Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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FOOTBALL RECRUITING ROUNDUP Recruiting Notes • Notre Dame will be well represented on the annual high school postseason all-star game circuit. The Irish are slated to have a number of commits and a handful of top targets play in the U.S. Army All- American Bowl, the Under Armour All-American Game and the Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl. The action will get started on Jan. 2 when Cleveland St. Ignatius three-star Liam Eichenberg (Rivals' No. 36 offensive tackle nationally) competes in the Under Armour All-American Game (Noon EST, ESPN2) in Orlando, Fla. Eichenberg will be joined at the Citrus Bowl by Houston Aldine Davis four-star linebacker Jeffrey McCulloch, who is expected to make a commitment at the game during the broadcast. The 6-3, 235-pound McCulloch put the Irish in his top five Dec. 13, along with Texas A&M, Texas, Stan- ford and Florida. Notre Dame would gladly accept a commitment from Rivals' No. 4 inside linebacker and No. 183 overall prospect, with the thought being that he could put an exclamation point on an already strong defensive haul for the Irish. Two of those defenders will be on display Jan. 3 at the Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl (9 p.m. EST, FOX Sports 1). Farmington Hills (Mich.) Harrison four-star Khalid Kareem (Rivals' No. 19 strongside defensive end) and Rochester (N.Y.) Aquinas Institute three-star Jamir Jones (Rivals' No. 44 outside linebacker) will anchor the front seven for the East squad at the StubHub Center in Carson, Calif. While Kareem and Jones will give Irish fans a preview of what to expect over the next couple of years in South Bend, it will be just an appetizer to what will be on display at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl (1 p.m. EST, NBC) in San Antonio Jan. 9. Notre Dame will have two commits playing at the Alamodome in Cincinnati Elder four-star Tommy Kraemer (Rivals' No. 3 offensive tackle and No. 36 overall prospect) and Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy three-star Tony Jones (Rivals' No. 27 running back), but also a large group of targets headlined by Corona (Calif.) Centennial four-star wide receiver Javon McKinley. The 6-2, 196-pound McKinley, who is ranked as the No. 12 wide receiver and No. 59 overall recruit in the country by Rivals, is scheduled to make a commitment during the game. He's down to Notre Dame, Oregon and Washington after canceling an official visit to UCLA in December. The Irish would be happy just landing McKinley from the game, but he isn't the lone prospect that the staff is actively recruiting. Notre Dame is also in the hunt for Fresno (Calif.) Clovis West five-star Caleb Kelly (Rivals' No. 4 outside linebacker and No. 17 overall player), Savannah (Ga.) Christian School five- star Demetris Robertson (Rivals' No. 1 athlete and No. 8 overall recruit), Old Tappan (N.J.) High four-star Jordan Fuller (Rivals' No. 21 safety), Detroit Martin Luther King four-star Donnie Corley (Rivals' No. 14 wide receiver and No. 70 overall prospect), Saint Clairsville (Ohio) High four-star Brendan Ferns (Rivals' RIVALS 2016 TEAM RECRUITING RANKINGS As of Dec. 15 1. Ohio State 17 2. LSU 17 3. Stanford 20 4. Michigan 21 5. Florida 25 6. Florida State 17 7. Alabama 17 8. Ole Miss 18 9. Notre Dame 19 10. Texas A&M 19 Rk. School Commits Rk. School Commits