Welcome to the newest update to the recruiting Big Board. We've had a lot of attrition, including a decommit, since last week and the staff is turning up the heat on a number of prospects as we have just 24 days until National Signing Day.
No new updates at quarterback. The equation remains Golson + Zaire + Kizer and likely another walk-on added to the mix with Charlie Feissinger. Also, don't be shocked if Luke Massa is asked back for a fifth season to remain the team's holder on field goals and to get another body at quarterback for the spring.
Running Back | |||||||||
Score | Player | State | Ht/Wt. | Temperature | 1* | 2* | 3* | 4* | 5* |
.945 | Derrell Scott | NC | 5-11/180 | Cold | |||||
.911 | Donte Thomas-Williams | NC | 6-0/220 | Cold | |||||
With the recent attrition there might be the possibility to add a running back to this class but it does not appear to be a priority for the staff. Any added recruit at this point is likely to be more of a project anyway. Carrying 5 backs next season with the two youngest being the most talented looks like a smart plan.
Notre Dame should be able to hit the ground running with 2015 class and try to get in early some top tailback prospects.
Wide Receiver | |||||||||
Score | Player | State | Ht/Wt. | Temperature | 1* | 2* | 3* | 4* | 5* |
.990 | Malachi Dupre | LA | 6-2/187 | Cold | |||||
.873 | Isaiah McKenzie | FL | 5-9/172 | Mild | |||||
.937 | Trevion Thompson | NC | 6-3/188 | Cold | |||||
.855 | Kameron Uter | GA | 6-4/205 | Cold | |||||
Uter is a new offer and left Vanderbilt's class over the weekend following James Franklin's hire at Penn State. He's carrying offers from Arkansas, Cincinnati, Penn State, and a couple others. Word is he's being recruited by Notre Dame as an athlete.
The situation with McKenzie has grown increasingly foggy. Some say he's improved his grades/test scores to the point where he's officially a take for Notre Dame, while others don't think he's at that point nor will he ever be. Unfortunately, McKenzie is taking official visits to Florida (this weekend) and Ole Miss (Jan. 24) so he's clearly keeping his options open. It will be imperative for Notre Dame to get him to South Bend the last weekend before NSD.
Athlete | |||||||||
Score | Player | State | Ht/Wt. | Temperature | 1* | 2* | 3* | 4* | 5* |
.856 | Tommy Mister | IL | 6-2/205 | Cold | |||||
.870 | Charles Nelson | FL | 5-8/170 | Mild | |||||
.976 | Michiah Quick | CA | 6-0/170 | Mild | |||||
.991 | Ju Ju Smith | CA | 6-1/200 | Mild | |||||
Tommy Mister was initially a target for Notre Dame very early in the process and he left Iowa State's class a couple weeks ago after they fired some position coaches. He's not likely to get another look from the Irish, though.
Nelson is still in the mix but may be tough to sign now. He took an official visit to Notre Dame back in December and now has visits to USC, West Virginia, and Florida lined up.
Quick has said recently that he's down to Oklahoma, UCLA, and Notre Dame. The Irish are believed to be running third in that race and Quick is still deciding on NSD.
Smith has been trending towards USC for quite a long time now. We might need some prayers to turn the tide.
Tight End | |||||||||
Score | Player | State | Ht/Wt. | Temperature | 1* | 2* | 3* | 4* | 5* |
.949 | Dalton Schultz | UT | 6-5/215 | Mild |
The belief with Schultz was that Notre Dame probably wasn't going to have room for him in this class especially with 2 other tight ends already committed. With the recent attrition Schultz should be in the picture now more than ever. He might still be a tough pull away from Stanford though.
Offensive Line | |||||||||
Score | Player | State | Ht/Wt. | Temperature | 1* | 2* | 3* | 4* | 5* |
.984 | Damien Mama | CA | 6-4/370 | Cold | |||||
.987 | Damian Prince | MD | 6-5/295 | Cold | |||||
.968 | Braden Smith | KS | 6-6/290 | Cold | |||||
.960 | Casey Tucker | AZ | 6-6/270 | Cold | |||||
Oklahoma continues its recent hot streak and picked up the commitment of (AZ) Natrell Curtis .888 not long after he left Washington's class.
During our last update I mentioned that Braden Smith was still a long shot and now he's decided to cancel his visit to Notre Dame in favor of a trip to Auburn.
The scuttlebutt with Mama is that he's a silent commit to USC.
The Irish appear all set with their 4 offensive linemen verbals heading to NSD.
Defensive Line | |||||||||
Score | Player | State | Ht/Wt. | Temperature | 1* | 2* | 3* | 4* | 5* |
.899 | Daniel Cage | OH | 6-3/295 | Cold | |||||
.990 | Lorenzo Carter | GA | 6-5/232 | Cold | |||||
.929 | Matt Elam | KY | 6-6/350 | Cold | |||||
.852 | Jaylen Johnson | CA | 6-3/232 | Cold | |||||
.873 | Trey Lelaimatafao | TX | 6-0/301 | Cold | |||||
.981 | Malik McDowell | MI | 6-7/290 | Cold | |||||
.949 | Derrick Nnadi | VA | 6-1/305 | Cold | |||||
.988 | Solomon Thomas | TX | 6-3/256 | Cold | |||||
.943 | Travonte Valentine | FL | 6-3/338 | Cold | |||||
.908 | Andrew Williams | GA | 6-4/247 | Cold | |||||
Lots of recent action at D-line where (CA) Matt Dickerson .891 left Notre Dame's class and decided to stay closer to home at UCLA due to his father being diagnosed with cancer.
In response the Irish have been busy handing out offers to prospects. One has gone to (TX) Trey Lealaimatafao .873 who was once a commit to Texas. He's planning on visiting Oregon this weekend.
A second recent offer has gone out to (FL) Travonte Valentine .943 a former commit to Miami. He'll probably be a long shot with visits set up to LSU, Kentucky, and the Hurricanes.
A third offer is to Vanderbilt commit (TN) Michael Sawyers .882 who has visits set up to Georgia Tech and Ole Miss over the next two weeks. Notre Dame will try to get a visit in before NSD.
A fourth offer came last night to (OH) Daniel Cage .899 who has upcoming visits to Louisville, Michigan State, and Illinois.
The Irish are also contemplating offers to former Louisville commit (FL) Chris Nelson .848, (WA) Marcus Griffin .860, and (FL) Edgar Cerenord .846.
Linebacker | |||||||||
Score | Player | State | Ht/Wt. | Temperature | 1* | 2* | 3* | 4* | 5* |
.980 | Rashaan Evans | AL | 6-3/220 | Cold | |||||
.934 | Edwin Freeman | TX | 6-0/212 | Cold | |||||
.857 | Vincent Jackson | FL | 6-2/235 | Cold | |||||
.911 | Kenny Young | LA | 6-2/220 | Cold | |||||
No new updates to provide at linebacker. Notre Dame is not in the running for any of these prospects.
Defensive Back | |||||||||
Score | Player | State | Ht/Wt. | Temperature | 1* | 2* | 3* | 4* | 5* |
.866 | Terrence Alexander | LA | 5-10/180 | Mild | |||||
.853 | Nick Glass | GA | 6-2/205 | Cold | |||||
.996 | Adoree Jackson | CA | 5-9/182 | Cold | |||||
.883 | Mattrell McGraw | LA | 6-0/183 | Cold | |||||
Mere days after landing (DC) Jalen Tabor .987 the Arizona Wildcats lost him to Florida. Tabor is now enrolled early in Gainesville.
One decommit that I missed a long time ago was Nick Glass from Georgia. Notre Dame is still not in the picture.
Alexander is slated to visit Notre Dame this weekend and Ole Miss in 2 weeks. He might be the last chance at adding another corner for this class.
Irish Offense Commits | |||||||||
Score | Player | State | Ht/Wt. | Position | 1* | 2* | 3* | 4* | 5* |
.908 | DeShone Kizer | OH | 6-5/207 | Quarterback | |||||
.954 | Justin Brent | IN | 6-3/190 | Wideout | |||||
.920 | Corey Holmes | FL | 6-2/175 | Wideout | |||||
.903 | Nic Weishar | IL | 6-5/223 | Tight End | |||||
.903 | Tyler Luatua | CA | 6-4/230 | Tight End | |||||
.892 | Jimmy Byrne | OH | 6-4/290 | Offensive Line | |||||
.907 | Sam Mustipher | MD | 6-3/285 | Offensive Line | |||||
.970 | Quenton Nelson | NJ | 6-5/295 | Offensive Line | |||||
.958 | Alex Bars | TN | 6-6/309 | Offensive Line | |||||
Holmes, Weishar, Luatua, Mustipher, Nelson, and Bars are all coming off All-Star game appearances. We might not see much of a bump for any of these players but Nelson and Weishar probably had the most impressive performances.
Irish Defense Commits | |||||||||
Score | Player | State | Ht/Wt. | Position | 1* | 2* | 3* | 4* | 5* |
.898 | Grant Blakenship | TX | 6-6/252 | Defensive End | |||||
.860 | Jonathan Bonner | MO | 6-4/250 | Defensive End | |||||
.853 | Kolin Hill | TX | 6-2/220 | Defensive End | |||||
.935 | Andrew Trumbetti | NJ | 6-5/250 | Defensive End | |||||
.840 | Jhonathon Williams | MI | 6-6/237 | Defensive End | |||||
.907 | Jay Hayes | NY | 6-5/260 | Defensive Tackle | |||||
.974 | Nyles Morgan | IL | 6-1/225 | Linebacker | |||||
.883 | Greer Martini | VA | 6-3/232 | Linebacker | |||||
.872 | Nile Sykes | IL | 6-2/223 | Linebacker | |||||
.904 | Richard Yeargin | FL | 6-4/225 | Linebacker | |||||
.935 | Nick Watkins | TX | 6-1/185 | Cornerback | |||||
.892 | Drue Tranquill | IN | 6-2/210 | Safety | |||||
.805 | Tyler Newsome | GA | 6-3/190 | Punter | |||||
Even with the loss of Dickerson there are still a lot of bodies on defense and in the front seven.
With the early entry to the NFL for Tuitt, Atkinson, and Niklas the rising senior class now has 20 scholarships accounted for. The rising juniors are at 13, the sophomores at 23, and the current verbal list is at 22 commits.
That's a total of 78 scholarships.
There is room to take up to 5 more recruits in the 2014 class which would leave room for 2 fifth-year seniors. Both Andrew Trumbetti and Justin Brent have started school today and are officially part of the program. My guess is we add 2 more commits to sign 24 in the class and bring back Christian Lombard, Austin Collinsworth, Kendall Moore, Justin Utupo, and Luke Massa for fifth-seasons.