Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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50 NOV. 2, 2019 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED Deion Colzie knew going into his Notre Dame official visit Oct. 12 that he would be committing to the Fight- ing Irish. And, in all honesty, Colzie knew they would be his choice once he vis- ited South Bend for Notre Dame's victory over Ball State last year. But the star class of 2021 wide receiver recruit from Athens (Ga.) Academy didn't come to the final decision until about a week before his most recent visit, and he announced his pledge on Twitter just hours before kickoff against USC. "Pretty much every coach on the staff texted me the week before the visit and said they're ready for me to come up and wish they could play me in the game," Colzie said. "Just the support and the love they gave me really put them at the top of the list even more. "I knew I wanted to go there, so I just pulled the trigger now." Colzie, who is ranked as the No. 6 athlete and No. 95 overall prospect nationally by Rivals, had a game plan of informing the coaching staff of his commitment. "Before the visit, Coach [Del] Alex- ander gave me the rundown of my schedule for when I got there," Colzie explained. "I had a meeting with him first and then Coach [Brian] Kelly af- terwards. After that, I had a meeting with athletic director Jack Swarbrick. "Coach Alexander was telling me about their game plan [against USC]. Right when we were wrapping up, I told him I came on the visit for one main reason, to tell him personally that I'm committed to the University of Notre Dame. He was stoked about it. He was jumping around." Just a couple of minutes later, Col- zie met with Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly to inform him of the good news as well. "We talked about the program and how he'd love for me to join it," Colzie said. "That's when I told him that I was committing. He was excited. He thought I was kidding with him, but I told him it was the real deal." It was a great weekend not only on the field for Notre Dame, who bested their rival USC 30-27, but on the re- cruiting front as well. They landed Colzie, a four-star receiver, and added another class of 2021 pass catcher in Pickerington (Ohio) Central's Lorenzo Styles, who is rated as the No. 4 wide receiver and No. 28 overall prospect in the land by Rivals. At 6-4, 205 pounds, Colzie is a big- bodied receiver ala current Irish wide- out Chase Claypool, while Styles is a bit smaller at 6-1, 170 pounds, but is very dynamic with the ball in his hands. "I think we'll be a deadly duo to- gether," Colzie stated. Colzie and Styles have a darn good quarterback in their class commit- ted in La Jolla (Calif.) The Bishop's School gunslinger Tyler Buchner, the nation's No. 8 pro-style quarterback and No. 65 overall player in the nation per Rivals. Buchner, Colzie and Styles were able to meet each other in person Oct. 12 in South Bend. "I think he's a bad dude," Colzie said of Buchner. "He'll eventually be the No. 1 quarterback in the nation. His arm talent is just amazing, and he has the sneaky running ability that people don't know about. "He's an overall great player and a good person too." Per Rivals, Notre Dame's 2021 re- cruiting class is ranked No. 1 with its seven commits, who are all ranked as top-200 prospects nationally. Colzie is looking to help the Notre Dame staff continue to build an elite class. "We're after the best of course," Col- zie said. "We have the No. 1 recruiting class right now, and we want to keep it that way. We just want to come to- gether and look for the guys who will fit our program and succeed here." Colzie plans to enroll early at Notre Dame and will be solid in his commit- ment moving forward. "Schools will try to persuade me to flip, but I'm sticking to my decision," he noted. "I feel like Notre Dame is the best place for me and my family 100 percent. I'm not decommitting." ✦ COMMITMENT PROFILE DEION COLZIE Peach State Pass Catcher Picks Notre Dame Rivals ranks Colzie as the No. 6 athlete and No. 95 overall prospect nationally in the class of 2021. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM FILM ANALYSIS "Deion Colzie has excellent size at 6-foot-4 and does a good job of baiting corners by taking different releases off the line. Numerous times, he's seen going up and over a corner to catch the ball at its high- est point. Colzie is used a lot for bubble and tunnel screens, and he has the speed to take it the distance against Georgia athletes. He has very long strides, which gives him his breakaway speed. "He won't be considered a burner at the next level, but his speed will benefit him in route running. Colzie still needs work in the route running department. He is not crisp in his breaks and loafs in and out of them, but he does not need to be at the high school level. He still out runs the competition and easily gets open." — Blue & Gold Illustrated football analyst Vince DeDario