Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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FOOTBALL RECRUITING time with KeiVarae Russell, Cole Luke and Devin Butler. The 5-9, 190-pound Riggs had Notre Dame high on his list of potential schools coming out of high school. He played at St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., which has sent several players to South Bend includ- ing wide receiver Corey Holmes in the most recent recruiting class. Riggs is also related to former Notre Dame wide receiver Bobby Brown. He told Sports Illustrated about his plans to leave Florida and said he is searching for a school where he can get his MBA or a master 's degree in science in business. "I want to impact my community with that degree," Riggs told SI. "When a student that isn't an athlete goes somewhere else for graduate school, they're applauded. Same for coaches when they leave a school and it's better for their family and future. When an athlete does it, though, it's viewed as a problem." Notre Dame fans certainly wouldn't see it that way if Riggs landed on the field in South Bend next fall. MISCELLANEOUS NOTES • Notre Dame offensive line coach Harry Hiestand and cornerbacks coach Kerry Cooks were named two of the Rivals.com Top 25 recruiters for the class of 2014 recruiting cycle. Cooks was influential in landing three key recruits from the state of Texas, all who held offers from the Texas Longhorns — Dallas cornerback Nick Watkins, Schertz linebacker/defensive end Kolin Hill and The Colony defensive end Grant Blankenship. Hiestand added to his strong offensive line unit in South Bend with offensive tackles Quenton Nelson and Alex Bars from Red Bank, N.J., and Nashville, Tenn., respectively, along with offensive guards Sam Mustipher and Jimmy Byrne. Mustipher hails from Olney, Md., while Byrne is from Cleveland. • It took four years, but when head coach Brian Kelly looks at his 2014 roster, he will have something he's not had yet at Notre Dame. "We've got three quarterbacks on campus that do all the same things," Kelly said. "You don't have to adjust your offense. We have similar quarterbacks in terms of run-pass threats." Prior to his academic issues that kept junior Everett Golson sidelined in 2013, he ran for 298 yards in 2012 — the most in 11 years by an Irish quarterback — and helped open up other elements of the of- fense with the read option. Current freshman Malik Zaire rushed for 1,120 yards as a senior at Archbishop Alter in Kettering, Ohio, and incoming freshman quarterback DeShone Kizer rushed for 1,211 yards the past three seasons at Toledo (Ohio) Central Catholic, including 539 as a senior. • A highlight for Kelly was landing three play- For his recruiting efforts in landing offensive line- men Quenton Nelson, Alex Bars, Sam Mustipher and Jimmy Byrne, offensive line coach Harry Hiestand was nationally recognized. PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND