Cincinnati Connection

Brian Kelly hit the ground running in the arms race that is recruiting. His first target, however, came from familiar territory. Austin Collinsworth, a 3-star athlete and son of WHO-DEY legend Chris Collinsworth, committed to the Irish after first being recruited by Kelly at Cincinnati. Collinsworth was the star tailback, and starting DB, for #5 nationally ranked Highlands High School, a legendary football school right across the river from Cincinnati in Ft. Thomas, KY.

In addition to Collingsworth, Kelly had already secured seven commitments from recruits from Cincinnati and its surrounding suburbs, but was more importantly recruiting several heralded recruits. Here are a five additional Cincy products that should be wearing an Irish uniform next season:

5. Marcus Rush - 6'-3" 225 DE - Moeller

Although Rush is currently committed to Michigan State, no doubt thanks to the influence of Greg Jones, the stud All-American LB for MSU and fellow Crusader, I expect Kelly to make a late push for Rush. I think Kelly has more pull this time around.

4. Andrew Hendrix - 6'-3" 220 QB - Moeller
3. Luke Massa - 6'-4" 205 QB - St. Xavier

The local newspapers have recently reported that Hendrix has not decommitted from the Irish, but simply wants to talk to Kelly in person before deciding anything. Hendrix has a cannon for an arm and would easily be #2 heading into next season. However, if Hendrix or Tommy Rees decommits, look for Massa, a UC commit, to get the call and follow Kelly to Notre Dame. I expect Hendrix to stick with the Irish, potentially starting fall practice as #1 due to Christ's injuries. In addition, I could see Massa joining the Irish at a different position if the QB situation clogs up.

2. Alex Welch - 6'-5" 225 TE - Elder

Welch committed to Weis and ND before the start of the season, following in the footsteps of fellow Elder alum Kyle Rudolph. Welch has since remained committed to ND thanks in part to Rudolph (and his father) who has been Kelly's biggest ND supporter, and recruiter for that matter, in Cincinnati. Welch will enter ND looking to compete at a deep position for the Irish.

1. Matt James - 6'-8" 290 OL - St. Xavier

James is a mammoth tackle and nationally ranked product, who had trimmed his list down to ND, OSU, and UC. It was widely known locally that James was simply awaiting to see where Kelly landed. Now that Kelly is with the Irish, I expect James to ultimately end up at ND, where he would add instant depth to a depleted O-line. This is exactly the type of kid and player you want to build a foundation on, which makes him a high priority for Kelly.


All in all, I think the Irish will land at least three of these recruits. This class will set the tone for Kelly's involvement with the city of Cincinnati, a place where most UC "fans" (I use that term loosely around here) despise the man, but recruits admire him. Nonetheless, take Collisworth as the first on many dominoes to fall in the talent rich city of Cincinnati, where high school football has long held prominence. That is before the arrival of Marvin Lewis (can I get another WHO-DEY!) and Brian Kelly. Nevertheless, I expect Cincinnati to continue to supply Kelly with talented recruits, not only this year, but in many years to come (more on that in a later post).


-DH

Kelly Brings Passion, Charisma, and Tweets to ND

After an in-depth, calculated search, the University of Notre Dame has found its new head football coach in Brian Kelly. Let me be the first to welcome NDftB patrons to the BK Lounge. The first person AD Jack Swarbrick talked to and the only one offered the job, Kelly appears more than eager to take over the reins of arguably the toughest coaching gig in the nation. As the former Cincinnati coach put it in his introductory presser today, “There’s a football coach…and then there’s the head football coach at Notre Dame.” Full of motivating one-liners and a deep admiration for Our Lady’s University, Coach Kelly had me about ready to hit somebody.

What took ten days felt like ten years. The media treated the search for the next head coach at the most relevant irrelevant football program in the nation as if there was about to be a primary. Coaching candidates were coming out of the woodworks like Tiger Woods mistresses. Randy Edsall?! What’s more, referenced “sources” included Brian Kelly’s twitter page. I’m glad we can all sit back and laugh about it now, but geez did Joe Schad put me through some needless anxiety. AS the dust settles, ESPN and the other media outlets have continued their wall-to-wall coverage of the best-worst football program, as I have managed to learn everything about Brian Kelly in past few hours except for his first cat’s name. Oh wait, here we go… it was Whiskers (his sister named it). It’s kind of a funny story because, you see, the cat never grew whiskers after a tragic… I digress.

On the other hand, you do have to hand it to the media for their crafty article titles today. Pluck of the Irish. Golden Touch. Irish Eyes. Yeah, those are about as creative as a right-handed pitcher wearing his glove on his left hand. I also have to hand it to ESPN for doing their research and carving up a whopping total of three archived videos of Brian Kelly roaming the sidelines for the Cincinnati Bearcats. My personal favorite is him screaming, “Do your job!” repeatedly to a player on the field. One last media point: has anyone seen a picture of Brian Kelly coaching in action wearing less than four layers of clothing? I realize Cincinnati has its Midwestern roots but winter doesn’t start in September. What about their game last year at Hawaii? Show me that picture.


Now that the chaos has temporarily ended, it is time to reflect, assess, and of course discuss. Notre Dame fans and alums have every reason to be cautiously optimistic. Cautious because no one has consistently won at Notre Dame since Lou Holtz in the early 90s. Optimistic because Brian Kelly has had one (I repeat one) losing season in nineteen as a head football coach. His formula is proven. Cautious because as Kelly said today, “We’re 0-0.” But quickly reminded everyone that his team will head into the 2010 season with one win under their belt – proclaiming it is all but certain that they will win the Spring game, as he turned to give that Irish Catholic wink in Swarbrick’s direction. Optimistic because it is this charisma that has been lacking in South Bend since Holtz. He’s loud, he speaks from the heart, he is a molder of men (in Kelly’s words, “tough gentlemen”), and best of all: he has a deeply-rooted affinity for Notre Dame. His entire career has culminated to this point.

You in?

rabes

The wait is almost over...

After 9 excruciating days of waiting for the future head coach of Notre Dame to be announced, it is all about to end. ND has a press conference tomorrow, but will it bring rejoicing, shock, pain, or tears? It is safe to say I have developed a newfound disrespect for Mr. Joe Schad, who has been running Irish fans through a hurting rollercoaster of emotions. Notice how after a few misled reports, though, ESPN's resident guido has managed to treat the typewriter as if it had the swine (Wein! ~courtesy of Harper). Ah yes, silence is Golden.

Through all the rumors, tweets, and various reports and speculation, I believe the Irish face three options:

1. Brian Kelly. Word has it (take Word for what it is these days) that Coach Kelly has scheduled a team meeting at 4 pm right before his 5 o'clock Cinci team banquet. Could he be telling them Goodbye?

2. Randy Edsall. Much respect for the man, and I truly admire what he has accomplished not only this season but his entire career. With that respect, this is a giant risk for the program as he has never led a big-time program before and I believe Irish AD Jack Swarbrick knows better.

3. Unknown coach. There is a slim possibility that through all of the fanfare and media frenzy, Swarbrick has managed to go Bin Laden with a possible candidate. I have no idea who this would be, but I doubt that Kelly and Edsall are our only two options right now. There is something we are not being told, as this search as been about as stealth as the Alaskan Assassin.

Looking forward to posting tomorrow or this weekend on the New Head Coach of Notre Dame.

rabes

Everybody was Kung-Fu Fighting...except me

John Don

By now every Notre Dame fan on the planet knows that Jimmy Clausen received a swift sucker punch to the face outside the fine South Bend establishment CJ's during the wee hours of the morning a few weeks back. What many of you probably don't know is that the punch was thrown by none other than (wait for it): John Donovan.

No, not the John Don you all know and love, the other John Donovan from the Notre Dame class of 2008. (The same guy that paid court fees that didn't belong to him because he's been in trouble with the law so often. Clearly a classy individual.) However as this news has leaked I've received numerous texts and emails from friends, acquaintances, and EVEN MEDIA OUTLETS! A few weeks ago I received this email from AM 780 - a huge radio station in Chicago:

John,

My name is Justin Weiner with Chicago's WGN Radio 720 in Chicago. It was brought to my attention through some individuals that you were involved in the altercation with Notre Dame quarterback, Jimmy Clausen, early Sunday morning. Dave Kaplan, host of Sports Central would like to have you on the show tonight at 7:10 p.m. CST to talk about the incident and get your take on what happened. If this is something that you would be willing to do, please call 847-525-8056 as soon as possible. If you do not feel comfortable going on the show, we completely understand and you can respond to this message with a simple "no." I look forward to hearing from you John and thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Justin Weiner
Chicago's WGN Radio 720
WGN Sports

Wow. And just yesterday, I spoke to David Haugh, the ND beat writer for the Chicago Tribune looking to do a feature in the paper. Some of you may think that I made a huge mistake, but I told both reporters the truth and passed up the opportunity to become known as "that guy" that made Jimmy's decision to bolt for the NFL a little easier. But I just couldn't do it. I love me some Jimmy Clausen, and even though he didn't win I'll always think he's easily one of the best quarterbacks ever to don the blue and gold. I wish he'd stay.

My favorite part of this crazy story is that when most people ask me if I did it, they throw something in there like "Yea I could see you doing that." Nice reputation. This certainly isn't the first time people have gotten us confused (MSA dog book, anyone?). But his foolishness is helping build my street cred by the minute. Brian Kelly better look out or he may be next on my hit list.