Tag: Barton Simmons

Is a former friend, Clark Lea, now turning into a big time foe?

Could Clark Lea be giving Notre Dame a run for their money with recruits that both schools are looking for the same profile in their players.

Today Vanderbilt’s new head coach Clark Lea and former Notre Dame defensive coordinator officially announced some of his main staff members with, in my estimation, the biggest one being the hire of Barton Simmons.

The former 247Sports lead scouting director is paving the way for Lea and his pursuit of high level academic and athletic prospects. The same type of prospects that Notre Dame recruits.

It should come to no ones surprise that Lea is going to target many of his old connections from his tenure with the Irish. Today, one of those connections was made with an offer to 2022 Illinois linebacker Sebastian Cheeks.

Cheeks is seen by many as a Notre Dame lean, but that could potentially be changing, with Lea leading his efforts to lure Cheeks to Vandy. Recruits don’t alway pin their offers on Twitter, but that has happened with Cheeks. The past relationship with Lea is playing a big part in the offer.

This should not be taken lightly. Yes, Vanderbilt is no where close to the Irish in terms of on-field football success, but with a high level coaching staff, and the knowledge that Simmons possesses in regards to recruits, they could be a thorn in Notre Dame’s side in future battles for prospects.

This will not be the last Irish prospect that Lea is going to offer. In fact, I feel like he is going to pursue plenty of current 2022 and beyond prospects that hold Irish offers or they have been heavily in contact with.

This could turn out to have a very teacher/student feel as Lea tries to accumulate talent for the Commodores. If he is able to quickly turn their program around, it is not good news for the Kelly and the Irish.

CBS Sports’ Barton Simmons gives Paul Chryst a respectable grade in his ranking of the top 25 coaches in college football

CBS Sports national college football writer and 247Sports director of scouting Barton Simmons ranked the top 25 coaches in college…

[lawrence-newsletter]

CBS Sports national college football writer and 247Sports director of scouting Barton Simmons ranked the top 25 coaches in college football earlier today and had Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst No. 11 on his list.

“One of the most underrated coaches in the elite tier of the Big Ten, Chryst has finished inside the Top 15 three times in six seasons and his worst year was an 8-5 finish,” Simmons’ analysis reads. “Not only have the Badgers been consistent against nationally-ranked competition under his watch, but in turn they’ve won their side of the conference three times and are 52-16 overall under his watch. That mark includes a 34-10 record in conference play. Chryst doesn’t get enough credit for the work he’s done in Madison from those outside of the program, but perhaps that will change if Wisconsin can win a conference championship during his tenure.”

Of the 25 names on the list seven currently reside in the Big Ten, with Northwestern’s Pat Fitzgerald landing at No. 22, Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz at No. 19, Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh at No. 18, Minnesota’s P.J. Fleck at No. 16, Chryst again at No. 11, Ohio State’s Ryan Day at No. 7 and Penn State’s James Franklin at No. 6.

2020 will be a big year for Chryst and the Wisconsin program, if the season is able to happen, as for the first time since 2016’s Week 1 matchup against LSU the program has a big-time out-of-conference matchup scheduled in Week 5’s contest at Lambeau Field against Notre Dame.

The game is scheduled as a night game, one likely to be on national television, and a win could earn respect for Chryst and the program in the eyes of those not closely affiliated with Big Ten football.

Nevertheless, the hurdle of winning a Big Ten Championship still exists for coach Chryst and it is unlikely he continues to rise in the coaching rankings until the Badgers are able to come out of Indianapolis with a victory, as they’ve lost each of the three times they’ve made it to the conference championship since Chryst took over for Gary Andersen in 2015.

2020 may be that year for the Madison native as when you pair a talented senior quarterback with an elite, star-studded defense you have a recipe for success, even when Justin Fields and the Ohio State Buckeyes are likely to be on the opposing sideline come conference championship time.