Here's another article that ran a few days previous. I didn't realize this one didn't get posted in this thread. As I've stated previously, anyone should feel free to move (copy/paste) any article you find listed in the daily "Recruiting News" threads into the appropriate thread for individual players. After doing the different news searches, I simply don't have the time to move all the different news stories to their related player threads.
http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?C...&ID=211615&r=3
Hartline impressed by Notre Dame visit
Tuesday, March 8, 2005
By TODD PORTER Repository sports writer
PLAIN TWP. — It might have been something Charlie Weis learned as a young assistant football coach in South Carolina.
Hospitality. Charm.
Maybe it was the aura of Notre Dame that helped win over GlenOak quarterback Mike Hartline. The Golden Eagle junior is one of the top quarterbacks in Ohio. He recently finished recruiting trips to Purdue and Notre Dame.
The junior days he attended started the serious recruiting process.
How much impact can a junior day visit have? Enough to juggle the 6-foot-6 right hander’s top three.
Purdue was bad. Notre Dame and Weis, the new Irish coach, were awesome.
“Purdue was a disappointment,” Hartline said. “I thought I was going to get more out of it. I didn’t get to hang out with my position coach, and neither did (GlenOak offensive lineman Ryan Palmer). I didn’t get to see much of the campus other than the indoor facility, the stadium and the weight room and every place has that. There wasn’t much one-on-one communication going on.”
College teams are shopping themselves to Hartline. Giving recruits like him individual attention is important. Apparently, Purdue didn’t get the memo.
“We got introduced to Head Coach Joe Tiller. They showed you statistics and who they’ve coached,” Hartline said. “But they never seemed too personal.
“ ... They just didn’t show much interest in you. They were like, ‘Here’s this, here’s that and we hope you come here.’ I was expecting a lot more.”
Tiller has taken the Boilermakers to eight straight bowls, a streak matched by only seven other schools. The Boilermakers are 62-36 in Tiller’s eight seasons with a Big Ten championship, the school’s first since 1967.
But neither Tiller or anyone else in West Lafayette, Ind., made a connection with Hartline.
Before the visits, Hartline’s top three — in no particular order — were Michigan, Ohio State and Purdue. Now?
“Purdue isn’t in there,” he said. “I’d have to say it’s Michigan, Notre Dame and Ohio State. There isn’t an order to them, but that’s my top three. ... First impressions are everything and Purdue didn’t make a good first impression.”
Notre Dame, on the other hand, swept Hartline off his feet.
“Notre Dame was a big surprise with Coach Weis,” Hartline said. “There was more one-on-one communication with the position coach. I went there last year with my brother (Brian) for his junior day and it was a 180-degree turn with what Coach Weis is doing. We were blown away by Notre Dame and it all goes to what Coach Weis is doing and his dedication to the program.”
Weis resigned as the offensive coordinator of the Super Bowl-champion Patriots to take over the Irish program. He graduated from South Bend in 1978 and is considered one of the game’s best passing game coaches.
At junior day, Weis had players on the team there to greet and shake hands with the junior visitors. When the group ate lunch, the Notre Dame cheerleaders and band were there to play music.
He handed each recruit a packet of information that highlighted each position coach.
“His coaching staff, bar none, is one of the best in the country,” Hartline said. “Each coach has something special about him. ... The band, cheerleaders and player, that was all awesome. Coach Weis gave it to you straight-forward. He made it clear what kind of player he wants. He had it organized. He had a plan. That was a big difference.”
Hartline, at 16, is making a decision that will directly impact the next four or five years of his life, and indirectly impact his entire future. NFL teams draft players with whom they fall in love.
Hartline might have found that in South Bend a couple weeks ago.