Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com OCT. 10, 2020 39 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ROUNDUP Commitment Updates Games played Sept. 17-19 unless otherwise noted Class of 2021 DE David Abiara: Mansfield (Texas) Legacy opens the season versus Trophy Club (Texas) Byron Nelson Sept. 25. TE Cane Berrong: Caught three passes for 53 yards and a touchdown in Hartwell (Ga.) Hart County's (1-2) 55-22 triumph over Gainesville (Ga.) North Hall (0-3). Next game: vs. Norcross (Ga.) Greater Atlanta Christian (2-0) Sept. 25. RB Logan Diggs: Metairie (La.) Rummel opens the season Oct. 9 vs. Ham- mond (La.) High … Rummel is ranked No. 23 nationally by MaxPreps. TE Mitchell Evans: Completed 22 of 28 passes for 381 yards with three touchdowns in Wadsworth (Ohio) Senior's (1-2) 62-42 defeat at the hands of Hudson (Ohio) High (4-0) … Also rushed nine times for 100 yards and two scores. Next game: vs. Barberton (Ohio) High (0-4) Sept. 25. OL Blake Fisher: Avon (Ind.) High (2-3) defeated Indianapolis Franklin Central (1-4) 35-7 … Avon threw for 119 yards and two touchdowns, and compiled 171 yards and three scores on the ground. Next game: vs. Fishers (Ind.) High (1-4) Sept. 25. LB Prince Kollie: Carried the rock 15 times for 162 yards and three touch- downs, had one reception for three yards, and totaled nine tackles (1.5 for loss) and deflected two passes for Jonesborough (Tenn.) David Crockett (3-2) in a 49-12 win versus Newport (Tenn.) Cocke County (1-3). Next game: vs. Blountville (Tenn.) Sullivan Central (2-2) Sept. 25. DT Gabriel Rubio: Posted 10 stops, two tackles for loss and a quarterback hurry in St. Peters (Mo.) Lutheran of St. Charles' (3-1) 30-0 triumph versus Hermann (Mo.) High (2-2). Next game: vs. Columbia (Mo.) Father Tolton (1-2) Sept. 25. OL Rocco Spindler: Blocked a punt, recorded five solo tackles and posted two sacks for Clarkston (Mich.) High (1-0) in its 24-17 victory versus South- field (Mich.) Arts & Tech High (0-1). Next game: vs. Oxford (Mich.) High (1-0) Sept. 25. WR Lorenzo Styles Jr.: Had a catch of 50 yards for a score in Pickerington (Ohio) Central's (3-0) 43-3 victory over Groveport (Ohio) Groveport-Madison (3-1) … Pickerington Central is ranked as the No. 19 team in the MaxPreps national top 25, moving up four spots from last week. Next game: vs. Lan- caster (Ohio) High (1-3) Sept. 25. Class of 2022 TE Jack Nickel: Caught two passes for 36 yards for Milton (Ga.) High (1-0) in a 29-0 shutout versus Johns Creek (Ga.) High (0-1). Next game: vs. Atlanta Hapeville Charter (0-1) Sept. 25. OL Joey Tanona: Helped lead Zionsville (Ind.) High (3-2) past Noblesville (Ind.) High (1-4) 24-17 … Zionsville threw for 128 yards, and ran for 242 yards and three scores. Next game: at Fishers (Ind.) Hamilton Southeastern (3-2) Sept. 25. LB Nolan Ziegler: Made 16 tackles (eight solo), broke up three passes and forced a fumble for Grand Rapids (Mich.) Catholic Central (1-0) in a 44-7 tri- umph versus Wayland (Mich.) High (0-1). Next game: vs. Middleville (Mich.) Thornapple Kellogg (0-1) Sept. 25. Nolan Ziegler racked up 16 tackles (eight solo), broke up three passes and forced a fumble to help lead Grand Rapids (Mich.) Catholic Central to a 44-7 win over Wayland (Mich.) High. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM RECRUITING NOTES • With the NCAA extending the recruiting dead pe- riod, which halts all in-person meetings between Divi- sion I college coaches and prospective student-athletes, through the rest of the calendar year, video chat calls have become the norm. Text messaging and phone calls still occur as well, but prospects seeing coaches "virtually" through Zoom or Face- Time is very prevalent, a tool the Notre Dame staff uses on a daily basis with its top targets in the 2021 and 2022 classes. • On Sept. 20, Indianapolis North Central class of 2021 athlete Theran Johnson, a Northwestern verbal who is ranked as the No. 11 recruit in Indiana and the No. 68 cornerback nationally, had a Zoom call with the Fighting Irish staff, led by recruiting coordinator Brian Polian. Johnson informed Blue & Gold Illustrated that the call went well and the staff is looking to set up a "virtual visit" with him in the near future. Notre Dame offered Johnson in September and is looking to flip him from his pledge to the Wildcats. • Honolulu Punahou linebacker Kahanu Kia, the No. 9 recruit in Hawai'i for the 2021 class, was on a Zoom call with Notre Dame defensive coordinator Clark Lea and defensive analyst Nick Lezynski Sept. 23. The Fighting Irish offered Kia at the beginning of Sep- tember and hope to beat out Stanford, UCLA and Utah for the hard-hitting 6-2, 205-pounder. • With the commitment of Athens (Ga.) Academy's Deion Colzie, Notre Dame has two wide receiver pledges in the 2021 class. Colzie joined Pickerington (Ohio) Central's Lorenzo Styles Jr. The Fighting Irish have two remaining wide receiver targets and would love to land both. Atlanta Pace Academy four-star Jayden Thomas is con- sidered a strong Notre Dame lean and may announce his decision in early October, while Baltimore Mount St. Joseph four-star Dont'e Thornton is also a major target but doesn't plan to commit until January. • Notre Dame lost a commitment Sept. 25, when Valrico (Fla.) Bloomingdale's Philip Riley, the nation's No. 24 cor- nerback and No. 241 overall prospect per Rivals, backed off of his pledge and is now expected to flip to USC. Riley committed to Notre Dame in May without ever visiting campus, and to this day hasn't stepped foot in South Bend. With Riley's decommitment, Notre Dame is down to 18 commitments in the 2021 class and has three defen- sive back pledges. — Mike Singer The Fighting Irish have remained in close contact with Honolulu Punahou linebacker Kahanu Kia, the No. 9 recruit in Hawai'i for the 2021 class. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM Follow @BGI_MikeSinger on Twitter for daily recruiting updates available on BlueandGold.com!