Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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FOOTBALL RECRUITING ROUNDUP trip to Gainesville as a fan, reports from Gator- Bait.net (247Sports' Florida affiliate) suggest that he wore Gators attire to the game, did the 'Gator Chomp' during the touchdowns in the 14-6 victory over the Tigers and even led an 'or- ange and blue' cheer in the second half — truly appearing to play the role of a fan. Several committed prospects inside of the Swamp felt that Anzalone would eventually flip to the Gators based on his game-day experi- ence, and the Florida coaching staff report- edly also felt confident in landing the four-star recruit in the end. However, the Pennsylvania native has also been in contact with the Irish — going as far as telling one coach "not to worry" about him changing his mind again after initially being committed to Ohio State. Notre Dame will continue to recruit Anzalone as though he's uncommitted. He's slated to re- turn to campus for the BYU game Oct. 20 on an unofficial visit and has a meeting arranged with admissions the morning of the trip to take another step forward in the early enrollment process. If Anzalone doesn't make it to South Bend that weekend, then look for the Irish to continue considering other options at inside linebacker just in case the top-50 recruit begins to waver on his commitment. · Rumors began to swirl Oct. 10 that outside Alabama and USC both listed as potential op- tions. He'll also likely make his first trip to South Bend at some point and could announce his choice at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio, similar to Shumate, after being added to the roster following Florida defensive end commit Jordan Sherit suffering a season- ending ACL injury. · Five-star cornerback Priest Willis of Tempe ment and appears to have Notre Dame as a silent leader. Muhammad will likely take official visits, with (Ariz.) Marcos De Niza was scheduled to get to Notre Dame for its game against Stanford Oct. 13 after canceling his visit for the Michigan game Sept. 22 due to an All-American jersey presentation at his school, but he had to have a change in plans once again. It wasn't for a lack of interest, though, because he does plan on getting to campus eventually. He decided to change the trip again because he feels it's important that his family travels with him, and they weren't able to coordinate the visit plans in time. Willis is listed by 247Sports as the top player in Arizona, the No. 3 cornerback nationally and the No. 25 overall prospect in the land. · Athlete Thomas Duarte of Santa Ana (Calif.) linebacker/defensive end Alquadin Muhammad of Ramsey (N.J.) Don Bosco Prep, which is where freshman Irish safety Elijah Shumate played prior to his arrival in South Bend, had offered his commitment to Notre Dame. BlueandGold.com dispelled the rumor later that morning. Despite Muhammad — the No. 4 player in New Jersey, the No. 4 strongside defensive end in the land and the country's No. 84 overall recruit according to 247Sports — not giving his pledge to the Irish, the program does look to be on his radar. He has remained in consistent contact with the Irish throughout his recruit- No. 14 tight end in the country according to 247Sports has received Irish interest, he's one of the targets in a waiting mode to see what happens with the other recruits that could po- tentially play the outside linebacker/defensive end hybrid role. If the Irish still have room later in the process, Mater Dei has been one of the quieter develop- ments on the recruiting scene, but he picked up an offer from Notre Dame along the way. While the No. 38 player in California and then he's the type of recruit the coaching staff will try to get to campus for an official visit. — Jason Sapp