Over the last few days we’ve been able to pick up some more recruiting nuggets on a few Notre Dame targets that have been competing in Nike Football’s The Opening Finals.
After a few days of digging, here’s what we can share.
--- We mentioned earlier in the week that we felt good about Notre Dame and Coconut Creek (Fla.) North Broward receiver Kevin Austin after two days of being here, and after speaking with a few more sources, our confidence continues to grow on that front. Duke and Tennessee are both pushing hard, but we still believe Notre Dame to be in the driver’s seat with Miami (Fla.) a distant fourth. Following The Opening Finals, Austin, the No. 141 overall player in the country, will head home to Florida and should enter decision mode in the next few weeks. A commitment is expected by August.
--- Rover target Shayne Simon, the No. 9 outside linebacker and No. 138 overall player in the class of 2018, was in action this week and there’s definitely some Notre Dame buzz surrounding the four-star. We’ve felt good about Simon landing at Notre Dame for a while now, and some sources out here in Oregon have reaffirmed that feeling. Both Simon and his family are excited about what Notre Dame has to offer. We fully expect Simon to wrap up his recruitment by the end of the summer, but he could still end up taking official visits in the fall.
--- Blairstown (N.J.) Blair Academy defensive end Jayson Oweh isn’t at The Opening Finals, but we were able to gather some information about his recruitment nonetheless. Notre Dame is in strong position with Oweh, the No. 12 end in the class of 2018 and No. 217 overall player. Ohio State has been Oweh’s stated leader in the past, but from speaking to a source close to the situation it would appear the Irish are in a much better position than most might realize. What Notre Dame is pitching to Oweh is quite different than Ohio State’s message, and the Notre Dame message is really starting to resonate. The Irish coaching staff is extremely high on Oweh and getting him in the fold would be a huge addition to the 2018 class.
--- Norcross (Ga.) Wesleyan tight end Tommy Tremble is announcing his top six on July 4th, and according to his most recent tweet about his recruitment a decision is expected to be announced “shortly after.” Based on what we are hearing from various sources it would be surprising if Notre Dame was not the pick. Tremble ranks as the No. 2 tight end on the BGI Tight End Big Board.
--- Temecula (Calif.) Great Oak four-star linebacker Jack Lamb is communicating with UCLA and Notre Dame more than any other schools. Lamb, the No. 4 inside linebacker in the class of 2018 and No. 90 overall player, has those schools tied at the top. The Irish coaching staff wants Lamb in a big way, and some combination of Brian Polian, Mike Elko and Clark Lea are contacting him every single day. Washington, Oregon and Penn State remain in play, but we feel confident that it’s down to UCLA or Notre Dame. This boils down to whether or not Lamb wants to leave the West Coast. If geography was taken out of the equation we feel the choice would be Notre Dame, but UCLA being so close has this as a very close race. A decision is expected by the end of the summer.
--- Medford (Ore.) South Medford wide receiver Chase Cota has Notre Dame in his top seven, and plans to cut that list to five at some point to plan his official visits. After speaking with some sources at The Opening, we believe there’s a fairly solid chance Notre Dame gets one of those visits. Cota and his family loved what they saw from the Irish during their visit for the Blue-Gold game on April 22, and a return trip to campus certainly seems like a possibility at this point. Oregon is still the likely landing spot for Cota, the No. 38 receiver and No. 194 overall player in the class of 2018, but getting him back on campus will be big for Notre Dame nonetheless. The four-star likely won’t make a commitment anytime soon because he wants to be absolutely sure of his decision and avoid flipping down the road. Notre Dame still seems like a long shot with Cota at this point.
--- Marietta (Ga.) Lassiter safety and Notre Dame commit Derrik Allen could not be more solid in his pledge to the Irish. The Notre Dame coaching staff continues to make Allen a priority, and are getting in contact with the elite prospect at least once a week. South Bend was absolutely the right choice for Allen, and we don’t see that changing. He’ll likely take an official visit to Notre Dame for the Georgia game on Sept. 9.
--- It would appear that Notre Dame is even further down the list for five-star wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown than we once thought. USC, Stanford, Michigan and Ohio State seem to be the top group at the moment, with Notre Dame somewhere in the second tier of schools. An official visit will likely still happen for 2018’s No. 1 receiver and No. 4 overall player, but the Irish certainly have their work cut out for them. Older brother Equanimeous St. Brown – a junior receiver at Notre Dame – played very little as a freshman, and that has rubbed St. Brown’s father the wrong way. It put Notre Dame behind the eight-ball with 2017 wide receiver Osiris St. Brown – who signed with Stanford – and it is a primary factor in the Irish trailing other programs for the youngest St. Brown.
After a few days of digging, here’s what we can share.
--- We mentioned earlier in the week that we felt good about Notre Dame and Coconut Creek (Fla.) North Broward receiver Kevin Austin after two days of being here, and after speaking with a few more sources, our confidence continues to grow on that front. Duke and Tennessee are both pushing hard, but we still believe Notre Dame to be in the driver’s seat with Miami (Fla.) a distant fourth. Following The Opening Finals, Austin, the No. 141 overall player in the country, will head home to Florida and should enter decision mode in the next few weeks. A commitment is expected by August.
--- Rover target Shayne Simon, the No. 9 outside linebacker and No. 138 overall player in the class of 2018, was in action this week and there’s definitely some Notre Dame buzz surrounding the four-star. We’ve felt good about Simon landing at Notre Dame for a while now, and some sources out here in Oregon have reaffirmed that feeling. Both Simon and his family are excited about what Notre Dame has to offer. We fully expect Simon to wrap up his recruitment by the end of the summer, but he could still end up taking official visits in the fall.
--- Blairstown (N.J.) Blair Academy defensive end Jayson Oweh isn’t at The Opening Finals, but we were able to gather some information about his recruitment nonetheless. Notre Dame is in strong position with Oweh, the No. 12 end in the class of 2018 and No. 217 overall player. Ohio State has been Oweh’s stated leader in the past, but from speaking to a source close to the situation it would appear the Irish are in a much better position than most might realize. What Notre Dame is pitching to Oweh is quite different than Ohio State’s message, and the Notre Dame message is really starting to resonate. The Irish coaching staff is extremely high on Oweh and getting him in the fold would be a huge addition to the 2018 class.
--- Norcross (Ga.) Wesleyan tight end Tommy Tremble is announcing his top six on July 4th, and according to his most recent tweet about his recruitment a decision is expected to be announced “shortly after.” Based on what we are hearing from various sources it would be surprising if Notre Dame was not the pick. Tremble ranks as the No. 2 tight end on the BGI Tight End Big Board.
--- Temecula (Calif.) Great Oak four-star linebacker Jack Lamb is communicating with UCLA and Notre Dame more than any other schools. Lamb, the No. 4 inside linebacker in the class of 2018 and No. 90 overall player, has those schools tied at the top. The Irish coaching staff wants Lamb in a big way, and some combination of Brian Polian, Mike Elko and Clark Lea are contacting him every single day. Washington, Oregon and Penn State remain in play, but we feel confident that it’s down to UCLA or Notre Dame. This boils down to whether or not Lamb wants to leave the West Coast. If geography was taken out of the equation we feel the choice would be Notre Dame, but UCLA being so close has this as a very close race. A decision is expected by the end of the summer.
--- Medford (Ore.) South Medford wide receiver Chase Cota has Notre Dame in his top seven, and plans to cut that list to five at some point to plan his official visits. After speaking with some sources at The Opening, we believe there’s a fairly solid chance Notre Dame gets one of those visits. Cota and his family loved what they saw from the Irish during their visit for the Blue-Gold game on April 22, and a return trip to campus certainly seems like a possibility at this point. Oregon is still the likely landing spot for Cota, the No. 38 receiver and No. 194 overall player in the class of 2018, but getting him back on campus will be big for Notre Dame nonetheless. The four-star likely won’t make a commitment anytime soon because he wants to be absolutely sure of his decision and avoid flipping down the road. Notre Dame still seems like a long shot with Cota at this point.
--- Marietta (Ga.) Lassiter safety and Notre Dame commit Derrik Allen could not be more solid in his pledge to the Irish. The Notre Dame coaching staff continues to make Allen a priority, and are getting in contact with the elite prospect at least once a week. South Bend was absolutely the right choice for Allen, and we don’t see that changing. He’ll likely take an official visit to Notre Dame for the Georgia game on Sept. 9.
--- It would appear that Notre Dame is even further down the list for five-star wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown than we once thought. USC, Stanford, Michigan and Ohio State seem to be the top group at the moment, with Notre Dame somewhere in the second tier of schools. An official visit will likely still happen for 2018’s No. 1 receiver and No. 4 overall player, but the Irish certainly have their work cut out for them. Older brother Equanimeous St. Brown – a junior receiver at Notre Dame – played very little as a freshman, and that has rubbed St. Brown’s father the wrong way. It put Notre Dame behind the eight-ball with 2017 wide receiver Osiris St. Brown – who signed with Stanford – and it is a primary factor in the Irish trailing other programs for the youngest St. Brown.
