Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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to the radar of many prominent foot- ball programs around the country. Along with the Irish and Penn State, Barajas holds scholarship offers from Michigan, Ohio State and Oregon, among others. The year before, Barajas' Andrean team was knocked out of the state playoffs by Fort Wayne Bishop Luers and their star, Jaylon Smith. Andrean head coach Phil Mason said his own budding star reminds him of Smith in many ways. "There's no doubt that he's the same type kid and player," Mason said. "They have the same body type, they play the same way and they are both lengthy. … I think that's exactly what Notre Dame saw in Josh — an- other Jaylon. Hopefully they will both be playing linebacker together at the same time, on the same field, before Jaylon heads to the NFL." Mason said he could eventually see Barajas following the same path into pro football if all goes well in South Bend. Like Smith, Barajas was invited to the U.S. Army All-American Bowl. In July, he made the watch list for the prep edition of the Butkus Award, given to the top linebacker in the na- tion. Smith was the first player to win that trophy when it became an an- nual honor in 2012. Bilal, the India- napolis Ben Davis linebacker, is also on the Butkus watch list. Between those three players and current fresh- man Drue Tranquill, who is being groomed as a future Sam linebacker for the Irish, Notre Dame's linebacker corps is looking home-grown and healthy for the future. ✦ Authentic Notre Dame Helmets by Authentic "Speed" Full-Size Display Helmets Riddell's ND "Speed" helmet features a large-size shell, special-order facemask worn by most of the star players who choose to wear the Speed, internal padding reflective of the "Speed Classic" design, and 4-pt. chinstrap. Official ND gold color. "Irish" bumper on front and back. Approx. 10" tall. Acrylic base attached for display purpose. $299 Helmets are made-to-order and dropshipped direct from the manufacturer. Please allow up to 48 hours to process your order. FREE S&H within Continental U.S. VISIT OUR ONLINE STORE www.BlueGoldOnline.com Back View Front View Style Item #6640-Gold or Style Item #6640-Shamrock