Tag: Notre Dame recruiting

Four-star receiver recruit Micah Gilbert picks Notre Dame

Make that three solid receivers in the 2024 recruiting class.

It wasn’t really a surprise, but it was nice to hear nonetheless. Four-star receiver [autotag]Micah Gilbert[/autotag] of Charlotte, North Carolina officially has become the third receiver of Notre Dame’s 2024 recruiting class, joining [autotag]Cam Williams[/autotag] and recent commit [autotag]Isiah Canion[/autotag]. Gilbert made the announcement live on 247Sports’ YouTube channel:

By the time Gilbert announced his commitment date, it was clear that he was going to select Notre Dame. All 247Sports experts who made a prediction agreed in the days leading up to the announcement. Count this as another successful recruiting job by the tandem of [autotag]Gerad Parker[/autotag] and [autotag]Chansi Stuckey[/autotag]. They beat out heavy recruiting from Duke and North Carolina, which probably were seen as finalists in part because of their proximity to Gilbert.

It will be very interesting to watch [autotag]CJ Carr[/autotag] figure out how to balance throwing to the three-headed monster of Williams, Canion and Gilbert. This is the future of the Notre Dame program, and it’s looking very bright.

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Braeden Shrewsberry, Micah’s son, commits to Notre Dame

Gotta love family connections.

[autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag] barely has his feet wet as Notre Dame coach, but he might just have obtained the easiest commit he will ever get in the job. [autotag]Braeden Shrewsberry[/autotag], his son, committed to playing for his dad in South Bend. He made it official Monday:

With Shrewsberry‘s prep career having just finished, he will join the Irish immediately. That will be a welcome sign to a program simply looking for bodies to fill the roster for the upcoming season. Yes, he’s another guard, and the Irish are looking for size in the worst way, but the priority right now is filling out the roster.

247Sports ranks Shrewsberry sixth among Pennsylvania recruits in the 2023 recruiting class. In two years as a varsity player, he averaged 18.4 points, 5 rebounds and 3.7 assists a game. Before his dad left Penn State, it appeared he was heading there, but no more. He also received offers from Xavier, St. Joseph’s and George Washington.

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Notre Dame lands 2024 four-star receiver Isiah Canion

The 2024 corps is starting to take shape.

Finally, [autotag]Cam Williams[/autotag] has some receiver company in Notre Dame’s 2024 recruiting class. The Irish had taken an interest in [autotag]Isiah Canion[/autotag], who hails from Warner Robins, Georgia, and they officially extended him an offer in March. Since then, eight other schools have offered Canion, but 247Sports’ experts all had him picking the Irish earlier this week. Finally, the our-star recruit made it official:

So kudos to [autotag]Gerad Parker[/autotag] and [autotag]Chansi Stuckey[/autotag] for landing who now has to be the most athletic recruit in the Irish’s recruiting class. Canion also excels as a baseball player, and it will be very interesting to see if he joins the ranks of Notre Dame student-athletes who play more than one sport.

For now, the Irish can rest easy in knowing they’ve gotten Williams some help for when he arrives in South Bend. Additional help might come in the form of recruit Micah Gilbert in a few days. Oh, and Williams didn’t miss a beat in reacting to this news:

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Notre Dame defensive line target Bryce Young ready to commit

This would be an Irish legacy.

Notre Dame legacies are one of the greatest sources of pride for the university. The football team might be about to land a big one in Bryce Young, the son of Irish legend and Pro Football Hall of Famer [autotag]Bryant Young[/autotag]. Like his father before him, the younger Young is a defensive lineman, and he will announce his college decision Saturday. While USC, Michigan and Tennessee are finalists, many project him to pick to the Irish.

The similarities between Young and fellow Irish target Micah Gilbert don’t stop with who’s seeking their services. Both are four-star 2024 recruits, and both are teammates at Charlotte Christian in North Carolina. Additionally, Gilbert also is projected to pick the Irish when he makes his own decision next week.

Here’s hoping [autotag]Al Golden[/autotag] and [autotag]Al Washington[/autotag] did enough convincing to bring Young to the Irish. We don’t think our own John Kennedy would take him picking the Trojans very well. So for his sake and everyone else’s, we need common sense to prevail.

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Notre Dame To Wear Green vs. Ohio State: Right Idea, Wrong Delivery

Right size wrong shape

Notre Dame vs Ohio State in South Bend on a late September evening. If you are a college football fan who loves tradition, especially in the Midwest, this is about as good as it gets! This game will surely get the “ESPN Gameday” treatment, buildup, and time slot. Marcus Freeman against his Alma Mater at home. The juicy headlines practically write themselves.

As if this game wasn’t already big enough, on St. Patrick’s Day Notre Dame announced that the Irish would be wearing green jerseys for the game, ramping the emotion up even higher. While I love the green jersey angle, I think it is being applied incorrectly. Let’s discuss how and why.

Notre Dame guard JJ Starling transfers to Syracuse

There he goes.

The 2022-23 season was JJ Starling’s first for Notre Dame and also his last. One day after it was reported that the freshman was entering the transfer portal, a decision already is known. He told ESPN that he has committed to Syracuse, a longtime conference rival for the Irish.

Geographically, the move makes sense for Starling, who is from the Syracuse suburb of Baldwinsville, New York. It is unknown how much new coach Adrian Autry played a factor, but at the very least, the Orange have a successor for Jim Boeheim. The Irish do not yet have a replacement for [autotag]Mike Brey[/autotag], though they might be waiting to see when their candidates’ seasons are over.

This is a tremendous loss for the Irish, and not only because Starling would have been the top returning scorer (11.2 points a game) had he stayed in South Bend. He is the Irish’s top recruit since 2000 according to 247Sports. That they couldn’t hold onto the future NBA talent for his entire collegiate career can’t sit well with the program or its fans.

There doesn’t seem to be much ill will towards the Irish though. When asked to comment about Brey, Starling said the following:

“Coach Brey was a great coach and person. Even while going through tough times, he tried his best to make sure he was there for all of the players and continued to relay the message: ‘We only have each other.’ I wish him the best in whatever he decides to do.”

We wish Starling well, though not too well when the Orange and Irish face off next season.

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Notre Dame commit among finalists for national player of the year

Quite the honor for the future Irish star.

The Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year has ended up at Notre Dame a few times. [autotag]Brianna Turner[/autotag] won it in 2014 and [autotag]Skylar Diggins[/autotag] in 2009. Two other winners, Erin Boley in 2016 and Michelle Marciniak in 1991, began their collegiate careers at Notre Dame but transferred elsewhere after one season. Another player could soon be joining those ranks.

[autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] of Paul VI in Haddonfield, New Jersey, committed to the Irish on Nov. 15. This came a few months after winning gold with the U.S. in the FIBA U17 Women’s World Cup. Now, she is one of three finalists for the Gatorade National Girls Player of the Year.

When Hidalgo announced her decision to commit to the Irish, [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] said the following:

“Irish eyes are smiling! We are ecstatic to welcome five-star point guard Hannah Hidalgo to the ND family!  Hannah brings swag, competitiveness, and a relentless drive that will instantly elevate our program. She is-multi dimensional, lightning fast and tenacious defensively with a scorer’s mentality and a high basketball IQ.  Hannah does a great job of pushing pace and making everyone around her better.  The Joyce Center will be electric to watch one of the fastest backcourts in the country with the additions of Hannah, Cass Prosper and Emma Risch.”

Here are some profiles of Hidalgo and the other two finalists for this award:

Second 2023 Notre Dame recruiting class member asks for release

Another signee out the door as a result of Brey’s pending retirement.

SOUTH BEND – Once again, [autotag]Mike Brey[/autotag]’s plea for Notre Dame’s signees to meet a new coach has gone unheeded. Less than a week after losing 2023 signee Brady Dunlap, the Irish now find themselves without the future services of shooting guard Parker Friedrichsen. Matt Freeman of Irish Sports Daily is reporting that Friedrichsen, who hails from Bixby, Oklahoma, has asked for and been granted his release from his National Letter of Intent. That leaves only [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag] in the upcoming recruiting class:

Brey’s retirement announcement already has almost completely decimated the incoming group of freshmen. There’s no telling at this point who, if anyone, will commit to the Irish for next season or even beyond. All that’s certain is that the 2023-24 Irish are going to look almost completely different with players who mostly are lucky to see garbage-time minutes this season. Given that and players who aren’t used to game action with each other, lean times for the program aren’t far away.

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Notre Dame signee Brady Dunlap requests release from letter of intent

We already are seeing the effects of Mike Brey’s pending retirement.

Despite [autotag]Mike Brey[/autotag]’s call for the 2023 recruiting class to meet with Notre Dame’s new coach, Brady Dunlap has decided he wants out. Not willing to wait and see who leads the Irish next, Dunlap has requested to be released from his national letter of intent. He released the following statement to On3:

“Due to the announcement of coach Brey’s retirement, I have requested my release from Notre Dame and will open my recruitment.

“I want to wish coach Brey well and thank coach [autotag]Antoni Wyche[/autotag] for all of his efforts in recruiting me.

With the departure of Dunlap, a 6-foot-7 forward from Los Angeles, only guards [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag] and [autotag]Parker Friedrichsen[/autotag] remain in the Irish’s incoming recruiting class. What figures to be a long road back to prominence for the program starting next year just got longer.

Whoever takes over for Brey is not going to have a lot to start with, so solid recruiting immediately will be a must. That’s not going to be easy.

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Chad Bowden is Notre Dame’s New Defensive Director of Recruiting

Notre Dame found itself a nice asset when Marcus Freeman left Cincinnati to become the Irish’s new defensive coordinator.

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Notre Dame found itself a nice asset when Marcus Freeman left Cincinnati to become the Irish’s new defensive coordinator. It turns out the Bearcats, from whom Brian Kelly joined the Irish, are not finished losing personnel to South Bend. Chad Bowden has been the Bearcats’ director of recruiting. Not anymore:

This move represents a shift in Bowden’s thinking. He recently told the Cincinnati Enquirer he was pleased with where he was at and who he was working for (Bearcats coach Luke Fickell). Now, he’s decided a change of scenery is in order. It makes the storyline for when these teams meet Oct. 2 at Notre Dame Stadium all the more intriguing.

Cincinnati also has lost associate head coach and running backs coach Dan Enos to Maryland, where he will be the offensive coordinator. All of this turnover on the coaching staff already has resulted in two de-commitments from the Bearcats. To say this has been a tumultuous month for that program would be an understatement. Alas, there’s no choice but to press on because college football stops for nobody, especially at the highest level.