BREAKING: Cornerback Philip Riley Commits To Notre Dame

Notre Dame has received a major commitment with Valrico (Fla.) Bloomingdale four-star cornerback Philip Riley choosing the Fighting Irish.

Cornerback is a significant need for Notre Dame in the 2021 class, and landing Riley serves as a strong foundation for the secondary class. Riley picked Notre Dame over programs like Oregon, Washington, Virginia Tech, Florida State and Clemson.

His offer list was extensive, with the 6-0, 190-pound cornerback also earning offers from Penn State, Texas, USC, Miami (Fla.), Iowa, Louisville, West Virginia, Mississippi State, Minnesota, Washington State, Boston College, Iowa State, Colorado, Duke, Texas Tech, Maryland, Vanderbilt, Kansas, Illinois and Oregon State.

Prior to his junior season at Bloomingdale, Riley did not have a single FBS offer, but after a strong season that saw him go toe-to-toe with several of the nation’s best wideouts his recruitment blew up.

First-year cornerbacks coach Mike Mickens made Riley an early priority once he was hired, and the two connected immediately. Mickens wasn’t alone in his pursuit of Riley, who also had head coach Brian Kelly and defensive coordinator Clark Lea making a push. That group effort paid off for Notre Dame, who landed Riley despite him never having visited.

After a recent call from Kelly the talented cornerback set up a June 12-14 visit to Notre Dame. If that happens then Riley will be on campus as a committed player.

Riley comes from a military family and has lived in Maryland, Ohio and Washington. He played his sophomore season Lakewood (Wash.) Lakes, where he was a standout on offense and defense. Riley hauled in 53 passes for 952 yards (18.0 YPC) and nine touchdowns for Lakes, and he added 22 tackles and picked off three throws.

As a junior with Bloomgindale, Riley racked up 28 tackles while playing mostly on defense. He picked off just one pass, and when you watch his film you see why, teams just did not challenge him very often.

Riley is ranked as a four-star recruit by both Rivals and 247Sports, and he's ranked as the 285th best overall player in the country on the composite ranking list. My grade for Riley was much higher, with the Florida standout grading out as a Top 100 caliber player.

You can read more about Riley's game in my 2021 Cornerback Big Board.

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