Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com OCT. 31, 2016 47 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ROUNDUP • Notre Dame continues to be in great shape with sev- eral top tight ends in the class of 2018. Rivals' No. 1 tight end overall, four-star Zack Kuntz of Camp Hill (Pa.) High, visited Notre Dame for the Michigan State game Sept. 17 and returned for the Stanford game Oct. 15. The Kuntz family is Catholic and also Notre Dame fans. The Irish are also in good shape early with Tampa (Fla.) Plant four-star tight end Judge Culpepper, the No. 222 overall prospect in the junior class, and Missouri City (Texas) Ridge Point four-star tight end Mustapha Mu- hammad, the No. 242 junior in the nation. Both Culpep- per and Muhammad are in the process of planning visits to South Bend. • One of Notre Dame's 2018 commits made Irish fans a little worried when he took an unofficial visit to Michigan Oct. 1 to see the Wolverines take on Wisconsin. India- napolis Cathedral running back Markese Stepp went to Ann Arbor with 2018 offensive lineman and teammate Emil Ekiyor, who committed to Michigan during his visit. Stepp returned from the visit reconfirming his pledge to the Irish and said the visit was more about seeing two good teams play. Stepp is 100 percent committed to Notre Dame, but said he will not stop schools from recruiting him. If "anything goes wrong" he will already have some relationships built up. • Despite his commitment to Notre Dame, Indianapolis Cathedral 2017 linebacker Pete Werner continues to receive attention from Ohio State. The Rivals four-star said he receives texts daily from the Buckeyes and Urban Meyer. However, Werner has remained steady in his commitment to the Irish. He has been to South Bend two times this fall (Nevada and Michigan State) and plans only to be in South Bend the rest of the way. • Notre Dame sent out three new offers during the week of Oct. 3-7, two in the 2018 class and one in the class of 2019. Offers in the 2018 class were to a pair of Rivals four-star wide receivers, Joshua Moore of Yoakum (Texas) High and Manuel Allen of Corona (Calif.) Centen- nial. Rivals ranks Moore as the No. 155 overall player in the junior class and lists Allen at No. 101. The 2019 offer was made to Derick Hunter Jr., a strong- side defensive end from Fort Myers (Fla.) Dunbar. Hunter Jr. also holds offers from Florida and South Florida. — Corey Bodden and David McKinney Recruiting Notes Indianapolis Cathedral junior running back and Irish commit Markese Stepp made a bit of news recently when he took a trip to Ann Arbor. However, maintains his "100 percent" commitment status to Notre Dame. PHOTO BY ANDREW IVINS COMMITMENT UPDATES Games played Oct. 6‑8 unless otherwise noted • LB David Adams: Was part of a Pittsburgh Central Catholic (6-1) defense that surrendered just 98 total yards in a 49-7 victory at Butler (Pa.) High (2-4). Next game: at Altoona (Pa.) High (2‑5). • DB Paulson Adebo: Mansfield (Texas) High (4-2) won 47-28 over Arlington (Texas) Martin (2-4). Next game: at Arlington (Texas) Lamar (4‑2). • DL Jayson Ademilola: Recorded four tackles in Jersey City (N.J.) St. Peter's Prep's (4-1) 34-22 win at Wayne (N.J.) DePaul Catholic (1-4). Next game: Oradell (N.J.) Bergen Catholic (4‑1). • DL Justin Ademilola: Notched five tackles and a sack in Jersey City (N.J.) St. Peter's Prep's (4-1) 34-22 victory at Wayne (N.J.) DePaul Catholic (1-4). Next game: Oradell (N.J.) Bergen Catholic (4‑1). • LB Matthew Bauer: Compiled three tackles and sack in Erie (Pa.) Cathedral Prep's (7-0) 49-7 victory versus Waterford (Pa.) Fort LeBoeuf (5-2). Next game: at Athol Springs (N.Y.) St. Francis (2‑3). • QB Avery Davis: Completed all 11 of his pass attempts for 165 yards with three touchdowns in Cedar Hill (Texas) High's (4-2) 58-0 win over Irving (Texas) MacArthur (0-6). Next game: Irving (Texas) Nimitz (2‑4). • DL Darnell Ewell: Norfolk (Va.) Lake Taylor (5-1) won 51-6 on the road versus Portsmouth (Va.) Churchland (1-5). Next game: Portsmouth (Va.) Wilson (0‑5). • OL Dillan Gibbons: Clearwater (Fla.) Central Catholic's (5-1) road game against Ocala (Fla.) Trin- ity Catholic (1-3) was canceled due to Hurricane Matthew. Next game: Clearwater (Fla.) Calvary Christian (2‑4). • OL Robert Hainsey: Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy (5-0), which is ranked No. 2 nationally by USA Today, had its game versus Baton Rouge (La.) Southern Lab (4-2) cancelled due to Hurricane Matthew. Next game: at West Palm Beach (Fla.) Oxbridge Academy (6‑0). • DL Kurt Hinish: Was part of a Pittsburgh Central Catholic (6-1) defense that surrendered just 98 total yards in a 49-7 victory at Butler (Pa.) High (2-4). Next game: at Altoona (Pa.) High (2‑5). • RB C.J. Holmes: Racked up 240 yards and two touchdowns on 21 rushing attempts in Cheshire (Conn.) Academy's (2-2) 44-21 victory versus Suffield (Conn.) Academy (2-1). Next game: at Andover (Mass.) Phillips Academy (0‑3). • DL Donovan Jeter: Recorded six total stops, 4.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks in Beaver Falls (Pa.) Area's (5-1) 34-0 victory versus Leetsdale (Pa.) Quaker Valley (3-3). Next game: Monaca (Pa.) Central Valley (6‑1). • QB Phil Jurkovec: Gibsonia (Pa.) Pine Richland (4-3) lost 32-27 on the road against McMurray (Pa.) Peters Township (3-4) … Had surgery on his thumb Oct. 7 and is out approximately eight weeks … Prior to his injury, completed 104 of 167 passes (62.3 percent) for 1,673 yards with 12 touch- downs and two interceptions … Also rushed for 481 yards and eight touchdowns on 82 carries. Next game: Pittsburgh Shaler Area (0‑7). • TE Cole Kmet: Hauled in five catches for 84 yards in Arlington Heights (Ill.) St. Viator's (5-2) 27-21 win on the road against Chicago St. Patrick (4-3). Next game: LaGrange Park (Ill.) Nazareth Academy (3‑4). • OL Joshua Lugg: Helped pave the way for 248 rushing yards on 33 carries in Wexford (Pa.) North Allegheny's (5-2) 28-21 win at Pittsburgh Penn Hills (3-4). Next game: Harmony (Pa.) Seneca Valley (4‑2). • DL Johnathon MacCollister: Orlando (Fla.) Bishop Moore (5-1) posted a 56-7 road victory over Bushnell (Fla.) South Sumter (5-1). Next game: Tavares (Fla.) High (1‑5). • LB Ovie Oghoufo: Had a 38-yard touchdown reception in Farmington Hills (Mich.) Harrison's (3-4) 14-9 loss at Oak Park (Mich.) High (6-2). Next game: at Farmington Hills (Mich.) North Farm‑ ington (0‑7). • WR Jordan Pouncey: Winter Park (4-2) High had a bye. Next game: at Orlando (Fla.) University (0‑6). • DB Isaiah Robertson: Made six tackles in Naperville (Ill.) Neuqua Valley's (7-0) 31-17 victory versus Wheaton (Ill.) High (3-4). Next game: at Roselle (Ill.) Lake Park (2‑5). • RB Markese Stepp: Remained sidelined due to a hamstring injury in Indianapolis Cathedral's (5-3) 24-17 loss at Indianapolis Brebeuf Jesuit (4-4). Next game: at Greenwood (Ind.) Center Grove (7‑1). • LB Pete Werner: Indianapolis Cathedral (5-3) lost 24-17 at Indianapolis Brebeuf Jesuit (4-4). Next game: at Greenwood (Ind.) Center Grove (7‑1). • LB Drew White: Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas (3-2), which is ranked No. 8 in the country by USA Today, had their game against Deerfield Beach (Fla.) High cancelled due to Hur- ricane Matthew. Next game: at Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) High (3‑2). • TE Brock Wright: Had three receptions for 67 yards in Cypress (Texas) Cy-Fair's (4-2) 36-16 win over Cypress (Texas) Cy-Ridge (5-1). Next game: Houston Cypress Creek (3‑3). • WR Michael Young: Scored the go-ahead touchdown in Destrehan (La). High's (6-0) 39-20 win over Reserve (La.) East St. John (2-4). Next game: at Raceland (La.) Central Lafourche (4‑2). Follow @BGI_CoreyBodden and @BGI_DMcKinney on Twitter for daily recruiting updates!