Tag: Ryan Barnes

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.

Notre Dame Recruiting update: Fisher keeps 5-Star status, focus on ‘22 and more

A look a the latest Notre Dame Football recruiting news with more offers, Blake Fisher staying a 5-Star and much more.

The first signing period for 2021 recruits is fast approaching and Notre Dame  is fighting for a top recruiting class once again. At the current moment, the Irish have 23 commits, with room for a few more. The class ranks among the best in the nation.

It was another week of making some moves with high level prospects, Blake Fisher keeps all the stars next to his name, recruits finish their high school careers and more.

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 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.

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.

Irish Commit to miss Senior Season, Enroll Early

With Maryland canceling their fall and winter sports, a Notre Dame commit announced his intentions for this coming season.

With many states opting to change their high school football schedules, rising seniors have to make changes to what they might do this fall. Do they play if their state moves football to the fall, do they transfer if football is canceled all together?

Notre Dame commit Ryan Barnes has made his decision after his home state of Maryland on Tuesday canceled their fall and winter sports and will have virtual learning for the first semester. He will not transfer to another school, focus on his academics with the intention of enrolling early in South Bend as Rivals has reported.

This is not how Barnes saw his senior season playing out, but that is one of the unfortunate side effects of the nation continuing the battle with COVID-19. Maryland is not the only state to make adjustments as Virginia has canceled their fall sports, California and Washington have postponed their seasons to the spring, and Texas has made adjustments to their fall schedule. We can not stress how much this hurts not just the athletes but all senior high school students who will miss out on big milestones.

We will continue to monitor the situation as more states make their decisions and student-athletes make theirs as well. Of the states to make their fall schedules known that have Irish commits are Californian’s Tyler Buchner, quarterback, and newest Irish commit cornerback Chance Tucker and Texas’ defensive end David Abiara have yet to make their decision public. Once they do, we will fill you in on their intentions.

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.

Notre Dame Lands a Commitment from Maryland Cornerback

Irish landed commitment #11 in the 2021 class today when DB Ryan Barnes made his decision.

In late March, the Irish staff offered Maryland defensive back Ryan Barnes, and today he verballed to Notre Dame over Clemson, Georgia, LSU and others. The 6’2” and 180-pound cornerback is the 11th commit in the 2021 class.

Although Barnes ranking is fairly low, he is the 585th player ranked by the 247Sports composite. I feel like this is a scenario where if summer camps had happened this year, Barnes would have blown up. College coaches rarely look at the major recruiting services rankings, so looking at a players offer list is much better indication of how they are perceived. Along with the aforementioned trio, Penn State, Oregon, USC, and Oklahoma all offered Barnes a scholarship.

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Barnes’ frame is what stands out, his length creating issues for opposing wide receivers. Lining up at safety and corner brings plenty of versatility to Barnes’ game, from either position he is always looking for the big hit.

Brian Kelly will have to decide if Barnes’ will end up with safeties coach Terry Joseph or cornerback coach Mike Mickens. This is a great problem to have, as Barnes should make an impact at one of those positions.

Ryan Barnes discusses Tennessee visit

Ryan Barnes discusses Tennessee visit.

KNOXVILLE — Tennessee held its final on-campus recruiting day Thursday amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The coronavirus pandemic has forced the Southeastern Conference to implement a halt in recruiting until at least April 15.

Ryan Barnes visited Tennessee on the final recruiting day before on and off-campus activity takes a hiatus until at least one month from now.

Barnes is a 6-foot-2, 180-pound cornerback from Quince Orchard High School in Gaithersburg, Md.

Jeremy Pruitt
Tennessee’s first 2020 spring practice on March 10. Photo by Dan Harralson, Vols Wire

The 2021 prospect discussed his UT visit and time with Jeremy Pruitt and Derrick Ansley with Vols Wire.

“I thought they were great,” Barnes said of Pruitt and Ansley. “I got a chance to sit in on a team meeting with the defense and then watched them execute Coach Ansley’s plan on the practice field. It was also cool seeing Coach Pruitt work with the defensive backs at practice.

“It was awesome seeing practice because I know there is a lot of expertise on the staff from the head coach, defensive coordinator and defensive backs coaches. I also knew Coach Pruitt was a defensive back when he played.”

Joe Osovet
Tennessee’s first 2020 spring practice on March 10. Photo by Dan Harralson, Vols Wire

Barnes was initially offered by the Vols on Nov. 25, 2019. Newly-promoted tight ends coach Joe Osovet played a role in offering Barnes.

“Coach Oz has been like family from the first time I spoke with him,” Barnes said of Osovet. “He has a great sense of humor and has been very direct and informative about Tennessee with myself and my family.”