Everyone is a recruiter on Saturday.

If the there is a top recruit in the country they will be in South Bend this weekend.  Traditionally big time programs like to showcase schools when their rivals come to town and there is not a bigger rival than USC especially when it comes to recruiting.  Irish commits, Trojan commits, the uncommitted even those who have committed to other schools all together are coming to South Bend for this game.   It’s going to be the who’s who of prep list, top 100’s and All this, that’s and  All Americans.  I’m not just talking about seniors with official visits there are underclassmen taking unofficial visits as well.

For those who have already committed this is a fortifying game to strengthen their commitment.  Even though no one who is verbal committed is on my radar as possibly changing their mind it is very important for them to be there.  Those recruits will serve at ambassadors and recruiters to the other high school stars, who better to talk to these kids than their own peers.  This is the perfect opportunity to grab some talent who are on the fence or even those who are standing on the other side of the fence.

Although there are too many recruits to talk about there are several I will be keeping my on the days following their visit.  First is a recruit that I did not think much of until I saw him in a couple of camps this past summer including Nike the Opening.   Currently Bryce Treggs Jr. is verbally committed to Cal, who got pounded by USC last week,

The new big fish on the market is recently USC de-commit Arik Armstead.  At 6’7” 280+lbs Arik is a five star prospect on both the offensive and defensive lines.   He has said he wants to play on defense in college as well as basketball.  As talented as this kid is and he still has potential to grow physically and with technique he can play on the hop scotch team for all I care.

Shaq Thompson is a five star recruit in two positions; safety and running back.  At 6’2”, 195lbs Shaq has offers from every and any program in the country but has yet to commit.  As a junior he had rushing for 1882 yards and 25 touchdowns on only 164 carries, while racking up 54 tackles from his safety position.   Like Bryce Treggs Jr. Thompson committed to California.  We are hoping Treggs continues to follow suit and de commits from California like Thompson has.

Basically it’s all hands on deck this weekend for recruiting; coaches, players, administrators, faculty, students, and fans.  In addition to the class of 2012 visitors there are a number of recruits from the class of 2013 who are revving up their recruiting cycle and will be in attendance.  After listening to current Notre Dame Players and hearing about their memories of the Irish vs. Trojans games before they committed to their school there may be ten and twelve year olds watching TV this weekend forming their loyalties to one camp or another.

USC Preview

Although it may not be the USC vs. Notre Dame super match up of the glory days, it should still be a good game overall.  For the past 10 years it has not been much of a rivalry, with the Trojans dominating in the win column.  The Irish did come close in the “Bush Push” game when we had our hearts broken in the closing seconds of that matchup.  Of course, last year Notre Dame began to right the ship with a victory. 

USC is weathering the storm of NCAA sanctions and like the Irish, are not ranked.  However, this is still a good team.  The offense, which is averaging 30 points per game this season and averaging nearly 450 yards in its last four contests, is a big reason why the Trojans are 5-1.

It all starts with golden boy quarterback, junior Matt Barkley.  With 2½ years of collegiate experience, Barkley is completing over 68% of his passes and has thrown for 16 touchdowns, while only throwing 4 interceptions and picking up 1782 yards in the process.  Matt is a very good quarterback and his strong arm will carry him into the NFL down the road.  Barkley continues to improve his accuracy but needs to be more mobile.  This is where the Irish defensive ends could really be the difference between a win and a loss on Saturday.  Barkley’s offensive line is suspect and inconsistent with the exception of 6’7” 295 lb. junior left tackle Matt Kalil.

Barkley’s main targets are young but good.  6’1” 180 lb. sophomore Robert Woods and 6’1” 190 lb. freshman Marqise Lee have combined for 1,187 yards and 10 touchdowns through six games.  Although Lee is only a freshman, he is averaging 16.2 yards a catch and is big and strong, making him dangerous after the catch.   He did leave last week’s game against Cal with a shoulder injury but should be fine for this Saturday.  Woods is an overall offensive weapon - he lines up at wide receiver, in the slot and even in the backfield.

On the defensive side of the ball, USC is classified as athletic, quick and undersized.  The Trojans are giving up points and yards in the air (271.7 per games, which ranks them 105^th nationally in pass defense).  The other concern is their depth on the defensive side of the ball.  However, there are several players that can be the difference in the game and if they have good games, and it could spell trouble for the Irish.

Starting up front, 6’4” 310 lb. senior defensive tackle Dajohn Harris has 16 tackles on the year, six of them were for a loss along with 1½ sacks and four pass breakups.  Not super numbers, but he has changed the way offenses attack them, mostly running away from him, and pressuring the linebackers to do their jobs well.  Down the line from Harris is junior defensive end Zack Martin, who at 6’3” 250 lbs. is not the biggest end the Irish will face, but he is quick and athletic.  With 30 tackles, six for a loss, four sacks and two forced fumbles, Zack Martin will have his hands full.

After 6’3” 205 lb. junior safety T.J. McDonald, the Trojans get young and small for pass protection.  USC will look to a couple of underclassman for help in the defensive backfield.  At 5’8” 165 lbs. sophomore cornerback Nickell Robey will have a tough time covering the likes of Michael Floyd and Tyler Eifert.  One of their better, if not best linebacker is 6’0” 200 lb. redshirt freshman Dion Bailey who has 48 tackles, two sacks and two interceptions on the season.

The Irish don’t need a fancy game plan to beat USC this year.  The offensive line needs to control the line of scrimmage, limit turnovers, and get the ball to Floyd and Eifert.  Defensively, they need to put pressure on Barkley and keep the offense in check.

The future

The Irish have solid upperclassmen at many positions who will make fans look ahead to next year a little early imagining how much better they will be in their senior season (or 5^th year senior season).   When asked about future plans, both players and coaches all say the same thing, we’ll talk about it after the season is over.  We fans can speculate now, especially since what happens during the season will have a lot to do with those conversations.

Dayne Christ technically has a year of eligibility left, although even at the beginning of this year when he was the starter, many felt that because of up and coming talent at the position he would not be back in 2012.  I believe Christ could play at the next level, it will just require a lot of work, the right circumstances and a little luck.  Traditionally, I would love to have someone with so much experience around, but it’s just not needed here and there is little room for him in the mix.

Defensive end Kapron Lewis Moore could make himself eligible, has a solid collegiate resume and at 6’4” 300 lbs. coming off the end he has much to offer, but will most likely be back for another year.   Next to Kapron is Senior Nose Guard Sean Cwynar who looked good early this year before an injury sidelined him for several games.  Cwynar has young talent on his heels for playing time for the rest of this season and next year. 

On the offensive line, seniors Andrew Nuss (6’5” 303 lbs.) and Taylor Dever (6’5” 301 lbs.) both have an NFL frame, but both need another year to develop consistency and improve technique.  They also should want to play on an offensive line with juniors Chris Watt (6’3” 310lbs) and Zack Martin.

Senior John Goodman has not had nor will he have the opportunity to play his way onto any NFL team, scout or TV analyst radar but he seemed to be a coach favorite at the beginning of the season.  However, his dismal performance as a punt returner and very limited action at wide receiver would lead me to believe he will not be with the Irish for a fifth year.  

Mike Ragone has been at Notre Dame for five years now and may become eligible for a sixth if he petitions the NCAA for another year due to injury.  Mike has never lived up to his potential, ability or hype.  I have never been a fan or impressed with any aspect of his time in South Bend.  Brian Kelly, however, speaks highly of his leadership with the younger tight ends.  This may earn him an invite back next year if the NCAA allows it.

There are a couple of juniors in my opinion that could make their way into the NFL next year, but most would be low draft picks, free agents and practice squad guys.  Guys like Zack Martin (he has 2 years of eligibility left) and Tyler Eifet have the talent and ability to play on a NFL team next season.  Eifert has 2½ years of game experience, and while Zack Martin only has 1½ years of game experience, he is consistently playing at a level that is heads and shoulders above other offensive linemen.

There are probably people out there thinking that I’m forgetting guys like Theo Riddick and Cierra Wood.  No doubt, they are future NFL talent, they are just not there yet.   Both have the rest of this year and all of next to cement their reputations and move up in the NFL selection process.   The class of 2013 has several other players with NFL potential to be sure.   Carlos Calabrese, Dan Fox, Zeke Motta and Jordan Cowart (as a long snapper specialist) are on a track that could lead to NFL potential.  There are still a few more guys that will probably be on the outside looking in at a NFL shot unless their senior seasons really take it to another level all together.  Guys like Jamoris Slaughter, Robby Toma, Hanfis Williams also have up and coming freshmen and sophomores competing with them for playing time this and next season.

Nick Tausch looked like a NFL place kicker prodigy his freshman year before an injury put him behind Davis Ruffer on the depth chart.  If Tausch can step in and up next season and recreate his freshman campaign, teams could use a guy like that on Sundays.

The main player of interest in the Class of 2012 with eligibility left would have to be Manti Te’o.  Manti has been a stud at middle linebacker since his first game freshman year (he has played in every game since).  At this point it’s probably a 49-51 split weather he will stay or not, leaning toward him staying.