https://slapthesign.com/2020/03/22/notre-dame-football-dream-class-defense/ https://slapthesign.com/2020/03/20/notre-dame-football-2021-offense/ Something, anything to read...
Gold Standard Spoiler Notre Dame Recruiting Nuggets *** The recruitment of Olney (Md.) Good Counsel offensive tackle Landon Tengwall is really heating up and a decision may be coming very soon, potentially even this week. I put in a FutureCast over the weekend for Tengwall to land at Penn State, and I felt really good about that once I put it in. Everything is pointing towards Penn State here, but what I'm about to say isn't me hedging a bet. 24 hours after I put in my FutureCast, I received some information that led me to believe that Tengwall is having some second thoughts about a decision this week, which would bode well for Notre Dame. We'll see, but right now, it's looking like Penn State. *** I'm continuing to hear good things about where Notre Dame stands with Mansfield (Texas) Legacy defensive end David Abiara . He loved his visit to South Bend Feb. 1, and I'm told that he's already got some Notre Dame gear and is wearing it proudly around town. He's not shying away from his love for the Fighting Irish right now. He wants to see Alabama and LSU, his sister goes to Texas A&M, and Oklahoma is a player here too -- his high school coach played for the Sooners in the late 80s. But I'm still feeling good about my FutureCast pick for Notre Dame. *** The defensive end board has a lot of guys on it, but the biggest names to know right now are Blairstown (N.J.) Blair Academy's Aaron Armitage , Warwick (R.I.) Bishop Hendricken School's Jason Onye , Suffield (Conn.) Academy's Kechaun Bennett , Hyattsville (Md.) Dematha's Colin Mobley , and Abiara. Mobley is a pretty big wildcard at this point as someone who has visited Notre Dame, but I haven't heard much from him or on him recently. Abiara and Armitage are the two guys I'm keeping the closest eye on right now, and the Irish staff would be fired up to land both. 113 NATIONAL 2 STATE 7 POSITION AARON ARMITAGE RANK 5.9 6'5" | 250 LBS | SDE BLAIR ACADEMY BLAIRSTOWN, NJ CLASS OF 2021 UNDECIDED *** Another Texas prospect that Notre Dame is being mentioned a lot for is Denton (Texas) Guyer cornerback Deuce Harmon , a four-star prospect. However, I'm not hearing as much positivity about Notre Dame's chances in his recruitment right now. While I do believe the Irish are one of his top five schools, I don't think they're at the very top of his list. Notre Dame will need to not only recruit Harmon hard but both of his parents as well. They're very important in his decision making process. Harmon was scheduled to visit Notre Dame next weekend (April 3) for an unofficial and wanted to return to South Bend for an official this summer too. He hasn't been to campus yet. *** I don't have a whole lot new to add on Matthews (N.C.) Weddington running back Will Shipley that hasn't been said already. TigerIllustrated.com's (Clemson Rivals website) Paul Strelow summed up Shipley's recruitment best when he recently wrote this: "Shipley has not established a public timeline for his decision, but he is thought likely to render a choice come late spring or early summer. Shipley has said he will make it to Notre Dame for another look before he decides. But a lot of components are fluid right now, and it will be interesting to see if Shipley’s patience gets tested with any recruiting delay of considerable length." *** An interesting running back tidbit I gathered was a potential misfire by Notre Dame in the recruitment of Cincinnati (Ohio) Roger Bacon's Corey Kiner . I was told by a good source that if Notre Dame would've come after Kiner harder, he likely would've committed to Notre Dame. And actually, it was more of Kiner knowing that he wasn't the top target. Shipley's recruitment has so much fanfare from the media, especially in the Notre Dame market, that it's really clear to everyone who the Irish want at running back. It seemed to have turned Kiner off to Notre Dame. Did the Irish put all of their eggs into the Shipley basket? Even if Shipley does choose Clemson over Notre Dame, I'll hold judgment until we see who the Irish do end up with at running back in the 2021 class. 55 NATIONAL 3 STATE 2 POSITION ROCCO SPINDLER RANK 5.9 6'5" | 290 LBS | OG CLARKSTON CLARKSTON, MI CLASS OF 2021 UNDECIDED *** Notre Dame has several offensive line targets on the 2021 board, and what I've gathered leads me to believe that there's not a bigger OL recruit for the Irish than Clarkston (Mich.) High's Rocco Spindler . Obviously, Notre Dame offensive line commit Blake Fisher has been working hard on Spindler, but I'm also told that quarterback pledge Tyler Buchner has made it a big priority of his to help the Irish land Spindler. Buchner told me at the Los Angeles Rivals Camp that he's been working on Spindler, but I was recently told that Buchner has ramped up the amount of communication. *** Ewa Beach (Hawaii) Campbell athlete Titus Mokiao-Atimalala is being targeted hard by the Notre Dame coaching staff. Both Brian Polian and Brian Kelly have done a really nice job in this recruitment. I interview the 6-1, 165-pounder on Sunday night, and he informed me that he set up an official visit to see Notre Dame for the June 19 weekend. However, that visit is obviously very much up in the air. It was set before crap hit the fan with the Coronavirus, and Mokiao-Atimalala has spoken with the staff recently about the status of that visit. They're keeping it locked in for now but it's completely unknown how long visits will be shut down for. *** We'll finish up The Gold Standard with a note on Athens (Ga.) Academy wide receiver and recent Notre Dame decommit Deion Colzie . At this point, it doesn't seem very likely that he re-commits to Notre Dame, and that's mostly a gut feeling and general knowledge of recruiting after covering it for seven years. However, one thing definitely going in the Irish's favor is that his mom would really still like for him to end up at Notre Dame. The academic side is huge to her, and Notre Dame definitely beats out Georgia in that aspect. Colzie's recruitment will skyrocket this spring though, and there's a lot more movement coming for him. Notre Dame will continue to come after him.
And I thought Tommy Rees being the offensive coordinator was the craziest shit I’ve seen in a while. Hope you all doing well, even allaboutthecash.
Turns out it was Clemson, not the NCAA that shut it down. That said, that guy is not playing another down of CFB anyway, so it’s all good.
I loved watching him steamroll over defenders. Those TD runs against SC & Texas are a couple of my fav ND memories (along with that Zellers run vs Purdue) as a kid
Yeah if any five stars in the current class want to start a gofundme I think my friend Tom M. is feeling charitable.
Symptoms come and go, by the time we are able to get a test it might be gone. Very weird. Still no fever.
Haven't left the house since last Monday, have no idea what the outside world looks like, but I assume Brian Kelly has found a way to get a sixth wide receiver on the field. Hope your sister doesn't have it.
yeah my sis has it fo sho, she is doing just fine though, not the symptoms where you need to go to the hospital and plenty of people who can bring her some groceries and stuff. (well leave it at the front door, shes gonna have to rough through the cooking process, but thats fine)
That's good. My only fear is she's a little older (57) but she's pretty healthy. Just sucks all around.
I hope shell be well, bet she will. Honestly the added risk really only starts mounting from 60 onwards unless there are some major health issues as well
My old man just got off the phone with state senator Neizgodski. Indiana is about to go to shit virus wise, Indy is bracing for impact.
Yeah was not rosy. Calling for peak in 6 weeks, the Easter dream is exactly that, a ridiculous dream.
I'm probably missing something really obvious, but if these kids are gonna have their recruiting visits cancelled all spring and summer, why aren't they pushing their commitments to the fall when hopefully things are more normal? If kids are just in a rush to commit this spring, they can knock themselves out, but I'm sure when some of this settles they'll be back to OVs in the fall (assuming there is football). I'm not trying to be overly optimistic, just saying that these commitments feel especially flimsy if kids are committing on only seeing their home school.
Lots of good salesmen out there taking advantage of the situation, they are certainly putting a lot of pressure on kids so they keep their spot.
ND gets a commitment from Texas DE David Abiara. Only a three star for now but I like his tape a lot. Had offers from LSU and Alabama so yeah, probably won't end up at 3*
He was a guy we really needed this class I feel like. They were on this guy early, almost got him back in Feb, and the Bama and LSU came after him
yea, this guy is a great pickup and his ceiling is very very high...I think he has the tools and length to be even better than Khalid Kareem but i don't know if he has that kind of motor him and Rubio are an amazing start to the DL class
Abiara is a great pickup. Elston is a beast Loy is saying we have another silent commit that has been committed for a while
Gold Standard Spoiler Notre Dame has a safety commitment in Bolingbrook (Ill.) High's Justin Walters , and the Irish are looking to add a few more defensive back prospects in the 2021 class. BlueandGold.com recruiting insider Mike Singer breaks down where Notre Dame stands with its defensive back board and the most likely prospects to join the Fighting Irish's commit list. Get a FREE 60-day trial using promo code Irish60 Notre Dame's Mike Mickens is after a long list of defensive back prospects in the 2021 class. (Blue & Gold Illustrated) The New Kids On The Block *** Notre Dame has fired out a dozen new defensive back offers in the past couple months, and more specifically, several in the past week. This would include Severn (Md.) Archbishop Spalding safety Zakee Wheatley , who Notre Dame has been showing interest in for the past few months. Wheatley announced a top eight schools list of Maryland, Michigan State, Northwestern, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Vanderbilt, Virginia and Wisconsin six days before the Irish offered. The Nittany Lions are considered the early favorite, but the Rivals250 talent wants to see Notre Dame once visits open back up. *** Last Wednesday, Notre Dame defensive backs coaches Mike Mickens and Terry Joseph were busy dishing out new offers. Scholarships went out to Terrion Arnold and Philip Riley down in the Sunshine State, Sam Jackson in Chicagoland and Ryan Barnes in the DMV. I chatted with all four of these guys the day they landed the Notre Dame offer, and there's reason to be optimistic with all of them. Riley will probably be the toughest get for the Irish, but even he had very good things to say about Notre Dame and has plenty of interest. - NATIONAL 38 STATE 23 POSITION TERRION ARNOLD RANK 5.8 6'1" | 180 LBS | ATH JOHN PAUL II CATHOLIC TALLAHASSEE, FL CLASS OF 2021 UNDECIDED *** Given that Jackson visited Notre Dame just in December for Echoes weekend and is nearby in Chicago, he's the most likely to pick the Irish of this group of four. I expect Notre Dame to land him if they push. Barnes is intrigued with Notre Dame, and he has family ties in Indiana. He'll still be a tough pull though with Clemson, Florida, Oklahoma and others after him. This leaves us with Arnold, who I've heard some positive buzz about recently. He likes the Catholic school setting and those around the Notre Dame football program that I've spoken with tell me that Arnold has expressed a lot of interest in the Irish. Look for Notre Dame to make Arnold a big priority moving forward, but as you'd imagine, the Southern schools will be make things difficult. *** From March 17 to 23, Clayton (Ohio) Northmont defensive back Rod Moore landed seven new scholarship offers, which started with Notre Dame. Moore's recruitment actually blew up Feb. 1 when he earned an offer from Cincinnati and Mike Mickens, who of course now serves as the Irish's cornerbacks coach. There's some Michigan buzz here of late, and the Wolverines are one of the seven schools that offered him in that March period. I don't expect a whole lot of movement in Moore's recruitment during this dead period, but he's a guy to keep an eye on when visits open back up. If he visits Notre Dame, he's a versatile prospect who I could see landing in South Bend. - NATIONAL 30 STATE 30 POSITION DJ HARVEY RANK 5.7 5'10" | 180 LBS | ATH SIERRA CANYON CHATSWORTH, CA CLASS OF 2021 UNDECIDED *** There are a pair of names from Southern California to know that Notre Dame offered in January as both Prophet Brown and DJ Harvey placed Notre Dame among their top choices recently. Brown's recruitment is still in the early stages, especially with Notre Dame. Harvey seems like more of a likely option. He and some of his 7-on-7 teammates were going to visit Notre Dame in early March before they had to cancel last minute. He's serious about getting to South Bend when possible. *** There are a handful of other prospects who are wild cards at this point. They haven't visited Notre Dame before and are all based in SEC or Big 12 country. The prospects are: Kendal Daniels , Andrew Mukuba , Khari Gee , Corey Coley and Dreyden Norwood . Of this group, I could see Notre Dame making a run at Norwood from Arkansas, but it's tough to say on the others. The Familar Names *** The dozen or so prospects listed above were all prospects Notre Dame has offered in the 2020 calendar year. Now let's run through some names that should be more familiar for Notre Dame fans. An argument can certainly be made that Los Angeles (Calif.) Loyola cornerback Ceyair Wright is the most important target on defense right now. As much as I believe he likes Notre Dame, he's still considering so many schools and wants to visit a handful more. Wright visited in December but will he get back on campus again before making a decision? That will be key. *** Notre Dame's defensive back board has plenty of California flavor. In Dyson McCutcheon , Xamarion Gordon and Devin Kirkwood , there are three highly sought after targets in the Golden State. I feel that McCutcheon's recruitment is really between Notre Dame and USC right now with Cal being a dark horse. If USC were in a strong state, they'd be a lock to land him given that his father, Daylon, played there, but from what I've gathered so far, Notre Dame is the program that impresses McCutcheon the most, even though he hasn't visited yet. He originally planned to be in South Bend this past weekend. - NATIONAL 31 STATE 24 POSITION XAMARION GORDON RANK 5.7 6'2" | 190 LBS | S WARREN DOWNEY, CA CLASS OF 2021 UNDECIDED *** Kirkwood visited Notre Dame in the fall and is keeping in consistent communication with the staff. His personality makes me believe that he's a bit of a wild card in terms of when he could commit, but I think he's still in the early stages process. With Gordon, he recently told me that Notre Dame is one of the few schools communicating with him the most. Look for Gordon to potentially take an official visit this fall. *** Hawaiian athlete Titus Mokiao-Atimalala could end up at receiver in college, but he's definitely being recruited as a defensive back as well. He was locked in for a June 19-21 official visit to Notre Dame, which is very much up in the air at this point. I'm not at the point of putting in a FutureCast yet, but I do like where Notre Dame stands for him and the job Brian Polian and Brian Kelly have done in this recruitment. *** In the state of Texas, four-star cornerback Deuce Harmon was going to visit this upcoming weekend, and that would've been big to see where the Irish truly stand for him. There was some buzz a few weeks back that he was leaning Irish, but that's not what I've gathered in the past week or so. Notre Dame has a lot of work to do against Texas A&M. And lastly, Derrick Davis from Pennsylvania has been a long time safety or rover target for Notre Dame, but he's likely to pick Penn State. The Long Shots *** There are some guys who have either committed elsewhere or I don't think Notre Dame is recruiting anymore that I won't even discuss here, but there are a few who are still mentioned here and there that I'll give my thoughts on. Notre Dame offered Dallas cornerback Ishmael Ibraheem in January, but I don't see that one as very likely to develop for Notre Dame. Also in the state of Texas, safety JD Coffey has expressed some interest in Notre Dame, but he's been a target for quite some time but has never shown much interest in visiting. *** As much as I like Georgia safety Jaden Slocum as a prospect, and he's a highly intelligent young man who would fit extremely well in the classroom, I haven't gotten the vibe from people I've spoken with that Notre Dame is expected to become a contender in his recruitment. Lastly, I still don't believe four-star in-state corner Daylan Carnell is an option. I reported a month or two ago that I do not expect Notre Dame to continue to recruit him. - NATIONAL 28 STATE 16 POSITION JADEN SLOCUM RANK 5.7 6'2" | 185 LBS | S ALPHARETTA ALPHARETTA, GA CLASS OF 2021 UNDECIDED The Verdict All of this information is nice, but at the end of the day, I know my readers want to know who I think Notre Dame will actually land. On February 25, 2020, I wrote my "Way-Too-Early Notre Dame Mock 2021 Recruiting Class" article, and the defensive back group included five prospects: Deuce Harmon, Dyson McCutcheon, Titus Mokiao-Atimalala, Justin Walters and Ceyair Wright. Here's what my mock DB class is today... Safety: Titus Mokiao-Atimalala, Justin Walters Cornerback: Terrion Arnold, Sam Jackson, Dyson McCutcheon I removed Harmon because I'm not feeling great about Notre Dame's chances for him and took Wright off as well because there are so many schools in the mix still. I really don't have a good feel about where he's leaning. Notre Dame has a very solid shot with Jackson, and I'll take a flyer on Arnold. He will be very tough to pull away from Florida State's backyard and he likes Florida a lot too, but there's a lot of optimism for him right now. I really considered Devin Kirkwood too but he's pretty unpredictable in my opinion. It does have to be mentioned that with the recruiting calendar being a total unknown right now, it could have a big impact on which prospects Notre Dame could land, whether that be in a positive or negative way.