Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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and 10 touchdowns as a sophomore, and has 19 receiving scores in his high school career at this point. Brent's head coach, Denny Pelley, feels the best is yet to come. "Brent catches the ball very well over the middle," Pelley said of his player and 3.1 GPA student. "He's physical ,and he's only a junior so there's plenty of room to grow. … His heart was at Notre Dame. He loved it and he was bubbling over about it. That's just his personality, and it's infectious. "He's genuine about everything. He's SUCCESSFUL, AND I COULDN'T LET IT PASS ME BY." BRENT OPPORTUNITY TO BE VERY "I KNOW I HAVE THE watch in Indiana over the last two years and was maybe even more known as a basketball player be- fore this year. However, it became pretty clear after last year that he was going to be a more touted football recruit," Wiltfong said. "Justin was emerging as a player to just a great all-around kid. He wants to do well and knows he can keep working to get better." 247Sports national analyst Steve Wilt- fong has witnessed those strides and feels he'll make an ideal fit in South Bend for more reasons than his physical ability. of the many traits that stand out about him as a defen- sive player … Capable of quickly gaining the edge and remaining skinny around it to stay on a direct path to the quarterback … Difficult for the ball carrier to out- run due to his speed … Sound in pass coverage … One of the biggest traits that separates him from the rest is his desire to compete. his game he'll look to improve the most is how physi- cal he plays, which will increase with added strength in a college weight program. Areas To Improve Not many areas to criticize on film, but the part of — Jason Sapp Strengths His first step, burst and reaction time are just a few FILM ANALYSIS be a good recruit. He has strong hands and really has good ball skills. The thing about him is that he makes plays. There's no question in my mind that he would've been a national recruit, but he got the offer he wanted and jumped on it." Brent couldn't wait to notify the Irish coaching staff of his choice and the second pledge of the 2014 recruiting campaign was well received. "Coach [Brian] Kelly said he was hav- "He showed that he has the goods to ing a great vacation and it was even better now," Brent said. "I'm looking forward to being taken under his wing and getting things rolling for the 2014 class. We've be- come close friends, and he's very excited about having me on board." Regardless of how early it is in the pro- cess, Brent has no intentions of making any changes to his decision. "I'm not doing anything else," he said of the process moving forward. "I'm all about Notre Dame now and getting ready to get started on the next two years of high school. "I definitely want to get on the recruiting scene and help bring more guys in for my class. I feel honored to be one of the 2014 guys, and I'm going to help Notre Dame any way I can." ✦ AUGUST 2012 79