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The offseason for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football program has been full of news. Mostly, the news has involved staff changes or current players transferring, but recruiting has been fairly quiet.
That changes right now with the decommitment of wide receiver, Jordan Pouncey.
— PounceyNumbaSeven™ (@_pouncey) December 28, 2016
In a short interview with Irish 247’s Tom Loy, Pouncey made it clear that the uncertainty surrounding the Notre Dame football program made a huge impact on his decision to reopen his recruitment.
There had been conflicting reports all day about the employment status of Notre Dame wide receiver’s coach Mike Denbrock. Reports stated that he was leaving Notre Dame to become Cincinnati’s offensive coordinator under new head coach Luke Fickell. Although that may be the likely scenario in the end, it was ultimately reported that Denbrock had not made a decision on what he may eventually do, and where he may eventually be.
Other schools have smelled blood in the water for a while now, and the Miami-Florida Hurricanes and Texas Longhorns have really turned up the pressure in pursuing Pouncey.
With this decommitment, Notre Dame has 17 players in this recruiting class with just over a month to go until National Signing Day. While the Irish are in the thick of things with more than a handful of prospects, there are no real “sure things” left on the board.
To make matters worse, this may not be the last decommitment from this class. Hold on tight y’all as we creep closer to College Football Christmas, and the hope of better things to come.
Freshman | Sophomore | Junior | Senior | Fifth Year Senior | |
Quarterback |
Avery Davis
|
Ian Book
|
Brandon Wimbush*
|
|
|
Running Back |
CJ Holmes
|
Deon Macintosh Tony Jones |
Josh Adams Dexter Williams |
Justin Brent*
|
Tarean Folston
|
Wide Receiver |
Michael Young |
Chase Claypool Javon McKinley Kevin Stepherson |
CJ Sanders Miles Boykin* Equanimous St. Brown |
|
|
Tight End |
Cole Kmet Brock Wright |
Alize' Jones
|
Nic Weishar* Tyler Luatua
|
Jacob Matuska Durham Smythe |
|
Center |
Tristan Hoge*
|
Sam Mustipher*
|
|||
Guard |
Dillan Gibbons Robert Hainsey Aaron Banks |
Parker Boudreaux
|
Trevor Ruhland*
|
Jimmy Byrne* Quentin Nelson* |
Colin McGovern Hunter Biven |
Tackle |
Josh Lugg
|
Liam Eichenberg Tommy Kraemer |
Alex Bars*
|
Mike McGlinchey
|
|
Defensive Tackle |
Darnell Ewell Kurt Hinish |
Jerry Tillery Micah Dew-Treadway* Brandon Tiassum* Elijah Taylor* |
Pete Mokwah* Daniel Cage |
|
|
Defensive End |
Jonathon MacCollister
|
Ade Ogundeji Julian Okwara Daelin Hayes Khalid Kareem |
Jonathon Bonner Jay Hayes* Andrew Trumbetti |
||
Linebacker |
David Adams Drew White |
Jamir Jones Jonathon Jones |
TeVon Coney Josh Barajas* Asmar Bilal* |
Greer Martini Nyles Morgan |
|
Cornerback |
Paulson Adebo Elijah Hicks |
Julian Love Donte Vaughn Troy Pride |
Shaun Crawford* Ashton White* Nick Coleman
|
Nick Watkins | |
Safety |
Isaiah Robertson
|
Spencer Perry DJ Morgan Devin Studstill Jalen Elliott
|
Nico Fertitta
|
Drue Tranquill*
|
|
Specialists |
John Shannon
|
Justin Yoon
|
Tyler Newsome* | ||
Totals | 17/85 | 40/85 | 61/85 | 78/85 | 84/85 |
* Player eligible for a fifth year.