Notre Dame hosted 10 prospects for the first official Junior Day of the next recruiting cycle on Saturday, and things couldn't have gone better for the Irish.
Here's what we heard.
Notre Dame commit OT Josh Lugg wants to enroll early ... The Irish are set to sign three offensive lineman in a few weeks in Tommy Kraemer, Liam Eichnberg and Parker Boudreaux, and while two of them are tackle prospects, the numbers at the position will likely be thin by this time next year. That's what Wexford (Pa.) North Allegheny Rivals100 offensive tackle Joshua Lugg said he is looking to enroll early. Lugg spent a majority of his time at the Junior Day talking with the academic support staff, and according to him, there's a good chance he'll be able to enroll next January. "I just want to get there to compete," Lugg said. "We should know sometime next week." Blue & Gold Illustrated reported last month that Notre Dame Rivals100 tight end commit Brock Wright is also trying to enroll early.
The Irish impressed Jamyest Williams and LeAnthony Williams ... It's pretty rare for Notre Dame to get two top Georgia prospects on campus this early in the process, but somewhere the Irish were able to lure Lawrenceville (Ga.) Archer four-star cornerback Jamyest Williams and Roswell (Ga.) High four-star cornerback LeAnthony Williams to South Bend. Both prospects had a good time, and they both said that they plan is to return to Notre Dame sometime soon. "I really enjoyed just spending time with [defensive backs coach Todd Lyght] and [defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder]," Jamyest Williams said. "It's really nice place." Blue & Gold Illustrated continues to hear that the Irish are high on Jamyest Williams despite his size at 5-9, 172 pounds. LeAntonhy Williams was offered on the trip.
Notre Dame feels good about the Detroit group ... Snow storms across the East Coast prevented some recruits from making it to campus, but it didn't stop a trio from the Motown area from making the three-hour trek. Cass Tech Rivals100 wide receiver Dononvan People-Jones, King four-star cornerback Ambry Thomas and Cass Tech three-star safety Jalyn Kelly-Powell were all on hand, and according to one contact at Notre Dame, the Irish didn't hurt themselves. The trio got plenty of time with area recruiter Keith Gilmore and met with head coach Brian Kelly. The one negative was that Peoples Jones was expected to see Michigan State on Saturday night after leaving Notre Dame.
Corey Malone-Hatcher remains a question mark in many ways ... St. Joseph (Mich.) High four-star defensive end Corey Malone-Hatcher is a familiar face inside the Gug, but his position at the next level is a bit of a question mark, and that could be working against the Irish. Malone-Hatcher explained that schools like UCLA are recruiting him as a hybrid pass rusher while Notre Dame wants to see more of him before pigeonholing a position. Still, while that might not sound promising, the local product said he knows where the Irish stand on his board. "Notre Dame has always been one of my top schools," he said. Michigan and Penn State are also in the mix.
The small invite-only event was the right move ... Every parents and prospect we talked to after the Junior Day expressed the same thing, and that was the fact that they felt like a priority while on campus. Notre Dame wanted to keep the numbers small so recruits would get plenty of one-on-one time with the coaches, and that's exactly what happened. One parent even laughed when asked to compare it to other school's events saying it wasn't even in the same ballpark in terms of the overall presentation and experience.
Other tidbits ... Notre Dame doesn't have a set number of offensive linemen it wants to take, but the top three targets right now look to be five-star tackle Wyatt Davis, five-star tackle Jedrick Wills and four-star tackle Trey Smith. At least that's what Lugg and Gibbons have been told ... Speaking of targets, 2018 quarterback Phil Jurkovec is already a priority for the Irish, and Lugg believes that the Irish are in a good place when it comes to him. The lineman explained that he almost got Jurkovec to visit with him this weekend and that the two are good friends.
Last edited:
