Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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football recruiting New Jersey Tackle Embraces The Irish By Wes Morgan N otre Dame offensive line coach Harry Hiestand and defensive coordinator Bob Diaco teamed up to secure the program's third offensive lineman commitment of the 2014 class when Red Bank (N.J.) Catholic tackle Quenton Nelson pledged his allegiance to the Fighting Irish on May 2. commitment profile quenton nelson The 6-5, 285-pounder — who is ranked as a four-star recruit, the No. 8 player in the Garden State, the No. 15 offensive tackle nationally and the No. 232 overall prospect in the class of 2014 by 247Sports — chose Notre Dame over Alabama, Ohio State, Stanford, Oregon, Tennessee and Vanderbilt. He became the third offensive lineman in the class and ninth commitment overall, joining Maryland product Sam Mustipher (guard) and Cleveland guard Jimmy Byrne, before Nashville standout Alex Bars (tackle) joined the party on May 17. Nelson's recruitment was a wild ride throughout April, and the U.S. Army All-American and second-team all-state performer as a junior struggled to filter out all the outside noise as decision time loomed. After countless restless nights and detailed conversations with his parents, he identified his future home. 247Sports rates Nelson as a four-star prospect, the No. 8 player in New Jersey, the No. 15 offensive tackle in the country and the No. 232 overall player in the class of 2014. photo courtesy 247sports "I knew Coach [Brian] Kelly was supposed to call me at night, and I knew I wanted to play for Notre Dame," Nelson said. "I had a long talk with my parents before he called and told them why I wanted to commit now. They were very excited and happy for me that I came to a decision." Nelson played it cool when Kelly finally called. "Coach Kelly asked me where I