Recruiting: Latest Updates, Junior Day Possibilities
Irish Recruiting News & Junior Day Possibilities
Updates about players across the country, including Landon Tengwall, Keanu Koht, and Will Shipley.
*** Kennedale (Texas) safety JD Coffey continues to be a prospect schools across the country go after. Coffey said Notre Dame, Texas, Stanford, Colorado, Oregon and Arizona State were all supposed to stop by, on the same day. That’s an incredible list, let alone for one day.
Coffey added that he received offers from Virginia Tech, Oregon, Arizona State, and Penn State this past week.
Notre Dame continue to go after Coffey, and it will face elite competition to sign the Lone Star standout.
*** As a follow up to yesterday’s report, a little more information about Napa (Calif.) tight end/defensive end Brock Bowers. While he could play on either side of the football in college, Bowers feels he would be best served to be a tight end.
“I think I can make more of an impact on offense,” Bowers stated. As for the position the Irish prefer he plays, it appears to be an ongoing discussion.
“They are recruiting me for either,” Bowers said of the Irish coaching staff’s preference to play him at tight end or defensive end. “I’m not sure yet.”
Bowers is one of those players that could be defined simply as a football player. Good athlete with the size and skill to help a football team at outside linebacker, defensive end or tight end.
For Napa High School, Bowers even plays running back. As the film below will show, Bowers short-area quickness is elite. He’s not your old school Big 10 tight end that just blocks. He makes defenders miss in space, breaks tackles, and cuts really well. Here’s a look at Bowers’ film.
*** Another follow up is with Vero Beach (Fla.) defensive end Keanu Koht. Notre Dame defensive line coach Mike Elston stopped by to see Koht the first day of the evaluation period. Then, Notre Dame Director of Player Personnel Dave Peloquin and head coach Brian Kelly stopped by Vero Beach High School his past Friday.
Koht is one of Notre Dame’s top overall recruits for this cycle, but the Irish have much work to do. Koht is just beginning to learn about Notre Dame, and he holds offers from programs like Georgia, Florida, Miami, Alabama, Penn State, Auburn and Florida State.
Kelly stopping by already shows Notre Dame’s high regard for Koht’s talent. Now, it’s up to the Irish coaching staff, Elston in particular, to get to know him.
Considering Elston has also been in Connecticut, New Jersey, Ohio, Georgia, North Carolina, Texas, and Indiana, he’s one busy coach. Look for him to be back several more times. Additionally, it will be interesting to see if Elston can develop a personal relationship with Koht, as he’s a very personable young man that wants a good relationship with his future college position coach.
*** Olney (Md.) Good Counsel offensive tackle Landon Tengwall is beginning to close in on making a decision, at least potentially. He visited Penn State this past weekend and really tried to get to know the Nittany Lions new offensive line coach Phil Trautwein.
It’s hard for any recruit to truly learn a lot about a coach in six months, let alone only a couple. If Tengwall truly does make a decision by the end of spring, it would be a coup for Penn State to land him.
Notre Dame would have the same offensive line coach, Jeff Quinn, communicating with him for over a year. That’s a tough pull for Penn State. Here’s what Tengwall said when asked to compare Trautwein from Penn State to Quinn from Notre Dame.
“Yeah, he’s not really comparable,” Tengwall said of Trautwein to Quinn. “They (the offensive line coaches) are all different. But he’s (Trautwein) an amazing coach. Looking forward to getting to know him.”
Michigan or any number of other programs could also factor into Tengwall’s decision before all is said and done. Notre Dame will host Tengwall for an unofficial the weekend of March 20th, and officially host him the weekend of April 3rd.
*** One more edge rusher to keep an eye on would be Winston-Salem (N.C.) Prep defensive end Zaire Patterson. He’s one of the more athletic 6-6 defensive ends in the country, as his film will prove.
Elston extended the offer to Patterson when he visited Winston-Salem Prep last week, and it apparently had an impact on Patterson. Here’s what Patterson had to say about the Irish.
“Yes, I love Notre Dame and think it’s a wonderful school.”
Much more about Patterson coming up, but he’s definitely a player to remember. He has a very high ceiling.
*** As for the recruitment of another North Carolina prep prospect, Weddington (N.C.) Matthews running back Will Shipley, Notre Dame continues to make him a priority. Kelly has been by to see him, Irish running backs coach Lance Taylor stopped by, and Notre Dame would like for Shipley to visit for the big recruiting weekend coming up March 22nd.
Although not set, Shipley will be taking his official visit to Notre Dame, perhaps as early as April. This does not mean the Irish will simply land the star running back. He just visited Clemson for its junior day this past weekend, and the Tigers absolutely killed it.
Shipley did not commit, but Clemson should be considered a serious threat to Notre Dame. Ohio State, North Carolina State, Georgia, Stanford, and North Carolina are amongst the teams Shipley continues to evaluate beyond Notre Dame.
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