Paul Hornung, ND’ original “golden boy”, is the namesake for college football’s newest honor: “most versatile player” (a player that can help their team the most in a large variety of ways).

Hornung is one of college football’s all-time greats (think the original Rocket Ismail, plus he could throw, and play defense), the only player special enough to win the Heisman on a losing team, so his name belongs right up there with the Biletnikoffs and Nagurskis.

However, he might have even more fame for the statement “ND must lower admissions to get the black athlete and win”. Technically, he may be right on lowering admissions, he just made the mistake of using the qualifying term “black”. (That’s what we call racial profiling.)

So, occasionally in his honor, the Blarney will bring you Hornung’s Words of Wisdom, or technically true statements that are worded wrong, or perhaps show some type of prejudice/political incorrectness.

Paul Hornung’s Words of Wisdom For 01-06-12:

“It’s high school all-star game weekend. The Under Armour All-America Game on Thursday, and the U.S. Army All-American Bowl on Saturday (The Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl was played on Tuesday). Think what you will of the “show” but the nation’s best stars have played in these games in the past (A.J. Green, Julio Jones, Manti Te’o, Andrew Luck, and host of others). No exceptions, if ND wants to be “back”, a larger percentage of players in these all-star games must end up signing with the Irish. Notre Dame gets some ( guys like Tee Shepard, Deontay Greenberry, Jarron Jones, and Ronald Darby) just not in the number that the elite schools are getting. You can say ESPN or the recruiting services have bias, but it is an undeniable fact that these games are an indicator of the strongest programs (half of the players commit to Alabama, for instance). So, if I say that I am disappointed in Notre Dame’s lack or representation at any of these games, know that I am serious. Serious like a heart attack.”

For “recruitniks”, the college football equivalent of Star Wars nerds, late December to the first week in February is an extremely exciting/maddening time. We look at recruiting sites, follow Twitter feeds, post on message boards (I must admit, I perused some message boards for the first time, desperate to find any kind of info that “reliable sources” might have, and truth be told, I’d probably rather be caught masturbating than on a message board), etc. Despite the sadness of this, the fact is recruiting well is the most important thing a college football program can do–period. So, if you are a crazy enough fan, it makes sense that you could eventually start following where the best of the best high schoolers are looking to play their college football. It’s almost like reaching for hope. Scouring recruiting sites to learn what recruiting experts who do nothing but watch high school film think of your school’s efforts is way to gauge the future. If Rivals.com says a school has a bright future, well, it takes away the sting of another 6-win season. Shoot, college football and sports in general are as much about hope and looking for a brighter future as anything else in life.

Perhaps nothing stirs hope in the recruiting world like the the fight for the commitment of a recruiting service’s #1 quarterback. Possibly gaining the pledge of the creme de la creme at the sports most important position is sort of like gaining the keys to a million dollar inheritance at 18. Your football team has the world by the balls, the rest is just details. This year, for the Irish and many others, that player was Gunner Kiel. His story was “The Gunner Kiel Saga”.

Pro-style quarterback. Good athleticism. NFL-size before he even enrolls in college. Big arm. Accurate arm. Mr. Indiana in football. 40 total touchdowns this year (28 throwing), and only 4 picks. All of the big boys offered him. Basically, college coaches wanted him like rap video producers want models with big booties.

The Irish thought they had him. The kid was an in-state player, grew up as an Irish fan, and his uncle Blair even played quarterback for Notre Dame in the late 70’s/early 80’s. Also, with an unsettled quarterback situation, the kid had a shot to play right away. Oh, and finally, he and the family understood the value of a Notre Dame degree.

Then, he confused the hell out of everyone when he committed to…Indiana. Yep, the Indiana Hoosiers. With no intention of playing basketball. WTF? When he came to his senses and reneged on his Indiana commit, the smart money was on the Irish once again.

Then it was down to three. ND (football and education). Vanderbilt (education). LSU (football, really, really good football). Gunner wanted to enroll in January, so he had to announce soon. But, just when many thought he would just go ahead and get going with ND, the sounds of silence were all that was heard. This kid was playing it close to the vest. Word came out he would choose before Christmas. Then it was by Christmas. Nothing. Finally, two days after Christmas, Gunner pulled the trigger.

LSU was the winner. Too bad for ND.

I can’t say ND hearts are broken, but it is never nice to miss out on a 5-star. The truth is, there will be another Gunner Kiel next year, and the next, and the next. But, Brian Kelly is really working hard to build up momentum in his program, and with recruiting being more high profile than ever, it is not good for perception to be spurned by such a high-profile recruit. Kelly will have to hit on some of the other big names left (Neal, Shumate, Wright) by February 1st to ensure a top 10 class (whether you believe in rankings or not, look at the names of the schools every year in Rivals’ “top 10s”–they tend to be pretty good teams).

Finally, the fans that scream about ND being the best choice due to the balance of football and academics should take note. Kiel is a kid that knows the score, knows the numbers, knows who graduates players, and still, he chose the elite football school in the premier football conference. No disrespect to LSU’s academics (a kid can be a success with a degree from many institutions of higher learning), but when compared to ND and Vanderbilt, Gunner clearly made a football first choice (he talked about how excited he was to play in the SEC to get ready for the NFL). That is fine. In fact, that is what many of the nation’s elite base their choice on. The situation is what it is. Elite kids want (and believe wholeheartedly) they will have a football future. If “The Gunner Kiel Saga” teaches ND fans anything, it is that academics are fine, but, for the best recruits, football is king. The Irish football program will have to stand with these giants of the playing field, on the field, if it is ever to become an “it” program among the very best recruits in the nation again.

It’s that time of year in recruiting where the most fanatical of fans spend their days looking for every internet tidbit to find out the “What?” in regards to the high school studs they feel are most important to their program’s future. In general, it’s pretty pathetic waste of time (Nobody on a message board or that pays subscription fees to recruiting sites has any inside information. No matter what they might think. The recruits themselves don’t even know half of the time until they actually fax that letter of intent in.). In general, a LARPer would think a recruitnik is pathetic.

For the Irish fans that are cool with being that nerdy (you can count The Blarney among them), the recruits that we want to be in the know on are two of California’s best, cornerback Tee Shepard, and wide receiver Deontay Greenberry. Shepard is a big, physical, lockdown corner. Greenberry is a “man among boys” who caught passes for over 2000 yards, and 33 touchdowns (a state record) this year. They are long-time Irish verbals (Shepard has been on board for almost a calendar yea–he was the first of this year’s class). They are top 100 recruits. They are recruits that fill positions of need (more than just about anything else, ND could use a corner that can blanket a receiver, and they need some to replace that Michael Floyd guy who was a pretty decent receiver). They are recruits that are being chased by (and listening to) their home state’s top school. They might leave for that said school. And if they leave, it would be devastating. No recruit left on the board could take their place as possible impact players.

The Blarney has tried to imagine how devastated Irish recruiting geeks would be, and what we will look like if these two leave the fold.

AND WE WOULD LOOK LIKE THESE SCENES IN THE MOST HEARTBREAKING FUCKING THING IMAGINABLE. SARAH MACLACHLAN, FUCK YOU FOR AGREEING TO DO THIS COMMERCIAL.