Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com NOV. 5, 2018 43 PREP PROFILES Columbus (Miss.) Heritage Acad- emy 2020 offensive lineman Eli Acker is committed to in-state Ole Miss, but is still exploring other options. One of the options Acker is considering is Notre Dame, where the three-star will visit Nov. 10 for the Florida State game. Acker, the No. 35 offensive tackle in the class of 2020 according to Rivals, said he's excited to see what South Bend is all about. "I'm really looking forward to it," Acker stated. "I've heard a lot of great things about the school and the atmo- sphere." The visit, Acker said, was planned somewhat out of the blue, but once the invite to a game was on the table, the Mississippi talent jumped at the chance. "I got an email asking if I wanted to come visit," Acker said. "I talked to my dad about it and we said we definitely wanted to go up." As mentioned, Acker said he's heard plenty about Notre Dame. Specifically, the 6-6, 267-pounder said he's well aware of the history surrounding the school and the foot- ball program. "I've heard about how great the program is," Acker said. "Right now, they're rated in the top five in the country. It's a big-time program, and it's somewhere you know you want to go visit and check out because they've always been a really good team." Currently, Acker's only offer is from Ole Miss, the school he's committed to, but plenty of schools have been in contact with him. Acker told Rivals' Chad Simmons that along with Notre Dame, he'll also be making visits to Florida, Kentucky and Vanderbilt. The Rebels pledge said that Notre Dame extending an offer would mean the world to him. "That would be huge," Acker said. "I'm looking forward to some big- time offers, and that would be huge." When he takes those visits, Acker said there will be a few things he'll be keeping a close eye on. "Definitely the coaches and how they are," he noted. "Getting to know them is big, plus the atmosphere, the campus and all that." — David McKinney Notre Dame hosted one of the more intriguing class of 2021 prospects in the country for the Pitt game Oct. 13, when Katy (Texas) Tompkins defen- sive end Tunmise Adeleye came to town. The 6-3, 240-pound sophomore said the weekend at Notre Dame was a memorable experience. "The game atmosphere was pretty loud," he said. "I liked the fans and we had a really good time. They told me all about the school's history and traditions." The talented Texan added that tour- ing Notre Dame's campus was also a highpoint of the trip. "The campus was really beautiful to me," Adeleye said. "I liked the archi- tecture of the buildings." Of course, the big highlight of his time in South Bend was getting to witness Notre Dame's 19-14 win over Pittsburgh. Even though it wasn't a marquee opponent, Adeleye noted the atmosphere in the stadium was still impressive. "There were 80,000 fans there, so it was pretty loud," he recalled. "Fans were into the game the whole time, even when Notre Dame was down. As they started coming back, it got louder and louder." Coming into the visit, Adeleye told Blue & Gold Illustrated there are several different factors he looks for when vis- iting schools, academics being chief among them — and Notre Dame did not disappoint in that department. "When I was talking to the recruit- ing director, he talked to me about the student-to-faculty ratio," Adeleye said. "Academically wise, it's a pretty sound university. "Something that they harped while we were there was when they look at recruits, they're not just looking at ability, they're looking at transcripts too." For now, Adeleye only holds of- fers from in-state schools, including Texas, Texas A&M, Baylor, Houston and Texas San Antonio. It's always a challenge to pull top talent out of the Lone Star State, but if Notre Dame comes with an offer the Irish just might have a chance. "That would be really big for me." Adeleye said. "It's an out-of-state school that I would consider actually going to. "It's not just an offer to have, it's a school I would consider going to. That would be very good for me." — David McKinney Ole Miss Commit Looking Forward To Irish Visit 2021 Defensive End Enjoys First Look At Notre Dame ELI ACKER ✪ ✪ ✪ Heritage Academy Columbus, Miss. Status: Interested Class: 2020 Position: Offensive Tackle Ht.: 6-6 • Wt.: 267 Rivals Rankings: No. 9 player in Mississippi and No. 35 of- fensive tackle in the country TUNMISE ADELEYE Tompkins H.S. Katy, Texas Status: Interested Class: 2021 Position: Defensive End Ht.: 6-3 • Wt.: 240 Rivals Rankings: Not cur- rently rated "I've heard about how great the program is. Right now, they're rated in the top five in the country. It's a big-time program, and it's somewhere you know you want to go visit and check out because they've always been a really good team." ACKER ON NOTRE DAME "The game atmosphere was pretty loud. I liked the fans and we had a really good time. They told me all about the school's history and traditions." ADELEYE ON NOTRE DAME