Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1187512
40 NOV. 30, 2019 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED FOOTBALL RECRUITING BY MIKE SINGER Y ou'll be hard-pressed to find a more hard-working high school football player than Cane Berrong. The Hartwell (Ga.) Hart County ju- nior, who is ranked as the nation's No. 7 tight end and No. 178 overall prospect in the 2021 class by Rivals, has an offseason training regimen that keeps him very busy. When he's not working out with his high school football team, Berrong is at 180Sports Performance trying to de- velop his explosion and strength, and once every week or two he will train at former Georgia wide receiver Terrance Edwards' Wide Receiver Academy to improve his pass-catching skills. "Tight end is still new to me, and I want to learn as much as I can for the next level," Berrong told Blue & Gold Illustrated. "I want to move and run my routes like a wide receiver, and with my school, I'm working on my block- ing. It's going really well." The Notre Dame commit grew up playing quarterback and planned to play the position when he entered his freshman season at Hart County. Ber- rong was going to be riding the bench for a couple of years, and the Bulldogs' head coach — former Georgia South- ern offensive coordinator Rance Gil- lespie — saw his size and athleticism and decided to move him to tight end. It was a move that Berrong welcomed. "That always doesn't go really well, but Cane's reaction was, 'Coach, I'll play wherever you tell me to play,'" Gillespie said. "He made the transi- tion, and we told him that he has the skill set to be a really talented tight end if he's willing to put his hand in the ground and block somebody." As a sophomore, Berrong showed his talent catching the football. How- ever, he didn't blow up on the recruit- ing front until he a ran a 4.53 laser- timed 40-yard dash at the National Combine in San Antonio in January 2019. At that point, the entire country knew about his elite skills. One question mark remained. Could he be gritty enough as a blocking tight end, or would he be a glorified wide receiver? During Berrong's junior season this fall, his high school quarterback has been dealing with a shoulder injury, which has limited Hart County's abil- ity to throw the ball down the field. Hart County's focus on running the football has allowed Berrong to shine as a blocker, proving he's capable of putting his hand in the dirt as a tight end. The Bulldogs run behind him in an H-back position, too, and it's helped the school make a playoff run. "Blocking is very important to me," Berrong said. "I want to be nastier with my blocking. I feel like I'm start- ing to do that more. It's about being more physical." Once Berrong enters the offseason, he'll get back on his training regimen and is expected to make another big jump in his game from his junior to senior year. "There's not a whole lot he can't do," Hart County tight ends coach Steve Horton said. "You can put him in the slot, put his hand in the grass, put him outside. He's a matchup nightmare. "He's getting double covered a lot, but we're going to get him into one- on-one situations. You just can't cover him. He's too fast and too athletic with that frame." There is only one other player on the Hart County football team that has a Rivals ranking. Defensive end Kaimon Rucker, a North Carolina commit, is rated as a three-star prospect. Even with all of the attention that Berrong has garnered, it hasn't changed who he is among his peers. "He's a very hard-worker," Rucker said. "He's a good person and good football player overall." "He's a great teammate and leader," defensive back Montae Max- well added. "He's a stand-up guy." The work that Berrong puts in away from the organized team work- outs is very evident to his teammates as well. "His work ethic is crazy," Rucker noted. "I admire that about him. He has a great head on his shoulders. I say it a lot, but I can't wait to see what he does in the future, not only in high school but in college too. It's really going to be exciting." Berrong committed to Notre Dame June 21 and is rock solid with his pledge to the Irish. He's made two visits to campus this fall, seeing the Irish knock off Virginia and USC. "I think it's a good fit," Gillespie said. "Academically, Cane is going to be successful wherever he goes. He's a bright kid. That's a given with him and an expectation from his parents, and it's an expectation of his. You're dealing with a really humble kid." ✦ Berrong, the nation's No. 7 tight end and No. 178 overall prospect in the 2021 class per Rivals, is improving on the field and shows leadership qualities in the locker room. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM Notre Dame Commit Cane Berrong Is Developing In All Aspects