Notre Dame Football Recruiting Big Board: Defensive Line

Welcome back to the OFD recruiting Big Board for Fighting Irish football.

Defensive Tackle
Score	Player	State	Ht/Wt.	Temperature	1*	2*	3*	4*	5*
.967	Jay Tufele	UT	6-3/284	Cool
.951	Martin Andrus	CA	6-2/295	Cool
.949	Eric Crosby	VA	6-1/285	Mild
.937	Darnell Ewell	VA	6-3/298	Cool
.915	Breyon Gaddy	VA	6-4/321	Cool
.907	Marlon Tuipulotu	OR	6-2/275	Mild
.899	Donovan Jeter	PA	6-4/260	Cool
.882	Dalyn Wade-Perry	NJ	6-4/310	Mild

Entering the Field

Big Jay Tufele out of Utah picked up an Irish offer since last we checked in on the defense. Oregon, where a former teammate plays, could be tough to beat, and UCLA is making a serious push as well. He intends to visit Ohio State soon as well. He tweeted the news of his Notre Dame offer, but that's about the only connection to the Irish so far for him. We shall see.

Notre Dame offered Darnell Ewell last week; he told ISD that he thought of Rudy when he got his offer. Well, they're both defensive linemen, but Ewell is a little bigger. Other than that, though...

In Play

Martin Andrus could take an official visit to Notre Dame, but I'm not sure he'll get on campus earlier than that. He has been very complimentary of the Irish and I believe they're in it for him, but it'll probably be an uphill battle.

Clemson is still sitting pretty for Breyon Gaddy, although it's not a lock. He hasn't talked about Notre Dame in a very long time and, while he hasn't officially trimmed his list, don't expect to see the Irish make a move here..

Marlon Tuipulotu is racking up offers and boosting his rankings on a pretty regular basis. He was pretty stoked about his Notre Dame offer a couple of months ago, but there's no news since then for the blue and gold. He intends to take some unofficial visits this spring to the closer schools recruiting him, like Oregon and Washington; i

Donovan Jeter put the Irish in his top ten a few weeks ago. His brother Sheldon plays basketball for Pitt, moving there from Vandy after he didn't get along with Vandy coach Kevin Stallings. Stallings was initially OK with Jeter's attempt to move closer to home but then blocked the transfer and declined to explain why; Sheldon ultimately spent a semester in JUCO so he could move on to Pitt. Who did Pitt just hire as their new men's basketball coach? Kevin Stallings. Pitt fans are beside themselves thinking that they'll lose both Jeters, and non-Pitt fans don't seem too impressed either. I love a good soap opera.

Dalyn Wade-Perry had some really good things to say about Notre Dame a month or two ago, but since then he picked up an offer from Florida that he called his "childhood dream" and this weekend he's at Ohio State's spring game. Things can change quickly, of course, but right now this is looking more and more like a bridesmaid situation.

Off the Board

Kurt Hinish is Irish!

Eric Crosby cut his list this week to Tennessee and Virginia Tech and will announce next Friday.

Philip Paea committed to Michigan.

Defensive End
Score	Player	State	Ht/Wt.	Temperature	1*	2*	3*	4*	5*
.987	Joshua Kaindoh	FL	6-6/250	Mild
.983	Jarez Parks	FL	6-5/255	Cold
.978	Robert Beal	GA	6-4/230	Cool
.972	Chase Young	MD	6-5/220	Cool
.959	Zachary Carter	FL	6-5/240	Cool
.933	Ryan Johnson	AL	6-3/253	Cold
.931	Jordan Williams	VA	6-5/245	Mild
.928	LaBryan Ray	AL	6-4/270	Cold
.924	Corey Malone-Hatcher	MI	6-3/246	Mild
.923	Deonte Johnson	CA	6-5/240	Cool
.931	Jordan Williams	VA	6-5/245	Mild
.922	Hunter Echols/b>	CA	6-4/220	Mild

Entering the Field

Ryan Johnson added a Notre Dame offer a few weeks ago, and since then has also picked up offers from USC, TCU, and Arkansas. Alabama and Auburn will work hard to keep Johnson in state; keep an eye on Stanford too, where Johnson just visited.

Showing their ambition and optimism know no bounds, the Irish staff also offered LaBryan Ray, another Alabaman that Auburn and Alabama are chasing. These guys have moxie... Ray is visiting Mississippi State this weekend. He tweeted that he was "blessed" to receive the Notre Dame offer, but I'll believe there's traction when he sets up a visit.

UCLA commit Hunter Echols picked up a Notre Dame offer and immediately gushed about the Irish. He also released a top ten on Twitter that included Notre Dame and said he wants to set up an official visit to Michigan - did I mention he's committed to UCLA? Recruiting is a funny business. As of right now he'll take all his officials, and there's a good chance Notre Dame will be one of the visitees.

In Play

Josh Kaindoh is on campus as we speak to take in the Blue-Gold game. Kaindoh is easily the headliner of the recruiting weekend, as the #26 overall player and #1 WDE by the 247 Composite. This visit will essentially determine how serious a player Notre Dame is for Kaindoh's services, so, yeah, it's pretty big. He's close with former IMG teammates Spencer Perry and Tony Jones, which certainly can't hurt; as an early enrollee of course Perry is on campus already, but unfortunately Jones is not on the visitor list. Kaindoh will visit Ohio State after stopping by Notre Dame, which is a similarly important visit for the Buckeyes. Maryland (his home state) and Penn State are also very much in play.

Jarez Parks is a track and field athlete, but he's not sprinting anywhere... He just hit 59'7" in the shot and 190'1" in the discus. Not to shabby. The Irish don't really have any traction here, though, and in fact I doubt he'll leave the state of Florida.

Robert Beal just visited Alabama and came away very impressed. As we've noted before, the odds of him returning to the fold to Notre Dame are astronomically small at this point and likely shrinking.

Chase Young cut his list to 15 last week - although is it really "cutting" the list if you have to take off your shoes to count who's still on it? Food for thought. Anyway, Notre Dame made his top 15 and has a decent chance to get a visit from him at some point.Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Zachary Carter just visited Clemson and will be at Ole Miss this weekend. He has been complimentary towards Notre Dame in the past but it hasn't gone beyond that; I get the sense that we need a visit this summer to stay relevant here.

Jordan Williams will try to get out to Notre Dame this summer, according to ISD. He also release a top nine on St. Paddy's Day that, of course, included the Irish.

Michigander Corey Malone-Hatcher, who seemingly has visited someone every other week, recently visited Michigan and Michigan State. Alabama is on the edge of the picture here too, but the smart money is on one of th Midwest schools landing him.

Notre Dame offered Deonte Johnson back in February, and while he said some great things then he has yet to set anything up. USC just offered the Sacramento prospect, which is a development that bears watching.

Logan Rudolph has a phenomenal offer list that's way out of whack with his rankings, as we mentioned last time. He was going to be at Notre Dame for the Blue-Gold game; as it turns out, the South Carolina resident just picked up a Clemson offer and now the Notre Dame visit has been postponed. The plot thickens.

Off the Board

Jaelan Phillips, as expected, committed to UCLA.