Irish Recruiting Talented 2022 Tennessee Wide Receiver
Notre Dame hosted Knoxville (Tenn.) Catholic wide receiver Tommy Winton for a visit last year, and the Volunteer State prospect may return to Notre Dame in the next opportunity that presents itself.
When the Irish played traditional rival Navy last fall, several recruits came to the Notre Dame campus. One of those recruits was Winston.
Knoxville Catholic produced former Notre Dame star Harrison Smith, now an All-Pro safety for the Minnesota Vikings. It’s a program that continually produces top-notch players. That’s why Notre Dame continues to evaluate the Knoxville Catholic prospects.
The 5-10, 190-pound slot receiver was dynamic as a junior, and he’s a player that’s a threat to score each time he touches the football.
“I had almost 2,000 all-purpose yards last year,” Winton said of his overall statistics.
A truly dynamic playmaker, Winton consistently catches short passes and turns them into long gains, runs reverses, and he’s even involved with option pitches to exploit his perimeter speed. That’s why he’s a coveted prospect.
Winton claims offers from Virginia Tech, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Mississippi State, West Virginia, Tulane, Ohio and Western Kentucky.
While Notre Dame did not yet extend an offer, it could be a possibility down the line.
“Our school (Knoxville Catholic) is exactly like Notre Dame,” Winton said with a laugh. “Everything about it (is like Notre Dame). Notre Dame is like (Knoxville) Catholic 2.0.”
With the similarities, there are pluses and minuses.
“With Notre Dame, it’s more of the connection to my school,” Winton admitted to one of the draws of considering to play for the Irish. There’s also the other side of the equation.
“It would be nice to do something different.”
Growing up in Knoxville, Winton is a big Tennessee fan. With that in mind, he also lumped in the Volunteers as possibly needing something different.
Sometimes football prospects need change, so they leave the local area and explore. Perhaps Winton will do that, or perhaps not. Either way, he’s very familiar with the Irish and Volunteers. He was also hoping to become even more familiar with both institutions this summer, as well as possibly two more institutions.
“Notre Dame, Clemson, Tennessee, and maybe LSU,” Winton said of his previous college summer camp plans. Of course much of that is in the air with COVID-19 now an issue throughout the United States.
For now, Winton is still in evaluation mode, and he’s just beginning to get to know college programs. He has two more seasons of prep football before he joins the college ranks. He’s definitely a prospect to keep in mind with Notre Dame.
As allowed by NCAA rules, once college coaches start contacting the class of 2022 prospects this Sep. 1, look for Winton’s recruitment to really heat up.
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