Bobref

Barajas didn’t work out, and the jury’s still out on Kiser. But Bilal, Tranquil and Jaylon are in the NFL. That’s pretty good for being “undersized.” Notre Dame’s base defense is a 4-2-5 set. The 5th defensive back is actually a hybrid safety/linebacker known as a “Rover,” rather than the team’s 3rd cornerback in a traditional “nickel” set. That’s the position they all play. That’s also the position played for the last 2 seasons by Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, who will get drafted tonight in the first round, listed at 6’ 1” and only 215#.

“Undersized?” Kid’s only a sophomore. He’s still got some growing to do.

You know, when it comes to recruiting strategy, I’m willing to give the SEC schools the benefit of the doubt. They do pretty well.

So, one day before the draft, the Broncos trade for Teddy Bridgewater. Presumably, that takes Denver out of the first round QB sweepstakes. Atlanta is most likely going to go with Ryan for another year or two, so they’ll likely draft a skill position player, rather than a QB. So, after QBs go in the first 3 picks, it remains to be seen what will come of the other 2 QBs who are projected first-rounders. The Patriots are #15, and they are definitely in the hunt for a QB, as are the Bears at #20. Minnesota (#14) and/or Washington (#19) may well get into the act as well. Going to be an interesting Thursday night.

Is he likely to get bigger? He’s only a sophomore now, which means he’s got 2 more off seasons in the weight room before he steps onto a college field.

This has been discussed many times. “Suburban mega-schools” success formula is simple, but it has 2 parts, both of which must exist at the same time. First, there have to be “advantages” that the size and demographics provide. But second, they must capitalize on their advantages, which means a committed administration to support them, coaching that is both skilled and can get kids to come out and play, and a supportive community, including a well run feeder program. Socioeconomic or other advantages by themselves do not translate to a successful program.

Tayven Jackson has committed to Tennessee. https://www.knoxnews.com/story/sports/college/university-of-tennessee/football/2021/04/28/tayven-jackson-tennessee-football-commit-recruiting/4876197001/

You can say what you want about Bart Curtis. But one thing for sure: he is as hard-nosed, old school, as you can get. He backs down from no one.

This is the logical next step for the “cancel culture.”

And that’s the same position they’re looking at for Bowen.

So, what prepares the team better for the tournament? Playing the same (good) teams year after year? Or having to scout, plan and adjust for teams you don’t see regularly, thinking that they will be worthy opponents, but not really knowing that when you schedule several years in the future? It would seem to me that the latter would be preferred, since that is probably what you’re doing in the upper levels of the tournament.

But it’s not irrelevant to his development as a whole person. I know this is a football site. But for the love of God, can we quit expecting (demanding?) that high school kids act like professionals? I don’t care if a kid is the #1 5-star recruit in the nation. If his coach and parents aren’t reminding him that he’s one injury away from becoming just like everyone else, and preparing him for a life outside of football, they’re doing him a disservice.

That, and St. Joe got bad. Those schools (and Penn) carried the NIC thread. Come to think of it, Penn people’s posts have also tailed off, in proportion to their on-field struggles.

My understanding is that they’ve done it plenty in the past for basketball, but never for football.

Nope. Won’t work. 10-1 Out-of-State Contest Limitations The address of out-of-state schools participating in a Contest against a member School as well as the site of such Contests must be within Six-hundred (600) miles round trip travel from the Indiana state line and shall be sponsored or co-sponsored by a member high School.

So, what have you got against the mighty Eagles of St. Edward, who (pre-pandemic) traveled more often and farther than all those teams? Back in the day, St. Edward and Cathedral were both run by the Congregation of the Holy Cross, and were referred to as “sister schools” (which I thought was odd because the faculty was primarily Holy Cross brothers). They often traded faculty. They played a home and home series just a few years ago. It would be great to renew that. The rest of your proposed matchups are OK, but anything involving IMG will run afoul of the ill-advised “travel rule.”

I Still one less than the number of fatalities in Ted Kennedy’s back seat.

Abolish the longest running high school football rivalry — The Battle for ‘The Old Leather Helmet” — in the state? Find another way.

An offensive guard can wear any number. A fullback can wear any number. A player can play any number of positions wearing the same number. No one has to “report” anything. The number a player wears has nothing to do with the position he plays. It only affects his eligibility to catch, bat or muff a legal forward pass.

Yes, on plays that do not involve scrimmage kick formation.

Not true. Under the high school rules, any player can line up in any position wearing any number. However, numbers affect eligibility to catch a forward pass. Only offensive players numbered 1-49 or 80-99 can legally catch, bat or muff a forward pass. There are also numbering requirements on the offensive line. But they don’t affect any player’s ability to wear a particular number. Also, can we move this topic to the Officiating sub-forum? I think that’s the better place for it.

You’ve got to walk before you run.

https://www.si.com/college/notredame/recruiting/notre-dame-recruiting-elite-indiana-linebacker-drayk-bowen Notre Dame In Hot Pursuit Of Elite Indiana Linebacker Notre Dame is making a hard early push for standout 2023 linebacker Drayk Bowen, one of the nation's best linebackers Merrillville (Ind.) Andrean sophomore linebacker Drayk Bowen is one of the top prospects in the entire Midwest for the 2023 cycle. The 6-2, 215-pound athlete has picked up offers from the likes of Notre Dame, LSU, Michigan, Oregon, Michigan State, Purdue, South Carolina, Virginia Tech and Arkansas over the past two months, so the talented defender's stock is rising all across the country -- and fast. On St. Patrick's Day, Notre Dame reached out to Bowen as part of the Pot of Gold initiative. During the virtual call, both head coach Brian Kelly and defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman told Bowen that he's one of the program's top targets on defense for his class, and he's a good fit given his proximity to campus as well. “They just say they are going to build something great there, which it already was great to begin with,” Bowen told Irish Breakdown. “With the addition of Coach Freeman, it's going to hopefully take off. They said they are going to recruit the best in the country and they want to get over the hump [and start] beating Alabama and Clemson.” On the field, Bowen is a menace that gives opposing offensive coordinators fits with his speed, instinctive nature and size at outside linebacker. That combination of physical traits helped Bowen produce 80 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, five sacks and four forced fumbles as a sophomore, and he's currently ranked as the No. 3 outside linebacker in his class and No. 61 overall player in the country by 247Sports.com. While a hot commodity as a football recruit, Bowen is also receiving college interest for his work on the baseball diamond as an infielder as well, and that's given him an opportunity to check out a few schools despite the ongoing dead period. “I've been down to Indiana for baseball, so I got to see their campus,” Bowen mentioned. “I actually went down a month ago and got to go look around the campus at Notre Dame. I really liked how it felt when you got on campus, kind of the historic part of it. It was really cool. You can watch the movie Rudy, then you get to go see the campus and see the Golden Dome and Touchdown Jesus. It was really cool.” At the moment, Bowen is one of only six linebackers in the '23 cycle to hold an offer from the Fighting Irish, and he's already a big fan of the program. Notre Dame is one of several schools that Bowen has weekly conversations with as he navigates the recruiting process with other schools such as Virginia Tech, Oregon, Oklahoma State and South Carolina on the list too. Given how much closer Notre Dame is than any of those other schools, the Fighting Irish are likely in good position with Bowen at this point. And when Notre Dame does try to persuade Bowen to stay close to home, Freeman has talked about playing Bowen in space at the Rover role at the next level. Playing that type of position would put a pinnacle on Bowen's athleticism and quickness, but he's been busy working over the offseason to be faster and stronger by the time he steps on the field this Fall. “A lot of the time I will work on my explosiveness out of breaks and cuts and starts, then we have a dome right by my house, so I'll go there and we'll do seven-on-seven stuff,” Bowen said of his offseason regiment. “I'll get in pass work, pass drops. We have a bag at my house, so I've been doing bag work in the back yard. Then today I went to the track at my school and started working on my 40 time.” “Most of our seniors are returning, and a lot of the sophomores and 2023s that are going to be juniors, a lot are returning and will provide a foundation to build on for the younger group.” Recently, Bowen has been studying film, predicting plays, learning formations and focusing on the mental side of the game so that his physical talent can shine in 2021.

Rivals says there is a better than even chance he’ll end up at Notre Dame. But a lot can change in 2 years. At 6’2” and 215, does he project as an outside LB, or strong safety? Is he still growing?

I’m not accusing you guys of this, but the “it don’t mean a thing unless you get a blue ring” mentality really chaps my @ss. This is a fascinating story on so many levels. I am really looking forward to seeing how it plays out. Buzz has really assembled an all star staff, sort of on the model that made Michigan City relevant in the conference. I guarantee you, life just got significantly tougher for Valpo and Merrillville.