Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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FOOTBALL RECRUITING ROUNDUP Recruiting Notes • Athlete Stefon Diggs of Olney (Md.) Good Counsel removed Notre Dame from consideration in October when he trimmed his list down to Auburn, Cal, Florida, Florida State, Maryland, Miami, Michigan, South Carolina, Vir- ginia, Virginia Tech and USC, but the Irish are now back in the picture and he's targeting an official visit to South Bend for the Football Awards Show weekend Dec. 9. Diggs plans on using all five OFFICIAL VISIT LIST Sept. 3: South Florida OL Evan Goodman — committed to Arizona State Sept. 17: Michigan State DB Nicky Baratti — committed WR Chris Brown — committed DB Ronald Darby — committed RB William Mahone — committed Oct. 8: Air Force Olney (Md.) Good Counsel athlete Stefon Diggs, 247Sports' No. 22 over- all player nationally, is targeting an official visit to South Bend for the Football Awards Show weekend Dec. 9. PHOTO COURTESY 247SPORTS of his official visits before making an announce- ment on National Signing Day Feb. 1. He's ranked by 247Sports as a five-star recruit, the No. 4 athlete in the land, the top player in Maryland and the No. 22 overall prospect nationally. • Columbus (Ind.) East signal-caller Gunner Kiel, who was on hand for the USC game on Oct. 22, con- sidered taking a return trip to Notre Dame for the Boston College game on Nov. 19, but he wasn't up to making the visit after losing in the state semifinals the night before against Irish safety commit John Turner and Indianapolis Cathedral. The 247Sports five-star prospect, top pro-style quarterback in the nation, No. 1 player in Indiana and the country's No. 13 overall recruit does plan on returning to Notre Dame at some point, but the two trips he was scheduled to take around Thanks- giving were stops at Vanderbilt on Nov. 22 and LSU on Nov. 25 for its matchup against No. 3 Arkansas the following day. Arkansas is also in line to receive a visit from the U.S. Army All-American and early enrollee. There's no set time for his decision follow- ing a decommitment from Indiana. • Running back Keith Marshall — who is listed by 247Sports as a five-star player, the top running back nationally, the No. 2 recruit in North Carolina and the country's No.12 overall prospect — has re- mained firm on his six finalists of Clemson, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Notre Dame and South Carolina. Scout.com Rankings as of Nov. 25 Rk. School 1. Michigan 2. Texas 3. Alabama 4. Texas A&M 5. Florida 6. Miami 7. Clemson 8. LSU 9. Florida State 10. Auburn 11. Notre Dame Commits 22 19 20 24 17 26 20 20 15 16 15 www.BLUEANDGOLD.com He took an official visit to South Carolina for its game against Clemson on Nov. 25, and the Millbrook High (Raleigh, N.C.) player has set Dec. 6 as his announcement date. The Bulldogs remain as the toughest competition for his pledge. • Athlete Davonte Neal of Paradise (Ariz.) Chap- arral hasn't been one of the louder voices on the recruiting front, but he has kept Notre Dame under consideration. The Irish coaching staff's efforts to reach out to the 247Sports four-star prospect, No. 8 athlete in the land, No. 3 player in Arizona and No. 85 overall player nationally were successful, and they're trying to lock down an official visit date for the Football Awards Show. Other programs in the mix include Auburn, Cal, Clemson, Florida State, LSU, USC and Washington. • Everett (Wash.) Mariner running back KeiV- arae Russell had Oregon among his finalists, but 247Sports learned that the Ducks are no longer re- cruiting him after landing former Irish running back target Byron Marshall of San Jose, Calif. Russell's only official visit to date was to Notre Dame for the game against USC on Oct. 22. He doesn't have any other trips planned at this point and has interest in the Trojans, but the two primary contenders for his pledge are Cal and Washington. He's rated as a four-star prospect, the No. 5 all- purpose running back in the land, the No. 2 player in Washington and the country's No. 82 overall recruit. — Jason Sapp TEAM RECRUITING RANKINGS 247Sports Rankings as of Nov. 25 Rk. School 1. Texas 2. Alabama 3. Michigan 4. Florida 5. Texas A&M 6. Florida State 7. LSU 8. Miami 9. Clemson 10. South Carolina 13. Notre Dame Commits 19 20 22 17 24 15 20 26 20 20 15 Rivals.com Rankings as of Nov. 25 Rk. School 1. Texas 2. Florida State 3. Michigan 4. Florida 5. Alabama 6. LSU 7. Texas A&M 8. Auburn 9. Clemson 10. Oklahoma 16. Notre Dame Commits 19 15 22 17 20 20 24 16 20 14 15 WR Nelson Agholor — offered DB C.J. Prosise — committed Oct. 22: USC DB Ishmael Adams — offered DL Arik Armstead — offered OL Zach Banner — offered WR Justin Ferguson — committed WR Deontay Greenberry — committed DB Donaldven Manning — committed to Virginia Tech RB Keith Marshall — offered LB Ifeadi Odenigbo — offered WR Jordan Payton — offered DB Brian Poole — committed to Florida RB KeiVarae Russell — offered DB Tee Shepard — committed OL John Theus — committed to Georgia DB Shaq Thompson — offered WR Bryce Treggs — committed to Cal Oct. 29: Navy WR Latroy Pittman — committed to Florida Nov. 19: Boston College WR Amara Darboh — offered TE Taylor McNamara — committed to Arizona Dec. 3 OL Joshua Garnett — offered Dec. 9: Football Awards Show LS Scott Daly — committed DL Sheldon Day — committed OL Taylor Decker — committed Flying south for the winter? DON'T MISS AN ISSUE OF email gevans@comanpub.com DECEMBER 2011 37 know your new address! Call us at 1-800-421-7751 or Let our customer service department Moving?