Recruiting: Notre Dame Hitting California And Florida
Friday marked the first day college coaches could go recruit again. Notre Dame assistants hit the road, with Florida and California being two prime areas the Irish wanted to evaluate. What does this mean for a team that all but finished its 2020 recruiting class? Underclassmen recruiting is in full swing.
Unlike many programs attempting to finish out its 2020 class, Notre Dame probably already finished its class. Unless Notre Dame can somehow convince current Ohio State commitment Cameron Martinez, ATH, 5-11, 180, Muskegon (Mich.) to rethink his commitment and sign with the Irish. Stay tuned on that one as Notre Dame needs to first earn an official visit. Easier said than done. One benefit to being done with 2020 will the ability to hit the ground running with juniors and sophomores in areas where Notre Dame must go up against tradition-rich local programs like Florida State and USC.
What to Expect
The Irish are going to recruit across the country, as always. It’s just that Notre Dame could be more active in Florida and California than during previous years.
Beyond the players below, more names will emerge. Unofficial visits lined up and inevitably some of those same players will attend Irish Invasion during the summer months. This past year was a very balanced recruiting class in terms of states. Will that continue with better opportunities in California and Florida?
For 2020, Notre Dame signed players from 14 states plus one player from Washington, D.C. Look for that trend to continue in general, or maybe not. For today, a look at Florida and California recruiting, as both states will be important to Notre Dame for 2021 and beyond.
Florida Recruiting
Notre Dame defensive line coach Mike Elston offered three players and visited a prime target as well. Tampa (Fla.) Seffner Christian teammates Michael Trigg, ATH, 6-4, 215, and Tony Livingston, TE/DE, 6-6, 255 were offered Friday. You can read the film review I did on Trigg HERE.
Trigg does not appear any place near ready to decide. When I asked Trigg which schools he wanted to visit he replied, “I don’t know yet. I need to talk to my parents.” Class of 2021 players can start taking official visits the first week of April. Still plenty of time to figure out which schools Trigg wants to visit. For now, know that Trigg earned offers from Notre Dame, Utah, Tennessee, Oregon, Florida State, Michigan, Miami and Penn State among others. There’s one school to watch out for though.
“Florida Gators,” said Trigg of his favorite program growing up. “Percy Harvin was my favorite player.”
Livingston’s recruitment is just getting started, but he’s a very nimble player on the basketball court and gridiron, similar to Trigg. Look for Notre Dame to make a concerted effort to recruit him as he could be a tight end or play along the defensive line. Livingston’s film will display a big-bodied player with nimble feet.
Elston also went to Vero Beach (Fla.) High School to see Keanu Koht, DE, 6-5, 220. He’s a player that Irish Maven has previewed before, and Irish fans should get to know well. He’s an elite recruit with offers from the likes of Alabama, Florida, Miami, Florida State, Auburn, Penn State, Texas A&M and Oregon in addition to the Irish. Although Koht earned an offer from Notre Dame last year, the Irish staff wanted to let Koht know he was a priority for the 2021 recruiting cycle.
Of the known stops for coach Elston, one more defensive end earned an offer from the Irish.
The Irish assistant coach went to see Jabari Ishmael, DE, 6-6, 215, Miami (Christopher Columbus). Playing for one of Miami’s top Catholic schools, Ishmael has a plethora of offers. The athletic pass rusher earned offers from Oregon, Miami, Vanderbilt, Florida, Auburn, Georgia Tech, Michigan and Northwestern among others. Notice the offers from Vanderbilt and Northwestern. That’s a good sign for Notre Dame because Ishmael obviously takes academics seriously if he earned offers from those prestigious academic institutions in addition to Notre Dame.
Keep an eye on Florida for 2021 and beyond. The Irish are beginning to be more involved with Sunshine State prospects. Just adding two high-caliber Florida prospects per recruiting cycle could bolster Irish recruiting classes and place Notre Dame’s recruiting efforts into the top five.
California Gold
The Irish already reeled one of the best players in the country for 2021 with Tyler Buchner, QB, 6-2, 200, La Jolla (Calif.) The Bishop’s School. Look for the Irish to push for more California talent to join Buchner in South Bend.
You can read Irish Breakdown publisher Bryan Driskell's film evaluation of Buchner HERE.
Notre Dame is hitting California hard. Notre Dame assistant defensive backs coach Chris O’Leary was in Los Angeles Friday. With USC and UCLA simply failing on the gridiron and on the recruiting trail, Notre Dame could gain traction in its rivals’ backyard. Numerous prospects from traditional USC strongholds are looking to leave California, or at least visit programs east of the Mississippi River.
Notre Dame signed three players from California in 2018, two players in 2019, and one in 2020. Do not be surprised if Notre Dame pushes towards the 2018 total of three this year. USC’s recruiting dominance is at arguably its lowest point within the past thirty years. Notre Dame (and many other schools) will attempt to take advantage of this short window of opportunity.
I have personally spoken to a few current prospects and even former USC great about the state of California and the Trojans’ recruiting efforts. It was like a broken record. There is no faith in the Trojans because none of the people I spoke with believe current head coach Clay Helton will continue to be the leader of the Trojans much longer.
One person I spoke with was even shocked he was not fired after this past season. With that, Notre Dame could not only make a major dent with the number of California targets it signs, but also land one or more elite players.
Keep an eye on Los Angeles, but also note that Notre Dame has done well in the greater San Francisco-to-Sacramento area within recent years. With the two prominent Los Angeles-area programs being down, in addition to Stanford being 4-8 this past season, Notre Dame could really do well in northern California as well.
Ian Book (2016), Aaron Banks (2017), TaRiq Bracy (2018), Jack Lamb (2018) and Ramon Henderson (2020) are all from that region. Here are a couple of Calironia players to keep in mind for 2021 that many might know about.
Despite his commitment to LSU, Notre Dame and several other programs will continue to recruit Raesjon Davis, LB/S, 6-1, 215, Norco (Calif.) Mater Dei. Davis is quite possibly the best all-around linebacker in the country, and he even covers like a safety or nickel back. He’s a rare talent. Notre Dame is involved here. Do not forget that name. Davis is one of the best players in the country playing for one of the best programs in the country. Here is Davis in action:
Notre Dame offered three really good defensive backs from the Los Angeles area, and all three are legitimate possibilities to play their college football for the Irish. Ceyair Wright, CB, 6-1, 175, Los Angeles (Calif.) Loyola, Dyson McCutcheon, CB, La Puente (Calif.) Bishop Amat, and Xamarion Gordon, S/LB, 6-2, 190, Downey (Calif.) Warren.
All three are prime targets, but Notre Dame will probably continue to investigate other top California players as well. Maybe the Irish make a run at the nation’s no. 1 prospect.
Korey Foreman, DE, 6-5, 255, Corona (Calif.) Centennial earned offers from Notre Dame, Alabama, Colorado, USC, Arizona State, Auburn, Oregon, Clemson, LSU, Oklahoma, Ohio State and many others before his junior year was over. The Ducks could be a team to watch, but if he’s interested in leaving California, Notre Dame might have a shot. Foreman playing against Mater Dei can be seen below:
Final Thoughts
Notre Dame has a chance to land some top talent in Florida and California this year. Several of the traditional programs in those states are struggling, and that helps Notre Dame’s recruiting efforts.
If the Irish could land even four total players from Florida and California, it could lead to a national top five recruiting class. Even signing one elite player from each state like Koht (Florida) and Davis (California) could be enough to place Notre Dame into elite recruiting status.