Irish Recruiting: Official Visits Beginning To Mount

Notre Dame is loading up on a potential major recruiting weekend ... or two ... in June

Author:
Brian Smith
Publish date:
Apr 11, 2020 12:02 PM EDT

There is still a great deal of uncertainty about when the country will open back up and when the current dead period will be lifted. That hasn’t stopped Notre Dame from being proactive and setting up a big June visit weekend in anticipation of things getting back to normal.

June Official Visits

June 12 and possibly June 19 will be important to Notre Dame. The Irish will be hosting several official visitors. Some are still mulling over the exact date, but most have either penciled in the June 12 weekend or at least strongly considering it. The following list should be considered tentative, as all these young men talk and discuss options frequently.

Anything could change at a moment’s notice (Players are listed alphabetically).

Commits

David Abiara, DE, 6-4, 245, Mansfield (Texas) Legacy - Committed to Notre Dame

Cane Berrong, TE, 6-4, 225, Hartwell (Ga.) Hart County - Committed to Notre Dame

Tyler Buchner, QB, 6-2, 200, La Jolla (Calif.) Helix - Committed to Notre Dame

Blake Fisher, OL, 6-6, 330, Avon (Ind.) High School - Committed to Notre Dame

Gabriel Rubio, DT, 6-5, 290, St. Charles (Mo.) Lutheran - Committed to Notre Dame

Top Targets

Pat Coogan, OL, 6-5, 290, Chicago (Ill.) Marist

Rocco Spindler, OL, 6-5, 285, Clarkston (Mich.) High School

Styles Happy With Notre Dame, Ready for Official Visit

Other Irish commitments, such as Lorenzo Styles Jr., are waiting to see when everyone definitively decides what to do. After speaking with Styles on the phone, it’s just a matter of when he’s visiting Notre Dame this summer.

“Yeah, Notre Dame is having official visits June 12 and June 19,” said Styles. “I haven’t set anything yet. I’ll probably wait until guys like Blake (Fisher), Tyler (Buchner) and Will (Shipley) set their visits. That’s when I’ll set mine.”

On a similar note, Styles was playing Fortnite with prime offensive line targets, Coogan and Spindler. This happened Thursday.

Styles remains active with other Irish commitments such as Buchner and Fisher, so he’s about as dialed into Notre Dame as a national recruit can be. He’s a great young man and a really good fit for Notre Dame.

While one click-bait article title left many concerned with Styles taking visits to other programs, it’s highly unlikely he signs with any program other than Notre Dame. A no-nonsense kind of personality, Styles continues to recruit for Notre Dame. Take that as you will.

McMillon Taking a Wait and See Approach to Visits

While some recruits line up visits, others want more information. McMurray (Pa.) Peters Township safety Donovon McMillon knows about several upcoming official visits. He gave a rather robust “about twenty” answer when asked how many schools want him to visit their respective programs.

With the Irish hosting visits on June 12, as well as many other programs hosting visits during June, McMillon was asked if he set any visits. Along with his family, he looked at things from a different perspective.

“We’re not really planning any now because most universities have no idea if they will be able to have people there.”

Therefore, McMillon wants to wait a little while before booking any visits. That’s fine. Those programs will still be there when he’s ready to decide where he’s going to take official visits.

In the meantime, McMillon provided the following as what he’s done with his downtime during the COVID-19 outbreak.

“Preparation is key …. I believe that’s a huge strength of my game. I love to watch film. As my dad would always say continue to “‘perfect your craft.’” By studying film daily, I get a bead on my opponents tendencies. I also work hard on tackling and coverage skills. I want to be an all around, every down defensive back. To quote my club wrestling coach Jim Akerly, ‘work to get 1% better every day …. There’s always skills that I can improve on …. one in particular is my low hole coverage skills. Being able to consistently play underneath #1, patiently holding the curl longer, and then working to the flat responsibility.”

McMillon is certainly a grounded young man. Some lucky coaching staff will get to coach and mentor him.

Irish Keeping Lines Of Communication Open

Without going into details for obvious reasons, keep in mind that Notre Dame continues to communicate with prospects committed elsewhere. This is the recruiting business. It’s about private conversations, continuing to build relationships, listening to what high school coaches say about their top prospects, all the while protecting one’s own commitments from being poached. That’s recruiting.

Mark it down. Notre Dame will steal away at least one class of 2021 prospect that originally committed to another program. That’s the nature of this industry, and the Irish will seize opportunities when available.

For a few more details about Irish recruiting, you can listen to the Florida Football Scout Podcast.