Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com MAY 2020 29 FOOTBALL RECRUITING June roll around and scramble to get recruits on campus. The aforementioned March 20-22 weekend was going to have double- digit four-star prospects in South Bend. If permitted, June 12-14 seems that it will replace that weekend as a massive recruiting event at Notre Dame. It's a foregone conclusion that Shi- pley would officially visit Notre Dame in June, and he is eyeing June 12. Avon (Ind.) High's Blake Fisher, the nation's No. 3 offensive tackle and No. 20 over- all prospect according to Rivals, has been committed to Notre Dame since last June and is helping the staff in its efforts to land Shipley. Fisher also plans to officially visit June 12. Chicago Marist offensive line- man Pat Coogan hopes to officially visit Notre Dame that same week- end as well. Rivals ranks the 6-5, 275-pounder as the No. 36 offensive tackle in America, but the Irish staff sees him as an interior prospect. Landing the offer from Notre Dame March 26 was a watershed event for Coogan. "It was definitely a surreal moment for me," he said. "I've been waiting for this one, so it feels really good. Being from the Chicagoland area, there's a big Notre Dame pull. "My family has always been a Notre Dame family. On any given Saturday, we'll turn on the Notre Dame game instead of any other team and watch them." Coogan held offers from Michigan, Michigan State, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma State, Oregon and Stan- ford before adding Notre Dame to his list, but one can make the argu- ment that the Irish opened the flood- gates in his recruitment. Since the time Irish offensive co- ordinator and Chicagoland recruiter Tommy Rees offered Coogan, Rivals' No. 6 recruit in Illinois picked up of- fers from LSU, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Texas A&M. Coogan is going with the flow mov- ing forward and doesn't have a set timeline. Even with all of Coogan's new offers, most experts consider Notre Dame the favorite to land his pledge. "I had to cancel a few visits, which was a bummer, but everyone is go- ing through the same thing," Coogan noted. "Once this whole process gets going, I'll try to schedule visits, con- tinue to build relationships, start making official visits in the summer and that will be where I really start thinking about a timetable." Ocala (Fla.) Trinity Catholic offen- sive tackle Caleb Johnson informed Blue & Gold Illustrated that he plans to officially visit Auburn June 6-8 and Notre Dame June 12-14. Johnson lived in Fort Wayne, Ind., before moving to Ocala, Fla., during the summer before his sophomore year. He has plenty of family still in the Hoosier State, and landing the offer from the Irish was a huge moment for Johnson. The staff is talking to a handful of prospects about the June official visit dates, and it's mainly been focused on the offensive linemen thus far. Along with the recruits already mentioned, Clarkston (Mich.) High's Rocco Spin- dler, the No. 55 player in the land per Rivals; Lititz (Pa.) Warwick's Nolan Rucci, who Rivals rates as the No. 34 overall recruit nationally; and Rich- mond (Texas) Foster 's Reuben Fa- theree, the No. 206 prospect in America per Rivals, all tell Blue & Gold Illustrated that Notre Dame has discussed June for an official visit with them. Credit should be given to the Fighting Irish staff for being proac- tive while planning June visits with recruits, but only time will tell if they're actually able to happen. MOVEMENT ON WIDE RECEIVER AND DEFENSIVE BACK BOARDS Notre Dame lost a commitment when Athens (Ga.) Academy wide re- ceiver Deion Colzie, the No. 71 over- all player in the land according to Rivals, opened his recruitment back up March 20. He has since added of- fers from Michigan, Minnesota, Penn State and Oregon. "Notre Dame was my dream school and I feel I rushed my decision," Col- zie said. "I just didn't think about it enough. I did not give the recruiting process enough time and that is why I am re-opening things back up now." Rumors circulated in late March that Pickerington (Ohio) Central wide receiver Lorenzo Styles, the No. 37 overall prospect nationally per Rivals, would also back off his Notre Dame pledge and give close consideration to Michigan. The 6-1, 170-pounder is still communicating with other schools, but he is expected to stick with his Fighting Irish pledge. Notre Dame offered three new wide receiver prospects this spring — Pleas- ant Grove (Ala.) High's Christian Lewis, Rivals' No. 75 wideout in Amer- ica; Monarch (Fla.) Coconut Creek's Jaden Alexis, the No. 57 receiver na- tionally per Rivals; and Flower Mound (Texas) Marcus' J. Michael Sturdivant, one notch above Alexis at No. 56 in Rivals' rankings of wideouts. At defensive back, Bolingbrook (Ill.) High's Justin Walters, the No. 17 safety in the land, has been com- mitted to Notre Dame for a couple months. New cornerbacks coach Mike Mickens and third-year safeties coach Terry Joseph have offered sev- eral new prospects. Notre Dame is in a prime position for Naperville (Ill.) Central's Sam Jackson, a Rivals three-star recruit who plays quarterback at the high school level. The staff sees his skills translating to defensive back. The previously mentioned Barnes is very high on Notre Dame as well. He has family in Northern Indiana and visited campus in earlier years. Valrico (Fla.) Bloomingdale's Philip Riley, a four-star cornerback, has Notre Dame among his top seven schools, a list which includes Minnesota, Missis- sippi State, Penn State, Texas, Virginia Tech and Washington. ✦ The Fighting Irish are among the favorites to land Chicago Marist product Pat Coogan, who is Rivals' No. 36 offensive tackle in the coun- try. Coogan is among the prospects tentatively scheduled to visit South Bend in mid-June. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM