Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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50 NOV. 9, 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED FOOTBALL RECRUITING ROUNDUP Quarterback Blake Hebert, HHH, 6-3, 215, Greenwich, Conn. (Brunswick School) Running Back Justin Thurman, HHH, 6-0, 180, Tampa, Fla. (Jesuit) Wide Receiver Jerome Bettis Jr., HHH, 6-3, 185, Atlanta (Woodward Academy) Elijah Burress, HHH, 6-0½, 175, Wayne, N.J. (DePaul Catholic) Isaiah Mizell, HHH, 6-0, 160, Orlando, Fla. (Boone) — Arizona commit Antavious Richardson, HHHH, 6-2, 170, Greenville, Ga. (Greenville) 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) Cameron Herron, HHH, 6-2½, 275, Indianapolis (Warren Central) Owen Strebig, HHH, 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 Catholic) Ko'o Kia, HHH, 6-3, 220, 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, 6-1, 190, Fort Wayne, Ind. (Snider) Athlete None Star ratings are from On3 as of Oct. 24 Commitments in bold italics Class Of 2025 Scholarship Offer Master List RECRUITING NOTES • The Notre Dame football program has its sights set on building the best tight end tandem in the 2025 recruiting cycle. And when Florida State comes to South Bend Nov. 9, the Fighting Irish will look to make progress toward completing it. Center Valley (Pa.) Southern Lehigh four-star re- cruit Andrew Olesh, a Michigan commit, will officially visit Notre Dame in Week 11. It will be the 6-foot-5, 215-pounder's first time reporting a recruiting trip to South Bend. Olesh is On3's No. 2 prospect in Pennsyl- vania, and No. 3 tight end and No. 47 overall player nationally in the 2025 class. The Irish already hold a verbal commitment from four-star James Flanigan, who is the No. 5 tight end and No. 93 overall prospect nationally. The Green Bay (Wis.) Notre Dame de la Baie product is the son of former Irish defensive lineman Jim Flanigan, who shined for the football program in the 1990s. If Olesh were to flip to the Irish, he would give them two top-seven tight end recruits in a class for the first time since 2017. Seven years ago, they signed Cypress (Texas) Cy-Fair standout Brock Wright and Arlington Heights (Ill.) St. Viator graduate Cole Kmet, top-100 prospects who ranked as the Nos. 2 and 3 tight ends in the 2017 class, respectively. Both went on to have NFL careers and remain in the league. • Irish four-star wide receiver commit Antavious Richardson out of Green- ville (Ga.) High is set to return to Notre Dame for the Florida State game. Rich- ardson is On3's No. 36 recruit in Georgia, and No. 12 athlete and the No. 294 overall player in the country. His head coach, Robert Sanders, is also expected to be on campus after Irish coach Marcus Freeman extended the invitation. It's a bucket list trip for Sanders and likely won't be his last. The 6-foot-2, 170-pound Richardson pledged to Notre Dame Oct. 1, nine days after officially visiting the school for the first time for the Miami (Ohio) game. The Irish flipped him from his June 24 pledge to South Florida, where he was committed as a defensive back. Notre Dame, Alabama, North Carolina, Duke, Louisville and Central Florida offered him later in the summer. • On Oct. 20, three-star linebacker Samu Moala from Carson (Calif.) Leuzinger posted his top 10 schools. He has narrowed his recruitment to Notre Dame, Arizona State, Michigan, Oklahoma, Southern Cal, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, UCLA and Washington. Moala unofficially visited the Irish on April 4. That's when they solidified themselves as a contender for a commitment from the No. 33 prospect in California and No. 26 linebacker in the class. "They're at the top, for sure," Moala told Blue & Gold Illustrated's Mike Singer. "I loved it." Notre Dame is still searching for its first verbal from a defender in the 2026 class. — Kyle Kelly ON3 INDUSTRY 2025 TEAM RECRUITING RANKINGS As of Oct. 24 1. Alabama 23 2. Ohio State 26 3. Georgia 23 4. LSU 27 5. Auburn 27 6. Texas 21 7. Oregon 16 8. Tennessee 23 9. Texas A&M 22 10. Miami 22 11. Southern Cal 23 12. Michigan 17 13. Oklahoma 21 14. Notre Dame 23 Rk. School Commits Rk. School Commits Center Valley (Pa.) Southern Lehigh four- star tight end Andrew Olesh, a top-100 recruit who is committed to Michigan, will officially visit Notre Dame for the Florida State game Nov. 9. PHOTO COURTESY ON3 2025 Master List Changes Prospects Committed: None. Prospects Decommitted: None. Prospects Removed: WR Jalen Cooper of San Antonio (sticking with SMU commitment).