Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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Torii Hunter Jr., son of MLB outfielder Torii Hunter Sr., made a trio of stops in late July, starting at Princeton and West Virginia and ending with a trip to Notre Dame. In August, he toured Alabama, Arizona, Arizona State, Mis- souri, Nebraska and Utah. He had started building a relation- Prosper (Texas) High wide receiver Notre Dame Is A Top Choice For Four-Star Wide Receiver TORII HUNTER JR. PREP PROFILES ship with his Irish recruiter, Kerry Cooks, by keeping in contact, but it didn't compare to getting the opportu- nity to see the coaching staff in person. "They're real people," the 6-1, recruit in Texas, No. 26 wide receiver in the land and the country's No. 231 overall player 172-pound four-star recruit said. "They give it to you straight up. They tell you how it is — it's going to be hard, it's going to be a grind and come in ready to work to earn a spot. They cut through all of the nonsense. … I think Notre Dame will be on the rise with its staff. "Coach Kelly talked about where he comes from, how he started off his coaching career and what brought him to Notre Dame. … His main focus go- ing to Notre Dame was to coach good kids with athletic ability and turn the noise on the recruiting front, but he had quietly slid in visits to Cal, Stan- ford and Washington this summer. An- other stop for him was Notre Dame, which made a strong impression. "I thought the Gug was pretty cool," Austin Hooper hasn't made much the 6-5, 240-pound three-star prospect said of one of the highlights of the trip to campus with his father, Michael. "Touchdown Jesus, the Grotto, all the facilities … everything was great." While he enjoyed taking in the sites, a more important part of the trip was getting answers from Irish head coach Brian Kelly and his staff about where he stands as a recruit for the program. "Coach Kelly talked about the Position: Wide Receiver Ht.: 6-1 • Wt.: 172 40-yard dash: 4.57 247Sports Ranking: No. 30 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ Prosper High School Prosper, Texas program back into a BCS champion- ship team. I have a lot of respect for him for that." Hunter was also able to meet with for 749 yards and 11 touchdowns in his junior season. He is also known for his ability on the baseball diamond, and playing both sports at the colle- giate level will factor into his decision. "That's right up there," he said of The Texas native reeled in 43 passes the importance of being a dual-sport athlete. "It's right below education." He could generally identify where Notre Dame stands, but isn't prepared to shut down the recruiting process. "I don't have an exact timeline, and offensive coordinator Chuck Martin to discuss where he fits in the Irish attack. "In our meeting he showed me where I'd play, and he said I'd be the replacement for [senior] Theo Rid- dick," Hunter Jr. continued. "He plays out of the slot position, but he moves around a lot and lines up outside and plays out of the backfield. They give him the ball in space, and I could be that guy." the weakside outside linebacker posi- tion in the 3-4," Hooper recalled. "He likes my length and my explosion off of the ball. He said I could be really successful in their scheme. "That position is somewhat similar "Coach Diaco told me I would play Notre Dame wasn't pressuring me to make a choice," he said. "They told me they're going to take a few more guys in my class, but they're going to keep recruiting me until I say no. "Notre Dame will be one of the top schools. I don't know if I'll be going there, but it's one of the better schools for sure. I'm just not sure on the other schools yet until I see them all." Hunter Jr. plans to narrow his list — Jason Sapp at the start of his senior season and decide which programs will receive an official visit. Irish Surge For California Defender Following Visit AUSTIN HOOPER ✪ ✪ ✪ to what I play as a 4-3 defensive end, and it would allow me to play out of a two-point stance and drop into coverage." Hooper, who compiled 46 tackles, in California and the No. 31 strongside defen- sive end nationally things that he has done and how he's happy he was able to find success at Notre Dame with his system," Hooper said. "He's been able to do more with less at programs in the past, so he's ex- cited about the opportunity to do it at Notre Dame with more elite players." His meeting with defensive coordi- nator Bob Diaco detailed where he fits in the defensive scheme. www.BLUEANDGOLD.com 20 tackles for loss, 11.5 sacks and two blocked passes in his junior campaign, didn't schedule any other visits for the remainder of his summer, deciding it was time to focus on preparing for his senior season. He may have arrived in South Bend Position: Outside Line- backer/Defensive End Ht: 6-5 • Wt: 240 247Sports: No. 61 prospect De La Salle High School Concord, Calif. schools I should keep on my list. My attitude about having to take all five official visits has changed. "I want to go through and cut it with no intentions of making any quick decisions and locked into tak- ing five official visits, but the process got shaken up a bit following a better than expected trip. "I think stuff has changed," Hooper said. "As of right now I have to go home and talk to my parents about ev- erything. I want to go through which down to two or three schools so I can really break them down and get to the next step in the process. I'll write out all the pros and cons about the schools, and if it feels right, then I may just decide." He wasn't ready to offer up a com- mitment, but it was evident where the Irish stood after the trip. "They're definitely at the top," Hooper stated. — Jason Sapp PRESEASON 2012 85