Tag: notre dame fighting irish recruiting

Rees behind recruitment of ‘23 WR Tate

Notre Dame offensive coordinator Tommy Rees has been leading the charge of 2023 Illinois star wide receiver Carnell Tate.

When Tommy Rees was elevated to offensive coordinator prior to the Irish’s Camping World Bowl game, many wondered how the former Notre Dame signal caller would do calling games and behind the scenes with recruiting.

The jury is still out on Rees’ play calling but he was instrumental in the recruitment of Tyler Buchner, who at the time had yet to be elevated to his new position when he committed. Rees has also been credited with offensive guard Rocco Spindler, wide receiver Lorenzo Styles Jr., and tight end’s Cane Berrong and Mitchell Evans as a major factor in their recruitments. For the 2022 class, Rees has already made a big impact with instate tackle Joey Tanona commitment.

Looking one more class ahead to 2023, Rees is putting his stamp on Illinois wide receiver Carnell Tate. Tate was interviewed by Fighting Irish Wire, and he let us know that Rees has been leading the charge in his recruitment.

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“Tommy Rees reached out to me, I’ve seen him before like right after our season, in the hallways at school. We talked a little,” is what Tate told me. A freshman with the talent that Tate has sure got Rees’ attention and the ensuing offer was made.

Tate is looking for a place that feels like home, and hopefully when Tate gets a chance to visit South Bend it reminds him of Marist High School (a private Catholic school). Tate did mention he could commit early, but is going to “be patient with his commitment.”

The sophomore is working hard to get better and that’s a very scary for opposing defenses. Tate wants to get a few more offers as he said Georgia, Ohio State, Alabama and Penn State are some he would like to get in the future. If he continues his current trajectory, Tate will have those offers in hand shortly. Hopefully, it won’t matter and we will see Tate wearing Blue and Gold in the future with Rees leading his recruitment.

WATCH FIW Exclusive: Interview with Carnell Tate

Notre Dame offered ‘23 star wide receiver Carnell Tate and our own Mike Chen got a chance to speak with him about the Irish offer.

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The Notre Dame staff seemingly was focused to get started on the 2022 recruiting class on Tuesday, the first day the NCAA allowed teams to expand contact to direct messages, text messages and mailers. That didn’t stop them from looking even farther ahead and an offer went out to Illinois wide receiver Carnell Tate.

Carnell is an exceptional young man, with a very bright future ahead of him. He is going to be one of the most sought after receivers in the 2022 class, picking up yet another offer from West Virginia yesterday. I got the chance to speak with the Tate yesterday, check out the interview above.

 

Could another Styles be headed to Notre Dame?

The Fighting Irish coaching staff are trying to have Sonny Styles, young brother to commit Lorenzo, join him in South Bend.

The Fighting Irish already have secured a commitment from one Pickerington Central star in Lorenzo Styles Jr. and there is plenty to be excited about his pledge. There could be another Styles on the way to South Bend as Lorenzo’s younger brother, Sonny was offered by Brian Kelly and his staff on the first of the month.

After watching Lorenzo’s highlights from their season opening win, I thought they could be making a move on the younger Styles soon. That’s exactly what happened as Sonny put on a show during a nationally televised game.

The Irish joined instate powerhouse Ohio State in offering the star sophomore, and once again more flip ideas went into many peoples minds. The Buckeyes have done well keeping the best talent in state, but the Irish are one of the very few schools that can pull elite talent out of Ohio. Recently, Notre Dame has pulled offensive lineman Zeke Correll, Tommy Kraemer and Liam Eichenberg away from their home state to play for the Blue and Gold.

Rivals once again revisited Lorenzo’s potential for a flip and both of their recruiting experts Mike Farrell and Adam Gorney don’t believe the Buckeyes will be able to. They actually see Michigan as Notre Dame’s biggest threat to flip Styles Jr., but I just don’t see that happening.

Back to Sonny, who seems to be on the verge of blowing up nationally, already with two Midwestern power programs after his pledge. Having a family member as a teammate is always something players will consider and when Lorenzo ultimately signs with the Irish, a build in recruiting advantage will be made.

The recruitment of Sonny is just beginning, but already having a relationship with the Styles family, father Lorenzo played for the Buckeyes, is an advantage that Kelly must take. Lorenzo Jr. is already asking Irish Nation to show his younger brother some love. The Irish coaching staff has already done that and hopefully they will once again be reunited on the field wearing the same colors.

Notre Dame Football: Irish offer 5-Star corner Lukus

The Irish go out to South Carolina and offer elite cornerback Jeadyn Lukus.

Brian Kelly and his coaching staff have turned their attention to the 2022 recruiting class and are making a concerned effort to recruit some of the best prospects in the nation that fit the Notre Dame profile. Well, they found a good one in South Carolina’s cornerback Jeadyn Lukus who was offered yesterday.

Lukus has the prototypical modern corner frame at 6-foot-1-inch and 175-pounds and uses his elite frame to lock down opposing wide receivers. It’s not just Lukus’ coverage skills that stand out, he has a willingness to come up and make the big hit. Lukus’ is the compete package as an cornerback. You can watch Lukas’ highlights here.

It should come to no one’s surprise that Lukus’ is a nationally recruited prospect, as Notre Dame joined schools like Clemson, Alabama, Georgia, LSU and Ohio State. He is currently ranked as the 30th player nationally and the 6th corner in the country by the 247Sports composite rankings.

Recently committed linebacker Will Schweitzer has already put on his recruiting hat. Schweitzer just flipped his commitment to the Irish from Nebraska on August 16th, but already is using twitter to recruit for the Irish’s advantage.

This is the 12th offer to a true cornerback in the 2022 class. The Irish have just one commit on the defensive side of the ball, Nolan Ziegler a safety, who just committed over the weekend. The Irish have three total commits in the ‘22 class at the moment, ranking the 4th nationally, although it is very early in this cycle.

Notre Dame OT commit Fisher gets his 5th Star

The huge offensive tackle has moved up in Rivals rankings and was awarded a 5th start his morning.

The Irish scored a huge recruiting win when the best prospect in Indiana, offensive tackle Blake Fisher, decided to stay home and play football in South Bend. Fisher has been at the cusp of adding one more star next to his name and this morning that became a reality.

The designation for Fisher is a huge accomplishment. Rivals only has twenty total 5-Star prospects in the 2021 class and the mammoth tackle checks in as the 19th overall play in the nation. The 6-foot-6-inch and 330-pound lineman will arrive with extremely high expectations. There will be an opportunity for Fisher to contribute his freshman year as the offensive line will lose multiple players to graduation. Fisher is the highest ranked offensive line commit for the Irish since Tommy Kraemer signed in 2016.

Fisher could very well start his career at guard, as he has shown positional versatility which could help him get on the field very quickly. That will depend on how offensive line coach Jeff Quinn feels he fits best, but I’m sure that Quinn is just happy that Fisher will be wearing the Blue and Gold next year. We are all excited about Fisher’s potential, a well deserved congratulations to one of the best players, not just lineman, in the country.

Notre Dame gets a commit from ‘22 safety Ziegler

The Irish stay hot on the recruiting trail, grabbing a commit from safety Nolan Ziegler of Michigan.

The Irish continue to stay hot on the recruiting trail, especially in the 2022 class. They added safety/linebacker Nolan Ziegler from Michigan, as the ’22 class went from zero commits to three in just under a month.

 

Ziegler is a great looking prospect for a safety, but with a frame like his at 6-foot-4-inches and 205-pounds, he eventually could move to a linebacker if he keeps his speed with some added weight. I love that he has a winning pedigree, as his Grand Rapids Central Catholic team won the state title last year. Ziegler makes plays all over the field, as he is moved around on defense, as an outside linebacker and a safety. It doesn’t end there as he also is fantastic as a gunner on special teams, which could get him on the field early when he arrives in South Bend. Watch here as Ziegler makes play after play during his sophomore year.

The Irish beat out instate Michigan, Iowa and Nebraska along with a few others for Ziegler’s commitment. It’s always nice to beat the Wolverines, wither it’s on the field or off it.

Ziegler becomes the third commit in the growing 2022 class, after getting commits from instate offensive tackle Joey Tanona and Georgia tight end Jack Nickel. The early three commits have the Notre Dame class ranked 4th overall by the 247Sports composite. This is a great start for Brian Kelly and his staff on the ‘22 class with the expectation that they will continue to keep up the good work.

Notre Dame gets defensive in ’22, offers North Carolina LB Hamrick

The Fighting Irish offer yet another class of ‘22 prospect, this time in North Carolina with linebacker Malaki Hamrick.

The Irish have narrowed in on some of the best prospects in the 2022 class and have been very active recently with dolling out offers. Another one when out to North Carolina outside linebacker Malaki Hamrick yesterday.

At the current moment Hamrick is ranked as the 142nd player in the 247Sports composite, while being the 12th rated outside linebacker. What’s intriguing about Hamrick is the potential versatility as his body matures. At 6-foot-4-inches and 200-pounds, Hamrick could eventually grown out of his current position and end up on the defensive line.

Either way, Brian Kelly and defensive coordinator Clark Lea want the talented defender. His stat line from his sophomore campaign is extremely impressive, amassing 129 tackles, taking down the quarterback 19 times, and getting 39 tackles for loss. You can watch is exploits right here.

The Irish are getting to Hamrick at the right time, his recruitment has yet to go national although he does report offers from North Carolina, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech and a few others. He was named as a MaxPreps Preseason Junior 2nd team All-American, so the talent is there. A great offer by Kelly and staff, which hopefully with catch the eye of the elite defender.

Notre Dame offers class of ’23 star DE Moore

The Fighting Irish get in the game early by offering rising-sophomore defensive end Jason Moore.

The Fighting Irish coaching staff has been hard at work on the recruiting trail recently, adding multiple commits and offering plenty of class of 2022 players. It was time to dip into the 2023 class as Maryland’s Jason Moore was offered by Brian Kelly and staff yesterday.

Moore is entering his sophomore year at powerhouse DeMatha Catholic and they know a thing or two about elite defensive ends, this past year’s number two overall draft pick Chase Young prepped there before heading off to Ohio State. At 6-foot-6-inches and 255-pounds, it seems like Moore could enroll in college now. The Irish joined LSU, Michigan, Penn State, USC and others for the underclassman’s verbal. He was recently ranked as the 24th best overall prospect in the country by 247Sports.

This is just the 6th offer the Irish have given out to player in the 2023 class, all on the defensive side. None of those players have yet to commit to the Irish at this early juncture in the class. The 2023 recruiting class seems very far away, but it’s great to see the Notre Dame coaching staff hard at working trying to get ahead of the game for these elite prospects.

Irish out to the east coast for newest ’22 offer

The Notre Dame coaching staff is hard at work with the 2022 recruiting class, offering jumbo athlete Ty Chan this morning.

It seems as if the Notre Dame coaching staff has turned their attention to the 2022 recruiting class, as they have been very busy with prospects on that side of the ball. On Monday, Brian Kelly and his staff offered two quarterbacks in this class and this morning after a talk with offensive line coach Jeff Quinn, an offer went out to Massachusetts’s jumbo athlete Ty Chan.

Chan has a fantastic frame, standing 6-foot-5-inches and weighing 265-pounds, with his versatility being a huge plus. What’s impressive is that Chan looks small and will be able to add more weight while keeping his athleticism. When you recruit a player like Chan, you get him on campus and figure out what position he plays later . With coach Quinn leading the charge on his recruitment, look for Chan to start on the offensive side of the line if he become’s part of the Notre Dame family.

Chan had offers from Nebraska and Penn State prior to getting the Irish offer this morning. Although the state of Massachusetts isn’t a football hotbed, they still produce a decent amount of talent, freshman wide receiver Jay Brunelle hails from the state. Look for Chan’s recruitment to heat up in the coming months.

Right now, Notre Dame has two commits in the ’22 class, instate offensive tackle Joey Tanona and Georgia tight end Jack Nickel. The two of them give the Irish at top 10 class, 8th overall by the 247Sports composite, at this early juncture in the 2022 recruiting cycle.

Scout’s view: Newest Notre Dame commit LB Will Schweitzer

Take a look at what can be expected in the future out of the Irish’s newest commit, linebacker Will Schweitzer.

The Notre Dame Football coaching staff realized there was a need at linebacker and have quickly made up for lost time. First it was Prince Kollie from Tennessee and today they got the spatula out and flipped former Nebraska commit Will Schweitzer.

Let’s take a look at what to expect out of the newest Irish commit Schweitzer.

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The first thing that jumps out is Schweitzer’s size, at 6-foot-4-inches and 220-pounds, he looks skinny with room to add good weight on. What I love is his versatility, being able to line up with one hand in the ground or roaming the middle of the field and just reacting to the play. Schweitzer shows a variety of moves from defensive end, often going to his favorite spin move to elude offensive linemen. He plays sideline to sideline and when he matures and just focuses on defense (he plays tight end on offense), Schweitzer has a huge ceiling. He reads plays well and has an endless motor, Schweitzer looks like a perfect hybrid outside linebacker, playing off the line when needed and rushing the passer on obvious situations.

Brian Kelly and defensive line coach Clark Lea got a good one Sunday night, filling a need at linebacker and adding to an impressive 2021 class. Schweitzer is the 18th total commit, putting the Irish class at 12th nationally according to the 247Sports composite.