Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com MARCH 2020 57 FOOTBALL RECRUITING pects to the 2020 class, that would total 20 recruits. It would still put the Irish at a disadvantage stacked up against Penn State and other schools that signed more than 20 prospects. However, by just adding three 5.6 three-star recruits and using the Ri- vals formula, Notre Dame would have a total class points of 2,202, mov- ing them up to No. 12 in the country (and past Penn State at No. 14). With Notre Dame having a small 2020 class and deciding not to take an additional recruit, the group ranking suffered. If you want to sort by aver- age star ranking, Notre Dame's class ranks No. 12 nationally (3.59). Back in 2017, Clemson finished 22nd in recruiting with only 14 play- ers signed. However, the average ranking of each player, including three five-star figures, was 3.86 — the fourth highest in the nation. THE (CHIP) LONG & SHORT OF IT A third different Notre Dame assis- tant coach — former or otherwise — in as many years was named one of the nation's top 25 recruiters by Rivals. This year the honor was bestowed to deposed 2017-19 offensive coordi- nator Chip Long, who split with the Fighting Irish staff in early Decem- ber for what Brian Kelly cited as the "best interests of the program." Fortunately, Long's last go-round as a recruiter should serve the pro- gram's interests well in the future. Wrote Josh Helmholdt, recruiting analyst for Rivals: "Brian Kelly de- cided to part ways with his offensive coordinator after the season, but the impact Long had on this Notre Dame class cannot be understated. "Long brought in two of the top five tight end prospects in the 2020 class, including Michael Mayer, who was ranked as the No. 36 prospect in the country. "Long was also responsible for landing Rivals100 running back Chris Tyree out of Virginia, and gave big assists on five-star wide receiver Jordan Johnson, four-star quarter- back Drew Pyne and three-star re- ceiver Xavier Watts." There were reports that Long was a candidate to become a coordinator at Arkansas (where he began his career as a graduate assistant) under new head coach Sam Pittman, or even work for newly hired Todd Graham — whose staff he was on at Arizona State — at the University of Hawai'i. Eventually, reports surfaced on Feb. 9 that Long would join the sup- port staff at the University of Tennes- see as an analyst. In 2019, current Notre Dame associ- ate head coach/defensive line coach Mike Elston was named one of the top 25 recruiters by Rivals after his position group reeled in five players — headlined by tackle Jacob Lacey and end Isaiah Foskey — while also playing a significant role in helping ink a four-man offensive line. In 2018, former cornerbacks coach Todd Lyght (2015-19) was lauded among the top 25 by Rivals when the Irish signed seven defensive backs, featuring top-50 prospect Houston Griffith. However, two of those players have since transferred — safety Der- rik Allen (Georgia Tech) and corner- back Noah Boykin (Massachusetts) — while two others shifted to other positions: Joe Wilkins Jr. to wide re- ceiver and Paul Moala to rover. ✦ Former Fighting Irish offensive coordinator Chip Long, who split from the program in early December, was tabbed as one of the nation's top 25 recruiters by Rivals. PHOTO BY MIKE MILLER Rivals 1. Georgia 2. Clemson 3. Alabama 4. LSU 5. Ohio State 6. Texas A&M 7. Tennessee 8. Florida 9. Oregon 10. Auburn 11. Michigan 12. Miami 13. Texas 14. Penn State 15. Oklahoma 16. North Carolina 17. South Carolina 18. Nebraska 19. Stanford 20. Washington 21. Florida State 22. Kentucky 23. Notre Dame 24. Georgia Tech 25. Arizona State 247Sports 1. Georgia 2. Alabama 3. Clemson 4. LSU 5. Ohio State 6. Texas A&M 7. Auburn 8. Florida 9. Texas 10. Tennessee 11. Oklahoma 12. Oregon 13. Miami 14. Michigan 15. Penn State 16. Washington 17. Notre Dame 18. South Carolina 19. North Carolina 20. Nebraska 21. Stanford 22. Florida State 23. Kentucky 24. Arizona State 25. Wisconsin ESPN 1. Clemson 2. Georgia 3. Alabama 4. LSU 5. Ohio State 6. Texas A&M 7. Auburn 8. Florida 9. Texas 10. Oklahoma 11. Michigan 12. Penn State 13. Oregon 14. Notre Dame 15. Washington 16. North Carolina 17. Miami 18. Tennessee 19. Florida State 20. South Carolina 21. Stanford 22. Kentucky 23. Arizona State 24. Nebraska 25. Mississippi State Tom Lemming 1. Clemson 2. Georgia 3. Alabama 4. LSU 5. Ohio State 6. Texas A&M 7. Auburn 8. Florida 9. Oklahoma 10. Texas 11. Tennessee 12. Michigan 13. Penn State 14. Oregon 15. Notre Dame 16. Miami 17. North Carolina 18. Washington 19. Nebraska 20. South Carolina 21. Wisconsin 22. Florida State 23. Stanford 24. Mississippi State 25. Kentucky Richest Keep Getting Richer Similar to "Way Too Early" polls each January previewing a college football season, recruiting rankings in February have become quite predictable with the usual suspects. Rivals had Georgia, Clemson, Alabama, LSU and Ohio State as its top five, with that quintet of schools signing 19 of a possible 33 five-star prospects listed by the outlet. (As of Feb. 10) Note: ESPN included Notre Dame's two graduate transfers — wide receiver Ben Skowronek (Northwest- ern) and safety Isaiah Pryor (Ohio State) — to make a 19-man class instead of a 17-man one.