The Shark moves up...

Quinn ends holdout

Not a Quinn to be had

In the Trenches (Observer)

Coach, It's Notre Dame (UHND Blog)

Quinn Overhyped? (NFL.Com)

Weis not a good tipper (WSJV)

Back At It (WNDU)

Awards around (WSJV)

Special Teams A Must (FWJG)

Clausen is Growing Up (SBT)

One last Trip (SBT)

This is not Harry Potter (LADN)

The Usual Suspects (SBT)

You know you are an ND fan (Charlies Angel Blog)

Early Start Benefits ND (FWJG)

Spring Football Reports...

Quarterbacks center of attention for Irish -- (FWJG-ND Football)

Skip, run and toss -- (SBT-ND Football)

Expectations still high -- (IS-ND Football)

Spring Flingers -- (B&G--ND Football)

Clausen Injured, Weis Says NO -- (CST-ND Football)

And Their Off -- (UHND-ND Football)

Hope Springs Eternal -- (OC Domer-ND Football)

Who Will It Be Now?

The Spring has begun and the QB race is on to replace Brady Quinn. Who it will be is up in the air, but by the end of the spring, Weis would like 2 guys to step up.

Clausen is the poster boy for all good things in Notre Dames Future, but is he ready to take the reigns now?

Jimmy Clausen -has been groomed to be a QB, but unlike the Marinovich Experiment, I think he has all the tools and mental capacity to handle the pressures that come with playing at Notre Dame. His throwing motion is smooth and his release quick. Very good attributes to have. He has good escapability, but is not the fastest guy. His size, 6'3" and 190+ pounds is a little light to take the beating the college game brings. Rumors of an elbow injury were put to rest today by Charlie at the Spring Presser. (Posted Earlier)

Clausen's numbers are enormous at any level, but his competition in High School was not the best. He is a pure winner, having never lost a start as a prep quarterback. Though he has good mobility, his speed would be the only question. His mechanics and poise are the most impressive things about him. He can take a team over and will succeed at Notre Dame, but it won't be this spring. He will have another chance in fall, but I can see Jimmy taking over in 2008.

Demetrius (Double D) Jones is another QB fighting for the opening day ball against Georgia Tech. Jones is out of Chicago and has impressive numbers as well. Jones threw for 2,300 yards and 25 touchdowns as a junior. He also rushed for 1,100 yards and 18 touchdowns. He was compared to Donovan McNabb coming out of High School. His elusiveness is what stands him out from the other 3 candidates. Looking at film from high school, DD showed a very strong arm and good touch on the out patterns. He came to ND at 6"3" and 190, but is now 6'4" and 205. Still a little light, but he can still elude the defenses. And by the looks of the new OL coming in, that may be an important factor for the coaches to look at. My concern is it looked like he was a run first QB. Not a good mix with the schedule the Irish will face in 2007.

Weis may use DD in situations, but I don't see him taking over the team in the fall. He never go a real chance to learn the offense this past season, but his speed and mobility will keep him in the hunt until the end. He was *The scout team quarterback for the week of MSU last season. Weis likes him quite a bit, but is that enough. "Demetrius Jones, whose main job is to resemble Stanton during this practice week. The freshman quarterback earned the honors for his dual threat ability of running and passing the ball. Weis said on Tuesday that he hoped Jones wasn’t the scout team player of the week because that would mean trouble for his defense on Saturday night. " “He looked pretty good yesterday; not perfect,” Weis said. “He didn’t get the game ball yet but he’s giving it a good look, I can tell you that. I told Demetrius in our team meeting on Tuesday, probably one of the most important people on our team this week was going to be him because he is the one who is going to emulate Stanton and the better look he can give us like Stanton, the better we can figure out what real problems we will have against a formidable offense. This is a heck of a quarterback we’re going against here.”

Zach Frazier is a prototypical QB from Western Pennsylvania. He came into ND at 6'4" and 210 lbs. and is now at the 215-220 range. He has good not great speed and played some running back in high school. His arm strength is very good and his touch is okay. He is a smart QB and shows poise when under pressure. Frazer holds the single season pass yardage record (3684 yds) for the state of Pennsylvania and he was named the AAA Player of the Year.

Zach is in a rough spot. He isn't being talked about by anyone to have a chance at the position, but he knows if given a chance he can do it. He doesn't know the offense real well and will probably not have a great chance to show his tools this spring.

Evan Sharpley has never had a chance to play except in mop up rolls behind Brady Quinn. The advantage he has is he ran the offense and knows Charlies plays and what he does and does not like. He is a great athlete who plays baseball for Notre Dame. This spring he will concentrate on Football and is expected to make all practices. Coming out of High School, Sharpley had all the tools, and numbers. He has a strong arm and posseses good touch on short passes (a must in this offense). His height 6'2" is not Quinn like, but he does show good mobility under pressure and will stand in the pocket making good decisions. He showed in the last spring game that he can play and took over the 2nd spot over David Wolke. Remember him? Probably not. He left the team after losing out to Evan. He also beat out two highly recruited freshmen QB's in the fall of 2006. They just happen to be his main competition this spring.

In my eyes, Sharpley is the man to beat for the position. He can do the job and he will do it well. This spring will be his stepping stone to the next level.

My prediction is this: Sharpley will be the starter with Jones being the main back-up. Jones' roll will be different than Sharpley last season, as he will see significant playing time in some games. As the year progresses and the Irish make it through the first two months of the season, Sharpley will show why he was recrutited by Notre Dame.

Irish Universe and Irishman are not responsible for hurt feelings or bad blood the above article may cause.

One of SI's 10 Intriguing Spring Storylines...

One of the most highly regarded quarterback recruits in history, Clausen made national headlines when he committed to Notre Dame at the College Football Hall of Fame. The heir apparent to Brady Quinn, Clausen must quickly learn Charlie Weis' offense as he's expected to start next year.
Photo: Kirby Lee/WireImage.com

Not So Fast My California Friend...

First, there's Evan Sharpley, who was the No. 1 backup to Brady Quinn last season. Coming out of Marshall, Mich., back in 2005, Sharpley received nowhere near the fanfare that Clausen is getting now. Still, he was Rivals' 12th-rated pro-style quarterback in the nation. Further, up until recently he was a two-sport Notre Dame athlete (baseball). But this spring, he decided to forgo baseball for football.

Sharpley gives up baseball to compete for the Number one job as a ND QB.

Replacing Brady Quinn...

Ready to fly
Notre Dame is hoping super-recruit Jimmy Clausen brought his cape to campus, but the Irish aren't the only BCS team hoping their new quarterback can be a big star. Tom Dienhart breaks down the most critical QB situations.

You've heard every coach say it: A team only will go as far as the quarterback takes it. If that's the case, these schools that are replacing an established starter officially are on alert. This is my ranking of the most critical BCS quarterback situations.

The most critical BCS quarterback situations -- (SN-ND Football)

Middle Field Closed....

Thanks to Irish Round Table for the Find

At the end of February, he finally throws for the first time, and he mesmerizes players with his accuracy. Nothing hits the ground.

Clausen Article -- (ND Nation-Recruiting)

Clausen, better than Quinn?

As the nation's No. 1 player, this would be a no-brainer if it weren't for a guy named Brady Quinn. Quinn put up some impressive numbers over his last two years at Notre Dame and has set the bar high for Clausen.

Good as it Gets -- (MSNBC)

Playing Time

Well thought out and informative as always.

Only The Young -- (BGS)

Recruiting Breakdown V 1.1. The Offense

1. Jimmy Clausen, QB--Obviously the go to guy at one point in the future, but will need to step up in the spring to be there for the GT game. I like his poise and arm strenght, but with the young offense coming in, Charlie may want a more mobile choice at QB. Demetrius Jones is a guy I feel can get the job done. Maybe a mix of the two.
2. Armando Allen, RB--Love the speed and ability to make people miss, could be a great return guy. Hasn't played in a year due to an injury his senior season, but is in school now for the spring and will have a jump on learning the system. Hails from the South Florida area and plays big school ball. Pipeline to the region. Took him away from Florida. Can get out and play the slot if needed to spread the field.
3. Robert Hughes, RB--Big, fast in the Darius model, but with better lateral ability. Great hands that will work out great in Charlies system. Can be big and bruising, but can also take it outside. Corwins addition has helped and will continue to help in the Greater Chicago area.
4. Golden Tate, WR--Return man, #3 or 4 WR for this season and will continue to improve. Has the Innate ability to find openings. Not Rocket type speed, but very fast. Impressive enough to make the Greg Little loss less painful.
5. Duval Kamara, WR--Replaces Smardzija with all the ability. Big, strong, fast and great hands. Can spread the field and not scared to come over the middle.
6. Mike Ragone, TE--Will get a lot of touches this season. With Carlson coming back he will have a great mentor into the Weis system. He can get up the field like a WR, but with great size. Definitely a fantastic option in the Red Zone. The Irish were pretty good at scoring in th Red Zone last season with 90% @ 44-49. Getting TD's was a little more diffcult with a 76% clip @ 37-49. Just think what scoring in the Red Zone against USC last season would have done. Hmmm?
7. Matt Romine, OL--Will Start this season in the mode of Sam Young. Probably our RT. Big, strong, fast and great feet.
8. Taylor Dever, OL--Will get snaps, and will make the decision for the OL very difficult. Not a bad thing from a fans perspective.
9. Emeka Nwankwo, OL/DL--Can play both sides of the ball, but will remain on the OL. Another great addition to the line. And another pipeline to the South Florida recruiting circle.

Charlie has recruited very well on the offensive side of the ball. This will change for next year. Even with the young team ND will have, I am feeling more and more optomistic about our chances next season. Looking at the type of recruits coming in, you can see a major difference than in the past ten years. We have had some very good and quality recruits under Davies and Willingham, but now we have a much greater percentage of guys that want to play and they want to play NOW!

We are working on the Defensive Recruiting Breakdown. All opinions are that of Irish Universe. If you do not agree, please comment in a respectful manner.

2.10.07

Weather and Basketball -- (SBT)

Sudden Deeth -- (SBT)

ND Hockey Goal Highlights UNO -- (CSTV) Free Registration

Recruiting 5 who should play now-- (YS)

Top NSD Stories -- (YS)

Welcome to Notre Dame...

The big day is done. How did we do? Yes we lost two commits on the big day, but ND picked up 18 quality players for the 2007 class. This class included:

Two members of the Parade prep All-America team - Clausen and wide receiver Duval Kamara.

Three players received All-America accolades from USA Today - Clausen, Matt Romine and Golden Tate

Seven players rated among the top 100 nationally by CSTV and Tom Lemming - Clausen (1st), tight end Mike Ragone (33rd), Allen (38th), Gray (54th), wide receiver Duval Kamara (55th), running back Robert Hughes (59th) and Tate (79th).

Seven players rated among the top 100 nationally by Rivals.com - Clausen (1st), Kamara (34th), Allen (52nd), Romine (55th), Hughes (77th), Gray (78th) and Ragone (83rd).

Five players rated among the top 100 nationally by Scout.com - Clausen (4th), Ragone (55th), Kamara (62nd), Hughes (71st) and Gray (72nd).

Ten players rated among the top 150 nationally on the ESPN 150 list - Clausen (9th), Tate (11th), Gray (13th), defensive lineman Kerry Neal (26th), Kamara (36th), Ragone (55th), Romine (85th), defensive lineman Ian Williams (120th), Hughes (140th) and linebacker Brian Smith (150th).

Six players named to National 100 list by Fort Worth Star-Telegram - Allen, Clausen, Gray, Hughes, Kamara and Ragone.

Seven players selected for the U.S. Army All-America Bowl in San Antonio last month -Clausen, Gray, Hughes, Kamara, linebacker Aaron Nagel, Ragone and Romine.

One player named Gatorade Player of the Year in his home state - defensive back Harrison Smith (Tennessee

So, with that said, it's over. Right?

Over? Did you say "over"? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no!

Charlie didn't say that in his presser, but he should have. He is upset, to say the least at the shenanigans of the recruiting period.

Commitment doesn't mean the same thing it once did. I know all us ND fans feel like every one is picking on our players, but that just isn't the case.

Teams lost players yesterday and teams picked up players yesterday. We just happened to lost two pretty big recruits.

Why did we lose the recruits? Was it Poaching by other coaches? Was it our coaches not following through with the commits? In my opinion, it was a mixture of the two.

UNC coaches were relentless in their approach to recruiting Greg Little. Little Remarked yesterday about his decision to choose UNC. "They have a great program in my major, Business Administration, and a lot of guys have done great coming out of UNC with that degree". Does ND have a business administration department?

Once Butch Davis came into the picture, he started working on all the in state recruits that were leaving North Carolina. This is normal practice for any team. You can't let home state guys leave. Recruiting at Notre Dame is a different animal. Recruiting has always and will continue to be a national thing.

Charlie mentioned this in his presser yesterday.

The other thing is, for all those other people who are silent verbals, silent commits, to me they're fair game, just the way my guys are fair game, because that's the way the game is obviously played.

I think it then becomes an ethical question, okay? How exactly do you broach different subjects? I think between Rob and I, our staff, we're going to have to continue to review because we never want to do things the wrong way, but at the same time you have to make sure that everyone's playing the game the same way.

I think the first way, starting on the proactive, is our own view towards people that are committed to us because obviously sometimes what a commitment means doesn't hold much water.

Charlie and Company will now get COMMITMENTS. No more silent, quiet, or verbal. If a Kid is not going to commit, then ND will not commit. So, In my opinion, this is not over. Charlie is taking it personally and I am right behind him.

We did some Poaching ourselves this recruiting season. Brian Smith was an Iowa commit and did not have an offer from us until very late in the game. The Iowa coach told Smith that if he visited ND, he would be going in a different direction. When Smith took the visit, Ferentz got another LB. The big difference is, Brian Smith was upfront with the Iowa Coaching staff. This has made his decision easier to swallow on both ends.

Two things that are certain:

1. Notre Dame will change the way they recruit by getting commits from guys that want to be there
2. Until the recruiting climate changes, nothing will change

It is more than obvious that the kids read all the hype about decommits and the recruiting manage' twa's. Mike Ragone stood up at the press conference yesterday and the first thing out of his mouth was, "I will NOT be going to Notre Dame". Of course he was joking, but it's a joke that the coaches should take a long look at.

This recruiting age has the kids looking to ESPN and CSTV and ESPN U and ESPN the Ocho etc. etc. etc.

Martez Wilson, an Illinois commit was interviewed on ESPN and stated that he is "looking forward to playing the game and being on ESPN." I guess that's how Zook got players to commit to a team that hasn't won in years. No school, just ESPN and parties. Champaign is a nice place to visit, but C'mon Ronny, What about Classes and learning? What happened to the days of signing LOI in the principals office with mom and dad there to hug you and send you back to class? Oh yea, ESPN.

Ethics in recruiting is a huge Oxymoron. You cannot have one with the other and you can't have one without the other. What side does ND fall on? I am happy to say that Charlie will always fall on the side of ethics. And that is the way it should be.

This years recruiting class is a great example of that exact notion.

2007 will be a trying time for Irish fans, but when is it not? The schedule is tough for the first 3/4 and then slacks off. I think that an 8-4 or 9-3 season will be a great success. Any better than that is great, but any less would be underachieving. Being young is no excuse to lose games. Unlike the previous ten or so years, The Irish teams of the future will no longer rebuild with 6-6 seasons. The high quality recruits coming in will not allow it. And that is the main difference between Davies/Willingham and Charlie Weis.

ND Stories

Armando Allen

Jimmy Clausen

Top 20 Breakdown

7. Notre Dame Fighting Irish - (IrishEyes.com)

Jimmy Clausen (QB)
Gary Gray (CB)

The big fish that got away:
Justin Trattou (DE)

Notre Dame has one of the top offensive recruiting classes in the nation with quarterback Jimmy Clausen, running backs Armando Allen and Robert Hughes, wide receivers Greg Little, Duval Kamara and Golden Tate, tight end Mike Ragone and offensive linemen Chris Little, Emeka Nwankwo, Taylor Devor, Matt Romine and Andrew Nuss. The other side of the ball is a different story. The Irish lost defensive end Just Trattou to Florida. Cornerback Gary Gray, safety Harrison Smith and defensive end Kerry Neal are the headliners on the Notre Dame defensive side.

Read The Rest Here-- (IE)

ND Commits in the Top 100 w/Videos

Jimmy Clausen Poised, accurate and ready.

VIDEO

Mike Ragone watch him get up the field. Unreal for a tight end.

VIDEO

Armando Allen Fast, quick and playing in 6A SoFla high school. I played there and it is good football. Watch the first clip and his breakawsy speed.

VIDEO

Greg Little Perhaps the most versatile player in the country, he shows All-American skills at RB, WR, TE, FS, LB and DE.

VIDEO

Duval Kamara Big, Fast, great Hands. Can you say Samarddddddiiiiizzza?

VIDEO

Robert Hughes One of those big backs with a great attitude. He possesses the best pair of hands this side of Marc Tyler. Averaged over 10 yds per carry. Sorry, No Video. PROFILE

Golden Tate Tate is a versatile athlete that could play running back, wide receiver, safety or cornerback at the next level. He will likely projects best as a receiver. Tate has good combination of speed and quickness and is dangerous in space. He has good hands and a nose for the endzone. Tate is also a very good return man in the kicking game. You could certainly see Tate help out a college football team in many ways.

No Video. PROFILE

Chris Little One of the top OL's in the country, Little dominates his Cobra opponents. He's generally so superior physically that he has to battle complacency.

Parade All-America Football Team - 2007 Roster

Parade.Com

Spring is for Quarterbacks

Notre Dame Weekly takes a look at the QB situation

Jimmy Clausen #1

California top 100 is out and guess who is on top?

I know he hasn't played a down and will have to deal with a ton of pressure, but I think this kid can do it.

LIST