Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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46 SEPT. 28, 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 Isaiah Mizell, HHH, 6-0, 160, Orlando, Fla. (Boone) — Arizona commit Antavious Richardson, HHHH, 6-2, 170, Greenville, Ga. (Greenville) —South Florida 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, HHHH, 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 Catho- lic) 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 Sept. 19 Commitments in bold italics Class Of 2025 Scholarship Offer Master List RECRUITING NOTES • When the Notre Dame football program began putting together its recruiting board for the 2025 cycle, it consid- ered trying to sign two tight ends. The Fighting Irish initially made significant progress toward that approach, too. In June 2023, they secured a verbal pledge from Wash- ington (Okla.) High four-star Nate Roberts, On3's No. 10 tight end and No. 177 overall player in the 2025 class. Meanwhile, Notre Dame continued to pursue Green Bay (Wis.) Notre Dame de la Baie Academy four-star tight end James Flanigan, the son of former Irish defen- sive lineman Jim Flanigan. The elder Flanigan played for Notre Dame from 1990-93. The current Irish coaching staff wanted the younger Flanigan, a top-100 recruit and the No. 5 tight end in the class, to play for them more than three decades later. At the cost of Roberts' commitment, they had their wish granted. Roberts, On3's No. 3 2025 player in Oklahoma, decommitted from the Irish about two months after his initial pledge. Notre Dame's pursuit of Flanigan to team him up with Roberts was not the overarching reason why. However, it did not help their case in Roberts' recruitment, and he enter- tained other schools. He committed to Ohio State in April 2024. Luckily for Notre Dame, Flanigan remained invested despite their pursuit of Roberts. The top 2025 prospect in Wisconsin, Flanigan, pledged to the Irish on Oct. 21, 2023. • After Flanigan's commitment, Notre Dame appeared to be finished with tight end recruiting in the 2025 class, but that is no longer true. The Irish are in touch with two high school senior prospects, Andrew Olesh and T'Andre Waverly. As of Sept. 19, they have gained more momentum with Mukilteo (Wash.) Kamiak's Waverly. The three-star prospect, who is On3's No. 9 player in Washington and No. 49 athlete nationally, scheduled a Notre Dame of- ficial visit for the Miami (Ohio) game Sept. 21. Waverly's interest came after Irish general manager Chad Bowden scouted him in person in Week 3. The 6-foot-2½, 225-pound Waverly has not reported a Notre Dame scholarship offer. Notre Dame's traction with Center Valley (Pa.) Southern Lehigh's Olesh, a Michigan commit, is more preliminary. Like Waverly, the four-star Olesh has also not announced a Notre Dame offer despite the Irish scouting him. Olesh, On3's No. 3 tight end and No. 46 overall player nationally, does not have a trip to South Bend on the schedule. Notre Dame has not signed two tight ends in a single recruiting class since Eli Raridon and Holden Staes in 2022. Staes transferred to Tennessee in the offseason, leaving the Irish with six true scholarship tight ends: graduate student Kevin Bauman, senior Mitchell Evans, sophomore Cooper Flanagan, freshman Jack Larsen, junior Eli Raridon and senior Davis Sherwood, who was initially a walk-on and plays more of the H-back position. After this season, Evans and Sherwood's eligibility will have expired. If the Irish want to keep six scholarship tight ends in the room, they must sign an- other recruit besides Flanigan or utilize the transfer portal. — Kyle Kelly ON3 INDUSTRY 2025 TEAM RECRUITING RANKINGS As of Sept. 19 1. Ohio State 26 2. Alabama 21 3. LSU 26 4. Georgia 21 5. Auburn 24 6. Texas 20 7. Tennessee 24 8. Oregon 15 9. Texas A&M 21 10. Southern Cal 20 11. Oklahoma 22 12. Notre Dame 22 Rk. School Commits Rk. School Commits Mukilteo (Wash.) Kamiak 2025 three- star tight end T'Andre Waverly scheduled a Notre Dame official visit for the Miami (Ohio) game Sept. 21. PHOTO COURTESY ON3 2025 Master List Changes Prospects Committed: None. Prospects Decommitted: None. Prospects Removed: None.