Here are tonight's Lucky Charms...
*** I made a drive to Atlanta (Ga.) Pace Academy today to check out Rivals250 wide receiver Jayden Thomas, a big Notre Dame target in the 2021 class who ranks as the nation's No. 194 prospect and No. 36 wide receiver. This is my fourth time seeing Thomas in person so we've built a pretty good rapport, and he offered up a couple of nuggets that I believe fare nicely for the Fighting Irish.
*** Thomas has previously said that he wants to make a decision later in the fall, and that is now coming up. He hasn't set a date yet, but tell me he's looking at an October decision date. Is that good news for Notre Dame? I believe so. Thomas added to me that he's really down to three schools -- Arkansas, Georgia and Notre Dame -- with Michigan and Penn State basically falling out of the race. That was to be expected as he hasn't been to either school.
*** He has been to Georgia and Notre Dame but not Arkansas. He was hoping to get his family on a trip up to Notre Dame, but the dead period hasn't allowed that to happen. The Irish staff has done a good job connecting with his family and making them feel comfortable. There's a lot to like about how Thomas will fit at Notre Dame off the field with how good of a student he is, and one of his teammates at Pace Academy will attend school at ND next year -- former Irish running back Mick Assaf's younger brother.
*** I was impressed with Thomas today. He's been battling a foot injury but still looked explosive and his routes are excellent. I've seen more natural catchers of the football with their hands than Thomas, but he's still a reliable target and very good in the red zone as well. I don't think Thomas is going to be a No. 1 receiver in college, but he'll be productive and someone you can count on as a possession guy.
*** I made a drive to Atlanta (Ga.) Pace Academy today to check out Rivals250 wide receiver Jayden Thomas, a big Notre Dame target in the 2021 class who ranks as the nation's No. 194 prospect and No. 36 wide receiver. This is my fourth time seeing Thomas in person so we've built a pretty good rapport, and he offered up a couple of nuggets that I believe fare nicely for the Fighting Irish.
*** Thomas has previously said that he wants to make a decision later in the fall, and that is now coming up. He hasn't set a date yet, but tell me he's looking at an October decision date. Is that good news for Notre Dame? I believe so. Thomas added to me that he's really down to three schools -- Arkansas, Georgia and Notre Dame -- with Michigan and Penn State basically falling out of the race. That was to be expected as he hasn't been to either school.
*** He has been to Georgia and Notre Dame but not Arkansas. He was hoping to get his family on a trip up to Notre Dame, but the dead period hasn't allowed that to happen. The Irish staff has done a good job connecting with his family and making them feel comfortable. There's a lot to like about how Thomas will fit at Notre Dame off the field with how good of a student he is, and one of his teammates at Pace Academy will attend school at ND next year -- former Irish running back Mick Assaf's younger brother.
*** I was impressed with Thomas today. He's been battling a foot injury but still looked explosive and his routes are excellent. I've seen more natural catchers of the football with their hands than Thomas, but he's still a reliable target and very good in the red zone as well. I don't think Thomas is going to be a No. 1 receiver in college, but he'll be productive and someone you can count on as a possession guy.
