Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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64 MARCH 2017 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED FOOTBALL RECRUITING RECRUITING COORDINATION Mike Elston will retain his title as Notre Dame's recruiting coordinator in 2017, but the longtime Kelly as- sistant — he has been with him since 2004 at Central Michigan — will have a lot of reinforcements when it comes to attracting new prospects. • New special teams coordinator Brian Polian established himself as one of the nation's top rising recruit- ing forces at Notre Dame from 2005- 09. Most of the publicity centered on him surprisingly landing Hawai'i linebacker Manti Te'o, the nation's top defensive recruit, but Polian also ex- celled in California while signing top prospects such as quarterback Jimmy Clausen (although he was personally recruited by head coach Charlie Weis), running back Cierre Wood, wide re- ceiver Shaq Evans and quarterback Dayne Crist, among others. A recruiting coordinator at Central Florida (2004), Polian also held that job title at Stanford (2011), when 71 percent of the Cardinal class consisted of five- and four-star players, and helped Texas A&M (2012) assemble the nation's No. 10 class, per Rivals. Polian's impact in his first month back at Notre Dame was felt when he flipped kicker Jonathan Doerer from the University of Maryland and swooped in to land Hawai'i defensive lineman Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa. • First-year offensive coordinator/ tight ends coach Chip Long was the recruiting coordinator at Arizona State from 2012-15. He was recog- nized as one of the nation's top 25 re- cruiters by both Rivals and 247Sports in 2015, and Rivals listed Long as one of the top recruiters in the Pac-12 Con- ference from 2012-14. • New wide receivers coach Del- Vaughn Alexander, who has worked with Long, also has had experience as a recruiting coordinator, and had a midwestern background while at Wisconsin from 2007-11. "In Del's situation — he was on the West Coast, the Midwest," Kelly said. "… At Notre Dame you can do that. If I didn't do that, I think I'm shorting the position. We took into account all of those things." Meanwhile, new quarterbacks coach Tom Rees embraces the idea of recruiting for his alma mater, much like running backs coach Autry Den- son and defensive backs coach Todd Lyght. "There aren't many people around the country who can sell a school on firsthand experience," Rees said. "I've already talked to parents and talked to recruits, and it's something that they're eager to listen to. "It means a lot to them when you say, 'I've played for Coach Kelly and I've played for this place, so I can tell you exactly what it feels like.' "I can tell them, 'Hey, I went through that.' I balanced school and football. I graduated from the busi- ness school. I was the starting quarter- back here. I know what it's like when you lose, and I know what it's like when you win." Where the recruiting territories will be demarcated for the staff is to be determined soon. RECRUITING PRIORITIES AND NEEDS IN 2018 Seldom does a recruiting class fulfill every need. In 2017, the Irish failed to sign a cornerback prospect — which makes that position a top priority in the 2018 cycle. The Fighting Irish have a bit of a cushion there because Julian Love (eight starts), Donte Vaughn (four starts) and speedster Troy Pride Jr. (three starts) all played as 2016 fresh- men, displaying flashes that could make that position one of the stron- gest on the team in the future. Love had 45 tackles, an interception and four passes defensed, while Vaughn's seven passes defended, including an interception, in a more limited role were second on the team. Still, the Irish also signed only one cornerback in 2014 (Nick Watkins, medically redshirted last year) and their top corner in 2015, Shaun Craw- ford, had ACL surgery as a freshman and tore his Achilles last year. "The corner position will be a point of emphasis for us," Kelly summa- rized. On offense, Kelly said finding "elite speed" in the mold of 2013-15 wide receiver Will Fuller is the main objec- tive. "Guys that can change the game on one possession," he said. "We've got very good size, and I think we've got guys that can run. We want a couple of home run hitters. We don't care if they're Darren Sproles' size [listed at 5-6 in the NFL]. "We're going to come off the board in terms of 'profile.' We want some guys that can change the game on of- fense with elite speed." Finally, the overall goal on defense is to find players who fit into new coordinator Mike Elko's 4-2-5 scheme. In addition to revitalizing the Irish special teams units, Brian Polian was brought in because of his prowess on the recruiting trail. PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND Julian Love was part of a strong cornerback class in 2016, but the Irish failed to sign any in 2017 and will make that position a priority during the 2018 cycle. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA