Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com AUGUST 2018 45 FOOTBALL RECRUITING BY DAVID MCKINNEY AND COREY BODDEN T he month of June and early part of July has seen a boom in Notre Dame's 2019 and 2020 recruiting classes. From June 18 to July 4, Notre Dame landed six verbal commitments — four from 2019 prospects and two from the class of 2020. All six Irish pledges vis- ited South Bend during the month of June. The string of commitments began for the Irish June 18, when four-star Cincinnati Anderson offensive line- man Zeke Correll announced his com- mitment over offers from Clemson, Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, Stan- ford and several others. Correll, the No. 6 offensive guard in the class of 2019 according to ESPN and 247Sports, announced his pledge to Notre Dame one day after finishing an official visit in South Bend. The Ohio talent was joined by sev- eral other prospects on campus that weekend, including ESPN four-star Kyren Williams of St. Louis St. John Vianney. Coming into the trip, Williams had trimmed his list of finalists down to Notre Dame, Missouri and Michigan, and had taken an official visit to Mis- souri the weekend prior. Originally, Williams had planned to give a silent commitment to the coaching staff at his school of choice in August, but wanted to wait until October to go public. Those plans changed following his trip to South Bend. On the same day Correll committed, Williams an- nounced he would be making his deci- sion June 21. A few days later, Williams an- nounced his commitment to Notre Dame and called off his previously planned official visit to Michigan that was to take place that weekend. He was the first offensive skill player to commit to Notre Dame in the 2019 class, but he wouldn't be alone in that category for long. Midlothian (Va.) Manchester three- star quarterback Brendon Clark also officially visited South Bend the week- end of June 16 after becoming Notre Dame's main focus at quarterback in 2019. When the Irish decided to move on from Wisconsin commit Graham Mertz, they turned their attention to Clark, got him on campus for an of- ficial visit, and secured his commit- ment July 4 over Clemson and North Carolina. The Fourth of July was a good day for Notre Dame, with a commitment from not only Clark but also ESPN four-star wide receiver Cam Hart of Olney (Md.) Good Counsel. Hart, ESPN's No. 8 player in the state of Maryland, visited Notre Dame June 2, picked up an offer from the coaching staff and gave a silent com- mitment soon after, waiting to go pub- lic until July 4. Hart chose the Irish over offers from Boston College, Georgia Tech, Ken- tucky, Michigan State, North Carolina, Virginia Tech and others. Overall, Notre Dame hosted 15 class of 2019 prospects for visits in June and eventually landed commitments from six of them. Of the nine prospects that haven't chosen Notre Dame from the list of June visitors, four of them remain un- committed. Those four are 247Sports four-star rover Tristan Sinclair of Dan- ville (Calif.) San Ramon Valley, Rivals three-star offensive tackle Walter Rouse of Washington (D.C.) Sidwell Friends, Rivals three-star tight end Brenton Strange of Parkersburg (W.Va.) High and Rivals three-star defensive end Josiah Miamen of Dunlap (Ill.) High. The Irish are battling Cal, Stanford and USC for Sinclair, who 247Sports lists as the nation's No. 103 overall prospect. Notre Dame has its work cut out for itself getting him off the West Coast, but the Irish have become a le- gitimate player in his recruitment. Rouse, the No. 39 offensive tackle in the class of 2019 according to Rivals, included Notre Dame on his list of 10 finalists after his trip to South Bend and will return for an official visit Sept. 1, when the Irish host Michigan. Strange wasn't ready to divulge his interest level in Notre Dame or where the Irish stand in his recruitment. However, his visit to South Bend cer- tainly stood out among the trips he had taken to date, which included a recent official to Purdue and an unof- ficial to Ohio State. "Notre Dame is one of my favorite schools I've visited so far because of how prestigious the school and foot- ball program are," said Strange, who is rated as the No. 20 tight end in the country by Rivals. Miamen, the No. 25 prospect in Il- linois according to Rivals, told Blue & Gold Illustrated that Notre Dame is "up there" in his recruitment and men- tioned the likes of Purdue, Iowa and Illinois as some of the other offered programs he is high on. The Irish also had success with the 2020 class this June. Notre Dame hosted a handful of rising junior pros- pects the program has offered and landed commitments from two play- ers out of that group. Red Bank (N.J.) Catholic Rivals250 tight end Kevin Bauman made his first trip to South Bend June 2 and joined the Irish class June 13, pairing up with New Canaan (Conn.) High Rivals100 quarterback Drew Pyne. It wasn't long before Bauman, who Rivals ranks as the No. 104 overall prospect and No. 2 tight end nation- ally, had a partner. Alexandria (Ky.) Covington Catholic tight end Michael Mayer, 247Sports' No. 2 tight end and No. 82 player over- all in the country, visited Notre Dame the weekend following Bauman, and the end result was the same. On July 1, Mayer announced his pledge to the Irish, giving Brian Kelly and company a talented trio on offense to begin the 2020 class. It was Mayer's second time in South Bend after taking in Junior Day Jan. 27. ✦ Washington (D.C.) Sidwell Friends offensive tackle Walter Rouse visited Notre Dame June 20 and included the Irish on his list of 10 finalists soon after. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM Notre Dame Scores Big With Summer Visitors