It has been one long week (and a half) of news for the Notre Dame football program. Once the dust settled after Notre Dame’s bowl victory over Miami, the dust got kicked right back up into a sand storm of rumors, “reports”, and bullshit.
Questions about Michael Floyd’s future as well as Kyle Rudolph’s were brought to light, with Rudolph declaring for the NFL draft rather quickly.
And then- the recruiting all-star games kicked into full gear, and that is where so many of the rumors begin in the first place.
Here is a little bit of the recap as of Tuesday afternoon:
OL Alex Bullard transferring to UT from Notre Dame… http://fan.ac/1k2d #NCAA #Volunteers
Tennessee Sports
TennFans
Unlike a lot of other transfers away from Notre Dame, this one is not filled with a drop of bad blood. Alex’s father died last year, and the young man wants to go home to be closer to his family. He stuck it out for an entire season after his loss, and I can’t imagine how hard that was for him to be apart from his family.
Good luck to Alex at Tennessee.
South Bend Tribune: Notre Dame football recruiting: Lynch decommits from FSU, will visit ND this weekend http://bit.ly/gRvym9
sbtrib
sbtrib
And then 12 hours later
South Bend Tribune: Notre Dame football recruiting: Lynch expands his list http://bit.ly/dIQ8Uasbtrib
sbtrib
So… the good news is that Notre Dame has outlasted Florida State for Aaron Lynch’s signature, but we still have to beat out the other two of the “Big 3” in Florida. Both Miami and Florida are moving towards more of a 3-4 style defense next year (like Notre Dame’s), and Lynch has gone on record that he believed that he was a better fit for the 4-3.
Anything can happen in this recruitment of Lynch, and I still like Notre Dame’s chances, but we should not underestimate the Canes or Gators when it comes to a kid in their state, and one who just seems like he is looking for a reason to stay in the state of Florida.
Please take any of my comments on this subject with a grain of salt, since this recruitment is as fluid as I have ever seen. Meaning: things may change twice before I publish this.
One more thing about Lynch… while I was researching a bit, I fell upon some new writers with Scout.com. Hot, smart, female recruiting reporters are the wave of the future:
Ok folks.. Looks like Lynch to #ND at this point for sure. Got some good sources on this. Check out my latest report on Scout.com
Laura McKeeman
LauraMcKeeman
Recruiting doesn’t end there:
Nick Martin flips to Irish >>> http://ow.ly/1rZxUe #notredame #football
Jeff Baumhower
Scout_IrishEyes
This is a big “need” commitment for the Irish, especially after losing Bullard to the transfer. I’ll save the typical recruitment post, since Subway Domer’s Recruiting Spectacular will be published shortly after signing day, but WELCOME TO ND NICK!!!
This commitment leaves room for the Irish to get about 4 more commitments for the 2011 class, depending on what Floyd does, and what 5th years are invited back.
Speaking of Floyd:
Notre Dame WR Michael Floyd will wait one more day to announce whether he’s staying or will enter NFL draft: http://bit.ly/ievqiq
ChicagoSports
ChicagoSports
I have no good feeling about what Floyd will do one way or another, but if he decides to stay, I know Notre Dame will be ranked quite a bit higher in the preseason polls, and obviously the Irish are a lot more potent with him on the field.
Getting Floyd to stay would be as big of a recruiting job as Kelly could ever hope to do.
That about covers the basics. By Sunday, we should have a much clearer picture for what kind of roster the Irish will have in Spring, and the fall.
