Irish Get Lo Lo Lo Lo...

Lo Wood
5'10'' - 160 Lbs.
Apopka, FL
3 Star - Defensive Back
Notre Dame's 8th Verbal Commit

After the way this week started it seemed that Notre Dame's recruiting class of 2010 was headed for the gutter. Chris Martin was gone and so was any shot at a top-25 class according to many of you message-boarders out there (you know who you are). However, the last two days have gone Notre Dame's way in the sense that they picked up a quarterback as well as now two more defensive players, one being Blake Lueders and the newest being Lo Wood, a defensive back from Florida.

It is tough to tell what head coach Charlie Weis and company are going to expect Lo to bring to the table when he arrives in South Bend. Nobody was expecting a commitment from Wood this weekend but a suprise visit to Notre Dame's campus on Friday prooved otherwise.

I would be lying if I were to tell you that Wood is an elite recruit that was stolen right out of SEC country because he really isn't. He is going to take time to turn into a starting corner for the Irish, one look at his overall size will tell you everything you need to know. His height and arm length are there but he needs to get stronger.

Only weighing 160 pounds right now, Wood can be strong for his size but could afford to put on more than a couple of pounds. His speed is alright but nothing that is going to demand attention when placed around other superb athletes. He clocked in at 4.58 in the forty yard dash while also putting together a 4.3 shuttle time. He changes direction quickly but will need to cut that forty time down a hair still.

The Irish failed to pick up and defensive backs in the 2009 class so it seems that Lo will likely be called upon to have a pretty solid chance at a starting roll down the road for Notre Dame. He's not going to be a lock-down corner like we expect to see from guys like Darrin Walls or Gary Gray but he is still going to possess the speed and size to compete, lets just hope he will be able to put on some muscle before he arrives on campus in a year.

Blake Lueders is Irish

Blake Lueders
6'5'' - 250 Lbs.
Zionsville, IN
4 Star - Defensive End
Notre Dame's 7th Verbal Commit

I wonder what Blake Lueders biggest concern when deciding which school he would attend was. Campus lifestyle? Weather? Winning tradition? Chance to be a legend? How about academics? All you have to do is look at the finalists that Lueders chose Notre Dame over on Thursday to find out that this young man realizes that at least in his house, academics come before football.

The other finalists you ask? Northwestern, Boston College, Wake Forest, and Stanford. All four schools are obviously amongst the elite when it comes to academics so it was nice to see a young man have such a desire to prepare himself for the post football life and not worry about the glamour of college athletics for a change.
So, he's obviously a smart guy but what can Blake Lueders do on a football field that will make me happy that he chose to attend Notre Dame? Here's a quick rundown:
-6'5'', 250 Lbs.
-Plays middle linebacker in high school, expected to be a defensive end in college
-Product of Zionsville High School in Zionsville, Indiana

Here's what I see from Blake Lueders in his future at Notre Dame:
He's not the all-star defensive line recruit in this class, that belongs to Chris Martin who made it public that he is sticking with his commitment to Notre Dame towards the end of this week. Lueders will not likely be the dominant pass rusher that so many expect Martin to be, I don't really see Lueders fitting into the Irish's defensive plans in his first two years on campus. It will take time for him to make the adjustment from playing middle linebacker to high school to learning a new position at Notre Dame.

With that said he sounds like and appears to be an outstanding athlete. His size is going to work to his advantage as he is listed at 6'5'' and 250 pounds. Couple that with a 4.79 40-yd dash time and you can expect big things from him down the road.
The fact of the matter is that learning a new position is very difficult to do at any level, especially the division one level. With that said, I expect to see Blake competing for a starting job and turning into a very formidable defensive end by his junior year at Notre Dame.

Irish Land their VooDoo Child

He's here, here at last. That's right, the Voodoo Child himself, Andrew Hendrix picked Notre Dame as his college choice this morning after talking things over with his parents. Hendrix becomes Notre Dame's sixth commitment in the class of 2010.
A little background on the prospect himself:

Andrew Hendrix - QB, Moeller HS, Cincinnati, OH (yes, same school as Gerry Faust)
6'3'', 220 Lbs. - 4 star recruit accoring to Rivals, 3 stars per Scout

A few people have tried to compare him to Brady Quinn in articles and on some of these "oh-so-genious" Notre Dame message boards. Quess what? Just because he is a white quarterback from Ohio does not mean he is Brady by any means so get over that idea now. The only similarity is the spread styles of offense they both ran in high school.

He comes from a pistol offense which requires a lot of moving outside of the pocket and running the ball himself or throwing on the run and seems to do it particularly well, see for yourself...

So there he is, commit #6 of the class of 2010, quarterback Andrew Hendrix.

-Also for anyone who cares, und.com has tickets to both the Nevada and Washington State games available for purchase today, just a kind heads up.

Harangody Back at ND

Cool Hand Luke Returns

For those of you who thought Luke Harangody was bound for NBA greatness and never going to play a game for the Fighting Irish again, you were wrong. After testing out the NBA routine, working out for a few different teams, Harangody has decided that staying in college is not such a bad idea after all.

I'm not going to say that this is a great move either way for #44. What I do know is that his lack of defensive ability would have severely hurt his potential minutes on an NBA court next winter. He has proved that he can score in the Big East and grab absurd amounts of rebounds. However, he needs to be more of a defensive threat if he hopes to play in "the league" for any extended amount of time.

I'm not bashing Luke Harangody, the kid is one helluva college basketball player who has been as good as any in the Big East over the past two seasons. His body size puts him at an extreme disadvantage for a big man in the NBA in terms of being able to back down opponents and score the same way he does so often in Big East play.

The good news for Fighting Irish fans is that in the Big East even you are able to get away more with some of the flaws that NBA souts see in Harangody's game and that next year should be another outstanding offensive campaign for the Fighting Irish forward.