Here are tonight's Lucky Charms...
*** What a day. Guys, I had been checking in with sources on all sides of Aamil Wagner's recruitment in the past week or so, and the gist of what I was told was that Notre Dame wasn't expecting it to be them, and the vibe from other sources was that Kentucky and Penn State were the leaders with ND running third. How about this: I'm told Wagner didn't even make his mind up until Thursday morning.
*** I'm told Notre Dame wasn't necessarily "shocked" that he picked them, but most of Irish staff spoke with Wagner on Wednesday night during a Zoom call, and he didn't inform them at that point that he'd be choosing them. If you're a coach in that scenario, it's hard to believe that you're about to land a commitment the next day as you're likely being left in the dark by the prospect.
*** Well, as I write this paragraph, I just got off the phone with Aamil. He was kind enough to call me on his big day; he is such a great kid. How about this: he didn't even tell Notre Dame he was choosing them. They found out by watching his commitment ceremony on CBS Sports HQ, and then Jeff Quinn called him right away. What a wild ending to a great recruitment. Wagner told me that all five of his finalists thought he was going elsewhere since he didn't tell anyone where he was going. Seriously, what a rush today has been!
Yes, I still expect Notre Dame to go after Billy Schrauth, by the way. Wagner gives the Irish a damn good offensive line class, and Schrauth would make it an A+ quinn-tet in my group.
See what I did there?
*** Concord (Calif.) De La Salle class of 2023 four-star tight end and Notre Dame commitment Cooper Flanagan will be visiting South Bend next weekend for the Georgia Tech game. Flanagan is locked in with the Irish; it would take a catastrophic occurrence to get him to leave his Notre Dame pledge. Flanagan will be getting his first look at Notre Dame Stadium during a game day.
*** I'm currently in Phoenix to see a few Notre Dame recruits. This afternoon I saw Phoenix Brophy Prep class of 2022 cornerback and Notre Dame commit Benjamin Morrison. Tomorrow morning I'll meet with 2022 defensive line target Anthony Lucas and 2023 wide receiver target Kyler Kasper. I'm also hoping to see 2023 tight end target Duce Robinson but that probably won't happen.
I had a great chat with Morrison after his practice today (light walk-thru). Man, that kid is such an incredibly strong Notre Dame fit. Big smile, very smart young man -- this kid is going places in life. I'm excited to write that story up for you guys sometime soon. Morrison was all but locked in with Washington before he flipped back to Notre Dame.
Alright folks, I've got to start working on a BIG Aamil Wagner feature that I'll post online tomorrow and in our upcoming magazine issue. And I have dinner in a couple hours with a subscriber on here. No, it's not cheta. It's past his bed time. I'll let the lucky poster reveal him or herself if they wish.
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