/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/45204522/usa-today-8325140.0.jpg)
Welcome back to the OFD Big Board for January 13, 2015.
Defensive Tackle | |||||||||
Score | Player | State | Ht/Wt. | Temperature | 1* | 2* | 3* | 4* | 5* |
.905 | Darrion Daniels | TX | 6-3/290 | Cold | |||||
.992 | Rasheem Green | CA | 6-5/275 | Cold | |||||
.991 | Daylon Mack | TX | 6-0/330 | Cold | |||||
.936 | Joseph Wicker | CA | 6-2/265 | Cold | |||||
A trio of tackles came off the board recently as we inch our way closer to National Signing Day. First, the top player in the Provinces (ON) Neville Gallimore .964 gave his pledge to Bob Stoops and the Oklahoma Sooners.
Top 50 DT Neville Gallimore to #Sooners at #ArmyBowl. http://t.co/1kxJ5Q4eDK pic.twitter.com/o4tafZd7mM
— 247Sports (@247Sports) January 3, 2015
Gallimore becomes Oklahoma's top-rated commit of 2015 so far.
Another program who picked up their best recruit of this cycle was Virginia Tech who gets (VA) Tim Settle .960 to stay in state with Frank Beamer.
[ESPN Video] Tim Settle Commits To Virginia Tech: No. 4 DT Tim Settle, the No. 17 recruit overall in the ... http://t.co/HMMK28NvK9 #VT
— Virginia Tech Hokies (@BR_VTHokies) January 2, 2015
Our last commit at tackle for this update is (CT) Christian Wilkins .979 who dominated at the Under Armour All-American Game and committed to Clemson a few days later.
#Rivals100 DT Christian Wilkins led our list of top defenders at the #UAALLAMERICA game! ($) http://t.co/U7PDXftKjj pic.twitter.com/5JwvcCdfyd
— Rivals.com (@Rivals) January 3, 2015
DT Christian Wilkins RT @cwilkins42: Today I would like to announce my verbal commitment to Clemson University. pic.twitter.com/Ezf1HRhFUF
— Tom VanHaaren (@TomVH) January 5, 2015
For a while it seemed as though Darrion Daniels was heading to Texas Tech but he's setting up an official visit to Iowa and thinking about some Big Ten football.
Tech four-star DT target Darrion Daniels sets up official to Iowa: http://t.co/xVbn357pgW #WreckEm #GunsUp
— Wreckem247 (@TTech247) January 7, 2015
Take heart Irish fans, as we will not be facing Daylon Mack in next year's opener as he cancelled his official visit to Texas and instead will be going to see Auburn.
Womp, womp. The Texas Longhorns are no longer in contention with a five-star defensive tackle who will travel to... http://t.co/LonnzyeoVJ
— Peter Bean (@PBatBON) January 11, 2015
As previously reported, Rasheem Green is down to a trio of Pac-12 schools, plus Miami. He'll be taking visits soon.
5-star DE Rasheem Green down to #Miami #Oregon #USC #ASU, ready for his final visits http://t.co/R6Gxs00JPz pic.twitter.com/fjSCCdPyoh
— Rivals.com (@Rivals) January 5, 2015
#PotOfGold pic.twitter.com/u6PJOxrXWa
— Rasheem Green (@ras_green) January 12, 2015
Notre Dame thought why not send Green a Pot of Gold recruiting package anyway?
Joseph Wicker is down to UCLA, Arizona State, and Texas Tech with an official visit to Los Angeles coming up later this month. You have to think the Bruins like the position they are in right now.
Defensive End | |||||||||
Score | Player | State | Ht/Wt. | Temperature | 1* | 2* | 3* | 4* | 5* |
.998 | Byron Cowart | FL | 6-4/250 | Cold | |||||
.996 | CeCe Jefferson | FL | 6-2/250 | Cold |
A couple of big official visits are coming up for Byron Cowart, including this weekend at Auburn. If there was a player Notre Dame could magically land in this class he'd be my guy.
Verbal viewing: 5-star DE Byron Cowart set to visit #Auburn this week. http://t.co/hrX6CmPxLO via @mgmadvertiser pic.twitter.com/3T9cEMFH1V
— Advertiser Sports (@mgmsports) January 12, 2015
If that wasn't enough for Auburn they'll also be hosting another 5-star this weekend in CeCe Jefferson. He will have one more official visit available following this trip to Auburn.
Auburn Recruiting: CeCe Jefferson Will Visit This Weekend http://t.co/6WhHJzci5H #WarEagle pic.twitter.com/kcyMMDWojW
— Fly War Eagle (@FlyWarEagle) January 12, 2015
One of the more interesting wrinkles to these players is that they both took one curious official visit as Jefferson went to Cincinnati and Cowart to Maryland.
The Irish may like to add another pass rusher but nothing has been popping up on the radar for months. Next cycle is going to be a big one for this position.
Outside Linebacker | |||||||||
Score | Player | State | Ht/Wt. | Temperature | 1* | 2* | 3* | 4* | 5* |
.968 | Porter Gustin | UT | 6-5/240 | Cold | |||||
.955 | Jeffery Holland | FL | 6-2/230 | Cold | |||||
.982 | John Houston | CA | 6-3/211 | Cold | |||||
.981 | Osa Masina | UT | 6-4/230 | Cold | |||||
.868 | Arthur McGinnis | LA | 6-2/226 | Cold | |||||
Watch out for Porter Gustin making official visits to Arizona State and Ohio State this month. We're moving the Utah product to Cold as Notre Dame hasn't been able to make a move since his official visit months ago.
Salem Hills star Porter Gustin with the "Pick 6" in the Army All-American Bowl https://t.co/bTVGpcyYHF
— Jeremiah Jensen (@JJSportsBeat) January 3, 2015
Someone like Arthur McGinnis may have been a bigger priority had Notre Dame not met their quota with 3 linebackers in this class. With Tevon Coney enrolling this week the Irish are all wrapped up. You can see McGinnis making visits to Arizona and Oklahoma this month.
Osa Masina is making his college decision on January 23rd from USC, UCLA, and Arizona State with the Trojans the expected choice in a close call.
Corner | |||||||||
Score | Player | State | Ht/Wt. | Temperature | 1* | 2* | 3* | 4* | 5* |
.945 | Frank Buncom IV | CA | 6-1/190 | Mild | |||||
.948 | Holton Hill | TX | 6-2/184 | Cold | |||||
.914 | Jaylon Lane | TX | 6-1/177 | Cold | |||||
.997 | Iman Marshall | CA | 6-1/190 | Mild | |||||
.851 | Chris Williamson | GA | 6-1/190 | Cold | |||||
Notre Dame has reached out and offered a new defensive back in Chris Williamson from T.J. Jones' alma mater Gainesville High School.
2015 three-star DB Chris Williamson goes in-depth on his newest offer from #NotreDame. #Irish in good shape? http://t.co/e10MVMhWE5 (VIP)
— Notre Dame 247 (@NotreDame247) January 9, 2015
The Irish coaching staff is looking to get Williamson on campus sometime later this month. He is visiting North Carolina this weekend and will visit Florida right before National Signing Day.
The rich got richer as (TX) Kendall Sheffield .991 committed to Alabama back on January 2nd. That gives the Tide their fifth recruit with 5-star Composite status and their ninth recruit with a .970 Composite score or higher.
HUGE pick-up for Alabama. Five-star CB Kendall Sheffield. pic.twitter.com/qtQfLB6sdg
— RecruitingNation (@ESPNRNFball) January 2, 2015
A ton of travel is on the docket for Iman Marshall as he'll be visiting Florida State, Michigan, LSU, and Oregon within the next couple weeks.
Five-star Iman Marshall found a way to squeeze four visits in the next few weeks. Will see #FSU #Michigan #LSU and #Oregon before NSD.
— Adam Gorney (@adamgorney) January 9, 2015
Most experts would be stunned if Marshall went anywhere not named USC. Despite not taking an official visit to the Trojans' campus he's been to USC nearly a dozen times over the past 18 months.
There's no doubt that Notre Dame wants Frank Buncom IV really bad but Stanford still presumably leads.
Four-Star Recruit Frank Buncom IV Reveals Top Sch…: http://t.co/udarE0uomP
— Richard Sanchez (@SaintsFBVarsity) January 9, 2015
He'll be visiting California in a couple weekends, while Brian Kelly has been saving his in-home visit.
Safety | |||||||||
Score | Player | State | Ht/Wt. | Temperature | 1* | 2* | 3* | 4* | 5* |
.863 | Hunter Dale | LA | 5-11/195 | Cold | |||||
.963 | DeChaun Holiday | CA | 6-2/195 | Cold | |||||
.833 | Denzel Johnson | SC | 6-2/187 | Cold | |||||
.870 | Justin Reid | LA | 6-0/193 | Mild | |||||
One more safety came off the board as (CA) Marvell Tell .969 committed to Southern California at the U.S. Army All-American Game. The Trojans defensive backfield is going to be loaded beyond belief in the coming years.
Crespi DB Marvell Tell commits to #USC today from @ArmyAllAmerican Bowl in San Antonio. #D1Bound [VIDEO] https://t.co/iucG09E5QM
— #D1Bound Nation. (@SportsRecruits) January 3, 2015
Marvell Tell Crespi HS #USC commit 2015 just made a huge hit #ArmyBowl #IGRtop100 https://t.co/Psa7fORmif
— IGR Sports (@IGRSports) January 3, 2015
Technically, the Irish are still alive for Hunter Dale who last gave a top list of Miami, Florida, Arizona State, Arizona, Oregon, and Ole Miss in addition to Notre Dame. He'll be visiting Arizona State next weekend.
Notre Dame will be receiving an official visit from Justin Reid next weekend after which he'll visit in-state LSU right before NSD. The Irish really need for something to happen when he comes to South Bend.
— Justin Reid ✨ (@justinreid_1) January 9, 2015
A name to keep an eye on as Notre Dame expands his safety recruiting and backup plans is Washington State commit (CA) Kameron Powell .876 who has been in contact with the Irish for a while. He's been a Cougar commit since May 6th of 2014.
Lastly, there's a new update for Irish commit (TX) Prentice McKinney .875 who spoke directly with Rivals on Sunday night.
Change of plans for #NotreDame safety commit Prentice McKinney, who received his Pot of Gold yesterday ($) – http://t.co/x7f9TyvXao
— Andrew Ivins (@BGI_aivins) January 11, 2015
You can read the full story here ($$$) and the synopsis is that he received a Pot of Gold from Notre Dame, doesn't know where the rumors about his academic issues are coming from, is ranked in the top 10 of his class, and is no longer visiting UCLA.
However, he did point out that he won't be making it to UCLA because of his basketball playoffs. Be that as it may, most of the Notre Dame recruiting experts do not think McKinney is going to be a part of the 2015 class.