Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com MAY 2018 49 PREP PROFILES Shawnee Mission (Kan.) Bishop Miege 2020 wide receiver Daniel Jack- son took his second visit to Notre Dame April 14 and left with an offer in hand. Jackson added the Irish to a list that includes Kansas, Iowa State and Mis- souri, and said the Irish are already ahead of those three teams. "I would put Notre Dame first," Jack- son told Blue & Gold Illustrated. "Notre Dame is a very prestigious school and very good at football, so I would put them at number one." Picking up the offer from wide re- ceivers coach DelVaughn Alexander, Jackson said, was huge. "I felt really honored," Jackson ex- plained. "I was very thankful with all glory to God. I kept thanking Coach Alexander, and he was telling me about how I have to keep working hard and proving next year that I deserve to be at Notre Dame." The visit was Jackson's first trip to South Bend since camping at Notre Dame last summer, and he received the full experience. "The visit went very well," Jackson said. "I got to sit in on practice, try on a uniform, go to the position meetings and hang out all with the coaches." Jackson spent the most of his time with Alexander, and was impressed by his coaching style and approach. "Seeing him coach and hold his re- ceiver meeting, he was pushing his guys to get better every day," Jackson said. "He was very intense, I would say." The Kansas talent also spent some time with Irish running back/wide re- ceiver Jafar Armstrong, his cousin and former teammate. According to Jackson, Armstrong told him all about how things are go- ing with his position change. "After practice I hung out with him," Jackson stated. "He was telling me about the transition from receiver to running back and what they have for him." Going forward, Jackson will continue to take visits, beginning with a trip to Kansas State. With an offer on the table and an early lead, the Irish should be in strong position with Jackson throughout his recruitment. According to MaxPreps, Jackson hauled in 54 receptions for 1,270 yards and 16 touchdowns as a sophomore in 2017. — David McKinney Dunlap (Ill.) High 2019 defensive end Josiah Miamen arrived at Notre Dame for his visit April 5 with high ex- pectations. The Irish not only exceeded them, but gave the 6-4, 220-pounder something else to remember by extend- ing an offer. "I knew it was a possibility," Miamen told Blue & Gold Illustrated. "But it's like you don't want to get your hopes up too high and have it not happen. When it did happen, it was a big weight lifted off my shoulders. It was a relief and an honor. Every emotion you can have probably ran through. "The campus was beautiful, the aca- demic advisors were great, the coaches were great, the practice was run really well and it was overall a great experi- ence." Miamen had a chance to watch Irish defensive line coach Mike Elston in ac- tion and was impressed with what he saw on and off the field. "He seems like a good guy," Mia- men stated. "He's going to be on you, but you know at the end of the day he is going to be there for you. He's there for your success on the field and off the field. That's the perception I got from him throughout the day. "He had a mix of two coaching styles with in your face and kind of laid back watching things happen. When he needed to get on you, he was going to get on you. I was fine with that." After also spending time with Brian Kelly, defensive coordinator Clark Lea and quarterback coach Tom Rees, Mia- men sees a hardworking and deter- mined group. "They just give off the demeanor that they are the best and they want to be the best," Miamen said. "They are do- ing everything necessary to keep them at the top of college football, and they don't plan on going anywhere else any- time soon." With a visit under his belt and the offer, Notre Dame is "definitely" a pro- gram of high interest for the junior. "They're at the top with the other schools I regard pretty highly like Northwestern, Illinois, Iowa and all those types of schools," Miamen ex- plained. "The opportunities it can give you off the field are as great as the op- portunities on the field. The network they have is bar none. "The way they set you up with tu- tors and whatnot, it's an environment where it'd be hard not to succeed." — Corey Bodden Irish Lead For Kansas Receiver Following Visit And Offer Notre Dame Offer Raises The Bar For 2019 Defensive End JOSIAH MIAMEN ✪ ✪ ✪ Dunlap H.S. Dunlap, Ill. Status: Offered Class: 2019 Position: Defensive End Ht.: 6-4 • Wt.: 220 Rivals Rankings: Currently unrated DANIEL JACKSON No star rating yet Bishop Miege H.S. Shawnee Mission, Kan. Status: Offered Class: 2020 Position: Wide Receiver Ht.: 6-0 • Wt.: 180 Rivals Rankings: Currently unrated "Notre Dame is a very prestigious school and very good at football, so I would put them at number one." JACKSON "I knew it was a possibility. But it's like you don't want to get your hopes up too high and have it not happen. When it did happen, it was a big weight lifted off my shoulders. It was a relief and an honor." MIAMEN ON HIS IRISH OFFER