I've been working on some college football articles for the upcoming season and one of those was the annual "INSTANT IMPACT FRESHMAN" I do every summer. Unfortunately it looks like I'm going to have to cut out one of those players in Dee Hart, the tailback out of Orlando, who was expected to get significant playing time behind Trent Richardson this season in Tuscaloosa. Not now with a torn ACL.
One of Alabama's most promising freshmen, running back Dee Hart, suffered what his high school running backs coach said was a torn ACL during a 7-on-7 passing drill on Tuesday night.
Alabama officials are waiting to release any details, but multiple reports have Hart scheduled for surgery on Thursday morning. He's expected to miss the 2011 season and hopes to be back in seven to 10 months.
With Mark Ingram gone it was expected Richardson would get the majority of the carries for the Crimson Tide this fall with or without Hart. Losing Hart though hurts Richardson in a sense because you don't want to lose your tread on your feature back's tires. In this case his legs. Bama still has sophomore Eddie Lacy to back up but he doesn't have the breakaway slashing speed that Hart had.
For some this won't effect how they view Alabama. A lot of people have them #1 despite losing their starting QB, RB, WR, TE, best offensive lineman and best defensive lineman. Now they lose their best offensive freshman piece. And they are coming off a 3 loss season. I wouldn't be so sure about Alabama right now. Are they good? Well yeah. Are they great? I doubt it.
Ok I'm sure some if not all of you know I'm a huge Notre Dame fan. It started at my first game back in the late 80's up in South Bend when I got a chance to meet all the players while staying at an average at best hotel in Plymouth, Indiana the night before the game. Ever since I meet Ricky Watters, Rocket, Tony Rice, Tony Brooks, Chris Zorich, Jerome Bettis, and many others I've been hooked. Notre Dame was not only the elite of the elite back then they had good guys who were all class acts and played hard every single snap. Unfortunately it's been hard to find a consistent Notre Dame squad since the early 90's that have displayed a passion on and off the field throughout the season. And of course win.
But hopefully all that changes with 2nd year head coach Brian Kelly. He's already brought back the Lou Holtz feel with the passion and drive and all out execution from top to bottom in the way he develops his program. He handles adversity and seems to have the Irish headed back to the glory Fighting days when they would never give up until the final whistle was blown on Saturdays. Last season he brought in elite defensive recruits with the likes of Aaron Lynch, Stephon Tuitt, Ishaq Williams, Ben Councell and many others to help form what will hopefully become a dominant bunch in the near future. I've gone on record saying in order for his second true recruiting class to be a success he needs to land at least one feature tailback like Keith Marshall out of North Carolina. I'm having serious doubts whether Marshall will even give ND a chance and I'm hearing he is pretty much a lock for Georgia.
But I'm not hear to talk about Marshall. I'm here to give you some good news Irish fans. I'm talking about getting some more elite defensive linemen. Some of the big guys in the trenches that help you win games. I'm talking about Jarron Jones who just recently decommitted from Penn State after taking a visit to Notre Dame. The 6'5 308 lbs defensive tackle from Rochester, New York has Fighting Irish written all over him. He's a top 100 national recruit and after watching his film he should bring back fond memories of Bryant Young who once dominated for the Blue and Gold...
The other guy I want to talk about is Arik Armstead. He's a 5 star defensive end who is currently a USC commit but is looking to bolt for the right school. He wants to play hoops too and he has hopes of visiting Notre Dame on an official this fall. I got a real good feeling this 6'8 280 lb strongside defensive end from Elk Grove, California picks Notre Dame when the ink dries on National Signing day.
Last recruiting cycle ND Nation was drooling at the thought of guys with the talent of Lynch, Tuitt, and Ishaq playing next to one another in the same class. This season you should feel the same about Jones and Armstead. Getting these two is the difference between being a good team and being a great team in my opinion. It's that good old fashion feeling you had as a Notre Dame fan back in the late 80's that you knew your team wouldn't allow the other team to score on you. With these two in the fold Notre Dame would definitely be back.
I know what you are thinking: who in the holy hell is that chick in this spoof? I mean screw the cameos by Kevin Costner and Ray Liotta. I wanna know why Marielle Jaffe isn't in Transformers 3? She has appeared in Percy Jackson & The Olympians (a movie I've never heard of) and Scream 4 but this girl needs to seriously blow the fuck up. Why hasn't Michael Bay casted her?
I feel it is my duty to show you more images of her. Marielle Jaffe. SportsCrack wants you to blow up.
Oh and by the way the Field of Dreams 2 spoof was kinda funny. Now let's please get this lockout ended already.
