Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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46 SEPT. 10, 2022 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED FOOTBALL RECRUITING ROUNDUP Class Of 2023 OL Sullivan Absher: Paved the way for Belmont (N.C.) South Point (2-0) to run for 301 yards and 4 touchdowns in a 28-13 victory over Lincolnton (N.C.) High (0-1) Aug. 19 … Helped South Point run for 338 yards and 5 touchdowns in a 48-6 triumph against Mount Holly (N.C.) East Gaston (1-1) Aug 26. Next game: vs. Rutherfordton (N.C.) R-S Central (1-1) Sept. 2. CB Micah Bell: Houston The Kinkaid School (0-1) suffered a 20-15 loss at the hands of Jasper (Texas) High (1-0). Next game: at Tomball (Texas) Chris- tian Home School (0-1) Sept. 2. LB Drayk Bowen: Totaled 16 tackles, 2 stops for loss and 1 sack in a 28-7 setback for Merrillville (Ind.) Andrean (0-2) against Merrillville (Ind.) High (1-0) Aug. 19 … Rushed 8 times for 29 yards and caught 1 pass for 9 yards ... Posted 8 tackles (2 for loss) and recovered a fumble in Andrean's 28-18 loss against Crown Point (Ind.) High (2-0) Aug. 26 … Also rushed 12 times for 64 yards. Next game: vs. Crete (Ill.) Crete-Monee (0-1) Sept. 3. S Peyton Bowen: Caught 3 passes for 34 yards and returned an intercep- tion 75 yards for a touchdown in Denton (Texas) Guyer's (1-0) 47-14 romp of Rockwall (Texas) Rockwall-Heath (0-1) Aug. 26. Next game: at Aledo (Texas) High (0-1) Sept. 2. TE Cooper Flanagan: Caught 2 passes for 24 yards and a touchdown to help lead Concord (Calif.) De La Salle (1-0) to a 36-20 victory against Elk Grove (Calif.) Monterey Trail (0-2) Aug. 26. Next game: vs. San Mateo (Calif.) Serra (1-0) Sept. 2. WR Rico Flores Jr.: Caught 7 passes for 156 yards and 2 touchdowns in a 47-18 win for Folsom (Calif.) High (1-1) versus Elk Grove (Calif.) Monterey Trail (0-2) Aug. 19 … Hauled in 8 receptions for 135 yards in a 17-12 defeat at the hands of San Mateo (Calif.) Serra (1-0) Aug. 26 ... Also notched 3 tackles. Next game: vs. Stockton (Calif.) Edison (0-2) Sept. 2. CB Christian Gray: Ran once for 12 yards and a score and caught a 30-yard touchdown along with 2 tackles, but St. Louis De Smet (0-1) dropped its sea- son opener 29-22 against Springfield (Ohio) High (1-0) Aug. 27. Next game: vs. Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy (0-1) Sept. 3. WR Jaden Greathouse: Hauled in 2 passes for 41 yards in a 44-14 win for Austin (Texas) Westlake (1-0) over Missouri City (Texas) Ridge Point (0-1) Aug. 26. Next game: at Converse (Texas) Judson (1-0) Sept. 2. OL Charles Jagusah: Helped lead Rock Island (Ill.) Alleman (1-0) to a 32-6 victory against Chicago Academy (0-1) Aug. 26. Next game: vs. Quincy (Ill.) Notre Dame (0-1) Sept. 2. WR Braylon James: Caught 3 passes for 80 yards and a score in Round Rock (Texas) Stony Point's (1-0) 53-0 win over Austin (Texas) High (0-1) Aug. 26. Next game: at Killeen (Texas) High (1-0) Sept. 2. S Ben Minich: Made 5 tackles in Cincinnati Lakota West's (2-0) 16-13 vic- tory over Cincinnati St. Xavier (0-1) Aug. 19 … Hauled in 1 pass for 2 yards, which proved to be the game-winning touchdown … Blocked a punt that was returned by a teammate for a touchdown and recorded 1 tackle in a 49-6 blowout victory for Lakota West over Liberty Township (Ohio) Lakota East (0-2) Aug. 26. Next game: at Cincinnati Sycamore (0-2) Sept. 2. OL Sam Pendleton: Pfafftown (N.C.) High (1-1) knocked off Lexington (N.C.) North Davidson (0-1) 31-24 Aug. 19 … Pfafftown fell in a 40-34 shootout against Greensboro (N.C.) Grimsley (2-0) Aug. 26. Next game: vs. Charlotte (N.C.) Myers Park (0-1) Sept. 2. S Adon Shuler: Irvington (N.J.) High (1-0) defeated Woodbridge (N.J.) High 20-7 Aug. 26. Next game: vs. Millville (N.J.) High (1-0) Sept. 2. DE Brenan Vernon: Mentor (Ohio) High (1-1) knocked off Canton (Ohio) McKinley (0-1) 34-21 Aug. 19 … Mentor dropped a 26-20 contest against Cleveland St. Ignatius (1-0) 26. Next game: vs. Painesville (Ohio) Riverside (2-0) Sept. 2. Class of 2024 QB CJ Carr: Completed 30 of 43 passes for 330 yards with 2 interceptions, while adding 5 yards and 2 scores rushing, in Saline (Mich.) High's (1-0) 24-15 triumph against Hudsonville (Mich.) High (0-1) Aug. 25 … Next game: at Ann Arbor (Mich.) Huron (0-1) Sept. 1. DT Brandon Davis-Swain: West Bloomfield (Mich.) High (1-0) cruised past Sterling Heights (Mich.) Stevenson (0-1) 47-7. Next game: vs. Harper Woods (Mich.) High (1-0) Sept. 2. TE Jack Larsen: Hauled in 6 receptions for 80 yards in a 41-26 triumph for Charlotte (N.C.) Catholic (2-0) over Charlotte (N.C.) South Mecklenburg (0-1) Aug. 19 … Caught 4 passes for 44 yards and the go-ahead touchdown in Charlotte Catholic's 35-34 overtime win over Harrisburg (N.C.) Hickory Ridge (1-1). Next game: at Charlotte (N.C.) Providence Day (2-0) Sept. 2. WR Cam Williams: Snagged 7 passes for 126 yards and a touchdown for Glen Ellyn (Ill.) Glenbard South (1-0) in a 44-12 win over Aurora (Ill.) East (0-1) … Also had 2 rushes for 15 yards and a score. Next game: at Bensenville (Ill.) Fenton (0-1) Sept. 2. Commitment Updates Games played Aug. 18-20 and Aug. 25-27 unless otherwise noted ... Several Notre Dame commits have not started their seasons yet. RECRUITING NOTES • Tampa (Fla.) Berkeley Prep's Keon Keeley, the No. 1 edge and No. 3 overall prospect nationally per On3, was the first prospect to commit to the Irish in the 2023 class, but he broke his pledge Aug. 17. "First and foremost, I would like to thank the University of Notre Dame and their tremendous staff for spending their time to recruit me to Notre Dame," Keeley said in his decommitment announcement on social media. "I'm truly grate- ful for the opportunity. Making a decision that will ultimately affect my life's path has been quite challenging and cannot be understated. "With that said, I will be decommitting from the University of Notre Dame. I hope everyone understands my need to ensure I find the right path. Thank you so much." Keeley was on Ohio State's campus for an of- ficial visit when the Buckeyes hosted Notre Dame Sept. 3. However, Alabama is the expected land- ing spot for Keeley. Florida is also in pursuit. • The Fighting Irish got up to four defensive line commitments when Woodberry Forest (Va.) High's Armel Mukam, a three-star player, flipped his commitment from Stanford to Notre Dame. It should be noted, though, that Mukam is not a direct replacement for Keeley. Mukam will play strong-side end or defensive tackle for Notre Dame, while Keeley was going to play the weak-side vyper spot. Look for the Irish to take another vyper to round out a five-man defensive line class. • Notre Dame has already offered Murfrees- boro (Tenn.) Riverdale's Caleb Herring, a Tennes- see commit who is the No. 13 edge and No. 98 overall prospect nationally; Englewood (Colo.). Cherry Creek's Blake Purchase, a three-star re- cruit and the No. 46 edge in America; and Visalia (Calif.) Central Valley Christian's Jaeden Moore, a four-star talent and the No. 39 edge in the land. Moore committed to Oregon a couple days af- ter earning an offer from the Irish, but defensive line coach Al Washington will continue to recruit Moore and is evaluating others as well. — Mike Singer Follow @MikeTSinger on Twitter for daily recruiting updates on BlueandGold.com! Keon Keeley, the No. 1 edge and No. 3 overall prospect nationally per On3, decommitted from Notre Dame Aug. 17. He was the first Irish com- mitment in the class of 2023. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER