Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/276022
BY DAN MURPHY T exas, California and Florida have long been con- sidered the sacred hunting grounds for Notre Dame when trying to capitalize on its ability to recruit on a na- tional scale. A new power is emerging that threatens to turn that trio of must- see states into a foursome. Georgia, with its grow- ing population and rich history of football, has reached that can't-miss reputation, especially in the 2015 class, and could become a bigger focus for the Irish in the future. Notre Dame has pulled one player out of the Peach State in every year but one since Brian Kelly came to South Bend. His first class included eventual team MVP TJ Jones. He followed that with elite defensive lineman Stephon Tuitt in 2011, prom- ising defensive end Isaac Rochell in 2013, and most recently punter and kicker Tyler Newsome. R e c r u i t i n g a n a l y s t s agree that during the last five years Georgia has cleaved from the pack and joined football's up- per tier of talent-produc- ing states. In the 2015 class, the country's top two players — defensive tackle Trevor Thompson, who is No. 1, and offen- sive tackle Mitch Hyatt, who is No. 2 — according to 247Sports play in Geor- gia. Six of the top 50 and 11 of the top 100 come from the state. Geor- gia currently has more prospects in 247Sports' top 100 than California (10) and every other state other than Florida (18) and Texas (13). "You're now probably getting closer to the point in time where it's no longer the big three, it's the big FRUITFUL STATE Georgia emerging as a must on the recruiting trail Taj Griffin, the country's top all-purpose back in the class of 2015 according to 247Sports, is part of a growing group of talented players in the state of Georgia. PHOTO COURTESY 247SPORTS