Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/651219
FOOTBALL RECRUITING BY ANDREW IVINS N otre Dame's 2017 recruiting class took a hit Feb. 18, when Norcross (Ga.) High defensive end Robert Beal d e c o m m i t - ted from the I r i s h . B e a l – – w h o i s r a n k e d b y Rivals as the nation's No. 3 weakside de- fensive end and No. 62 overall player in the county –– was in line t o b e c o m e th e h igh est r a n k e d d e - fensive line- man to ink with the Irish since Stephon Tuitt in 2011. W h i l e h e didn't give a specific rea- son as to why h e b a c k e d away from the pledge that he made Nov. 1, Blue & Gold Illustrated learned through a series of sources that it had to do with his family. "I saw some people speculating and saying that he's from Georgia so this was supposed to happen, but I don't think it was his intention to decom- mit," said Rivals recruiting analyst Woody Wommack, who covers pros- pects in the Atlanta area. " I d o n ' t think it was s o m e t h i n g that he took lightly. One of the main reasons why he was con- s i d e r i n g Notre Dame in the first place was be- cause of the family con- siderations. "It looked [like] both he and his sister w ere goin g to be going t h e r e , b u t n o w s h e ' s headed else- where. With t h a t b e i n g the case, he wanted to reevaluate things moving forward." Beal named a top five of Texas, Florida State, Alabama, North Caro- lina State and South Carolina just a few days after backing away from his The Irish Are Searching For Pass Rushers Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy five-star Josh Kaindoh, the No. 1 weakside defensive end and No. 4 overall player in the land according to Rivals, is a top target for Notre Dame. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM