Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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FOOTBALL RECRUITING ROUNDUP RECRUITING NOTES • LaGrange Park (Ill.) Nazareth Academy three-star cornerback Julian Love doesn't hold a scholarship offer from Notre Dame, but it's clear that if he did, he might be committed to the Irish. Love took an unofficial visit to Notre Dame on Feb. 24 for the men's basketball game against Syracuse. He had a chance to meet new defen- sive backs coach Todd Lyght and left campus high on the Irish. "He's just a smooth guy," Love said of Lyght. "He makes some nice met- aphors, and he's someone that is just nice to talk to. The visit went great. I love everything about the place, the history and the campus itself." Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly was out of town the night of the visit, but he told Love that he'll be at Junior Day March 21, which is when the Chicagoland prospect will be back in South Bend. Love believes that an offer may follow. The 5-11, 175-pound defensive back is ranked by Rivals as the No. 10 prospect in Illinois and the No. 30 cornerback in the country. He was the 2014 Pioneer Press Football Player of the Year and Eastern Suburban Catholic Conference Most Valuable Player. • Notre Dame would like to sign one quarterback in the class of 2016, and new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Mike Sanford appears to have at least one target in mind. He offered Glendora (Calif.) High three-star signal-caller Matt Fink on March 3. Fink — who was a target of Sanford's at Boise State — said that the new coach likes him for a variety of reasons. "He said I was the perfect fit in the offense and that I would have looked good at Boise because I'm a dual- threat guy," Fink explained. "Most schools have told me that they like my speed and they think I'm fast for the position, and they also like that I run a read-option offense in high school." Fink runs a self-reported 4.6 40-yard dash. He accounted for 2,111 yards of total offense last season and is ranked by Rivals as the No. 74 prospect in California. He doesn't have any leaders at the moment, but he also holds offers from Washington, Washington State and Colorado. • While much of the focus of Junior Day March 21 will center around the number of Rivals250 prospects that are expected to be on campus, one of the most important recruits slated to be on hand is Wilmette (Ill.) Loyola Academy's John Shannon, who is ranked as the No. 1 long snapper in the country. With current Notre Dame long snapper Scott Daly likely to earn a fifth year in 2016, the Irish are looking to sign a backup and stash him on the roster for use later. Shannon is the ideal candidate. His grandfather, Dan Shannon, was an All-American linebacker at Notre Dame in 1954. "I have been long snapping since I was in seventh grade," Shannon said. "So it's something I like. I also grew up going to Notre Dame games with my family." Shannon already holds scholarship offers from West Virginia and Army. He camped at Notre Dame last sum- mer. — Andrew Ivins LaGrange Park (Ill.) Nazareth Academy three-star cornerback Julian Love has already made an unofficial visit to Notre Dame, attending the men's basketball game versus Syracuse Feb. 24. PHOTO BY ANDREW IVINS Follow @BGI_aivins and @BGI_JWells on Twitter for daily recruiting updates available on BlueandGold.com!