01-03-2025, 03:27 PM
(01-03-2025, 10:41 AM)Spiny_Norman Wrote: I'm very impressed by the ND defensive coaches. Georgia's OL outweighed the ND DL by 50 pounds a man. Yet ND's DL and LBs controlled the line of scrimmage. The LBs and DBs play with discipline and speed. Kudos to Coach Marcus Freeman and the staff that he has assembled. So lesson #1 for Stanford - hire the right guy as head coach.
ND's success this year follows a season in which 19 players from last year transferred out. 7 starters from last year were drafted and 4 more signed as UFAs. 9 scholarship players transferred in along with 6 walk-on transfers. This looks like a team that mostly has been built via recruiting with selective (and successful) transfers to fill needs.
In other words, Notre Dame is executing successfully the model that Troy Taylor has said he wants for Stanford. But ND has just been much more successful. Why? I would start with better coaching and more talent. In the last 3 recruiting classes (2022, 2023 and 2024), Notre Dame has signed 48 players with 4 or 5 stars per 247. Stanford has signed 12.
I would compare ND's collective(s) to Stanford's and start there.