Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/462058
FOOTBALL RECRUITING • No. 4 Allen (Texas) High — Guy- ton. • No. 15 St. Edward, Lakewood, Ohio — Crawford. • No. 18 St. Peters Prep, Jersey City, N.J. — Wimbush. • No 39 Providence Central, New Lenox, Ill. — Boykin. WHATEVER HAPPENED TO… On March 27, 2014, Dallas South Oak Cliff safety Prentice McKinney gave his verbal commitment to the University of Notre Dame without even having yet seen the school's cam- pus. "I chose Notre Dame because that's where my parents wanted me to go, and they were really excited when I got the offer," McKinney told Blue & Gold Illustrated. "When they offered me, I did a lot of research. … They have rich history with the alumni and the fans. The degrees and education are really good." His verbal became especially cru- cial because safety had become a posi- tion of need that fall. Yet by December McKinney's future with the Irish be- came murky when 247Sports referred to academic hurdles as a potential snag. McKinney's high school coach- ing staff denied to Blue & Gold Illus- trated that there were any such prob- lems and that McKinney was "NCAA qualified." However, that doesn't necessarily mean he would be Notre Dame qualified. Amid the rumors, McKinney took an official visit to the University of North Carolina the weekend of Jan. 17 and four days latter announced he would be a Tar Heel. Yet on National Signing Day Feb. 4, McKinney inked his letter of intent with the University of Oklahoma. A couple of days earlier, reports had bro- ken that former Notre Dame defensive backs coach Kerry Cooks — who had recruited McKinney for the Irish — was joining the Sooners' staff. While Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly didn't mention McKin- ney's name specifically, he noted how there is much more to recruiting for the Irish. "It's one of those things where at Notre Dame, you have to stay on top of not only the recruiting part of it," Kelly said. "You've got to stay on the academic part of it and be vigilant there, too, in making sure that the ap- One-time Irish safety commit Prentice McKinney flipped his commitment to North Carolina and ultimately signed with Oklahoma due to academic hurdles. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM