ISD intel (1/13)
Trust. The. Process.Three simple words and as Notre Dame commitments tweeted them out along with an identical photo on Monday night, the meaning seemed obvious.https://twitter.com/brockjwright40/status/818650215507001345But after some digging, it goes a little deeper.Trust the process. All of the pledges made the decision to commit to Notre Dame and were voicing their belief in trusting what the University is all about with the tweets.Trust the process. The commits obviously joined the football program in South Bend. They committed to a university and a program, not individual coaches, so they wanted to make it clear, they trust the program to surround them with the best coaches possible.Trust the process. While the expression was undoubtedly meant to catch the attention of those on the outside, it was also a way for the commits to signify to one another that they're in this together and that they trust each other.One commit admitted to us he was watching the national championship game on Monday night and thinking about his future at Notre Dame and how badly he wanted to be on that stage himself one day. Just hours earlier, the Irish had lost a key member of their class when Paulson Adebo decommitted and although it's been four years since Notre Dame was playing for it all, it seemed longer and perhaps further away following the 2016 season.But this player wasn't doubting his choice."I feel like I made the right decision and my team was 4-8," he said. "As a group, for the bigger purpose, we all felt it was appropriate to let the world know Notre Dame is still strong whether or not we had the best season or whether or not a kid decommits or commits. "We feel like the work we're going to put in with our new strength and conditioning coach, offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator, position coaches, etc., is going to create some energy and bring that winning culture back."So, after some discussion on the oft-mentioned and by now famous group chat, the decision was made to display a sign of unity."We talked about why we were doing it and we were doing it to let people know we trust the process," one commit told us. "That's what Notre Dame is really all about, trusting the process. You're not walking into a football institution, you're walking into an academic institution first. Trusting the process is all about being loyal with your decision."This commit told us he could have bolted if he had concerns."I had other options, but at the same time, I trust the process, I trust the coaches and I trust the culture," he said. "I think everyone has the same exact mindset as me, which is scary just because we are such a tight-knit group with such a narrow focus. We're really going to create some splashes."One commit confirmed part of the decision to send out the tweets was to gauge where all of the other commits' heads were at."We call each other and text each other on the daily just making sure everything is cool," he said. "Even if it's not about football, I just want to know what you're thinking, how you're feeling. A lot of it is to other commits. "I think at a time like this, coming off a season we had and with kids decommitting, to show the kids who are still committed are still strong-minded about their decision, I think that says a lot about a school rather than just what they hear or see on TV." BALLIS MAKES IMMEDIATE IMPRESSIONS: Notre Dame has yet to officially announce Matt Balis as its new strength and conditioning coach, but that announcement is still expected to come as soon the University's exhaustive background check is complete.We took some time this week to catch up with a couple people who have worked with Balis on an individual basis or have had the opportunity to observe him. It's clear it doesn't take the former UConn strength and conditioning coach long to make an impression and those impressions are overwhelmingly positive.We spoke to one current player at UConn, who is disappointed to see him go."He's a man of great integrity," this player said. "He's a strong man. He connects with the guys real well. Coach Balis is a great guy. He's a great strength coach. He knows the business. He knows what he's doing. He works with everybody individually."This player was unable to play on the field this past year, but Balis still managed to keep him fully engaged."Me being a guy who sat out last season, he still spent a lot of time with me in the weight room," said the player. "I met him halfway, I did my part, but he helped me with his part as well."Balis sets the bar and doesn't accept anything less, according to this player."He held each and every single person to a standard and he didn't lower the standard at all," we were told. "He kept his word with everything he said. I just like how he kept everybody at the same standard. He pushed everybody to be better and it worked. Our record might have been what it was, but there was a lot of work put in in the offseason and even during the season."He told us to just trust the process, do what he tells you. His rsum speaks for itself and the things he was able to do at Mississippi State and Florida. Mostly everybody I know reached their goals in the weight room. I know I've reached my goals. I've seen myself do things I never would have even thought I could do in the weight room and that's all because of him pushing me past my limit."Despite being a demanding coach, he was still one of the favorites."He was one of the most liked people in the program," the player said. "He pushed us very hard. What he says about the weight room is that you flip the switch, you've got to come in with the switch turned on or you'll get left behind. He was hard, he was very hard, but he was definitely hands down one of the most liked people in the program."So, are the Irish getting a good strength and conditioning coach?"Yes, they're getting a great one." We also caught up with the father of a recruit who was struck by Balis during an unofficial visit to UConn during the recruiting process."The thing I was impressed with was just his intensity," the father told ISD. "He just seemed to be a great motivator and really intense. I just loved his energy."This father felt Balis' energy carried over to the players."The players we had a chance to speak with seemed to really enjoy being trained by him and gave excellent feedback regarding the progress they made during the time they were under his supervision," he said.Like the player, the father definitely felt Balis' intensity, but also the encouragement."He had no problem pushing guys and getting in their face a little bit in a positive manner," we were told. "Guys need that."FIELDS FIELDING MORE OFFERS: This is the stage of the recruiting process when prospects are trying to narrow down their lists, but for Evan Fields, things seem to be working in the opposite direction. The 2017 Oklahoma safety thought he had narrowed his schools down multiple times in recent months, only to have more schools come into the mix later.On Thursday alone, Fields picked up offers from TCU and Minnesota, numbers 32 and 33. It's difficult to say whether either program has a legit shot at making a move with Fields given his calendar crunch.One thing is for sure though, Notre Dame does have a shot to make a move with Fields.Irish recruiting coordinator Mike Elston was in Oklahoma City on Thursday night for an in-home visit and he put Notre Dame in a good place heading into Fields' official visit to South Bend next weekend."He was pretty much letting us know who Notre Dame is, their tradition and the expectations for their players and prospective players," one source told ISD late Thursday night. "Academics, that's the key, number one. It was a great, great visit."Obviously, Fields will learn much more about Notre Dame during next week's trip, but his camp was comforted by learning about all of the Irish's games being televised nationally. Elston deferred many of the X-and-O questions to next week so new Irish defensive coordinator Mike Elko could answer them."Out of respect to the defensive coordinator, he didn't answer a lot of Evan's questions because he didn't want to tell him anything inaccurate," the source said.Elston left an overwhelmingly positive impression."I'll tell you what, that guy seemed real honest," we were told. "He didn't sugarcoat anything because he doesn't want us to get the wrong picture. It's a very prestigious program they have." Fields is off to UCLA today for an official visit. He's already taken visits to Kansas State, Oklahoma State and Arizona State, so the trip to Notre Dame will be his fifth and final official. He'll fly directly from South Bend to Orlando for an all-star game and will announce his decision the following Monday, Jan. 30th.KEEPING UP WITH CHRIS: Following his official visit to Colorado last month, we were told Buffaloes commit Chris Miller was unlikely to take other visits despite landing more offers down the stretch. The Colorado coaches pressed the wide receiver/cornerback on sticking with the Buffs and ignoring his new suitors while also promising to feature him on both sides of the ball.While we're sure the Colorado staff is still going to try convince the Texan to rebuff others, at this point, it seems likely Miller will find his way to South Bend for an official visit. In fact, we're told a date has already been locked in for next week and we're putting him on our Visit List.It seems Miller was initially under the impression Notre Dame wanted him as a receiver. Whether that was a case of misunderstanding or if former offensive coordinator Mike Sanford wanted him to play offense, the Irish have made it clear they're recruiting him as a cornerback, which is Miller's preferred position.Given Colorado's preference and almost insistence that he not take any other visits, if Miller does indeed make it to South Bend next weekend, we'd take that as a sign of serious, serious interest on his part.LEGACY OR OWN LEGACY?: 2017 defensive end Jalen Harris is committed to Arizona. His father, Sean Harris, played football for the Wildcats and his mother played basketball there. So it's only natural he will go there, right? Not so fast my friend. "I am pretty open," Sean Harris told ISD this week. "At the end of the day, he has to make a decision for himself. I don't want it to be my decision that he has to live with. It has to be something he has to choose on his own. "Whatever school he decides on, he has to feel it's the right place for him, regardless of if I played there or his mom played basketball there. It has to be one he is comfortable with." The elder Harris played fullback at Arizona and in the NFL, but one thing he has noticed about his son's recruiting process is the major differences of recruiting in 2017. "It's like night and day," laughed Harris. "You have Twitter and all this stuff. The coaches reach out to the kids before they talk to the parents. It's very different and everything is on social media, but later on, you meet face to face. "A lot of times, the relationship with the coaches is started with the kid before they meet the kid in person or the parents in person. It's a lot different." Harris wants his son to make his own decision, but will also be involved in making sure the scheme is the right fit and coaches aren't pulling a quick one just to score a commitment. "I think a 3-4 would fit him best," explained Harris. "He has great speed off the edge and I think that's his advantage. He still is getting stronger and bigger, but I believe a 3-4 would be best for him. "If he plays in a 4-3, I think it'd be best for him to be the rush end. That's just how I feel. Everyone else may have a different opinion." We can confirm those around the program absolutely love Harris. The 6-foot-4, 210-pounder still needs to fill out, but his ability to play the edge and rush the quarterback makes him a very intriguing prospect. As we told you on Wednesday, Harris and his family will be in South Bend the last weekend of January for an official visit. HE'S BACK: Kudos to a few astute ISD observers who noticed an old name back on our Target List at defensive end. Josh Paschal got a good look at Notre Dame when the 2017 Maryland defensive end visited for the team banquet back in Decemberand then he committed to Kentucky a couple days later.With less than a month to go before National Signing Day, the Irish are getting back in the box to take another swing at Paschal.And after some digging, we're told Paschal will be open to listening to the Irish once again."You never know how this stuff goes, so you can't burn any bridges," one source told us.The source wasn't sure whether new Irish defensive coordinator Mike Elko had reached out to Paschal just yet, but he knows Elko had inquired about doing so and had been given the green light.In the meantime, our source took the time to learn a bit about Elko's time at Wake Forest and came away with a positive impression."Wake Forest is pretty much an academic school, maybe not as much as Notre Dame, but they preach strong academics," the source stated. "A lot of times with kids, you don't get a kid who's really great academically and that is a four or five-star guy. He seemed to do really well with what he got."We're not exactly sure what it would take to flip Paschal from the Wildcats, but we've officially put him back on our Target List.ON THE OTHER HAND: While Notre Dame's recruiting board seems to be growing exponentially, we took a pair off on Thursday.As we reported yesterday, Notre Dame won't be pursuing either Virginia linebacker Ellis Brooks or Michigan linebacker Antjuan Simmons, who has an announcement scheduled for Saturday.Following Pete Werner's decommitment, Brooks told us Notre Dame had reached out to him again and he was looking forward to taking an official visit to South Bend later this month. But a source close to Brooks told us the Irish had contacted him again recently to let the 2017 Virginia linebacker know they were no longer looking to bring in another linebacker to replace Werner and join David Adams and Drew White."Ellis really liked Notre Dame a lot, he was looking forward to visiting up there and meeting the coaches and looking around, but we received a call from Coach Elston and he advised us with the new coaching staff there, they thought they were possibly going to take another linebacker in this class, but they're not," a source close to Brooks said."They liked Ellis and he didn't do anything that would prevent him from coming to Notre Dame, but they're not taking another linebacker in this class."As we reported when Brooks was put back on the board last month, he's a young man who understands recruiting is a business and still doesn't have any hard feelings toward Notre Dame."It all worked out," the source said. "We thank them for the time they spent talking to Ellis. They're still very professional. Ellis wished them well and that's the way it went."Additional Analysis From Uyeyama: Brooks is a fine prospect as an inside linebacker and I don't think anyone is against adding a player like him to a recruiting class. But in terms of a position fit, it never made much sense to me that Notre Dame would add him to replace Werner in the class. They are very different players and Brooks does not offer the same kind of versatility that Werner does. Brooks essentially plays the same position as White and Adams and I don't think he is a better prospect than either of them. With that in mind, I think it's the smart move by the defensive staff to focus their efforts elsewhere. I can also understand why those efforts aren't being directed toward Simmons either. I like Simmons as an athlete. I love his potential and obviously, Ohio State did as well or they wouldn't have taken him as an early commitment. I do think he is very raw in a lot of areas, though. Right now, he is a better athlete than football player. If you combine that with the fact that there are some questions about his length and his size, I get why Elko and new linebackers coach Clark Lea would decide against pursuing Simmons. Size issues can be overcome with great athleticism and instincts, but Simmons' recognition skills and instincts aren't elite at this time. Defensive back Shaun Crawford was someone who did possess great athleticism and instincts coming out of high school and that's why he was a take and a lot safer prospect than Simmons. Simmons could greatly reward someone down the line if it all comes together for him, but there is risk involved and I understand why that's a risk Notre Dame would choose not to take. TALKING TARGET LIST: As always, you can check out the full Notre Dame Target List HERE, which is updated frequently, along with our Visit List, which you can find HERE.This week, we added a new thread to focus on all of the new offers the Irish have sent out already this month, which is HERE.Diving a bit deeper into the current Target List.Notre Dame feels it will have shots with safety TreSean Smith and defensive back Tre Norwood. Smith remains committed to Louisville while Norwood decommitted on Thursday night. The Cardinals lost not only their defensive backs coach, but their defensive coordinator in the past week, but the Irish felt they had a shot at Smith even before that.Jordan Genmark-Heath is another recently-offered defensive back. The San Diego native is currently committed to Cal, which unexpectedly fired head coach Sonny Dykes earlier this week. We expect the Irish to be able to get him to South Bend this month and see him as a prime flip candidate. We have told you a bunch about 2017 defensive end Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa in the last week and we can confirm there is a lot of interest in Notre Dame from the family. We spoke to Amosa's father earlier this week. It's clear he wants a high academic situation for son and Notre Dame fits the bill. At this point, Tagovailoa-Amosa is still scheduled to be in South Bend on January 25th-26th, but that still could change by a day, as he plans to visit Vanderbilt and Navy, where his older brother plays. There are still several prospects Notre Dame has contacted in the last couple weeks who are still being evaluated by the Irish staff and could end up on the offer list some probably sooner than later. Deontre Thomas is one such player. The Oklahoma defensive tackle is currently committed to Nebraska and will take his official visit to Lincoln next weekend, but Notre Dame is still pushing to get in the mix and have his attention. In fact, Elston was at his school on Thursday, meeting with Thomas and getting all of his measurables. Thomas left the meeting feeling like an offer will be coming at some point. He's not yet sure if that would result in him taking a visit to South Bend, but of the other schools pushing for him right now, Notre Dame is at the top. UPON FURTHER REVIEW: The biggest call or non-call of the college football season was all too familiar for Notre Dame fans.After beating Alabama in Monday's national championship game, Deshaun Watson referred to his last-second touchdown pass to Hunter Renfrow as a "pick play."But was it illegal?Once again, we reached out to Our Ref for his thoughts."At first I wondered, then I looked at the replay closely," Our Ref said. "It was really the defender who initiated the contact. That close to the line, they are allowed some contact, so it wasn't a foul for the defender, but I also wouldn't have flagged the offensive player for contact that the defender initiated. Plus, the defender made no effort to get around his receiver, which told me he wasn't focused on anything but covering man-to-man. "Alabama fans might have wanted that called, but if it had been called on them on offense, they'd have alleged a bad call. Let them play -- unless, of course, the other team is allowed to play too! Sorry, but you can't have it both ways."Some have pointed to the pass interference penalty on Clemson's penultimate offensive play. While the referees may not have announced the call correctly, but the outcome was correct.On 2nd and goal from the nine, Alabama was called for pass interference "in the end zone," according to the official and the ball was placed at the two-yard line. Some have pointed out the foul did not occur in the end zone which is correct and that the ball should have been placed around the five after being penalized half the distance to the goal which is incorrect."Defensive pass interference is always either a spot foul where it occurred, or a 15-yard penalty," Our Ref said. "When the ball is snapped inside of the 17 and the foul occurred on or inside the 2 (end zone included), the ball is placed at the 2. The only times DPI is subject to half the distance is either when the ball is snapped on or inside the 2 or it is on a try from the 3 (or inside). This is an exception to normal penalty enforcement where no penalty shall be more than half the distance. "The foul occurred, at least, at the 2 or inside the 2, so the ball was properly placed at the 2. Had the foul occurred at the 3, it would have been placed there."TOGETHER FOREVER?: After moving in over the weekend, Notre Dame's 2017 early enrollees will officially become part of the Irish family when they show up for the first classes of the spring semester on Tuesday.We know CJ Holmes and Isaiah Robertson will be rooming together and Brock Wright and Robert Hainsey will be paired up as well. Apparently breaking with past tradition, the duos will have the option of remaining roommates throughout their duration on campus.EXTREME MAKEOVER-NOTRE DAME EDITION: As the Campus Crossroads project continues to get closer and closer to finished, we learned there will be a few additions that haven't officially been announced to the public just yet.Currently, there is a massive tarp on the Rockne Tunnel entrance. A source stated they are giving the Notre Dame locker room a makeover, building a visitor's locker room and then a tunnel to the field the visiting team will use. In other words, the visiting team will no longer walk down the main tunnel when entering and leaving the field. In terms of the locker room, both the home and away locker rooms needed some improvements. Now, you don't want the visiting team to be too comfortable, but a little bit more space is acceptable versus what is there now.
