Tag: Football

Notre Dame Football: Three-Star CB Caleb Offord Signs with Irish

Offord is a three-star recruit from Mississippi and listed at 6-1, 180 pounds. He chose Notre Dame’s offer over those from Oklahoma, Arkansas, Duke and Kentucky.

Caleb Offord was one of four defensive backs to sign their National Letter of Intent to Notre Dame on Wednesday, adding depth to a unit that figures to be incredibly strong heading into the 2020 season.

Offord is a three-star recruit from Mississippi and listed at 6-1, 180 pounds. He chose Notre Dame’s offer over those from Oklahoma, Arkansas, Duke and Kentucky.

The Southaven, Mississippi native originally committed to Notre Dame on the Fourth of July this past summer and checks in as the 37th rated cornerback nationally and 13th best prospect in Mississippi this year according to 247Sports.

Offord intercepted seven passes between his junior and senior high school football seasons and recorded 66 tackles in that time.

Offord becomes Notre Dame’s first commitment from Mississippi during Brian Kelly’s ten years as head coach.

Notre Dame Football: Four-Star DE Rylie Mills Signs with Irish

The four-star recruit chose Notre Dame over other midwestern powers Ohio State, Wisconsin, Alabama and LSU among very many others.

 

Lake Forest, Illinois product and 6-5, 275 pound defensive end Rylie Mills signed his National Letter of Intent on Wednesday and is headed to Notre Dame.

The four-star recruit chose Notre Dame over other midwestern powers Ohio State, Wisconsin, Alabama and LSU among very many others.

Mills will enroll early at Notre Dame and will likely not play in more than four games next season in order to preserve a year of eligibility.

He ranks as the ninth best strong-side defensive end per Rivals and is the fourth-rated player in this years class from the state of Illinois.

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Mills attended the same high school as Notre Dame assistant coach Tommy Rees and has trained under former Irish linebacker Kerry Neal for sometime.

Recapping Texas’ national signing day

Going into today, Texas had 16 commitments. None of them flipped, making the Longhorns a perfect 16 for 16 on National Signing Day.

Going into today, Texas had 16 commitments. None of them flipped, making the Longhorns a perfect 16 for 16 on National Signing Day. While there may have been some other distractions, it was still an overall good day for the Longhorns. They finished in the top 10 of the 247Sports rankings, coming in at No. 10. As for ranking in the Big 12, Texas beat Oklahoma by one spot for the best 2020 class in the conference.

Here is a recap of Texas’ national signing day:

Five-star recruits

RB Bijan Robinson

Four-star recruits

QB Hudson Card, ATH Ja’Quinden Jackson, DT Vernon Broughton, OLB Prince Dorbah, S Xavion Alford, CB Kitan Crawford, S Jerrin Thompson, C Jake Majors, OT Jaylen Garth, WR Troy Omeire, G Logan Parr, T Andrej Karic

Three-star recruits

ATH Jaden Hullaby, WR Dajon Harrison, DT Sawyer Goram-Welch

The name to get most excited about is Bijan Robinson. In his high school career, he rushed for over 7,000 yards and scored over 100 touchdowns over four years. He had 35+ touchdowns in his final two seasons, reaching as high as 38 in his senior year. This season, the Longhorns struggled with depth in the running back room and Robinson will instantly make an impact in Austin.

Two other names to keep an eye out for are Hudson Card and Ja’Quinden Jackson. Card is a dual-threat quarterback from Austin, while Jackson is listed as an athlete on 247Sports. Jackson played quarterback in high school for Duncanville High School. Both of these guys will have a great opportunity to take over after Sam Ehlinger’s final season as quarterback.

It was a big day on the offensive line, signing four different four-star prospects. All from the state of Texas, Jaylen Garth and Andrej Karic come in as tackles, while Jake Majors is a center, and Logan Parr is a guard. With two seniors leaving on the offensive line after this season, one of these players may have a chance to start right away for the Longhorns.

Texas now focuses its attention on the bowl game, where they will play Utah in the Alamo Bowl. You can catch the game on New Year’s Eve at 6:30 p.m. CST on ESPN.

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Recruiting rankings as we close out a busy Early Signing Day

Here are the 10 best performing teams this signing day.

Wednesday marked the first official day of college football’s early National Signing Day, and it was a wild one.

The Georgia Bulldogs placed 4th on the 2020 recruit signee list, for 247 Sports.  Kirby Smart and the Georgia coaching staff did exceptionally well at locking down the future of Bulldog football.

Here is a list of the ten schools who did the best in today’s recruiting mayhem.

1. Clemson – (6 5-stars, 11 4-stars, 6 3-stars)

2. Alabama – (3 5-stars, 18 4-stars, 4 3-stars)

3. Ohio State – (2 5-stars, 15 4-stars, 9 3-stars)

4. Georgia – (2 5-stars, 14 4-stars, 3 3-stars)

5. LSU – (2 5-stars, 13 4-stars, 6 3-stars)

6. Texas A&M – (1 5-star, 12 4-stars, 9 3-stars)

7. Auburn – (1 5-star, 12 4-stars, 10 3-stars)

8. Florida – (0 5-stars, 16 4-stars, 7 3-stars)

9. Notre Dame – (2 5-stars, 7 4-stars, 9 3-stars)

10. Texas – (1 5-star, 12 4-stars, 3 3-stars)

The list of ten consists of six SEC teams, three of which Georgia will face in 2020 (Florida, Auburn, Alabama).

Georgia will play against 7 teams next year in the top 25 for 2020 recruiting.

Notable Dawgs rivals on the list of 25 include Tennessee (0 5-stars, 12 4-stars, 10 3-stars) at #15, South Carolina (1 5-star, 7 4-stars, 13 3-stars) at #16, Kentucky (0 5-stars, 4 4-stars, 16 3-stars) at #23 and Georgia Tech (0 5-stars, 6 4-stars, 18 3-stars) at #24.

What a start for the Bulldogs in a recruiting battle that has only just begun.

 

Notre Dame Football: Four-Star OT Tosh Baker Signs with Irish

The monsterous Baker commited to Brian Kelly’s Fighting Irish squad back in May and is ranked by 247Sports as the 67th best prospect in the country and third best offensive tackle in the entire class.

Longtime Notre Dame commit Tosh Baker was among the future Fighting Irish that made things official by signing his National Letter of Intent this morninig.

The monsterous Baker commited to Brian Kelly’s Fighting Irish squad back in May and is ranked by 247Sports as the 67th best prospect in the country and third best offensive tackle in the entire class.

Baker chose Notre Dame while having offers from many of the biggest programs in college football including Alabama, Auburn, Miami, Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oregon, Texas, USC and plenty of others.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s594F4s21jE&w=560&h=315]

The Scottsdale, Arizona product checks in at 6-8, 275 pounds.  You can catch Baker in action on January 4 when he will participate in the annual All-American Bowl in San Antonio.

Notre Dame Football: Five-Star Receiver Jordan Johnson Signs with Irish

With the playmakers in this class you can easily see why this recruiting class is expected to be much more impactful for Notre Dame than some of the ranking spots it has received.

Notre Dame swing for the fences and hit an absolutely mammoth home run in this recruiting cycle when Jordan Johnson’s National Letter of Intent arrived Wednesday.

Johnson, a St. Louis product is a five-star recruit and the most highly-regarded receiver Notre Dame has landed during Brian Kelly’s ten years at the helm.

Johnson had 26 different offers and some thought he may explore elsewhere after Chip Long’s departure but that proved to not be the case Wednesday.

Alabama, Auburn, Florida, LSU, Michigan, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, Texas A&M, USC and Wisconsin were just a few of the traditional powers to offer Johnson.

His junior highlights are a bit old by now but these are the best compilation of Johnson’s work I could find.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmD5pi3HcAE&w=560&h=315]

I can’t put into words how big of a get this is for Brian Kelly and his staff.  247Sports ranks Johnson as the highest recruit that Notre Dame has landed since Michael Floyd in 2008 and the third best since 2000, with only Duval Kamara also being ranked ahead of him.

Couple him with Tyree and Notre Dame has their second and third offensive skill position players to sign on with Notre Dame and come with a five-star ranking since Brian Kelly took over in 2010.

With the playmakers in this class you can easily see why this recruiting class is expected to be much more impactful for Notre Dame than some of the ranking spots it has received.

Bijan Robinson officially signs for the Longhorns

It has been a long time coming for Texas fans, as five-star RB Bijan Robinson has officially signed. Robinson will make an instant impact.

It has been a long time coming for Longhorn fans, as five-star running back Bijan Robinson has officially signed his national letter of intent to join Texas. Robinson has been verbally committed since early August and is the 13th highest-rated recruit the Longhorns have landed in their history according to 247Sports.

The 6 foot, 200 pound running back is from Salpointe Catholic High School in Tuscon, AZ. 247Sports has Robinson as the second-best running back in the 2020 class, only behind Zachary Evans of Houston, TX. Robinson was also considering Ohio State and USC but stuck with his commitment to Texas.

Robinson’s numbers in high school were insane. He has rushed for 2,000 yards in three consecutive seasons, totaling at 7,036 yards over four years. Not only did he get yards, but he put the ball in the endzone. In his senior season, Robinson had 38 rushing touchdowns and had 103 in four years.

Texas had some problems at running back this season, with players at the position being injured all year. Freshman Roschon Johnson, who came in as the third-string quarterback, ended up getting a decent amount of snaps in the backfield. With Robinson coming in, he is expected to make an instant impact and make the position group one of the best in the conference.

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WATCH: Tom Herman sparks some controversy with a camera

It has been a good day for Texas as they are having a successful NSD. Before the day had even started, Tom Herman started some controversy.

It has been a good day for the Longhorns as they are having a successful early signing period National Signing Day. Before the day had even started, Head Coach Tom Herman started some controversy.

During Longhorn Network’s signing day coverage, they set up a camera in a meeting room. The TV broadcast switched to that camera and caught Herman flipping it off with both hands. After a few gestures towards the camera, he quickly crossed his arms and acted like nothing happened.

You can watch the video here:

As usual, Herman is picking up a lot of grief for this act. It is possible that he had no idea that the camera was live and was just having some fun. Other people in the room seem to be laughing with Herman, not taking the incident too seriously.

Despite all of this, Texas has had a great day. They have signed 15 prospects this far, with all but one of their previous commitments signing their national letter of intent. All that remains in five-star running back Bijan Robinson, who is expected to sign with the Longhorns later today.

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Notre Dame Football: DT Aidan Keanaaina Signs with Irish

Keanaaina chose Notre Dame over offers from the likes of Florida, Michigan, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State and USC among others.

Notre Dame continued to see the signed letters of intent pour in Wednesday as Aidan Keanaaina of Denver’s was the sixth to arrive.

Keanaaina is a defensive tackle and is listed as three-star recruit on 247Sports.

Keanaaina chose Notre Dame over offers from the likes of Florida, Michigan, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State and USC among others.

The 6-3, 292 pound defensive tackle will participate in the Polynesian Bowl on January 18, a game you can watch on CBS Sports Network.

Notre Dame Football: Cornerback Landon Bartleson Signs with Irish

Bartleson is listed at 6-1, 182 pounds and originally committed to Notre Dame back in June of this year.

Signee number four of Wednesday morning was three-star cornerback Landon Bartleson of Danville, Kentucky (Boyle County High School).

Bartleson chose Notre Dame over the likes of Kentucky, Louisville, Michigan and Colorado.

If you’d like to see his speed on display the best example of that would be this touchdown run early this past September.

Bartleson is listed at 6-1, 182 pounds and originally committed to Notre Dame back in June of this year.