Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com NOV. 6, 2017 49 FOOTBALL RECRUITING Georgia game Sept. 9, came away im- pressed following the USC weekend in South Bend. "They left a big impression on me and my mom," he said. "We didn't know what to expect. I got way more than I expected — it exceeded my expectations a lot. "I've always been really interested in Notre Dame, and the trip increased my interest. Notre Dame is still one of my top schools. This trip confirmed a lot. I would say I have the same inter- ested or even more." Murray mentioned he could see himself playing under offensive line coach Harry Hiestand due to his style and reputation. "He's such a respectable guy," Murray said. "He's had so much ex- perience coaching and put some guys in the NFL. It was an honor to talk to him." The vibe coming from sources fa- miliar with Murray's recruitment noted that despite the strong visit he is still likely to stay out West. NICK PETIT-FRERE OFFENSIVE TACKLE • TAMPA (FLA.) BERKELEY PREP Rivals Rankings: Four-star talent, and the No. 13 offensive tackle and No. 175 overall player nationally. The Skinny: A naturally quiet kid, Petit-Frere doesn't say much in re- gards to his recruitment. When he does, the talented tackle won't give much away on which schools he's fa- voring. It sometimes comes down to following the visit trail, which bodes well for Notre Dame. Petit-Frere made his second trip to Notre Dame for USC weekend, with this recent trip being his official visit. His first trip occurred for a spring practice. The Rivals250 talent is a top prior- ity for the Irish staff, and that has been their message throughout the process. It seemed Petit-Frere would wait until after his season to visit Notre Dame, so it was a win for the staff to get him on campus during a game week to showcase that side of the program. Alabama, Clemson, Florida, Michi- gan and USC are other contenders for Petit-Frere, but the second visit to South Bend has put Notre Dame in pole position according to multiple sources. AMON-RA ST. BROWN WIDE RECEIVER • SANTA ANA (CALIF.) MATER DEI Rivals Rankings: Five-star talent, and the No. 1 wide receiver and No. 4 overall player in the nation. The Skinny: Coming into the visit, USC was the perceived leader for St. Brown and Notre Dame seemed to be on the backburner. However, just be- fore the weekend arrived, Blue & Gold Illustrated learned that the Irish were much more of a player than they had been in recent months. The revamped Irish offense com- bined with the academic opportuni- ties Notre Dame offers reignited St. Brown's interest in the Irish, and the visit to South Bend put Notre Dame back in the thick of his recruitment. St. Brown wants to put up numbers, like any top receiver, but he also wants to play for championships. Coming into the season, he didn't believe Notre Dame was close to being that kind of program. After the first seven games, including the dismantling of USC, he has apparently changed that opinion. St. Brown is planning on taking a few more visits, but Notre Dame should be involved in his recruitment until the end. TOMMY TREMBLE TIGHT END • NORCROSS (GA.) WESLEYAN Rivals Rankings: Three-star talent and the No. 21 tight end nationally. The Skinny: If there were a list ranking the official visitors in terms of most likely to be part of the Notre Dame 2018 class, Tremble would re- ceive strong consideration to be at the top of it. He has always expressed high interest in the Irish and is the type of tight end the staff would love to add to Naples (Fla.) Gulf Coast product and Notre Dame commit George Takacs. "It did cross my mind a little bit," Tremble said when asked if he con- sidered committing during the visit. "I was thinking if I should really do it then and there … but I still have to see some places like Georgia, Michigan, UCLA. "It could be the same thing or even better, so I can't rush it …" Notre Dame will continue to push hard for the athletic Tremble. Georgia, Michigan, UCLA and possibly Cal re- main the top contenders for Tremble after the Irish, but it seems Notre Dame is the team to beat. SOLOMON TULIAUPUPU INSIDE LINEBACKER • SANTA ANA (CALIF.) MATER DEI Rivals Rankings: Four-star talent, and the No. 3 inside linebacker and No. 84 overall player in the country. The Skinny: Like St. Brown, Notre Dame wasn't a huge factor in Tuliau- pupu's recruitment coming into the visit, but the weekend in South Bend seems to have changed that. Accord- ing to Tuliaupupu's father, Turnbull Tuliaupupu, Notre Dame is a school that will be strongly considered by his son going forward. Elko and linebackers coach Clark Lea made a huge impression on the four-star linebacker, and the elder Tu- liaupupu said his son could definitely see himself playing in South Bend. Something that also stuck out to the Tuliaupupus during the trip — the way Notre Dame played. It wasn't specifically that it was USC that Notre Dame blew out, but rather just the aggressive nature of the defense, com- bined with how into the game the Notre Dame fans were throughout the contest. Tuliaupupu is one of the most cov- eted linebackers in the 2018 class. ✦ Californian Tariq Bracy, the nation's No. 37 ath- lete according to Rivals, has Notre Dame at the top of his list after his official visit. PHOTO BY ANGELA DRISKELL