The College Football season is over. Allow yourself a few minutes to stop screaming and find some composure. But just as in the NFL, the programs are cranking it up and preparing for the future. Whether that be roster moves, recruiting, hitting the weight room, or snorting a kilo of coke and beating up strippers. Well, maybe that last part is reserved for the SEC. Either way, expect big changes for ND over the next few months. With that said, expect more posts from Subway Domer that are filled with a mix of information. Such as these…
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A Royal Departure
Notre Dame announced this week that sophomore cornerback Munir Prince will transfer to Missouri. This news is not all that shocking as I and a host of other bloggers and posters on the message boards have posted this. What it is though, is devastating. Over reacting? I don’t think so. Prince came to ND as a RB and saw action right away as a freshman. And right away, Irish fans could see that Prince just did not have the physical size to play as a running back. What he does have is tremendous speed and great hip action. He was moved to cornerback for his sophomore year and saw decent playing time and played well. With ND returning Lambert and Walls as the probable starters at corner, McNeil having played well as a nickel back, and Gary Gray being touted as a great one in the wings, Prince would of had a hard time seeing a lot of playing time this year. Maybe. The greatest jump a player makes upward in his skill set, is from his TRUE sophomore year to his TRUE junior year (more on this in a minute). So we don’t know exactly what all we will be missing until 2009 when Prince takes the field for Mizzu. What we will be missing is competition at not only cornerback, but as a punt and kick returner. Not only that, but after the 2008 season, ND’s depth chart at CB may look a little thin. Good luck to Munir.
Webb Out
Sophomore offensive lineman Bartley Webb is no longer able to play football due to injury. He will remain at ND as a student because ND is an institution of integrity. Had this been say…Florida, Meyer would have Bartley shunned, Amish style.
The Disappearing Class
After the Prince transfer and the Webb incident, the incoming class of 2006 is falling in numbers… again. That puts the total number of ’06 kids that are no longer on the team to 6. It could have been 7 if it wasn’t for Chris Stewart’s dad. Plus, the other names that have been tossed around as possible transfer candidates are ALL from this class. It was Charlies first recruiting class that he put together. It was ranked in the top 8 and produced 28 commits. What is truly disappointing is what I stated in the Munir Prince piece. Historically, the biggest improvement for a player is between his sophomore year and his junior year. This means a big loss in depth and quality play out of the Irish roster. Now I can say with total confidence that Demetrius Jones and Zach Frazer would still be sitting on the bench next year, they (along with Reuland, Carufel, Webb, and Prince) would still provide the depth, competition, and scout play that is needed for a team to improve in the off-season and the season itself. In no way is this class shaping up to be like the incoming class of 2004 in which 10 out of the 17 commits were no longer on the team last year… more than HALF!!! (Of those 10, Banda was a medical release as Webb is now and Darius Walker left early for the NFL) That class was also one of the worst in Irish history on a talent basis alone. Notre Dame faced a lot of problems this year because of that 2004 class. The Irish must retain the rest of this class if it wants to avoid a similar situation (although not nearly as severe) in the future.
Fifth Year Fever
Notre Dame released 3 names of players applying for graduate school that would make them eligible for a 5th year at the university. Maurice Crum Jr., Justin Brown, and Terrail Lambert are the 3 players. This will put ND at an 80 man roster right now, if the recruiting class stays intact. The quota is 85. This means that ND, which has 22 commits right now, can add 5 more recruits to its class. (The max class is 25 unless there are early enrollees and ND has 2 this year in Cwynar and Robinson). This is highly unlikely as ND has only 5 other REAL offers (Datone Jones, Kapron Lewis-Moore, Mike Martin, Kenneth Page, and Cyrus Gray) out to prospects right now. I really only see 2 maybe 3 of these guys committing to ND. 3 of the 5 (Jones, Kapron, and Martin) are already committed elsewhere but have visits scheduled with ND for this month. Weis spoke before the ’07 season and said after this year he would probably not be able to offer schollies to walk-ons next year. It looks as if that will be changed. Look for Mike Anello to receive one as a special teams phenom.
IAN!!!
Ian Williams was named to the Football Writers Association of America’s All-American Team. This is a little bit of a surprise. Not that Ian played great and deserved this recognition, but the fact that 2 other Freshman A.A. lists had Ian no higher than 3rd team. The writers finally got something right. Ian played well on the field and showed great emotion and vigor as well. Williams should be the starting NT next year if they move Kuntz out to DE. Even if Pat stays at NT, this will create a solid rotation at the position. Congratulations Ian, on this achievement.
Oatmeal
Rumors have surfaced about the head coaching job at Purdue. It seems as if the Athletic Director is sniffing around for a possible heir to the toilet as early as 2009. Nothing has been officially released and the University is only saying that Wilford Brimley will be their coach in 2008. Brimley needs only two wins next year to become the all time winningest coach at Purdue. It got me thinking. W.B. has been there 11 years. This has been their best 11 year run in school history. Arguably. And in that time, Purdue is 5-6 against the Irish. ND has had their worst 11 year stretch and still Purdue could not even get above .500. Medicrity is best served warm… like oatmeal.
Hunting Wolverines
It is official. According to The Detroit News, Manningham, Arrington, and Mallett are no longer skunkbears. Mario and Adrian are entering the draft and Mallett is looking to transfer. But, no official word has come from the players themselves. This comes from R. Rod. He is such a prick, these guys won’t talk to him. This is a disaster for Michigan… and I’m laughing my ass off.
Buckeyes Are The Bills of College Football
Once again Ohio State was in the title game this year. And once again, they got their ass kicked. Allow me to be the first to predict the national champs for next year. It’s Georgia’s turn to kick the Bucks in the nuts.
