Mailbag question: Notre Dame and Michigan recruiting

Posted at 8:00am -- 12/14/2009

Mailbag question: Notre Dame and Michigan recruiting

GBMW,

Well, with Coach Kelly going to Notre Dame, what does that mean for recruiting and how the battle between these two programs will once again heat up?

Also, do you guys see a difference in the type of recruits that these two programs will try and recruit?

Thanks for answering my questions guys.

Jim F.

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This is going to heat up quickly because we believe these two programs and these two coaches do not like each other.

This series will be interesting to watch the next couple of years and we will all see where it goes from hereon. This might actually turn back into a great national television game, one that the entire country will want to watch again. If this happens, it will be a good thing and confirms that both programs have justified that long contract by turning this game back into a spotlight game reminiscent of Holtz and Bo.

Michigan will quickly turn into a red-letter game for Notre Dame. Coach Kelly will definitely turn up the heat on both Michigan and the other Big Ten schools. The recruiting game will heat up as well in the Midwest. Perhaps no place will be warmer than Michigan, as Kelly will likely highly pursue the usual five or so major talents in the state.

The offenses of both teams use similar formations, but Michigan/Coach Rod is a read option team, whereas Coach Kelly will use some read option as well, but is primarily structured as a passing offense. As stated above we expect Coach Kelly and Notre Dame to hit the Midwest very hard and expend recruiting energy also on Ohio, especially the Cincinnati area if Coach Kelly brings former Cincinnati Colerain head coach Keery Combs with him to Notre Dame.

We are actually very excited at the thought of the Michigan/Notre Dame rivalry heating up again. And only wish that Michigan/Ohio State rivalry would heat up also! There is one common element to these rivalries, Michigan! For the rivalries to heat up, Michigan must heat up! We think these types of rivalries are great for the game and great for elite programs.

Written by GBMW Staff

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Here are just a few observations from recruiting expert Jim Stefani (JamesS).

In recent years Michigan and Notre Dame have not gone head-to-head on prospects as much as in the past. Both schools recruit on a national basis, however I suspect that in the near future they will battle more often for prospects in Ohio and Michigan. I don't think that there will be that many head-to-head battles, however there will be a few more than in recent years.

Why?

First of all, because both programs will have strong ties to Michigan and Ohio. Coach Kelly has coached at two Michigan schools (Grand Valley State and Central Michigan) and in Ohio. In addition, his recruiting coordinator at Cincinnati, Mike Elston, is a former Michigan linebacker and graduate assistant, who is originally from Ohio. It will be interesting to see if Coach Kelly brings him along to Notre Dame.

Coach Rod's staff has a long history of recruiting Ohio hard, even when they were at West Virginia. Michigan, of course, has always recruited Ohio hard.

With respect to Michigan, it will be interesting to see whether Coach Kelly will have success in metro Detroit . It has been reported by some that he has burned a lot of bridges with Detroit coaches due to his comments/actions while the head coach at Central Michigan involving certain of his players who were involved in a homicide.

In any event, I suspect that for the most part they will not be going head-to-head for more than a small handful of prospects each year. The schools, albeit both very strong academically, are very different in other respects, including private vs. public, large vs. Small, catholic vs. non-denominational, more urban vs. more isolated, different environments socially, etc. Kids either love Notre Dame or are very lukewarm after visiting.

Best regards,

Jim Stefani (JamesS)

Here is JamesS blog page: http://jimstefani.wordpress.com/

Go Blue -- Wear Maize!