Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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FOOTBALL RECRUITING to take an arm during this cycle. Sanford watched Houston Westfield three-star dual-threat Dillon Sterling- Cole throw in early May, and then saw Waco (Texas) Midway's Sam Glaes- mann spin it at a practice. Sterling-Cole, who holds offers from UCLA, Florida and Texas A&M, will compete in the Elite 11 finals this sum- mer, but he was unranked as of mid- May. Glaesmann is also unranked, and holds offers only from Rice and Utah State. The Irish are in the preliminary stages of recruiting both, but the name that could gain the most traction over the next few months is Gardena (Ca- lif.) Junipero Serra three-star athlete Khalil Tate. Tate, who is committed to Arizona, was evaluated in person by the Irish, and he said that he's open to what the coaches have to say because there is another quarterback committed to the Wildcats this cycle. "I just want an offense that fits my style, which is a quarterback that can run, but is a pass-first quarterback," Tate said. "Anything that has a read- option or spread, that would definitely be my favorite." The 5-11, 208-pound Tate is ranked by Rivals as the No. 34 athlete in the country and the No. 46 prospect in California. DEFENSIVE BACK Notre Dame would like to sign five to six defensive backs this cycle. With LaGrange Park (Ill.) Nazareth three- star Julian Love (Rivals' No. 10 player in Illinoi and No. 30 cornerback in the nation) already committed to the class, the focus has shifted to safety. The Irish have a core group of tar- gets that include: Gardena (Calif.) Junipero four-star Brandon Burton (No. 5 player in California, and No. 6 safety and No. 45 overall prospect na- tionally according to Rivals), Nash- ville (Tenn.) Father Ryan four-star safety JoeJuan Williams (Rivals' No. 1 recruit in Tennessee, and No. 8 safety and No. 89 overall player in the land), Pittsburgh Central Catholic four-star safety Damar Hamlin (No. 4 prospect in Pennsylvania, and No. 9 safety and No. 109 overall recruit nationally ac- cording to Rivals), Smyrna (Tenn.) High three-star Ikenna Okeke (Rivals' No. 11 player in the Volunteer State and No. 25 safety in the country) and Palm Beach Gardens (Fla.) High three- star Devin Studstill (No. 51 recruit in Florida and No. 48 athlete nationally according to Rivals). It's a formidable group, but one that lacks much depth, and that's why the Irish added to it –– and fast. Notre Dame offered four defensive backs in the span of just a week in mid-May, and each can play safety. Linebackers coach Mike Elston was in Pennsylvania to court Hickory Her- mitage High three-star safety Andrew Pryts (Rivals' No. 13 prospect in the Keystone State and No. 34 safety in the land), while defensive backs coach Todd Lyght was in Texas to see and offer Allen High four-star safety Jay- lon Jones (No. 31 player in Texas, and No. 15 safety and No. 226 overall re- cruit nationally according to Rivals). The staff is doing what it can to get