Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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64 MARCH 2020 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED FOOTBALL RECRUITING at both tight end and defensive end. Notre Dame put an offer on the table for Council Bluffs (Iowa) Lewis Central School Thomas Fidone — who is ranked as Rivals' No. 60 over- all prospect nationally — in January, and the 6-5, 217-pounder is looking to get to Notre Dame for a visit in March. OFFENSIVE LINE Players On The 2021 Roster: 13 Projected Take: 4 Notre Dame has the chance to sign some serious star power in the 2021 class. The Irish have a commitment from Avon (Ind.) High's Blake Fisher, the No. 20 overall player nationally per Rivals and a near five-star prospect, and he's acting as an 11th assistant coach on the recruiting trail for Notre Dame with how hard he's recruiting others to join him in South Bend. Also on Notre Dame's commit- ment list for now is Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy's Greg Crippen, who is rated as the No. 129 overall recruit nationally, but we've been told by our sources for several months that Crippen is not expected to end up in the final Irish class. He has yet to an- nounce a decommitment, but he vis- ited a few different schools in the fall and has had very little to no contact with the Notre Dame staff. A pair of highly regarded offensive line recruits from Clarkston (Mich.) High are considering Notre Dame. Garrett Dellinger and Rocco Spindler will make their next trip to South Bend March 20-22, which is shaping up to be a monstrous weekend for the Irish. Lititz (Pa.) Warwick offensive tackle Nolan Rucci, the nation's No. 34 over- all player, will also be on campus that weekend. His father, Todd, played at Penn State, and his brother, Hayden, is currently a tight end at Wisconsin. He's considering both schools along with Notre Dame and many others. Olney (Md.) Good Counsel's Landon Tengwall, who is Rivals' No. 27 overall prospect, told Blue & Gold Illustrated that he'll visit Notre Dame that same weekend as well, plus return for an official visit April 3-5. Notre Dame's main com- petition for Tengwall is currently Penn State, but Maryland and Michi- gan are in the picture as well. Rivals ranks Huntington (W.Va.) Spring Valley's Wyatt Milum as the No. 158 overall recruit in the land, and he will also visit March 20-22. He may be nearing a Notre Dame commitment. Orem (Utah) High's Kingsley Suamataia, Fairfax (Va.) Robinson's Tristan Leigh and Richmond (Texas) Foster 's Reuben Fatheree have not visited Notre Dame yet, but these three four-star prospects have ex- pressed strong interest in the Irish as well. DEFENSIVE END Players On The 2021 Roster: 8 Projected Take: 1-2 Notre Dame defensive line coach Mike Elston traveled all over the country during the January contact period and offered a handful of new defensive end prospects and also checked in on a few other targets. Elston extended an offer to Mans- field (Texas) Legacy three-star talent defensive end David Abiara Jan. 23, and the 6-4, 240-pounder visited South Bend the following weekend. Abiara nearly committed to the Irish Feb. 7, but instead decided to an- nounce a top schools group of Al- abama, Baylor, LSU, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas A&M. Hyattsville (Md.) DeMatha Catho- lic's Colin Mobley also visited Notre Dame Feb. 1, and he earned an offer from Kelly while on campus. Mobley is strongly considering Notre Dame following his unofficial trip. Blairstown (N.J.) Blair Academy's Aaron Armitage added Notre Dame to his offer list in December, and he's scheduled to visit South Bend March 20-22. The Irish are on the No. 113 overall prospect's short list. Notre Dame is also prioritizing Vero Beach (Fla.) High's Keanu Koht and Warwick (R.I.) Bishop Hen- dricken School's Jason Onye, a pair of three-star prospects who have been hot commodities on the recruit- ing trail, among others. DEFENSIVE TACKLE Players On The 2021 Roster: 7 Projected Take: 1 Recruiting is fluid and things are subject to change, but as of now we only expect Notre Dame to take one interior defensive lineman in the 2021 class — and the Irish already have him committed. Adding a big-time defensive end is key for Notre Dame's 2021 class, and the Irish are after Blairstown (N.J.) Blair Academy's Aaron Armitage, who is Rivals' No. 113 overall recruit in the country. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM