Not much... Spoiler It hasn’t been a secret that Notre Dame has been looking for speed this class at the receiver position. 2018 Tigard (Ore.) standout Braden Lenzy was identified early and even committed to the Irish before flipping his commitment to Oregon. The four-star prospect decommitted from Oregon on December 5th and immediately scheduled a visit to Notre Dame starting on December 8th. Lenzy has been low key since taking his official visit to Notre Dame, but here’s the latest on one of the fastest players in the country. Notre Dame was a place Lenzy had strong feelings about over his recruitment, and that’s why he committed to the Irish in the first place. So getting back to South Bend wasn’t about finding out about what the school can do for him, but rather working on communication with Notre Dame’s staff. What I can tell you about the visit is receivers coach Del Alexander, and defensive backs coach Todd Lyght and offensive coordinator Chip Long hit it out of the park with the Oregon speedster. They needed to hit a Ken Griffey Jr. in his prime home run to get Notre Dame firmly back in the race and they hit a Ken Griffey Jr. in his prime home run to get the Irish back in the thick of things. However, a critical moment came on Saturday night as Lenzy had dinner with Notre Dame Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick, who sat with the Lenzy family and completely blew them away. Swarbrick is known for being savvy, but on Saturday night, he showed the ability to communicate his message with significant impact and insightfulness. One person gave head coach Brian Kelly all the credit for putting people in front of Lenzy that expressed the need for him to go along with the potential impact he could make on the program. Lenzy responded well to the communication, which was crucial because of his comments earlier this fall about the lack of communication about his track future from the football staff. Notre Dame was able to open up a two-way conversation with him because of that solid communication, as well as the fact Lenzy fits the Notre Dame culture. Oregon did its part as they had three coaches waiting for Lenzy at his home when he returned from South Bend. Notre Dame showed they needed him and the Ducks fired a shot right back. Regarding a decision, Lenzy will announce and decide his future on December 22nd, and it will be between Notre Dame, Oregon, and UCLA. I would tend to think Lenzy wants to make sure who will be coaching him at Oregon as new head coach Mario Cristobal finalizes his staff. It’s much like Notre Dame, as he knows what he is going to get there and is comfortable with the 2018 recruiting class. UCLA is a wildcard as he hasn’t been to visit in quite some time, but it’s hard to look past Chip Kelly’s offense and what speed can do in that offense. A recruit with Lenzy’s skillset would be foolish to not listen to Kelly’s pitch and plan, but I’m also not sure a visit happens. Also, from Mike Frank... Also, heard that it's more of a two-team race for Julius Irvin. ND and Washington. It's going to be interesting to see what happens. With both Gordon and Irvin down to those two, it's going to be be interesting to see which way both land. Also, I continue to hear ND is very much in the Solomon Tuliaupupu race. Long way to go, but ND is building a really nice relationship with he and his family. That's all I've got for now.
Lenzy signing Dec. 22nd is huge. I don’t see any way he doesn’t pick ND in that scenario, but crazier things have happened The staff is setting up for a strong close. Might get one or both of Irvin and Gordon this week, too.
Interesting I look at Crystal ball on 247 and people selecting Irving for SC even within hour. But ISD says SC not even in top 2. We can't get Lenzy and Gordon can We? That would be too nice
so many of these fucking guys just see a crystal ball put in and they ride with it even tho they don't know shit.
Loy's Recruiting Scoop Spoiler Notre Dame has 20 commits and spots are limited. According to our Top Target Board and although this list can change quickly, there are 10 players to continue monitoring this cycle. Here is the latest recruiting scoop regarding the Fighting Irish and the class of 2018. Four-star CB Kyler Gordon — Special teams coordinator Brian Polian and defensive backs coach Todd Lyght visited him Thursday night. No surprise here, but the Irish coaches made another positive impression. The plan is still in place for the top target. Gordon, barring a last second change, remains set on visiting Washington this weekend and making a decision immediately after that trip. As previously reported by Irish Illustrated's Kevin Sinclair, a commitment could occur on Dec. 17, his birthday, which is Sunday. However, we’re not ruling out a slight delay to that. Based on everything we’re told, I’m confident Notre Dame leads as of today. Multiple sources, players, coaches, recruits alike, all feel the same way and believe the Irish lead. Not a single person has said to me that they believe the Huskies have the outright edge, which is pretty surprising for an in-state kid. Will Notre Dame still lead come decision day? We’ll see. Four-star DB Julius Irvin — If anyone says Notre Dame is out of this or he won’t end up Irish, they don’t have a true pulse on this recruitment. This battle is extremely close. Irvin will sign next week, but I fully believe he’ll make a decision before that, potentially as early as this weekend. Notre Dame, USC and Washington are the heavy-hitters in this recruitment. Those are the schools to watch. However, I’m told that this is a Notre Dame-Washington battle. USC is working hard to get involved here, but I don’t see this one working out for the Trojans. The in-state powerhouse leads on the 247Sports Crystal Ball, but I expect that to change. I think this is a tight, tight battle right now. Irvin, I’m told, doesn’t know where he’ll end up yet and will spend a ton of time today and tomorrow figuring out what he wants to do. Although the in-home visits are done, Notre Dame is still pushing. The Irish are working hard to close this with a ‘W’ and I’m starting to think they will. My gut says Washington, but in all reality, especially right now, this Notre Dame staff is very difficult to bet against. Also being discussed behind closed doors is playing together with Gordon. No, it’s not at all necessary or a package deal, just something the two friends have discussed. Four-star WR Braden Lenzy — Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly, in addition to a one or two assistant coaches, will make an in-home visit with the top target on Friday. This is a huge visit. The Irish staff will attempt to close this recruitment out with a win. It’s been quite the journey for Lenzy, who already committed to Notre Dame and Oregon on separate occasions in the past. The Ducks and UCLA remain involved, but I like the Irish here. He’s considering all three and will continue to communicate with all staffs involved, but my 247Sports Crystal Ball remains on Notre Dame. Lenzy is set to announce his decision on Friday, Dec. 22 at 6 pm ET. Four-star LB Solomon Tuliaupupu — Notre Dame has a shot here and what a pickup that would be. The latest intel I received was that, when asked where his head is at with the recruiting process during an in-home visit with another program, Tuliaupupu and his family were actually raving about the official visit to South Bend and a recent in-home with the Fighting Irish coaches. That’s at least telling that Notre Dame is on his mind. USC, Oklahoma and Ohio State are all major players. I genuinely don’t get the vibe he has his mind made up yet. All three schools are expected to get him on campus before his decision on National Signing Day. Long way to go on this one. Five-star WR Amon-Ra St. Brown — The elite west coast talent remains set on making a decision at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl. I think Notre Dame is involved here, but again, nothing has changed with my 247Sports Crystal Ball. I think he’ll eventually end up at USC. Three-star OL Luke Jones — Notre Dame needs at least one more offensive lineman in this class and the staff continues to recruit the Arkansas commit. Jones was in South Bend last weekend and heads to Fayetteville this weekend. A final decision later this weekend or next week is expected, but nothing is set yet. My gut feeling is that he eventually takes to Twitter with a “sticking with Arkansas” type of announcement, but we’ll see. The hiring of head coach Chad Morris is likely what keeps Jones in that class, unless things don’t go well this weekend. Notre Dame made a big impression last weekend, but sometimes the allure of staying home and playing for the dream school is too much. I’m not ruling out a flip yet, but I’m just unsure if this happens with Morris leading the Razorbacks now. Notre Dame is definitely still recruiting him though. No question about that. Five-star OL Nicholas Petit-Frere — The top of the board target for Notre Dame is still very much in play for the Fighting Irish. It’s easy to say it for a five-star recruit, but in this case, it’s very real — Notre Dame needs to land Petit-Frere, potentially more than any target this cycle. The added depth along the offensive line is necessary and another offensive lineman this cycle is a must. The staff will continue to push here, but nothing is expected until on or close to National Signing Day in February. Michigan, Alabama, Florida and Florida State are all involved as well. Four-star WR Lawrence Keys III — If Notre Dame lands Lenzy, I question whether or not Notre Dame will take another wide receiver not named Amon-Ra this cycle. The staff wants to land a few more defensive backs and if they can get Lenzy, I’m not sure another wide receiver is necessary. If he gets the green light in January, I’d be shocked if he didn’t pick Notre Dame. However, I’m not confident that green light will come based on how they are recruiting right now. Four-star CB Noah Boykin — Notre Dame likes the Maryland commit a lot. No question about that. I’m just unsure if there will be room in this class when it comes time for him to really shut things down. It really looks like a two-team race between the Terrapins and the Fighting Irish. If Notre Dame lands Gordon and Irvin, I don’t see them adding Boykin. However, the best part about this is that both Gordon and Irvin will sign early next week, while Boykin is planning on waiting until Signing Day in February. We’ll know within a week if Boykin will eventually be a “take” or not whenever it comes time for him to decide in January or February. The staff still wants to bring in a wide receiver, at least one offensive lineman and a linebacker or pass-rusher. No need to take three more defensive backs this cycle. I think they’ll get two though. Three-star DE Malik Langham — He remains on the board because Notre Dame wants him bad and he’s a priority recruit. However, in the end, I just don’t see it working out for the Irish. Alabama, the in-state favorite, and Tennessee look to be the teams to beat on this one. He had a terrific visit to South Bend, but in the end, I don’t think he'll pick Notre Dame. The Irish would like to add another pass-rusher or at least the staff is trying to, but they aren't going to just take a body. Nebraska commit Tate Wildeman says he'll visit in January. New names will emerge as well. Just know the staff is working hard to fill this role come Signing Day, but they aren't going to take a guy they don't see as a difference-maker. My gut... The staff doesn't add one more and turns their attention to landing a few in 2019. some good stuff here Lenzy would normally be a top 2-3 type player in our class but i don't think he's even in the top 5 of guys, that's pretty crazy how deep and talented this class is. he would be a monster pick up though
It seems like odds are good that we fill the remaining spots with top level talent, it's just kind of uncertain who may end up on board considering that there are somewhat limited spots to fill. Pretty crazy to think about. This is trending to be a really good class, but landing one or both of NPF or Amon would make it elite and one of the better ones since I started following this mess like 12 years ago.
If we landed Lenzy, Irving, and one of Gordon/Boykin I'd be happy. If they landed those 3 and NPF I'd be stoked. Anybody else on top of that I wouldn't know what to do. So I'm assuming we won't get any
If Nd gets lenzy and npf I might just like every post from Wad of 100s and Magnums forever , every one of them
Eh. they are a top 20 team, and Brey teams get better as they grow normally. They are really easy to like if you like ND and incredibly easy to hate if you don't. I like that.
Although that call should cost that official his job. That was beyond fucking awful and should require security to get out of the building
Brey was outcoached. Plain and simple. Miller repeatedly went to his matchup opponent with Morgan. Brey should have abused inside with Colson the same way in OT but didn't. ND also played with very little energy. Funny how Brey gets defended when it happens.
Pretty damn frustrating This team is going no where fast if they can’t figure out how to get more rebound help. ACC play won’t be kind.
Either that or one of Pflueger/Harvey needs to step up and become a legitimate threat from the perimeter.