked at the academics, coaching staff and tradition of the program. That���s when they started to move up the list, and my visit for the Michigan game [Sept. 22] put it all into perspective. I was really blown away with what the program has to offer.��� Byrne, who will return to South Bend Dec. 30 to take in a BCS Championship Bowl practice with his family, looks to be an early steal for the Irish before other programs started to make their way in. ���The first thing when you look at Jimmy Byrne���s commitment and why it���s significant is Notre Dame beat out Ohio State for a kid that had a Buckeyes offer,��� 247Sports national writer Steve Wiltfong said. ���Byrne was the first offer for Ohio State by Urban Meyer in the class of 2014. For Notre Dame to continue staying competitive and continue being one of the top teams in the land, they���re going to have to beat the heavyweights for kids, and they were able to do so here.��� St. Ignatius head coach Chuck Kyle is encouraged by the continued strides his player has made. ���Jimmy has size and good quickness on his feet,��� Kyle said. ���He has diligently worked to get stronger. His best attribute is that he is very coachable. He listens and works hard.��� While it���s an early choice, Byrne sees it as the last one. ���My commitment is solid,��� he said of how he���ll handle the recruiting process moving forward. ���The word commitment itself means more to me than a lot of other people and how they interpret it. If other schools try to get in contact I���ll respectfully tell them I���m not interested.��� ��� Film Analysis Strengths Strong at the point of attack ��� Blocks from snap to whistle ��� Combination of size and power allows him to block players not only out of the gap but 10-15 yards off the football ��� Good discipline keeping hands inside and works well to the second level of the defense instead of staying locked in on one assignment. Areas To Improve Increased work in the weight room will allow him to change from execution on blocks to domination ��� Needs work on steps in pass protection to get deeper kick on a faster defensive lineman ��� Looks to be a better fit for the interior at the collegiate level. ��� Jason Sapp