Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/388723
FOOTBALL RECRUITING ROUNDUP Recruiting Notes With the recruiting process moving much faster these days, Notre Dame has already extended 48 schol- arship offers to recruits from the class of 2016. Blue & Gold Illustrated takes a look at two junior prospects that hold offers from the Irish. • Notre Dame is hoping to make a splash at linebacker in the 2016 class, and the Irish have their sights set on Rialto (Calif.) Wilmer Amina Carter four-star linebacker Lokeni Toailoa. The 6-1, 212-pounder has offers from Notre Dame, Arizona State, California, Oklahoma, UCLA, USC and many others, but he grew up idolizing one of the best collegiate defensive players to ever come through South Bend. "When Manti Te'o was there, I watched Notre Dame all the time," Toailoa said. "I like him a lot, and he's the reason that I chose to wear No. 5. He's a big part of why I'm so interested in them. "But I'm interested in Notre Dame for more reasons than just him. There's a lot of tradition there, and it's a great school. There's something going on there that a lot of guys out this way have a lot of interest in them. It's just a great school." Notre Dame extended an offer to Toailoa May 6, and he was pretty excited to hear from so many Irish coaches shortly after he received the offer. "I talked to [linebackers coach] Bob Elliott, [defensive co- ordinator] Brian VanGorder and [offensive coordinator] Mike Denbrock," Toailoa said. "It was pretty cool to hear from all of them. Coach VanGorder told me a little about how he would use me and the type of defense he likes to run. He has a great background —he coached in the NFL, so he knows what he's doing." Per 247Sports, Toailoa is the No. 124 overall player in the country, the No. 5 inside linebacker nationally and the No. 18 prospect in California in the class of 2016. • Head coach Brian Kelly often stresses the importance of landing the top players from Indiana every year. Fort Wayne (Ind.) Wayne four-star defensive end Auston Robertson fits that mold, and the Notre Dame staff is hot on his trail. The 6-5, 230-pounder picked up an offer from the Irish June 27 and Notre Dame has been in his top two with Ohio State ever since. "Those two are standing out," Robertson said. "Both places have great atmospheres, and I really like them." Robertson was in South Bend when the Irish defeated Michigan 31-0 Sept. 6. It looks like Notre Dame improved its chances with the local standout. "That was my first game," Robertson said. "It was a great experience. I can't wait to play at the next level. The atmosphere was great." Notre Dame is very much in the mix, but a final decision isn't expected until next summer when Robert- Rialto (Calif.) Wilmer Amina Carter product Lokeni Toalioa is listed as the No. 124 overall player and No. 5 inside linebacker in the junior class by 247Sports. PHOTO COURTESY 247SPORTS