Kelly and ND staff get high marks for player development
Great piece in the Athletic on re=ranking the 2016 college recruiting class based on performance. Gives Kelly and ND the #4 rated class....
It may be behind a paywall..so I pasted the ND portion.
Adjusted average: 3.07
Hit rate: 78%
Class rank in 2016: 15th
Four-year record: 37-14
Top signees: CB Julian Love, DE Julian Okwara, DE Khalid Kareem, WR Chase Claypool, QB Ian Book
Notre Dame finishing in the top five of this re-rank is sort of fascinating when you consider the timing. As coach Brian Kelly sized up what comes next for his program in December prior to the Irish’s Camping World Bowl win over Iowa State, he shared an ambition that’s been on his mind lately. He said his viewpoint is changing when it comes to national recruiting and how their classes compare to college football’s top talent factories.
“We want to break out of the 15th-ranked or the 10th-ranked, and we want to get into that next echelon,” Kelly said. “And so, philosophically, we have to do some things to get to that level.”
What does it take for the Irish to get there? Great question. But terrific classes like this one put them in position to start thinking that way. This 2016 group helped catapult the 2018 Irish into the College Football Playoff. Nine members of the class started against Clemson in the semifinal, and every single one of them became multi-year starters for the program. This 23-man haul really only had four misses, too. This class developed about as well as you could hope and has provided a ton of leadership. The Irish have recruited the right kind of guys. The question now: What will it take to achieve this kind of developmental success with even better raw talent? For Kelly and the Irish, that’s the key to consistent CFP contention.
Link: https://theathletic.com/1578377/2020/02/03/recruiting-revisited-class-of-2016-rankings/
Replies to: Kelly and ND staff get high marks for player development
I'll be happier when they get high marks for game day coaching and prep.
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That’s cool! Now all he has to do is put 3 of those together and he
will be ranked #4 in the nation at the end of the year
Know what? REAL soon, the stars are gonna align and ND is gonna win the Natty. I've
been following the Irish since I was 7. I'm 62. I've seen the highs and lows. Kelly hasn't done ALL the right things but he's done some excellent things to get this team, finally, in the hunt. I recognize and understand that ND doesn't get / attract many of the big name recruits but we get our share. I go back to the days of yore when the Alabamas, Texases and Floridas (and others) were always "superior" to ND, and we drilled em. Make no mistake fellas, those days are coming, sooner than later, when, despite all odds, the Irish are gonna win it. 1 year? 2 years? Not sure. But at some point, ya simply gotta believe and cast the apathy and indifference to the wind. You IN or OUT?
Innnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn. You are just a babe in arms. We drilled them with superior coaching,
smarter athletes and the world was much smaller then. No longer a long line of superior atheism to choose from. The decline started in the late 60’s, bumped up under Lou with exceptions. We are currently ranked #16 in recruiting and possibly will drop lower on signing day so time will tell with what happens and if the pieces were right. And you just might be correct!