Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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FOOTBALL RECRUITING Neal's elementary school, Kyrene De La Esperanza in Phoenix. While the younger Neal wasn't ready to play favorites leading into the decision, the elder Neal viewed two programs as the ones that would make an ideal fit based on the factors. "As a parent, I would want to see the skill players last year, and we think we have done that," Kelly said. "Next year's class will have that ver- satility element, and it will be cen- tered around that big skill." him get the great opportunity to play college football and have an oppor- tunity to get the best degree," Luke shared. "I really believe at this time that at least two of them would be able to do that, and those two are probably North Carolina and Notre Dame. "He'd have an opportunity to play football on great teams and that's an- other reason why those two schools stand out to me. He'd be going to a place that most people can't get into, and that's an opportunity that he'll be looking at." into three demarcations by Irish head coach Brian Kelly. An equal distribu- tion of all three is generally unlikely each recruiting season, so one of the three usually will be highlighted, de- pending on team needs. One group is Power — or linemen 'BIG SKILL' THE NEXT AGENDA Prospective recruits are categorized verbal commits and five-star pros- pects Deontay Greenberry (Houston) and Ronald Darby (Florida State) had some seismic reactions, tremors also were felt in mid-January when four- star offensive tackle Taylor Decker of Vandalia, Ohio, switched to the in-state Ohio State Buckeyes. The 6-8, 315-pound Decker, who is While the defections of former Irish DITCHED BY DECKER rated as the No. 28 offensive tackle nationally by 247Sports, was the sec- ond Irish verbal commit in the 2012 cycle and he didn't budge on his pledge even when newly appointed Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer came calling. The moment that caused Decker to slightly nudge that window of op- portunity ajar for the Buckeyes was when he learned that his future posi- tion coach, Ed Warinner, was leaving Notre Dame. Furthermore, Decker's recruiter, Tim Hinton, moved from Notre Dame to Ohio State. A visit from Irish offensive coordi- — which was the emphasis in his first full recruiting cycle last season when he signed a full complement of five offensive linemen and four de- fensive linemen to man the trenches. This year the focus was on Skill/ many as three players from the Hoosier State. PHOTO COURTESY 247SPORTS The Irish inked a trio of Indiana natives — quar- terback Gunner Kiel, defensive lineman Sheldon Day (above) and safety John Turner — marking just the fifth time since 1980 they signed as receiver Daniel Smith in 2010 and Indianapolis offensive lineman Nick Martin in 2011. This marked the fifth time since 1980 Specialist players, and Notre Dame landed a top quarterback (Gunner Kiel), two running backs (not includ- ing USC transfer Amir Carlisle), two wide receivers and five defensive backs. The group comprised 10 of the 16 prospects that signed. Ideally, it would have been 12 of 18 (66.7 per- cent) had five-star prospects Deon- tay Greenberry and Ronald Darby remained committed at receiver and cornerback, respectively. For 2013, the focal point will be Big Skill players, or the 6-3 to 6-5 linebacker/tight end types such as current freshmen Troy Niklas, Ishaq Williams and Ben Councell. This cycle Notre Dame signed only one, 16-year-old linebacker Romeo Ok- wara from Charlotte, N.C. "We all heard me talking about the 'back end' [defensive backs] and www.BLUEANDGOLD.com nator Chuck Martin allowed Notre Dame to regain a commitment from Decker, but when he took an official visit to Ohio State the weekend of Jan. 13-15, he confirmed shortly af- terward to BlueandGold.com that he will be a Buckeye. "I just have figured everything out," he said. BACK HOME AGAIN IN INDIANA The state of Indiana isn't tradi- tionally revered as a hotbed of high school football talent, but among the 16 freshmen signed this year by Notre Dame, the three that came from the Hoosier state — quarter- back Gunner Kiel, defensive lineman Sheldon Day and safety John Turner — represented the most for the Irish from one state this season. A fourth, linebacker/athlete Da- vid Perkins from nearby South Bend Washington High, gave an early ver- bal pledge to Notre Dame but later switched to Ohio State. Third-year head coach Brian Kelly that Notre Dame signed as many as three from its home state, with the most recent occurring in 2006 (run- ning backs James Aldridge and Luke Schmidt and kicker Ryan Burkhart). In- terestingly, the 1980 trio had a makeup similar to this year's triumvirate. • In 1980, Notre Dame landed quarterback Blair Kiel, a Parade All- American, and this year the Irish signed his nephew, Gunner. • In 1980, the Irish landed a fu- ture nose guard from Fort Wayne, Jon Autry, and this year Day is also projected as a nose guard. • Finally, the 1980 haul included a defensive back from Indianapo- lis, Stacey Toran, as does this year's group with Turner. ✦ Get the latest recruiting news on your smart phone! SCAN THIS CODE: signed one Indiana player each of his first two seasons, South Bend MARCH 2012 51