Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com MARCH 2017 65 FOOTBALL RECRUITING SMALLER CLASS LIKELY IN 2018 With three fifth-year seniors re- turning — tight end Durham Smythe and offensive linemen Mike Mc- Glinchey and Hunter Bivin — and 21 new recruits signed, Notre Dame unofficially was at 86 scholarships in February, or one over the NCAA limit of 85. In addition to the three fifth-year seniors, the 2017 roster will have 17 fourth-year seniors, 22 juniors, 23 sophomores and the 21 freshmen. Last year at this time Notre Dame had 87. What matters is to be at 85 by August, and attrition inevitably occurs between now and August ei- ther through transfer, academics or discipline. In fact, Kelly and the staff are ac- tively seeking a fifth-year graduate transfer — likely in the defensive backfield, a la Florida's Cody Riggs in 2014 or Cal's Avery Sebastian in 2016 — to add to this year's roster. The next question is "How many scholarships will Notre Dame have to give to the 2018 recruiting class?" There is no "right answer" because of the fluidity between now and next February. If Notre Dame does not lose a sin- gle player from the 2017 freshmen, sophomore and junior classes (highly unlikely), that totals 66 — which means 19 scholarships for the 2018 freshman class are available. However, that does not include the 12 seniors in 2017 eligible for a fifth season in 2018: quarterback Mont- gomery VanGorder; tight end Nic Weishar; offensive linemen Quenton Nelson, Alex Bars, Sam Mustipher and Jimmy Byrne; defensive line- men Jonathan Bonner, Jay Hayes and Peter Mokwuah; cornerback Nick Watkins; safety Drue Tranquill; and punter Tyler Newsome. If all 12 return (which is extremely unlikely), Notre Dame would have only seven scholarships to give to the class of 2018 — and it already has six verbal commitments. If only six of the 12 fifth-year pros- pects return in 2018 and attrition in the other three classes follows a typical pattern, the Irish could be in the upper teens with regard to how many scholarships they have to give. Much is still to be sorted out in the next year with overall numbers. ✦ Six Preferred Walk-Ons Will Join Irish In addition to the 21 freshmen who will be on scholarship, Notre Dame is adding six rookie preferred walk-ons, including a couple of legacy figures and others with previous allegiances. A preferred walk-on is guaranteed a spot on the 105-man roster in August camp, whereas regular walk-ons have to go through tryouts to see if they can earn a spot. Alphabetically, the six are: Quarterback JD Carney, 5-10, 160, San Diego Cathedral Catholic He's the son of 1984-86 Notre Dame kicker John Carney — the fifth all-time lead- ing scorer in NFL history. Carney is from the same high school as classmate/safety Jordan Genmark Heath and incoming freshman lacrosse player Morrison Mirer — son of 1989-92 Irish quarterback Rick Mirer. In 2016, Cathedral Catholic captured the CIF State Bowl Championship in Divi- sion 1-AA. Safety Cameron Ekanayake — 6-2, 200, Edwardsburg (Mich.) High School His mother, Sureeni, is a Notre Dame graduate who works in the school's in- vestment office as a manager of accounting. Aspiring toward a medical career, Ekanayake has taken advanced courses in calculus, statistics, biology and chemistry. Center Colin Grunhard, 6-1, 270, Shawnee Mission (Kan.) Bishop Miege His father Tim Grunhard starred at Notre Dame from 1986-89. He was a starter at guard for the 1988 national champs and started throughout the 1990s as a center for the Kansas City Chiefs. The younger Grunhard played with Irish wide receiver recruit Jafar Armstrong at Bishop Miege. His offers included Air Force, Colgate and South Dakota. Tight End Jack Henige , 6-5, 205, Oak Park (Ill.) Fenwick Henige was named academic all-state on an 11-2 team that lost a controversial playoff decision to Plainfield (Ill.) North. He attends a longtime feeder school to Notre Dame, which sent the Irish 1953 Heisman Trophy winner John Lattner. Safety John Mahoney, 6-0, 198, West Des Moines (Iowa) Valley Mahoney was a first-team all-state selection in Class 4A and scored 35 of a pos- sible 36 on the ACT. He took visits to Notre Dame, Princeton, Drake, Iowa State, Minnesota State, Cornell and Colgate. Safety Patrick Pelini, 6-1, 160, Youngstown (Ohio) Cardinal Mooney He is the son of Bo Pelini, Nebraska's head coach from 2008-14 who led Youngstown State to the Football Championship Subdivision title game this past season. The younger Pelini attended Irish Invasion last year, and his father was at the Notre Dame Coaches Clinic last year, with his presentation coming on defending a spread offense. Like Grunhard, Patrick was recruited by the Air Force Academy. — Lou Somogyi Incoming walk-on offensive lineman Colin Grunhard is the son of 1986-1989 Notre Dame star offen- sive guard Tim Grunhard, who went on to play for the Kansas City Chiefs. PHOTO BY COREY BODDEN