Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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felt at Notre Dame," he said. "I have a lot of respect for that school, but it's not the best fit for me." Luatua is good friends with Long Beach (Calif.) Poly five-star safety John "JuJu" Smith. The two have spent plenty of time over the past year talking about attending the same college. "I'm really close with JuJu. I've known him for a really long time," Luatua said. "I see him a lot on the weekend. His cousin plays ball at my school, and we all hang out. His family has family functions, and I go to those and he comes to my family functions. He's a really good friend of mine. "I don't want to go to Notre Dame and be without my boy, so I'm definitely trying to get him to come with me. It would be great, and I'm going to do what I can to get in his ear and get him to come play with [freshman safety] Max [Redfield] in the secondary." Smith's family is a very close-knit FILM ANALYSIS Strengths Luatua is a prototypical tight end with a big body, good size and tremendous strength … Has the athleticism to split out wide or even motion into the backfield … Displays very soft hands and rarely drops a pass … Will be an asset in goal line situations … Aggressive player that tends to play with an attitude … Punishes defenders in the open field. Areas To Improve Was a standout during his sophomore season, fell off a little during his junior year and seemed to dip a little in his senior campaign … While it raises some red flags, the constant doubleteams contributed to the drop-off … Motivation could be a concern, but if focused, he has all of the tools to become an elite tight end at Notre Dame. — Tom Loy group, and the distance from Long Beach to South Bend could play a role in his final decision. Per Luatua, he believes that getting Smith's mother on