Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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44 SEPT. 7, 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED FOOTBALL RECRUITING ROUNDUP Quarterback Deuce Knight, HHHH, 6-4½, 208, Lucedale, Miss. (George County) Running Back Daniel Anderson, HHH, 5-11, 190, Bryant, Ark. (Bryant) Justin Thurman, HHH, 6-0, 180, Tampa, Fla. (Jesuit) Wide Receiver Jerome Bettis Jr., HHH, 6-3, 185, Atlanta (Woodward Academy) Jace Brown, HHH, 6-2, 195, Downey, Calif. (Warren) — UCLA commit Elijah Burress, HHH, 6-0, 170, Wayne, N.J. (DePaul Catholic) Jalen Cooper, HHHH, 6-1, 160, Cibolo, Texas (Steele) — SMU commit Antavious Richardson, 6-2, 170, Greenville, Ga. (Greenville) — USF commit Tight End James Flanigan, HHHH, 6-5½, 245, Green Bay, Wis. (Notre Dame de la Baie Academy) Offensive Line Matty Augustine, HHH, 6-7, 265, Greenwich, Conn. (Brunswick School) Will Black, HHHHH, 6-7½, 283, Wallingford, Conn. (Choate Rosemary Hall) Owen Strebig, HHHH, 6-7, 295, Waukesha, Wis. (Catholic Memorial) Defensive End Christopher Burgess Jr., HHHH, 6-4, 240, Chicago (Simeon) Dominik Hulak, HHH, 6-4, 240, Elmhurst, Ill. (Immaculate Conception) Defensive Tackle Davion Dixon, HHH, 6-3, 305, Miami (Palmetto) Joseph Reiff, HHHH, 6-5, 250, Elmhurst, Ill. (York Community) Gordy Sulfsted, HHH, 6-5, 235, Cincinnati (St. Xavier) Linebacker Madden Faraimo, HHHH, 6-3, 225, San Juan Capistrano, Calif. (JSerra Catholic) Ko'o Kia, HHH, 6-2, 190, Honolulu (Punahou) Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng, HHHH, 6-0½, 200, Bradenton, Fla. (IMG Academy) Anthony Sacca, HHH, 6-2½, 225, Philadelphia (St. Joseph's) Cornerback Dallas Golden, HHHH, 6-0, 188, Tampa, Fla. (Berkeley Prep) Cree Thomas, HHH, 6-1, 170, Phoenix (Brophy College Preparatory) Mark Zackery, HHHH, 5-10½, 160, Indianapolis (Ben Davis) Safety JaDon Blair, HHHH, 6-4½, 195, Winston-Salem, N.C. (Mount Tabor) Ethan Long, HHH, 6-2, 185, Milford, Conn. (Brunswick School) Brandon Logan, HHH, 6-0, 180, Fort Wayne, Ind. (Snider) Athlete None Star ratings are from On3 as of Aug. 28; Commitments in bold italics Class Of 2025 Scholarship Offer Master List 2025 Master List Changes Prospects Committed: None. Prospects Decommitted: None. Prospects Removed: None. RECRUITING NOTES • Notre Dame remains in a holding pattern with its two remaining 2025 class four-star linebacker targets: San Juan Capistrano (Calif.) JSerra Catholic's Madden Faraimo and Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy's Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng. They rank as On3's No. 12 and No. 24 linebackers, respec- tively, in the class and are both top-300 prospects. After they officially visited Notre Dame the weekend of June 8, Faraimo and Owusu-Boateng considered verbally committing before the start of their senior seasons. That time has passed. "It is a lot harder than I thought it would be to make a decision," Faraimo told On3 director of recruiting Chad Simmons. "People would tell me, just wait, it is going to be tough, but I always thought one school would just stick out. In July, it started, I couldn't figure out what school was right. "There is no wrong choice. I am just trying to find the best one for me," added Faraimo, who has a top four of Notre Dame, Southern Cal, Texas and Washington. "It is going to be hard to say no to three schools, but it would be worse to say yes to one, then turn around and say no and decommit. My morals as a person don't really align with that, which is why I am taking more time to make the best decision." Owusu-Boateng is also wrestling with his choice and expanding his re- cruitment. In addition to Notre Dame, he officially visited Southern Cal, Michigan and Ohio State. He plans to visit Florida and Texas this season on one of each school's game days. • There is also no clarity on Notre Dame 2025 class four-star quarterback commit Deuce Knight's recruitment after he unofficially visited Auburn and Ole Miss during the last week of July. As of Aug. 28, Lucedale (Miss.) George County's Knight was expected to be at Auburn's home opener Aug. 31 against Alabama A&M. Knight, the No. 4 quarterback and No. 28 overall player in the country according to On3, visited Notre Dame 10 times before making it to the two SEC schools. The coaching staff is evaluating other high school senior quarterbacks in case Knight decides to flip. • Blue & Gold Illustrated has learned the coaching staff is in communica- tion with Las Vegas Bishop Gorman's Derek Meadows and Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy's Raiden Vines-Bright. They rank as On3's No. 17 and No. 21 wide receivers in the class, respectively. Meadows, the top senior prospect in Nevada, committed to LSU July 20 after visiting Notre Dame four times. The Irish were the leader for most of his recruitment. As for Vines-Bright, the No. 26 player in Florida only made it to South Bend once before pledging to Washington April 15. The Irish remain hopeful that both recruits will attend a game at Notre Dame Stadium this season. — Kyle Kelly Follow @ByKyleKelly on X for daily recruiting updates on BlueandGold.com! ON3 INDUSTRY 2025 TEAM RECRUITING RANKINGS As of Aug. 29 1. Ohio State 25 2. Alabama 21 3. LSU 25 4. Georgia 22 5. Auburn 23 6. Tennessee 24 7. Oregon 15 8. Texas 18 9. Texas A&M 20 10. Miami 22 11. Oklahoma 23 12. Florida State 13 13. Notre Dame 22 Rk. School Commits Rk. School Commits Notre Dame is looking to flip SMU four-star wide receiver commit Jalen Cooper, a product of Cibolo (Texas) Steele High. He is On3's No. 19 wide receiver and No. 145 overall player in the 2025 class. PHOTO COURTESY ON3