Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM AUGUST 2023 37 FOOTBALL RECRUITING BY KYLE KELLY Notre Dame went down to Fish- ers, Ind., and landed its first in-state recruit of the 2024 cycle June 6. Ham- ilton Southeastern High School inte- rior offensive lineman Styles Prescod announced his verbal commitment in favor of the Fighting Irish. The 6-foot-5½, 270-pound Prescod is Notre Dame's third offensive line commit in the 2024 recruiting cycle and second under Joe Rudolph. He's also the highest-ranked one. On3 con- siders Prescod a four-star recruit, No. 3 prospect in Indiana, and the No. 9 interior offensive lineman and No. 179 overall player nationally. Earlier this year, on March 29, Notre Dame's first-year O-line coach, Ru- dolph, accepted a commitment from four-star interior offensive lineman Anthonie Knapp of Roswell (Ga.) High. And last August, four-star interior offensive lineman Peter Jones from Malvern (Pa.) Prep shut down his re- cruitment to become Irish while Harry Hiestand was the offensive line coach. Hiestand, who also offered Prescod a scholarship in January, unexpect- edly announced his retirement Feb. 12. Prescod initially liked the Irish during Hiestand's tenure as the Irish position coach. But after Hiestand stepped away from the coaching ranks, it resulted in some uncertainty surrounding Prescod's Notre Dame recruitment. Rudolph seemingly put that uncer- tainty to rest during the spring. Prescod most recently officially visited Notre Dame from June 2-4. Before his paid trip to campus, he unofficially visited for the Blue-Gold Game April 22 and for spring practice April 15. The Irish first welcomed him to campus during the California game on Sept. 17, 2022. He returned to cam- pus for Notre Dame's junior day on Jan. 14 — the same day he picked up his offer. "The tradition of O-line play," said Prescod, describing what appealed to him about Notre Dame. "They're truly an O-line-led team. You can see it when they come out on the field. The O-line walks out first. The pillar of their program is the of- fensive line. "It doesn't matter who the head coach is, defensive background or whatever, the pillar is the offensive line. That's something they take great pride in and some- thing I appreciate." Prescod reported 20 Power Five schol- arship offers before committing to Notre Dame. He visited Iowa, Purdue, West Virginia, Cincinnati, Louisville, Michigan, Wisconsin, Alabama, and Michi- gan State during his recruitment. The Spar- tans were the only one not to offer him a scholarship. When he signs with Notre Dame, Prescod will be the first Indiana offen- sive lineman to join the program since the Irish added two of them — Ashton Craig of Lawrenceburg (Ind.) High and Joey Tanona from Zionsville (Ind.) High — in 2022. Tanona medically re- tired before the 2022 season. In addition, Irish starting right tackle Blake Fisher, a top-100 recruit in the 2021 cycle, is from Avon, Ind. ✦ Irish Pick Up In-State Pledge From Four-Star O-Lineman FILM ANALYSIS "Styles Prescod is one that we've been high on for a long time at On3. For starters, he has a really good combination of functional athleticism with the strength and power that he plays with. At his size of 6-5½ and 270 pounds, he plays with advanced strength and a strong base in pass protection and anchoring against rushers as well as in the run game, where he's impressive with the push he generates and how he finishes blocks. "In my years of scouting, it's very encouraging when you can find an offensive lineman with a devel- opmental frame who is athletic and plays with advanced strength and core balance. Those offensive linemen tend to project well to college and eventually to the NFL. Prescod has really good reactive quickness in pass protection. He's very strong on contact and neutralizes rushers with his hands. You see the heavy hands in the run game as well. … He can play all five positions on the offensive line. Prescod gives you versatility, and we're high on his skill set. The fact that he can be a tackle elevates him, in our opinion. "Notre Dame recruits offensive linemen well, but landing an in-state guy who was heavily recruited and highly ranked by us is a nice recruiting win. He can develop into a multi-year starter." — On3 director of scouting and rankings Charles Power COMMITMENT PROFILE STYLES PRESCOD Prescod — the No. 3 prospect in Indiana, and the No. 9 interior offen- sive lineman and No. 179 overall player in the country per On3 — chose Notre Dame over Alabama, Colorado, Iowa, Michigan and many others. PHOTO BY KYLE KELLY "They're truly an O-line-led team. You can see it when they come out on the field. The O-line walks out first. The pillar of their program is the offensive line." PRESCOD ON NOTRE DAME