Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1105789
38 MAY 2019 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED PREP PROFILES Notre Dame hosted a coaches clinic from March 28-30, and three high school coaches from St. Joseph High School in Greenville, Miss., were in attendance. During the three-day clinic, the St. Joseph coaches communicated with the Fighting Irish staff about one of their 2020 prospects, running back Trey Benson. Running backs coach Lance Taylor and the Irish staff be- came convinced of Benson's talent and offered him a scholarship March 30. "They told me that they loved my film and how I run," said Ben- son, who joins a talented — yet crowded — group of running back t a rg e t s f o r t h e Irish. "I'm 205 pounds, and I run a 4.4 [40-yard dash], so they like the way I can move with the weight that I have." Taylor offered Benson during a phone conversation and wanted to know if he would be willing to play at a school far from home. "He asked if I was interested in leaving the state," the Mississippi tal- ent said. "I was telling him that I'm interested in going anywhere that's best for me — that's where I'm going to go." Benson's high school team mascot also happens to be the Fighting Irish, but outside of that he doesn't know too much about Notre Dame right now, although he did see some of their games last season. "They went to the final four this p a s t y e a r, " h e said. "I watched them and I like how they run their offense." In late March, Benson's recruitment began to blow up. He landed 10 new scholarship offers, highlighted by the Fighting Irish, plus Arizona State, Louisville, Mississippi State, Oregon and Washington State, among others. "I kid you not, it's been crazy," Benson said. "I just blew up out of nowhere. After I get off the phone with one coach, another coach calls." Benson noted that he has a busy month of April and won't be able to hit the road to take visits, but he hopes to take trips to Notre Dame, Alabama, Arizona State, Iowa State and Oregon this summer. He seems to be especially fired up about potentially visiting Oregon. "I can't wait for that one," he said. — Mike Singer Notre Dame Interested In Rising Mississippi Back One of the most important targets for Notre Dame in the class of 2021 is Avon (Ind.) High offensive tackle Blake Fisher, a 6-6, 330-pounder who has five-star potential. He visited Notre Dame March 23 to watch a spring practice and had good things to say about the trip. "It was great," Fisher noted. "I had an awesome time." Fisher is plenty familiar with the Irish coaching staff after having been on campus several times, but said he enjoyed getting to sit down with them again. "I had a good time talking with offensive line coach Jeff Quinn and [head] Coach [Brian] Kelly," he said. "They're phenomenal guys." Fisher also spent some time with a few current Irish players, and said he could tell the team enjoys being together. "I hung out with [freshmen offen- sive linemen] Quinn Carroll and John Olmstead, and a couple of the start- ers," he explained. "They're all great dudes. I think very highly of Notre Dame and it seems like a really fun place to be." The highlight of the trip, though, was watching the Irish in action during a spring practice session. Fisher loved the energy Notre Dame brought and kept up throughout the practice. "They're very aggressive up front," he said. "It was a very live practice from start to finish. They're all really good guys and they communicate well. "Coach Quinn takes really good care of them." Even though he's only a sopho- more, Fisher said he and Quinn al- ready have a strong relationship, adding that Quinn has taught him a lot about offensive line play as they've gotten to know each other. "He pushes me," Fisher stated. "Even though he's at the collegiate level, he pushes me at the high school level. He knows my potential and knows I have a big future ahead of me. "He's like a father figure in a way. We have a really tight relationship." Fisher is already working on set- ting up his next visit, potentially for the late spring or early summer. — David McKinney 2021 In-State Offensive Tackle Is Interested In Irish TREY BENSON ✪ ✪ ✪ St. Joseph High School Greenville, Miss. Status: Offered Class: 2020 Position: Running Back Ht.: 6-1 • Wt.: 205 Rivals Rankings: No. 22 player in Mississippi BLAKE FISHER Avon High School Avon, Ind. Status: Offered Class: 2021 Position: Offensive Tackle Ht.: 6-6 • Wt.: 330 Rivals Rankings: Not rated yet "It was great, I had an awesome time. … I think very highly of Notre Dame and it seems like a really fun place to be." FISHER "I kid you not, it's been crazy. I just blew up out of nowhere. After I get off the phone with one coach, another coach calls." BENSON ON LANDING 10 OFFERS IN LATE MARCH