John Quinn, Inquirer Staff Writer
Now that we know in 2012 that ND means Notre Defense, it is also time to proclaim that linebacker Manti Te’o should be a top candidate for the Heisman.
This year, there is no clear cut candidate. Last year, when there were plenty, LSU’s defensive back Tyrann Mathieu made it all the way to New York City as a finalist.
Over the years, a defensive player occasionally gets some pub. But rarely have they had the impact and character of Te’o, who not only has led a renaissance in South Bend, but has done it by leading the defense, an unlikely turnaround at Notre Dame where offense has been king.
John Quinn, Inquirer Staff Writer
Back off, Les Miles.
And for you, Anger Management Kelly, I grant you full power to let loose that flow of invectives usually reserved for your quarterbacks on the sidelines on Saturday afternoons and spew them at Miles, who went way over the line in criticizing the Irish's No. 1 recruit, Gunner Kiel.
Kiel, from Columbus, Indiana, the No. 2 quarterback in the nation according to ESPNU rankings, reneged on an oral commitment to the Tigers and instead opted for South Bend, where he is already enrolled. In fact, Anger Management Kelly said Kiel will compete for the No. 1 job and even wear No. 1.
John Quinn, Inquirer Staff Writer
Stud quarterback Gunner Kiel has called yet another audible, this time late in the second half, committing to Notre Dame after making a verbal to LSU in the past month after originally committing to Indiana.
Kiel is considered by some to be one of the top five quarterback prospects in the nation and is quite a coup. But remember, Jimmy Clausen, Dayne Crist, Ron Powlus and even uncle Blair, from back in the day, were national phenoms.
But word from back home in Columbus, Ohio is that Gunner's mom didn't want her son to go that far away from home, so LSU's loss is now Notre Dame's gain.
John Quinn, Inquirer Staff Writer
Anger Management Kelly ended the season the way he started it, yelling at two different quarterbacks in front of a national audience, meanwhile losing a game he should have won against an inferior team from the state of Florida.
Only this was much worse. Coach Brian Kelly's Irish had a 14-point halftime lead. (However, this Florida State team had tons more talent that South Florida in the opener.) But the Champps Bowl loss last week had the fans squeamish again.
Leave Tommy Rees alone and start teaching after the game.
John Quinn, Inquirer Staff Writer
Notre Dame lost out on the nation's top quarterback recurit for 2012 when Gunner Kiel, nephew of former Irish QB Blair Kiel, committed to play for Indiana, according to reports in the Indianapolis Star and The Republic of Columbus newspapers.
New Indiana coach Kevin Wilson helped develop Sam Bradford at Oklahoma.
Earlier this month, another top QB recruit Maty Mauk from Ohio committed to play for Missouri.
John Quinn, Inquirer Staff Writer
Brian Kelly will never be able to shake the shame involved regarding the tragic death of student manager Declan Sullivan, who died in October when a video tower collapsed during unsafe extremely windy conditions while filming practice.
Kelly should not have left Sullivan alone on the tower. The student used Twitter explaining how dangerous it was. The team practiced the day before indoors because of the violent winds.
The school admitted guilt and was fined $77,500 by the state for negligence. They played football for their next scheduled game and the students showed up instead of protesting the nationally-televised game.
John Quinn, Inquirer Staff Writer
Dear fans,
Don't drink too much Guinness so you can enjoy a full day of green jerseys Thursday. Or just set your VCR ... er ... DVR ... to Versus and watch them when you're sober. Have a shamrock shake at McDonald's on me.
You can't miss the Snow Bowl, when Rick Mirer beat the dreaded Blue and White (5 p.m. Versus). My poor wife wasn't even born yet, so this one will be particularly sweet if I can get her off Twiitter for five minutes.
John Quinn, Inquirer Staff Writer
Notre Dame comes to visit Philadelphia for an Oct. 11 date with Temple at Lincoln Financial Field in 2014, assuming the Mayan calendar is wrong. And the biggest loser that day could be Penn State.
In the press release announcing the three-game series with Temple, Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said: “We’re looking forward to bringing the Fighting Irish back to Philadelphia and providing our strong East Coast fan base another opportunity to see its team in person.”
What he really meant was: “We are ecstatic that we will be able to tell our top-shelf recruits from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland that you can get as many tickets for your family to watch you play.”
John Quinn, Inquirer Staff Writer
Now you know why this blog is called NotreDamus. It was predicted in July 2010 that football talks between Notre Dame and Temple were serious. http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/colleges/temple/98622184.html
The three-game series will start in 2014, with the first game the Linc on Oct. 11. The next year, the Owls will travel to South Bend for a Sept. 26 game. Notre Dame also gets a home game in either 2013 or 2016 depending upon the Irish's scheduling issues for 2013.
Here is the press release from Temple:
John Quinn, Inquirer Staff Writer
This just in from California and the LA Times: The Irish beat out dreaded rival USC for Troy Niklas, the Los Angeles Times' lineman of the year, the premier lineman in Southern California. Niklas, from Anaheim Servite, wanted to go to Stanford, but his academics weren't good enough. No word from Harvard. Freshman calculus class may be his first true test.
Some at ND feel that the 6-7 Niklas may actually play on defense with other freshman studs where he will join 6-6 DE Ishaq Williams of Lincoln H.S. in Brooklyn (already enrolled) and the most interesting signee, super-recruit DE Stephon Tuitt of Georgia, who committed to South Bend, then decommitted, committed to Georgia Tech, then decommitted and finally sent in his letter of intent today to the Irish.
Coach Brian Kelly got 23 new recruits, with a heavy emphasis on a predatory defense.
His grandfather used to listen to the radio and yell out to his son playing on the hardscrabble streets of Corona, Queens: “Bill Shakespeare just threw another touchdown pass!”
His father used to listen to the transistor radio and yell out to his son playing for Stony Brook on Long Island: “Joe Montana just threw another touchdown pass!”
He listens to the radio and yells out to his son watching Phineas and Ferb on a 46-inch HDTV: “Dayne Crist just threw another touchdown pass!” Meanwhile, Jack, 9, will not be a fourth generation member of the Subway Alumni. Reach John at jquinn@phillynews.com.
