Tag: Joey Tanona

Report: LSU pushing Purdue for Notre Dame offensive line transfer

Joey Tanona medically retired in 2022, but the former four-star recruit is attempting a comeback.

The Tigers are likely to take a more conservative strategy this offseason as it relates to the transfer portal than they have the last two years, but there are still some portal players they’re trying to land.

One of them is [autotag]Joey Tanona[/autotag], a former Notre Dame offensive lineman whom [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] recruited to South Bend. A former four-star prospect in the class of 2022, the Zionsville, Indiana, native never appeared in a game for the Fighting Irish.

He medically retired in August 2022 as a result of a car accident on the way to a workout, but now after missing the last two seasons, he’s attempting a comeback.

Tanona entered the transfer portal, and in-state Purdue is the favorite having received a Crystal Ball projection from 247Sports’ Steve Wiltfong on Monday morning.

However, Wiltfong would later report that LSU is in the mix for Tanona as well, and while he still likes the Boilermakers, there could be a surprise in store here.

Tanona will have three remaining years of eligibility at his next stop and will have a decent chance to petition the NCAA for a fourth year, given the fact that he has never played in a collegiate game.

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Notre Dame football: The Joey Tanona news just sucks

Unreached potential is always sad but when it happens for no reason other than bad luck it especially sucks. All the best going forward, @JoeyTanona.

Unreached potential in life has always been one of the saddest things I’ve thought you can think about.  It only gets that much sadder when the potential doesn’t get reached due to the fault of literally no-one and instead it’s simply stolen from somebody.

That’s the case with Notre Dame freshman offensive lineman [autotag]Joey Tanona[/autotag].

Or as he unfortunately now is, former Notre Dame freshman offensive lineman Joey Tanona.

Tanona’s college football career is over before it really ever got going.  The interior offensive lineman was ranked as a top 75 recruit nationally by On3 in  the most recent completed recruiting cycle, and all because of a random car accident that could have happened to literally anyone, his college football career is over as he’s decided to retire due to medical concerns.

But that recruiting ranking listed above doesn’t matter.  It would be awful news if he was the nation’s top ranked recruit and had 75-plus scholarship offers just as it’d be terrible if he was a preferred walk-on.

Or if he didn’t receive any scholarship offers to play football and was playing at the Division III level.

Tanona chose to go to Notre Dame at least in part because of the opportunity “to run out of that tunnel” as “Rudy” said in 1993 and now he’ll never get that  chance as an active player.

He won’t get four or five years of a college football career that he was gifted enough to earn, but unfortunate enough to have taken away for no reason other than bad luck.

He and his parents will never experience a senior day moment looking back at his four years wearing a gold helmet.

NFL dreams?  You can unfortunately cross those off, too.

Go ahead discuss what it means for Notre Dame’s future on the offensive line and I understand how and why many people’s minds go there, but to me I just can’t get over how unfair of news this to hear about a young man who is still a couple years from being able to legally purchase an alcoholic beverage.

All the best in whatever life brings going forward, Joey.  It’s not fair as a whole and I’m sure you’re aware right now but I have a funny feeling that you’re going to succeed in whatever avenue you pursue.

And I’m guessing I won’t be the only complete stranger rooting like all hell for you.

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Notre Dame offensive lineman Joey Tanona medically retires

Tough break for the freshman.

Sometimes, life just isn’t fair. Notre Dame freshman offensive lineman [autotag]Joey Tanona[/autotag] has learned that the hard way this year. This past offseason, Tanona was in a very bad car accident. Now, we’ve learned that the concussion he suffered in that accident was bad enough that he has been forced to medically retire from football.

The decision was not for a lack of effort as [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] said Tanona attempted to get back into playing shape. However, it just wasn’t to be as Freeman alluded to in his comments:

“Mentally and physically, he was not in a place where he was ready to play football. He decided to medically retire. He will still be here to get his degree. That’s the greatest thing about this place. We can guarantee one thing – that at some point, the game of football is going to be over. But you have a chance to get a degree from this university and you a chance to be successful. He’s in good spirits.”

You never want to see someone’s college football career end before it even begins, but it’s something Tanona, a former four-star recruit and All-American Bowl selection, regrettably will have to live with. Luckily, as Freeman said, he will stick around to earn his degree from a prestigious university. No, it’s not exactly the same as being able to suit up for the Irish, but like every football player who graduates, that degree will have far more everlasting effects than anything that happens as a student-athlete.

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247Sports: Notre Dame in the mix for nations top 2023 offensive tackle

If Freeman and Hiestand pull this one off…. WOW

For many years the Irish held the mantle of [autotag]O-Line U[/autotag] and although recently there has been a slight lull in production, they could very well be taking back the title. On the current roster, three offensive linemen, tackles [autotag]Blake Fisher[/autotag] and [autotag]Joe Alt[/autotag] along with center [autotag]Jarrett Patterson[/autotag] will be drafted high when they declare to the NFL.

Of the 2022 recruiting class, [autotag]Billy Schrauth[/autotag], [autotag]Joey Tanona[/autotag], [autotag]Ty Chan[/autotag] and [autotag]Aamil Wagner[/autotag] were some of the most highly thought of signees, each of them will start their careers on the o-line as well. The 2023 class already has commitments from [autotag]Sullivan Absher[/autotag] and [autotag]Sam Pendleton[/autotag], but [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] is still looking for the headliner of the offensive line.

Enter Massachusetts’ [autotag]Samson Okunlola[/autotag], a six-foot-six-inch and 295-pound future star. He’s viewed as a five-star prospect and 247Sports Brian Dohn believes that the Irish are one of the few teams that realistically have a shot at landing Okunlola’s eventual signature.

It won’t be easy for returning offensive line coach [autotag]Harry Hiestand[/autotag], as Penn State, Georgia, LSU, Ohio State, Michigan State, Michigan, Texas A&M, Oregon, Florida, and Pittsburgh were also mentioned as potential destinations for Okunlola as well.

Dohn, however gives the Irish a fighting chance, due to “the academics, the idea of what the degree means on a national level after graduation and playing at a prestigious school are all things that could resonate” with the mammoth tackle. What isn’t in the Irish’s favor however was that Okunlola has very to visit South Bend and didn’t stop by during his spring visit to the Midwest.

As Dohn mentions that Okunlola will take visits later in the year and most likely very few will be during the season due to his high school playing all their games on Saturday’s. Either way, Freeman and Hiestand are in for quite a battle for the tackles eventual signature, but one where they currently are seen as having a legit shot at.

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Notre Dame lineman recovering from ‘terrible accident’

Thankfully this scary situation wasn’t even more serious.

Notre Dame freshman offensive lineman [autotag]Joey Tanona[/autotag] is lucky to be in the condition he’s in, all things considered.  Tanona has missed time this spring and after offensive line coach [autotag]Harry Hiestand[/autotag] spoke following Thursday’s practice, we know things could have been even worse.

Tanona was part of a car accident that Hiestand called “really freaky – scary”.

“It’s a blessing that he’s just dealing with what he’s dealing with and it wasn’t worse.  It was a terrible accident.  I saw a picture of the car.  It was terrible.”

Tanona was being driven to one of Notre Dame’s morning spring practices by his sister when the passenger side that he was reclined and sleeping in was run into by another vehicle.

Tanona was a mid-year enrollee at Notre Dame this year as his freshman year is already underway.  He was rated as a four-star recruit by 247Sports and is homegrown of sorts, coming from Zionsville high school in Indiana.

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Notre Dame commitment card: Joey Tanona

Homegrown!

Notre Dame wasn’t able to hold onto every 2022 recruiting class commitment after the sudden departure of Brian Kelly from the program just a few short weeks ago but they held onto the majority as the early signing period began on Wednesday.

Notre Dame’s advanced media team knocked it out of the park with their videos of each player this year as cameos are made from former Notre Dame star football players, professional wrestlers, reality TV personalities, and plenty more before Marcus Freeman ultimately delivers the good news for Irish fans.

Here are some fast-facts about offensive lineman Joey Tanona Jayden Bellamy, who was the fifth Notre Dame player to send his national letter of intent in on Wednesday:

Name: Joey Tanona
Position: Offensive Tackle
High School: Zionsville, Indiana
Size: 6-5, 280 pounds
Stars: Four stars on both 247Sports and Rivals
Rankings: 131 nationally, 13 position, 2 in-state
Original Commitment Date: July 25, 2020

Related:  Notre Dame football 2022 recruiting class tracker

Notre Dame football signee tracker: Who has officially joined the 2022 class

Check back for more updates on the Notre Dame signees

Today is the day when the majority of prospects from the 2022 class will make their final decisions on what school they will attend this coming fall. The Irish head into the early signing period with a Top-10 class and most likely some expected drama. Take a look below for the players who have sent their signatures to South Bend and officially joined the Notre Dame football team. (This will be updated as the day goes on.)

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Quick Notre Dame Football recruiting update

The Irish were active this past week on the recruiting trail

A commitment this week as 2023 Florida running back Sedrick Irvin Jr. made the pledge yesterday to the Irish. It now makes five total commits in the ‘23 class, one that is looking very impressive at this early state.

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There wasn’t too much action on the 2022 side, as the Irish have 21 total commits, which ranks as the 2nd best class in the country according to the 247Sports composite rankings. Find out below the most recent action in Irish recruiting.

 

Where Notre Dame commits landed on ESPN’s updated recruit rankings

There’s a lot of names on this list

The summer camp circuit is pretty much over and it has given plenty of new eyes on players. Recently, ESPN has updated their recruiting rankings for the top-300 players in the country. Find out below where the 2022 Notre Dame commits landed in their newest rankings update.

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Notre Dame adds another offensive lineman to 2022 recruiting class

Another offensive lineman added to the 2022 Irish recruiting class

The Irish have added another player to their number two rated 2022 recruiting class as Ashton Craig made his pledge yesterday.

The instate tackle is the third commit on the offensive line, following Joey Tanona and Ty Chan. At six-foot-six-inches and 283-pounds, Craig brings a huge frame to the Notre Dame family. He held over 20 other offers, selecting the Irish over the likes of Northwestern, Florida State, Michigan, Baylor and others.

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The pledge by Craig keeps the Irish’s recruiting ranking extremely high, just one spot behind Ohio State for the top overall class in the country according to the 247Sports composite rankings. Stay tuned to Fighting Irish Wire as we will have an exclusive interview with Craig’s Lawrenceburg high school head coach Ryan Knigga in the coming days.