Despite witnessing the aftermath of a record-setting snowfall that has blanketed much of campus, Florida native and highly touted football prospect Aaron Lynch finally committed to Notre Dame today over Miami and Florida. Lynch will enroll early three days from now, joining fellow incoming defensive end Ishaq Williams in the classroom as the newest members of Kelly's 2011 recruiting class.
Both Lynch and Williams have been highly regarded as two of the top pass rushers in the nation at the high school level, and they will be joining a lineup that brings together several more standout athletes on the defensive side of the ball, including StephonTuitt, another defensive end that remains "firmly committed" to the Fighting Irish despite his current visit to Georgia Tech.
Assuming that all 22 members of Kelly's first true recruiting class will remain committed until National Signing Day, the Notre Dame coaching staff will have brilliantly composed an army of reinforcements that could have an immediate impact as they supplement an already surging defense next season.
It has been a long time since the Notre Dame defense struck fear into the hearts of opposing players, but defense just might be the key to Kelly's vision of a hard-nosed football team and his desire to put the "fight" back in the Fighting Irish.
Coupled with the return of Hurricane Floyd, these mid-winter additions to an already powerful defensive front should warm the hearts of all those Fighting Irish fans who are looking forward to a successful 2011 season.
Monroe, Ga., defensive end and latest ND commit Stephon Tuitt is the complete package: in addition to moonlighting as a right tackle on offense, Tuitt defends the run and the pass about equally well. He is a snug fit as a 5-technique in Bob Diaco’s 3-4 defense.
Tuitt compliments fellow 2011 commit Aaron Lynch rather well. Tuitt is shorter (by an inch according to listed numbers, but it looks like a shade more), which showed up in his lack of batting down passes, a staple of Lynch’s repertoire. Lynch is more athletic and has a quicker burst off the line, but Tuitt has just as quick feet and might even be faster once he gets going, as shown in the most physically impressive play from any 2011 ND commit on tape: starting 19 seconds into his film, Tuitt chased down a running back from behind without much of an angle. This play screams ‘what ND has been missing’ and ‘how can a big guy move that fast?’ While both need to focus on lower-body lifting, Tuitt is stronger than Lynch in the upper body, heavier (although Lynch has room to outweigh him, if he doesn’t already), and punishes ball carriers with a bit more authority.
At the same stage, Tuitt looks more ready to hold the point of attack against a college offensive line. Lynch’s specific pass-rushing skill set could give the Floridian a more direct route to immediate playing time, but Tuitt had the physical edge from the fall 2009 tape. One will help another, though, because both are good enough to attract either double teams or help for the offensive tackle from a tight end or back. Expect both to log meaningful minutes as freshmen before starring as a top defensive end duo.
At a Saturday morning press conference, star defensive end Aaron Lynch picked Notre Dame and extended a remarkable recruiting sequence with four public commitments in under 24 hours. The previous three are great pickups, but Lynch is the gem of not just the weekend but the year to date.
His junior tape from Preps Report is the best film—not to mention the most entertaining—of any of his fellow ND verbals. The seven minutes are repetitive for all the right reasons: 6-6, 266 Lynch is too big, fast, and strong for any takers in the Ft. Myers area. To compliment his physical gifts, Lynch shows skill in breaking up passes. For Lynch, the tendency to go for deflections is a double-edged sword at times when QBs use a pump fake, although at the 1:07 mark he recovered for the sack anyway.
Impressive against the run, Lynch has sufficient lateral speed to contain a back in the flat and force him to the sideline. He doesn’t take himself out of plays and he’s a consistent terror on every down. Lynch sometimes rushes as stand-up blitzer, so he’ll need to get comfortable playing each snap in a down position. He’s agile enough to develop DE moves and he can chase down skill guys from the line of scrimmage. He can refine these traits and gain muscle mass, but unlike most freshmen on the line, it won't happen during a redshirt year. Lynch looks physically ready to get a little PT for the Irish in 2010 let alone 2011.
While nose guard Louis Nix is comparable in terms of prototypical fit for the scheme, no ND defensive lineman matches Lynch’s upside. His sack numbers as a freshman in 2011 will be similar to Ethan Johnson’s ’08 pace. While Lynch isn’t the first defender in ND’s 2011 group who garnered offers from the SEC’s best teams, he’s probably the first of the caliber who would actually beast at those schools. Lynch is a perfect 3-4 DE and the cornerstone of Kelly’s recruiting class. Soon enough, he’ll also be the centerpiece of Diaco’s defense and maybe, just maybe, Notre Dame’s next national championship.
Notre Dame went almost five weeks without a new public commit before Friday, when ND fans got three commitments in roughly five-hour increments on a single day. 6-0, 180 three-star corner Jalen Brown is the latest, according to ISD. Brown’s commitment slotted the monogram ND into three of the top four recruiting news stories on ESPN’s recruiting sidebar:
ESPN also has junior film showcasing Brown in mostly man-to-man coverage. Watch him deck the WR in the play that starts at the :50 mark. In other segments, Brown shows hops (1:37), closing speed (:32), and run support (2:22). His film makes it obvious that Brown’s coaches in a football-crazed state have done well with him. With a complete corner skill set and great size to boot, Brown is a candidate to play early even before factoring in our thin CB depth chart. This commitment gives Notre Dame flexibility to fulfill needs in the defensive backfield. Although Brown is similar to 2008 signee and DB utility man Jamoris Slaughter, the Irish should keep Brown at CB and instead use Eilar Hardy at safety, his most natural position. ND’s three current scholarship players from Texas are all starters, and Jalen Brown will continue this legacy in due time.
Defensive end and soon-to-be linebacker Anthony Rabasa is ND’s second verbal commitment of the day, as first reported by his hometown Miami Herald.
A lightning-fast first step makes Rabasa a sack master in Florida’s largest classification, some of the best competition in the country. Because he isn’t able to physically overpower linemen, an early understanding of hand placement is a sort of silver lining for the glaring weakness that Rabasa can’t do anything to improve: height. His listed 6-3 frame dictates a move to outside linebacker in ND’s 3-4 defense. Catching a speedster from behind at the 4:36 mark of his junior highlights is reason to believe Rabasa can adjust to linebacker duties:
ND now prefers longer arms even of its outside backers, and it’s hard to tell if Rabasa's frame can hold much more weight. His game will take a similar transition to that of fellow commit Clay Burton, also a pass-rushing specialist but without Rabasa’s unreal explosiveness. Although Rabasa is unproven in moving laterally and reading running lanes and backs, speed alone makes him the favorite to succeed Darius Fleming as the starting CAT backer in 2012.
Four-star running back and new commit Justice Hayes is quicker than he is fast, using agile footwork to overcome average height (5-10) and lack of breakaway speed (though Rivals lists a 4.44). Top-shelf acceleration and a self-reported 35-inch vert are his best traits athletically. Hayes shows fundamentals by moving the ball to his outside hand when necessary, but he also has serious moves, such as the nasty stop-and-start at the 1:52 mark of his junior tape.
Please note to turn off sound if you're at work:
Hayes needs to work on pass blocking and following blocks, especially when collegiate defenders marginalize his quickness. He looks comfortable running in a spread offense, and he will probably play RB at Notre Dame. His ability to catch passes out of the backfield will help his cause either as a back or moonlighting as an inside receiver. He has the talent to take some carries away from probable future starter Cierre Wood. Even if or when Hayes isn't the featured back, his moves and pass-catching ability will earn him touches in some capacity.
Irish Creed is pumped up to participate for the first time in the Irish Blogger Gathering, a feature in which ND blogs respond to the same set of prompts. It's like an essay test for a Mendoza student, only harder. The six-question format works perfectly for us to split the responses evenly among our three resident writers. Thanks to Matt from We Never Graduate for writing the questions this round to get our brains working just in time for August camp. Did we nail this exam?
1. First, before officially shifting focus to what matters most, let's take a moment to offer a way too early evaluation of Team Kelly's recruiting efforts. They've got verbals from some highly touted prospects (Hegarty, Koyack, Prestwood) and are in the hunt for quite a few more (Aaron Lynch, George Atkinson, Justice Hayes), but it seems like this class lacks the flair and star power of Charlie Weis's classes. We're not even in the hunt for a Rivals five-star rated prospect and we've already taken as many three-stars as the '07 and '08 classes combined. Sure, Kelly can transform two-stars into seven-stars, but the numbers of the last ten years don't lie--championships are won with teams chock full of four and five star talent. Are you at least a little worried at this point or still in the RKG Honeymoon period?
The reason the honeymoon is alive in my mind is that our commits almost all hit on their position-respective “profile” for size and speed that Kelly likes so much that he dropped the word six times last signing day. Hegarty and Prestwood are perfect spread tackles with an emphasis on agility over bulk. At 6-4, Grace matches the inside backer profile. 6-6 defensive ends Springmann and Carrico might not be as good overall, but they at least meet the profile height that that you can’t teach.
The disappointing lack of Rivals five stars isn’t as bad as it seems because they’ve only named 11 fives so far. It’ll finish around 30, which might include now-No. 32 Matthew Hegarty. The bigger picture problem with the new recruiting is potential de-emphasizing California. While Florida recruiting has picked up, it looks like ND is now involved with only three Californians: the Atkinson twins and Niklas. Nonetheless, this class is on pace to finish strong in addition to current commits potentially moving up the national boards. The staff should probably offer the next tier at safety in order to not get shut out of a position of need, but ND is otherwise getting “profile” players to transition schemes with sound scholarship distribution and a couple of underrated commits to boot.
2. The Irish switch from a pro-style offense to the spread this season. We saw it unveiled in the spring game and it is (understandably) a work in progress. That being said the Irish have a veritable bevy of talent, size, and speed at the skill positions. In general, what's your take on the switch to the spread and how high or low should expectations for the offense be going into the year?
Expectations should be moderately high for the offense because of—not despite—the new scheme. Upon installing the spread in his first season at CMU and UC, Kelly oversaw increases in total offense and scoring offense from the previous season at each school, including a huge jump in UC scoring offense (No. 82 to No. 16 nationally). These stats show that he can turn players recruited for another system into quality producers in the spread.
While Kelly plans to run extensively to help the new QB, using arguably the nation’s top WR and TE as a crutch can also ease the scheme into form. His public criticism of the offense’s work rate and struggle to practice at hyper speeds reduced my expectations slightly, but there’s enough perimeter speed to spark the spread. Kelly’s first-year output probably won’t match the yardage of the ’09 Irish. Nonetheless, he’ll push the right buttons to finish with a comparable points-per-game average in the top third nationally in 2010.
3. Three-year starting quarterback Jimmy Clausen has loaded his mom, dad, and free-loading brothers into the family stretch Hummer and taken off for the greener pastures of professional football. Dayne Crist is tasked with stepping into the big, 28 TD, 7:1 TD to INT ratio shoes Jimmy leaves behind. How are you feeling about him taking the reins to Kelly's vaunted spread offense? Do you see there being a significant drop-off with the Great Dayne at the helm or is he going to come out guns a-blazin' a la Brady Quinn in '05?
I have no doubt that DC will eventually prove that Crist is King at Notre Dame. He has a great head on his shoulders and he understands what it means to be the starting quarterback at Notre Dame. He recently talked with ESPN’s Bruce Feldman about leaving a positive legacy behind him, and I believe that when his reign is over he will be remembered as a great role model for future leaders of the Fighting Irish to follow.
During the few chances we have gotten to see him play, Crist has already shown us glimpses of greatness. More importantly, he has exhibited the type of toughness and willingness to do whatever it takes to help the team win that the Fighting Irish are going to need from their leader in 2010. He put both of these traits on display in his often overlooked but crucial performance during the 2nd quarter against Purdont in 2009 when he took over for an injured Clausen. Without hesitation, he stepped right up and led the Fighting Irish on two straight touchdown drives to take a 17-7 lead into halftime. Without that heroic effort, Rudy never would have caught his famous game-winning touchdown from Clausen as the final seconds ticked off the clock.
I probably speak for most of the Fighting Irish Faithful when I say that I felt like I got kicked in the stomach when I watched his knee buckle on the turf of the Alamodome. He has shown nothing but resolute optimism since then, however, and I am more than excited to watch him become our leader. Beyond his athleticism and his familiarity with a spread offense which he ran in high school, I think the qualities that make him a good person and a good leader will stand out the most as the main reasons #10 will once again become the best selling jersey at the bookstore.
4. When a new coach takes over there tend to be a couple of players that haven't seen any significant playing time (or at least haven't made an impact) that unexpectedly emerge as major contributors (see: Samardzija, Jeff in '05). There are plenty of candidates on the offensive side of the ball, but you're only allowed to pick one horse in this derby. Who's it going to be?
I like the horse analogy, because my pick for 2010 Breakout Player of the Year definitely runs with the stride of a stallion. I have a good feeling that lanky 6’3” WR #81 Johnny Goodman will become a fan favorite in the near future. Coupled with his freakish athletic ability, all of the receiving threats lining up around him in Kelly’s spread offense will give him plenty of chances to make big plays.
Goody took advantage of the few opportunities he had to shine during his sophomore season, gaining 104 yards on just 6 catches. You might remember the first touchdown catch of his college career, which he hauled in from Dayne Crist in the Alamodome. Ironically, it was his first touchdown catch and Crist’s first touchdown pass since the duo connected on the very same field in the 2008 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.
What you might not know about Goody is that he was actually called upon to do quite a bit last year. He showed his willingness to help the team in any way possible not only as a WR but on special teams and even as a QB from the wild-cat formation. The talented product of Bishop Dwenger in Fort Wayne, Indiana, did it all in high school as well, winning awards as a WR before switching to QB as a senior to lead one of the best teams in the state. In fact, he barely left the field during his senior season as he proved to be a skilled punt returner, kick returner, and defensive back as well.
Last season, Dayne Crist told the South Bend Tribune that Goody could out-throw every quarterback on the 2009 Notre Dame roster (including both Crist and Clausen). He now enters the 2010 season focused on refining his athletic abilities and becoming a big-time threat at WR. Look for him to take advantage of any and every opportunity he gets. Before long, the #10 to #81 connection might just become as familiar as the #10 to #83 connection was a few years ago.
5. It's preseason which means it's appropriate for all college football fans to bathe in Kool-Aid and allow themselves to dream of invading Glendale, Arizona this January en route to claiming a national championship. Tears of joy will be shed, flights will be missed, and days--if not weeks--of "sick" leave from work will be utilized. I want that more than that weird, fat lady in Napoleon Dynamite wanted that model ship. What needs to happen this season on the offensive side of the ball for this dream to become reality?
As Brian Kelley said in his interview this weekend, we really need to hope that “the new QB has a break out year.” Dayne-O needs to light it up and everyone needs to be on the same page as him. As we saw in the spring game, our new fast-pace style of play really allows our offense to get a lot of plays off quickly. That means keeping the defense on their heels and unprepared for what’s coming at them, with our quick, speedy wide receivers getting open on short pass plays. That will open the field up for Armando and Cierre to have game-breaking, explosive runs that Cincinnati’s opponents were quite familiar with last season as UC averaged 4.99 yards per carry.
The deep pass won’t be used as often as it was under Weis, but that might make it more effective. After a series of 5-15 yard pass plays, defensive backs won't be prepared for Mike Floyd or TJ Jones to take off and burn past them toward the end zone, allowing Dayne to float one right into their hands. And when everyone’s covered, Dayne needs to be able to tuck it and run for a few yards… no gain is not an option in this offense, and as Connecticut knows: Brian Kelly will put up over 700 yards on you. I am looking for speed guys like Goodman and Toma to come in under the radar and make some catches in the open field and take it to the house.
For the first time I have been watching another team's highlights (Cincinnati’s) to get amped for this season, and I can totally see our guys flourishing in this offense. If we can avoid three and outs and red zone stalls, there's no reason we can't reach Glendale for the title game. Let’s go now Irish!
6. ***BONUS*** The arrival of college football means the arrival of perhaps the greatest American pastime: Tailgating. The assumption is that you're going to be heading to at least one game in the Bend this year which means you'll have at least one opportunity to tailgate your face off. What home games are you planning on attending, where do you normally tailgate when you're out for a game, what's your typical tailgate like (we talking a great spread and a selection of imported beverages or a pack of Bubba burgers and about 20 30-racks of Natty?), and are you inviting your loyal readers?
I am definitely on the offensive during my tailgating. I will be at every home and away game with the grill going, the bar fully stacked, and completely decked out in green. I tailgate wherever I get a spot in the football lot (normally by the row of port-a-johns across from Gate C) and we have chili dogs, sandwiches, wings, Chick-fil-A bites and whatever else I’m in the mood to cook up… I’m going to give breakfast a shot this year. Bloody Marys are a must, along with Molson and Moosehead. Irish Creed readers are always welcome as long as they are prepared to be greeted with a shot. We will tweet our location.
Dia duit!I’d like to introduce you all to the first of many “Irish Roots” posts which I plan on writing every now and then when I feel like making use of my education as an Irish Studies minorin the Keough Naughton Institute for Irish Studies at Notre Dame, the top program of its kind in the U.S.
Notre Dame is far more intricately connected to the Irish than just through our nickname, our leprechaun mascot, or the abundance of students with surnames beginning with either O’ or Mc. (Take a look through our yearbook, it's astonishing)
While the meaning of the words “Fighting Irish” at Notre Dame no longer share direct links with Ireland as they once did, every now and then a glimmer of those connections manages to shine through.
If you consider yourself a serious follower of college football recruiting (which I am not) you have most likely heard of Matthew Hegarty, the 6’5” 265 lb offensive tackle who plays for Aztec High in New Mexico.You have also probably heard that Matthew recently committed to play for the Fighting Irish, accepting a scholarship offer from Notre Dame over Texas, Stanford, Florida State, and Cal Southern, among others.What you probably didn’t know, however, is that Matthew was connected to the Fighting Irish far before he made his promise to take the field for Our Lady’s University.
Matthew’s grandfather immigrated to the United States from County Cork, Ireland (shout out to my fam in Drimoleague, West Cork!) when he was just a child.As a newly American Irish Catholic, he naturally grew fond of the nation’s premier Catholic university.For this man with a direct link to “The Rebel County” (as Cork is known due to its renown for breeding brave fighters and its fierce resistance against English tyranny) becoming a fan of the Fighting Irish was as natural as eating cabbage with corned beef.
Fast forward to the present, where young Matthew prepares for his future as a Fighting Irishman.He may not realize the significance of his story yet, but maybe he will discover his role as the link that brings his family full circle from the Fighting Irish of Cork to the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame.
When asked why he chose Notre Dame, Matthew claimed that he “fell in love with it” and was now “totally sold” after visiting campus and taking in the beauty of our tradition and the tangible football atmosphere that permeates the air in South Bend. Maybe his choice also has something to do with the personality of Coach Kelly, who never misses an opportunity to tell of his upbringing as an Irish Catholic in the great Irish-American city of Boston.Kelly’s Irish “gift of gab” most certainly helped bring Matthew to Notre Dame, where his grandfather’s influence may have been awakened somewhere in the back of his mind as he came to feel at home.No matter the reason, I’m glad to see an Irish family reconnect with their roots through Notre Dame (and as if Matthew's story wasn’t good enough, the dude looks like he is straight out of central casting for the Fightin’ Irish).
A hearty CÉAD MÍLE FÁILTE AGUS ADH MOR to the Hegarty family
On his way to a state championship, three-star outside linebacker commit Ben Councell dominated the largest classification in North Carolina in his junior film, courtesy of Athlete Vault. Although he is not the most graceful runner, Councell is an impressive combination of speed and size with the range to play sideline to sideline. His ability to defend the flats in pass coverage is remarkable for a 6-5, 225 prospect. In one instance Councell caught a running back from behind and he typically goes for the big hit. Opponents used power offenses and the spread, and he defended both well.
Councell played with a hand down only sparingly in high school, but his weak first step won’t be a huge problem in the OLB spot at ND. Unlike earlier verbal Clay Burton, sacking the QB is not Councell’s bread and butter. No current ND defender or committed recruit has Councell’s particular skill set, except the new-and-improved Manti Te’o we saw in the Blue-Gold Game. Right now Councell defends the pass better than the run, but he is perfect for Bob Diaco’s defense because the highlights show he already understands a no-crease defense. Councell’s ability to meet the diverse demands of a 3-4 OLB will give a great chance to start after the strong linebacker classes of ’07 and ’08 graduate.
New four-star safety commit Eilar Hardy will probably play cornerback at Notre Dame, according to the South Bend Tribune. Hardy lined up at corner occasionally in sophomore clips but played safety, usually in the box, in his junior highlights from Scouting Ohio. He is more of a sure tackler than a big hitter, and he needs to add muscle to his frame. His strength is run support as he disrupted the line of scrimmage and flourished in the open-field tackling situations in which many current ND defenders have failed.
Hardy succeeded in the limited film in which he had pass coverage responsibilities. While safety is a huge concern for the 2010 season, ND will also need cornerbacks by the time he arrives. Hardy fits the new staff’s demand for tall corners, but he must spend time on the Longo Plan to help get his weight up to par. His excellent tackling fundamentals, which would have been the envy of many ND linebackers a year ago, increase his chance of playing early at either corner or free safety.
I have been antsy. The excitement of starting this blog has been dampened by my uncertainty of what to write about in my first entry and what the impression of my first article will leave readers expecting from me. I was going to focus on history, connecting current ND topics to the Notre Dame of my grandpa (Frank Leahy's secretary) and my father (football office employee under Dan Devine) and waking the traditions buried long ago. But then Clay Burton committed on Friday and I realized that all I care about is our future, winning the ‘ship, and getting to replace all of the “11 National Championship” banners hanging around my house and dorm room. I was born on January 9, 1989, and I still have the Sports Illustrated that came out the same morning that I did:"CHEER, CHEER FOR OLD NOTRE DAME! IT'S A CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON FOR TONY RICE AND THE IRISH"
During his sophomore year at ND, my father enjoyed the 1977 national championship over Earl Campbell and the Texas Longhorns. My grandfather never witnessed Notre Dame lose a game as a student, went to school with two Heisman winners and celebrated three national championships. And I... well, other than being the curse of Notre Dame football, being a freshman during the worst season in school history, and personally attending every loss since I've been a student... I got nothing.
Since accepting the job as head football coach of the University of Notre Dame, Brian Kelly has done everything right. As of now you can chalk him up as the best PR man in Notre Dame history, but I really believe he is the man for the job. As a self-proclaimed subway alum growing up, Brian Kelly never got to experience what being a Notre Dame student was like. Charlie Weis did, and he had the opportunity to come back for "grad school," but BK is like a giddy freshman soaking it all up. His three years at Cincinnati were like his transfer process; pulling the all nighters, skipping the parties, and doing everything to his fullest to ensure that he could enroll at Notre Dame in the fall. And the recruits he is pursuing to build his dynasty are the icing on his cake, his 4.0 report card if you will.
Everyone knew Charlie Weis was a great recruiter and a wizard with an offensive playbook. What he lacked was the control, the guidance, and the discipline to lead a bunch of 18-22 year-old players to victory. There is no denying that we had the players to be a BCS contender almost every year, however, Charlie Weis was coaching the NFL Development League and building the selfish egos of promising athletes. For players, the goal was an NFL check four years from now and ‘doing what I need to do to ensure that I make it big.’ He didn't focus on the winning for Our Lady, he didn't instill camaraderie, brotherhood, togetherness. The team was not made up of Notre Dame guys.
But I'm living in the future now, a future where our head coach embraces that it is a privilege and an honor to come to Notre Dame, and if you aren't interested in winning a title for Our Lady we don't have a scholarship for you. We have guys like Clay Burton who are "trying to work hard and just getting ready to start (his) career and legacy at Notre Dame.” A guy who is already motivated to beat Urban Meyer and Burton’s older brother, a quarterback at Florida, in the national championship. Not only is he having a stint at Notre Dame, but he is ready to leave behind a legacy in South Bend. He’s not yet ready to make the big bucks in the NFL and look straight through his college career. He’s living in the present and keeping his eyes on the prize.
A national championship ring. Not a Super Bowl ring.
Clay is ready to earn his spot at Notre Dame. There are no inherited spots anymore. If someone isn't performing, Kelly will replace him with a walk-on if need be. Like Brian Kelly said during his student talk at the Mendoza College of Business, “It’s not enough to give your best. We need your all, all the time.” If you are not giving your all, if your attitude isn't right, you are not playing on this team.
Clay echoed these sentiments on Friday, saying, “I’m so honored to even have the opportunity, and I’m definitely ready to help bring Notre Dame nation to where it should be. I want to be part of the revival of the program.”
I'm right with you, Clay. I'm amped up, baby. 76 days until kickoff. 204 days until the first trophy of the Brian Kelly era. 568 days until the 23rd anniversary of my birth, the end of the curse, and a back-to-back national championship run for Brian Kelly and the Fightin’ Irish.
His offers include Clemson, Georgia Tech, Florida State, LSU, and Tennessee, according to Rivals, which has yet to rank him. ESPN rates four-star Burton as the nation’s 22nd-best defensive end. Burton’s end-linebacker combination meshes perfectly with the OLB role in Diaco’s 3-4 scheme. Various sites list Burton anywhere from 6-3, 225, to 6-4, 235. According to his Scout profile, Burton carries a 3.8 core grade-point-average and plans to enroll early in January, 2011.
Burton spoke glowingly of ND throughout the ISD interview:
“I’m so honored to even have the opportunity, and I’m definitely ready to help bring Notre Dame nation to where it should be. I want to be part of the revival of the program.”
In my estimation of his ESPN highlight film, Burton is a natural pass rusher, especially when taking uber-wide splits from his high school DE spot. One worry from the ESPN film is Burton's failure to close out the pursuit with sacks, but his Rivals highlight reel better captures the 12 sacks he totaled last season. Just as his biggest asset is pressuring the quarterback and forcing him out of the pocket, the most glaring weakness is his inability to get into the backfield against the run. Nonetheless, Burton’s athleticism and style are in the mold of ND junior hybrid Darius Fleming. Burton is a big commit at a position that will suddenly become a need after Brian Smith, Kerry Neal, Darius Fleming, and Steve Filer all graduate. Burton means that the Irish cupboard is restocking before it had a chance to be bare. Expect Burton to contribute to the ND defense by 2012.
Creed: Statement of Faith; From Latin Credo "I believe"
The words "Fighting Irish" are a testament to the indomitable spirit that has persisted at Notre Dame throughout history. In an effort to revive that spirit in full, Coach Kelly created "The Irish Creed" to guide Notre Dame Football into the future: "The pride and tradition of Notre Dame Football will not be left to the weak, timid, or non-committed."
