Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/998819
BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2018 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ✦ 157 star player, all four wideout signees were awarded four stars by at least one service. BALANCING ACT The 27-man class was the biggest group in Kelly's era at Notre Dame, and the biggest class the Irish signed since taking 28 players in 2006. Notre Dame signed 12 players on the of- fensive side of the ball, including one quar- terback, four wide receivers, four offensive linemen, two running backs and two tight ends. On defense, the Irish brought in seven players in the secondary, four linebackers and three defensive linemen. Of the 27 players Notre Dame signed, 10 of them were deemed as having a five- star upside grade by Blue & Gold Illus- trated football analyst Bryan Driskell (Jurk- ovec, Allen, Lamb, Austin, Simon, Jayson Ademilola, Lenzy, Griffith,Tremble and Bracy). The 10 five-star upside signees is eight more than the class of 2017 contained (tight end Brock Wright and offensive lineman Joshua Lugg). Of the 10 such players, four landed on offense while six play on defense. With high-end talent spread out across multiple positions, Notre Dame struck a strong balance in the class of 2018. ✦ Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown (High School) Jayson Ademilola DT 6-3 288 Jersey City, N.J. (St. Peter's Prep) Participated in the 2018 U.S. Army All-American Bowl and Nike Football's The Opening Finals. Named to USA Today's All-New Jersey first team. Justin Ademilola DE 6-2 246 Jersey City, N.J. (St. Peter's Prep) Recorded 53 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, six sacks and five quarterback hurries as a senior. Derrik Allen S 6-2 215 Marietta, Ga. (Lassiter) Selected as the Cobb County Touchdown Club's Defensive Back of the Year in 2017. Kevin Austin WR 6-2 197 Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (North Broward Prep) Set the Broward County record for receiving yards in a game with seven catches for 329 yards and five touchdowns in a 58-20 win over Pembroke Pines (Fla.) Somerset Academy last season. Bo Bauer LB 6-3 216 Harborcreek, Pa. (Cathedral Prep) Recorded 106 tackles, 20.5 tackles for loss and nine sacks while leading Cathe- dral Prep to a Pennsylvania 4A state title as a senior. Noah Boykin CB 6-2 176 Washington, D.C. (H.D. Woodson) Named to the 2017 All-USA District of Columbia first team by USA Today. TaRiq Bracy CB 5-11 176 Milpitas, Calif. (Milpitas) Finished his prep career with 6,450 all-purpose yards. DJ Brown CB 6-1 180 Annapolis, Md. (St. John's College) Named to the 2017 All-USA District of Columbia first team by USA Today. John Dirksen OL 6-5 303 Maria Stein, Ohio (Marion Local) Named to the 2017 All-USA Ohio first team by USA Today. C'Borius Flemister RB 5-11 190 Williamson, Ga. (Pike County) Led the state of Georgia in rushing as a senior with 2,348 yards and 35 touchdowns. Ja'Mion Franklin DT 6-1 296 Ridgley, Md. (North Caroline) Named the 2017 Bayside Conference Defensive Player of the Year by the league's coaches. Houston Griffith S 6-0 196 Chicago (IMG Academy [Fla.]) Participated in the 2018 Under Armour All-American Game and Nike Football's The Opening Finals. Luke Jones OL 6-5 289 Little Rock, Ark. (Pulaski Academy) Named to the 2017 All-USA Arkansas first team by USA Today. Micah Jones WR 6-5 208 Gurnee, Ill. (Warren Township) Named The Chicago Tribune 2017 Player of the Year. Phil Jurkovec QB 6-5 204 Pittsburgh (Pine-Richland) Earned All-America honors from the U.S. Army, CBS Sports, MaxPreps and USA Today. Lawrence Keys III WR 5-11 170 New Orleans (McDonogh 35) Named first-team all-state by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association as a senior. Jack Lamb LB 6-4 216 Temecula, Calif. (Great Oak) Named Southwestern League Defensive Player of the Year in 2017 and 2016. Braden Lenzy WR 6-0 175 Tigard, Ore. (Tigard) Registered 1,010 yards and 10 touchdowns from scrimmage as a senior. Cole Mabry OL 6-5 275 Brentwood, Tenn. (Brentwood) Named to the 2017 All-USA Tennessee first team by USA Today. Paul Moala S 5-11 196 Mishawaka, Ind. (Penn) Selected as the 2017 Indiana Defensive Player of the year by USA Today. Ovie Oghoufo LB 6-3 217 Lathrup Village, Mich. (Harrison) Named to the 2017 All-USA Michigan first team by USA Today. Jarrett Patterson OL 6-4 280 Laguna Hills, Calif. (Mission Viejo) Named to the 2017 All-USA California first team by USA Today. Shayne Simon LB 6-3 212 West Orange, N.J. (St. Peter's Prep) Totaled 55 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, three sacks and five interceptions as a senior, while also leading the team in receptions with 53 catches for 848 yards and six touchdowns. Jahmir Smith RB 5-10 200 Sanford, N.C. (Lee County) Named the 2017 Tri-County 6 Conference Offensive Player of the Year. George Takacs TE 6-6 245 Naples, Fla. (Gulf Coast) Participated in the 2018 U.S. Army All-American Bowl, Nike Football's The Opening Finals and the Rivals Five-Star Challenge. Tommy Tremble TE 6-3 224 Johns Creek, Ga. (Wesleyan) Caught 15 passes for 298 yards and two touchdowns as a junior. Joe Wilkins Jr. CB 6-2 180 North Fort Myers, Fla. (North Fort Myers) Finalist for the News Press' 2017 Offensive Player of the Year. 2018 Recruiting Class Four-star defensive tackle Jayson Ademilola was one of three players from Jer- sey City (N.J.) St. Peter's Prep to sign with Notre Dame. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM