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2016 Notre Dame Recruiting Big Board: Defensive Line

Notre Dame is on the hunt for pass rushers.

By Eric Murtaugh
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

big board new

Welcome back to the One Foot Down recruiting Big Board for Fighting Irish football.

Defensive Tackle
Score Player State Ht/Wt. Temperature 1* 2* 3* 4* 5*
.846 Christian Colon NC 6-3/325 Cold
.953 Jordan Elliott TX 6-4/305 Cold
.999 Rashan Gary NJ 6-4/290 Cold
.977 Antwuan Jackson GA 6-2/285 Cold
.990 Dexter Lawrence NC 6-5/310 Cold
.991 Ed Oliver TX 6-2/285 Cold

A trip to Rutgers was made by Christian Colon earlier last month. Syracuse is picking up steam with him since offering and gaining the commitment of friend and running back Robert Washington.

Former Baylor commit Jordan Elliott released a Top 10 last week and it did not feature Notre Dame.

One of the Peach State's best prospects in Antwuan Jackson was at Georgia twice in April, in addition to taking a trip to Auburn.

Dexter Lawrence has been quiet this spring but recently performed very well at the Rivals camp in Charlotte.

ESPN updated their rankings recently and featured a big rise from Ed Oliver. Also, he's apparently seriously looking at Houston where he visited back in February. It's his hometown team.

Speaking of ESPN, they have Rashan Gary as their No. 1 player in the country. He's also the top player in the country via the Composite ranking too. Gary was the DL MVP at the New York NFTC and earned an invite to The Opening.

At some point the Irish staff will expand their targets at tackle but with the numbers last year there is no hurry.

Defensive End
Score Player State Ht/Wt. Temperature 1* 2* 3* 4* 5*
.970 McTelvin Agim AR 6-2/268 Cold
.923 Patrick Bethel FL 6-3/243 Cold
.961 Oluwole Betiku CA 6-3/240 Cold
.915 Amani Bledsoe KS 6-5/270 Cold
.994 Nick Bosa FL 6-4/265 Cold
.870 Brian Burns FL 6-5/212 Cold
.875 Kyree Campbell VA 6-5/305 Cold
.919 Ron Johnson NJ 6-4/240 Cold
.923 Khalid Kareem MI 6-4/252 Mild
.923 Xavier Kelly KS 6-5/230 Mild
.960 Josh King IL 6-6/250 Mild
.952 Justin Madubuike TX 6-3/255 Cold
.883 Chidi Okonya GA 6-5/216 Cold
.944 Auston Robertson IN 6-5/230 Mild
.875 Jordan Smith GA 6-6/222 Cold

Notre Dame's focus on edge rushers got off to a good start this cycle with (NC) Julian Okwara .915 committing back on April 14th. The younger brother of rising senior Romeo Okwara is on pace to enroll early and would be a Notre Dame student in a short 8 months.

McTelvin Agim is obviously a huge priority for Arkansas. He was recently offered by A&M and visited College Stations in addition to LSU last month.

One of the biggest risers nationally is Patrick Bethel. Our last update saw him with a Composite score of .898 and he's now moved up to a solid 4-star at .923.

Oluwole Betiku was planning on committing soon but is not going to enroll early and has since slowed things down. He visited USC, UCLA, and Maryland last month and is considered a Trojan lean.

One of the top players in Kansas checked out the Jayhawks and Cornhuskers' spring games recently. Odds that Amani Bledsoe stays in-state and plays for Kansas?

No changes with Nick Bosa where it seems it's a matter of when not if he'll commit to Ohio State where his brother plays. He's named the Buckeyes his leader and has been to Columbus several times.

Our last update told you that Notre Dame had offered Brian Burns out of American Heritage--the former school of current Irish linebacker Michael Deeb. Burns is one 3-star to watch as he's got offers from Florida State, Miami, Florida, Clemson, South Carolina, LSU, and more.

Speaking of highly recruited 3-stars, Kyree Campbell has numerous elite teams chasing him down. Lately, he's mentioned that Virginia, South Carolina, and North Carolina are among his favorites.

Notre Dame had some momentum with Ron Johnson after offering him earlier this year but that is waning recently. Even worse, Michigan has grabbed some of that 'mo after he visited Ann Arbor. Johnson was at the Rutgers spring game last month and has collected offers from Tennessee, Missouri, and Arizona State.

Khalid Kareem remains a top priority for the Irish and coaches were in to see him recently. Kareem visited Tennessee, Alabama, and Michigan State last month and is growing into a national prospect.

A summer tour of several schools is set for Xavier Kelly, which will include a trip to Notre Dame. He's blowing up lately with offers from Georgia, Florida State, LSU, Missouri, Michigan State, and Oklahoma.

Things have been quiet for Josh King for a few weeks. He's another player getting a visit from Irish coaches on the road. You can expect King to be a huge priority for another campus visit in June for Irish Invasion.

Justin Madubuike is slowing things down after a flurry of offers last month. Nebraska and Florida were the most recent schools to extend scholarships.

The big news in Chidi Okonya's world has been a pair of trips to Tennessee in April which have vaulted the Volunteers among his favorite programs.

Defensive line coach Keith Gilmore and recruiting coordinator Mike Elston were in to see Auston Robertson recently. They are expecting the Fort Wayne product back on campus this month. Robertson was back at Michigan State again a couple weeks ago and the Spartans are presumed to lead.

Jordan Smith has taken two trips to in-state Athens during April and was recently visited by a Georgia assistant coach at his home.

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