Subway Domer’s State of Recruiting 2010

Welcome to the annual Subway Domer State of Recruiting. Basically, this is the post where the entire scholarship roster of the Fighting Irish Football team is examined from the standpoint of “place of origin,” meaning: Where in the hell are these kids coming from? In the past, I have discussed pipeline states, and pipeline schools, as well as the importance of the relationships built by a staff in a particular area. Although Notre Dame does recruit nationally, they fall into line with everyone else after those pipelines and relationships are used.

The maps haven’t changed much in the 4 years that we have been examining this subject. Notre Dame is recruiting strong in southern Florida, southern California, and all along the 80 / 90 Turnpike from Illinois to New York / New Jersey. It’s the branching out from their pattern from time to time that makes a huge impact as far as the future is concerned. Would Notre Dame have been able to land Kona Schwenke (HI) in this last class if Manti Te’o and Roby Toma hadn’t made the jump to South Bend in 2009? Probably not. That is why Notre Dame is still a sleeping giant. All of the tools and needs for a run back to Championship level are there from a recruiting standpoint if they are coached properly in all phases of the game. Notre Dame has an Alumni and Subway Alumni base that is like no other University in the country and is spread all across the nation. With that support, the Irish can keep cementing itself in the recruiting world and achieve the goals of the team and its Nation.

Let’s take a look…

Before we begin, there are a few things that I need to point out. In the past 3 “State of Recruiting” posts, I have used Scouts.com recruiting rankings. This year, I am changing over to Rivals.com for the rankings. Rivals is, in my opinion, a little more accurate when it comes to the rankings. The difference may be bigger or smaller when comparing a states ASR ( average star ranking). Here are the links for the 2007, 2008, and 2009 State of Recruiting posts from Subway Domer for a little background. The map from 2009 is the same as the 2010 map (evolving map).

Also, this article will be a little more in depth than in years past. I will provide the State breakdowns for the positional groups for the scholarship players. On to the map:

[googlemaps https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=102925997810115846907.000461aae1924c7640fea&ll=38.134557,-100.898437&spn=37.70109,79.101563&z=3&output=embed&w=450&h=275]

As per tradition, here are the top 8 ranked states:

1. Florida

• 11 Players
• Average Star Rating: 3.09
• Most Notable: Armando Allen (4*), Ian Williams (3*), Dan Wenger (4*)
• Biggest Loss: Sam Young (5*)
• Newcomers: Spencer Boyd (3* CB), Lo Wood (3* CB), Bruce Heggie (2* DE), Louis Nix (4* DT)
• 2009 Ranking- #1 (9 / 3.55 ASR)

The undisputed King for the 4th year in a row is Florida. This state is always a treacherous battleground for recruiting battles that are fought by countless schools. The talent is deep and those players rated a 3* in Florida, might have been rated higher if they played in another state like Tennessee or Minnesota. Notre Dame went back for 4 more prospects in the class of 2010, but was in the hunt for quite a few more higher rated players as well. Louis Nix headlines this group- especially since Floridian defensive tackles are hard pressed to end up in South Bend. This was not a great haul for the Irish in 2010 from Florida, but it still keeps the foundation in check for 2011 and beyond.

2. Ohio

• 9 Players
• ASR: 3.77
• Most Notable: Kyle Rudolph (5*), Dan McCarthy (4*), Dan Fox (4*)
• Biggest Loss: Kyle McCarthy (2*)
• Newcomers: Andrew Hendrix (4* QB), Luke Massa (3* QB), Alex Welch (4* TE), Derek Roback (3* ATH), Matt James (4* OT)
• 2009 Ranking- #3 (8 / 3.37 ASR)

Ohio has crept back to the #2 ranking after sliding to #3 in 2009. Ohio has always been a good provider of recruits, but over the past 15 years, the quality of the talent is not what it once was that was heading to ND. There are, of course, exceptions such as Kyle Rudolph, but overall the Ohio players have not lived up to their billing. In 2010, Notre Dame picked up 5 commitments from Ohio ( the most from any state). With the players on the roster now, and the additions of the new staff; Notre Dame is back in full force across the land of the buckeyes. 5 of the 9 players are from the Cincinnati area and all 5 are from the private schools. The biggest addition is literal and general, Matt James. It’s a great trend that could get better still.

3. California

• 7 Players
• ASR: 4.00
• Most Notable: Dayne Crist (5*), Shaq Evans (4*), Anthony McDonald (4*)
• Biggest Loss: Jimmy Clausen (5*)
• Newcomers: Justin Utupo (3* DE), Cameron Roberson (4* RB),
• 2009 Ranking- #4 (7 / 4.29 ASR)

California climbs another spot but lost a great one in Jimmy Clausen. The ASR took a hit, but it is still tied for first with a very high 4.00 (especially for the number of players). It will be interesting to see how well the Irish do in southern California in the near future after playing the game so well with Brian Pollian. U$C was always a tough competitor, but UCLA with Slick Rick, and a resurgence of Stanford with a newly acquired assistant coach in aforementioned Brian Polian could make recruiting the elite kids even tougher. Notre Dame lost a couple of big battles to those schools with Anthony Barr being the biggest loss to UCLA. California could be ranked even higher in 2011 with none of the current players scheduled to leave South Bend after the 2010 season. Can Kelly and Company keep drawing the elite talent out of Cali? If not, it would be a HUGE concern.

4. Illinois

• 7 Players
• ASR: 3.85
• Most Notable: Robert Hughes (4*), Steve Filer (4*), Darius Fleming (4*)
• Biggest Loss: Sergio Brown (3*)
• Newcomers: Tommy Rees (3* QB), Christian Lombard (4* OT)
• 2009 Ranking- #2 (8 / 3.63)

Illinois takes a big drop two spots to the #4 ranking. Two bad breaks kept Illinois from staying at the #2 ranking when 5* WR Kyle Prater committed to U$C and $* Safety Corey Cooper committed to Nebraska. Notre Dame should never lose a kid from Chicago to U$C. However, rumor has it that Prater was never seriously considering Notre Dame. Cooper to Illinois is a bit more worrisome considering it was Nebraska and he played a position of dire need. The Irish have to lock down the talent in the Windy City and keep not just the big dogs out, but Michigan and Nebraska out too. At any rate, ND got a very big pick-up in Lombard and Tommy Rees is on campus now as the de facto #2 QB. Continued success in Chicago and the surrounding area is crucial for the Irish. Chuck Martin, a Chicagoan himself, could help a lot, but the loss of Corwin Brown could be bigger than previously imagined.

5. New Jersey

• 7 Players
• ASR: 3.57
• Most Notable: Duval Kamara (4*), Theo Riddick (4*), Mike Ragone (4*)
• Biggest Loss: None
• Newcomers: Bennet Jackson (3* WR)
• 2009 Ranking- #5 (6 / 3.83)

In the Charlie Weis Era, Notre Dame went back into New Jersey and recruited very well. New Jersey could get better in 2011 with only Duval Kamara scheduled to leave after the 2010 season. Two or three nice commitments from this state could put Jersey in contention for the #3 or even #2 spot. There are, however, some small concerns… most of the players on the roster from Jersey are very unproven or have had minimal playing time (Duval Kamara is the exception with Riddick floating in that territory as well).The draw of some Jersey guys to Weis was undeniable, but can ND still land good talent without him? The answer is a big probably with Rutgers, Penn state, and the Florida schools dipping into this talented state that has been somewhat ” a hidden gem.” I bet New Jersey has never been called that before.

6. Indiana

• 5 Players
• ASR: 3.60
• Most Notable: John Goodman (4*)
• Biggest Loss: James Aldridge (5*)
• Newcomers: Daniel Smith (3* WR)
• 2009 Ranking- #6 (6 / 3.66)

Indiana is always a curious member of these elite 8. They have been ranked from 2007 – 2010, #6, #5, #6, and #6. Interesting, because of the national prestige of Notre Dame and the myth that Indiana has no real football talent. Those in the areas of Fort Wayne and Indianapolis know better, and that includes me. Smith was a nice addition to a solid receiving corps, but the biggest surprises were losing two top prospects at very key positions. James Hurst (5* OT) to North Carolina and Blake Leuders (4* DE) to Stanford. With those two, Indiana could have been tied with Illinois for the 4th spot. Unfortunately it didn’t work that way. Notre Dame HAS TO lock down the top talent in its home state every year. It has no excuses. What lies ahead in 2011?

7. North Carolina

• 4 Players
• ASR: 4.00
• Most Notable: Robert Blanton (4*), Kerry Neal (4*)
• Biggest Loss: Raeshon McNeil (4*)
• Newcomers: Prince Shembo (4* OLB), Kendall Moore (4* ILB)
• 2009 Ranking- Not Ranked

North Carolina may have come on as a bit of a surprise, but with only four players it is sneakily awesome. The ASR is tied for first with California, but the Irish needed two commitments in the class of 2010 to make this list. Notre dame could have really used another commitment from this state in Safety David Amerson. David committed to NC State, and NC State was at one time a factor in the recruitment of both Shembo and Moore. North Carolina is a state that is on the rise nationally, and Notre Dame must continue its good fortunes there.

8. Pennsylvania

• 4 Players
• ASR: 3.50
• Most Notable: Darrin Walls (4*)
• Biggest Loss: None
• Newcomers: None
• 2009 Ranking- #8 (4 / 3.50)

What a bummer. Pennsylvania stands pat once again. This state was ranked #2 in 2007, but slid to the #8 spot in 2008 and has stayed there ever since. What was once fertile recruiting grounds for the Irish, has now become a wasteland of talent. There are still plenty of top quality players in the state, but fewer and fewer are heading to South Bend. In fact, if ND would have landed Jeremy Ioane from Hawaii, that would have bumped the Islands up to 4 players- and most likely would have bumped Pennsylvania out of the top 8 on sheer trends alone. Hawai’i, better recruiting for ND than Pennsylvania? No one would have guessed that- EVER. Will Brian Kelly make a bigger effort in this region than what the previous staff was showing? History dictates that this is probably a must for the program to reach its full potential. They don’t need 8-11 players from here, but a solid 6 top quality players could make a huge difference.

Got it? good. Now, here are the state breakdowns for Offense (19 States), Defense (17 States), and Special Teams (3 States):

Quarterbacks

Running Backs

Tight Ends

Wide Receivers

Offensive Linemen

Defensive Linemen

Linebackers

Cornerbacks

Safeties

Special Teams

So, there you have it. I’ll let you draw your own conclusions, but clearly you can see that Notre Dame is well spread out along its position groupings within the 26 states that the players represent. Until next year, this has been a State of Recruiting from your Emperor- The Subway Domer.