Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/998819
156 ✦ BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2018 FOOTBALL PREVIEW (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas — have already suffered significant injuries, clouding their futures in an Irish uniform. The third linebacker from 2017, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah of Hampton (Va.) Bethel, is being groomed for the rover position, where Simon will compete upon his arrival on campus. SECONDARY REINFORCEMENTS The Irish didn't sign a cornerback in the class of 2017, and brought in two safeties in Isaiah Robertson of Naperville (Ill.) Neuqua Valley and Jordan Genmark Heath of San Diego Cathedral. Genmark Heath moved to linebacker and Robertson moved to rover during the spring, so Notre Dame does not have a defensive back on the roster from the 2017 freshmen. Defensive back was a top priority for Notre Dame in 2018, and the Irish staff met all of its goals, and then some, bringing in seven at the position group. The first defensive back commitment in the class came for Notre Dame on Feb. 13, 2017, when Marietta (Ga.) Lassiter four-star safety Derrik Allen announced his pledge. Allen, the No. 135 overall player accord- ing to Rivals, chose Notre Dame over offers from Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Florida State, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio State, Okla- homa, Penn State and several others. Allen, who committed to Notre Dame just less than a year before signing his National Letter of Intent, never wavered on his deci- sion and did not visit any other schools prior to signing. In October, Notre Dame landed a local tal- ent when Mishawaka (Ind.) Penn three-star safety Paul Moala pledged to the staff. Just more than two weeks later, on Nov. 6, three-star athlete Joseph Wilkins Jr. — a standout wide receiver and cornerback at North Fort Myers (Fla.) High — announced his commitment. A little more than a month after that, Notre Dame added a commitment from three-star athlete TaRiq Bracy of Milpitas (Calif.) High, who will play cornerback at Notre Dame. Two days later, the Irish landed their top- rated player in the class of 2018, four-star safety Houston Griffith of Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy. Griffith, Rivals' No. 43 over- all player in the class, originally committed to Florida State. The final two pieces of the secondary class, three-star cornerback DJ Brown of Washington (D.C.) St. Johns College High and Rivals250 cornerback Noah Boykin of Washington (D.C.) H.D. Woodson, joined the fold on National Signing Day to give Notre Dame seven signees in the secondary. IMPACT PASS CATCHERS After Jurkovec committed in May 2016, the Irish coaching staff got right to work on securing him weapons to throw to. Overall, Notre Dame landed four wide receivers and two tight ends, with four of the six players being ranked as four-stars by Rivals. Jones announced his decision on Feb. 17, 2017, which was followed up shortly by a pledge from Lenzy. However, Lenzy's re- cruitment was far from over. In June, he flipped to in-state Oregon, planning to spend his college career playing for Willie Taggart. When Taggart bolted for Florida State, Lenzy backed off his pledge to the Ducks, officially visited Notre Dame for the Echoes Ceremony Dec. 8, and commit- ted and signed with the Irish Dec. 22. Not only is Lenzy a standout receiver, but he's also an outstanding track athlete. He ranks sixth all time in Oregon prep history in the 200 meters with a time of 21.34 seconds and is a two-time Oregon Class 6A state champion in the 400 meters. In between Lenzy's decommitment and second commitment, Notre Dame landed pledges from Austin, four-star tight end George Takacs of Naples (Fla.) Gulf Coast and three-star tight end Tommy Tremble of Norcross (Ga.) Wesleyan. Austin, Rivals' No. 88 overall player and No. 15 wide receiver in the country, was one of Notre Dame's top targets at receiver, and chose the Irish over a group of finalists that included Miami (Fla.), Tennessee and Duke. The Florida native is the current Broward County record holder for receiving yards in a single game. In a 58-20 win over Pem- broke Pines (Fla.) Somerset Academy, Aus- tin hauled in seven catches for 329 yards and five touchdowns. Austin is the third Rivals100 receiver to sign with Notre Dame under Kelly, follow- ing Justin Brent, the No. 84 overall player in the class of 2014, and Javon McKinley, the No. 59 prospect in the class of 2016. Takacs and Tremble were both top targets for offensive coordinator/tight ends coach Chip Long and gave the Irish back-to-back classes with two players at that position. The class rounded out with a National Signing Day commitment from Keys. The class of 2018 marked the second time in the Kelly era that Note Dame has signed three Rivals four-star receivers in a single recruiting class. The first occurred in 2013, when Notre Dame signed Will Fuller of Philadelphia Roman Catholic, the No. 176 player in the class of 2013; Torii Hunter Jr. of Prosper (Texas) High; and Corey Robin- son of San Antonio Christian. With ESPN ranking Keys as a four- Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy four-star defensive back Houston Griffith was the highest-rated player to sign with Notre Dame in 2018 at No. 43 overall. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM Final 2018 Class Rankings Rivals 11 247Sports 10 ESPN 9