Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com FEBRUARY 2018 37 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ROUNDUP Quarterback Phil Jurkovec, 6-5, 204, Pittsburgh (Pine-Richland) Running Back Jahmir Smith, 5-10, 198, Sanford, N.C. (Lee County) Wide Receiver Kevin Austin, 6-2, 197, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (North Broward) Micah Jones, 6-5, 202, Gurnee, Ill. (Warren Township) Lawrence Keys, 5-11, 160, New Orleans (McDonogh 35) Braden Lenzy, 6-0, 175, Tigard, Ore. (Tigard) Amon-Ra St. Brown, 6-1, 187, Santa Ana, Calif. (Mater Dei) Tight End George Takacs, 6-6, 244, Naples, Fla. (Gulf Coast) Tommy Tremble, 6-3, 224, Johns Creek, Ga. (Wesleyan) Offensive Line John Dirksen, 6-5, 303, Maria Stein, Ohio (Marion Local) Luke Jones, 6-4, 290, Little Rock, Ark. (Pulaski Academy) Cole Mabry, 6-5, 275, Brentwood, Tenn. (Brentwood) Nick Petit-Frere, 6-5, 265, Tampa, Fla. (Berkley Prep) Defensive End Justin Ademilola, 6-2, 246, Jackson, N.J. (St. Peter's Prep) Malik Langham, 6-5, 255, Huntsville, Ala. (Lee) Defensive Tackle Jayson Ademilola, 6-3, 288, Jackson, N.J. (St. Peter's Prep) Ja'Mion Franklin, 6-1, 296, Ridgely, Md. (North Caroline) Moro Ojomo, 6-3, 265, Katy, Texas (Katy) Otito Ogbonnia, 6-4, 285, Katy, Texas (Taylor) Linebacker Matthew Bauer, 6-2, 212, Harborcreek, Pa. (Cathedral Prep) Jack Lamb, 6-3, 211, Temecula, Calif. (Great Oak) Ovie Oghoufo, 6-3, 208, Lathrup Village, Mich. (Harrison) Shayne Simon, 6-3, 212, West Orange, N.J. (St. Peter's Prep) Solomon Tuliaupupu, 6-3, 215, Claremont, Calif. (Claremont) Cornerback Noah Boykin, 6-2, 170, Washington, D.C. (H.D. Woodson) — Maryland commit Tariq Bracy, 5-11, 170, Milpitas, Calif. (Milpitas) Houston Griffith, 6-0, 194, Chicago (IMG Academy [Fla.]) Joseph Wilkins Jr., 6-2, 180, North Fort Myers, Fla. (North Fort Myers) Safety Derrik Allen, 6-2, 215 Marietta, Ga. (Lassiter) Julius Irvin, 6-1, 180, Anaheim, Calif. (Servite) Paul Moala, 5-11, 196, Mishawaka, Ind. (Penn) Commitments in bold italics RIVALS 2018 TEAM RECRUITING RANKINGS As of Dec. 29 1. Georgia 23 2. Ohio State 21 3. Texas 21 4. Penn State 22 5. Miami (Fla.) 20 6. Notre Dame 22 7. Alabama 18 8. Oklahoma 20 9. Auburn 20 10. LSU 21 Rk. School Commits Rk. School Commits Master List Changes Prospects Added: DT Moro Ojomo of Katy, Texas; and DT Otito Og- bonnia of Katy, Texas. Prospects Removed: WR Chase Cota of Medford, Ore. (signed with UCLA); and CB Kyler Gordon of Everett, Wash. (signed with Washing- ton). Class Of 2018 Scholarship Offer Master List RECRUITING NOTES • USA Today released its first- and second-team 2017 American Family Insurance All-State lists for all 50 states Dec. 27, and 13 Notre Dame signees plus one verbal commit were recognized. Gibsonia (Pa.) Pine-Richland quarterback Phil Jurkovec was named Pennsylvania Offensive Player of the Year, while Erie (Pa.) Cathedral Prep linebacker Matthew Bauer, safety Paul Moala of Mishawaka (Ind.) Penn and Farmington Hills (Mich.) Harrison linebacker Ovie Oghoufo were named Defensive Player of the Year in Pennsylva- nia, Indiana and Michigan, respectively. Marietta (Ga.) Lassiter safety Derrik Allen, Brent- wood (Tenn.) High offensive tackle Cole Mabry, Gurnee (Ill.) Warren Township wide receiver Micah Jones, Little Rock (Ark.) Pulaski Academy offen- sive tackle Luke Jones (the lone verbal commit among the 14 players), Portland (Ore.) Tigard wide receiver Braden Lenzy, the Jersey City (N.J.) St. Peter's Prep trio of rover Shayne Simon, defensive end Justin Ademilola and defensive tackle Jayson Ademilola, offensive tackle John Dirksen of Maria Stein (Ohio) Marion Local and Ridgely (Md.) North Caroline defensive tackle Ja'Mion Franklin were all named to the first-team squads in their states. • Heading into the Dec. 20-22 early signing period, Notre Dame appeared poised to land a commitment and subsequent signature from four- star defensive back Julius Irvin of Anaheim (Calif.) Servite. However, on Dec. 19, Irvin announced via Twitter that he would not be inking during the early signing period due to a serious family emergency. Irvin will now most likely delay his decision until National Signing Day Feb. 7, giving main competi- tors USC and Washington more time to make a fi- nal push for the West Coast standout. • Notre Dame is in the final three for the No. 1 wide receiver in the 2018 class, five-star Amon-Ra St. Brown of Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei. The Irish made the cut for the elite wide receiver, along with Stanford and USC. The Trojans have long been thought to be the leader for St. Brown's services, and that's the most likely destination, but Brian Kelly, offensive coor- dinator Chip Long and the rest of the Notre Dame coaching staff have made a big late impression on St. Brown and his family. • On Jan. 27, Notre Dame will host its first Junior Day of the 2019 recruiting cycle. While the list of recruits that will attend the event is still to be determined, it's worth noting that the Irish are moving on to the next class quickly, holding a Junior Day before the final signing day for the class of 2018 even takes place. Notre Dame's last Junior Day on Feb. 11, 2017, featured future 2018 Irish signees Mabry, Lenzy and Jones. — Corey Bodden and David McKinney Four-star defensive back Julius Irvin — the nation's No. 8 safety and No. 87 overall player according to Rivals — was set to pick between Notre Dame, USC and Washington during the early signing period, but delayed his decision. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM Follow @BGI_CoreyBodden and @BGI_DMcKinney on Twitter for daily recruiting updates available on BlueandGold.com!