Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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football recruiting Spring Cleaning Notre Dame hosted more than 15 offered targets for spring practice By Jason Sapp C ollege coaches are back on the recruiting trail with the spring evaluation period underway. While Notre Dame set its sights on visiting all of the program's top targets following the Blue-Gold Game weekend, a number of offered targets in both the 2014 and 2015 class traveled to campus to see the Irish practice this spring. Notre Dame landed two verbal commitments from the 15-plus offered prospects that visited — offensive guard Sam Mustipher of Olney, Md., and defensive end Andrew Trumbetti of Demarest, N.J. — and made a strong impression on others in the group. Here's a breakdown of when the Irish prospects visited and where the program stands with each moving forward. March 22: Spring Practice — Day Two DE Jashon Cornell 6-4, 230 · Saint Paul, Minn. (Cretin Derham Hall) Class: 2015 Quote: "I think they may have a chance to get back to the national championship game this year with some of the players they're getting this year. When I went down there, it was like they're ready to get back on that field again." Touted athlete Nathan Starks trekked to South Bend with Las Vegas Bishop Gorman coaches and was able to reconnect with former teammate and current Irish offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley. Photo courtesy 247sports The Skinny: Cornell had Notre Dame as an early favorite in his recruitment … He planned on returning to campus for the Blue-Gold Game April 20, but decided to head to Missouri's spring contest instead to add another visit to his list … Has a growing list of offers that includes Cal, Florida, Iowa, Penn State, USC, Wisconsin and others … The former teammate of Irish freshman wide receiver James Onwualu could very well be the next Raider to keep the pipeline going to South Bend. OL Braden Smith 6-6, 282 · Olathe, Kan. (Olathe South) Class: 2014 247Sports Ranking: Rated as the No. 1 offensive