An Interview With ...

[GoZips]

Only, after a sweet, productive interview with former football master, Gerry Faust,

he instructed me that I can not publish any of it.

Suffice it to say that we need to give coach Ianello more time, keep the love up

for KD and Caleb and things are gurgling in the nether regions that bode well

for the near future.

Coach Faust is the greatest living Zips fan; bank it.

[Dave in Green]

I don't need to know any details as long as I can be assured that the good news is about the football program. Soccer and basketball are already generating their own good news without having to wait for the near future.

[K92]

GoZips,

You can't start a thread like this without throwing us at least a small bone. Why...that's as cruel as the band eating pizza in the JAR.

[zip37]

And he kept telling us 'We're getting better and better............'.

[skip-zip]

GoZips,

You can't start a thread like this without throwing us at least a small bone. Why...that's as cruel as the band eating pizza in the JAR.

I saw that !! What the heck was that all about? Could they have been a little more discreet, or handed out a few more to the few folks who were at that exhibition game?

[johnnyzip84]

Calling Gerry Faust an optimist is like calling Keener an adequate griller

[Captain Kangaroo]

Only, after a sweet, productive interview with former football master, Gerry Faust,

he instructed me that I can not publish any of it.

Suffice it to say that we need to give coach Ianello more time, keep the love up

for KD and Caleb and things are gurgling in the nether regions that bode well

for the near future.

You spoke to Faust and he said nice things about a guy. Shocker.

Terry Pluto wrote a column highlighting an underdog/overachiever for a future PD edition. He told me not to tell anyone, but I just couldn't help but tell. Please keep it quiet.

[Doug Snyder]

I don't need to know any details as long as I can be assured that the good news is about the football program. Soccer and basketball are already generating their own good news without having to wait for the near future.

Could it be this???

http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=333&f=1240&t=8269556

HEARD that Akron will be getting a ton of 5th year ND guys

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

next year.

Dayne Crist http://www.und.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/crist_dayne00.html 6'4" QB

Anthony McDonald http://www.und.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/mcd..._anthony00.html 6'2" LB

Dan McCarthy http://www.und.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/mccarthy_dan00.html 6'2" S

Deion Walker http://www.und.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/walker_deion00.html 6'3" WR

Brandon Newman http://www.und.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/newman_brandon00.html 6'0" 303lb DL

David Posluzny http://www.und.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/pos...ny_david00.html 6'0" LB

Lane Clelland http://www.und.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/clelland_lane00.html 6'5" 297lb OL

Hafis Williams http://www.und.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/williams_hafis00.html 6'1" 295lb DL

Are all talking with Coach I and Powlus about transfering into Akron and playing 1 year to get a better shot at the NFL.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That would tide us over until the young guys mature a bit. I am all for it it...if the guys can play and help us win.

ND depth chart: http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/nd/spo...depth_chart.pdf

[ZachTheZip]

So he's relying on bring his past failures here to help him with his present failures.

That would also wipe out a huge amount of depth down the road, when our next coach is trying to clean up this mess when one of your recruiting classes only has like 10 kids still playing because the rest left after only one year.

[Doug Snyder]

So he's relying on bring his past failures here to help him with his present failures.

That would also wipe out a huge amount of depth down the road, when our next coach is trying to clean up this mess when one of your recruiting classes only has like 10 kids still playing because the rest left after only one year.

Zach...why don't provide some useful information. How were these guys rated and what other offers did they have coming out of HS??

[GoZips]

I suppose that I should have only stated that coach Faust was kind enough to talk to me at length.

He gave me several what I would call "juicy" bits about what is happening.

Then, he changed his mind and said, "please do not publish any of this".

Yes, he wants us to give coach Ianello a chance to turn the football around.

The basketball coaches seem to feel pretty much the same way. No coach likes

watching a fellow coach being pilloried.

Coach Faust wants a NEW, much larger basketball arena to match the football

palace. He also mentioned moving to a new, much better conference. I can

not reveal what conference he had in mind. But, most of its members are

east of us.

Keep in mind that upon his retirement coach Faust could have moved to South

Bend or back to Cincinnati. He chooses to remain in Akron and be associated

with our university. Honor him for his loyalty.

[Doug Snyder]

I suppose that I should have only stated that coach Faust was kind enough to talk to me at length.

He gave me several what I would call "juicy" bits about what is happening.

Then, he changed his mind and said, "please do not publish any of this".

Yes, he wants us to give coach Ianello a chance to turn the football around.

The basketball coaches seem to feel pretty much the same way. No coach likes

watching a fellow coach being pilloried.

Coach Faust wants a NEW, much larger basketball arena to match the football

palace. He also mentioned moving to a new, much better conference. I can

not reveal what conference he had in mind. But, most of its members are

east of us.

Keep in mind that upon his retirement coach Faust could have moved to South

Bend or back to Cincinnati. He chooses to remain in Akron and be associated

with our university. Honor him for his loyalty.

I love Faust. Always have. He made some critical mistakes coming out of Moeller going to ND....but all first year college HCs make mistakes. How fast they learn is the real issue.

[ZachTheZip]

What does their rating coming out of high school have to do with anything? A good recruiter shouldn't have to rely on some ranking service to find good players. But since you asked, i looked on Scout.com and here you go:

Dayne Crist - 5* QB, rated 3rd best at position. Other offers from FSU, LSU, Michigan, Oregon, Stanford, USC.

Anthony McDonald - 4* MLB, rated 8th best at position. Other offers from Boston College, Ole Miss, Nebraska, NC State, Oregon.

Dan McCarthy - 4* S, rated 8th best at position. Other offers from LSU, Michigan, OSU, Oklahoma, Stanford

Deion Walker - 4* WR, rated 11th best at position. Other offers from Cal, Florida, FSU, LSU, PSU, USC

Brandon Newman - 4* DT, rated 16th best at position. Other offers from Cinci, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisville, Ole Miss, Stanford

David Posluszny - 3* WLB, rated 31st best at position. Other offers from Northwester,n, Pitt, WVU, Wisconsin

Lane Clelland - 3* OG, rated 18th best at position. Other offers from FSU, Maryland, Michigan

Hafis Williams - 3* DT, rated 38th best at position. Other offers from Maryland, PSU, Rutgers

What's better than recruiting rankings is actual results. These are all seniors who don't see the field. They've all had four years to at the very least become a role player and they barely see the field even in blowouts.

Out of that list, I have no interest in Dayne Crist. He's a total bust and bringing in a one-year player only serves to screw up our QB situation even more. I also don't care for Anthony McDonald. If he hasn't managed to see the field after four years, he won't be able to supplant a senior Brian Wagner. The linemen I'm fine with. We just need bodies there at this point. But there's a reason most of these guys aren't playing, and it's not because of a lack of talent.

Do you think that Rob Ianello will somehow be able to motivate these guys when Brian Kelly couldn't?

[Blue & Gold]

So he's relying on bring his past failures here to help him with his present failures.

That would also wipe out a huge amount of depth down the road, when our next coach is trying to clean up this mess when one of your recruiting classes only has like 10 kids still playing because the rest left after only one year.

Zach...why don't provide some useful information. How were these guys rated and what other offers did they have coming out of HS??

I'm no Zach when it comes to leg-work like this, but

Dayne Crist was a 5-star QB

Anthony McDonald was a 4-star LB

Dan McCarthy was a 4-star DB

Deion Walker was a 4-star WR

Brandon Newman was a 4-star DT

David Posluszny was a 3-star LB

Lane Clelland was a 4-star OL

Hafis Williams was a 3-star DT

This is such an unconventional/bizarre situation that I don't even know what to think about it.

[edit] I see that, no surprise, not only did Zach beat me to this, but was also much more thorough. And, my question, they'd all have to sit a year, right? This is weird.

[ZachTheZip]

http://www.ncaa.org/wps/portal/ncaahome?WC...ent_eligibility

A student-athlete who is enrolled in a graduate or professional school of the college or university which he or she previously attended as an undergraduate student may participate in intercollegiate athletics, provided he or she has eligibility remaining and is within five calendar years of initial full-time collegiate enrollment for Division I and within the first 10 full-time semesters of collegiate enrollment for Divisions II and III.

Also, a student-athlete who has eligibility remaining and is within the specified 10-semester period may participate while enrolled in a graduate or professional school at a Division II college or university other than the institution at which he or she completed an undergraduate degree.

Finally, a student-athlete who has eligibility remaining and is within the specified five-year period may participate while enrolled in a graduate or professional school at a Division I college or university other than the institution at which he or she completed an undergraduate degree, provided he or she meets the criteria of the one-time transfer exception to the general transfer residence requirement. That exception is as follows:

The student-athlete must be seeking to participate in a sport other than baseball, football, basketball and men's ice hockey, except that a student-athlete who seeks to participate in NCAA Football Championship Subdivision may use this exception only if transferring from a Football Bowl Subdivision program.

The student-athlete may not have transferred previously from another four-year institution unless he or she transferred previously and received an exception to the transfer residence requirement because his or her institution either discontinued the sport or did not sponsor the sport in which the student-athlete is a participant.

The student must have been in good academic standing and eligible to compete had he or she decided to remain at the previous institution.

The student-athlete's previous institution must certify in writing that it has no objection to the student-athlete being granted an exception to the transfer residence requirement.

NOTE: This exception does not apply to a student-athlete who attends a Division III institution for graduate school, unless the student-athlete is attending the same institution at which he or she was an undergraduate.

NOTE: If the student-athlete transfers to the certifying institution from a Division III member institution and meets the above-mentioned conditions, he or she may be eligible to compete but may not receive athletically related financial aid during that year.

No loophole that I see. These are all 4th year students. Not only would they have to sit out, but they would run out of eligibility once they were done sitting.

[Big Zip]

Zach I think that is only the case if ND doesn't agree to release them out right.

[InTheZone]

The NCAA changed the rules around 2005 to allow any student athlete who has graduated and not run out of eligibility to transfer and play immediately at any other NCAA institution, regardless of level. Think Russell Wilson at Wisconsin. So any ND player who has graduated in 4 years and still has a year of elibility left would be free to play immediately here.

That being said, this is a HORRIBLE idea, and just confirms the utter stupidity and ineptitude at building a program of Ianello if true. Want to completely lose the locker room and any players you have left in your corner? Start bringing in 5th year seniors, "your guys", from your previous place of employment to take guys spots who have been here for the long haul. Great idea . If this is Ianello's idea to save his ass, fire him immediately.

[Blue & Gold]

The NCAA changed the rules around 2005 to allow any student athlete who has graduated and not run out of eligibility to transfer and play immediately at any other NCAA institution, regardless of level. Think Russell Wilson at Wisconsin. So any ND player who has graduated in 4 years and still has a year of elibility left would be free to play immediately here.

That being said, this is a HORRIBLE idea, and just confirms the utter stupidity and ineptitude at building a program of Ianello if true. Want to completely lose the locker room and any players you have left in your corner? Start bringing in 5th year seniors, "your guys", from your previous place of employment to take guys spots who have been here for the long haul. Great idea . If this is Ianello's idea to save his ass, fire him immediately.

This rumor is so bizarre and so new that I'm still boggled right now & don't really know what to think. But your angle is what I'm thinking/feeling right now. It just sounds extremely insulting to the current players. And for a single-season fix? It really seems to reek of desperation - which, of course, iCoach is probably feeling right now. If this is true, it can't be taken as a good sign of the over all health of the program.

At least with JUCO transfers you get them for two years.

[akzipper]

http://www.ncaa.org/wps/portal/ncaahome?WC...ent_eligibility

A student-athlete who is enrolled in a graduate or professional school of the college or university which he or she previously attended as an undergraduate student may participate in intercollegiate athletics, provided he or she has eligibility remaining and is within five calendar years of initial full-time collegiate enrollment for Division I and within the first 10 full-time semesters of collegiate enrollment for Divisions II and III.

Also, a student-athlete who has eligibility remaining and is within the specified 10-semester period may participate while enrolled in a graduate or professional school at a Division II college or university other than the institution at which he or she completed an undergraduate degree.

Finally, a student-athlete who has eligibility remaining and is within the specified five-year period may participate while enrolled in a graduate or professional school at a Division I college or university other than the institution at which he or she completed an undergraduate degree, provided he or she meets the criteria of the one-time transfer exception to the general transfer residence requirement. That exception is as follows:

The student-athlete must be seeking to participate in a sport other than baseball, football, basketball and men's ice hockey, except that a student-athlete who seeks to participate in NCAA Football Championship Subdivision may use this exception only if transferring from a Football Bowl Subdivision program.

The student-athlete may not have transferred previously from another four-year institution unless he or she transferred previously and received an exception to the transfer residence requirement because his or her institution either discontinued the sport or did not sponsor the sport in which the student-athlete is a participant.

The student must have been in good academic standing and eligible to compete had he or she decided to remain at the previous institution.

The student-athlete's previous institution must certify in writing that it has no objection to the student-athlete being granted an exception to the transfer residence requirement.

NOTE: This exception does not apply to a student-athlete who attends a Division III institution for graduate school, unless the student-athlete is attending the same institution at which he or she was an undergraduate.

NOTE: If the student-athlete transfers to the certifying institution from a Division III member institution and meets the above-mentioned conditions, he or she may be eligible to compete but may not receive athletically related financial aid during that year.

No loophole that I see. These are all 4th year students. Not only would they have to sit out, but they would run out of eligibility once they were done sitting.

What about Russel Wilson of Wisc? Isn't there a rule you can transfer, play in your 5th year without sitting out as long as you already got your degree at the previous school? I could be completely wrong but just throwing out that example. I really doubt we'd be able to get that large of an amount of players from ND and they would all be able to play right away. Even if we did, it only serves as a 1-year Philadelphia Eagles-like fix. Stack with players that don't mesh well and backfires.

I've talked to Gerry several times and he never mentions anything. Just an overall positive guy and great person that loves UA. If anything the arena and conference talks are a lot more intriguing but really don't believe them much.

[Doug Snyder]

The NCAA changed the rules around 2005 to allow any student athlete who has graduated and not run out of eligibility to transfer and play immediately at any other NCAA institution, regardless of level. Think Russell Wilson at Wisconsin. So any ND player who has graduated in 4 years and still has a year of elibility left would be free to play immediately here.

That being said, this is a HORRIBLE idea, and just confirms the utter stupidity and ineptitude at building a program of Ianello if true. Want to completely lose the locker room and any players you have left in your corner? Start bringing in 5th year seniors, "your guys", from your previous place of employment to take guys spots who have been here for the long haul. Great idea . If this is Ianello's idea to save his ass, fire him immediately.

This rumor is so bizarre and so new that I'm still boggled right now & don't really know what to think. But your angle is what I'm thinking/feeling right now. It just sounds extremely insulting to the current players. And for a single-season fix? It really seems to reek of desperation - which, of course, iCoach is probably feeling right now. If this is true, it can't be taken as a good sign of the over all health of the program.

At least with JUCO transfers you get them for two years.

Current team:

OL 5 seniors in 2 deep depth chart

DL 5 seniors in 2 deep depth chart (including Marcoux who is out for the year)

LB 1 senior and one walk on in 2 deep depth chart

From what is rumored to be coming in...I don't see it as a problem with the locker room. 3 linemen coming in and losing 10. Can't see that as an issue. Adding one WR to a talented but thin group. Since 4-5 play each week....can't see that as an issue. The LBs could be an issue and so could the safety. But we are so young and inexperienced at those positions that it should not be a problem. A one year bridge at each of those positions would help the development of the team while improving the chance at winning. The big issue will be at QB. If they bring this guy in he will expect to start and having worked with Powlus for 2 years (at ND) the impression of Moore and Nicely will be that too. I did not expect Nicely to stay next year and would expect to lose Moore to if this new guy came in. They would have to really like D’Orazio a lot if they make that move. If they have given up on Moore…make the move.

Why do people criticize iCoach for losing players because they supposedly don't like him and then criticize him for guys coming in to play for him that supposedly like him?? iCoach can do nothing right (and...he has made enough mistakes for people to have enough to criticize him for without looking for stuff).

http://www.gozips.com/sports/fball/2011-12..._(11-14-11).pdf

[InTheZone]

Current team:

OL 5 seniors in 2 deep depth chart

DL 5 seniors in 2 deep depth chart (including Marcoux who is out for the year)

LB 1 senior and one walk on in 2 deep depth chart

From what is rumored to be coming in...I don't see it as a problem with the locker room. 3 linemen coming in and losing 10. Can't see that as an issue. Adding one WR to a talented but thin group. Since 4-5 play each week....can't see that as an issue. The LBs could be an issue and so could the safety. But we are so young and inexperienced at those positions that it should not be a problem. A one year bridge at each of those positions would help the development of the team while improving the chance at winning. The big issue will be at QB. If they bring this guy in he will expect to start and having worked with Powlus for 2 years (at ND) the impression of Moore and Nicely will be that too. I did not expect Nicely to stay next year and would expect to lose Moore to if this new guy came in. They would have to really like D’Orazio a lot if they make that move. If they have given up on Moore…make the move.

Why do people criticize iCoach for losing players because they supposedly don't like him and then criticize him for guys coming in to play for him that supposedly like him?? iCoach can do nothing right (and...he has made enough mistakes for people to have enough to criticize him for without looking for stuff).

http://www.gozips.com/sports/fball/2011-12..._(11-14-11).pdf

Doug I'm going to say this as nicely as possible: You really have no clue about the dynamics of a locker room if you think bringing in that many guys from another program to play for one year won't completely destroy a team.

That being said, this just sounds like a crazy rumor to me. Surely Ianello, despite all his shortcomings, isn't that hair-brained.

[Doug Snyder]

Current team:

OL 5 seniors in 2 deep depth chart

DL 5 seniors in 2 deep depth chart (including Marcoux who is out for the year)

LB 1 senior and one walk on in 2 deep depth chart

From what is rumored to be coming in...I don't see it as a problem with the locker room. 3 linemen coming in and losing 10. Can't see that as an issue. Adding one WR to a talented but thin group. Since 4-5 play each week....can't see that as an issue. The LBs could be an issue and so could the safety. But we are so young and inexperienced at those positions that it should not be a problem. A one year bridge at each of those positions would help the development of the team while improving the chance at winning. The big issue will be at QB. If they bring this guy in he will expect to start and having worked with Powlus for 2 years (at ND) the impression of Moore and Nicely will be that too. I did not expect Nicely to stay next year and would expect to lose Moore to if this new guy came in. They would have to really like D’Orazio a lot if they make that move. If they have given up on Moore…make the move.

Why do people criticize iCoach for losing players because they supposedly don't like him and then criticize him for guys coming in to play for him that supposedly like him?? iCoach can do nothing right (and...he has made enough mistakes for people to have enough to criticize him for without looking for stuff).

http://www.gozips.com/sports/fball/2011-12..._(11-14-11).pdf

Doug I'm going to say this as nicely as possible: You really have no clue about the dynamics of a locker room if you think bringing in that many guys from another program to play for one year won't completely destroy a team.

That being said, this just sounds like a crazy rumor to me. Surely Ianello, despite all his shortcomings, isn't that hair-brained.

To me...it does not seem like it would be a problem (except for the QB). But I will defer to you in this case as I trust your opinion about the locker room.

[zippy5]

Yes, the chemistry we have going right now is producing at the highest level. **** the locker room, let's try and get some wins.

[idriveabucket]

Hello Zips fans, I am a Notre Dame fan who has followed the careers of each of these guys listed. I would like to chime in with my 0.02.

While at ND, Ianello was an amazing recruiter. He was also the WRs coach who helped develop some of the best WRs to ever play at Notre Dame. I think he deserves a bit of a leash.

The list of players rumored to possibly transfer to Akron have some very good potential. These guys are not failures who never saw the field because they couldn't play; many of them were recruited for a system that doesn't fit their style, and thus were pushed aside for players who were more in profile.

When Brian Kelly took over as Head Coach, the offense went from pro-style to spread-no huddle, and the defense switched from 4-3, to 3-4.

I'll give you a quick background/history on each of these players:

Dayne Crist was a 5-star QB

The best player, with the most upside out of the entire bunch here. Two major knee injuries have sapped his mobility. He has a cannon for an arm, and has prototypical size and tools for a pro style offense. He is way more talented than anybody on NDs QB depth chart, but he has problems with short routes and accuracy eludes him at times. Unfortunately, these two areas of 'weakness' can make or break a QB in Kelly's version of the spread. Most people at ND believe he should have never lost his job to the much less physically talented Tommy Rees.

Anthony McDonald was a 4-star LB

Was 1 of 2 starting ILBs last season beating out a plethora of other 4 star LBs in camp and lost his job to injury right before the '10 season started. Since then, he's been passed up by younger more healthier players. He may be banged up, but there's some real upside here. He's not some scrub who has been buried on the depth chart his entire career.

Dan McCarthy was a 4-star DB

Hasn't really seen the field due to injuries. He's a good team/locker room guy though based on various reports over the years.

Deion Walker was a 4-star WR

Two coaching staffs have pretty much ignored Walker. He's gotten very little playing time and has been to date one of the teams biggest busts in terms of the type of hype he got coming out of HS, to actual performance on the field. He was highly rated out of HS because of his athletic prowess, but none of that has materialized into football production for Notre Dame.

Brandon Newman was a 4-star DT

Many looked at Newman as a potential impact player once he physically matured. But once Brian Kelly was hired in '09, Kelly brought with him a defensive philosophy that put Newman on the outside looking in. Kelly likes tall interior defensive lineman (6'3 to 6'6), Newman is closer to 5'11 than his listed 6'1 on recruiting sites. This simply wasn't a fit, and because of that, Newman hasn't really had an opportunity to show what he can do.

David Posluszny was a 3-star LB

His brother is an NFL linebacker, and many thought he would follow in his footsteps. But Posluszny has been injured and ineffective his entire college career. This is a guy who has rarely been mentioned since his recruitment/commitment to the team. Basically, he's been a non factor at a major FBS program like ND.

Lane Clelland was a 4-star OL

Has been a career back up at OL and plays on special teams. Last year he played quite a bit of reserve minutes but has since been passed by younger more athletic lineman that fit Kelly's spread.

Hafis Williams was a 3-star DT

Is the #3 NG right now but not really in the teams regular 2 deep rotation. He played last Saturday in garbage time and looked ok. ND is stacked at DL though, with many 4-5 star talent recruited for the 3-4 scheme at the position. He's simply been passed up by younger, more talented FBS players, with NFL futures.

I'm sure you could do worse than some of these players.

* Dayne Crist could be a star. He had a very nice 2010 season before losing his job to injury (knee).

* Hafis Williams and Brandon Newman could be good regulars at defensive tackle. Their skills are better suited for the 4-3.

* Clelland isn't very mobile, but he's strong. He's another guy who fits better with Akron's offense, than a no huddle spread like NDs. He could find a niche and be a good role player for you.

* Deion Walker has all the tools to be a star. A change of scenery/late bloomer situation isn't out of the realm of possibility.

If I were a fan of the team, I would be really excited about a rumor like this. A few of these guys are extremely gifted athletes/nationally rated prep stars/NFL pedigreed players, who have been jammed out of a job due to scheme changes and injury.

[Hilltopper]

Would these guys be on scholarship? Is there a limit to the # of scholarships you can offer each season? If so, you would have some problems the next year when you could have too many players leaving and not enough scholarships available to replace them.