Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1481872
50 OCT. 22, 2022 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED FOOTBALL RECRUITING BY MIKE SINGER S t. Louis is becoming a bit of a home away from home for the Notre Dame football program on the recruiting front. With the Fighting Irish national brand and lack of a strong local recruiting base, Notre Dame has to recruit from coast to coast and even sometimes internationally. And over time, certain regions/states/cit- ies emerge as hot spots for Irish recruit- ing, even if it's for a short period of time. Take the Atlanta area for example — the Irish were cruising in the Peach State late in the Brian Kelly tenure, most notably by signing All-American safety Kyle Hamilton, who would go on to be a first-round draft choice by the Balti- more Ravens in 2022. And lately, Notre Dame has been making a dent in St. Louis. In the 2019 recruiting class, Notre Dame signed four-star ball carrier Kyren Williams from St. Louis St. John Vianney, and he went on to run for 2,153 yards and score a total of 31 touchdowns in an Irish uniform. He currently plays for the Los Angeles Rams, although he's been placed on the injured reserve list this season due to a high-ankle sprain suffered in the season opener. Notre Dame has three players from Missouri on its current roster. In the 2021 class, the Irish signed interior defensive lineman Gabriel Rubio from St. Louis Lutheran St. Charles. In lim- ited time this fall, Rubio has recorded 2 tackles and a half tackle for loss. In the 2022 cycle, the Irish beat out Oklahoma, Georgia and others to sign St. Louis John Burroughs defensive end Tyson Ford. The former top-100 recruit hasn't played yet this season but flashed in media viewings during fall camp. The third player is kicker Blake Grupe, who transferred in from Arkansas State during the offseason. As of Oct. 14, Notre Dame had one commitment from Missouri in the 2023 cycle: St. Louis De Smet's Christian Gray, who is ranked as the No. 10 cor- nerback and No. 82 overall prospect in the country by On3. Gray had final four of LSU, Notre Dame, Ohio State and USC before choosing the Irish. Alabama, Florida, Oklahoma and Oregon also were in pur- suit of the four-star talent. As a junior in 2021, Gray posted 34 tackles, 2 fumble recoveries and 2 in- terceptions in 10 games. He also added a 30-yard rushing touchdown and 3 kick- off return scores, helping lead De Smet to an 8-3 record. Gray was a first-team 2021 All-Metro Catholic Conference performer. WHAT'S NEXT FOR NOTRE DAME IN ST. LOUIS? Heading into Notre Dame's clash with Stanford, St. Louis Christian Brothers College's Jeremiyah Love, who is On3's No. 5 running back and No. 107 overall player nationally, was expected to be on campus for the game. In next week's is- sue of Blue & Gold Illustrated, we'll have more details on the four-star recruit and how his visit went. Love has been mulling between Notre Dame and Texas A&M for the past few months, with both schools jockeying for position. However, going into his trip to South Bend in mid-October, the Fight- ing Irish appeared to be the favorite to land his commitment. Landing Love would be big for posi- tion coach Deland McCullough and Co. Love is a dynamic athlete with the ball in his hands at running back, and when he's split out at receiver as well. With offers from the Alabama, Georgia, LSU and many others, Love is the type of athlete who would be a dominant player in a powerhouse SEC offense. And the Irish may get him in theirs. And moving to the 2024 class, there are a couple more talented players the Irish are after in St. Louis — both of whom were also expected on campus for the Stanford game going into the weekend. One of them is Love's high school teammate — 2024 wide receiver Jeremiah McClellan. Notre Dame offered McClel- lan, who is the No. 29 wide receiver and No. 219 overall prospect in the nation per On3, in March and has been consistently in contact with him. Arkansas, Missouri, Ohio State and Oklahoma are among the other schools in pursuit of him. St. Louis University High's Ryan Wingo, who is the No. 4 wide receiver and No. 12 overall prospect in America in On3's 2024 rankings, is the other re- cruit. Notre Dame is battling a handful of powerhouse programs, such as LSU, Oregon, USC and others for Wingo. ✦ The St. Louis Pipeline To Notre Dame Is Running Strong St. Louis De Smet's Christian Gray, who is rated as the nation's No. 10 cornerback and No. 82 overall recruit by On3, committed to Notre Dame during the summer. PHOTO COURTESY ON3.COM