Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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PREP PROFILES The pitch is simple for Notre Dame when it comes to recruiting Norcross (Ga.) High defensive end Robert Beal: sign with us, and eat grandma's home cooking for the next four years. Beal, who is re- garded as one of the top defensive en d prospects in the class of 2017, al- ready holds scholar- ship offers from Ala- bama, Nebraska and North Carolina. The Irish, however, have something those other schools cannot match. Beal's grandmother used to work at Notre Dame and currently resides in the South Bend area. That gives him a direct tie to the school, and that's one of the reasons why he was on campus for an unofficial visit April 9. "My grandma was a cook there for 30 years, and my high school coach likes Notre Dame, too. That's why I made the visit," Beal said. "I just liked everything about the visit, from the tempo in practice to the tour of cam- pus." Beal is listed by many recruiting ser- vices as an outside linebacker prospect, but at 6-4 and 210 pounds he projects as a defensive end in college. He said that he had a chance to talk with new Notre Dame defensive line coach Keith Gilm- ore and defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder while on campus, and the coaches explained to him that they see him rushing from the edge at the next level. "They like me at de- fensive end, but they said that they want to see me in practice before they offer," Beal said. "They said that they're going to come by in the spring, and that they're very impressed with my film." Notre Dame's primary focus right now is on the class of 2016, but with the spring evaluation period running from April 15 to May 31, a handful of underclassmen are expected to get vis- its from the staff. Beal, who has played just one year of varsity football and is 15 years old, is a name that's on the list after notching 3.5 sacks last season. He's an offer candidate should he pass the proverbial "eye test." Notre Dame has signed four pros- pects out of Georgia since 2010, but missed on all of its targets in the class of 2015, but Beal said that he plans to give the Irish a fair look –– especially with grandma's kitchen around the corner. "Of course I will," he said. "I'm open to everyone." — Andrew Ivins Top Georgia Underclassman Has Ties To Notre Dame ROBERT BEAL Norcross High School Norcross, Ga. Status: Being evaluated Class: 2017 Position: Defensive End Ht.: 6-4 · Wt.: 213 40-Yard Dash: 4.76 Rivals.com Rankings: Currently unrated