Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1530074
FOOTBALL RECRUITING ROUNDUP 34 DECEMBER 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 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, 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) Kicker Erik Schmidt, HHH, 6-2, 185, Milwaukee (Marquette University) Star ratings are from On3 as of Dec. 2 Commitments in bold italics Class Of 2025 Scholarship Offer Master List RECRUITING NOTES • Three days before the start of the early signing period for the 2025 class, Notre Dame added one of the top 2026 defensive back prospects to next cycle's com- mit list. On Dec. 1, Chattanooga (Tenn.) McCallie School four- star cornerback Chaston Smith announced his verbal commit- ment to the Irish. Smith, On3's No. 18 cornerback and No. 241 overall player in America, committed to the Irish over fellow finalists Clemson, In- diana, South Carolina and Texas A&M. He visited Notre Dame once; Smith saw the Irish blow out Florida State in November. Notre Dame also flipped Mil- waukee Marquette University kicker Erik Schmidt from Wis- consin Dec. 2. Blue & Gold Illus- trated will have commit profile articles to fully cover Smith and Schmidt in the next issue. • Six Notre Dame football 2025 class verbal commits had a unique opportunity to check out the Fighting Irish Nov. 23 in New York City. Quarterback Blake Hebert, safety Ethan Long, linebacker Anthony Sacca, and offensive linemen Matty Au- gustine, Will Black and Owen Strebig were in the Yankee Stadium stands to see Notre Dame defeat Army 49-14 in the annual Shamrock Series game. Black, Hebert and Sacca all saw the Irish for the first time this season, since their respective high schools play most of their games on Saturdays. Though Augustine and Long also attend Brunswick School, they were able to see the Irish take on Miami (Ohio) Sept. 21. Hebert — who flipped from Clemson, which has a no-visit policy for its committed recruits, in mid-October — officially visited campus Nov. 17-19. Waukesha (Wis.) Catholic Memorial's Strebig previously attended Notre Dame's home games against Northern Illinois Sept. 7, Miami (Ohio) Sept. 21 and Florida State Nov. 9. • Another recruit who had the chance to see the Irish against Army was Jacksonville (Fla.) The Bolles School four-star linebacker Simeon Caldwell. The 6-foot-3, 185-pound Caldwell is On3's No. 8 prospect in Florida, and No. 3 safety and No. 45 overall player nationally in the 2026 class. Despite being at a neutral-site game, he came away impressed by the fan turnout. "Notre Dame's fan base is unlike any other," Caldwell told Blue & Gold Illustrated. "I don't know if any other college football fan base could pack a baseball stadium like that at a neutral site. Notre Dame's fan base is something spectacular." Caldwell has also attended Florida, Miami and Penn State games this season. He also planned to be at the Michigan-Ohio State game Nov. 30 in Columbus, Ohio. His uncle (mom's brother) is OSU cornerbacks coach Tim Walton. — Kyle Kelly ON3 INDUSTRY 2025 TEAM RECRUITING RANKINGS As of Dec. 2 1. Alabama 22 2. Georgia 28 3. Ohio State 25 4. Texas 23 5. Auburn 26 6. LSU 25 7. Oregon 17 8. Michigan 20 9. Tennessee 24 10. Miami 23 11. Texas A&M 22 12. Notre Dame 24 Rk. School Commits Rk. School Commits Follow @ByKyleKelly on X for daily recruiting updates on BlueandGold.com! Notre Dame commits safety Ethan Long (left), offensive tackle Matty Augustine (center) and quarterback Blake Hebert (right) from Greenwich (Conn.) Brunswick School attended the Irish's Shamrock Series game at Yankee Stadium Nov. 23. PHOTO COURTESY LONG FAMILY 2025 Master List Changes Prospects Committed: K Erik Schmidt of Milwaukee. Prospects Decommitted: None. Prospects Removed: WR Antwaun Parham of Coconut Creek, Fla. (no longer considering Notre Dame); and TE Andrew Olesh of Center Valley, Pa. (no longer considering Notre Dame).