Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com MARCH 2020 65 FOOTBALL RECRUITING Gabriel Rubio from St. Peters (Mo.) Lutheran of St. Charles ranks as Ri- vals' No. 99 overall prospect nation- ally, and he picked Notre Dame last summer over Georgia, LSU, Ohio State, Texas A&M and others. Other schools continue to push for the 6-5, 280-pounder to flip, but Rubio re- mains very strong with the Irish and visits South Bend regularly. LINEBACKER/ROVER Players On The 2021 Roster: 10 Projected Take: 1-2 After not taking a linebacker in the 2020 class, the Irish will take at least one in the 2021 class, potentially even two. At the top of the wish list is Su- wannee (Ga.) North Gwinnett's Bar- rett Carter, the No. 35 overall recruit in America. Notre Dame was one of Carter's first few scholarship offers, and the 6-1, 220-pounder hopes to visit South Bend in the spring. Notre Dame defensive coordinator Clark Lea extended an offer to Dallas (Ga.) Paulding County's Smael Mon- don, the No. 82 overall recruit in the land, as a rover. Mondon also hopes to see the Irish in the spring as well. A couple other linebacker/rover targets are Arlington (Texas) Mar- tin's Morice Blackwell and McMur- ray (Pa.) Peters Township's Donovan McMillan. There aren't many 2021 linebacker offers out just yet, and the board will need to expand heading into the spring. DEFENSIVE BACK Players On The 2021 Roster: 12 Projected Take: 4-5 Instead of having separate catego- ries for cornerback and safety, we decided to combine them because the Irish like to take corners who can move around to different spots in the secondary. Notre Dame has an early commit- ment from Bolingbrook (Ill.) High's Justin Walters, who is a safety all the way for the Irish. He's a hard-hitting defensive back who excels coming up and making stops. Walters vis- ited South Bend Feb. 1, and after re- turning home to the Chicago area he called the staff and gave them the good news of his pledge. St. Louis De Smet cornerback Jakailin Johnson is one of the best prospects in the country, and Rivals ranks him as the No. 33 overall re- cruit in America. Johnson hasn't vis- ited Notre Dame in several months, but he tells Blue & Gold Illustrated that the Irish continue to play a ma- jor role in his recruitment. He's also highly considering Ohio State and Oklahoma. Look for Johnson to visit South Bend this spring. Los Angeles Loyola cornerback Ceyair Wright is another priority target for the Irish, and the nation's No. 119 overall prospect visited in December for the Echoes Awards Show weekend. Notre Dame has been recruiting Wright hard since it offered him last summer. When out recruiting in Southern California the past few months, the Irish consistently have made stops at La Puente (Calif.) Bishop Amat, home of cornerback Dyson McCutcheon, and Downey (Calif.) Warren, where versatile defensive back Xamarion Gordon attends. Notre Dame is look- ing to get both on campus this spring. A few other cornerback targets to know include Dallas Kimball's Ishmael Ibraheem, Suwannee (Ga.) North Gwinnett's Jordan Hancock and Cincinnati La Salle's Devonta Smith. With Walters already in the fold, Notre Dame may opt to not take another "true" safety, but if it does, there are some good options. The Irish have offers out to Alpharetta (Ga.) High's Jaden Slocum and Beggs (Okla.) High's Kendal Daniels, a pair of three-star talents per Rivals. There are also a pair of prospects who Notre Dame is recruiting at both receiver and cornerback, called "athlete" recruits, and the Irish are in good position with both of them. Gardena (Calif.) Serra' Devin Kirk- wood earned an offer from Notre Dame last fall during a campus visit, and Ewa Beach (Hawai'i) Campbell's Titus Mokiao-Atimalala reports high interest in Notre Dame. SPECIALISTS Players On The 2021 Roster: 3 Projected Take: 0-1 Jonathan Doerer will exhaust his eligibility after the 2020 season, and Notre Dame may opt to take a schol- arship kicker in this class, or the Irish could put sophomore Harrison Leon- ard on scholarship. ✦ Notre Dame is after Los Angeles Loyola cornerback Ceyair Wright, the No. 119 overall prospect in the land per Rivals. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM