Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM JUNE/JULY 2024 35 FOOTBALL RECRUITING expected to go after any additional tight end prospects. Notre Dame is mostly set on the of- fensive line as well. Wallingford (Conn.) Choate Rosemary Hall five-star offen- sive tackle Will Black is the headliner of the group as the nation's No. 5 overall player. Waukesha (Wis.) Catholic Me- morial's Owen Strebig and Greenwich (Conn.) Brunswick School's Matty Au- gustine round out this strong trio of tackles. The Irish staff would be happy to sign its three committed offensive linemen and call it a day, but position coach Joe Rudolph and Co. may take a fourth. Cameron Gorin and Cameron Her- ron are two interior offensive line pros- pects from Indianapolis who the staff are tracking. Hamilton Southeastern's Gorin and Warren Central's Herron rank as the No. 75 and No. 40 interior offen- sive linemen in the class, respectively. The staff is in pursuit of Roswell (Ga.) Fellowship Christian School's Josh Petty, the No. 9 interior lineman and No. 50 overall player nationally. He's considered a Clemson lean cur- rently, but Notre Dame is seeing if it can squeeze its way in to become a top contender for him. The situation is similar on the defen- sive line. Four-star edge Christopher Burgess from Chicago Simeon is com- mitted, along with Elmhurst (Ill.) York Community four-star defensive line- man Joseph Reiff and Miami Palmetto three-star nose tackle Davion Dixon. The trio seems to be solid in their re- spective commitments, and if Notre Dame is to take another defensive line- man, it'll be on the interior. The staff is inquiring about various prospects, including a pair in the Sun- shine State. On April 25, Notre Dame di- rector of player personnel Chad Bowden visited with Tallahassee (Fla.) James Rickards High's Jalen Wiggins and Ha- vana (Fla.) Gadsden County's Jeremiah McCloud. The Irish haven't formally offered ei- ther prospect, but the staff will work on them throughout the rest of the spring and see if they can host them for an of- ficial visit this summer. Wiggins is a Florida commit and a top-100 overall player, while McCloud is a one-time Mississippi State verbal and three-star recruit. Notre Dame has commitments from the following three-star linebacker prospects: Philadelphia St. Joseph's Prep's Anthony Sacca, Honolulu Puna- hou's Ko'o Kia and Elmhurst (Ill.) Im- maculate Conception's Dominik Hulak. There are three linebacker targets left on the board, two of whom currently attend school at Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy. Notre Dame is in the lead group for Gavin Nix, a three-star recruit and the No. 31 linebacker nationally, but the feeling is that the Irish are not his top choice entering the end of April. The thought is similar with Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng, the younger brother of ex-Irish star Jeremiah Owusu-Kora- moah. Sources believe that the Irish are, at best, running second for Owusu- Boateng, the No. 28 linebacker and No. 293 overall player in America. Notre Dame sources feel that the Irish have the best chance in the linebacker group with San Juan Capistrano (Ca- lif.) J Serra Catholic's Madden Fara- imo, who is the No. 10 linebacker and No. 115 overall recruit in the country. The 6-3, 225-pounder loved his spring South Bend visit, and sources tell Blue & Gold Illustrated that Faraimo is eye- ing a Notre Dame official visit for the weekend of June 7. Ohio State and USC provide Notre Dane with the most com- petition, but sources indicate that the Irish have a healthy lead. Notre Dame has a superb four-man defensive back class and could take two more players in the secondary. The most recent addition, Golden, is ranked as the No. 14 safety in the country but Notre Dame plans for him to play at cornerback. The Fighting Irish's other cornerback pledge is Phoenix Brophy Prep's Cree Thomas, a three-star prospect who is on the rise. Notre Dame has a pair of impressive safety commits. Winter Garden (Fla.) West Orange's Ivan Taylor, the No. 13 safety and No. 121 overall player in the land, is the son of former Pittsburgh Steelers defensive back Ike Taylor. He's solid in his Irish pledge, and so is Green- wich (Conn.) Brunswick School's Ethan Long, a three-star player. Long picked Notre Dame over Michigan, Ohio State and others in January. There are two names to keep a close eye on moving forward. Indianapo- lis Ben Davis' Mark Zackery, the No. 12 cornerback and No. 109 overall player nationally, is one of them. Zackery has been considered an Irish lean for several months, and Blue & Gold continues to love where Notre Dame stands with him. The other is Winston-Salem (N.C.) Mount Tabor's JaDon Blair, the No. 8 safety and No. 86 overall prospect. Notre Dame is near the top of his list along with Michigan and Penn State, but with him taking several summer of- ficial visits — including one to South Bend — it's too early to have a strong feeling on where he's leaning. Blue & Gold was bullish on where Notre Dame stood with Midwest City (Okla.) Carl Albert cornerback Trystan Haynes, but things have shifted to the point where it's unlikely that he ends up in the Irish's 2025 class. Sources indicate that Notre Dame will sign 25 or 26 high school prospects in the 2025 class and add a few transfer portal players ahead of the 2025 season. To close out its 2025 class, we expect Notre Dame to land two more receivers, one defensive lineman, one linebacker and one defensive back. ✦ San Juan Capistrano (Calif.) J Serra Catholic's Madden Faraimo — the No. 10 linebacker and No. 115 overall recruit in the country — loved his spring visit to South Bend, giving the Irish a healthy lead over Ohio State and USC. PHOTO COURTESY ON3