Tag: rocco splinder

Notre Dame football: red hot run continues as Caleb Johnson commits

Notre Dame football wins again during their bye week, this time flipping an Auburn football commitment to the Irish. Hello, Caleb Johnson!

One of the questions asked by some after Notre Dame upset Clemson less than two weeks ago wasn’t about what it meant for the Fighting Irish program on the field in 2020, but what it meant down the road, specifically in recruiting.

Just 13 days since the 47-40, two overtime classic that saw Notre Dame knock off No. 1 for the first time in 27 years, the returns are already massive.

Notre Dame has started turning that win and the successes of 2020 on the field onto victories in the recruiting world as Philip Riley, Jr. switched his commitment from USC to the Irish earlier this week and then the likes of kicker Josh Bryan and outside linebacker Kahanu Kia announced commitments as well.

Then on Thursday night Notre Dame saw another big-time prospect flip from a football powerhouse and commit to the Irish instead as offensive tackle Caleb Johnson became commitment number 23 in the 2021 recruiting class.

Johnson had committed to Auburn back in May but had a change of heart that will see him be another massive piece on what is an absolute haul of a recruiting class on the offensive line.

Johnson is listed at 6-7, 295 pounds, and comes from Trinity Catholic High School in Ocala, Florida.  He has a three-star grade according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings.

Related: Meet Notre Dame’s 2021 Recruiting Class

As well as Auburn, Johnson held offers from more than 35 programs including big-time programs like Alabama, LSU, Miami, Penn State and plenty of others.

Johnson joins an offensive line class that already includes five-star tackle Blake Fisher, four-star guard Rocco Splinder as well as Minneapolis tackle Joe Alt and Chicago guard Pat Coogan.

Indiana’s top player becomes Notre Dame’s first 2022 football commitment

For the second year in a row a four star OT from Indiana is Notre Dame’s first commitment to a recruiting class. Find out all the info!

“It’s like deja vu all over again” – Yogi Berra

A little over a year ago Notre Dame landed it’s first commitment to the 2021 recruiting class when in-state target, four-star offensive tackle Blake Fisher chose to stay close to home and attend Notre Dame.

Fast forward a little over a year and the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Saturday saw Brian Kelly and Notre Dame land their first commitment to the 2022 recruiting class in, get this, a four-star offensive tackle who happens to be ranked as the top player in the state of Indiana.

Joey Tanona, a 6-5, 280 pound offensive tackle from Zionsville, Indiana picked the Fighting Irish over the likes of Arizona State, Iowa, LSU, Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State and more.

Just how well is Tanona viewed?

ESPN ranks him as a top 100 player in the 2022 class (86 overall) while the two main recruiting outlets (247Sports and Rivals) rank him as a four-star player.

Fisher is a nice piece and offensive guard Rocco Splinder would be a great addition if he ends up choosing Notre Dame, but the ceiling for the impact of the entire offensive line in the ’21 class doesn’t appear as high as first hoped.

Tanona gets Notre Dame off to a nice start with a four-star player on board, something they’ll have to do a bunch of if things start to return to normal in the recruiting world and official visits can actually again be done in homes and on campuses.