Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/638727
2016 RECRUITING ISSUE DEVIN STUDSTILL SAFETY 6-0 • 189 PALM BEACH GARDENS H.S. RIVIERA BEACH, FLA. RANKINGS STARS NAT. POS. STATE ✪ ✪ ✪ — 45 76 ✪ ✪ ✪ — 58 119 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 239 11 32 ✪ ✪ ✪ — 34 59 MEASURABLES • Posted a Nike Football Rating of 73.71 at The Opening Miami on Feb. 28, 2015. He clocked a 4.76 in the 40-yard dash, ran a 4.83 20-yard shuttle and had a 33.6-inch vertical jump. STATISTICS • Helped lead Palm Beach Gardens to a 7-4 re- cord and district title while playing safety, wide receiver and "wildcat" quarterback. Had 29 tackles and an interception on defense. • Totaled 54 tackles and four interceptions as a junior for the Gators. HONORS • Named The Sun Sentinel's All-Palm Beach 8A-7A-6A Defensive Player of the Year in 2015. Was a All-Palm Beach County 8A-7A-6A football first-team defense selection by the paper as a junior. • Named second-team 8A (largest classification) all-state by the Associated Press in 2015. • Listed as the No. 6 prospect in Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast by ESPN West Palm 106.3 FM. • Ranked as the No. 3 prospect in Palm Beach by The Palm Beach Post. ALL-STAR GAMES AND CAMPS • Selected to play in the Blue Grey All-American Bowl, but turned down the invitation so he could enroll early at Notre Dame. RECRUITMENT • Committed to Notre Dame on Dec. 15, 2015, and enrolled on Jan. 11, 2016. Picked the Irish over his other finalists — Texas, Miami, West Virginia and North Carolina. • Was recruited primarily by assistant coach Autry Denson, but also had contact with defensive backs coach Todd Lyght and graduate assistant Maurice Crum. • Visited South Bend for the Irish Invasion in June and returned to campus on Oct. 17, 2015, for an official visit with his family. He also took official visits to West Virginia and Texas. NOTABLE • Born July 2, 1998. • His father, Darren Studstill, was the starting quarterback at West Virginia in the early 1990s and a member of the Mountaineer's 1993 unde- feated team. He was selected in the sixth round of the 1994 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys as a defensive back and spent three seasons in the NFL. • Was a ball boy for the Atlanta Falcons during the team's 2015 training camp. His godfather is defensive line coach Bryan Cox. 2016 PROJECTION • Has a chance to carve out a role in the second- ary during his rookie campaign. THEY SAID IT • Head coach Brian Kelly: "Devin, like his former teammate Te'von Coney, is a physical and impos- ing athlete out of a successful Palm Beach Gardens program. I am glad Devin was able to enroll in classes early and am excited to watch his compete this spring." • Defensive backs coach Todd Lyght: "Vertical player, loves to get downhill, plays much bigger than his size. He really likes to get after the of- fense. He has the intelligence to quarterback a defense. He will play, and he will play early."