Tag: Philip Riley

One of Nation’s Top Corners Set to Visit Notre Dame

Philip Riley only got a scholarship offer from Notre Dame a month ago but the big-time defensive back is set to visit South Bend.

Notre Dame may have gotten into the team picture a bit late in its pursuit of Philip Riley, but coaches have made enough of an impression that he’s scheduled to make a visit to South Bend in June.

Obviously, that comes with the caveat that the dead period must be lifted by the NCAA by then, but it’s a big deal for Notre Dame as Riley is one of the most desired corner backs in the 2021 recruiting class.

Notre Dame extended an offer to the four-star talent from Bloomingdale High School in Valrico, Florida, on March 25.  Irish Breakdown spoke with Riley after a recent call he had with Brian Kelly and reported the news of his visit.

Riley calls Brian Kelly a “great guy” and states he “loves his energy” after speaking over the phone with the Notre Dame head coach.

Penn State, Minnesota, Washington, Virginia Tech and a few others are the biggest competition for Riley, who gets a four-star grade from 247Sports.

Riley is slated to be in South Bend on the weekend of June 12-14 on what could be a massive recruiting weekend for Notre Dame. Now let’s hope everything going on in the world cooperates to make that (and, obviously other far more important matters) visit possible.

Goshen News publishes story about Notre Dame cornerbacks

Do you have high hopes for this unit?

With spring practice in full swing at Notre Dame, now is the time to write about pretty much everything related to the program. After all, the first game of the season is months away, so it’s nice to read about the team without having to look at it through the lens of game performance. The Goshen News realizes is and decided to look at one of the units the Irish have. Specifically, Evan Lepak has written about Mike Mickens’ cornerbacks.

Significant attention is given to veterans TaRiq Bracy, Clarence Lewis and Cam Hart. Lepak also notes that the Irish have a bunch of freshmen after those three on the depth chart. There are redshirt freshmen Ryan Barnes, Philip Riley and Chance Tucker. The Irish also have early enrollee Jaden Mickey in camp.

We don’t know how effective the Irish will be at cornerback in 2022, but this cast of characters will be interesting to watch if for no other reason than to see how deep they can go with such a drop-off of experience.

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Must see: Notre Dame ‘21 football freshman show off their new numbers

Multiple early enrolling freshman have shared what they’ll look like in a Notre Dame uniform, see them all here.

It has become increasingly common for teams to have members of their recruiting classes enroll early and get a head start to their collegiate careers, Notre Dame is no different. This year, Brian Kelly has welcomed in 14 recruits and one transfer, the largest group ever to start their Irish journeys early.

Some of them have gone onto social media and shared their new numbers, as we have already looked into if Lorenzo Styles Jr.’s has anything to do with where he will line up.

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Here are the rest of the players who have posted what they’ll look like in the Blue and Gold.

Signed: Notre Dame cornerback Philip Riley

Florida cornerback Philip Riley makes it official and signs with Notre Dame.

Another Floridian, Philip Riley, six-feet and 195-pounds, has signed with Notre Dame.

247Sports composite ranking: 313

247Sports positional composite ranking: 24

Welcome to the Irish family Philip!

Scouts view: Notre Dame’s newest commit OT Caleb Johnson

What to expect from Notre Dame’s newest commit, offensive lineman Caleb Johnson from Florida.

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Brian Kelly and his staff have been hard at work on the recruiting trail and that work has paid off handily this past week. First it was Philip Riley coming back to the 2021 class, then kicker Josh Bryan, yesterday it was a two-fer with linebacker Kahanu Kia  and now Caleb Johnson.

The flip of Johnson from Auburn is solidifying the offensive line class, which now has tackles Blake Fisher and Joe Alt, guards Rocco Spindler and Pat Coogan.

Let’s take a look at what to expect from the latest Irish commit Johnson.

A massive tackle who moves his feet extremely well, constantly finishing his block. When he’s not taking down the opposing lineman, Johnson is able to get to the second level allowing his backs to get more yardage. Surprisingly nimble, Johnson is able to pull on some running plays and also lead block on screen plays. Shows great versatility as he has played guard and tackle. His size screams tackle, but if that doesn’t work out, Johnson could be a road grader at guard.

Another player with massive upside, as evident by his Alabama and LSU offers, don’t be confused by the 3-star ranking. There is potential that he could see the field early, but I bet he get’s some freshman playing time, but saves a year by playing under the 4 games to keep his redshirt.

Johnson is another big time addition to the 2021 Notre Dame recruiting class, another piece to an already impressive offensive line haul.

Don’t forget to check out our latest recruiting update, the current commitment list and our FIW exclusive interview with 2021 offensive line commit Pat Coogan.

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.

Notre Dame football: Star USC commit flips back to Irish

Notre Dame landed a commitment from one of USC’s star prospects on Monday night and it’s a name Notre Dame fans are already familiar with.

Back and forth it goes in the recruiting game for Notre Dame and back it went to the favor of the Irish Monday night when four-star defensive back Philip Riley, Jr. announced his commitment to the program.

If the name sounds familiar it’s because it is as Riley originally committed to Notre Dame back in May before de-committing in late September, only to announce his commitment back to the Irish on Monday.

Riley is the second player in the 2021 recruiting class to commit to Notre Dame, announce his de-commitment and then re-commit as wide receiver Deion Colzie of Athens, Georgia did the same thing just without having a commitment inbetween.

When Riley de-committed back in September he quickly announced a commitment to USC before announcing his change of heart back to the Irish on Monday.

Riley checks in a 6-0, 195 pounds out of Valrico, Florida (Bloomingdale).  247Sports grades Riley as a four-star talent and as the 13th best corner back nationwide in the Class of 2021 rankings.

Riley rejoins the Notre Dame class that features Ryan Barnes, Chance Tucker and Justin Walters in the secondary.

Scout’s View: Riley rejoins Notre Dame’s ‘21 recruiting class

Notre Dame once again gets a former commit to recommit to the 2021 recruiting class, this time Florida cornerback Philip Riley.

It has certainly been an odd year, 2021 Notre Dame recruiting not being excluded. Earlier this year Georgia wide receiver Deion Colzie decommitted from the Irish, only to rejoin the class a few months later. Well, that exactly the case with Florida cornerback Philip Riley, although the journey was a bit different.

After Riley decided to reopen his recruitment, he committed to USC just a few days later. Ultimately, he rejoined the good guys tonight, and Notre Dame is ecstatic to welcome him back to the 2021 recruiting class.

Let’s take a look at what we can expect from the 6-foot and 195-pound defensive back.

Riley show’s the ability to play on the ball or off, solid in both man-to-man and zone concepts. His work on special teams stands out, he is a willing blocker and has the ability to do something with the ball if it comes his way. Riley does need to be better with his punches while playing man-press coverage, but he’s strong enough to do it, just needs to refine his technique. A willing tackler, more technique work wouldn’t hurt there either. Riley flips his hips well, has great feet which really help with his change of direction.

Overall, Riley is a defensive back that shows a ton of upside, but will need to refine some technique when he arrives in South Bend. He certainly has all the tools to be a great cornerback, but it might not be right away when he arrives on campus. He

Notre Dame talking with ‘21 WR Thornton everyday, what does it mean?

The Irish have three WR commits already in the fold for ‘21, but are still recruiting another one hard. What does that mean?

When Jayden Thomas committed last week, it gave Brian Kelly three spectacular prospects at the position for the 2021 recruiting class. According to a report today, one-time Penn State commit Dont’e Thornton is talking with the Irish staff every day.

With Thomas, Lorenzo Styles Jr. and Deion Colzie already committed, it makes you wonder what the staff is thinking going after another receiver. There are only three outgoing seniors at the position, and in last year’s class there were three players that signed. Fifteen total players will be on the roster next year, not including the three commits.

The group has yet to break out this year, but Kelly is confident they will. Kevin Austin and Bennett Skoronek return this week, while Braden Lenzy gets healthier and healthier each week. Skoronek is one of the three with their eligibility running out, Avery Davis and Javon McKinley the others. None have really made an impact.

Keeping all this in mind, could there be a player on the roster or a committed player be in line for a position change? After seeing highlights from this past weekend, immediately Lorenzo Styles Jr.’s name came to mind.

This is the reason why he came to mind. Styles Jr. has the skill set to play defense and after losing cornerback commit Philip Riley, there is a need at the position. The current two commits, Ryan Barnes and Chance Tucker are great players, but neither have the ceiling Styles Jr. does.

The frame Styles Jr. would bring to the position would be elite, 6-foot-1-inch and 185–pounds is an imposing figure at corner. Size would never be an issue with any receiver he would go up against.

Yes, the Irish would gladly take a commitment from Thornton, but his continued recruitment does open up possibilities for Styles Jr. to end up on the other side of the ball. Although Richard Sherman’s change was while he was at Stanford, it sure worked out well for him. Here’s hoping that if Styles Jr. does move to the defensive side of the ball, it ends up similar to one of the best corners in the game.

Former star Notre Dame commit gives pledge to USC

Notre Dame received bad news late last week when Philip Riley, Jr. announced he was no longer committed. That news only got worse on Monday.

Notre Dame received tough news last week in regards to their future when defensive back in the 2021 recruiting class, Philip Riley, Jr. announced that he was no longer committed to the Fighting Irish.

If that news could manage to get worse, it certainly found it’s way how on Monday when Riley announced he’s now committed to USC.

Riley is graded a four-star prospect by all of the major recruiting outlets and gives the Trojans a boost in their already solid class.

Riley becomes the 19th commitment in the 2021 class for USC.  Rivals currently ranks the USC class as the fifth best in the nation while 247Sports puts them eighth.