Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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FOOTBALL RECRUITING ROUNDUP BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM MAY 2023 37 • During the January recruiting contact period, Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden stopped by Providence (R.I.) La Salle Academy High to gather information on 2024 three-star athlete Justin Denson. About two months later, Golden offered the 6-foot-2, 185-pounder a scholarship. For most of those two months, Golden recruited Denson as a cornerback. But after 2023 safety signee Brandyn Hillman requested and received the release of his National Letter of Intent (NLI), Golden targeted Denson as a safety. On3 ranks Denson as the No. 1 player in Rhode Island and the No. 39 athlete in the country. He has 11 Power Five offers, and teams are recruiting him for different positions. In addition to the Irish, Oklahoma and Maryland both offered him as a safety. Ultimately, Denson says he doesn't have a preference. "I think I'm position-less," he said. "Wherever the team has their playmaker, that's where I want to be. I just like making plays and being put in the position to make plays. So wherever that is, that's where I'm meant to play. "I'm a very long player. I'm very physical. And I have great speed and can track the ball in the air." Last season for La Salle, Denson had 60 tackles, 6 passes broken up and 3 interceptions in nine games. He also caught 21 passes for 227 yards and 2 touchdowns. He is considering a spring visit to Notre Dame. • Second-year defensive line coach Al Washing- ton continues to expand his recruiting board. He recently offered scholarships to two underrated Florida defensive linemen: Jayden Jackson and Sean Sevillano. On3 ranks Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy's Jack- son as the No. 58 player in Florida and the No. 50 defensive lineman in the country. Clearwater (Fla.) Academy International's Sevillano — originally from Canada — is On3's No. 57 player in Florida and No. 41 defensive lineman nationally. Sevillano visited Notre Dame March 25. How- ever, Blue & Gold Illustrated recruiting insider Mike Singer doesn't get the sense he's a top target for the staff coming off his visit. • The offensive line board is shrinking after coach Joe Rudolph offered and accepted a commitment from Roswell (Ga.) High three-star recruit An- thonie Knapp March 29. With Malvern (Pa.) Prep four-star offensive lineman Peter Jones already in the class, the expectation is that there is only room for one or two more offensive linemen. Currently, Notre Dame is prioritizing three offensive tackle targets: West Roxbury (Mass.) Catholic Memorial's Guerby Lambert, Kansas City (Mo.) Rockhurst's Andrew Sprague and Royersford (Pa.) Pope John Paul II's Kevin Heywood. Each player is a four-star recruit, and the Irish expect to host each of them on campus this spring. — Kyle Kelly Cornerback Kobe Black, HHHH, 6-0½, 190, Waco, Texas (Connally) Eli Bowen, HHH, 5-8½, 170, Denton, Texas (Guyer) Zabien Brown, HHHH, 6-1, 170, Santa Ana, Calif. (Mater Dei) Aaron Butler, HHHH, 6-0, 170, Calabasas, Calif. (Calabasas) Dakoda Fields, HHHH, 6-1½, 175, Gardena, Calif. (Junipero Serra) Xavier Filsaime, HHHH, 5-11½, 180, McKinney, Texas (McKinney) Karson Hobbs, HHH, 6-1, 180, Cincinnati (Archbishop Moeller) Braydon Lee, HHHH, 5-11½, 160, Springdale, Md. (Charles Herbert Flowers) Charles Lester III, HHHHH, Sarasota, Fla., (Riverview) Jon Mitchell, HHHH, 5-11, 170, Jacksonville, Fla. (Mandarin) Leonard Moore, HHH, 6-2, 175, Round Rock, Texas (Round Rock) Terhyon Nichols, HHHH, 5-10, 180, Cincinnati (Withrow) Ify Obidegwu, HHHH, 6-0 ½, 190, Baltimore (St. Frances Academy) Aaron Scott, HHHH, 5-11½, 165, Springfield, Ohio (Springfield) Troy Stevenson, HHH, 6-0, 165, Charleston, S.C. (Phillip Simmons) Bryce West, HHHH, 5-11½, 175, Cleveland (Glenville) Marcelles Williams, HHHH, 6-0, 175, Bellflower, Calif. (St. John Bosco) Safety Davis Andrews, HHH, 6-2, 190, American Fork, Utah (American Fork) Travaris Banks, HHHH, 6-1½, 195, Tuscaloosa, Ala. (Northridge) KJ Bolden, HHHHH, 6-0, 185, Buford, Ga. (Buford) Shamir Fredericks, —, 6-4, 170, Brooklyn, N.Y. (Canarsie) Marquis Gallegos, HHHH, 6-1, 165, West Hills, Calif. (Chaminade) Corian Gipson, HHHH, 6-0, 165, Lancaster, Texas (Lancaster) Ricardo Jones, HHHH, 6-3, 190, Warner Robins, Ga. (Northside) Kingston Lopa, HHH, 6-4, 185, Sacramento, Calif. (Grant Union) Jaylen McClain, HHHH, 5-11½, 185, West Orange, N.J. (Seton Hall Prep) Paul Mencke Jr., HHH, 6-2, 180, Cibolo, Texas (Samuel Clemens)* Oliver Miles, —, 6-2, 173, El Campo, Texas (El Campo) Zay Mincey, HHHH, 6-3, 180, Daytona Beach, Fla. (Mainland) Jason Mitchell, HHHH, 6-2, 180, Los Angeles (Junipero Serra) Zaquan Patterson, HHHH, 6-0½, 185, Miami Gardens, Fla. (Chaminade- Madonna Prep) 2024 ON3 INDUSTRY TEAM RECRUITING RANKINGS As of April 3 1. Georgia 11 2. Alabama 4 3. Ohio State 7 4. Florida 5 5. Michigan 10 6. Tennessee 6 7. Notre Dame 9 8. Florida State 8 9. South Carolina 6 10. LSU 12 Rk. School Commits Rk. School Commits West Roxbury (Mass.) Catholic Memorial four-star offensive tackle Guerby Lambert is visiting Notre Dame for the Blue-Gold Game April 22. PHOTO COURTESY ON3.COM Kaj Sanders, HHHH, 6-0, 175, Oradell, N.J. (Bergen Catholic) Damian Thompson, HHHH, 6-0, 170, Florence, Ala. (Mars Hill Bible) Kennedy Urlacher, HHH, 6-1, 180, Chandler, Ariz. (Chandler) Vaboue Toure, HHHH, 6-1, 190, Irvington, N.J. (Irvington) Athlete Justin Denson, HHH, 6-2, 185, Providence, R.I., (La Salle Academy)* Tae Johnson, HHHH, 6-3, 170, Fort Wayne, Ind. (North Side) Dejuan Lane, HHH, 6-2½, 200, Baltimore (Gilman) Quinton Martin, HHHH, 6-1½, 185, Belle Vernon, Pa. (Belle Vernon) Mike Matthews, HHHH, 6-0½, 180, Lilburn, Ga. (Parkview) Star ratings are from On3 as of March 31 Commitments in bold italics * Received an offer from Notre Dame between March 7 and March 31 2024 Master List Changes Prospects Committed: OL Anthonie Knapp of Roswell, Ga. Prospects Decommitted: None. Prospects Removed: CB Jeremiah Newcombe of Queen Creek, Ariz. (committed to Oklahoma); and S Demello Jones of Swainsboro, Ga. (com- mitted to Georgia). RECRUITING NOTES