Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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FOOTBALL RECRUITING ROUNDUP 44 NOV. 30, 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED Quarterback Blake Hebert, HHH, 6-3, 215, Greenwich, Conn. (Brunswick School) Running Back Nolan James Jr., HHH, 5-10, 205, Wayne, N.J. (DePaul Catholic) Wide Receiver Jerome Bettis Jr., HHH, 6-3, 185, College Park, Ga. (Woodward Academy) Elijah Burress, HHH, 6-0½, 175, Wayne, N.J. (DePaul Catholic) Isaiah Mizell, HHH, 6-0, 160, Orlando, Fla. (Boone) — Arizona commit Derek Meadows, HHHH, 6-6, 205, Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) — LSU commit Antwaun Parham, HHH, 6-4, 200, Coconut Creek, Fla. (Monarch) — Tulane 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) Andrew Olesh, HHHH, 6-5, 215, Center Valley, Pa. (Southern Lehigh) — Michigan commit 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, HHHH, 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) Jalen Wiggins, HHHH, 6-4½, 270, Tallahassee, Fla. (James Rickards) — Florida commit Linebacker Madden Faraimo, HHHH, 6-3, 225, San Juan Capistrano, Calif. (JSerra Catholic) Ko'o Kia, HHH, 6-3, 220, Honolulu (Punahou) 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, HHHH, 6-1, 190, Fort Wayne, Ind. (Snider) Athlete None Star ratings are from On3 as of Nov. 22 Commitments in bold italics Class Of 2025 Scholarship Offer Master List RECRUITING NOTES • The Notre Dame football program still has the attention of one of the nation's elite 2026 cornerbacks. On Nov. 19, Rancho Cucamonga (Calif.) High four-star recruit RJ Sermons, On3's No. 1 cornerback and No. 11 overall player in the junior class, included the Fighting Irish among his top 10 schools list. The 6-foot, 180-pounder is also still considering Ala- bama, Georgia, Michigan, Penn State, Oregon, Southern Cal, Texas A&M, UCLA and Washington. Sermons, who is also On3's No. 3 prospect in California in 2026, was less than two weeks removed from unofficially visiting Notre Dame for the second time when he made his announce- ment. He attended the Florida State game Nov. 9. "Notre Dame is really high for me right now, and this visit solidified that," Sermons told On3 director of recruit- ing Chad Simmons Nov. 10. "They have been recruiting me pretty hard, and I feel good about them. They are constantly trending upward for me." In addition to Notre Dame, Sermons has unofficially visited Oregon (Sept. 7), Southern Cal (Sept. 28 and Nov. 16) and Washington (Oct. 5) this season. He's also been to each of those schools at least one other time, including Texas A&M, which he unofficially visited March 30. His first trip to South Bend was for spring practice April 13. Sermons has reported six visits to see the nearby Trojans, more than any other school. He is the son of former USC running back Rodney Sermons, who played for the program from 1994-97. • The Irish's top remaining recruiting target in the 2025 class, Las Vegas Bishop Gorman four-star wide receiver Derek Meadows, is set to see the program he has been verbally committed to since July 20. For the first time since declaring to LSU, the 6-6, 205-pound pass catcher will return to campus for the Oklahoma game Nov. 30. Meadows' trip to Baton Rouge, La., will come three weeks after unofficially visiting Notre Dame for the Florida State game Nov. 9. It marked his fifth trip to South Bend, which is more than any other school. Meadows, who is On3's No. 35 wide receiver and No. 259 overall player in the class, has only been to LSU twice since pledging to head coach Brian Kelly's program. In addition to Notre Dame, Meadows also visited Michi- gan for the Oregon game Nov. 2. He will have the option to officially sign with the program of his choice when the early signing period opens Dec. 4. • Another school has entered the mix for Notre Dame's other 2025 class wide receiver target, Pompano Beach (Fla.) Monarch three-star and Tulane commit Antwaun Parham. On Nov. 19, the 6-3½, 200-pounder reported a scholarship offer from North Carolina State. Notre Dame welcomed Parham, On3's No. 114 prospect in Florida and No. 179 wide receiver nationally, to campus on an official visit for the Florida State game. Parham is expected to decide whether to stick with Tulane or flip to the Irish or another school sometime around signing day. — Kyle Kelly ON3 INDUSTRY 2025 TEAM RECRUITING RANKINGS As of Nov. 22 1. Georgia 26 2. Alabama 21 3. Ohio State 25 4. Texas 23 5. Auburn 27 6. LSU 25 7. Oregon 16 8. Michigan 19 9. Tennessee 24 10. Miami 23 11. Texas A&M 21 12. Notre Dame 23 Rk. School Commits Rk. School Commits Rancho Cucamonga (Calif.) High four- star RJ Sermons, On3's No. 1 cor- nerback in the 2026 class, is a USC legacy recruit who has unofficially visited Notre Dame twice since April. PHOTO COURTESY ON3 2025 Master List Changes Prospects Committed: None. Prospects Decommitted: RB Justin Thurman of Tampa, Fla. (committed to Kansas). Prospects Removed: None.