Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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FOOTBALL RECRUITING BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM APRIL 2023 41 nati and even hosted Carr for a visit. The Bearcats obviously weren't a big contender for Carr, but that was more about Cincinnati being a Group of Five school and not a lack of a connection with Guidugli. Irish sources consider Guidugli a strong recruiting hire, and he's brought some big-time passers to the Queen City. In the 2023 class alone, he led Cin- cinnati to signing Warren (Mich.) De La Salle Collegiate's Brady Drogosh, who ranks as No. 6 signal-caller per On3. Cincinnati also landed Arizona State quarterback transfer Emory Jones, who was a top-100 recruit in the 2018 class. Former quarterbacks coach Tommy Rees recruited the Chicago area for Notre Dame with questionable results. Sources tell BGI that Guidugli will re- cruit Chicago for the Irish, and he al- ready has strong ties in the city. Glen Ellyn (Ill.) Glenbard South's Cam Williams, a Notre Dame commit who is the nation's No. 9 wide receiver and No. 29 overall prospect per On3, closely considered Cincinnati before picking the Irish. "Coach Gino and I are pretty cool," Williams said. "He and I formed a rela- tionship last year when he recruited me, and we continued to build one. "When I got on the phone with him to tell him I was committing to Notre Dame, he was very cool about it and supportive, which is funny now that he's here with me at ND." THE CHEMISTRY FIT In talking to folks close to the Utah football program, I was told that Utes' offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig — who nearly took the same position in South Bend — was not considered a grinder of a recruiter, nor did he like recruiting much at all. I would also put former offensive line coach Harry Hies- tand in this category. Having that level of experience is cov- eted. There are coaches who have been coaching for a long time but are burned out with recruiting. And you have coaches like Parker and Guidugli who are younger, want to grind on the recruiting trail and still have plenty experience as coaches but not as much as a coordina- tor. There's some give and take here. Parker and Guidugli fit the Marcus Freeman style of coach. A source famil- iar with both coaches say they are "fox- hole guys who you can trust." Freeman worked with Parker at Purdue (and ob- viously this past season in South Bend) and with Guidugli at Cincinnati. Freeman has plenty of familiarity with these guys, and chemistry and camaraderie on the coaching staff are important. JOE RUDOLPH: A SOLID ADDITION Parker and Guidugli are easy to pair together considering their age, similar timeframe of when they were hired and prior history with Freeman. Rudolph has an interesting tie to Freeman as well. He was a graduate assistant with Ohio State from 2004-06, and the current Irish head coach played linebacker for the Buckeyes during the period. They haven't worked together since, but that connection certainly is an in- teresting one. In terms of Rudolph as a recruiter, the 50-year-old is a steady, consistent pres- ence. He's not overbearing with pros- pects, nor will he slack off. Wisconsin is known as an offensive line powerhouse, and Rudolph was a big part of that. Although he didn't land Irish ris- ing sophomore offensive lineman Billy Schrauth, the former elite prospect closely considered the Badgers down to the end. In that same 2022 cycle, the Badgers did land Joe Brunner, who is the No. 10 interior offensive lineman and No. 131 overall player nationally accord- ing to On3. In the 2021 cycle, Rudolph guided the Badgers to signing five-star Nolan Rucci, who finished the cycle as the No. 5 offensive tackle and No. 29 overall player in the country. Both Rucci and Brunner were major Irish targets before picking Wisconsin. "After losing out on Matt Luke — who would've been the best choice — it's a good get," Prep Football Report recruit- ing analyst Tom Lemming said. "Notre Dame is loaded on the offensive line and has great talent even on their second and third team. "All Rudolph has to do now is to be at least an average offensive line coach to look great with the talent Jeff Quinn and Hiestand left him. The line should really take off this year." The mother of Notre Dame graduate wide receiver Kaleb Smith, who trans- ferred to the Irish from Virginia Tech, took to Twitter to put her stamp of ap- proval on the Rudolph news. "Welcome to ND, Coach!" Kimberly Smith tweeted. "I know a wide receiver who is definitely excited about this move!" Rudolph inherits a class of 2024 com- mitment from Malvern (Pa.) Prep's Pe- ter Jones, the No. 40 interior offensive lineman nationally per On3. A few rising senior prospects who he'll get right to work on include Hamilton (Ind.) Southeastern's Styles Prescod, On3's No. 9 interior lineman and No. 215 overall player in the country; Reading (Pa.). Wyomissing's Caleb Brewer, the No. 53 interior offensive lineman in the land; West Roxbury (Mass.) Catholic Memorial's Guerby Lambert, the No. 4 offensive tackle and No. 30 overall pros- pect in the nation; and Kansas City (Mo.) Rockhurst's Andrew Sprague, the No. 14 offensive tackle and No. 142 overall player in the country. ✦ Joe Rudolph, the Irish's new offensive line coach, previously served as the offensive line coach at Virginia Tech and Wisconsin. PHOTO COURTESY VIRGINIA TECH ATHLETICS