Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com MAY 2019 43 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ROUNDUP Linebacker Justin Flowe, 6-3, 225, Upland, Calif. (Upland) Mitchell Melton, 6-3, 218, Olney, Md. (Good Counsel) Noah Sewell, 6-1, 260, Orem, Utah (Orem) Cody Simon, 6-2, 215, Jersey City, N.J. (St. Peter's Prep) Trenton Simpson, 6-3, 224, Charlotte, N.C., Mallard Creek* Cornerback Landen Bartleson, 6-0, 185, Danville, Ky. (Boyle County) Elijah Gaines, 6-2, 190, Alexandria, Va. (Episcopal) Christian Gonzalez, 6-1, 180, The Colony, Texas (The Colony) Enzo Jennings, 6-2, 178, Oak Park, Mich. (Oak Park) Jalen Kimber, 6-1, 170, Mansfield, Texas (Timberview) Clark Phillips, 5-10, 178, La Habra, Calif. (Habra) Kelee Ringo, 6-1, 180, Scottsdale, Ariz. (Saguaro) Ryan Watts, 6-3, 186, Little Elm, Texas (Little Elm) Safety Lovie Jenkins, 6-1, 180, Ocoee, Fla. (Ocoee)* Mordecai McDaniel, 6-2, 185, Washington, D.C. (St. John's College) Jordan Morant, 6-0, 190, Oradell, N.J. (Bergen Catholic) Makari Page, 6-3, 185, West Bloomfield, Mich. (West Bloomfield) Lathan Ransom, 6-1, 185, Tucson, Ariz. (Salpointe) Eric Reed Jr., 6-1, 196, Shreveport, La. (Calvary Academy) Darius Snow, 6-2, 212, Carrollton, Texas (Hebron) Kristian Story, 6-2, 198, Lanett, Ala. (Lanett) Chris Thompson Jr., 6-2, 180, Duncanville, Texas (Duncanville) Commitments in bold italics * Received offer between March 6 and April 15 Class Of 2020 Scholarship Offer Master List 2020 Master List Changes Prospects Removed: RB Tank Bigbsy of Hoganville, Ga. (no longer consid- ering Notre Dame); RB Reggie Love of St. Louis (committed to Illinois); RB Kobe Pryor of Cedartown, Ga. (no longer considering Notre Dame); WR John Humphreys of Newport Beach, Calif. (committed to Stanford); WR Joshua Jackson of Harbor City, Calif. (committed to USC); OL Bryn Tucker of Knoxville, Tenn. (committed to Clemson); OL Andrew Raym of Broken Arrow, Okla. (no longer being recruited by Notre Dame); DE Prince Dorbah of Dallas (no longer considering Notre Dame); DE Jaheim Thomas of Cincinnati (no longer considering Notre Dame); CB Fred Davis of Jacksonville, Fla. (committed to Clemson); CB Dontae Manning of Raytown, Mo. (committed to Oklahoma); S RJ Mickens of Southlake, Texas (committed to Clemson); S Myles Slusher of Broken Arrow, Okla. (no longer considering Notre Dame); S De'Rickey Wright Atalla, Ala. (committed to Alabama); and ATH Arik Gilbert of Marietta, Ga. (no longer considering Notre Dame). RIVALS 2020 TEAM RECRUITING RANKINGS As of April 15 1. Alabama 14 2. LSU 11 3. Clemson 11 4. Miami (Fla.) 11 5. Florida 10 6. Ohio State 8 7. Penn State 8 8. Notre Dame 6 9. North Carolina 8 10. Georgia 5 Rk. School Commits Rk. School Commits • With the arrival of the month of April, recruiting picked up momentum at programs across the country. During the first week- end of the month, Notre Dame opened up the early official visit period by hosting eight prospects on their Irish officials. Notre Dame quickly landed a commitment from one of the official visitors, Rivals100 wide receiver Jordan Johnson of St. Louis De Smet. During the weekend, the Notre Dame coaching staff showed the visitors everything there is to see in South Bend, including cam- pus tours, a spring practice inside Notre Dame Stadium and a trip to head coach Brian Kelly's lake house for a Saturday night cookout. The reviews from the visitors coming out of the weekend were overwhelmingly positive. • One of the biggest visitors on campus for Notre Dame during that first weekend of April was Rylie Mills, a four-star defensive lineman from Lake Forest (Ill.) High and a top overall target for the Irish. Mills, the No. 155 overall player in the class of 2020 according to Rivals, said after spending extensive time with the Irish coaches and players, he was able to eas- ily picture himself fitting in with the team and playing at Notre Dame. Mills will take two more official visits, one to Ohio State and the other to Wisconsin, before going into decision mode. • Another big visitor for Notre Dame over the first weekend of April was Jimmy Christ, a four-star offensive tackle prospect from Ster- ling (Va.) Dominion. Christ, the No. 212 overall player in the class of 2020 per Rivals, came out of the visit saying he was "really excited" about the Irish after spending 48 hours on campus in an official capacity. Assistant Jeff Quinn is leading the way in Christ's Irish recruitment, and the offensive line coach has made a huge impression on the four-star and his family. Coming out of the visit, Notre Dame was a top option for Christ. He also was planning to take official visits to Oklahoma and Virginia in April, and then will work towards making a decision prior to the beginning of his senior season. • Notre Dame hosted two Texas corner- backs over the first weekend of April as well. Little Elm (Texas) High three-star Ryan Watts took an official visit to South Bend, while Mansfield (Texas) Timberview three-star Jalen Kimber was in town for an unofficial visit. Both trips went well, and the Texas duo left Notre Dame impressed with what they'd seen. Watts said Notre Dame is in his top three after the trip, along with Texas and Oklahoma, both of whom he will visit soon. Kimber has had a huge spring, picking up major offers from all over the country, but the Notre Dame visit should be enough to keep the Irish in the thick of his recruitment. — David McKinney Lake Forest (Ill.) High four-star defensive lineman Rylie Mills said it was easy to see himself at Notre Dame during his official visit to South Bend. PHOTO BY ANGELA DRISKELL RECRUITING NOTES