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Link: https://youtube.com/shorts/zT0yp2P3_H8?si=c0m8kSaTrpZryh9N
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If memory serves, TW was out on one of his very, very few recruiting trips scouting Ohio DB Chinedum Ndukwe and Ndukwe's father had to "put in a good word" regarding Ndukwe's high school team mate QB Brady Quinn for Willingham to take notice
How lucky we ND fans had the privilege of having Willingham as a HC for 3 long, agonizing seasons.
Brady Quinn was a high level recruit. I don't think anyone had to point him out, even to Willingham. Ndukwe was primarily a WR coming out of HS, and was not highly rated. ND moved him to DB after he was already at ND.
It's absolutely true: They were recruiting Ndukwe and got nudged towards Quinn by Nedu's dad. It defies logic, I agree, but that's what happened.
Remember that almost nothing about the Willingham recruiting "strategy" made any sense; the lack of correspondence, the zero follow-up, the failure to cast any semblance of a wide enough net, and the head-scratching evaluations and players offered. You'd think only a moron would be pursuing Ndukwe without having offered his 4-star Q.B. teammate who was the 5th-rated Pro-Style Passer in the country that year. But it's what happened.
Recall: Ashley McConnell. Chasing Anthony Morelli at the expense of Brian Brohm. Offering Travis Thomas and someone named David Marrero and then "calling it a day" on running back recruiting. 5 offensive linemen TOTAL in 2 classes.
Paul Duncan and Mike Turkovich, who were part of that 2005 class, were last second add-ons by Charlie Weis, who was scrambling to get some warm bodies in that class' roster. At least those guys earned starting spots, and played a good bit of time.
The only OL that Willingham recruited from 2004-2005 were in the 2004 class, consisting of John Kadous and Chauncey Incarnato, neither of whom saw any meaningful playing time. Incarnato left shortly after Willingham got canned, and Kadous quit football after battling with injuries and illness (the man lost 30 pounds as a result). Kadous was the better of the two, and might have been able to get some playing time, given the situation, but he simply wanted to be a normal student at ND, something I can't fault him for wanting. At least he graduated.
Link: This is how bad those classes were
In fact, it was Ndukwe's father who had to convince Willingham to give Quinn more than a parting glance.
This has been very documented.
Where tf have you been?
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