'08 OH DB Dan McCarthy (Notre Dame signee)

[LordJeffBuck]

There's no shame for tOSU if we "lose" Dan McCarthy to ND. And there wasn't any when we "lost" Zordich to Penn State or Boren to scUM last year.

Actually, it's pretty amazing that JT came in a very close second for Zordich and Boren, and still has a decent shot at McCarthy. Those three kids should have been "slam dunks" for their respective legacy schools, all of which are bitter rivals with Ohio State, and yet JT turned each kid's recruitment into a legitimate battle. There aren't very many coaches in the country who could make that kind of positive impression on a very biased kid and his family.

 

[wadc45]

Rivals $

6/20

From the ND site...Dan was at UM's camp. Still looking at Notre Dame, Ohio State, Stanford and Michigan.

 

[wadc45]

BG $

6/27

By BK...top 5 is Ohio State, Notre Dame, Michigan, Stanford and Penn State and will narrow it down in the next few months.

 

[IrishCalves]

Can anyone direct me to the rumor mill? ND land is buzzing with rumors after their recent football camp, and having one of those rumors prove true in a verbal commitment (not a guy on OSU's radar).

However, two prospects that this board would be interested in hearing about (Floyd and McCarthy) are part of the rumors, but I didn't want to dilute the "credibility" of the official thread on McCarthy.

 

[jwinslow]

Check the Administrative forum

 

[BuckeyeNation27]

Can anyone direct me to the rumor mill? ND land is buzzing with rumors after their recent football camp, and having one of those rumors prove true in a verbal commitment (not a guy on OSU's radar).

However, two prospects that this board would be interested in hearing about (Floyd and McCarthy) are part of the rumors, but I didn't want to dilute the "credibility" of the official thread on McCarthy.

It's already there.

 

[gcmsc]

ND forums were thinking McCarthy would be the next recruit after rumor had it that a player was going to commit soon.

As it turned out ND got two recruits, but neither was McCarthy.

Slaughter, CB and Ethan Johnson, DE, were the guys.

There is no hurry on Dan's part to commit to ND. He is the only safety they want or need.

I'm still hoping tOSU, but he better decide on them soon, if that's his favorite.

 

[IrishCalves]

There is no hurry on Dan's part to commit to ND. He is the only safety they want or need.

Actually, there might be. The only other non-committed DB on ND's radar with an offer - Jeremy Brown - promptly scheduled an unofficial visit for early July, the day after ND picked up their 2nd DB commit in about 10 days. Before, the plan sounded like (from one of his radio interviews) to wait 'til the ND/USC game in October for a visit, and decide thereafter.

Translation: the DB class is filling up fast, and kids don't want to be left out.

And seeing as the two guys they've committed at DB already (Jamoris Slaughter and Robert Blanton) could play corner or safety (they've played both in HS), nothing is set in stone, and realistically the clock could be ticking for Dan.

And FYI: ND is still swirling with rumors - check the rumor mill if you've got membership on that.

I personally think McCarthy is soon to be ND's, but I could be wrong on that one, as could the folks at IrishIllustrated.

 

[wadc45]

IC, wouldn't you imagine ND would hold a spot for Danny either way? I understand the logic that spots are filling up fast but it seems to me you would not want to burn the McCarthy/Mooney bridge by telling him the offer is no longer valid because a kid like Brown jumped on the offer first. Interested to hear your thoughts on that as I am not as familiar with ND's recruiting practices...

 

[IrishCalves]

IC, wouldn't you imagine ND would hold a spot for Danny either way? I understand the logic that spots are filling up fast but it seems to me you would not want to burn the McCarthy/Mooney bridge by telling him the offer is no longer valid because a kid like Brown jumped on the offer first. Interested to hear your thoughts on that as I am not as familiar with ND's recruiting practices...

I'll give it a go. I have to explain ND logistics to answer the question properly. So consider this your warning. Put on your earmuffs if you wish. I'll even give you a 5 second delay if you want.

5...4...3...2...1...

Okay. 2 new points of emphasis after some snafu's in last year's recruiting.

1. Redefining "commit" - The basic jist of it is, if you're committed no more visits to other schools. And silent commits don't carry much weight any longer - if the kid is still looking, ND is still looking.
2. First come first serve - ND got burned last year at the AAA game waiting on kids, and it screwed them over when they couldn't get back in on "Plan B" kids thereafter. It sounds like they'll take the "good" player today instead of the possibility of a great player three months from now.

Bottom line: there's less wiggle room for the recruit than in any of Weis's previous years. Part of it is his pride/bravado (he didn't like being "shown up" by 18 year olds), and part of it is strategy and logistics. With 17 verbals before July, its worked. But I digress.

Long story short here is if the staff is dead serious about 3 DBs, and has been telling kids, "We're only taking 3 DBs, no matter what," then I do think McCarthy's clock is legitimately ticking. It would be a tough break, but from what I gather, Weis & Co. have made their policy "brutal honesty" when it comes to keeping kids in the know, so McCarthy knows full well whats going on right now.

I think they'd prefer to not burn any bridge through Dan in this case - and for various reasons Buckeye fans wouldn't care to read about, they could make some accommodations for him - but there's probably a 2-3 guys they'd "hold a spot" for at this point, and I don't think Dan is amongst them. He's good, but he's not a top 10 national caliber recruit.

So if they said, "3 DB's thats that", McCarthy could be left out. But if they did leave open the chance at taking in 4 DB's, then I think they'll do what they can while they can to get McCarthy.

 

[wadc45]

Rivals $

6/29

From the ND site...talks about visiting ND earlier this week and about their camp. Done taking visits and wants to decide before his senior season.

Just don't get a good feeling about this one...

 

[wadc45]

Great stuff IC...spoke with an ND fan/friend of mine this morning and the first thing he said was "Charlie does not like getting shown up by high school kids..."

 

[FritoBandito]

"Charlie does not like getting shown up by high school kids..."

he didn't like being "shown up" by 18 year olds

This is the textbook reaction of a narcissistic psychopath -- assuming that all these decisions are about him, rather than about what's best for others.

Can anyone here imagine Jim Tressel getting his ego bruised because an 18 year-old makes the most important decision of his young life and it doesn't go JT's way. I sure can't. But for morbidly overweight and overbearing Charlie, it's all about him. What a complete tool.

 

[Buckrock]

JT has been at this game longer than CW. If you don't like calling on fickle 18 year olds, you should find another line of work (or league).

 

[gcmsc]

iIC... What is Dan's brother , Kyle's status at ND? Where is he on their depth chart and will he be competing at safety, cb or even wr?

In my opinion, he was just as good as Dan, maybe slighty better, because of his big play ability on D and special teams while at Mooney.

Also, was there some kind of rift going on with Weis and McCarthy's parents at one time last year?