Four for Friday
Yes, I know this has evolved from Three Things on Tuesday to Four for Friday, but that’s a scheduling issue for me. 🤷🏽♂️
1. Jamie touched on it in 6 Thoughts on Thursday, but there will be a good number of prospects with tough decisions to make if the football season is moved to the spring. I spoke to a few players (not at Notre Dame, if you’re reading this ND support staff) about their mindset if the fall season was moved to the spring.
Player 1 is an SEC player and will be first-round draft pick. His concern was about his health with everything surrounding Covid-19, but also weighing the risk of playing in the spring. He’s very aware his draft stock wasn’t going to be raised a ton by playing this fall, but he could slide up a little higher with a good season.
That said, Player 1 will not be playing in the spring if the season is moved and he’ll immediately start training for the NFL Draft. It’s a unique situation, but he’s done the research and feels training for the next eight months would be more beneficial to him than a potential spring season. I can’t really make too many arguments against it.
Player 2 is a fifth-year senior and is on the edge of being a day one pick. Similiar to Player 1, the first concern is suffering a significant injury in the spring. He took it a step further by giving an example of tearing an ACL and being only a few months into recovery.
He felt he would likely wouldn’t play despite the chance to solidify himself as a first-round pick.
Player 3 is also a fringe day one/day two guy. I could see him sliding into the first round, but I could also see him getting taken in round three. It’s also worth noting he’s one of the more loyal players I’ve come across. That said, he wouldn’t be playing in the spring.
He expressed concerns about injury, but also was worried he’d stick around for the spring only to see that get canceled with the second wave of Covid-19. He would have lost out on having eight months of a singular focus on football.
“I want to finish what I started with my guys,” he said. “It’d be a hard decision, but I have to look out for my family. Coaches and schools make selfish decisions to better themselves every year. I’d lean towards making a selfish decision to live out my childhood dream of playing in the NFL.”
2. The battle of recruiting graphics between Michigan and Notre Dame is petty, but exactly why I love college football. The NFL and NBA have plenty of petty moves, but rarely do you see organizations go at each other.
I won’t say there is a beef between the two staffs, but if I was a betting man, I would say there isn’t a whole lot of love there.
Oh, I forgot some of you don’t have Social Media, so here’s a quick recap. 2021 receiver Jayden Thomas received a graphic from Michigan in a football and baseball uniform. The next day, Notre Dame made sure to note the history of football players playing baseball.
On Wednesday, a Notre Dame fan created an edit of 2021 offensive lineman Rocco Spindler and former Notre Dame lineman Quenton Nelson. Michigan fired back with subtle wording with soft shots at Notre Dame.
It’s not the first time Notre Dame and Michigan have gone at it over Social Media as Michigan Recruiting Director Matt Dudek isn’t shy about going after the Irish.
Notre Dame’s football Twitter account put out a tweet highlighting its players being able to study aboard.
Less than an hour later, Dudek responded with a graphic of his own with some select hashtags taking shots at Notre Dame.
If that wasn’t enough, last summer Dudek’s quote in Jim Harbaugh’s book surfaced.
| “Name another school that competes with the bluebloods athletically – we’re talking Ohio State, Alabama, Clemson – while competing with the bluebloods academically: Stanford, Northwestern, Princeton. Most of the players we recruit are good enough to play for Alabama or Clemson and smart enough to play for Ivy League schools. If you don’t win in the classroom on Monday, you won’t be here for many Saturdays.” |
The quote drew attention from the national media as several folks made comments directed at Dudek.
Anyways, I looked forward to more subtle messages in the future between the two schools.
3. I’ve been informed by more than a few sources that the next wave of Covid-19 testing numbers will likely be higher for Notre Dame. The test prior to this week’s testing was done on July 1st, which was before July 4th festivities happened.
Is it a problem of Notre Dame’s players not being responsible if the numbers are higher? Yes, but I’m not sure you can expect college student-athletes to stay locked up in a hotel or in their house all summer.
I don’t have the answer to solve the problem, but I do know Notre Dame has done a lot to educate their players and to put them in the safest environment they can. However, if the numbers are higher, it doesn’t bode well for Notre Dame and every other program when students return to campus in a few weeks.
4. Notre Dame has got off to a solid start to the 2022 recruiting class in terms of offers. The board will continue to grow in the coming weeks, but here are three names from the Lonestar State the Irish should consider offering.
OL Cole Hutson - Frisco (Texas)
The 6-foot-5, 295-pounder looks big, yet skinny on film and then you see him take souls. I love the ability to move in space, but also the nasty attitude he plays with and the will to finish the defender. He's probably not leaving the Texas/Oklahoma area, but I'd still consider offering.
Offers: Arizona State, Arkansas, Baylor, Hawaii, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech
LB Harold Perkins - Cypress Park (Texas)
If you like athletic, explosive and violent linebackers, Perkins the guy for you. The 6-foot-3, 200-pounder is a kid you want on your team as he could play linebacker or play the Vyper in Notre Dame's defense. Just watch the film.
Offers: Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Baylor, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Houston, Kansas, LSU, Mississippi State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Oregon, SMU, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Tulsa and USC.
WR Anthony Black - Coppell (Texas)
The 6-foot-5, 185-pounder isn't as developed as some of his classmates as a football player, but Black makes plays and big plays. It's hilarious to see defenses clearly roll the secondary to double-team Black on his highlights and see him easily come down with catch after catch.
He's got good genes as his father, Terry, played basketball at Baylor. Black will likely have a decision to make as he also holds big-time Division I basketball offers.
Football Offers: Arkansas, Baylor, Cincinnati, Georgia Tech, Hawaii, Houston, Illinois State, Iowa State, Kansas, North Texas and William & Mary
Basketball Offers: Auburn, Baylor, North Texas, Old Dominion, TCU, Texas, Texas Tech, St. Louis, UTSA
Sophomore Highlights