Smith Switch

After just losing defensive commit Justin Trattou to Florida, Notre Dame rebounded by securing the commitment of another defensive recruit in the form of Kansas linebacker Brian Smith. Smith, who publically committed to Iowa back in August, decided to take up the Irish on their late scholarship offer and made the switch late Tuesday night.

Coach Weis and the Irish had originally recruited Smith back during the summer, but after securing public commits from Aaron Nagel and Steve Paskorz, the Irish decided to pass on the then 3-star recruit Smith.

“We were contacted by the new defensive coordinator (Corwin Brown),” Smith said. “In the summer, (Notre Dame) was very well in the mix. I was just waiting on the offer so I could commit. But in June, I was told I didn’t fit into the old defensive coordinator’s plan. … I guess he wasn’t impressed with me, but the new defensive coordinator came in and liked what he saw.”

To be fair to Minter, Smith is an inside linebacker and at that time, ND was really in the hunt for speedy outside linebackers like Chris Donald, Martez Wilson, Lorenzo Edwards, and Malcolm Smith to upgrade the Irish defensive speed in the 4-3 defense. So in that regard, I can understand the decision to pass on Smith. However, with the likely arrival of the 3-4 defense, there is a greater need for inside linebackers and Smith certainly fits the bill.

Coach Weis, along with Coaches Brown, Ianello, Oliver, and Haywood all visited Smith last Sunday after offering on Friday. And after what I imagine was a pretty stressful decision, Smith scheduled an official visit to South Bend for this weekend. At that point, Iowa likely realized he was already gone and cut their losses.

“Me and my dad decided we were going to be up front,” Smith said. “We called (Ferentz) and let him know the offer came. Every time something new came up, we let him know what the status was.”

“I told them I was going to visit, and coach Ferentz said if I was going to make that visit, then we both have to move on.”

And so goes the vicious recruiting food chain cycle.

Currently a 4-star recruit on Rivals and a 3-star recruit on Scout, the 6'2" 225 pound Smith picked up offers from Nebraska, Michigan State, Arizona State, Kansas, Kansas State, and Missouri in addition to the Hawkeyes. ESPN's Scouts, Inc has him ranked in their Top 150, as player #150, and has few, hard to watch videos of him if you are interested.

What makes Brian Smith notable to Irish fans, other than the fact that he will join fellow linebackers Toryan Smith and Scott Smith, and safety Harrison Smith on defense, is that his father, Chris Smith, played football back in the early 80's for the Irish where he was a teammate of current coach Haywood. A bruising fullback, Smith was known for opening holes for Allen Pinkett as well as some solid individual performances carrying the ball. From the various scouting reports, Brian brings a similar physical mentality to linebacker, where he had 126 tackles and 9 sacks as a 1st Team All-State senior. Smith, though, hopes to make his own legacy.

“It’s great to follow in my dad’s footsteps, especially at a school like Notre Dame,” Smith said. “But I want to make a name for myself.”

He's Number Two?

It's sounding more and more likely that Brady Quinn isn't going to be the #1 pick in the upcoming NFL draft. The latest bit of confirmation, if you can call it that, comes from that guy out in California.

Carroll hinted at who he expects the Raiders to select with the first pick of the NFL Draft. He said that Kiffin prefers a vertical passing offense that suits LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell better than Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn.

"The kid from LSU is exactly what they're looking for," Carroll said, "more so than the kid from Notre Dame."

Honestly, Quinn is lucky if the Raiders go after someone else. Featuring a former Southern Cal assistant that many Trojan fans wanted fired in Lane Kiffin and his lovable new boss, the Raiders organization is hardly a stable and promising environment.

It's still a bit early to speculate where Quinn might end up, as teams might decide to work a trade and move up in the draft, but with the second pick in the draft, the Lions are a possible destination for Quinn. If the Lions opt for another wide receiver, the third pick will fall to either the Cleveland Browns or Tampa Bay Buccaneers. A coin flip after the Super Bowl will determine which team gets the #3 pick.

Powlus to Prepare Pocket Passers

Perhaps overlooked in the news of the hiring of Corwin Brown is the return of Ron Powlus to the Notre Dame sideline. Powlus served as the Director of Personnel Development the past two years, but this promotion gets him out from behind a desk and back on to the field.

Powlus joins offensive coordinator Michael Haywood as a former ND-player turned-coach, a situation that hasn't been all that common at ND lately, but has been pretty successful in the past. (I originally had a paragraph here wondering who the last player-turned-coach was, completely overlooking the obvious and easy answer in Haywood. Sorry about that Mike.) For the complete list of former ND assistants, check this out. How many former ND players can you find?

If you watched the press conference (the video is no longer available, but you can read the transcript here) you saw that Ron really seems eager to sell Notre Dame to future recruits. And what better person to do it than a guy who probably went through the ND hype and publicity ringer more than any other player in school history? If anyone can identify with recruits and give them a straight answer on the highs and lows of playing for ND, it's Powlus. He's already saying the right things about playing under the media spotlight.

People call it pressure. I call it attention. That's part of the game. That's part of what you buy into, and all the guys that come here expect to play and expect to be the starting quarterback of Notre Dame. If you don't, we don't want you on the team.

So every guy that walks in this door that plays the position of quarterback, I hope he expects to play. And that's the mentality that they should have coming in and that's the mentality of every one of the guys competing for that job, and we'll help breed a competitive environment and let the best guy get on the field.

Powlus reportedly did a bang-up job with the administrative aspects of recruiting last year and now will be in a position to hit the road and really test his abilities as a recruiter. However, despite having the background as a former ND student-athlete, once he's making in-home visits alongside head coaches from the SEC and Big Ten, it will take more than just stories about hanging out in Flanner Hall. Recruiting quarterbacks to Notre Dame likely won't be that difficult in the near future, so how Powlus fares with other recruits will be a sign of just how effective he can be.

As for the coaching aspect, it appears that at least initially, Powlus will take a backseat and serve more as an assistant QB coach to Charlie's lead.

Of course there's plenty to learn. I fortunately played the position for many years. Had a lot of experience. But bottom line I'll learn what it's like to teach the quarterbacks from one of the best quarterbacks coaches ever in Coach Weis. He's proven himself to be an outstanding head coach and outstanding quarterback coach. I'm going to be learning with the rest of these guys.

The change from Vaas to Powlus makes the Irish offensive staff a lot younger -- and a lot less experienced. With a wide-open quarterback derby looming large this spring, Powlus will certainly have his hands full. He got a taste of on-field coaching two Springs ago when QB coach Dave Cutcliffe left the program for health reasons. Weis petitioned the NCAA to allow Powlus to step in and serve as a temporary QB coach in Cutcliffe's stead. It will be very interesting to see how he adapts to the coaching and full-time recruiting and how the players respond to him. Ron became somewhat of a punching bag while under center at ND due to all the unfulfilled expectations; who knows, maybe he'll help bring those two Heismans to Notre Dame after all.

Senioritis

One of the more important NFL Draft prep weeks ended Saturday with the playing of the Senior Bowl down in Mobile, Alabama. The North defeated the South 27-0 in the game, but the outcome of the game is largely irrelevant when compared to the week long practice sessions in front of over 700 scouts that can help to make or break a college senior's draft hopes.

The Irish originally had five prospects in the game, but Brady Quinn sat out the week with a knee injury and Jeff Samardzija ended his football career when he signed a long term contract with the Chicago Cubs. Quinn still showed up to meet with various team reps, but didn't participate in any drills or practices. That left Ryan Harris, Rhema McKnight, and Victor Abiamiri as the lone ND players in the game.

The interesting thing about Senior Bowl week is that it just goes to show you that NFL draft scouting is very similar to the type of scouting that goes on with the recruiting websites. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and different sites will give you different takes on a player and his performance. Coming away with a clear consensus on how the Irish players fared is tough to do, although there seem to be a few common takes on the Irish trio.

Ryan Harris had perhaps the worst week of the Notre Dame players and his draft stock has likely dropped as a result. Technique-wise he impressed the scouts in attendance, but he struggled in the one-on-one drills with the speed rushers. One named mentioned as giving him trouble was Purdue's Anthony Spencer, and that makes sense as Spencer gave Harris fits during the regular season as well. Here's some video of the North team practice here where the NFL Network analysts discuss Harris' performance. NFL scouts surely do their homework before the Senior Bowl and already have a pretty good handle on what players can and can't do, but this week certainly won't help Harris and the former left tackle might find himself playing right tackle or even guard in the NFL. How he performs at the Combine in February might determine if he's a first day or second day draft pick.

McKnight struggled a bit early in the practice sessions with some drops on relatively easy passes before making it for it later with some great catches on the final practice day. Comments routinely mention his lack of top speed, but compliment him on his effort and willingness to fight for the ball. How McKnight runs at the combine will probably determine if he lands in the 3rd round or falls to the second day of the draft.

Victor Abiamiri had a strong week that didn't really help or hurt him too much. Physically he was mentioned as one of the most impressive athletes at the event and there certainly are NFL teams that draft based on "measurables". I have to think Victor had some fun in the one-on-one drills after facing nothing but a steady stream of double teams all regular season. There is still plenty of time left before the draft, but Abiamiri is looking like someone will grab him up in the 2nd round. I think it's safe to say that he'll be the highest drafted Irish player after Brady Quinn, but probably won't crack the first round.

There are some decent summaries of the week on scout.com and espn.com, but most of the interesting items on both sites are restricted to subscribers. NFLDraftCountdown has some free info, but keep in mind that it's just one amateur draftnik's opinion. If you want to make up your own mind, you can watch the game and video of the open practices here. It's a bit silly to realize you're watching a practice of a meaningless post-season bowl, but at the same time it's an interesting insider look for fans that don't really know what exactly goes on at a stereotypical collegiate/NFL football practice.

Shot Through the Heart

In one of the bigger recruiting shockers that I can remember, defensive end Justin Trattou pulled a last minute stunner and flipped his verbal commitment from Notre Dame to Florida. The New Jersey native had committed to ND way back on June 2nd, but in the span of about a week, Trattou went from not seriously considering the Gators to their newest commit.

So what happened? How did it happen? Who's to blame? And where do we go from here?

What & How. The dizzying turn of events hit hard and fast. Last week, Justin Trattou and his dad made a trip down to Florida for a big Gator recruiting weekend. The trip was surprising news to ND fans, but many saw it as a chance to take a mid-winter vacation and hang out with a team still partying from it's BCS championship win. Justin returned, still committed to ND, and the Irish quickly set up an in-home meeting with him that Monday and arranged for an unofficial visit back to ND for this weekend. Charlie Weis and Jappy Oliver flew out to Jersey on Monday to meet with the Trattous, while Corwin Brown went to Chicago to visit Robert Hughes. Weis left with Trattou still in ND's corner.

Then, Urban Meyer flew up to Jersey on Thursday night (with two guys in tow who used to coach for the Irish, Greg Mattison and Steve Addazio, no doubt there to give Justin the "straight dope" on ND). Meyer left with a verbal committment from the talented defensive end, and Trattou's trip to ND was cancelled. As it stands right now, it appears that there's no chance for ND to get back into the race.

Who's to blame. It appears that the biggest culprit might be, ironically, our new defensive coordinator, and the new scheme he's bringing with him.

"Florida called me the day after they won the national championship and it really opened my eyes. Once Notre Dame changed defenses, I had to think about other options. Notre Dame is a great place, but it's just not for me...

"In a 3-4, they'd want me to play rush end or outside linebacker, and while that's tempting, that's not really where I see myself," Trattou said. "I've always been a down lineman and that's what I prefer. At the end of the day, that makes a big difference."

Irony of ironies: we clamor for a new defensive coordinator, and when we finally get one, it costs us our top defensive recruit.

Visiting sunny Florida in January and hanging out with the national champs certainly must have been a nice trip for the New Jersey native. But, in the end he made a football decision to attend Florida, and that's what really hurts about this. Notre Dame's defensive recruiting has been very shaky, and Trattou surely realized this (no doubt with some help from the Florida coaches) and made his decision. You really can't blame the kid for trying to find the best spot for his skills and cast his lot with a team that seems miles ahead of Notre Dame.

Where do we go now? The short-term consequence is that for the second year in a row, defensive recruiting will come up short. We've picked on Ty Willingham's lackluster recruiting and the holes he left in the depth chart, but now there are similar holes attributable solely to Charlie Weis. Consider that ND currently has six defensive recruits in the Class of 2007. Six. The quality of the recruits is higher than it has been in years past, but the quantity is sorely lacking, especially following a 2006 class that only had 9 defensive recruits (10 if you generously count Paddy Mullen, a TE/DL recruit). That's 16 defensive recruits versus 29 offensive recruits in the Charlie's last two classes.

It's clear that some of those offensive recruits will have to switch to defense. We're already seeing it with the news that OL recruits Andrew Nuss, and possibly Emeka Nwankwo, will start out on the defensive line. Furthermore, I wouldn't be surprised to see a number of different players already on the roster tested out at defense during spring practice, in an attempt to put the best 22 players on the field. That will make for an interesting and news-filled spring, but as we saw with the Travis Thomas to linebacker experiment, what sounds great in the spring doesn't always pan out in the fall.

Long-term, losing Trattou puts a real crimp in the depth of ND's defense. The defensive line and linebacker recruiting has not been up to par, and Trattou was a superstar. There definitely is talent there, but the numbers and depth are lacking, and that certainly will come back to bite ND in the future. And it also affects future recruiting. Great players aren't usually scared of competition (notice how Trattou is the 5th defensive end currently committed to Florida), in fact, it's just the opposite: great players want to be surrounded by other great players. Just listen to Trattou, back when he committed to Notre Dame:

I think with the next couple recruiting classes [at ND] that we’ll be competing for a national championship. I definitely want to play on a team with a bunch of good guys and I know over the years that I’m there that we’ll be a very competitive team.

Well, that's exactly what he's getting with Florida. As for ND...let's hope nobody else jumps ship.

Hughes News

Number nineteen is in the books. In front of family and friends, Robert Hughes selected Notre Dame and became the 19th public member of ND's Class of 2007. Irish fans may have been extremely happy with the aerial fireworks of the past two years, but I'd bet that a vast majority still have a soft spot for the kind of blue-collar, run the ball down their throat, power football that physically and emotionally drains the opponent. Good news for them then as Hughes is a 5'11" 225 pound running back with the size and strength to be an immediate and productive contributor to the Irish running game.

A two-time All-State selection at running back, Hughes had offers from Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, Wisconsin, Miami among others and in the end decided upon the Fighting Irish over the home state program, Illinois.

Hughes, in announcing his decision before about 120 friends, family members and teammates at Hubbard, cited three key factors: 1) where he would have the chance to "showcase my athletic skills early and on a national level;" 2) "where I want to earn my degree from;" 3) "where I feel most comfortable."

The recruiting sites were also pretty unanimous in their take on Hughes' abilities as he was ranked a 4-star, Top 100 player on Rivals and Scout and included on ESPN's Scouts, Inc Top 150 list. He's only the 5th recruit in the current class to be included in all three lists (others are Jimmy Clausen, Gary Gray, Duval Kamara, and Mike Ragone). Combine Hughes with Clausen, Kamara, Greg Little, Ragone, Armando Allen, Golden Tate and I think this is the best offensive skill player recruiting class at ND in a long, long time. (We'll save talk about the defense for another time).

Hughes' commitment also gives ND another player from the Chicago area, joining Aaron Nagel and last's years recruits Demetrius Jones and Serigo Brown. Weis had mentioned the importance of re-gaining a foothold in Chicago and getting these players is a good first step. Hughes and Jones are also notable because they attended schools in the Chicago Public League, a fertile recruiting ground that hadn't seen many Irish players in year's past.

Former Notre Dame and Bears defensive tackle Chris Zorich, who attended Hughes' announcement, said he's encouraged by the Irish's recent efforts to sign Public Leaguers.

"There has been such a gap, and I don't want to blame the coaching staffs from that time period," said Zorich, a Chicago Vocational product. "But do you want to tell me that there haven't been good enough athletes in the Public League? Obviously, that's not true."

Given the surprise departure of Darius Walker for the NFL, the running back corp is short on experience and production for next year, but the collection of youth and talent is a great sign for the future. Hughes will add a very physical dynamic to the group and honestly I wouldn't be surprised to see him get the ball next year in short yardage situations. ND only averaged 3.42 yards per carry on third and short this year so getting a bruising running back with fullback size will certainly help. Especially one that relishes in the physical aspect of running the ball.

"That's just how to describe it," Hughes said. "Any time I see a tackler coming up, I take it personal."

Past player comparisons are all over the map for Hughes, but names like Greg Jones of Florida State and ND's own Ray Zellars keep popping up, and if that means we're in store for runs like this or, even better, this, then sign me up. You can catch a few video clips of Hughes in action here if you want to make up your own comparison.

ND is entering the stretch run of the 2007 recruiting season with only twelve days left until Signing Day. The Irish might pick up one or two more recruits, and there is always the chance for a surprise, but it's looking like this year's class will number between 19 and 22, meaning that next year there will be 30 players who are 5th years, seniors, or juniors, and 47 to 50 players that are sophomores and freshman.

Meet and Greet

Corwin Brown finally stepped up to the podium and was introduced as an official Notre Dame coach a few days ago. Click over to here to check out the press conference video, or read the transcript here.

I think the main thing people are interested in is what Brown plans to do to revamp and reinvigorate the lackluster Irish defense. As one might expect from an introductory press conference, there were plenty of generalities and coach-speak. Brown did give a few quotes that ND fans can parse until spring football kicks off in a few months...

On whether ND will be running a 3-4 defense or sticking with the 4-3 defense they ran last year:

I have a background in both, both the three-four and the four-three, and what we'll do is look at our personnel. When we get into the game plan, we will see what's the best way for us to be successful as a defense and as a team and we're going to go from there.

On recruiting:

Well, I have a very strong base. I'm from Chicago. A lot of my friends are coaching there now, especially in the public league. And I would like to think that by me being here, but also this university, without me, this university, like Coach Powlus talked about, it gives you an opportunity to move on in life, regardless of football. You take football out of the equation, which at some point every young man will have to do, whether he plays long or not.

What you have to do is you have to see what's going to give you the best opportunity to succeed in life. And I think University of Notre Dame does that. So that's something that I will be able to relay to those guys. Not only in Chicago but also across the country, because I play in college. Played in the NFL and I can tell those guys, hey, this is what I did. These are some of the things that you may experience. This is what Notre Dame has to offer, and I would think that would be very, it would be very inviting to any young man.

On transitioning from the NFL to college:

I think there is an adjustment, because they're younger and also these guys are students so you don't have them all day. But at the same time at the end of the day it's still football. And it comes down to two things. Blocking and tackling and how you play and getting after the guy with the ball. So at the end of the day I would like to think that the guys that we got, those 11 guys they're going to play together. They're going to play hard and they're going to play tough. That's what I feel.

On if he will be a position coach in addition to being defensive coordinator:

Well, the thing that I've done through the past years is I've worked with the skilled positions, the safeties and corners and linebackers on occasion, so the thing that we're going to do here is I'm going to be able to work with all of the skilled positions, the linebackers and the corners and safeties, but I will also have an opportunity to visit with the D line at times and to move as we see fit as a staff.

On if there will be additional coaching changes, or if he is set with the current staff:

Yes, we have a staff in place.

Brown sounded impressive at the press conference (albeit with a vague no-answer to the staff question) but most coaches sound great when they get up and talk about being aggressive, tackling, and recruiting kids that welcome the pressure at Notre Dame. The key will be to watch and see what changes he makes once the team starts spring practice and how the players respond to these changes. Given the positive impact of recent DB coaches-turned-defensive coordinators at Michigan and UCLA, Brown's coming in with some sky-high expectations.