Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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62 MARCH 2021 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2021 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE vid Bailey, the nation's No. 53 player and No. 7 outside linebacker, is an- other edge prospect the staff is ar- dently pursuing. Boonville (Mo.) High's DJ Weso- lak, the No. 248 prospect and No. 13 weak-side end nationally, and Hono- lulu Punahou's Teva Tafiti, the No. 200 player and No. 8 weak-side end in the land, are feeling the love from Elston and Freeman as well. Also keep an eye on Red Bank (N.J.) Catholic's Alex Bauman, the younger brother of Irish tight end Kevin Bauman. He's ranked as a three-star prospect but has already netted an offer from Notre Dame. LINEBACKER/ROVER Committed: 1 Projected Take: 3-5 Synopsis: Notre Dame has Grand Rapids (Mich.) Central Catholic's Nolan Ziegler, a three-star prospect and the nation's No. 30 "athlete," already committed. We expect about three linebackers to join him in what should be a superb haul at the posi- tion for the Irish. In a perfect world, the Irish would be able to flip Kettering (Ohio) Arch- bishop Alter 's CJ Hicks, the No. 10 overall recruit and No. 1 outside linebacker in the country, from Ohio State. Freeman has been recruiting him for a long time and will play the long game in order to land the five- star prospect, but it's an uphill battle. Evanston (Ill.) High's Sebastian Cheeks, the nation's No. 105 overall player and No. 13 outside linebacker, and Niuafe "Junior" Tuihalamaka, the No. 65 recruit and No. 1 inside linebacker, appear to be leaning to- ward Notre Dame. The vibe is that Cheeks will choose Notre Dame later this spring, and Tuihalamaka, a re- cent USC decommitment, is expected to visit South Bend and could com- mit soon afterwards. The Irish staff is high on and in regular contact with Omaha (Neb.) Burke's Devon Jackson, the No. 241 overall player and No. 20 outside linebacker in the nation; Salt Lake City Brighton's Lander Barton, the No. 24 outside linebacker in the land; and Traverse City (Mich.) Central's Joshua Burnham, the No. 145 pros- pect and No. 4 inside 'backer in the class. Notre Dame is also after Reno (Nev.) McQueen's Robby Snelling, the No. 23 outside linebacker in the country. Snelling is currently com- mitted to Stanford for baseball, but he is strongly looking at other op- tions, including playing both sports for the Fighting Irish. Hilton Head (S.C.) High's Jaylen Sneed prefers to stay in the South, but Freeman is recruiting the nation's No. 57 player and No. 8 outside line- backer hard. Nashville (Tenn.) Chris Presby- terian Academy's Langston Patter- son, a three-star player, is also worth monitoring and has been in commu- nication with Freeman. DEFENSIVE BACK Committed: 0 Projected Take: 3-4 Synopsis: With no commitments and the Irish wanting to land elite- level defensive backs, the list of tar- gets here is exhaustive. Let's start with the cornerback prospects. It's considered a long- shot, but the Irish staff is working on Grosse Pointe (Mich.) South's Will Johnson, the nation's No. 11 pros- pect and No. 4 cornerback. Michigan, Ohio State and USC are considered the teams to beat here, but the Irish are making a run at the five-star player. Freeman may be able to flip a pros- pect from his alma mater, Ohio State. West Chester (Ohio) Lakota West's Jyaire Brown, the No. 156 overall player and No. 16 cornerback, is in regular contact with the Irish coach- ing staff, and he and Freeman have built a strong connection. Notre Dame is battling with pow- erhouse programs for St. Louis Lu- theran North's Toriano Pride, the No. 160 player and No. 17 corner- back in America, and also for Apopka (Fla.) High's Nikai Martinez, who Rivals ranks as the No. 180 prospect and No. 18 cornerback in the land. Notre Dame's odds are better at this point to land Martinez than Pride. Freeman and position coach Mike Mickens are turning up the heat on Philadelphia St. Joseph's Keenan Nelson Jr., the No. 97 player and No. 11 cornerback in the country. The Irish are in a battle with Penn State for his services. Oradell (N.J.) Bergen Catholic's Jaeden Gould, the nation's No. 247 recruit and No. 23 cornerback, was Notre Dame's first offer in the 2022 class, way back in February of 2019. However, the Irish haven't been re- cruiting him very hard until recently. Gould and Naples (Fla.) High's Devin Moore, who ranks as a Rivals three-star prospect, are considered hybrid prospects who could play cor- nerback and safety. Moving to safety, Pleasant Hill (Iowa) Southeast Polk's Xavier Nwankpa is at the top of the board. Clemson, LSU and Ohio State are among the contenders for the na- tion's No. 79 player and No. 6 safety. Former Michigan commit Myles Rowser, the No. 82 prospect and No. 7 safety in America from Bel- leville (Mich.) High, has Notre Dame on his short list, along with Alabama, Florida, Michigan and Penn State. Notre Dame is also in contact with Chesapeake (Va.) Oscar Smith's Sher- rod Covil, Buford (Ga.) High's Jake Pope and Plano (Texas) Pope John Paul II's Terrance Brooks. All are listed as three-star safeties per Rivals but should see their ranking improve in the near future. SPECIALIST Committed: 0 Projected Take: 0 Synopsis: Notre Dame has taken a scholarship punter (Jay Bramblett, 2019), long snapper (Alex Peitsch, 2020) and kicker (Josh Bryan, 2021) in the past three classes. The Irish are not expected to take a scholarship specialist in the 2022 cycle. ✦ Defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman would love to flip West Chester (Ohio) Lakota West's Jyaire Brown, the No. 16 cornerback and No. 156 overall player in the nation, from Ohio State. PHOTO BY SAM SPIEGELMAN