News has broken from the Twitter accounts of several Notre Dame players that walk-on safety Chris Salvi has earned a scholarship for next season. The move will bring the senior back for a fifth-year, one that will give Salvi a shot at earning a graduate degree for free, and solidifies some depth on the back end of the defense, not to mention gives Irish special teams one of their best coverage men back for another season.
Salvi’s return was likely solidified when the Irish left a few empty seats on the recruiting bus, with Notre Dame only signing 17 players to the class of 2012. While an official announcement hasn’t been made, it’ll be interesting to see what players come back and fill out the 85 man scholarship roster. From what the whispers have been, it sounds like other than the obvious returning seniors -- Kapron Lewis-Moore, Jamoris Slaughter, Braxston Cave -- guys like John Goodman and Mike Golic Jr. will also return. No word on the others, but expect something soon.
Not everybody is going to have the straight-to-the-silver-screen story of David Ruffer, but Salvi’s run at ND is pretty impressive, too, with the game ball and game captaincy a pretty impressive feat. He’s thought of as more than just a walk-on to this staff, and after talking to some people close to the program, I know there wouldn’t be much hesitation to put Salvi in at safety, where he’ll likely be in the mix as well as on all coverage units. Congrats to the Lake Forest, Illinois native.
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In other news, the guys over at One Foot Down have been doing a pretty cool feature on rebuilding the Irish football program. That term alone is enough to get some hard-core domers up in arms, but it’s a thoughtful read filled with some well-made points, and it’s worth your time if you’re combing the net for some good Irish reading this weekend.
To butcher their work accordingly, here’s the basic breakdown of their four-part series:
- Part One: Build and keep a staff, and beat ranked teams. (Agree!)
- Part Two: Avoid losing seasons, get good QB play. (Double-Agree!)
- Part Three: Get your depth chart healthy, keep up in the arms race. (Yep!)
- Part Four: Dominate bad competition, stop losing bad games, find the right guys. (Nodding.)
Nice work by Eric Murtaugh, who really dug into this one. Well worth your time.
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Lastly, with Davonte Neal finally on board with the Irish, it’s time to begrudgingly turn our attention to the class of 2013. No, I haven’t been under a rock and I’ve noticed the early returns Michigan has had in recruiting, with Brady Hoke gobbling up some impressive verbal commitments, from a lot of guys that also had Notre Dame offers. Last season, it was easier to dismiss the players Hoke was taking, many of whom didn’t have offers from Notre Dame or didn’t seem like true fits in Brian Kelly’s scheme.
But there’s no question that guys like Kyle Bosch, Logan Tuley-Tillman and Taco Charlton were on Notre Dame’s radar, and the ridiculous 12 verbal commitments the Wolverines have currently puts them in Texas territory for this time of year.
Yet here’s a reminder to those Irish fans pulling your hair out. Those early commitments from guys like Taylor Decker, Ronald Darby, and Deontay Greenberry? They didn’t last. Coming off an 11-win season and a victory in Sugar Bowl, you’d expect a great return in recruiting and credit Hoke and company for taking advantage. But the Wolverines will have to earn it this season, facing a schedule that opens with Alabama instead of Western Michigan, and features away games at Notre Dame, Nebraska and Ohio State.
If you’re getting worked up about recruiting with over 11 months to go before Signing Day, you might need to take a step back and reevaluate things. We already know that a commitment won’t stop the Irish coaching staff from coming after players (nor will it stop Urban Meyer). But the Irish will look to start building their recruiting momentum at an upcoming Junior Day.
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Lastly, six Notre Dame football players are at the NFL Scouting Combine, the annual cattle call where college football’s best pro prospects are herded together and put through interviews, testing, and workouts.
Notre Dame has Robert Blanton, Taylor Dever, Darius Fleming, Michael Floyd, Jonas Gray, and Harrison Smith attending, with the microscope most closely focused on Floyd, who has some character questions thanks to last offseason’s DUI arrest.
Immediate reports have Floyd acquitting himself quite well with reporters, and he’ll meet with several teams -- some of whom will consider taking Notre Dame’s all-time leading receiver in the first round of the draft.
As of now, here’s the official measurements of the former Irish players in attendance, compared to their roster listing at Notre Dame (I’ll update as the reports come in):
Robert Blanton: 6-0, 196, 6-1, 200
Taylor Dever: 6-5, 298, 6-5, 301
Darius Fleming: 6-2, 245, 6-2, 255 (This will be an interesting, I expect Fleming to be 6-1, 245.)
Michael Floyd: 6-3, 220, 6-3, 224
Jonas Gray: 5-10, 223, 5-10, 230
Harrison Smith: 6-1, 213, 6-2, 214
