Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM JANUARY 2025 55 F O O T B A L L R E C R U I T I N G tackles (22 solo), 6 stops for loss, 3.5 sacks and 3 passes broken up. Sulfsted, who is rated as the No. 63 defensive lineman in the class, has all the makings of being another Rylie Mills for the Irish. — Kelly 22. BRANDON LOGAN S • 5-11, 186 Fort Wayne, Ind. • Snider Although we won't know the answer for about four years, Logan, the No. 63 safety in the land, might be the Notre Dame coach- ing staff's best evaluation of the 2025 cycle. The 6-1, 190-pounder had been on the program's radar for a few years before they turned up the heat on him last summer to secure his verbal commitment Aug. 10. Logan is one of the top baseball prospects in the 2025 class and could very well end up being selected in the MLB Draft. Still, he has been invested in playing college football, allowing the Irish to make their push. Logan backed it up with a strong senior season that featured 57 tackles (33 solo), 2.5 stops for loss, 2 fumble recoveries and 5 interceptions. He might be best off playing nickel in the Irish second- ary. — Kelly 23. JEROME BETTIS JR. WR • 6-2, 200 Atlanta • Woodward Academy He's one of the lower-ranked players in the class, listed as the No. 139 wideout in the land, but Bettis should be a solid player for Notre Dame. He also provides some upside at safety if he's asked to switch positions. Still, he's more than capable at receiver and showed that as a senior, catching 36 passes for 630 yards with 7 touchdowns in 11 games while playing highly competitive ball in the Peach State. Defensively, he posted 46 tackles (1 for loss), 1 pass broken up, 2 interceptions and 2 forced fumbles. He brings physicality to both sides of the ball, and the 6-2, 200-pounder's play at receiver similar to Irish pass catcher Deion Colzie. — Singer 24. DAVION DIXON DL • 6-1, 316 Miami • Miami Palmetto The No. 87 defensive lineman in the class balled out as a se- nior with a tremendous 11-game campaign, posting 82 tackles (54 solo), 25 stops for loss, 11.5 sacks, 8 quarterback pressures, 1 pass broken up, 2 forced fumbles and 1 fumble recovery. Davis was coveted by other programs, including Miami, Auburn and Ohio State, which all wanted to flip him away at various points in the past year and a half. Notre Dame is happy with how he played in 2024 and is fired up to get him to cam- pus. — Singer 25. ERIK SCHMIDT K • 6-1, 210 Milwaukee • Marquette University At the high school level, Schmidt was excellent, connect- ing on 10 of 13 kicks, with his three misses being at a long dis- tance. He's also an outstanding punter and could provide ver- satility for the Notre Dame staff. Schmidt, the No. 2 kicker in the nation, seemed to be waiting on this offer for a long time, and when it came he jumped on the opportunity. The Irish are fired up about Schmidt and believe they just signed the top specialist in America. — Singer NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL GAMES on VHS or DVD for sale, from 1928 to present. Contact Peter Rahas at 7700 Golden Filly St., Las Vegas, NV 89131 or call 1- 702-498-2351 M A R K E T P L A C E Call 800-421-7751 to advertise Commitment Updates Games played the weekend of Nov. 29-Dec. 1 unless otherwise noted Class of 2025 WR Elijah Burress: Had a 15-yard TD catch in Wayne (N.J.) DePaul Catholic's (11-1) 33-21 win over Sparta Pope John XXIII (5-8) in the New Jersey Non-Public B Group state championship game. Season complete. RB Nolan James Jr.: Ran 29 times for a season- high 244 yards and 2 touchdowns, plus had a 14- yard catch, in Wayne (N.J.) DePaul Catholic's (11-1) aforementioned New Jersey Non-Public B Group state championship game. Season complete. DL Joseph Reiff: Recorded 3 tackles in Elm- hurst (Ill.) York Community's (11-3) 35-14 loss to Wilmette Loyola Academy (12-2) in the Illinois Class 8A state title game. Season complete. LB Anthony Sacca: Had 4 tackles (3 solo), 1 stop for loss, a sack, a fumble recovery and 1 pass broken up in Philadelphia St. Joseph's Prep's 36-7 victory against Downingtown (Pa.) West (13-2) in the semifinals of the state playoffs. Posted 7 tackles (including 6 solo, 2 TFL and 1 sack) in St. Joseph's Prep's (11-2) 35-6 victory against Pittsburgh Central Catholic (12-3) in the Pennsylvania Class 6A state championship game on Dec. 7. Season complete. CB Cree Thomas: Recorded 3 solo tackles and 2 kick returns for 51 yards in Phoenix Brophy's (10-3) 28-27 loss to Mesa Mountain View (12-1) in the semifinals of the Arizona Class 6A state playoffs. Season complete. Season Already Completed: OT Matty Augustine, WR Jerome Bettis Jr., OT Will Black, S JaDon Blair, edge Christopher Burgess Jr., DL Davion Dixon, LB Madden Faraimo. TE James Flanigan, CB Dallas Golden, QB Blake Hebert, OL Cameron Herron, LB Dominik Hulak, LB Ko'o Kia, S Brandon Logan, S Ethan Long, WR Scrap Richardson, K Erik Schmidt, OT Owen Strebig, DL Gordy Sulfsted and CB Mark Zackery. Class of 2026 LB Thomas Davis Jr.: Matthews (N.C.) Weddington beat Greensboro (N.C.) Northern Guilford (11-2) 55-0 in the third round of the North Carolina Class 4A state playoffs. Weddington (13-0) then beat Kernersville (N.C.) East Forsyth (13-1) 37-21 in the fourth round Dec. 6. Next game: vs. Greensboro (N.C.) Grimsley in the state 4A semifinal round Dec. 13. QB Noah Grubbs: Completed 8 of 14 passes for 184 yards with 3 touchdowns and 1 interception in Lake Mary (Fla.) High's 42-3 win over Sanford (Fla.) Seminole (10-2) in the regional finals. Completed 14 of 24 passes for 227 yards and had 8 carries for 49 yards and 1 TD in Lake Mary's (12-2) 42-3 win over Orlando (Fla.) Dr. Phillips (12-2) in the state semifinals. Next game: vs. Venice (Fla.) High (13-1) in the Florida Class 7A state championship final Dec. 14. Season Already Completed: OL Sullivan Garvin, WR Dylan Faison and CB Chaston Smith. Anthony Sacca helped lead Philadelphia St. Joseph's Prep to the Pennsylvania 6A state championship. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER