Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1491978
76 MARCH 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2023 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE Bryant (Ark.) High's TJ Lindsey, the No. 26 defensive lineman in the coun- try, is another beefy, interior prospect to watch. Texas A&M, Arkansas, Notre Dame, TCU and Texas are the main schools pursuing him right now. Honolulu St. Louis' Anelu Lafaele, Katy (Texas) Paetow's Loghan Thomas and Avon (Conn.) Old Farms' Benedict Umeh, a Canadian, are other notable defensive line recruits for the Irish. LINEBACKER Committed: 0 Projected Take: 3 Synopsis: Truth be told, Notre Dame is not in an advanced position on its linebacker board compared to other positions. In other words, the Irish staff doesn't seem to be close to landing any linebacker recruits in the near future and have a lot of work to do. There are also only a few linebackers who Irish sources believe are key names to watch at this time. One should rea- sonably assume that Notre Dame will offer more linebacker recruits moving forward. Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco's Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, who is the No. 19 linebacker and No. 187 overall pros- pect in America, has long been a target for Notre Dame. The four-star recruit has a long offer list, and sources believe the Irish may be in the lead for him. Notre Dame will be a major contender for Pittsburgh Central Catholic's Cole Sullivan, an unranked linebacker re- cruit, who is a fast riser in the 2024 class. Penn State and others will battle Notre Dame for Sullivan, who has been to South Bend multiple times. The Irish staff is working to host Ol- ney (Md.) Good Counsel's Aaron Chiles and Oakland (Calif.) Fremont Senior's Naki Tuakoi this spring and/or summer. Neither have visited Notre Dame, but Irish sources indicate that they're both key targets for the staff. Chiles is the No. 11 linebacker and No. 113 overall player in the land, while Tuakoi is currently unranked. DEFENSIVE BACK Committed: 2 Projected Take: 6 Synopsis: The Irish are expected to reload at defensive back in a big way during the 2024 cycle and already have a pair of cornerback commitments early on. We believe the total defensive back take will be six, but as always, it is sub- ject to change. Cincinnati Archbishop Moeller's Karson Hobbs and Round Rock (Texas) High's Leonard Moore, the No. 31 and No. 38 cornerbacks in the country, re- spectively, are already locked in as Irish commits. Notre Dame would love nothing more than to flip Nashville (Tenn.) Lipscomb Academy's Kaleb Beasley, who is the No. 11 cornerback and No. 121 overall player in America, from Tennessee. Beasley was a top Irish target before he commit- ted to the Volunteers last October, but Notre Dame is still continuing to target him. From what BGI can gather, Beasley remains open to the Irish's pitch. Queen Creek (Ariz.) Casteel's Jer- emiah Newcombe (No. 19 corner and No. 211 overall player) and Jacksonville (Fla.) Mandarin's Jon Mitchell (No. 20 corner and No. 217 overall player) are a couple other top targets for the staff at this position. In the receiver portion of the article, in- state standout Tae Johnson was included, but the Irish also like him as a safety re- cruit. He could play either position. We'll list American Fork (Utah) High's Davis Andrews, the No. 37 ath- lete nationally, in the safety category here, but sources indicate that the 6-2, 190-pounder may grow into a linebacker target for Notre Dame. The Irish are a top contender for Andrews early on. Chandler (Ariz.) High's Kennedy Urlacher — the son of former Chicago Bears legend Brian Urlacher — is a safety to keep a close eye on. While he's cur- rently unranked, Notre Dame is high on the 6-1, 180-pounder, and after Ur- lacher visits the Irish this spring he may pop in favor of Freeman's program. West Orange (N.J.) Seton Hall Prep's Jaylen McClain, Sacramento (Calif.) Grant Union's Kingston Lopa and West Hills (Calif.) Chaminade's Marquis Gal- legos are other key safety targets for the staff. ✦ Hamilton (Ind.) Southeastern's Styles Prescod, the No. 19 offensive tackle and No. 266 overall player nationally per On3, is considered a Notre Dame lean early on in his recruiting process. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER