Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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FOOTBALL RECRUITING BY TOM LOY T he Notre Dame coaching staff will host four uncommitted official visi- tors — three of whom hail from Cali- fornia — when the Irish take on Stan- ford Oct. 4. Riverside (Calif.) Poly four-star cor- nerback Ykili Ross will be arguably the most important recruit visiting South Bend that weekend. The 6-2, 185-pounder has been the No. 1 defen- sive back on Notre Dame's board for months, and the coaching staff even put the breaks on the recruitment of Philadelphia St. Joseph's four-star prospect John Reid, the No. 16 cor- nerback and No. 142 overall player nationally according to 247Sports, just to show Ross that he was the guy the staff wanted in South Bend. (Reid has since committed to Penn State.) Miami, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas A&M, UCLA and many others have offered Ross, but it looks like this recruitment will come down to two schools — Notre Dame and USC. The Trojans are the heavy favorite on the 247Sports Crystal Ball, which allows recruiting analysts to predict where the recruits will sign their National Letters of Intent on National Signing Day. However, sources close to Ross' recruitment have confirmed that the Irish could pull off the upset and land the West Coast standout. Ross first visited South Bend in June and spent four days attached to the hip of defensive backs coach Kerry Cooks. This visit will give Ross and his father a chance to take in the game- day atmosphere at Notre Dame and check out the academic opportunities offered to students. As a junior, Ross made 13 tackles, intercepted two passes and broke up Irish Hoping To Make Big Splash With Notre Dame-Stanford Visitors Riverside (Calif.) Poly's Ykili Ross, the No. 14 pros- pect in California and No. 85 overall player in the country according to 247Sports, is the top defen- sive back on Notre Dame's recruiting board. PHOTO COURTESY 247SPORTS