Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Memo to Notre Dame recruits: Charlie Weis will throw a fit if you decide to transfer
Yet more evidence of things wrong in South Bend.
All former Irish QB Demetrius Jones wants to do is transfer to Northern Illinois.
Who can blaim him?
He lost his starting job to this guy under, according to Jones, some not-so-cool circumstances.
The Irish are 0-3.
They have no offensive touchdowns through three weeks.
They are stuck at the top (or bottom depending on how you look at it) of ESPN's Bottom 10.
And the list goes on....
Probably not the best time for Charlie Weis to be treating is players, I mean former players, like dirt. But that's ok.
All those guys Notre Dame is trying to recruit can come to Illinois and play for someone who understands his players.
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All former Irish QB Demetrius Jones wants to do is transfer to Northern Illinois.
Who can blaim him?
He lost his starting job to this guy under, according to Jones, some not-so-cool circumstances.
The Irish are 0-3.
They have no offensive touchdowns through three weeks.
They are stuck at the top (or bottom depending on how you look at it) of ESPN's Bottom 10.
And the list goes on....
Probably not the best time for Charlie Weis to be treating is players, I mean former players, like dirt. But that's ok.
All those guys Notre Dame is trying to recruit can come to Illinois and play for someone who understands his players.
Labels: Charlie Weis, Notre Dame, Ron Zook
# posted by Chief : 11:03 AM
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Juice Williams and Demetrius Jones
I have been MIA on posts for a while (my apologies for that) but saw something this morning that I thought would be worth sharing. Teddy Greenstein has a very nice article in today's Chicago Tribune about how Isaiah "Juice" Williams (of our beloved Illini) and Demetrius Jones (of Notre Dame) have raised the profile of the Chicago Public League when it comes to football. There are some good comments from both guys and I think you will be impressed by the article and what they have to say, especially at the end.
Until later, GO ILLINI!
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Until later, GO ILLINI!
Labels: Chicago Public League, Demetrius Jones, Illini football, Juice Williams, Notre Dame
# posted by Good Hope Orange : 2:01 PM
Friday, February 09, 2007
Is Notre Dame Saying Benn and Tez Can Be Bought?
Ron Zook did the rounds with the Chicago media yesterday. Meanwhile, Charlie Weis was unreachable. Could it be because just about every sports commentator out there, save Jim Rome, said the NY Times story that slammed Illinois on signing day wasn't worth the paper is was printed on and therefore they knew the source? I think one prominent TV personality even went as far as to say that he wouldn't use the story to wrap dead fish in. Classic.
MAJOR SIDENOTE: Consensus in the papers today seems to be that Notre Dame is the source of the mud being thrown at Zook. If that is the case, Notre Dame is actually hurting Benn and Tez even more than Zook.
First of all, the Domers look like sore losers.
Second, and most importantly, they are basically saying Benn and Tez can be bought. Way to try and destroy the character of a couple of young teenagers.
And finally, if all of this is true, Notre Dame lost a bidding war to Illinois? Wow. How pathetic.
But all that seems to be Notre Dame values today.
Below is a summary of some of the great stories out there today with key excerpts from each:
Orlando Sentinel:
Florida Athletic Director Jeremy Foley, the man who hired and fired Zook at UF, has seen this sort of thing before when Gators basketball coach and recruiting dynamo Billy Donovan first began luring top-caliber recruits to downtrodden UF.
"Ron and I may have had our differences, but not for one second do I think he cheats," Foley said. "These are the same sort of knee-jerk accusations they made about Billy at first. They didn't take into consideration that maybe Billy was a great recruiter for a great university in a great league with great facilities and great weather. They just said he must be cheating."
Foley was speaking of established coaches such as Roy Williams (then at Kansas) who began to complain about cheating only after being out-recruited by the young, hard-charging Donovan. According to those close to the Illinois program, it is Notre Dame officials who are leaking negative information about Zook.
This is typical Golden Dome arrogance. How could high-and-mighty Notre Dame lose a recruit to those lowly bumpkins in Illinois?
As somebody who once went on a recruiting trip with Zook, I can tell you how: Because the guy works harder and cares more. I still remember that 13-day span during the May recruiting period before his first UF season when Zook jumped in a car and visited 71 high schools in the state (an average of almost six per day) and gave speeches to 12 Gator Clubs. I'm just guessing Charlie Weis isn't driving alone at midnight through the back roads of Indiana, gulping down convenience-store coffee to try to stay awake.
That's what Ron Zook once did at Florida, and it's what he's doing now at Illinois.
Chicago Sun-Times:
Wilson's father, Michael Whitehead, told the Sun-Times he was shocked when a Notre Dame assistant coach got into a shouting match with a Simeon assistant at their home. The discussion centered on what Illinois football would accomplish during Wilson's time there.
'
'It was like we weren't even in the room,'' said Whitehead, who was taken aback by the argument.
Chicago Tribune:
Zook saw where Irish coach Charlie Weis said the word "commitment" needs to be redefined in recruiting.
It is believed Hughes gave Illinois a "silent" commitment before settling on Notre Dame.
Zook wouldn't confirm that but did say of Weis, "One of those kids that committed to him committed to me before he committed to him. Do I cry about that?"
Through a university spokesman, Weis could not be reached for comment.
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MAJOR SIDENOTE: Consensus in the papers today seems to be that Notre Dame is the source of the mud being thrown at Zook. If that is the case, Notre Dame is actually hurting Benn and Tez even more than Zook.
First of all, the Domers look like sore losers.
Second, and most importantly, they are basically saying Benn and Tez can be bought. Way to try and destroy the character of a couple of young teenagers.
And finally, if all of this is true, Notre Dame lost a bidding war to Illinois? Wow. How pathetic.
But all that seems to be Notre Dame values today.
Below is a summary of some of the great stories out there today with key excerpts from each:
Orlando Sentinel:
Florida Athletic Director Jeremy Foley, the man who hired and fired Zook at UF, has seen this sort of thing before when Gators basketball coach and recruiting dynamo Billy Donovan first began luring top-caliber recruits to downtrodden UF.
"Ron and I may have had our differences, but not for one second do I think he cheats," Foley said. "These are the same sort of knee-jerk accusations they made about Billy at first. They didn't take into consideration that maybe Billy was a great recruiter for a great university in a great league with great facilities and great weather. They just said he must be cheating."
Foley was speaking of established coaches such as Roy Williams (then at Kansas) who began to complain about cheating only after being out-recruited by the young, hard-charging Donovan. According to those close to the Illinois program, it is Notre Dame officials who are leaking negative information about Zook.
This is typical Golden Dome arrogance. How could high-and-mighty Notre Dame lose a recruit to those lowly bumpkins in Illinois?
As somebody who once went on a recruiting trip with Zook, I can tell you how: Because the guy works harder and cares more. I still remember that 13-day span during the May recruiting period before his first UF season when Zook jumped in a car and visited 71 high schools in the state (an average of almost six per day) and gave speeches to 12 Gator Clubs. I'm just guessing Charlie Weis isn't driving alone at midnight through the back roads of Indiana, gulping down convenience-store coffee to try to stay awake.
That's what Ron Zook once did at Florida, and it's what he's doing now at Illinois.
Chicago Sun-Times:
Wilson's father, Michael Whitehead, told the Sun-Times he was shocked when a Notre Dame assistant coach got into a shouting match with a Simeon assistant at their home. The discussion centered on what Illinois football would accomplish during Wilson's time there.
'
'It was like we weren't even in the room,'' said Whitehead, who was taken aback by the argument.
Chicago Tribune:
Zook saw where Irish coach Charlie Weis said the word "commitment" needs to be redefined in recruiting.
It is believed Hughes gave Illinois a "silent" commitment before settling on Notre Dame.
Zook wouldn't confirm that but did say of Weis, "One of those kids that committed to him committed to me before he committed to him. Do I cry about that?"
Through a university spokesman, Weis could not be reached for comment.
Labels: Arrelious Benn, Charlie Weis, Martez Wilson, Notre Dame, Ron Zook
# posted by Chief : 9:23 AM
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Signing Day Part III: Notre Dame
Want some insight into how fine and upstanding the Notre Dame football program's recruiting tactics are? Check out the following excerpt from this story in today's Washington Post (props to the reporter for some good investigative reporting):
"I thought I'd make my decision and that would be it," said Arrelious Benn, who announced his commitment to Illinois on ESPNU on Nov. 9 before graduating from Dunbar in December and enrolling in Champaign last month. After the commitment? "That's when it got worse. These are grown men. Why can't they live with the decision I made?"
Throughout his junior school year, Benn said he had considered Notre Dame his top choice, but when he felt as though the Fighting Irish coaching staff was putting too much pressure on him to commit he stopped considering the school. Once Benn orally committed to Illinois, Notre Dame assistant Peter Vaas continued to pepper Benn with text messages and voice mails, some of which Benn provided to The Post:
"FYI, ILL is telling Robert Hughes that they will build their offense around him? Didn't they tell you that?
Coach Vaas," Vaas wrote Benn on Dec. 17.
Earlier that month, Vaas left this voice message on Benn's phone: "You don't want to do anything except bury your head in the sand. . . . I guess you're not tough enough to compete at the big level."
Vaas, who was let go as quarterbacks coach by the Irish after their 44-14 loss to LSU in the Sugar Bowl, did not deny leaving the messages. He said last night that even though Benn made his announcement on national television, that isn't necessarily a recruit's final word.
"Did he say [he was going to Illinois] to me? Did I see him on TV?" Vaas said. "There's an awful lot of rumors or innuendo out there . . . and kids change their minds after they do that. A lot of times, it depends upon what kind of conviction a kid has about a place. You know how you read between the lines? As a recruiter, I have to hear between the lines."
A Notre Dame spokesman declined to comment last night.
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"I thought I'd make my decision and that would be it," said Arrelious Benn, who announced his commitment to Illinois on ESPNU on Nov. 9 before graduating from Dunbar in December and enrolling in Champaign last month. After the commitment? "That's when it got worse. These are grown men. Why can't they live with the decision I made?"
Throughout his junior school year, Benn said he had considered Notre Dame his top choice, but when he felt as though the Fighting Irish coaching staff was putting too much pressure on him to commit he stopped considering the school. Once Benn orally committed to Illinois, Notre Dame assistant Peter Vaas continued to pepper Benn with text messages and voice mails, some of which Benn provided to The Post:
"FYI, ILL is telling Robert Hughes that they will build their offense around him? Didn't they tell you that?
Coach Vaas," Vaas wrote Benn on Dec. 17.
Earlier that month, Vaas left this voice message on Benn's phone: "You don't want to do anything except bury your head in the sand. . . . I guess you're not tough enough to compete at the big level."
Vaas, who was let go as quarterbacks coach by the Irish after their 44-14 loss to LSU in the Sugar Bowl, did not deny leaving the messages. He said last night that even though Benn made his announcement on national television, that isn't necessarily a recruit's final word.
"Did he say [he was going to Illinois] to me? Did I see him on TV?" Vaas said. "There's an awful lot of rumors or innuendo out there . . . and kids change their minds after they do that. A lot of times, it depends upon what kind of conviction a kid has about a place. You know how you read between the lines? As a recruiter, I have to hear between the lines."
A Notre Dame spokesman declined to comment last night.
Labels: Arrelious Benn, Notre Dame, Peter Vaas
# posted by Chief : 10:49 AM
