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Coach Brian Kelly and his staff will be hosting several visitors this weekend with the 83rd Annual Blue-Gold game taking center stage. Reports are that the game will take on a slightly different feel this year, focusing mainly on the 1's vs. the 1's and all quarterbacks will be live.
Earlier in the week, I covered the remaining positional priorities heading into the weekend.
As of right now, the headline with respect to the visitor list heading into the weekend would have to be that nine of ten verbal commitments will be on campus (only Rashad Kinlaw will be missing).
On to the visitor list after the jump.
Tuesday (4/17)
Mike Heuerman (TE - Naples, FL)
The list gets kicked off with a certain tight end prospect that tried to make covert plans for a last second visit, but spilled the beans on Twitter. He will be on campus until Thursday before heading to Columbus to watch his brother play in tOSU's spring game. The Irish are making some good impressions and a late push to get a commitment, as he is set to announce April 27.
Thursday (4/19)
John Montelus (OL - Everett, MA)
Montelus will start his trip early and remain in town for the spring game. He likely projects as an interior linemen (after a big run of tackles) and the staff has said they could take a fifth offensive linemen this year.
Saturday (4/21)
Current Verbal Commitments:
Malik Zaire (QB - Dayton, OH)
Corey Robinson (WR - San Antonio, TX)
James Onwualu (WR - St. Paul, MN)
Colin McGovern (OL - New Lenox, IL)
Hunter Bivin (OL - Owensboro, KY)
Mike McGlinchey (OL - Philadelphia, PA)
Steve Elmer (OL - Midland, MI)
Jacob Matuska (DE - Columbus, OH)
Devin Butler (CB - Washington, DC)
Word on the street is that the current verbal commitments really wanted to meet the OFD crew in person, thus the huge response in attendance.** This group has grown exponentially over the last month and has turned from recruits into recruiters.
** There is absolutely no evidence of this
Recruits:
Erik Bunte (OT - Rancho Santo Margarita, CA)
Greg Hart (TE - Dayton, OH)
Devante Lee (DE - Chicago, IL)
Karl Roesler (DE - Louisville, KY)
Reggie Spearman (LB - Chicago, IL)
Johnny Stanton (ATH - Rancho Santo Margarita, CA)
Bunte is a current verbal commitment to UCLA but is starting to show some interest in the Irish. He will be attending the game with his teammate Johnny Stanton who plays QB in high school. Stanton is listed as an 3 star athlete by Rivals and a 4 star dual-threat QB by 247Sports. Neither is listed as having an offer right now.
Tight end Greg Hart is a recent addition to the visitor list and will be attending with his teammate and current verbal commit QB Malik Zaire. Hart does not yet have an offer, but does hold several from ACC teams and could emerge with one soon depending on the need at the position.
Devante Lee is another new name to the interest list, but like the others does not yet hold an offer from the Irish. Listed at 6'6" and 229 lbs, he would have to put a lot of weight on to play DE in the 3-4 defense, but could be a better fit at the Cat LB spot. He has been referred to as a raw prospect at this point, but could move up with some solid performances over the summer. His teammate Reggie Spearman is a late edition to the visitor list and is also in search of an offer from the Irish.
Karl Roesler is the final uncommitted prospect to be attending the Blue-Gold game from the class of 2013. His father played offensive tackle for Gerry Faust and his grandfather played basketball for the Irish. He has been receiving interest from several programs so far and likely projects as an outside linebacker given his frame (6'3").
Class of 2014 Visitors:
Justin Brent (WR - Indianapolis, IN)
Shelby Spence (QB - Chicago, IL)
Spence is shaping up to be one of the top dual-threat QBs for the class of 2014 and his father played cornerback for Gerry Faust and Lou Holtz. Brent had a solid sophomore year at receiver and is already listed at 6'3"/193. Since they are both sophomores, their recruiting will not heat up for some time but the early mutual interest is a good sign.