This is not a vent board or any other kind of therapy. Before you hit the POST button, ask yourself if your contribution will add to the level of discussion going on.

Important notes on articles:

• Please do not copy entire articles into your post; rather, provide links to them.. We are now links-only for ALL Internet publications. If only a small portion of the article pertains to your post, Fair Use allows you to copy those one or two paragraphs, provided you cite the author's name and the publication for which he writes. Otherwise, put a link in the HTTP Link box.
• Even if you're copying a reference to an article, provide a link to the page from which the article came. We're trying to cut down on duplicate topics, and the posting process will check the link to your article to see if it's already being discussed on this board. At the very least, you'll save yourself some grief on the boards.
• If your first reaction after reading the article you're going to share is the author is uninformed / stupid / a jerk / all of the above, it's not worth sharing with anyone. Not every article needs to be discussed. The more the hair-pulling articles are discussed (e.g. ESPN Page 2), the more the authors will write hair-pulling articles.

Post being replied to

# of years between ND 7 Heisman Trophy Winners 4-2-4-3-8-13- by Hickster

It has been more than 37 years since our last Heisman Trophy Winner Tim Brown in '87 - it will probably hit 40 years shortly. The Heisman does not necessarily mean that the award winner is the best player or team in college football (the late legendary Paul Horning won on a losing ND team in '56 - Horning was recruited by Coach Leahy although he did not play for him)

I guess you could call ND Coach Leahy (1941-43 & 1946-53) one of the best or best college football recruiter since the Heisman Trophy was first awarded (Coach Rockne wasn't too shabby either prior to the Heisman). Coach Leahy coached 11 years at ND and won 4 National Championships - he left ND to serve in the Navy during WWII for the '44 and '45 seasons, however he was still recruiting for ND during that time without having a transfer portal (former Holy Cross player George Connor who was the first Outland Trophy winner in '46). I would confidently state that his recruiting was one of the two key drivers for his success.

Coach Leahy generated exceptional results against brutal schedules, and he actually had only one 10 win season at ND in '49 - not quite up to Swarbrick's standards (he was 11-0 at BC in '40 and ranked #5). Of his 11 seasons at ND, there were four years that ND played only 9 games. If you eliminate the two (2) years he was in the Navy ('43 & '44) in a five (5) straight season period that Leahy coached at ND from 1943 to 49, he won 4 National Championships. The only year in that five year span that he did not win a NC was in 1948 when the team ranked #2, with a 9-0-1 record, with a 14-14 tie in the last game of the season in the Coliseum against USC (the same snakebite that haunted Ara from winning NC's in '64, '70, and perhaps '74 after beating "The Bear's" #1 Alabama team in the Orange Bowl). In 11 seasons Coach Leahy had six (6) undefeated seasons (4 straight seasons from 1946 to 1949), 4 National Championships ('43 - '46 - '47 - '49), ranked #2 twice ('48 - '53) and #3 twice ('41 - '52).

Great ND Recruiting Head Coaches:
- Rockne
- Leahy
- Kuharich & Devore (left some strong talent for Ara's '64 & '66 NC team). It could have been more the result of the ND recruiting machine back in those days. These coaches did not generate game results to ND standards and were replaced.
- Parseghian
- ? Devine
- Faust - Great # of Parade All Americans - left some strong talent for Lou. Did not generate game results to ND standards.
- Holtz
- ?

Hopefully the recruiting from Coach Kelly - DC Freeman - OC Reese can generate elite recruiting classes in the next 3 years. It is critical for ND to be an attractive destination for ND's next Head Coach to better attract an elite coach, and perhaps Coach Kelly has a real shot at a NC at ND before he ends his career. 2023 and 2024 are the most important years for realistic recruiting elite talent. 2022 needs to be much stronger than BK's average classes, but a high interest level by a large number of elite recruits does not seem to be there at the present time (the #2 WR had ND among 5 other schools with strong interest and the #1 OT has ND with strong interest). It is tiresome seeing elite catholic school recruits from distant locations have high interest in both Ohio St. and Michigan and not ND - this would not be the case with Lou (i.e., the #1 CB and #3 National Recruit).

I think that DC Freeman has the best chance in years of opening the doors to some of the schools that have elite recruits. Landing Coach Freeman gives me more confidence toward our recruiting potential in over a decade.