Steve Elmer’s decision to pass on his final year of eligibility and accept a job opportunity in Washington D.C. this summer is a massive positive for the Midland, Mich., native, who will graduate in May and immediately begin putting his Notre Dame degree to good use.
In the vacuum of Notre Dame’s 2016 offensive line, Elmer’s departure creates a difficult hole to fill at right guard — he would’ve been the team’s most experienced returning offensive lineman with 30 starts, and whoever fills his spot either will have two starts (Alex Bars) or no starting experience (everyone else).
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But for Notre Dame’s future recruiting efforts, is it a positive or a negative that a senior-to-be, established starter decided to walk away from football to pursue a different career path?
That was one of the questions I discussed on the “Down & Distance” podcast with Jarrett Payton and Shaun Davis this week — give it a listen here — and my answer was an overwhelming yes toward Elmer’s departure being a positive. Coach Brian Kelly likes to say Notre Dame shops down a different aisle in recruiting, and with the players in that "aisle," being able to pitch Elmer's story to them should wind up being a good thing.
Consider Elmer’s move along with wide receiver Corey Robinson — another 2013 early enrollee who admitted last week he considered walking away from football — being elected Notre Dame’s student body president. Those are two major talking points Notre Dame coaches can take into high schools and living rooms to not only pitch recruits, but pitch parents, relatives and friends of recruits about the opportunities offered to football players at Notre Dame.
And on the other side, take Jaylon Smith and Will Fuller leaving Notre Dame for the NFL Draft after just three seasons. Smith is expected to be a first-round pick, while Fuller should land somewhere in the second or third round. The message from coaches can similarly be: If you want to turn pro after three years, there’s an opportunity for that, too.
[MORE: Steve Elmer’s departure leaves Notre Dame OL in tougher spot]
So then take those two messages and Notre Dame coaches can pitch recruits from two important angles: We’ll get you ready for a successful career outside of football, but we’ll also get you ready for making football your career. Having such recent examples in Elmer, Robinson, Smith, Fuller, Ronnie Stanley, Sheldon Day, C.J. Prosise, KeiVarae Russell, Nick Martin and the like should resonate well with high schoolers going forward.
It’s no coincidence Notre Dame allowed Elmer to break his own news on their website with a Players Tribune-esque essay — this is something the football program is happy to promote, not only to support one of its players, but to flex its muscle in promoting its 40-year investment mantra. And that should help with building a 2017 recruiting class that’s already secured five verbal commits, four of whom are rated as four-star prospects by Rivals.com.