jack will view progress with 8-5
Even this year's "down year" is still a good class that many programs would have killed for. Notre Dame has a ton of talent on its roster at several key areas. There are holes but outside of Alabama and Ohio State right now - every roster has some holes. Even Clemson's roster has a few holes and has featured some 2 and 3 star players in their rise to the top.
Talent is NOT the problem at Notre Dame. There are very few offenses in the country who have the fire power Notre Dame does in 2017 with ESB, Stepherson, Alize Jones, Josh Adams, Dexter Williams, Tony Jones, Smthye, Sanders, Claypool, etc. Add that to a line of Nelson, McGlinchey, Mustipher, Kraemer, and Bars and Notre Dame should be scoring 40 points regularly. That doesn't mean they will but they have the talent to do it.
Even on defense, let's assume a starting line up: Kareem, Tillery, Cage, Hayes, Coney, Morgan, Tranquill, Watkins, Love, Studstill, Eliot. All but Love, Elliot, and Tranquill were 4 stars. Morgan and Hayes were 5 stars on some services. That is a talented lineup. It might not be Bama talent, but that defense, combined with Notre Dame's offensive talent should make Notre Dame a top 10 team.
If they aren't it's 100% on coaching.
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IMHO they will not be a top 10 team because 1) they have a first year starter at QB, 1) they basically have a new coaching staff, 3) the defense is definitely not top 10, and last but not least, they have a tough schedule with about 4-5 teams that will have better talent.
You can make the case for Georgia, Stanford, and USC tops. Even then, the talent Notre Dame has is probably better than Stanford's on paper. Shaw and his staff however make that talent produce a hell of a lot more than Kelly and co these days.
The only excuse for not being in the top 10 next year is coaching. Period.
1st year QB? The only times Notre Dame was in the top 10 consistently under Kelly was with 1st year QBs.
Notre Dame has also had its best seasons under Kelly after substantial staff turnover.
ability to see what the other team does/doing and what his team is capable of doing. I'm betting he won't and 4 - 8 will be his new bench mark.
Truly his best coaching while at ND was the LSU game, one OK game and one and a half games vs FSU. 31/2 games over 7 seasons is not solid coaching. If it weren't for his very good recruiting and having an eye for athletic talent, ND would = 1 - 11 each year.
top 5 recruiting to be in the challenge for the top playoff spots on a consistent bases. This year we came in around the 14th position with ratings of 24 to 8th. Last year it was 16th. And we're that high w/o any top D Line recruites since Louis Nix..
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The field.
Link: http://cfbmatrix.com/true-composite-recruiting-ranks-stats/
Oh yeah, 3 8-5 seasons and one 4-8 season....And an OC from Memphis and a DC from Vanderbilt are going to right the ship?
Should be DC from Wake Forest...Still traumatized from the BVG defensive era...
We can have the number one rated class,but if that class has a leader who publicly berates their performance and assigns blame for their shortcomings without acknowledging his challenges,then that class will not develop to their full potential.... it was Kelly who stated zero, absolutely none when asked what responsibility the coach had with his most recent scandal... Keep dreaming that somehow a new OC and DC can rectify the mess that is Jack,Brian... Amateurs
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ND has recruited enough talent to compete at the top. I know some people are wringing their hands over the most recent recruiting class. But I remind everyone that only 2 of the last 5 recruiting classes for Clemson were top 10. And they are the reigning NC. ND's 11th (or 13th depending on who you're listening to) ranked recruiting class in 2017 isn't going to be some dead weight around the neck of the program moving forward.
backs that up." So where is ND, mid teens and no depth.
Link: http://247sports.com/Article/National-Signing-Day-Why-recruiting-unquestionably-matters-for-c-50905753?utm_source=247Sports%20Newsletter&utm_medium=Newsletter&utm_campaign=170130_125201_247Sports&utm_content=Link
They are case in point you can play for championships without top 10 classes and tons of 5-star recruits.
AT LEAST
Look at Clemson's class this year
Which emphasizes the point that ND can recruit well enough to be competitive at the top. If ND puts together a good 2017 season, the two-year recruiting cycle of 2017 and 2018 will be strong. 2018 is off to a good start..
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Enough top players will come to ND. The right coach will do well.
Pretty much during the Kelly era it has been a lack of effective leadership, cronyism Jack Brian and Brian.Now we are supposed to believe that all of the major coaching fixes are going to work.....Tap the brakes....
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