Recruiting: Elite Offensive Line Group Set To Visit Notre Dame In March
The 2021 offensive line haul is absolutely loaded, and Notre Dame offensive line coach Jeff Quinn is looking to take advantage of that by building an elite offensive line class.
Notre Dame is off a to a great start, landing Avon (Ind.) High School standout Blake Fisher, who is ranked by Rivals as the No. 18 player in the country and the No. 4 offensive tackle.
The Fighting Irish staff has an opportunity to strike gold, with an opportunity to add a few more highly touted linemen to the 2021 class.
As we reported last week, the March 21-22 weekend is going to be loaded, especially with offensive linemen. Per my sources, there’s a good chance that six Top 100 offensive linemen (according to the 247Sports composite rankings) will be on campus that weekend.
Olney (Md.) Good Counsel five-star offensive tackle Landon Tengwall is one player we’ve reported will be on campus that weekend. According to a source close to the situation, another five-star blocker — Lititz (Pa.) Warwick star Nolan Rucci — will also be on campus that weekend.
Fisher will also be on campus, and that dominant trio won’t be alone. Sources have also informed Irish Breakdown that Huntington (W Va.) Spring Valley tackle Wyatt Milum, the No. 41 player in the country will be on campus, as will a pair of Clarkston (Mich.) High School big men — Rocco Spindler and Garrett Dellinger.
This could end up being the biggest recruiting weekend of Quinn’s career at Notre Dame. If he can land at least two to three of the players in that group it would give the Irish an offensive line haul that would be hard to match.
The anchor of the offensive line class, and one of the anchors of the entire 2021 class for the Irish, will be Fisher. The 6-6, 330-pound offensive tackle was certainly attracted to Notre Dame by its ability to produce top linemen in recent seasons, but that wasn’t the biggest reason for his interest in the Irish program.
“It was definitely attractive, but not as attractive of the academics,” Fisher said. “The way I will get pushed off the field is second to none.”
Fisher picking Notre Dame was an easy one for him, and he’s made it his goal to add as many of the nation’s top players to the class as possible. Great players like to play with other great players. Fisher has taken on the role of “lead recruiter” for the Irish 2021 class.
“I want to bring in the best dudes,” stated the talented tackle. “I want to bring in dudes to work, grind and push each other. I want to win a national championship with this class. I said when I committed that I was going to surround myself with the best, and I meant that.”
Fisher has established strong bonds with several players in the 2021 class that he hopes to bring with him to Notre Dame. But for him it’s about building relationships and sharing with others in his class what makes Notre Dame unique.
“If you want to go to a place with unbelievable academics and the best football in the country then Notre Dame is for you,” Fisher explained. “They have to feel it deep down inside, and I have no doubt that will happen.”
Fisher will certainly have his recruiting hat on the weekend of March 22nd, and one of his top targets is Spindler, who Fisher has developed a strong bond with in recent months. The connection has formed partly because Spindler sees Notre Dame as being as unique compared to other schools as does Fisher.
“The relationships I have with the players and coaches is very hard to translate to any other school,” Spindler explained. “The education and football program is top-notch compared to any other school that has both academics and athletics.
“When I go on my next trip I’m seeing if Notre Dame is going to separate themselves from any other schools and really invest their time,” he continued.
Dellinger, a teammate of Spindler, had similar things to say about Notre Dame.
“Their education and football program is fantastic, and I’m looking forward to talking with the other offensive linemen being recruited there and keeping the relationship with Coach Quinn and Coach (Brian) Kelly,” Dellinger noted.
In the clips I viewed from the Under Armour Future 50 event in January, Dellinger stood out, and his recruitment is likely to pick up when his father returns home on tour from his service to our country.
Rucci and Tengwall are two prospects that have both Penn State and Notre Dame high on their lists, and from where things stand right now it would appear the Irish are playing catch up with both prospects. But Quinn and the Irish staff could play catch if they are able to knock the visit out of the park.
Rucci's brother plays tight end at Wisconsin, and his father played at Penn State, two primary schools in his recruitment. He’s a bonafide “can’t miss” prospect. Rucci has not been on campus at Notre Dame since January of 2019, so Notre Dame has some ground to make up in that department.
But the reason he is visiting South Bend in March is because he is intrigued by what the program has to offer.“I’d have to say the academics,” Rucci said of what stands out the most with the Irish program. “I’ve been really impressed with their academic standards as a team and their ability to play at such a high level and to still have the graduation rate that they do.
“Also, no doubt Coach Quinn, he’s a great guy and coach, and I’m looking forward to getting back on campus to watch him interact and teach his players,” he continued.
Tengwall, a prospect who claimed Notre Dame as his leader after his last visit to South Bend, remains high on the Irish, but that visit was almost a year ago when he visited in March.
Tengwall has a top three of Michigan, Notre Dame, and Penn State, and he knows what he is looking for when he gets back on campus in South Bend.
“I’m looking for a great coaching staff that’ll help take my game to the next level,” he explained. “I’m looking to really just get around the offensive line, and get to know the guys better and ask them what it’s like at Notre Dame. And, of course, to spend time with my guy Blake and other recruits, building relationships.”
If Notre Dame is going to have the kind of elite class it hopes for, landing some of the players that will be on campus that weekend is a must. Will the Irish pull that off? That’s a wait and see proposition, but it is very impressive for Notre Dame to get these guys all on campus March 21-22, causing maybe the most talented unofficial visit weekend in recent Irish history.
