Tag: Justin Walters

Notre Dame football: Rising junior safety no longer with program

All the best to him going forward!

Rising junior defensive back Justin Walters is no longer with the Notre Dame football program. Head coach Marcus Freeman made that announcement on Wednesday as the Irish opened spring practice.

Walters was a three-star recruit from Bolingbrook, Illinois, and part of the 2021 recruiting haul.  He announced his commitment to the Irish on Super Bowl Sunday in 2020.  He chose the Irish over offers from Cincinnati, Colorado, Duke, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Wisconsin and others.

Walters played in five games during his two years at Notre Dame.  He totaled five tackles in those five games, four of which came as a freshman in 2021.

All the best to Justin in whatever he does next.

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Notre Dame defender returning for sixth season

At Notre Dame, this is called the Shaun Crawford plan.

Notre Dame is getting an added boost of experience in the secondary for 2023 as safety [autotag]D.J. Brown[/autotag] has announced he’s returning for his sixth and final season of eligibility.  Brown redshirted in 2018 and is exercising the extra year of eligibility granted to all players due to the COVID year of 2020 to make this possible.

Brown has three career interceptions, all of which came in the 2021 campaign.  He started 10 games for Notre Dame in 2022 and finished fourth on the team in tackles with 48.  Brown’s experience will at least aid Notre Dame in what happens at safety in 2023 after [autotag]Brandon Joseph[/autotag] declared for the NFL draft and Houston Griffith used up his remaining eligibility.

Brown brings experience to the position which juniors [autotag]Xavier Watts[/autotag] and [autotag]Ramon Henderson[/autotag] will also return to play.  [autotag]Thomas Harper[/autotag] transferred in from Oklahoma State last week to join the group while [autotag]Justin Walters[/autotag] returns as a sophomore in 2023 after not playing a single snap there as a true freshman.  Freshmen [autotag]Ben Minich[/autotag] and [autotag]Adon Shuler[/autotag] are set to join the safety group this coming season as well.

Enjoy some of the best photos from Brown’s first five years at Notre Dame below!

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Signed: Notre Dame safety Justin Walters

Illinois safety Justin Walters signs with Notre Dame.

Notre Dame has signed Illinois safety Justin Walters, six-foot-two-inches and 185-pounds.

247Sports composite ranking: 567

247Sports positional composite ranking: 45

Welcome to the Notre Dame family Justin!

Check out the Mount Rushmore of Notre Dame recruits!

Notre Dame recruit to skip senior football season

Justin Walters will enroll early at Notre Dame instead of playing high school football in Illinois this spring.

Some states plowed through the pandemic and allowed high school football to be played while others did not.

Illinois was one of those states and as hopeful, as some are that a spring season is able to be had there is certainly no guarantee to that happening.

Justin Walters is a Notre Dame commitment in it’s 2021 recruiting class and hails from Bolingbrook, Illinois and will not be playing high school football this spring, instead choosing to enroll in college early.

“It’s pretty sad, to be honest,” he added. “When my team was practicing this fall, I was out there with him but not actually participating because I’m not going to be there [in the spring].” – Justin Walters to Mike Singer of BGI

Singer’s piece also notes Walters plans to enroll at Notre Dame in early February.

Walters is one of 24 current commitments in the 2021 class that is large but still might not be quite complete.

It started with the pandemic in the spring but it only continues.  Whether a high school athlete is going on to play a sport in college or not, it’s a tough way to end their high school years without being able to play a sport that they have clearly enjoyed for so long.

Notre Dame football: Irish offer local ’21 prospect

Could Notre Dame have just extended a scholarship offer to their next commitment to the 2021 recruiting class?

Notre Dame has been riding a heater in the recruiting game of late, gaining four commitments over the last week as their 2021 class has climbed into the top ten nationally.

Now might Brian Kelly and the Irish be about to add 22nd commitment to that list?

That isn’t certain by any means but Notre Dame did extend another offer to a 2021 prospect on Sunday, extending an offer to JoJo Johnson of Merrillville, Indiana.

Johnson is listed as a wide receiver on 247Sports but Notre Dame would be looking for him to be a defensive back.

Johnson is listed at 5-11, 180 pounds and is graded as a three-star prospect.

Johnson has 16 offers, largely from MAC schools like Northern Illinois, Ball State, Central Michigan, Miami (OH), Toledo and Western Michigan.

Big Ten schools Iowa, Michigan State and Purdue have all offered as well Cincinnati, Washington State, and a handful of others.

Related:  Meet Notre Dame’s 2021 Recruiting Class Commitments

Notre Dame’s 2021 recruiting class currently has four defensive backs committed in Philip Riley, Ryan Barnes, Chance Tucker and Justin Walters.

Notre Dame Recruiting update: Two new commits, Styles Jr. falls short and more

A look at the latest recruiting news for Notre Dame Football.

We are back to look at the week that was in Notre Dame recruiting. Already this week there has been plenty of action, from Philip Riley committing back into the 2021 class, the addition of 2021 elite kicker Josh Bryan but that’s not all that has been happening. The Irish have made it to later stages of a few elite players recruitments, multiple preferred walk-on spots offered and more. Also, stay tuned for a Fighting Irish Wire exclusive interview with 2021 offensive line commit Pat Coogan tomorrow.

Notre Dame Football: Meet the 2021 Recruiting Commitments

Find out more about Notre Dame’s stars of tomorrow right here in the 2021 recruiting class commitments!

Notre Dame had big dreams of their 2021 recruiting class and despite not hitting a home run on their most desired playmaker and one of the nation’s top receivers dropping his commitment, the Fighting Irish still stand in pretty good shape.

The Irish have 20 commitments in the 2021 class and are ranked 11th nationally according to 247Sports. Although it’s not what Brian Kelly had in mind when he stated his goal was to land a class in the top five, it’s one with a bunch of high-side potential players who offer a lot of versatility where they can line up.

Here are the commitments in Notre Dame’s 2021 recruiting class. Be sure to check back often and see who has been added or removed themselves from the list.

Midweek Recruiting Update: Johnson offer, latest on Colzie, and more

A look at the latest recruiting news for Notre Dame Football.

It’s safe to say that it’s been fairly quiet on the recruiting trail for the Irish. The coaching staff changed that last night, as they offered Northwestern commit Theran Johnson.

The instate cornerback has been committed to the ‘Cats since May 3 of this year, Johnson is a very solid prospect. He stands six-feet tall and weights 170-pounds. The offer should catch Johnsons attention as aside from Northwestern, every other one of his offers are from non-Power Five schools.

I love this offer, Johnson is a player that might take some time to develop, but getting some of the better talent in Indiana to play for the Irish is a positive development. Almost all of the top 25 players in the state are heading off to a Power Five team, the Irish only have a commit from Blake Fisher. Yes, he’s a big one, literally and figuratively, the top overall player in the state.

Looking ahead at what’s to come for the Irish, the potential for Georgia wide receiver Deion Colzie to rejoin the class is looking better and better as we inch towards his commitment date on the 28th of this month.

Tom Loy, of Irish Illustrated, changed his crystal ball pick to the Irish. That gives me a ton of confidence that as of right now, Colzie is trending to rejoining Lorenzo Styles Jr. as the wide receivers in the 2021 class.

Right now the class consists of nine players on offense: quarterback Tyler Buchner, running back Logan Diggs, Styles Jr., Fisher, offensive tackle Joe Alt, guard Rocco Spindler, center Pat Coogan and tight end’s Mitchell Evans and Cane Berrong.

The defensive commits are a group of nine as well: defensive tackle Gabriel Rubio, defensive ends David Abiara and Jason Onye, linebackers Prince Collie and Will Schweitzer, and defensive backs Philip Riley, Ryan Barnes, Chance Tucker and Justin Walters.

The group of 18 players ranks 12th at ESPN, 13th at 247Sports and 11th at Rivals. Brian Kelly has a solid group of three players committed in the 2022 class: offensive tackle Joey Tanona, tight end Jack Nickel and safety Nolan Ziegler.

It has been a bit slow, but with Colzie’s timeline to recommit set and spatula being brought out to flip Johnson, there could be some positive movement for the Irish. Stay tuned to Fighting Irish Wire for the latest in Notre Dame Football recruiting.

Notre Dame’s new position coach who is crushing recruiting

Mike Mickens was a relative unknown when he was hired by Brian Kelly this winter but has already made a huge impact in the recruiting game.

Raise your hand if you knew anything about Mike Mickens when news came down back at the start of the new year that former Notre Dame star and secondary coach Todd Lyght was leaving his post.

Currently in the room I type this in my eight month old daughter didn’t raise her hand and my arms both stayed by my side after typing that, too.

I’m not afraid to say I knew nothing about the former Cincinnati Bearcats star when his name began to get mentioned as a potential candidate to replace Lyght, but Mickens has shown early that just because he might not have brought the name brand that Lance Taylor brought when he took over the running backs, it doesn’t mean he can’t make an immediate impact.

A simple glance at Notre Dame’s 2021 recruiting class now shows 13 commitments with four of those coming in the secondary after Chance Tucker announced his college decision on Wednesday.

Along with Tucker you find four-star corner Philip Riley, three-star corner Ryan Barnes and three-star safety Justin Walters.  The corners were all offered by Mickens, who as Carter Karels of the South Bend Tribune points out, has had great success early in some incredibly unique times.

The numbers alone speak volumes but when you factor in the pandemic and official visits not taking place it only makes his start with the Fighting Irish coaching staff that much more impressive.

Mickens had quite the resume in the actual coaching part of the job at Cincinnati.  The Bearcats went from 113th nationally in defensive pass efficiency in 2017, a year before his arrival.  The last two seasons saw Cincinnati finish all the way to the top 15 nationally with Mickens coaching the cornerbacks.

There are obviously no guarantees that will automatically translate but based off of what we’ve seen Mickens accomplish in some of the strangest times any of us have ever seen, his time at Notre Dame is clearly off to an outstanding start.

Want to learn more about Mike Mickens?  Check out the five fast facts we found out about him upon his hiring at Notre Dame.

Recruiting: Irish in Georgia Star’s Top 10

Notre Dame recently offered a scholarship to a Georgian safety and have made it into his Top 10 schools going forward.

Although Georgia’s Kaleb Edwards was offered by Brian Kelly and Clark Lea just over two weeks ago, the safety likes what he sees from the Irish and included them in his newly released Top 10 schools.

Edwards is still keeping his options open, as he noted in his tweet, but making his top school list shortly after getting an Irish offer is a good sign going forward. The 6’0” and 195-pound defender does a bit of everything for his Dacula High School team, showing a variety of skills that have plenty of coaches excited for his future on the field.

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The Irish have done a good job recruiting Edwards and are in the mix for a commitment from the safety. The 2021 recruiting class has Illinois’ Justin Walters as the other safety commit, and if Kelly is able to convince Edwards to join, they would make a great pair of prospects to arrive in South Bend next year.