We lost to Stanford… Again

Blake Lueders, 2009-2010. We never really knew what we had

So picture this. Your are a young kid that has yet to commit to a university. You go on trips to a specific school and meet with the coaches. You talk to the head coach but you get to know the position coach extremely well. These classy coaches tell you about every advantage that this school can provide to you and start to convince you that you may want to go there. They begin to call you, text you, court you. Lets just say that you develop a relationship with said coaches, so much so that you decide that you are going to matriculate to that university. Everything is gravy; you buy some gear for that school, try to coordinate if you are bringing a mini fridge or not and make plans to enroll. Next thing you know things change. The head coach at that university is out and so are you favorite coaches. Everything they told you about their style and their techniques are gone. You still love that university, you even still have the t-shirts. Some time goes by and you get a phone call. Its the ex-position coach from that university you are committed to and he is telling you he found a new job at a different university. You still have a strong relationship together from all the time you spent with him and he tell you that you would be a great addition at this new university. You still haven’t met your new position coach so you listen to him and you even take a trip to that new university. You start to like what they have to say, maybe you even pick up a t-shirt just in case. Next thing you know, you think you could be happier at the new university because you already have a relationship with their staff. You finally realize its time to make a change, you switch your commitment to the new university.

The roles of our characters in today’s situation were being played by Blake Lueders, Brian Polian and Randy Hart. This situation occurred over the course of this year. Blake Lueders has jumped ship. The 4 star defensive lineman star of the Army All-American game has committed to Stanford. Lueders was exactly what the Irish were looking for in a defensive lineman and projected as a major contributor in next years 3-4. This loss hurts, but what can you expect. Lueders was recruited by all everything recruiter Brian Polian and position coach Randy Hart. Lueders developed a relationship with these coaches and they were fired. Soon there after, both of these coaches were hired to the same school, Stanford.

Lueders had committed in February to Notre Dame. He saw a school with a great tradition and knew that’s is where he wanted to go. From what I learned this crazy off season is how much a position coach means to a recruit. When Andrew Hendrix went to visit Florida, he talked about seeing campus and touring the facilities with the QB coach. It wasn’t until a dinner that he had a chance to meet with Urban Liar. These kids really do commit to their positions coaches as they will be spending all of their time with them. Look at the lack of recruits that committed to the Irish during the assistant coaching search. Besides the upset victory of landing Louis Nix without any semblance of a coaching staff we had 0 commits. These kids had no idea who they would be coached by during their playing career for the next 4 years. Lueders committed to the coaching staff as much as he did to Notre Dame. I know you are supposed to commit to a school for the school, but you have to have to have a relationship with the coaching staff. There has to be more factors considered than just the university.

I don’t think this de-commitement is a slight to the current ND Coaches. Polian could have been talking to Lueders for years. Diaco and Kelly could have talked to Blake in the past but once he committed to ND in February, I bet they let up the pressure. The kid developed a rapport with those coaches and they both landing at a different university. Not sure its a slight to Kelly, but it still stings. This is obviously a Notre Dame blog and not a Cardinal blog, so Lueders of course made the wrong choice. Unfortunately the more I think about it, I cant say that I blame him for leaving.

Side Note: Running Back Gio Bernard from Florida has also de-commited from the Irish. He has listed North Carolina and Oregon State as his top 2 schools. Bernard’s brother Yvenson is a standout for the Beavers. Oregon State also loves brother combos and currently has 3 sets on their roster including the vaunted Rodgers brothers. Could the Bernard’s be their 4th set?

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