Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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38 AUGUST 2020 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED PREP PROFILES Don't let Jonesborough (Tenn.) David Crockett class of 2021 athlete Prince Kollie's ranking fool you. The 6-2, 205-pounder is from a small town in the Volunteer State and has been seen in person by very few talent evaluators. In fact, he didn't earn his first scholarship offer until January, but has accumulated more than 30 since. "His tape has been his tape since the season ended. The right schools wanted to take a chance on him," David Crockett head coach Hayden Chandley said. "All it takes is one and then everyone else comes calling. It was cool to see it unfold that way." Kollie is expected to play weak-side linebacker this fall. A majority of col- lege coaches see him playing inside the box for their respective programs, whereas some others would like for him to be more of a cover guy, such as Notre Dame's rover position. "He's so versatile that a program can do multiple things with him," Chandley explained. "You can put 20-25 pounds on him and play him in- side the box, or put five or 10 pounds on him and really keep his speed and let him play in space more." Kollie recently narrowed his re- cruitment down to five schools: Georgia, Louisville, LSU, Notre Dame and Oklahoma. The Fighting Irish offered Kollie May 17 and quickly became a top contender in his recruitment. Notre Dame defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Clark Lea has kept in close contact with Kollie and Chandley, including several Zoom video chats that often consist of a "virtual visit." "He's gotten to know their coaches," Chandley said. "Coach Lea and I have had great conversations about Notre Dame as a whole and the core val- ues of the program and what makes Notre Dame unique. He's made a re- ally good pitch of Notre Dame and it sounds like a great place to be. "Prince has spoken very highly of the program and what their coaches bring to the table. I know that it's a very historic program and it speaks for itself — not only the football pro- gram, but the education that comes with it. It's a very intriguing place and it definitely has Prince's attention." Kollie did it all for David Crockett last season, catching 68 passes for 1,085 yards and nine touchdowns, plus recording 78 tackles, four tackles for loss, two sacks, one interception, seven passes defended, one fumble recovery and three forced fumbles on defense. — Mike Singer Greenville (S.C.) High class of 2022 offensive tackle Collin Sadler has seen his recruiting process erupt in the past few months. North Carolina State was the third school to offer the 6-6, 295-pounder a scholarship in January. Now, Sadler is up to more than 20 tenders, includ- ing Clemson, Georgia, LSU, Miami, Michigan, Notre Dame and Oregon. The Fighting Irish joined Sadler 's list June 15 during a phone call with offensive line coach Jeff Quinn. Sadler visited South Bend when Notre Dame took down Boston Col- lege last November, but at that point he wasn't the household name that he is now. "It definitely was a surprise," Sadler said of the Notre Dame offer. "We re- ally haven't talked much until we talked to Coach Quinn again in June. After we did our walkthrough prac- tice, I was told to call Coach Quinn. It was definitely a great conversation. "We started off by talking about him and his kids, the program, the players he's developed, and midway through the conversation, he told me that I had been offered a scholarship. That was definitely a high point of the conversation. From there, we just talked about the education value at Notre Dame and things like that." Sadler was ecstatic to earn the op- portunity to continue his career in South Bend. "Notre Dame is not only elite foot- ball-wise but also in academics," he explained. "I'm very honored to have that kind of offer. Like Coach Quinn said, you get in the Ivy League con- versation, and then it's a big football offer. It's definitely cool. "Coach Quinn definitely said that he sees me as a tackle. He likes my length and size. With my high school coaches, I've been trained to play offensive line. Wherever a college needs me to play, I believe I can play there and succeed at that position." The rising junior is in no rush to make a college commitment but would like to make a decision before his senior year. Sadler really wants to get out on the road and visit more schools. "As far as Notre Dame stands, it's definitely a big one," he added. "It's just so rich in history. You can tell how rich the culture is there. The first thing that jumped out is the age of the program and all of the buildings. "It's really cool. I really loved ev- erything about the visit. It wasn't your average visit." — Mike Singer Fighting Irish Hoping To Pull Stud Linebacker From SEC Country Notre Dame Offer Excites 2022 South Carolina Lineman "Prince has spoken very highly of the program and what their coaches bring to the table." David Crockett head coach Hayden Chandley on Kollie's interest in Notre Dame PRINCE KOLLIE ✪ ✪ ✪ David Crockett H.S. Jonesborough, Tenn. Status: Offered Class: 2021 Position: Athlete Ht.: 6-2 • Wt.: 205 Rivals Rankings: No. 19 player in Tennessee and No. 57 athlete nationally COLLIN SADLER No star rating yet Greenville H.S. Greenville, S.C. Status: Offered Class: 2022 Position: Offensive Tackle Ht.: 6-6 • Wt.: 295 Rivals Rankings: Currently unrated