ISD Intel (12/23)
When Brian Kelly was announced as the head coach of Notre Dame eight years ago, his first task was putting together a coaching staff from scratch. Out of his nine assistants, four came over with him from Cincinnati Bob Diaco, Charley Molnar, Mike Elston and Tim Hinton. He decided to keep one holdover, Tony Alford, from Charlie Weis' staff. That left four slots to fill. After Jeff Quinn took the head coaching job at Buffalo, Kelly needed to find an offensive line coach. He tagged former Kansas offensive coordinator Ed Warriner for that job. He found a spot for his former assistant Chuck Martin, then the head coach at Grand Valley State, as well. Bob Diaco's former college teammate Kerry Cooks was also added and seemed like a logical fit. Then there was Mike Denbrock. If you were a member of Irish Sports Daily at the time, you would have heard then that it was a good hire. Denbrock not only did a good job as a position coach previously at Notre Dame from 2002-2004, but he did a good job as a recruiter as well. Throw in that he worked with Kelly from 1992-1998 at Grand Valley and it sure seemed like a logical fit. It's obviously turned out extremely well with Denbrock in his return to Notre Dame, but he wasn't seen as a coach on the rise before he got the opportunity. After being part of Tyrone Willingham's staff at Washington following his first stop in South Bend, he ended up at Indiana State. That's a pretty big step down and after being a part of two staffs that were fired, most people would assume he must not be that good of football coach. Despite being fired from two jobs and then taking a job at an FCS school, any assumption that he wasn't a good coach or that he could not coach at a top school has proven to be false. It could be argued that he has been the most valuable staff member during Kelly's time at Notre Dame. It was not a flashy hire that made headlines. It was simply the right hire because he is a fit with the program, a good recruiter and a coach who has done a great job of developing players. In terms of everything combined into one for an assistant at Notre Dame, Denbrock checks all the boxes, which is why ISD Publisher Mike Frank mentioned him in the piece he did yesterday, which you can read here. After a 4-8 season, Kelly is back to putting together a staff that could have as many new faces as his first season at Notre Dame. There are already two new coaches with Brian Polian and Mike Elko coming to town. Kelly still needs to find someone to coach quarterbacks and there is a real possibility he may need to bring in new people on the defensive side of the ball after Elko gets done interviewing the current staff members. This is obviously a critical time for him to get these hires right.There needs to be a balance of things weighted for each hire and being fired from a previous job should not disqualify someone. It might be perceived as more of a win to steal away a coach from another blue-blood program, but Denbrock is a great Notre Dame example of someone who looked to be declining in terms of his career when in reality he wasn't. Those were circumstances out of his control when he was fired. Denbrock didn't bring buzz. He brought substance. Hiring him ended up being one of Kelly's best decisions since he's been at Notre Dame. Even in the case of someone like Lane Kiffin, who left three head coaching jobs with a poor reputation, it turned out very well for Nick Saban when he brought him on at Alabama. Kiffin did not do a good job as a head coach, but he did a great job as an offensive coordinator in Tuscaloosa. Kiffin worked hard as a recruiter and had overall track record of success calling plays. That part mattered more than the recent head coaching failures. What someone has done recently as a coach matters, but not as much as an overall rsum, especially when it comes to doing a specific job. Looking at the two new hires, Elko and Polian are two great examples of checking the right boxes for the two positions they have been hired for. Elko has never recruited players to Notre Dame, but he has had to target players that needed to achieve strong academic requirements at Wake Forest. He also played and coached college football at Penn. That helps. He hasn't signed 4 and 5-star recruits before, but he has done a very good job at identifying good talent and helping develop that talent. Now he'll get to do it with a wider net of potential prospects. The most important and in our minds, mandatory requirement for the defensive coordinator is someone who has a history of success on the field. Elko certainly has that and he's also done so with less raw talent than he will have at his disposal at Notre Dame. He's had three years of success with a bottom-tier team in a Power 5 conference. He's earned this opportunity and there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about him being the hire at defensive coordinator.For Polian, everything is obvious. He's not only had a ton of past recruiting success at top schools as an assistant, he's had part of that success recruiting to Notre Dame. From a recruiting perspective, it's an absolute home run. He is outstanding as an individual recruiter and also has been a recruiting coordinator before. Even if he doesn't have the title this time around, it's still a bonus to have him assist in that capacity. As for his role coordinating special teams, he doesn't have the rsum that suggests he is going to transform Notre Dame's special teams into one of the top units in the country. But he has been a special teams coordinator for 11 years now compared to only three years when he first was hired at Notre Dame in 2005. Scott Booker had zero years of experience coordinating special teams when he was assigned to that role. The experience matters in this case. After last year's mistakes, Kelly is looking for competency and stability. Those are two things Polian can certainly provide. In an ideal scenario, Polian and Elko would have previous relationships from coaching with Kelly before as well. Previous working relationships aren't what is most important, though. Those relationships worked out well for Kelly with Denbrock and Chuck Martin, but we all know it did not work out well with Brian VanGorder. Past on-field success is important, but primarily in the jobs that they are being asked to do. Past recruiting success is important, but being able to sell what Notre Dame is offering a student-athlete makes a coach even more valuable. And in the end, it all has to fit within the puzzle of the entire staff. There needs to be a balance of outstanding on-field teachers combined with relentless recruiters. Kelly has an opportunity to start over and find the right mix with his staff this offseason. So far, he's done a very good job finding the right balance with Elko and Polian. MORE ON ELKO THE RECRUITER: Last week in this space, we heard from some people about what Elko is like as a recruiter. Now that the former Wake Forest defensive coordinator has been officially hired as Notre Dame's new DC we were able to get some additional thoughts from a couple other people who have dealt with him on the recruiting trail."He's very intellectually sound," the parent of a player recruited by Elko told us. "He knows what it takes to recruit really high-end kids, that high-caliber kid that Notre Dame looks for, the combinations of the brains and the brawn and all of that. He was really good."The same parent noticed Elko seemed to have a better overall grasp of what he was selling at Wake Forest than your typical assistant coach."He was just real knowledgeable about classroom sizes and stuff like that," we were told. "The product he had, he knew everything about it. He was good. He was a very good marketer of what he had to offer."That parent is convinced Elko will be even more successful on recruiting for the Irish."He knows what it takes to do that," we were told. "He knows what it takes to be a part of a university like Notre Dame. He knows. "There are a lot of these guys there are hundreds and hundreds of coaches but you have to be a special coach to be able to be involved with a university like Notre Dame or Stanford or where he came from. It just takes a certain cat. You can't just send anybody out there to recruit those kids."And this parent says parents of Notre Dame targets will notice as well."The parents look for certain things, certain things the coaches say, certain things about how they treat their kids," the parent said. "When you're talking to somebody on that playing field, you expect a whole lot out of those people. I don't know why it's different, but I think it is."Elko "was on top of" everything, according to the parent and gave off an aura of comfort and confidence."I liked him," the parent said. "I thought he was a really nice fella. He was very impressive to talk to. He had knowledge coming out of his ears."He was talking real. He was a real dude. He was being real friendly about the conversation. You felt like you were talking with someone who had a lot of knowledge, somebody who had been through the process and was trying to lead kids in the right direction, not just selling them a bill of goods."We also spoke with a defensive prospect who was recruited to Wake Forest by Elko. "He was a great recruiter," the player said. "He came down to see me as much as he possibly could. He always stayed in touch with me. He recruited me hard through the whole process. I know he's a family guy. He's just a real good family guy. My mom liked him."In addition to Elko's personality, this defensive back loved the schemes the coach was employing."I liked the system he ran a lot at Wake Forest," the DB said. "He told me about the system, but the corners coach explained it to me. They ran basically everything you could possibly run."Every team in the NFL doesn't run the same coverages, it's not just one coverage. Being able to run different coverages would make me more versatile."FAITH GUIDES FIELDS FAMILY: We're running a story with the mother of 2017 Oklahoma safety Evan Fields on Christmas Day which we think you'll enjoy, but should offered her thoughts on specific to Notre Dame, which we wanted to share with you today.Last week, Fields released a top four of Notre Dame, Oregon, Arizona State and Kansas State. The Irish and the Ducks just extended scholarship offers in the last couple of weeks, but still managed to make his list of finalists. He's already taken official visits to Arizona State and Kansas State and is scheduled to make trips to his other two favorites next month."Everyone knows Notre Dame has a wonderful reputation when it comes to academics, when it comes to their ballclub," Evonnda Fields told Irish Sports Daily. "As a parent, you want the very best for your child. Evan is smart. He knows what Notre Dame is about and what they stand for."Mrs. Fields and her family were proud just to be on the Irish's radar."It was a prestigious honor to even be thought of by them," she said. "We're definitely going to take this official and go see what they're about, see what they have to offer and see how Evan will work into their program."Football is very important to the Fields family, you'll find out why on Sunday, but so is education."As a parent, I have a lot of questions on the academic side," Mrs. Fields said. "We love sports and everything, but injuries are unforeseeable. Not everybody makes it to the NFL and even if you make it to the NFL, we know it's a two to three-year career. "As a parent, the academics is the main thing for me. I want Evan to be able to get a degree and what a blessing to have a degree paid for by an institution like that. You can get a job anywhere within the United States and outside of the United States. I want the very best for him."Still, the Oklahoma defender will be the one making the decision in the end."He wants to take a look at it and like I told Evan, 'I'll always be your Bonnie. Whatever you want Son. It's your decision. You're the one who has to live out that life and that dream for the next four to five years,'" Mrs. Fields said. "Regardless of what I think, it is his decision on what he chooses and I'm just going to ride with him. I don't want to be one of those parents where my kid comes back and says, 'Mom, it was you who held me back because you wanted this for me.' I don't want that burden."Mrs. Fields admits it's going to be difficult to see her son leave, but has faith in God's plans even if she gets emotional discussing them."I want my kid to be able to spread their wings and fly. Evan and I have had this discussion. I have shed many tears because I know I'm getting ready to lose him. I told Evan, 'You keep God first. You spread your wings and you fly.' I want what's best for him. "That's the only thing I want, but I will miss him and I worry about not having a high income and be able to be there the way I want to for him, but I trust God and I know he'll make a way."WHAT'S UP WITH BRINI?: Even before Latavious Brini visited South Bend this summer, it was clear the 2017 Florida cornerback was intrigued with Notre Dame. Coming off that visit for Irish Invasion, it was obvious Brini liked what he saw. Even as he neared his decision to commit to Georgia a couple weeks later, he wasn't ready to rule out the Irish completely.As we reported earlier this week, Brini has since backed off that pledge to the Bulldogs and has reconnected with Notre Dame. He told us he was just waiting to get back with Notre Dame assistant Todd Lyght to schedule an official sometime in January.That is obviously encouraging, but after talking with another source, it sounds like the Irish still have some ground to make up if they are going to land Brini on National Signing Day."I could be wrong, but it seems like he may be leaning toward staying close to Florida," the source said. "After the Notre Dame visit, I'm not going to say he lost interest, but it's kind of far. I think the schools that are closer to home are getting his attention more."While Brini hasn't ruled out the Bulldogs, our source said he may have got caught up in some of the excitement that came with last year's coaching change."I think it might have been just feeling the energy of Kirby Smart," the source said. "Kirby came in with a lot of energy and he had a lot of kids jump onboard. I think he may have got caught up in the wave as things played and just being a kid. Then he realized maybe he wasn't really feeling Georgia."As we said, Georgia remains in the mix, but apparently so do some other schools. "Miami keeps popping up," said our source who added that LSU and Florida Atlantic have also been mentioned a lot. "He cooled way off on Florida State. Florida State and Alabama, they're not even in the question."Despite the distance, there's no reason to doubt the sincerity of Brini's interest in the Irish."Definitely the opportunity to play early," the source said of what Brini learned during that unofficial visit this summer. "That was a big thing for him. The Notre Dame education, just the opportunity, just the opportunity to be successful after football. I'm pretty sure every school is giving him that same spiel too, but I know the Notre Dame name and Notre Dame effect, that stood out to him."Still, our source would bet on one of the regional schools."We'll probably just have to wait and see, but I'm guessing it's probably going to be one of the in-state schools."TARGET TALK: At this point, Notre Dame can't do much more than wait on Jamire Calvin.The 2017 Los Angeles wide receiver took the last official he'll take before his announcement and he took it to South Bend, so the Irish have to feel good about that.We talked with a source familiar with Calvin's recruitment following his trip to South Bend. "He liked it a lot," the source said.Coming from Southern California, it doesn't seem like weather is going to play any factor."He said, 'The cold doesn't bother me at all,'" we were told. "He talked about the academics too. They're obviously great."Fellow California receiver Javon McKinley acted as Calvin's host for the weekend."He said he really liked it," the source said.As we've reported before, while Calvin released a top four of Notre Dame, Nebraska, Washington State and Alabama while he was in South Bend, we don't feel the Crimson Tide are true threats. Our source confirmed that as well. We feel like it's an Irish-Cornhuskers battle at this point, although new schools, including Texas could make this one interesting down the stretch, especially since Calvin hasn't ruled out taking a fifth official visit after his announcement.But our source believes Calvin has a good handle on what he's going to do."I think he kind of knows," we were told. "I have a feeling he has a pretty strong feeling where he wants to go. He's not saying anything, but I saw him a little bit more excited about Notre Dame than he was before. He doesn't say a lot a lot or go into great detail. He seemed really happy with Notre Dame. I'm not saying they're the leader or anything. I really don't know."Calvin is excited about the opportunity to announce at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl on Jan. 7th, so it's doubtful he'll give anything away before then even if he does know.***As expected, cornerback Thomas Graham was removed from the Target List after he committed to Oregon. ***Brini has been added to the list as has Texas wide receiver Gavin Holmes, who released a top seven on Thursday night that included the Irish along with Arizona State, Baylor, Nebraska, Oregon, UCLA and Utah.We caught up with a source close to Holmes this week who told us the 5-foot-11, 180-pounder could play on the outside or in the slot, but that his quickness and speed would be ideal for an inside receiver. We were also told Holmes has a great work ethic and is starting to develop the kind of swagger elite receivers possess without letting that change the person he is away from the field. Holmes says he'll "definitely" visit South Bend for an official next month.***Former Washington commit Connor Wedington is another addition. The West Coast athlete could play cornerback or running back and is very serious about the role academics will play in his decision. Stanford looks like the team to beat given the fact that he decommitted from the Huskies after gaining admittance in Palo Alto, but maybe Notre Dame can offer him similar opportunities.***Florida wide receiver Michael Smith has been added to the list as well after landing an offer from the Irish and expressing a desire to visit.Check out the complete 2017 Target List here.And if you missed our breakdown of the entire list earlier in the week, you can read Inside The Target List here.
ISD Intel (12/16)
Message received.We're not exactly sure how Brian Kelly is going to respond to the message, but we do know it's been delivered.People who have spoken with the Notre Dame head coach since the end of the regular have told us the exit interviews Kelly with players after the USC game were revealing.The biggest takeaway from at least one source was with regard to the strength and conditioning program in South Bend.In no uncertain terms, according to one source, the players let their head coach know they felt they could handle more and wanted more. And it sounds like they're going to get more.We're not sure exactly what changes are going to be made and don't know they will include any kind of personnel changes, but there will be changes and they will be welcomed by the team.Also, in talking to people who have spent time with Kelly in recent weeks, there was a sense that Kelly was personally shouldering much of the blame for the disappointing 2016 season. Kelly talked about him needing to do a better job of handling the leadership within the team and making sure his team plays with an edge.Again, we have no indication on how Kelly plans to respond, but recognizing the problem is encouraging.As we've reported here before, in terms of on-field responsibilities, expect Kelly to play a large role in the shaping of the offense in 2017.SENSE OF THE UNKNOWN: With the changes in The Gug this week, there was a sense of nervousness coming from the team, as they simply don't know who will be coaching them when they return from winter break. Part of that uncertainty seems to be on the verge of being resolved with last night's reports that Mike Elko is in the process of finalizing a contract to become the Irish's next defensive coordinator.In talking with a source, the team isn't wasting time focusing on the what they don't know. "I know it's all over the media, but they are trying to block it out and support each other," explained the source. "Coach Kelly is returning and they know he has the best interests of the program in mind. It's tough to see coaches come and go, but they know it's the nature of the business."Notre Dame is going through finals week, so that has also helped limit the distractions according to another source. "We are only talking about finals stuff this week," the source stated. "That's the only thing we are talking about until exams are finished." It's clear the team was supporting their coach, Mike Elston, for defensive coordinator, but they understood Kelly could look outside. "The support for Elston is clear," stated a source. "You can see the support on Social Media from current and former players."But we were also told, "the team will support the new defensive coordinator.""The team is excited to finally have a defensive coordinator named and start having a sense of what direction the team is headed down." WHO IS MIKE ELKO? We caught up with a source close to the Wake Forest program to get some details on the apparent next defensive coordinator at Notre Dame. The popular question on the boards has been what kind of recruiter is Elko? Well, our source believes Elko is a "fairly" good recruiter. On in-home visits, Elko typically brings another position coach and he was seeing some of the top Wake Forest commits prior to the dead period. Elko was part of landing a few commits who had multiple Power Five offers. The source also believes Elko will be more effective with the resources and the branding that Notre Dame presents. As for his style of coaching, Elko was described as an "in your face" type of personality, who is a high-energy guy. He demands a lot of his players, but he has proven his ability to get a lot out of his guys in return. It's clear by reading a few tweets from players Elko has coached, he has made quite the impact. https://twitter.com/jlbiii3/status/809543143544750080https://twitter.com/CamoGlenn/status/809570995237486593 https://twitter.com/KevJr9/status/809562943364927489Finally, in terms of schematics, Elko could be just what Brian Kelly has been searching for during his tenure at Notre Dame. Our source believes Elko will bring a bend-but-don't-break defense, while getting exotic on third down. Elko loves to run a 4-2-5, which has a hybrid DE/LE, the "drop" and one LB/S safety hybrid, "the rover." He's not afraid to send pressure when he needs to, but the source believes Elko likes to ensure his defenses don't give up big plays at the same time. WHERE'S GRAHAM GOING?: Everyone will find out where Thomas Graham is going in a matter of hours, when the 2017 California cornerback announces his college decision at 2 p.m. (EST)/11 a.m. (PST).First of all, barring a last-minute change, we don't expect Graham to choose Notre Dame.Heading into the final days of the decision, it seems like it came down to three schools Notre Dame, Oregon and Arizona State. We're aware of the late buzz surrounding Nebraska, but we've never seen the Cornhuskers as true threats and heading into the final day, we still don't. We just never got the sense Graham felt Lincoln was the spot for him to spend the next few years of his life and adding defensive backs coach Donte' Williams from Arizona wasn't going to change that."But these guys are such politicians that I don't know if they talked him into it," one source cautioned us, so we're not completely ruling anything out at this point.However, Williams' departure from the Wildcats certainly damaged their chances and all but knocked them out, leaving the Irish, the Ducks and the Sun Devils.Graham's parents' preference of Notre Dame has been no secret since March with his father and since September with his mother. But this was always going to be Graham's decision, which is why we did our best to bat down whispers of him being a silent commitment to the Irish.In the end, if Graham doesn't end up in South Bend, location will be the primary reason. He understands the opportunities on and off the field at Notre Dame are essentially unparalleled, especially when stacked up against his other choices, but family is huge for him. And while his parents tried in their own way to push him to South Bend, it doesn't seem like he was ready to go that far away from his family. We're told it was a "fullcourt press" down the stretch for Graham and that involved a ton of negative recruiting, too much according to one source. And yes, part of that negativity included somebody placing a certain newspaper advertisement in Graham's hands.Going into the announcement, we're not sure how many people close to Graham know exactly what he's going to say and we're expecting neutral colors to be worn by those on stage with him."It's not over yet," we were told. "He said he's going to come out and say what's on his mind on Friday and that's going to be it."To be honest with you, with his top three schools, anyone could take it."We know Graham has been struggling with this decision for months and doesn't want to let anybody down or put himself in an uncomfortable situation.When he makes that decision, it could be for Arizona State or Oregon, but our guess is that it will be for the Ducks.TOP TRAINER SAYS FIELDS UNDERRATED: With his roster of clients, it's obvious Clay Mack knows what it takes to make a successful defensive back.The Founder of Clay Mack Skills in Dallas trains top 2017 targets DeAngelo Gibbs, Jeff Okudah, Justin Broiles and Robert Barnes, not to mention elite LSU safety Jamal Adams, who could be a Top 10 NFL Draft pick.So, when Mack says Evan Fields can play, we tend to believe the 2017 Oklahoma safety who recently received an offer from Notre Dame can play."I think he's way under the radar to be honest," Mack said of Fields, who narrowed his list to Arizona State, Kansas State, Oregon and Notre Dame after receiving offers from the Irish and the Ducks within the last week and a half."It's just the landscape for recruiters and how they see certain regions of the country as it relates to the popularity of the sport. Texas, Florida and California get a lot of attention and Oklahoma doesn't get as much attention as far as high school football is concerned."If the Oklahoma City native lived a couple hundred miles south, Mack believes he'd already have been a major national prospect."He's one of those kids, if he was inside the borders of Texas let's say, he would be one of those kids who would get a lot of attention," said Mack. "Oklahoma has a lot of kids like that I think Oklahoma gets a raw deal as it relates to the marketing aspect of high school football because there is a lot of good football played up there in Oklahoma."Evan is way under the radar. When you put his size and athletic ability and his film together, when you watch his film, it's like he's out there with kids because of his physical nature is off the charts. His football IQ is on par with where it needs to be. He gets it. He's fast enough and the whole nine. I think he's the total package and I think he'll continue to develop. He's one of those kids who is under the radar for real."Fields, who makes a two-hour drive each way for his sessions with Mack, credits him with helping him improve."He's showed me a bunch of stuff," said Fields. "He breaks down the things it takes to be a great defensive back."Fields announced a top four of Notre Dame, Oregon, Kansas State and Arizona State earlier this week and told us he would take an official visit to South Bend the weekend of Jan. 20th.http://www.hudl.com/video/3/4009922/57f167aced57ee22f813910cMILLER MAY STICK WITH BUFFS: As we've said for weeks now, 2017 Texas cornerback/wide receiver Chris Miller is a player the Irish have been trying to pull from Colorado. We were optimistic about Notre Dame's chances of getting him to South Bend for a visit immediately after the offer based on our knowledge of those close to him encouraging him to do so, but it may not be that easy.Miller took his official visit to Colorado last weekend and the Buffaloes aren't going to let him go so easilyliterally."I don't know if (Coach Mike) MacIntyre is going to let him do that," a source close to Miller told us of the possibility of Miller taking an official to Notre Dame."Last we talked, it kind of sounded like, 'If you're committed, you're not visiting anywhere else.'"Aside from making it clear they don't want him visiting other schools, the Colorado coaches also showed Miller how much he's valued in Boulder."He took his official and it pretty much solidified where he stood already with Colorado. They're giving him the opportunity to play defense and also be used on offense as well if needed. I don't know if he's even talked back to Notre Dame or not."TALKING TARGET LIST: A quick look at Notre Dame's 2017 Target List seems to suggest it's likely to widen soon.WR Jamire Calvin: The California native was impressed during his official visit to Notre Dame last week as he told our own Matt Freeman. While in South Bend, he announced a top four that included the Irish, Nebraska, Washington State and Alabama. We don't see the Crimson Tide as a legitimate contender and don't think the Cougars are in the top two. Calvin will announce at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl on Jan. 7 and we're confident it'll be either the Irish or the Cornhuskers.WR Oliver Martin: Just getting an idea of when the Iowa product will make his announcement is difficult let alone what that announcement will be. There's been talk that, like Calvin, he'll do it at the Army Bowl, but that stage doesn't seem to jive with Martin's low-key persona. Some have told us they believe he'll do it before San Antonio while others have talked about him doing so after and potentially taking more visits next month. This still looks like a race between the Irish and the hometown Hawkeyes.WR Braylon Sanders: The Georgia native is the only member of the Target List without an offer from the Irish in hand. It seemed like an offer would be on its way when Scott Booker visited Callaway High School earlier this month and followed up with an in-home visit later that night. With Booker out, it'll be interesting to see whether there is any serious drop in communication. With the dead period here, the Irish would figure to have plenty of time to regroup and get back on Sanders if they choose to, especially since he still hasn't taken any official visits yet. If Notre Dame does decide to pursue, we'd expect Sanders to take a trip to South Bend. His current offers include schools like Georgia, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Washington State and Illinois among others.OL Foster Sarell: With a few weeks left before his announcement, the dead period couldn't come at a better time for the nation's top player. Sarell has done diligent work to dig and find out everything about his final group of schools. When it comes to Notre Dame, it's clear there are concerns, but there is also a big interest. It will be interesting to see where this recruitment is after Christmas, as Sarell heads to the US Army All-American Game. I think we might have a clearer picture of where the Irish stand, but as of now, Washington and Stanford remain the biggest threats.DL Brandon Pili: It's clear the recent offer from Notre Dame is one Pili values. Much like with Sarell, the distance factor isn't ideal for Pili, who is from Alaska. The good news for Notre Dame is that it's going to be a long flight to Los Angeles for UCLA as well. It's hard to see where Pili is at right now, as the offers are coming in and he is a bit overwhelmed. Once the dead period completes, we expect him to be able to schedule his final official visits if he sees fit. LB Antjuan Simmons: Things are going well with the four-star linebacker and one source has told Irish Sports Daily twice that they feel good about him ending up in South Bend. "He likes Notre Dame. He likes Notre Dame a lot," stated the source. Simmons did visit Arizona, but much like the West Coast kids coming to South Bend, we feel distance will likely eliminate the Cats in the end. The visit to Notre Dame next month will be a big one, as the coaches can better explain where they see him fitting as well as academics. The Michigan native wants to major in Kinesiology and Special Education, but Notre Dame would love to steer him in a better directionhello Mendoza School of Business. All in all, Notre Dame is currently in a great position and it will come down to how Simmons feels around the team and how his official visit goes. LB Rahyme Johnson: With sources telling us the Los Angeles native has locked in his fifth and final official visit to Florida next month, we're removing Johnson from our Target List. If something changes, we'll change. CB Thomas Graham: As mentioned above, we expect the California cornerback to be off the board in a matter of hours.S Evan Fields: As mentioned above, the Oklahoma native is scheduled to take an official to Notre Dame next month and has the Irish in his top four.S TreSean Smith: The Ohio native remains committed to Louisville, but despite suggestions that the pledge is only getting stronger, Smith is expected in South Bend for an official visit the weekend of Jan. 20th, as we've reported. Smith visited for the home finale against Virginia Tech last month and the Irish will get one more chance to impress him. DON'T CLOSE BOOK ON BOOK: Talk turned to Brandon Wimbush as Notre Dame's next starting quarterback on Monday quicker than it took to watch DeShone Kizer's video declaring for the NFL Draft.But Wimbush won't be the only scholarship quarterback competing during spring practice and Ian Book's personal quarterback coach doesn't think the California native should be counted out just yet."I think Ian's going to be absolutely ready to compete for the job," said Will Hewlett, Lead QB Skills Coach at The Range. "It may or may not be a foregone conclusion that Wimbush is QB1 in the spring. Assuming they give Ian the opportunity to compete, I would like to think just based on what I know about Ian, his competitiveness and skill that he would absolutely be up to the competition. Beyond that, being in a situation where he got to lead the Irish, I feel confident that that's why they recruited him because that's a very strong possibility."Obviously, Wimbush comes with a big, strong arm. He had a great high school career and is a talented quarterback no doubt, but I'd hate to overlook Ian Book right now and I don't think people should."Hewlett did acknowledge Mike Sanford's departure is probably going to be tough on Book, who just completed his freshman season with the Irish and has a bond with Sanford that goes all of the way back to the coach's days at Boise State."I know Coach Sanford as well and he's a great guy," said Hewlett. "He's a heckuva ball coach obviously with the opportunities he's continually getting. I think the reality is we all knew going in, if he was going to be there for Ian's entire career then that would be a blessing, but there was a very strong likelihood he would get an opportunity to leave. He's probably turned down a bunch that we don't even know about quite frankly. From a player's perspective, it's a big deal. It's tough. The great thing about Notre Dame is regardless of who's the coach, if you stick it out there, you get a degree from Notre Dame and you're a part of this exclusive club and network, etc. "But I don't care who you are, not one high school kid 100 percent commits to a college. You can tell kids, 'Make sure you commit to the school and not the coaches,' but coaches are at least half of the decision, they have to be if not more sometimes. Building that relationship and building that rapport is going to be really tough depending on who they bring in."It's tough having to adjust to a new coach, but that's part of the game. That's part of the equation."
Notes from ISD Publisher Mike Frank
Quick update on the recruiting weekend.
Graham Announcement Coming
2017 CA CB Thomas Graham will make his college announcement this week.
ISD Intel (12/9)
Chris Miller wasn't stunned to receive an offer from Notre Dame last week, the 2017 Texas wide receiver/cornerback prospect had been receiving interest from the Irish for a little while, but he wasn't exactly sure what to do once it came. Miller, who has been committed to Colorado since June, asked at least one person for advice on whether he should post the offer on Twitter. He was told without hesitation that he absolutely should. Miller didn't want to upset anybody in Boulder, but still posted the offer. "It's a very prestigious offer because Notre Dame isn't only known for athletics, but academics," a source close to Miller told Irish Sports Daily this week. "It lets everybody know he has the grades and the skill to play at a big-time school like Notre Dame who can play whoever whenever. "I know this year was a down year for them, but Notre Dame is a big offer for a lot of guys." We're told Miller is "very appreciative" of the offer and his feelings sound even stronger. "He was excited, he was happy," the source added. Miller's next move isn't completely clear just yet. The Irish would love to get him up to South Bend for an official visit and some close to him are advising him to make the trip to check it out. New Texas head coach Tom Herman could actually play a role in helping the Irish indirectly here. Miller's Denton High School teammate Grant Polley is also committed to the Buffaloes, but the Longhorns are coming hard after the offensive tackle. If Polley were to flip to Texas, that could cause Miller to examine his other options even more closely. "That might change the game a little bit, but we'll see. Chris was pretty solid to Colorado, but you never know, there's a long time until February."http://www.hudl.com/video/3/3872241/582f6094c124de23f4d63864 GETTING TO KNOW BRAYLON SANDERS: Another new name at wide receiver emerged this week when Notre Dame assistant Scott Booker dropped in on Georgia wideout Braylon Sanders. Booker visited Callaway High School on Tuesday, stayed to watch Sanders' basketball practice and then conducted an in-home visit with Sanders and his family afterward. "He's a guy who came on their radar," a source close to Sanders told us. "They're looking into him and getting to know him a little bit." As of mid-week, the Irish hadn't offered, but it was clear their interest was serious. "Oh yeah, no doubt," we were told. And without getting ahead of himself, Sanders' interest in the Irish seems to be just as serious. "Notre Dame is definitely something you have to look at if they come calling just because of who they are," our source said. Apparently, Notre Dame still needs to do a closer review of Sanders' transcripts and potentially his film, but it seems like things are progressing. Sanders' athleticism has led to offers from schools like Georgia, Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Washington State among several others. "He's an incredible athlete," our source said. "He's a high character kid. He's 6-2, 195 and he's a 4.4 guy. He's everything you want. He's the total package. He's probably got a 40-inch vertical jump. He's just a freaky athlete. "He plays a little bit of safety. He started his junior year at quarterback and played a lot of quarterback. He's got a crazy arm, he can throw the thing about 75 yards. He's a freaky kid. You oughta see his basketball highlights, he's dunking all over the place." While some list Sanders as an athlete because of that versatility, our source said "he's definitely a wide receiver." "He's a big-play guy," we were told. "He can definitely take the top off and he's real long and has incredible hands." And it seems he checks the boxes for Notre Dame away from the field as well. "He's everything you want in a kid," the source said. "He doesn't say very much, he just goes about his business every day, takes care of his business in the classroom. He's a very high character kid who comes from a good family." Sanders hasn't taken any official visits yet, so he will have to start squeezing them in soon if he plans on using all five. "I think he's just letting everything plays itself out and seeing where everything ends up. He said he was thinking of making his decision around Signing Day, so we're still on track with that. He's just going to have to get these officials in here quick."http://www.hudl.com/video/3/3880457/57d82640842eb35ba0f7b41e CATHEDRAL CATS: Jamire Calvin will be returning to South Bend this weekend for the first time since an unofficial visit last fall, when the 2017 California wideout wasn't even really on Notre Dame's radar. But Notre Dame was clearly on Calvin's radar and he instantly elevated the Irish to one of his favorites when he picked up his offer six months ago and they've remained there ever since. Not being a recruit high on Notre Dame's target list when he made the trip for the game last year, Calvin didn't really have the true visit experience. He'll undoubtedly get that this weekend as one of only four uncommitted visitors on campus along with Maryland defensive end Josh Paschal, Iowa wide receiver Oliver Martin and California athlete Greg Johnson. People close to Calvin expect the Los Angeles Cathedral High School standout and his family to be impressed with the entire Notre Dame presentation, especially the academic portion. Calvin is planning to announce his decision at next month's U.S. Army All-American Bowl and at this point, we see Notre Dame, Nebraska and possibly Washington State as the three out front right now. Calvin essentially eliminated Oregon State, where he took an official visit, when Beavers wide receiver coach Brent Brennan was named head coach at San Jose State. And we don't see Cal as a true threat at the moment either.http://www.hudl.com/video/3/4459235/57fc865411fa7f23384b5e55 Since instituting our ND Target List, we never had Calvin's friend and teammate Hunter Echols on it. The 2017 defensive end made the trip out to South Bend for Irish Invasion and was extremely impressed, but we always thought he was a kid who was going to stay on the West Coast. He was committed to UCLA when he was in South Bend, but even when he decommitted from the Bruins, we never really saw Notre Dame as a true threat. He's now committed to USC and we don't foresee anything or anybody changing that. We've said it before, but keep an eye on 2020 quarterback Bryce Young. The youngster was at Irish Invasion with Echols and impressed us on and off the field while in town. He had an extremely productive year while splitting time at quarterback for Cathedral as a freshman. He already has offers from Texas Tech, Utah State and most recently, Nebraska. That list is going to grow exponentially over his next three years as the full-time starter for Cathedral. GRAHAM GETTING TOWARD THE END: As we heard from Thomas Graham himself earlier in the week, Sunday's in-home visit with Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly and defensive backs coach Todd Lyght went well. We checked in with another source close to the 2017 California cornerback later in the week who confirmed that. "It was pretty cool," the source said. If Graham had any lingering questions about Notre Dame, he shouldn't anymore. "(Coach Kelly) answered them fully," we were told. "There isn't too much they can say that he didn't already know since he's been there twice. He just reviewed the early enrollment process and that was most important. "We talked about getting him accepted and all of that stuff and everything he's supposed to go through if he's a midyear. Coach wanted to make sure everything was still good with school. If he were to go to Notre Dame, they will have to talk to a counselor, so he needs to make sure his counselor contacts the school before they go on break." Being an early enrollee prospect accelerates the recruiting process beyond just showing up for college a month before your fellow commits sign. It requires getting all of your transcripts in order long beforehand as well and with the Christmas break approaching, there isn't much time to waste. "You have to make sure all of your classes and everything are verified because the counselors leave in mid-December, so you have to make your mind up," the source said. "All of his teachers know his classes have to be in a week before he leaves, so that will be next week." At one point, Graham thought about announcing at next month's Under Armour All-American Game, but that isn't all that realistic at this point. "That's just made the timetable push real fast," the source said. "That kind of puts some pressure on him." The other thing that has made the decision difficult for Graham is the advice he's gotten from peers and how it's changed in recent years. Graham knows plenty of players who have gone through the process over the last few cycles and the initial advice he got from many of them was to make the decision for himself and not let others influence him. But now, many of those same kids are expressing doubts about the decisions they made initially. Notre Dame remains our pick, but he's still considering Arizona, Arizona State, Oregon and Nebraska. As we've reported, the Wildcats fell a notch when they lost defensive backs coach Donte Williams to Nebraska. If the Cornhuskers end up becoming a legitimate contender, it will be due almost exclusively to Williams. Yes, Graham took an official visit to Lincoln back in September, but Nebraska was really on the outside looking in as recently as a couple of weeks ago. Rancho Cucamonga High School has finals the week after next and we're confident Graham will have a decision before the school goes on break later that week. Graham will do a lot of praying between now and then to come up with his pick.http://www.hudl.com/video/3/3430022/583dfe895b3cb1172419b13a BANKS OF AMERICA READY TO SIGN: Aaron Banks will choose between Notre Dame, UCLA, Michigan, Cal, Nebraska, Oregon and Tennessee on Friday afternoon, but we feel there's a good chance it will come down to just three schools for the 2017 California offensive lineman. Notre Dame. Michigan. UCLA. The Irish have been the constant in the equation and the relationship with Harry Hiestand is going to be tough to beat. However, as we've stated multiple times, Michigan was the leader heading into the fall, but it seems like the Wolverines might be cooling on Banks. Jim Harbaugh never made it out to California for an in-home visit and neither did the offensive line coach. Area recruiter Jay Harbaugh did make a stop last week, but Michigan didn't send a coach to see Banks the week of his decision. UCLA has made a late run at the four-star prospect and shouldn't be taken lightly. The Bruins and Jim Mora have beaten the Irish for prospects before, but it'd be a shock for Banks to choose them after he has been so thorough throughout his recruitment. Banks hasn't visited UCLA since October of 2015, so it'd be somewhat of a surprise. If Notre Dame doesn't land Banks, it could get very interesting down the stretch. Hiestand would love to land a fourth offensive lineman and if Banks isn't in the fold, then all hope swings to five-star Foster Sarell, who commits on January 7th. Notre Dame is definitely hanging around with Sarell and it's clear he likes the program, but if the Irish strike out, it would be a talented, yet small offensive line class of Josh Lugg, Dillan Gibbons and Robert Hainsey. As we told you yesterday, Banks will be sending his early enrollment paperwork to whichever school he picks on Friday as well.http://www.hudl.com/video/3/3027393/5721da249a91677e74ad28de GETTING AFTER ANTJUAN: As we reported earlier this week, the current 2017 Irish commits are working hard to get Antjuan Simmons onboard after the 2017 Michigan linebacker decommitted from Ohio State last week. We checked in with a couple other Notre Dame pledges to hear more about their approach. "I'm just trying to show him some love," one commit told us. "I know it's tough to decommit, so the first school to show him love is always going to be on his mind. I just want to show him that we feel he's a priority. Going somewhere you feel like you can fit in with the players is important." Another player who has known Simmons for a while is cautiously optimistic about the Irish's chances. "I know Notre Dame is tops on his list along with one other school, I can't remember who. He's really showing ND interest." Simmons takes an official visit to Arizona this weekend, but look for the Irish to try to get him on campus next month.http://www.hudl.com/video/3/3115250/58130e11688ec47bec9fee93 LOUISVILLE SAFETY COMMIT REMAINS LOUISVILLE SAFETY COMMIT: Notre Dame made a push for TreSean Smith and the Irish continue to do so, but the 2017 Ohio safety hasn't shown any signs of backing off the pledge he made to Louisville back in June. "I know he's committed to Louisville," a source close to Smith told us. "He's still kind of looking at things, but he's been down to Louisville a bunch of times. Right now, he's still verbally committed to Louisville." Notre Dame was able to get Smith on campus for the home finale against Virginia Tech. We're told he enjoyed his time, but it doesn't sound like it was enough to get him to seriously question his commitment to the Cardinals. "After talking to him, I still feel like he's heavily committed to Louisville to be honest with you after talking to him after going there for a gameday visit," we were told. "That's the feeling I got from him after he came back and after I talked to him." That doesn't mean the Irish are going to give up though. "They came to his practice last week," our source said. "Coach Elston was down last week to watch him practice before his state championship game. Notre Dame is visible." This could be a case where the relationships Smith formed with the staff at Louisville date back further than the ones being made with the Notre Dame coaches. "I think all of that stuff matters," our source said. "Things change, but for me right now, that's what it feels like."http://www.hudl.com/video/3/3901979/57c4cb23da50b01e0ca65538 ADEBO SEEMING SOLID: On the other side of potential flips, a source close to Saiid Paulson Adebo tells us he believes the 2017 Texas cornerback is very likely to stick with his commitment to Notre Dame. "He was pretty high on Stanford, but he took an unofficial to Notre Dame and it was set after that, he was like, 'I'm going,'" the source said. "High academics and the opportunity to play the best." Obviously, every top kid in the state of Texas is likely to hear from Tom Herman if they haven't already, but the academic piece in South Bend should be too much for the Longhorns to overcome. "The only school I think that would have a legit shot would be like a Stanford, but even then, he's kind of set," the source said. "He's a very committed kid, respectable. I think once he puts his mind to something, there's no backing out of it. I feel like he's with Notre Dame for the long haul. Unless something happens with the coaching staff or something, he's there." And that's a good thing for the Irish considering Adebo's upside. "There's no doubt he's playing on Sundays one dayif he wants to, that's up to him," our source said. "If he wants to play on Sundays, he'll be a kid who plays on Sundays. He's that talented. "If Notre Dame felt like they needed a kid to play on both sides of the ball, that would be Saiid. You just can't miss out on his talent. Saiid has gone toe-to-toe with the best in Texas and he's shut kids out. Then he also flips over to offense and you just cannot guard him. He's big, he's fast, he's physical. He's the quietest kid you'll ever meet too. It's hilarious. You see him on the field and he's this animal, but you can't get two words out of him outside of school." Adebo's high school career came to an end a couple weeks ago, when his Mansfield team lost to Irish quarterback commit Avery Davis' Cedar Hill squad 56-28 in the state quarterfinals. Adebo's impact went beyond even the seven passes he caught for 164 yards. "He did everything," we were told. "He had double-digit tackles. He almost had a pick-six. He broke on the ball perfectly, but I think he broke so soon that the ball almost went behind him. "He almost ran two punts back and two kickoff returns for touchdowns and then had a crazy one-handed catch. He literally played the entire game." At 6-1 and almost 6-2, his size, speed and strength help him on offense, but his upside is even higher on defense. "The 40 time they have down for him does him no justice. People think he runs a 4.57 and it's hilarious. That kid is like a 21.2 in the 200. That shows he can get to top speed and hold it for a long time. And he can accelerate quickly." http://www.hudl.com/video/3/3938142/584094f55b3cb027b43a20e2HICKS REMAINS IN THE FOLD AS WELL: It remains status quo at this point for Elijah Hicks as well despite reports last month that the 2017 California safety's decommitment from Notre Dame was "imminent." Hicks took an official visit to Michigan in November and some were predicting an immediate flip from the Irish to the Wolverines. At the time, our sources denied those reports and continue to maintain that Hicks remains a strong Notre Dame pledge."He's just going through the process and can't wait to get to Notre Dame," our source said. We were told the trip to Ann Arbor gave Hicks a chance to see what else is out there and while Notre Dame didn't encourage the visit, the Irish did seem confident Hicks would still see their total package as more attractive to him than Michigan's. "He wants to be able to say, 'You know what, I made the right choice,'" our source said. "You've got to know what's out there to know what the right decision at the end of the day." Our sources aren't completely ruling out Hicks changing his mind, but have been adamant that he's still committed to the Irish. We haven't heard of any other specific schools that could end up getting in the mix as of now. "He's pretty comfortable with Notre Dame right now," we were told. He's pretty comfortable." Kelly will be back on the West Coast to make an in-home visit with Hicks at some point, but we're told building that relationship with Todd Lyght is more important to the family. Lyght has already made an in-home and is staying in pretty consistent contact, which is good for the Irish. We're told Hicks and his family "love" Lyght. "He's a real sincere guy," our source added. Notre Dame has also done a solid job selling Hicks on the on-field opportunities awaiting him in South Bend. "Elijah brings something to that DB corps that I haven't seen yet," we were told. "They probably have it, but I haven't seen it yet. "I think he'll be a great player for Notre Dame."http://www.hudl.com/video/3/2675267/584054d7a680962b0cdc69d4 MINOR GIVES STRONG MAJOR VOTE OF CONFIDENCE: There's no need to guess who former Irish standout linebacker Kory Minor would like to see get the defensive coordinator spot at Notre Dame. https://twitter.com/Kmine4/status/806558418689327104 We caught up with Minor this week to get more of his thoughts on why he believes the former Texas coach and one-time Irish assistant would be such a great fit, even if he's an unlikely one. "He was the d-line coach when I was there," said Minor, whose time at Notre Dame from 1995-1998 mirrored Strong's residency in South Bend. "Just his attention to detail, his focus, his tenacity, his understanding of the game. He's a players' coach, you want to play for him, you want to do well for him. I know things didn't go well for him at Texas, but that wasn't all him in Texas either, let's be honest, it never is." Minor is convinced Strong would be a positive presence on and off the field for the Irish. "I just really believe right now with what we have going on at Notre Dame, we need someone to come in who has morals and values to help these young men see the right way," Minor said. Minor was quick to add that he doesn't know Brian Kelly well and was by no means suggesting Kelly lacks in those areas, just that he knows Strong doesn't. "I really believe at Notre Dame right now, we're in the position where we need to bring someone in who can bring this defense back to life, but someone these young men can look up to as a role model for how to carry themselves in the community," he said. "Not only that, but I believe his time as a coach at Louisville and Florida is proven, even at Texas. When he took over the defense at Texas, the defense got better." Look for more from our conversation with Minor in the days to come, that is if Strong hasn't taken a job elsewhere by then.
