Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com JUNE/JULY 2018 49 FOOTBALL RECRUITING The Skinny: Lytle will be making his second trip to South Bend. The Californian took an unofficial visit in April for a spring game practice, and raved to Blue & Gold Illustrated about what he saw on and off the field while at Notre Dame. The Irish staff has continued to push for Lytle since then and will get another chance to show the three-star linebacker how Notre Dame meets what he is looking for in a school with its football program and academics. During his official visit, Lytle is aiming to spend more time around the coaching staff and get a more in- depth look about his fit within the Irish defense. Before he arrives in South Bend, Lytle has official visits to Wiscon- sin and Clemson planned in early June. The athletic linebacker hopes to make a decision before the start of his senior year, but would push it into September if he is not 100 percent comfortable. If the Irish can recreate the same impact from the first visit on Lytle, Notre Dame may be difficult to beat. KYREN WILLIAMS OFFICIAL VISIT — RUNNING BACK ST. LOUIS ST. JOHN VIANNEY Rivals Rankings: Three-star talent and No. 9 player in Missouri. The Skinny: Coming into the visit, Wil- liams is Notre Dame's best shot at landing a top running back target in 2019. After top targets Chez Mel- lusi of Naples (Fla.) High and Steele Chambers of Roswell (Ga.) Blessed Trinity committed to Clemson and Ohio State, respectively, the Irish staff turned its full attention to Williams. Although Rivals has him ranked as a wide receiver, most schools are recruiting Williams as a combination of running back and slot receiver. The St. Louis talent recently re- leased a top eight that included Notre Dame, Michigan, Missouri, Il- linois, Stanford, Michigan State, Iowa and Nebraska. Williams said he is open to all eight, but the only official visits he plans to take this summer are to Notre Dame, Michigan and Missouri, so that is more than likely his unof- ficial top three. Williams has visited Notre Dame twice before, for Irish Invasion in June 2017 and again for the pro- gram's Junior Day Jan. 27. Currently, Williams is planning on giving a silent commitment to a coaching staff in late August be- fore publicly announcing his pledge sometime in October. SALEEM WORMLEY — OFFICIAL VISIT — OFFENSIVE GUARD Smyrna (Del.) High Rivals Rankings: Four-star talent and No. 30 offensive tackle nationally. The Skinny: Like Correll, Wormley is a top remaining target along the of- fensive line for Notre Dame in the class of 2019. Wormley is open about his recruit- ment, and told Blue & Gold Illustrated that Penn State took the lead for his commitment after the Nittany Lions of- fered March 24. It was an offer he cov- eted, and once it came Wormley was clear about Penn State taking the lead. Be that as it may, Wormley does not plan on announcing his commitment until at least July, and said Quinn is a big reason why. Quinn has made a huge impression on the Rivals Five- Star Challenge invitee. Wormley will arrive in South Bend with Notre Dame running in second place behind Penn State, but that doesn't mean the Irish won't get a fair shake in his recruitment. The four-star said there's nothing specific Notre Dame needs to do to surpass Penn State's lead, he just wants to see every- thing the Irish have to offer up close. ✦ St. Louis St. John Vianney Rivals three-star Kyren Williams is currently Notre Dame's best shot at land- ing a running back in the 2019 class. PHOTO BY COREY BODDEN Rivals rates Irish target Spencer Lytle of Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco as the No. 24 outside linebacker in the country. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM