Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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• The offensive line should still have three full scholarship units this fall even with Tillery's shift to the other side of the ball. • No other Football Bowl Subdivision team returns 20 starters on offense and defense from its bowl game, including potentially as many as five scholarship quarterbacks with the addition of Bran- don Wimbush. "I was okay not taking a quarterback, and we were going to pass for '16," said Kelly, who ultimately decided he couldn't forgive himself if he didn't pur- sue Wimbush. • Notre Dame returns its top six wide- outs from last season, plus freshmen Justin Brent and Corey Holmes — yet it signed four more this season for an even dozen. Even Kelly admitted that might be slightly over the quota, although CJ Sanders cannot be overlooked for the potential explosiveness he might pro- vide to the return units. 2015 Recruiting: By The Numbers 2 Players signed from Louisiana: defensive tackle Jerry Tillery (Shreveport) and defensive end Bo Wallace (New Orleans). It was the first time Notre Dame signed a football player from the Bayou State since 1999 cornerback Albert Poree, who wound up transferring to Georgia Tech. The last to sign from Louisiana and finish his Irish career was wide receiver/quarterback Arnaz Battle in 1998. 4 Recruits from Indiana, the most represented state in this year's class and the most Notre Dame has signed from the Hoosier State since reel- ing in five back in 1976, headlined by running back Vagas Ferguson. The four this year are linebacker Josh Barajas (Merrillville), defensive lineman Brandon Tiassum (Indianapolis), linebacker Amar Bilal (Indianapolis) and safety Mykelti Williams (Indianapolis). 6-2 Notre Dame's favorable total in this year's tally of players who originally committed elsewhere before switching. The six Notre Dame signed were quarterback Brandon Wimbush (Penn State), running back Dexter Williams (Miami), tight end Aliz'e Jones (UCLA), linebacker Josh Barajas (Penn State), and cornerbacks Shaun Crawford (Michigan) and Ashton White (Virginia Tech). The two Notre Dame lost were quarterback Blake Barnett (Alabama) and safety Prentice McKinney (Oklahoma). 10 Years that Notre Dame has been admitting early enrollees, and the four in this recruiting class bring the total to 35. This year's quartet — center Tristen Hoge, defensive linemen Micah Dew- Treadway and Jerry Tillery, and linebacker Te'von Coney — began classes Jan. 12 and can compete in spring practice, which is scheduled to begin March 2. 10.75 Composite ranking of Notre Dame's 2015 class by the four major football recruiting service outlets. Scout.com had Notre Dame the highest at No. 6, followed by Rivals. com at No. 11, and 247Sports and ESPN.com both at No. 13. Defensive tackle Jerry Tillery (above) and defen- sive end Bo Wallace are the first Louisiana natives to sign with the Irish since 1999. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM