Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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70 MARCH 2017 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED FOOTBALL RECRUITING No. 120 overall player in the country) plans to visit Notre Dame this spring, but right now he does not have the Irish in his top group. New offensive coordinator Chip Long, who also serves as Notre Dame's tight ends coach, will have an opportu- nity to show Ruckert how he plans to maximize the tight end position. OFFENSIVE LINE 2017 OL On Roster: 15 Projected Take: 4-5 Offensive line coach Harry Hiestand is notoriously slow and selective with offers, but he is starting to pick up steam in the 2018 class. His talented four-man haul from the 2017 class must be combined with another deep and quality group to offset the fact the Irish only added five total linemen in the 2015 and 2016 classes. Atlanta Pace standout Jamaree Salyer is rated as the nation's best of- fensive guard and No. 17 overall pros- pect, and he visited Notre Dame un- officially in June. Salyer has always spoken highly of Notre Dame, but the odds are strong he'll join teammate Andrew Thomas, a 2017 signee, at Georgia. Notre Dame has also made Fairfield (Ohio) High five-star offensive tackle Jackson Carman a top priority, but Ohio State will be tough to beat despite the fact he visited Notre Dame twice this past season. Rivals rates Carman as the top offensive tackle and No. 2 overall prospect in the land. Notre Dame recently offered Tra- verse City (Mich.) West tight end Ryan Hayes, who projects as an offensive tackle in college. The 247Sports four- star holds Notre Dame in high regard and is a player to keep an eye on, as is Maria Stein (Ohio) Marion Local of- fensive tackle John Dirksen and Tampa (Fla.) Berkeley Prep big man Nick Petit-Frere, who is listed as the No. 7 strongside defensive end and No. 153 overall recruit in the country by Rivals. Expect the offensive line board to expand a great deal over the next few months now that Hiestand can focus all of his attention on that class. DEFENSIVE END 2017 DE On Roster: 8 Projected Take: 2-3 Notre Dame has signed six defen- sive ends in the last two classes, which helped alleviate depth and talent con- cerns at the position. It also allows the Irish to focus more on landing impact talent at the position, with the need to add depth not as great. Landing Jersey City (N.J.) St. Peter's Prep's Justin Ademilola, the nation's No. 20 strongside defensive end, was a solid start to the class. Arguably the top target on the board is Fairfield (Ohio) High end Malik Vann, a physically imposing power player that has been to Notre Dame three times in the last year. The Irish have gone all in on Vann (Rivals' No. 11 strongside defensive end and No. 219 overall player nationally), and they are considered his leader at this point. However, Ohio State could be a factor if they choose to offer. Notre Dame is hoping to make in- roads with Florence (S.C.) Wilson five- star Xavier Thomas, the country's top strongside defensive end and No. 3 overall prospect. The 6-3, 255-pounder has expressed interest in Notre Dame in the past, but at this point the Irish are not among his favorites. Notre Dame has made University Heights (Ohio) Cleveland Heights athlete Tyreke Smith a top priority as well, but a recent offer from the in-state Buckeyes could be a game changer with him. Smith is rated as the coun- try's No. 9 stongside defensive end and No. 196 overall player. Notre Dame offered Baltimore Gil- man end Thomas Booker (No. 17 athlete and No. 210 overall player in the nation) on National Signing Day, which is a sign of how the staff views him. Gilman is the alma mater of for- mer Notre Dame standout Victor Abi- amiri (2003-06) and cornerback Am- brose Wooden (2003-06). DEFENSIVE TACKLE 2017 DT On Roster: 10 Projected Take: 2-3 Notre Dame's defensive tackle re- cruiting has been wildly inconsistent. In 2013, Notre Dame signed just one defensive tackle in Jacob Matuska, and he finished his career at tight end. In 2016, the Irish failed to sign a single defensive tackle. Its 2017 class added three quality players to the roster, and the key now is putting together back- to-back strong interior classes for the first time in Kelly's tenure. The Irish staff got off to a fast start when it landed Jersey City (N.J.) St. Peter 's Prep star Jayson Ademilola, whose twin brother Justin is also a Notre Dame commit. Ademilola, Ri- vals' No. 18 defensive tackle in the land, finished his junior season with 22.5 tackles for loss and 10.5 sacks and was listed as the top junior in New Jersey by NJ.com. Adding at least one more top-level interior player is a goal for Notre Dame. Cincinnati Moeller defensive tackle Aeneas Hawkins, the nation's No. 16 defensive tackle and No. 229 overall player, is a prime target for the Irish staff. Moeller is the alma mater of cur- rent Notre Dame defensive tackle Eli- jah Taylor and former Irish quarter- back Andrew Hendrix (2010-13). Hawkins plans to announce his de- cision May 10, and the Irish will have to beat out programs like Ohio State, Alabama, LSU, Florida State and Okla- homa for his services. Another top target is P.J. Mustipher of Owings Mills (Md.) McDonough, the younger brother of Notre Dame's starting center Sam Mustipher. Rivals ranks him as the country's No. 7 defen- sive tackle and No. 122 overall player. LINEBACKER 2017 LB On Roster: 9 Projected Take: 3 Notre Dame added a pair of talented linebackers in the 2017 class when it signed David Adams and Drew White. Two four-star linebackers — Ellis Brooks and Antjuan Simmons — had interest in Notre Dame, but the Irish staff passed on both. Shifting to a two-linebacker defense was part of the reason, but landing commitments from Erie (Pa.) Cathe- 2018 NOTRE DAME COMMITMENTS Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown (High School) Jayson Ademilola DT 6-3 265 Jersey City, N.J. (St. Peter's Prep) Justin Ademilola DE 6-3 234 Jersey City, N.J. (St. Peter's Prep) Matthew Bauer LB 6-3 216 Erie, Pa. (Cathedral) Phil Jurkovec QB 6-5 190 Gibsonia, Pa. (Pine-Richland) Ovie Oghoufo LB 6-2 207 Farmington Hills, Mich. (Harrison) Markese Stepp RB 6-0 205 Indianapolis (Cathedral)