Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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FOOTBALL RECRUITING ROUNDUP Fairview four-star defensive end Carlo Kemp, will be in South Bend for the Navy game Oct. 10. Kemp, who is the nephew of Indianapolis Colts head coach Chuck Pagano, was offered by the Irish in June. He said at the time that the bid moved Notre Dame ahead of his other options. "I'm still considering all of my options, but Notre Dame is at the top of my list," Kemp said. He plans to take an official visit to Michigan and is also considering UCLA and Colorado. "I've had an ongoing mindset where I want to take all my officials and then commit to my school," Kemp said. "But if I know where I want to be, I might not have to take all five." The 6-3, 250-pound lineman is ranked as the No. 9 weakside defensive end in the country and the No. 187 overall prospect in nation by Rivals. • Pittsburgh Seton La Salle four-star safety Paris Ford isn't ready to start naming leaders, but the brother of former Notre Dame cornerback Darrin Walls doesn't need a short list of schools to explain where the Irish stand in his recruitment after a visit in late July. "I would say that Notre Dame is in the top three," Ford said. "What stood out about the visit was talk- ing to assistant coach Todd Lyght. He told me that I'm the No. 1 [defensive back] in the class and that he can take me to the NFL." Ford is ranked as the No. 33 overall prospect in the country for the class of 2017 by Rivals, and he already holds offers from Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan, Auburn and UCLA. The 6-0, 172-pound safety doesn't have a timetable for a decision, but said his brother is obviously pushing him to Notre Dame. "He was real excited that I was visiting, and he was telling me that it was going to be the best college visit that I will have had so far, and it definitely was," Ford said. • Irish target and Brownsburg (Ind.) High five-star quarterback Hunter Johnson committed to Tennes- see on Aug. 23. More than 20 schools have extended Johnson a scholarship offer, but he had whittled it down to a top two of Tennessee and Notre Dame, before pledging to the Volunteers. The 6-2, 187-pounder is ranked as the No. 1 quarterback and No. 4 overall prospect in the class of 2017. Johnson, who has already accepted an invitation to play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, threw for 1,434 yards and 10 touchdowns as a sophomore last year. — Andrew Ivins Follow @BGI_aivins and @BGI_JWells on Twitter for daily recruiting updates available on BlueandGold.com! Smyrna (Tenn.) High three-star safety Ikenna Okeke said the contact he has had with Notre Dame has picked up following his visit for the Irish Invasion back in June. PHOTO BY ANDREW IVINS