Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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FOOTBALL RECRUITING 48 PRESEASON 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY MIKE SINGER I n seemingly the blink of an eye, Notre Dame's 2024 commitment list went from in the teens to nearly full at 22 ver- bal pledges. The Fighting Irish have essentially hit their mark at every position. The staff wanted one quarterback, two running backs, three wide receivers, one tight end and three offensive linemen. Mis- sion accomplished there. Defensively, the goal was four defensive linemen, three linebackers and five defensive backs. The Irish reached those numbers as well. Notre Dame's 2024 recruiting efforts are not finished, though. The Irish are still targeting prospects that are simply "too good not to take." American Fork (Utah) High's Davis Andrews, a three-star recruit and the No. 63 safety in America per On3, may not be highly ranked but he is a player that Notre Dame would gladly accept a commitment from. While he's listed as a 2024 recruit, he'll take a two-year Mormon mission trip right after graduating from his high school in December. His eligibility clock wouldn't start until returning from his mission, meaning that he's basically a 2026 recruit. Other than Andrews, there are three big names to know on the 2024 board. West Roxbury (Mass.) Catholic Me- morial's Guerby Lambert, On3's No. 5 offensive tackle and No. 36 overall player in America, is a longtime, mas- sive target for the Irish. He took summer official visits to Boston College, Har- vard, Notre Dame and Ohio State, and the buzz entering the month of August was that the Irish were the team to beat for him. Lambert doesn't speak much pub- licly regarding his recruitment, but from what Blue & Gold Illustrated sources suggest, the elite prospect may not be far from a decision, which would likely be good news for Notre Dame. The other two prospects of note are currently committed elsewhere. One is Chicago St. Ignatius' Justin Scott, the No. 2 defensive lineman and No. 5 over- all prospect in the land per On3, pledged to Ohio State over Miami, Michigan and Notre Dame July 2. The Irish looked to be in favorable po- sition at various points in his recruiting process, but after Scott took his official visits (Notre Dame was not on the itin- erary), he sided with the Buckeyes. It will be an uphill battle for Notre Dame to flip Scott, but the hope for the Irish staff is to get him on campus for the Ohio State game Sept. 23 and have their team pull off a big win. The other prospect is Nashville (Tenn.) Lipscomb Academy's Kaleb Beasley, a longtime Tennessee commit who is listed as the No. 15 cornerback and No. 107 overall prospect in the na- tion by On3. Beasley visited Notre Dame April 1 and is considering visiting for the Irish- Buckeyes matchup, and it could be for an official visit as well. However, Beasley said over the summer that he's shutting down his recruitment and sticking with Tennessee. That won't deter Notre Dame from continuing to recruit him, though. It should be noted that this is where Notre Dame's 2024 board stands as of early August and that recruiting is un- predictable and always changing. 2025 QUARTERBACK RECRUITING UPDATE Notre Dame has its quarterback of the 2024 class locked in, with Saline (Mich.) High's CJ Carr, who is On3's No. 14 sig- nal-caller and No. 192 overall prospect nationally. And the Irish are working on adding another impressive quarterback for the 2025 cycle. Notre Dame has offered eight quar- terbacks in the 2025 cycle thus far, but they're currently in pursuit of just two. This is due to most of the gunslingers committing to other programs. Nashville (Tenn.) Lipscomb Acad- emy's Deuce Knight, who transferred to cornerback target Kaleb Beasley's high school this summer, has looked like the top target on the board for several months. On3 ranks Knight, a Missis- sippi native, as the No. 4 quarterback and No. 28 overall recruit in America. Knight is closely considering Ala- bama, Notre Dame, Ole Miss and Ten- Notebook: Notre Dame Recruiting Heated Up Over The Summer The Irish are focused on adding West Roxbury (Mass.) Catholic Memorial standout Guerby Lambert — On3's No. 5 offensive tackle and No. 36 overall prospect nationally — to the their 2024 recruiting class. PHOTO BY KYLE KELLY