Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com SEPT. 26, 2020 45 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ROUNDUP Quarterback Tyler Buchner, 6-2, 210, La Mesa, Calif. (Helix Charter) Running Back Logan Diggs, 6-0, 191, Metairie, La. (Rummel) Donovan Edwards, 5-11, 193, West Bloomfield, Mich. (West Bloomfield) Wide Receiver Deion Colzie, 6-4, 180, Athens, Ga. (Athens Academy) Lorenzo Styles Jr., 6-1, 170, Pickerington, Ohio (Pickerington Central) Jayden Thomas, 6-2, 188, Atlanta (Pace Academy) Dont'e Thornton Jr., 6-4, 180, Baltimore (Mount St. Joseph) Tight End Cane Berrong, 6-4, 225, Hartwell, Ga. (Hart County) Mitchell Evans, 6-7, 240, Wadsworth, Ohio (Wadsworth Senior) Offensive Line Joe Alt, 6-7, 260, Fridley, Minn. (Totino Grace) Pat Coogan, 6-5, 300, Chicago (Marist) Blake Fisher, 6-6, 330, Avon, Ind. (Avon) Rocco Spindler, 6-5, 290, Clarkston, Mich. (Clarkston) Defensive End David Abiara, 6-4, 240, Mansfield, Texas (Legacy) Jason Onye, 6-4, 250, Warwick, R.I. (Bishop Hendricken School) Will Schweitzer, 6-4, 215, Los Gatos, Calif. (Los Gatos) Defensive Tackle Gabriel Rubio, 6-5, 280, St. Peters, Mo. (Lutheran of St. Charles) Linebacker Prince Kollie, 6-2, 205, Jonesborough, Tenn. (David Crockett) Kahanu Kia, 6-2, 205, Honolulu (Punahou) Cornerback Ryan Barnes, 6-2, 180, Gaithersburg, Md. (Quince Orchard) Philip Riley, 6-0, 190, Valrico, Fla. (Bloomingdale) Chance Tucker, 6-1, 170, Encino, Calif. (Crespi Carmelite) Ceyair Wright, 6-0, 173, Los Angeles (Loyola) Safety Justin Walters, 6-1, 170, Bolingbrook, Ill. (Bolingbrook) Athlete Titus Mokiao-Atimalala, 6-1, 165, Ewa Beach, Hawai'i (Campbell) Theran Johnson, 6-0, 170, Indianapolis (North Central)* Commitments in bold italics * Received an offer from Notre Dame between Sept. 12 and Sept. 18 RIVALS 2021 TEAM RECRUITING RANKINGS As of Sept. 18 1. Alabama 21 2. Ohio State 19 3. Oregon 20 4. Florida 24 5. Tennessee 26 6. Michigan 21 7. USC 18 8. LSU 18 9. Miami 22 10. Clemson 15 11. Notre Dame 18 Rk. School Commits Rk. School Commits Class Of 2021 Scholarship Offer Master List Theran Johnson — a 6-0, 170- pound athlete at Indianapolis North Central — picked up an offer from Notre Dame on Sept. 15. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM Athens (Ga.) Academy wide receiver Deion Colzie — a former Notre Dame pledge who decommitted — is expected to choose between the Fighting Irish, Florida and Tennessee on Sept. 28. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM Follow @BGI_MikeSinger on Twitter for daily recruiting updates available on BlueandGold.com! RECRUITING NOTES • In mid-March when virtually the entire country went into a shutdown, so did recruiting visits. Six months later, there is still a recruiting "dead period," which means college coaches are not allowed to have any face-to-face contact with prospective student-athletes. The NCAA has extended the dead period on a few occasions — pushing it back a month each time. More extreme measures were taken on Sept. 16, when the NCAA announced the dead period would be ex- tended through the rest of the 2020 calendar year. "While the Council acknowledged and appreciates the growing desire to resume in-person recruiting by select coaches' associations, Council members ultimately con- cluded the primary concern right now must be protect- ing the current student-athletes on our campuses," said Council chair M. Grace Calhoun, athletics director at Pennsylvania. "We encourage our coaches to interact with prospective student-athletes virtually in this time period." • The dead period greatly affects prospects in the 2021 recruiting class, especially those who were counting on official visits to evaluate various colleges. Hawaiian prospects Titus Mokiao-Atimalala, a four- star athlete target for the Irish, and Kahanu Kia, a recent Notre Dame inside linebacker offer, have rarely been able to get to the United States mainland, let alone experience college visits. Despite Notre Dame not being able to host Kia or Mokiao-Atimalala — or any other recruits — the Irish will forge ahead and do as much recruiting as possible virtually. • Notre Dame extended a new 2021 offer to Indianap- olis North Central athlete Theran Johnson on Sept. 15. Johnson, who stands at 6-0, 170 pounds, has been com- mitted to Northwestern since May 3, but the Irish look to have more than a good chance to flip him from his pledge. Johnson is familiar with South Bend and holds the Irish in high regard. — Mike Singer