Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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Irish. Barnett plans to enroll early at Notre Dame in January 2015. RUNNING BACK 2014 RBs: 5 Projected Take: 2 Notre Dame didn't land any running backs in the 2014 class, but still has a loaded depth chart heading into next season. Seniors Cam McDaniel and Amir Carlisle are back, sophomore Tarean Folston returns after a strong first season and Greg Bryant took a medical redshirt during his first year in South Bend. Look for Notre Dame to grab two talented backs from the 2015 class. Target: Nick Brossette, 6-0, 210, Baton Rouge, La. (University Lab) — LSU added a commitment from Brossette Aug. 26, but he maintains that he's still open in his recruiting process. He is planning on tak- ing a trip to South Bend this summer for camp and has already stated that he will officially visit Notre Dame during his senior year. WIDE RECEIVER 2014 WRs: 11 Projected Take: 3 Notre Dame did a good job in 2013 landing Will Fuller, Torii Hunter Jr. and Corey Robinson, and fol- lowed that up with Justin Brent and Corey Holmes in 2014. The Irish will likely add a few more receivers in 2015. Target: George Campbell, 6-3, 184, Tarpon Springs, Fla. (East Lake) — Previously committed to Michigan, Campbell opened up his recruitment, and Florida and Florida State are the two schools currently in the lead for his services. Notre Dame running backs coach Tony Alford has made Camp- bell a priority, and the Sunshine State recruit is expected to take a trip to South Bend this summer. TIGHT END 2014 TEs: 5 Projected Take: 1 The Irish pulled in one of the best tight ends classes during the 2014 recruiting cycle, adding Ty- ler Luatua and Nic Weishar to a stacked depth chart. While not a necessity for the staff, Notre Dame might well bring in one tight end in 2015. Target: Aliz'e Jones, 6-4, 222, Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) — He committed to UCLA Nov. 24, but he's still looking around and will likely take all five of his official visits. Jones has a great deal of interest in the Irish. He camped at Notre Dame last June and returned for a game-day visit Sept. 28 versus Okla- homa. He is from the same high school as current Irish offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley. OFFENSIVE LINE 2014 OLs: 15 Projected Take: 3 Getting 2015 commitments from offensive tackle Jerry Tillery and offensive center Tristen Hoge is huge at this stage in the recruiting process. Many of- fensive linemen are interested in coming to play for Irish offensive line coach Harry Hiestand, and Notre Dame will be quite selective regarding who will fill that final spot. Target: Zach Okun, 6-4, 310, Newbury Park, Calif. (Newbury Park) — There are other players more highly rated than Okun at offensive guard, but Notre Dame has made him a major priority. Offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock is leading the recruiting of the Golden State prospect and getting him on campus for camp this summer could go a long way toward securing a commitment. USC leads, but Okun has expressed an interest in leaving his home state for college. DEFENSIVE LINE 2014 DLs: 13 Projected Take: 3 Notre Dame would have liked to grab five-star defensive tackles Matt Elam and Thomas Holley in 2014, but it didn't work out. They did, however, grab Daniel Cage on National Signing Day, to go along with five other defensive line signees in this class. Target: Jacob Daniel, 6-4, 298, Clovis, Calif. (Clovis North) — Notre Dame is very much in the mix for one of the best defensive tackles in the country.