Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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72 MARCH 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2024 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE sive tackle in the land. His recruitment is considered a battle between Notre Dame and Wisconsin, and one BGI be- lieves the Irish will win. If Augustine becomes offensive line commit No. 3, then the Irish have a decision to make on whether to shut it down there or add a fourth. Eureka (Mo.) High's Jack Lange, the No. 289 overall prospect and No. 18 offensive tackle nationally, has visited Notre Dame a couple times and is a name to watch. Roswell (Ga.) Fellowship Christian School's Josh Petty, the No. 11 prospect and No. 2 offensive tackle in the land, is more of a long shot, but Rudolph and Co. are staying in contact with him. DEFENSIVE LINE Committed: 3 Projected Take: 5 Synopsis: The Irish were at four de- fensive line commitments, but High- land Home (Ala.) High's C.J. May, the No. 210 recruit and No. 16 edge nation- ally, backed off his pledge Feb. 4. He opened his recruiting process to look at other programs and is not expected to end up rejoining the Irish's class. Notre Dame still has three commits on the D-line at this early stage. Chi- cago Simeon's Christopher Burgess, the No. 130 prospect and No. 8 edge in the country, is a headliner of the class. He committed to the Irish Jan. 6 over Alabama, Michigan, Ohio State and others. Burress is a raw but very tal- ented player. Elmhurst (Ill.) York Community's Jo- seph Reiff, a three-star player and the No. 41 defensive lineman in the nation, picked the Irish in September. Notre Dame hopes to get Reiff in the 275-280 pound range and play him as an interior defensive lineman. And Notre Dame's first commit of the 2025 class is still going steady with the Irish, and that's Miami Palmetto's Davion Dixon, a three-star prospect and the No. 38 defensive lineman in the land. He gave an unexpected pledge back in the spring of 2023. The top priority on the defensive line board is Indianapolis Warren Central's Damien Shanklin, the No. 137 prospect and No. 10 edge in the land. Shanklin is considered an Irish lean, but he's cur- rently far off from making a commit- ment. Notre Dame is also looking at tak- ing another interior defensive lineman in the cycle. Candidates include Over- land Park (Kan.) St. Thomas Aquinas' Juju Marks (No. 209 prospect and No. 20 defensive lineman in the country); Frankfort (Ky.) Western Hills' Javeon Campbell (unranked); Nashville (Tenn.) Ensworth's Ethan Utley (No. 104 player and No. 12 defensive lineman); and Saraland (Ala.) High's Antonio Coleman (No. 117 prospect and No. 13 defensive lineman), an Auburn commit. LINEBACKER Committed: 2 Projected Take: 3-4 Synopsis: Notre Dame is off to a good start at linebacker in the 2025 class with two commitments already locked in. Elmhurst (Ill.) Immaculate Conception's Dominik Hulak, a three- star prospect and the No. 53 linebacker nationally, picked the Irish over Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin and others last No- vember. And the Irish added Hono- lulu Punahou's Ko'o Kia, a three-star prospect and the No. 55 linebacker in the land, in January. He's the younger brother of Notre Dame linebacker Ka- hanu Kia, who returned from a two-year Mormon mission trip this year. Both prospects are versatile linebackers who can do a handful of things in the Irish front seven. There is no shortage of linebacker targets for the remaining spot or two. One name Irish fans need to know is Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng, the younger brother of former ND star linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. The four- star prospect ranks as the No. 149 player and No. 19 linebacker in the land. He visited Notre Dame in January and raved about his trip. P h i l a d e l p h i a S t . Jo s e p h 's P re p School's Anthony Sacca, a three-star prospect and the No. 32 linebacker nationally, and Rabun Gap (Ga.) Gap- Nacoochee School's Antoine Deslauri- ers, who is currently unranked, may be Notre Dame leans at this time. La Verne (Calif.) Bonita's Noah Mikhail (No. 48 prospect and No. 6 linebacker nationally); San Diego J Serra Catholic's Madden Faraimo (No. 62 player, No. 10 LB); Danville (Calif.) San Ramon Valley's Marco Jones (No. 162 prospect, No. 17 linebacker); Omaha (Neb.) Westside's Christian Jones (No. 171 player and No. 20 linebacker); and Culpeper (Va.) Eastern View's Brett Clatterbaugh (No. 324 prospect and No. 38 LB) are a handful of other prospects to know. DEFENSIVE BACK Committed: 3 Projected Take: 5-6 Synopsis: The Irish have one corner- back committed and two safeties pledged, and they could take up to five or six total in the 2025 cycle. Phoenix Brophy Prep is the school that produced Irish star cor- nerback Benjamin Morrison, and Notre Dame has a pledge from Cree Thomas from the school. The 6-1, 170-pounder ranks as a three-star prospect and the No. 43 cornerback nationally. Safety recruiting is in an interesting spot now with Chris O'Leary heading to coach in the NFL, but the Irish hold a couple pledges at the position. Green- wich (Conn.) Brunswick School's Ethan Long, a three-star player and the No. 35 safety nationally, and Winter Garden (Fla.) West Orange's Ivan Taylor, the No. 171 overall prospect and No. 15 safety in the land, committed to the Irish in the winter. If Notre Dame is to add another safety, Winston-Salem (N.C.) Mount Tabor's JaDon Blair, the No. 28 prospect and No. 2 safety nationally, is the name to know. He's expected to officially visit this sum- mer. Notre Dame will add at least a cou- ple more cornerbacks in the 2025 class. Shaker Heights (Ohio) High's Trey Mc- Nutt (No. 34 player and No. 5 cornerback in the 2025 class); Tampa (Fla.) Berkeley Prep's Dallas Golden; Buford (Ga.) High's Devin Williams (No. 155 player and No. 14 cornerback) Indianapolis Ben Davis' Mark Zackery; and Montvale (N.J.) St. Joseph Regional's Jahmir Joseph (No. 222 prospect and No. 24 CB) are the names to know. BGI feels that the Irish are in a really good spot with Golden, the No. 57 player nationally and No. 5 safety (he can play safety, cornerback or on offense in col- lege), and Zackery, the No. 219 recruit and No. 25 cornerback in the land. ✦